More Dalwood

Honiton was fun and at the bottom of the hill was an award winning restaurant – The Holt - which lived up to its reputation. There was even a floor show whilst a disgruntled lady burbled on endlessly at not being given free bread with her tapas. The barman patiently explained that bread wasn’t served with the tapas dish whilst husband stood silently by. In the end I perfectly understood why he wouldn’t accept her payment and remembered my shop days when – sometimes - the general public could be an absolute shower.

Another excellent pub - foodwise and especially beer wise, was the Old Inn near us on the A35 with a pleasant garden. We meant to visit Shute Barton – a National Trust Manor house – but it was closed. Driving towards the coast we stopped at Colyton and caught the tram to Seaton. The tram passes through the Seaton Marshes and the rive Axe estuary where there are about 50 different species of birds. I didn’t think my photographs would be good enough so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

We visited Seaton first a couple of days earlier and were seduced by fresh crab sandwiches on brown, followed by a double 99 (vanilla ice cream with a chocolate flake on top). Sitting scoffing on the beach we felt like genuine trippers. It was so like Hythe on the Kent coast where I used to model for Lisa Sheridan – photographer to the Queen – her house was right by the sea and it was a joy to have a booking there. She had a famous daughter – Dinah Sheridan - who starred in the film Genvieve with Kenneth More.

After our picnic lunch we thought it best to retreat from the beach – that brilliant sun cooled by a delectable sea breeze can play havoc with one’s skin, in spite of factors 5 hundred and thirty nine. We drove towards Beer – which had a traffic problem so slowly mosied back to the cottage to sit and gaze at the view and the animals. I would love to do the walk along the cliff – Seaton, Beer and Branscombe but only with one of my sons and I may have left it too late dammit!