Drunken Times and Ghosts

Last week we went out to see friends up the road for dinner and we decided to walk. Unfortunately they have a rather large cattle grid at their entrance and as we were going back my Mum fell through it and hurt herself quite badley (well, she had had a bit too much to drink) and the poor thing is still in pain. This is their cat 'Lucky'. (Wasn't so lucky for my Mum though).

And their dog 'Storm'

I went to see how my planted Scots Pines were last week sometime, they both seemed fine

Although one is a little yellow from too much water!

The catch up!

Wedenesday night:

Right, well, we all got drunk! We, that's myself, Sue (who owns Dunsbeare and her daughter Katie and her husband Rod who turned up later), Mary (sister of Sue) and daughter Joanna,
Andy, Ruth, their children Teresa and Sophie (who are staying at the farm and it's their 20th year at coming to Dunsbeare in August!) all walked via the Tarka trail to Yarde for an acoustic folk evening at an oraganic cafe with it's own famous compost loo (yep, pretty disgusting!) and with the £10 ticket we were fed, watered on 2 free pints of cider and given a concert of talent! Every drink after was a £1 and our usual respectable reputation died a funny death. It was the cider that did it. To us all. And then the wine, where Rod was drinking half pints of red wine. We were loud, raucuous and couldn't stop laughing. Mary, who usually frowns upon you if you have more then 2 glasses of wine was the worst, trying to get me, Katie and Teresa (who are both 18/19) hooked up with the guys playing and singing, every so often she kept rather loudly asking if we had swopped phone numbers! Then as all of these 'hippy' things happen a fire was lit outside and we all went there and clapped and danced to the music. Rod fell over a cat, much to his daughters embarrassment with the words, "Oh My God" and Joanna tried frantically to stop her Mum calling her Dad to come down, Mary phoned him around a dozen times! At the end no-one could stand, the worst offenders were myself, Mary, Andy and Rod who had to be driven home by Katie (who was sober), Sue said she was alright but I could tell she was getting there! So Ruth went home in the car too and so we walked back in the dark (it was 1:30am) over the Tarka trail, Sue, Mary, me and Andy all linking arms laughing our socks off in the heart of the countryside, our voices must have travelled for miles, the Tarka Trail will never feel the same way again! On the way into the farm a very drunken Andy was attacked by Rocky the guard dog and we all fell on the floor with laughter! The next morning I was fine. Rod too who had to go to work, but Andy was in a sorry state, but Mary the worst! She had parked her car blocking the way out for the farm and they had to call her to move the car at 12pm, she was still in bed, at 1pm she walked down looking A MESS!!!!! She'll NEVER live it down!!!!!

Yarde round the fire!

Great fire - no drunken photos though, it's too embarrassing!

Dartmoor with sunlight patch

Rain clouds over Dunsbeare (yes, we got wet!)


Autumn skies

Thursday:

I had the LONGEST shower possible! And even managed to do some painting. Andy, Ruth, Teresa and Sophie came town for tea and ended up staying for fish n'chips. Teresa, Sophie and I were mostly talking about ghost stories and they were looking at my vast collection of books on the subject and asking me if I had ever encountered a ghost. No was the answer, but I had felt something sometimes. They asked if I would be scarred to see one and I said no. Wrong answer. That night around 3am I turned to the other side of my bed, feeling something was there and opened my eyes, there floating in space was a spooky, terrorising face starring down on me, I reached over and turned the light on and it disappeared. Trying to make myself believe it was only a dream I turned round and shut my eyes while shaking when suddenley I felt SO hot that I had to take the covers off and then I felt the temperature drop to such a degree that there was a breeze blowing on my legs . . . So I told it, 'Whatever or whoever you are, please leave me alone" and it did. I was scarred, only because my Mum had the same face looking at her a few years back in her bedroom in the cottage. It's my Dad's turn next! Anyone else had a ghostly encounter? Do comment.

