A dull November

 Whilst we were in Parkham for the first few days of October, we could not make another visit until the middle of November as our son and family had booked the cottage for a half-term break at the end of October.  They very much enjoyed their second visit to The Granary this year, including several meals at The Bell, crab fishing at Appledore Quay, cinema in Barnstaple and time on the beach.

We had anticipated mixed weather conditions and arrived well prepared with waterproofs and warm clothes. With showers expected most days, we spent much of our time walking around the village lanes rather than on the beach or coast path.  We did however manage a lovely walk at Instow along the beach and the Tarka Trail. We travelled on from Instow to Barnstaple to visit friends who we  first met in Parkham 10 years ago,  Since then they have moved on three occasions and now live in sheltered accommodation in the centre of the town.  This was our first visit to their new home and it was good to see them well settled and with all the facilities they need to enjoy life.

After 10 years in the cottage we realised, seated in the lounge, that a door closer would make life more comfortable, particularly after the dog barges in and leaves the door wide open.  After fitting the closer we soon realised that this was something that we should have done years ago!  We then enjoyed a number of cosy afternoons and evening in the lounge.

We also made progress on planning of the refitting of the bathroom in the cottage.  It is a very small room on the ground floor and the options are somewhat limited by the location of the drains in the solid floor.  A few tiles were lifted up and we eventually worked out the run of the various pipes and what our options might be.  The plan is for the work to be done in February once we have finalised the details.

The dull weather gave us plenty of opportunities to meet up with friends for tea or coffee and of course to visit The Bell.  There were no real opportunities for photographs although I did take one picture on a moon-lit night, looking down the lane from outside our cottage.

The weather turned worse at the end of the stay and we woke up to a good coverage of snow on the morning that we were to leaving .  Luckily it was fairly localised and once we reached Bideford the roads were clear. There was more snow as we crossed the edge of Exmoor and on the M5 in Somerset, whilst it slowed the traffic a little we still got home in good time.

We had planned to return to Parkham in December but following eye surgery for cataracts we decided that it would be better to wait until the New Year.