Christmas in Parkham

Only a fleeting visit to The Granary at the end of November to check the plumbing and complete a few minor but important jobs like putting up a wine rack, as we were required to be available for baby-sitting in Didsbury for the arrival of grandchild number two in the middle of the month.

With Charlotte well settled in at home in Didsbury we were able to spend last week in the village and take part in some of the pre-Christmas activities.  We arrived on Sunday to find that there was a village Carol Service with the Appledore Brass Band that evening.  We got to church as usual just a couple of minutes before the start of the service ( the Church operates on Devon time which seems to be about 10 minutes behind GMT) to find it bulging at the seams and were lucky to find seats together.
It was a lovely service led by the excellent band and was followed by mince pies whilst we viewed all the trees decorated by local organisations for the Christmas Tree Festival.

There more carols to be sung in the pub on Wednesday evening followed by more mince pies and mulled wine on the house -  thanks to the Bell.

We also entered the Christmas Draw in the pub for a free Sunday Lunch, once a month for 2 people which would be very nice to win - I felt really part of the village  when Sam the barmaid said just put John 'Next Door' on the ticket -  that's who they know me as, as opposed to Big John, a local farmer!.

Returned home today to participate in Christmas festivities in Stourbridge and Didsbury with family and friends.

An Autumnal Devon

The last 2 weeks in Devon has seen autumn arrive although we have also had a few extremely mild days .
I started work to restore and re-varnish the decking and steps to the front door.  Cuprinol decking restorer worked well and the decking was returned to its original state minus algae etc.  The problem then was to find 2 days that were dry in order to prepare the decking for re-varnishing.  Nearly made it a few times but then there was some very light rain or mizzle.  A friend in the pub was not very helpful when I complained about the weather telling me, 'decking is a summer job'. Eventually got there at the weekend and it is all looking great.

 Before treatment

Afterwards  -  and with new handrail

We had a great evening at 'The Milky Way' a local visitor attraction where the local Rotary Club held an open evening for disadvantaged families and children with disabilities.  We helped on the Archery and it was humbling to see how wonderfully these families coped with the children - we were just doing it for a few hours, they do it 24/7.

Also had 3 visitors to stay, our old friends Deb and Barry and their whippet, Susie.  We were not sure how Badger would deal with 'an intruder' as we have had problems in the past with other dogs.  He must have mellowed in his old age as there were no problems at all!  It was good showing friends some of our favourite places and they were also able to reminisce in the pub with another friend who lived in the same Cornish village as them for 30 years. Although they had not met before they had many friends and acquaintances in common.

6 months later

We have now been the proud owners of The Granary for 6 months -  how time has flown.
Looking back we have completed all the jobs necessary to turn an empty cottage into a family home where we can relax and enjoy life with the many friends we have in the Parkham area.  Of course there are things to be done, but the painting of the wall in the kitchen area last week was the last task on our initial list.

The Kitchen!

We have spent the last six days enjoying the late of the summer sunshine with long beach walks at Northam and Instow and we also explored for the first time the coast path around Shipload Bay near Hartland.

View of Appledore from Instow on 2nd October 2014 

The sun has been surprisingly warm and T shirts and shorts have been the order of the day.
Yesterday afternoon however the weather began to get cooler and there was rain in the night - so it was back to trousers and  shorts were put away for another year.

Looking forward to our next visit later in the month when some of our oldest friends will be joining us for a few days.
 

Sharing The Granary

Been feeling quite possessive about The Granary as it is probably the only property we have ever purchased and been able to furnish exactly as we wished without having to make do.  Not that everything is new, some of the items we like most are those we have 'refurbished' .
We have just completed doing up a chest  of drawers which was surplus to our neighbours requirements - it now looks good and holds all our shoes.

So we are very proud of the cottage and letting others use it without us being there was quite a big step.  However we need not have worried, our daughter and boyfriend spent 4 days in the cottage before we  arrived last week and looked after it really well.  They had brilliant weather which continued for the next week and the barbecue was extremely well used  for a range of dishes including sea bream, sausages with laver and excellent steak from the local butcher.