All the fields have been ploughed now

Friday:

I went over to Dunsbeare for the afternoon. Katie works in one of the local pubs in Torrington and had been gossiping about us all about Wednesday night. So it's ALL over the town! Sue and Mary have lived at Dunsbeare all their lives and their Mum and Dad are very promient local farmers/people and the local district know them and their family well. So poor Sue, trying to explain to gossiping eyes that it wasn't her, it was her sister! Luckily no-one knows who I am and even if they did it wouldn't really matter! So I spent the day at the farm with Sue, we were trying to plan to go out and have dinner at Katie's pub but we didn't manage it and good job too as there was a punch up! So we stayed in with a bottle of wine and freshly picked blackberries for pudding and Katie dropped me back.

Sue's cat 'Claud' - he caught a mole not so long ago! (I wasn't very happy and neither was the mole!)

Saturday:

Now, I would have gone to the Flower festival with everyone at our local villages church in Merton but I decided against it and did all my packing (a lot of stuff in 6 weeks) and then spent 6 hours painting (all the painting I should have done before) and produced some pretty good small canvases which I needed as my friend Shirley is having a Birthday party and has freshly decorated white walls and as offered to show them as part of the party and has told eveyone to bring their cash! That'll be 16th Sept. Anyway, so I did all that and then after dinner took the last walk in the field. The cows in the field to the right were going mad as half of them had esacaped into the wood and the other half were charging round the fields like maniacs! What a sight, what a sound, hooves galloping on the ground! (where else Em. . .). So that was the last night in Devon and of course the next day, yesterday, we left in glorious sunshine. Typical.

Night cows - I love the eyes! Can you spot how many?

Wiltshire at speeds yesterday

Same again

The A303

All the fields have been cut

As you can see!

Again the closest I get to StoneHenge!

Not sure if I'm going to get to blog the rest of this week as I'm off to Canterbury tomorrow. I spoke to Laury this morning and we're staying in her friends house (who are away) which is 9 miles south of Canterbury, in the middle of no-where, with the electric entrance gates and swans in the back garden, she said bring my camera, well I, like you all know, don't go ANYWHERE without my camera!!!!!

Lots of love to one and all and see you soon,

Emy xxx

"Us Is Gwain Awm"

We Are Going Home

That would have been the title form last nights post, but it has come a little late, as WE ARE HOME! Well, London home that is! And what a journey. . . perfect through and through, no hold up, no bad driver (well, a couple, but nothing as we know it) and as soon as we're back a million planes come over and trains come past, all on a bank holiday weekend!

I have so much to tell and report, but I've had a little wine and to be quite frank, can't be bothered but will do a full account tomorrow! And I've 'ate'd' (eaten - in Devonshire dialect, as in the title) and am feeling pretty drowsy to say the least! Anyway it has 'bain' (been) a wonderful 6 weeks and I can't believe it's over and Summer has been washed away (not how I imagine August in my mind), but Hey! What do you 'axpec'? (expect). So we will bide (stay) now in London for sometime and carr' (carry) on with our city life. But I'd dairly (dearly) like to be back in the West, but I can't have my own way ALL the time!

Before I disappear for tonight here are a few news stories that have caught my eye over the last few days:

Cows have regional accents . . . It's true!

Speed cameras in this country. . . An Essex Artist (well, he's not and he is, see for yourself)

Paul McCartney's Loss of Money (yeah, right, not much chum!)

Big Brother Germany is Watching us - Well, our bins to be precise!


If any of these links are typed wrong then blame the wine!

That's all for now, am ready for my bed! I've already unpacked but I'll be packing again for Canterbury on Tuesday till Saturday . . . I MUST be mad, going through the MA set up again, but least I won't be stressed for me, only for them!!!!!! Oh well, I'll be back good and proper tomorrow with loads of catch up photos! Though I wish there'll be more 'ollerdays' (holidays) in Devon, PRETTY DAMN SOON!!!!!!

Emy xxx (more Devon dialect tomorrow!) xxx

A Few Heavy Horses

I swear this dial up connection is getting slower, or could it be the rain?

I've got so many posts planned but I'm getting sick and tired of not having broadband, I want to do a WHOLE Heavy Horses series and there's still the pictures of the Okehampton show - all converted for the web - but as it's so slow it takes twice the time, so here is a small taster of what's going to come on here once I'm back in London which will be this coming Sunday.

