A busy week culminating in a street party at Zac's to commemorate the 30th anniversary of God's Squad UK chapter, and, more particularly, Sean's 30 year commitment.
Bikers from many different clubs - including veterans and Hells Angels - attended and God Squadders came from Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland - as well as England.
Guests from Ireland and England
Jayne, Sean's wife, with a posy of flowers from Daughter's garden
The God Squad UK chapter gave Sean a special gift: a crook made by Matt. In his role in God Squad Sean has pastored and shepherded many so it was an appropriate choice. Matt deliberately made a simple crook with a horn handle, much as the shepherd boy, David, would have had..
I seem to have spent the last week either baking for or cleaning in Zac's so I'm planning a nice relaxing week ahead.
A cooler, cloudy morning so I decided to attack the bamboo again. Merrily digging I came across this root.
It doesn't look like a bamboo root. On the other hand it doesn't look like a rose root either. For a start, this rose is only a couple of years old; it seems unlikely that it would have grown such a huge root in that time. Digging down, the root appears to go underneath the rose so I think rather than try to find its beginning or end, and disturb the rose, I'll just cut it off near the base.
And hope it isn't a creature from the depths of the earth that was planning on taking over the world. I wouldn't want to enrage something like that.
Fed off of trying to get phone and computer to talk to each other I went into the garden planning to relax and read. Instead I began gardening! Pruning to be accurate.
I saw a clip on Facebook about pruning salvias so I set to. The only problem is that I only vaguely remember what the clip said. Something about cutting some short and some longer. So that's what I did. And I thought if it could be applied to salvias it could be applied to geranium and lavender as well.
I saw another FB clip about taking a hydrangea cutting. Couldn't quite remember that either but took a cutting anyway.
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The fitness class I attend on Tuesday mornings had extra funding and has employed a proper professional trainer to do four sessions over summer. I went last night. He began with a warm-up. It was just like this but with arms outstretched holding a 3kg weight.
I was ready to go home after this. But actually nothing else was as bad.
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This year is the 30th anniversary of the UK chapter of God Squad. Sean, who leads Zac's, was one of the founding members - and is now International President - so on Sunday there's a big biker celebration happening at Zac's.
How can that be, you say, when Zac's is still being refurbished? Well, the building work is done and much of the painting, however, this was the sight that greeted me when I turned up this morning.
I confess to giving a little shriek of horror. Because of holidays I've not been in for a while so had assumed it was much further on. Stu assures me that it is all superficial. Just needs putting away. And cleaning.
So this morning I took on the job of cleaning the counter and behind, the walls, window, and underneath.
While perched on a ladder cleaning this memorial to Baz a bit of it fell off. I closed my eyes, convinced I'd look down and see bits of Baz all over the floor. Fortunately it was just the little wooden frame bit from the other end of the bullet that had fallen.
I also offered to make a celebration cake. I was a bit late doing it as I hadn't thought about it until someone mentioned how expensive it was from a cake shop. So it's missed out on the regular dousing with brandy, which is probably just as well as there could be some alcoholics in remission attending. It hasn't actually got brandy in it either; I only had whisky and Baileys so had to make do with that. I figured that small amount would be okay as there wouldn't be much alcohol left after baking.
Husband wakes in the middle of the night. He thinks about natural population control and tries to remember the equation involving food, bunnies, and foxes. Something about as one increases the other increases until something happens and all decrease again. Or something like that.*
I wake in the night and try to remember what a woodchuck would chuck if it could chuck it. And how many.
We have an almost hidden hydrangea bush in the garden that's been there longer than we have I think. For the first time yesterday I picked some of the glorious blooms for the house.
Unlimited food = bunny pop grows = more meetings between bunnies and foxes = foxes eat bunnies = fox pop grows = eat more bunnies = bunny numbers decrease = fox numbers decrease.
In quiet moments GrandDaughter2 and I took to sketching. These sketches may be bad but they're not as bad as my snooker-playing.
I found the sea urchin skeleton on my way out to the sea with Louie. It took me three-quarters of my walk there and back to remember what it was called. It was also bigger when I found it.
Spotted the caterpillar and snail on a strand of marram grass.
