I have managed to  largely ignore the foul weather we have  been experiencing and have had lots of fun over the last few days! My friend Lou celebrated her birthday last Thursday so we all met up in Shaldon, which has recently undergone a transformation, and now has a lovely little bistro where The Beachcomber used to be (cafe by day & tapas bar by night Thurs – Fri) And the smelly old Clipper (greasy spoon) is now a swanky cafe and restaurant with sea views and open at 8am for coffee, to attract us school run Mums’.  Anyway, while I waited for the others to arrive I stood on the beach, looked over to Teignmouth and marvelled at the view, which I know I’ll never take for granted!

Shaldon on Thursday evening....

On Friday it was my turn to have the girlies round and as I’m so busy with Peagreen I thought I’d cheat and asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine, a lump of cheese and some chocolate. I nipped off to Waitrose and picked up a ton of bread, crackers, pickles etc and you should have seen the spread……the table was bursting with goodies and a drunken, noisy night was had by all (the only downside being that I have all that chocolate to polish off – shame!)

the Sea Pool at Bude.....

On Saturday PP (poor Pauly) and I drove up to Holsworthy to pick up an old 1950’s unit I bought on ebay. In need of some TLC I thought it would be a great project and perfect for candle storage in my studio. While we were up that way we decided to check out Bude as neither of us have ever been and PP was desperate to see the Sea Pool. What a fantastic place! I couldn’t stop taking pictures and looked like a right tourist! I had fish and chips for a fiver (haven’t had that experience in a while) PP the veggie had a wholemeal pasty (yuk) and I even managed to pop into a gorgeous little vintage shop where I found some old enamel bowls and some aluminium jelly moulds – perfect day! Then double session of The Bridge to top it off nicely.

new unit......needs to be "peagreened"

Sunday was Nanny Sunshines 74th birthday. It was so nice snuggled up in front of the log burner at the Thatched Tavern in Maidencombe, we didn’t even notice the vile weather. Then back to ours for some high cal stodge (courtesy of The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook) which consisted of a layer of brownie topped with a layer of cheesecake then a layer of whipped raspberry cream. Of course I didn’t partake as my body is a temple…well maybe just a little bit then…. Another perfect day, finished off with a large glass of red and the penultimate episode of Homeland – yikes, don’t do it Brodie!

Mick, the Landlord at The Thatched Tavern