We had a fantastic time and it was good to know that the cottage can easily accommodate another couple and their dog ( much easier than a grandson!).

We took then to see all our favourite places including Brownsham,  Instow and Welcombe Mouth.
I have included a few pictures below.

One of the highlights of the week for Alexa and Tom was going for a walk with 2 of Kevin and Vicki's 19 llamas.  As to be expected Alexa was quite at home being a vet although for Tom it was way outside his comfort zone.

Only slight disaster was when the tread on  one of the stairs collapsed  -  we now realise that the carpet was unsupported at the back of the tread and it had not taken much pressure to cause the collapse.  Local friend has had a look and thinks the repair will be fairly simple!  Next time we are down the job will be done with me as his apprentice.

Altogether another great week or so in Parkham.
 

Getting to know Parkham

Another 2 great weeks spent in Parkham.

We were joined for our first weekend by our elder son and his family.  They were camping nearby but after 2 nights our daughter-in-law decided that that was enough of sleeping on the ground, being 6 months pregnant.  They were however very impressed with the facilities offered at Westacott Campsite near Abbotsham.  We coped pretty well with 5 of us in The Granary and luckily the weather was  good so we could spend time outside.  In particular we enjoyed a barbecue with fantastic steaks, sausages and burgers from Mr Honey, the village butcher.

Had a great time on the beach at Instow with grandson who delighted in throwing water at his grandparents.

Hil and I worked hard on painting and oiling the old dark Ercol dining suite which was previously my parents and we are delighted with the way it looks in The Granary.

 We enjoyed spending time with old and new friends from the Parkham area including several evenings at the bar in The Bell.  We visited friends at their apartment in Ocean Park, Westward Ho! and were amazed at the spectacular views which they have across to Saunton Sands and beyond.

On Sunday we went to church in Parkham, there were only a handful of us there with no organist and the lady operating the CD player for the hymn accompaniment was missing in the Sunday School.  Knowing that Hil and I are both singers we were asked to lead the hymns unaccompanied.  All went well until Hil started the third hymn way to low and we ended up singing in our boots by the time we got to the last line of the first verse.  At this, Hil had a fit of hysterics and I was left to soldier on, whilst she had tears streaming down her face.  Luckily no-one else appeared to notice and we were thanked profusely for leading the singing after the service. Hil spent the whole of the rest of the day bursting into laughter whenever she thought about the morning.

We went on a number of coastal walks and were amazed at how clear and close Lundy seemed -  had it moved since we were last in the area.

I took a few more photographs around the village as a reminder for when we are back in Stourbridge, including one of the 'newsagents' or rather the display of papers outside a house with an honesty box, where we get our daily paper -  they even take our Times subscription vouchers!

It was hot!

Back at my desk in Stourbridge after a week in a very hot North Devon.
Delighted to entertain 2 sets of guests this week, friends passing through Devon on their return from Cornwall and others holidaying in nearby Hartland.
Had planned the delivery of 2 very slim bedside cabinets from Argos and they came on the expected day. Self assembly went well but was very hot work  -  they fit perfectly in our small guest bedroom.
Visited Clovelly for the first time in many years having put off by the price in the day-time -  being local we had the luxury of an evening visit.

Also visited Instow and Westward Ho! to watch the sunset having admired other peoples photos on various Facebook groups for North Devon.

Also spent time exploring the lanes around Parkham and enjoying the beautiful North Devon countryside.

Finally the week would not have been complete without a visit to Rosemoor where the lillies on the lake were looking magnificent.

Another great week

Just spent another great week at The Granary!
Highlights included entertaining our first dinner guests ( Kevin and Vicki from Ashwood Llamas www.ashwoodllamas.co.uk)  as well as going on a Shabby Chic painting course run by Sarah at Rowan Tree Studios in Clovelly (rowantreestudio.co.uk). 
Dinner with friends around a small table that used to be in my home-office convinced us of the need to bring down the Ercol dining suite from the Midlands.
Although of no great value it was bought by my parents when they were married in 1949 and holds many memories  -  happy memories of family Christmases and less happy memories of sitting at the table doing my homework from school.

