THIS MONTHS QUESTIONS - ANSWERS TOMORROW

Which country produces the most coffee in the world?

What is the loudest animal on earth?

Which is the largest type of deer?

What is the softest mineral in the world?

Who invented the first robot?

How many missions have landed on the moon?

Thank you so much for joining in this month.  I enjoy trivia and as I have mentioned before, no pressure and all for the fun of learning, or refreshing our memory.  

(I took a photo of this pretty horse on Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England, in the Spring of 2015)

DUCKS AND POETRY

 

For years, every morning, I drank 

from Blackwater Pond.  

It was flavored with oak leaves 

and also, no doubt, the feet of ducks.

And always it assuaged me 

from the dry bowl of the very far past.

What I want to say is

that the past is the past,

and the present is what your life is,

and you are cable 

of choosing what that will be,

darling citizen.

So come to the pond,

or the river of your imagination,

or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.

And live

your life.

"Mornings at Blackwater" 

by 

Mary Oliver

ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES, A TRIP AROUND THE OLD CHURCH, WIDECOME-IN-THE-MOOR.

These were from the Spring of 2015.  Whenever I have gone back to my old home in the UK, I have always headed to Widecome-in-the-Moor, within the Dartmoor National Park.

I have been visiting Widecome-in-the-Moor since I was eight years' old, when my parents took us down to Devon for our holidays.  Eventually when we moved there when I was 15, Dad would often point the car to the Moors where we drove all over them, looking at the Dartmoor Ponies, climbing up Haytor, and then on to Widdicome-in-the-Moor for an afternoon tea.  It was always on the list of places to go.  We loved the Moors and we loved Widecome-in-the-Moor.  It holds many fond memories as I took Gregg there on our first date (we spent the day together two days after we met).  

You can read about the village for yourself here if curious, and also if you like to look at places for sale, I found a farmhouse that I would like to buy in my second lifetime.  Not in my league but maybe in that next lifetime I will come back as someone who can afford such a place.  Oh my!  Yes this is a bit of tongue in cheek, but it is lovely to look at.

The name of the village, according to Wikipedia, 

"is thought to derive from 'Withy-combe', which means Willow Valley.  According to the village's official website, at the time of the article, there were 196 households in the village, though its parish stretches for many miles and encompasses dozens of isolated cottages and moorland farms."  It brings in a lot of tourists during the year and can get quite crowded in peak season.  "The village is well known for Widecombe Fair held annually and is celebrated by a folksong of the same name, featuring "Old Uncle Tom Cobley and All.""

Added note: I often remember this phrase being used when describing how many people were invited to an event.  "And you know, there was Uncle Tom Cobley and all".  It is usually said when exasperated at the large group of people at any one gathering.  Not being one for crowds I used this phrase on occasion.  I can feel very closed in and panicky at such times, even more so if it is very hot and there you go, my secret is out!

The Church of Saint Pancras, where my photos were taken, is also known as the "Cathedral of the Moors" in recognition of its 135-foot tower and relatively large capacity for such a small village.  It was originally built in the 14th century, and was enlarged over the next two centuries, partly on the proceeds of the tin mining trade.  Inside the ceiling is decorated with a large number of decorative roof bosses, including the tinner's emblem of a circle of three hares (known locally as the Tinners' Rabbits).  It was badly damaged in the Great Thunderstorm of 1638, apparently struck by ball lightning during an afternoon service.  The building was packed with about 300 worshippers, four of whom were killed and around 60 injured.  Local legend relates that the disaster was caused by a visit from the Devil".  And that's a little bit of history about this church. 

I remember being very happy to see this flowering tree in bloom.  It is called a Golden chain tree, also known as Common laburnum, Laburnum and Bean tree.  This one was quite tall but they can grow 25 to 30 feet.  It is a small deciduous tree and can be toxic to people and animals.  There is a website here where you can get more information.  I am always very surprised when I see something as pretty as this, only to find out that it is very toxic but I suppose that applies to a lot of flowers and plants.  Apparently hares and deer can feed on it with no problems.  All that being said it was a beautiful tree and those yellow blooms were so very pretty.

If you type Widecome-in-the-Moor on Google using Images, you will get some great photos.  My post here (6th photo down) has a photo I took of the church looking down into the valley.

The last time we were there was with my niece and her husband in 2015, when these photos were taken.  We plan another trip back to the UK in the not too distant future.  And hopefully, when the world settles down a bit, we will be going back to Widecome-in-the-Moor.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.

FLOWERS AND ANSWERS, AND A QUOTE

Here are the answers to yesterday’s questions.  I will have a trivia post each month, at least until I get through the old book I found.  That will take us right through to the end of the year at least. 