Sufolks (origin Sufolk but there are more of these in Somerset then anywhere else) And these guys are from Somerset, Kestrel and Dot.

This really shouldn't happen to a horse - a little over the top I think

There were around 30 horses and 8 breeds and they all were harnessed up to different things

And they loved their work! So calm, cool and placid!

This morning I went to see my planted Pine trees at Fishleigh. They looked good, although one was a little too yellow for my liking, obviously over-watered when it was dry and hot. We saw Peter Walters briefly and then went over the wet fields to see the trees. Pictures again will be coming soon, haven't even downloaded them!

At 3:30pm I'm off to Dunsbeare as a whole group of us are going out to see a folk concert in a small settlement (no church) called 'Yarde', there I was always led to believe that the row of cottages were lived in by convicts! But there seems to be a cafe there now and this concert tonight. Tickets are £10, and you get a meal and 2 free drinks. Knowing this part of the world the meal will be beef (so I'm going hungry then) but I'm hoping as it's a folk do there might be some vegetarian dishes on the menu. We're planning to walk there via the Tarka Trail (Devon's old railway line, taken up in the 60s) and it'll take an hour there and an hour back (people walk a lot here!) and fingers crossed the rain will stay away. Will let you know what it was like tomorrow - though all sounds a little odd to me!

Yes, it has been raining. It's sad as all the butterflies came out in the sun now they've all been washed away in the wet. I heard my first robin sing the other day, a sure sign of Autumn and the first leaves are beginning to turn and the acorns coming on the oaks. What the hell happened to summer? Plus September is meant to be wetter still. The MA show at KIAD might be a wash out. Oh dear.

Emy xxx

I Can't Think of a Title . . . Any Suggestions?

If you want to comment on ANYTHING tonight then tell me what you think of this; A fox hunt, the hunters have lost their prey, the dogs have found the fox as they are more intelligent to the fat barstard hunters, and the fox has got away. As for merits in my painting, well, the hunters are rubbish (I can't draw people) the dogs are ok, perhaps a little too cartoonish, the horses I'm proud of as they are very difficult to draw and the fox is the best thing in it (as I feel and love the fox more, I painted it with MORE emotion) and the background is good. PLEASE, ANY COMMENTS?!!!!

Another painting, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Same series

Ditto

I don't always like 'people' in my photos but this guy was MEANT TO HAPPEN!

Amazing clouds over 'East of the water' opposite Bideford

Inside the cottage - sitting room

Conservertory (BAD SPELLING...Sorry, a little drunk tonight)

Hey everyone, this is just a quick catch up on photos from the last week:

Common Toadflax in hedgerow

There's nothing better then picking blackberries . . . and getting stung, bitten and scratched!

Golden field of Merton

The skies are amazing right now

Speckled Wood butterfly on blackberry

Same butterfly but different guy!

Speckled Wood side on

Wall Butterfly on Knapweed

Tortiseshell on Budelia

The 'new' girls

Pinch me, I'm in love . . . AGAIN!


It's a busy time of year!

Concentration camp for pheasents (it makes me spit!)

Because:

Tomorrow in Merton will be the Heavy Horses display, a huge corn field dedicated to these gentle giants showing how they cut the corn and plough the fields . . . a true look on what life was like and about before machinery. My dad and I are going to walk there as it's only down the road (well up and down the lanes!) Plus we're going to pay a visit to our 'local' pub The Malt Scoop as we've NEVER set foot in it! Well. . . It's one of these 'Local pubs for local people' capers! And us Lodonners or 'Grocles' will get starred at until Doomsday! Anyway, I can't WAIT! And of course phots will follow in due course.

And I'll just like to confirm my point that this location in Devon is the MOST wondourous place (spelling not included). the skies have been fantastic, there's even been a mini twister in West Cornwall! I LOVE THIS PLACE and we only have a week left, the summer has flown by. Oh well, lots to do when I'm back in London, people to see, work to be found and done. Sigh.

Lots of love to everyone and thankyou to all the comments, keep them up!

Emy xxx