The course run by Sarah which was great fun  has provided with the knowledge to convert the Ercol furniture into a 'shabby chic' dining suite just right for the cottage.  I painted and distressed one chair in the workshop and just have 5 more chairs and the table to do!

I have attached a picture of my 'shabby chic' chair and also a few others of local places where we enjoyed spending our time in Devon last week.

Here is  a view of the village church from the other end of our lane

Amazing clematis at Rosemoor gardens which we visited yet again

The view from Appledore across to Instow

Latest Photos from The Granary

The Map on Kitchen/Diner wall

The beginnings of a garden

Rosemoor

Wildflower meadow at Rosemoor

Glorious Devon

Another wonderful evening following a week of good weather at The Granary.  Here on my own with just Badger for company as Hil has taken her Mother home after her first official visit. Have spent the week showing the mother-in-law some of the local towns and attractions and the reason why we love the area and want to spend as much time here as possible.
The inside of The Granary is now almost complete although we still need a few more pictures including to replace the one I managed to crack on the way down!  Luckily the Ordance Survey map of the local area which I have had printed and framed survived the journey and is now installed in the kitchen/diner. Tomorrow we should have the delivery of some bedroom furniture which has been held up for a few weeks. 
Have started work on the small courtyard garden and now have a small border of lavender and other plants which do not need too much watering. Our neighbour has also kindly offered to water them when we are away.  People here are so friendly!
Will post pictures when back on PC as not so easy from this IPad.
This week we also managed another visit to RHS Rosemoor which is probably our favourite, non-coastal attraction. The roses were absolutely amazing despite the heavy rain of recent weeks. The wildflower meadow with orchids was also spectacular.

Looking forward!

This good weather makes us look forward to visiting The Granary for as long as possible in the summer and hopefully most of the major jobs have been completed.
Last week was spent in Anglesey celebrating my 60th with the whole family - we had a fantastic time and visited some great beaches including Rhosneigr, Newborough and Church Bay.  However we still love North Devon and are looking forward to getting back to Parkham and to visit some of our favourite places such as Instow,  Appledore,  Northam Burrows and Greencliff.  We also always try to call in at RHS Rosemoor where there is always something new to see, whenever we call in -  and the coffee is great!
Have had delivered an OS map centred on Parkham which will take pride of place in our kitchen/living room.  The map was relatively cheap, the problem was finding a frame for it without breaking the bank!  Luckily eframe.co.uk produced a standard frame which was a perfect fit and the map looks great -  putting it securely on the wall will be first job when we return next week.
We will also have our first proper visitor -  the mother-in-law for three nights, wish me luck!

Back Again!

Just back in Stourbridge after another 6 days in Devon.  The journey down was interesting as the A361, normally a fast road of dual and single carriageway was closed and we had to take a diversion for 15 miles.  Having chosen to travel in the evening we were not too happy about another 30 minutes on our journey!
Few more jobs completed including fitting a stairgate, for the dog as much as for young people, his visits to our bedroom in the middle of the night were not particularly welcome.
Also put up the lovely house name sign which a very good friend had carved for us.

We also began to look at the small outside area of courtyard and car park space.  I cut back sycamores which appeared be taking over and bagged up a load of topsoil which had previously been a small bed around a dead tree.  It will all be covered over with Cotswold Stone to finish it off on our next visit and a local friend has agreed we can dump the top soil on his small-holding.
The ferns in the slate wall are looking good now that I have removed some of the grass and weeds.

The weather was pretty good for most of the week and we spent one lovely day wandering around Appledore enjoying the sunshine.  We also visited Barnstaple and were very impressed with the Pannier Market and the specialist food stores running alongside.
Now planning future visits when hopefully friends and family will join us for a few days

 

It feels like home.

It has been several weeks since I updated the blog and this has included two visits to The Granary.  We finally returned yesterday after almost 2 weeks in Devon.
The Granary  has very quickly become 'home' as we have introduced new furnishings and furniture and decorated the spare bedroom which previously had been used by a teenager.  Luckily three coats of white emulsion has obliterated the dark red wall and made the room seem larger.
Living at The Granary we have enjoyed the spaciousness of the kitchen/living area and the cosiness of the lounge.