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One day we visited The Japanese Garden. On entering I was a bit unimpressed as it didn't look very spectacular or colourful - and the lady on the gate was grumpy - but it had a very calming and peaceful atmosphere. Another day, without children, I could have sat and pondered and I'm not one for sitting and pondering as a rule. It just felt like that.
We followed that up with a cream tea and then popped into the local churchyard, as you do.
Nine men (and a dog maybe?) froze to death at sea.
Here lye the Body of Margery the Wife of Henry Cayzer of this Parish, Yeoman: who was Buried Janry the 5th Anno Dom. 1748. Aged 71
Usually if we arrive home from holiday in the daytime we'll have a cup of tea and I'll sit and read emails. Yesterday we had a cup of tea in the garden after I'd checked my plants! I am becoming a true gardener.
Everything in the garden coped without me.
Alexandre Girault
Bring me sunshine
The poet's wife
A white rose
Wollerton Old Hall
All except the white one from David Austin.
And Husband's plants are doing fine too.
So many figs on so many trees.
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Came home to find letters inviting us both to take part in a Our Future Health research project. We both signed up even though it involves going for a blood test. It's the UK's largest ever health research programme and it aims to help prevent, detect, and treat diseases earlier. It's not a personal health check but a study on all the different factors involved in maintaining good health. I'm sure the questionnaire was carefully designed to avoid making people feel bad about the amount of exercise they do or don't do, but I couldn't help feeling a little judged. But that's just me. One of the mental health questions was, "Do you always feel guilty about everything?" Um, yes, of course.
A wonderful week in a house near Padstow with family, Elder Son, Daughter, spouses, and grandchildren. The house was lovely and spacious and had a hot tub and snooker room! But no tea-pot! It loses a star for that.
Elder Son perfecting his skills.
The closest town was Padstow, a fishing village that grew even more popular after television chef, Rick Stein, opened his restaurant and cookery school there. He currently seems to own most of the town! It was also very popular with dog-owners. So many dogs! It was quite crowded in the narrow streets lined with pasty and fudge shops, and, of course, we had to sample several types.
As well as lots of dogs there were lots of seagulls, who are much more daring than their Mumbles counterparts, so much so that advice is advertised. Incidentally according to the book Daughter bought on pasties, the correct pronunciation is parsty.
Another tradition we had to try was Cornish cream teas. Lots of cafes advertised them but we resisted until we found what felt like a proper tea-shop in a tiny village, near the Japanese Garden we visited.
We followed the Cornish habit of spreading the jam first with the cream on top. (In Devon they do it the other way around, which seems foolish to me. How can you spread jam on top of cream? Though I suppose if it's nice and thick it will work.)
The house was on the edge of Camel Creek theme park to which we had free access. The children loved the rides but I was taken with the meerkats.
Port Isaac is just few miles up the coast from Padstow. It's where the television series, Doc Martin, was filmed as well as being home to folk group, Fisherman's Friends.
Doc Martin's house is second from the right, up the hill.
The police station is actually in next-door village, Port Gaverne.
The school in Port Isaac, now a hotel.
Along a bit from Trevone Bay there's a natural sea pool, which was used in the BBC series of Mallory Towers. The girls went swimming there. As did we!
It's only accessible at low tide. When we were leaving, the tide was almost over the wall that was repaired by the local community back in 2013. And I've just read that it was recently crowned Britain's Best Saltwater and Tidal Pool.
What else? Oh yes, not far again - although it takes a while to get anywhere because it's mostly down lanes - Daughter found a wonderful 'dogs allowed off lead' beach, just on the estuary that leads into Padstow harbour. Called Harbour Cove it has a huge tidal range. On our first visit it was quite high; on our second it was about as low as it could get I imagine.
As you can see, Cornwall gets really busy at this time of year! (No, really it does; this beach was the exception possibly because of how far you'd have to walk to have a swim. But Louie and I enjoyed the stroll out.)
Louie was allowed to sit in the front of the car with me.
And to finish off this episode of holiday jinks, a bit of naughty, but accurate, felting spotted in a craft shop - the other main business in the town.
Oh, and as we travelled home we listened to the Lions rugby game on the radio. Very exciting and they won, meaning whatever happens in the last game they've won the series against Australia.