The 2 bedrooms are both small as we found to our cost as we tried to move the double bed around, but they serve their purpose.
Much of our time has been spent shopping for washing machines, cabinets, curtains, rugs, chests, indeed when I advised the local furniture store that we were not just a regular customer but a daily customer, they had to agree and they did give us a substantial discount!
We had planned to spend more the last visit just enjoying being in Devon but still only manage 2 trips to the beach - next time will be better.  We did however manage a trip to Barnstaple to see The Mousetrap with our friends from Northway -  it was a great evening.
We still have a list of tasks to complete but most are minor and can be done over the next few months  and we look forward to getting back 'home' as soon as possible!

We are in!

Friday the 11th of April was the big day.  I set off at 9:00 with a fully loaded estate car to be around to take possession of the keys when the sale was completed.  As I drove past the Estate Agents in Bideford looking for a parking spot there was a call on my mobile from the agents to say that the money had gone through and I could collect the keys -  perfect timing!

It was a good feeling to open up The Granary as the owner for the first time.  The previous owners had a done a great job cleaning up and I was able to unload the car so that I could then relax with a cup of tea. Milk and teabags were on hand however the kettle was in Hil's car, still two and half hours away up the M5.

Made do with a glass of squash and then rang the furniture shop to tell them the beds could be delivered.  Disappointed to hear that they had been let down by the supplier and one bed had not arrived, however, knowing that this might be a problem they had already loaded another bed onto the van as a temporary measure.  With a sofa bed  already on its way from another supplier I thanked them but explained that it was not a problem.

Hil and Josh, (younger son) and kettle arrived later in the afternoon and the priority then was a cup of tea.  Having sorted out sleeping arrangements we then retreated next door to The Bell for a well-earned drink and meal -  with Hil repeatedly telling me that this should not become too regular an occurence!

Saturday was spent shopping for household items and food and then dismantling an old metal shed that was in the very small garden area -  this made room to park a second vehicle. We also managed a walk on the beach at Instow.

Hil and Josh returned to the Midlands on Sunday leaving me to pay a few visits to B&Q and to get on with some of the minor jobs which you always find when moving into a new house.  

On Monday a local handyman arrived to begin to erect a picket fence around the garden area so that Badger the collie would be safe next time we come down. I continued with my tasks for most of the day so that the cottage became increasingly more hospitable.

Several neighbours have already been round to introduce themselves, Parkham is certainly a very friendly village and I also called in our local friends to borrow tools and get advice on local suppliers.

I returned to the Midlands on Wednesday to catch up on emails etc.  Hopefully by the next time we  visit we will have landline and broadband as Parkham seems to be cut off from mobile communication with the rest of the world.

Today's the day.

Today  is the day that we complete on The Granary.  Car is packed with essential items and hopefully I will arrive to collect keys around lunchtime.
Some furniture is being delivered later on so that we will have something to sleep on tonight.
Badger, the dog is staying behind with our daughter looking after the house and Hil is driving down later with Josh to help get things organised.
Will report more fully after the event when have a wifi connection....which may be some time!

We have momentum!

Things have moved at quite a pace since my last blog.  Contract was all signed last Tuesday and then we had a quick visit to Devon.  We stayed in one of our good friends Bob and Pauline's cottages at Northway http://www.northwayholidaycottages.co.uk/ -  which we recommend.  On Wednesday we visited our cottage to be and asked all the stupid questions like -  how do you turn on the central heating system and when is the rubbish collected?  The current owners appeared to have packed up most of their things already so hopefully there will be no problems with us moving in on Friday afternoon.
Thursday was spent looking for furniture.  We were recommended to visit the village of Bradworthy where to our surprise there are two furniture stores.  We found a sofa bed that we really liked and that will be delivered on Friday.
On the way back we called for a cup of tea with good friend Kevin who lives close to our new cottage.  It is really useful having friends in the area who can advise on getting all the little jobs done that you need when moving into a new place.
Thursday afternoon was spent touring the shops of Bideford area and by the end of the day we had bought 2 double beds, again to be delivered on Friday afternoon.   Shopping at these local stores is so much more pleasurable than dealing with the large chains on the out of town retail parks.
We were exhausted by the evening and too tired even to call in at our new local - The Bell at Parkham.  By Friday afternoon we were back in the Midlands with plans for internet shopping over the weekend.

Things are so close now I think it is 'safe' to put up a photo of The Granary, where we hope to spend much time over the coming years.  P.S. You can see the thatch of the Bell in the background.

Time to Sign!

Solicitors have done a great job and will have the contract ready for us to sign tomorrow. A short visit to North Devon is then plannned to remind ourselves what we are buying and to take a few measurements.  Hopefully we will have the chance to chat to the current owners and ask questions like, 'How does the central heating work?'  Assuming all goes to plan we could complete on the 11th April.
With completion in sight we are now beginning to prepare for taking ownership.  The pile of items to take down when we gain ownership is building on a daily basis and now includes a tool-box although you bet the first tool I need will be back in Stourbridge.
Now also getting quotes for insurance as apparently buildings insurance is required from the Exchange of Contracts. 

Getting Closer...

My solicitor seems to be trying her best to destroy my ambitions for a paperless domestic office.  In recent days we have a received a ream of documents including the results of surveys, draft contracts etc .  The good thing is that date for completion is getting closer and no problems have been identified so far (fingers-crossed).
This purchase is generating so much paper I shall have to give up my usual practise of scanning all documents into Evernote and shredding the originals, I will hold on to everything for a while and then just scan the importants documents in a few month's time when we have completed.
With things moving at a pace we are struggling a little being 180 miles away -  it would be good to be able to pop in and check on a few things which we only vaguely remember from our 10 minute look around the property 3 weeks ago!  It is a little worrying that we are making a huge investment based upon a few minutes in the cottage -  I suppose that is what surveys and searches are there for.
I did speak to the agents today and suggested that we would like to visit the property before we complete to check a few things and she is to speak to the vendors about this.  It will probably mean an overnight stay as I no longer want to be driving 400 miles in a day, as I might have done 20 years ago.

That Difficult Stage

We are at that difficult stage in the house purchase process where things are out of our hands while the solicitors do their bit, hopefully.   As far as we are aware things are all going to plan and it is just a matter of time for searches to be completed, draft contracts prepared etc.  
It leaves us in a state of limbo as we don't want to start planning too much in the way of furnishings, just in case.  Whilst at the same time, the pressure will be on to get things underway as soon as we have exchange and completion.
Have done a bit of internet searching and window shopping to look at major items of furniture and now have some idea of the kind of things we will need in terms of beds , sofa beds, sofas etc.
Also have some old Ercol dining furniture which stripped down and painted or at least lightened would look really good in the new cottage.  This may be the first project to get started on.

No Major Defects!

This morning I opened with some trepidation the email attachment sent by our appointed surveyor. The file title, Major Defects Survey was not encouraging however, the contents were.   There appear to be no substantial issues associated with the property except for a few items seen as routine maintenance. There is condensation in the 2 downstairs bedrooms and this is something we will need to sort out but, with stone walls is to be expected.  If the cottage is to be left vacant at times we will need to get condensation under control as we do not want to return to damp beds etc.  Researching on the net there appear to be many different solutions. Probably the first thing is to buy a dehumidifier. 

A further comment suggested that in 5-10 years the roof tiles may need replacing as they are an asbestos slate which has a limited life. Currently the roof looks pretty sound and hopefully it has a good few years left. 

Solicitors appear to be working away and a draft contract has been received, we would like to take ownership as soon  as possible so that we are able spend a good part of the summer in North Devon.   

We have finally done it!

After many years of consideration and a thwarted attempt a few months ago we have had our offer on a property in Parkham, North Devon accepted.  We will initially be using it as a 'holiday home'  but as we are both semi-retired we will hopefully be in residence for some time each month.
All very exciting, just keeping our fingers crossed that there will be no hitches before exchange of contracts and completion in around 6 weeks time.  Will save the photos until the purchase is finalised.
Now busy thinking about how will furnish the cottage and planning many visits down with friends who are all eager to join us at the start of our North Devon adventure!