1.  The Quarrymen included the nucleus of what well-known rock band?
Answer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison were all members of The Quarrymen.  Ringo Starr joined much later, after they had become The Beatles.

2.  What were The Who called before they were The Who?
Answer: The High Number, who released one record, "I'm the Face."  If you go here you can view a YouTube of this part of their career.  The video lasts just over seven minutes.

3.  Which member of The Grateful Dead inspired an ice cream flavor?
Answer: Cherry Garcia is a flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (and frozen yogurt) named after the lead singer of the Grateful Dead, the late Jerry Garcia.

4.  What is the name of the only Broadway show tune recorded by The Beatles?
Answer: "'Til There Was You" from Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man".

5.  What recording company released the first recordings of Elvis Presley? 
Answer:  Sun Records, Sam Phillips's Little Memphis Music Company, pressed the first Elvis Presley records in 1954.  "That's All Right Mama" was on the hit side.

FLOWERS AND QUESTIONS AND A QUOTE

Continuing with a monthly quiz I started back in June, after finding an old trivia book while cleaning up.    

1.  The Quarrymen included the nucleus of what well-known rock band?

2.  What were The Who called before they were The Who?

3.  Which member of the Grateful Dead inspired an ice cream flavor?

4.  What is the name of the only Broadway show tune recorded by the Beatles?

5.  What recording company released the first recordings of Elvis Presley?

Answers will be in tomorrow’s post. 

TOTNES IN SOUTH DEVON - PART 2

We stopped and ate lunch in one of the pubs, The King William IV.  This is where we discovered how much we liked cider.

The four of us thought our meals were excellent.  Our niece ordered a chicken dish...

Our nephew and Gregg ordered a Thai Chicken Curry

I had the Steak and Mushroom Pie cooked with Merlot...

and we shared the Cajun-seasoned onion rings (obviously as these meals were on the menu in 2015, they could have changed several times since).

I am always on the look-out for inspirational signs, and this was on one of the walls in the restaurant.

After lunch we looked inside a few shops.  One was W.H. Smith and hubby grew to love their stationery selections from his two years spent in England.  He purchased a couple of fountain pens this day.  

I had forgotten how hilly it was so we certainly got our exercise that day, with lots of steps up and down between streets.  It was nice to see the familiar and smaller family-style shops instead of the large supermarkets that we are used to.  

We also passed by pretty courtyards on our way back to the car.

We walked over the River Dart bridge.

There were older school children rowing down the river.

It was fun watching them for a while; a school physical exercise class perhaps?  I would have enjoyed that PE class.  A teacher was in the last boat and there was at least one young adult in the others.  A rope tied each boat to the one in front.

I have always thought this river was very pretty.

The bird is a Jackdaw.  I found the following information at this link.  There are a lot of pop-ups on its site, so decided to share the following information about this interesting bird if you don’t want to deal with those. 

"The Jackdaw, also called Daw, (species Corvus monedula), crowlike black bird with gray nape and pearly eyes, of the family Corvidae (q.v. order Passeriformes).  Jackdaws which are 13 inches (33 cm) long, breed in colonies in tree holes, cliffs and tall buildings.  Their flocks fly in formation around the site.  They lay four to six light, greenish blue eggs that are spotted and blotched.  The bird's cry sounds like its name, "chak".  The species ranges from the British Isles to central Asia.  Eastward it is replaced by the white-breasted, white-collared Daurian jackdaw (C. dauuricus).“

Before going back to the cottage we drove to Torquay (one of those funny spellings again as it is pronounced "Torkee").  My niece had heard about the aquarium and we all enjoy those so we were looking forward to it.  However, by this time the clouds had darkened and it was very wet and windy, with huge white caps on the sea.  After almost being blown over trying to walk down to the aquarium, with heavy rain stinging our eyes, we decided it would be better to go another day, when it wasn't raining.  The walk was invigorating but you can only take so much invigorating, eye-stinging rain-walking.

One last stop at the three village shops, which are all joined together.  There was a newsagent, a hair salon and a general store for essentials.  They have been there for as long as I can remember.  My mother and sister visited the hair salon on occasion, and my father bought all the newspapers from the newsagent, and we would  pop into the general store if we needed anything just before a main shopping trip.

  

The man behind the counter of the general store was amused as we all walked into the shop in single file, and asked us to join the conga line.  We also looked sopping wet, though we were sure to dry our feet and tried not to overly drip everywhere.  It was a small shop and not a lot of room, sort of like walking into your front room.  Loved it and the friendly people inside, and it took me right back to when I lived in the village.  

There were waist-high freezer containers in the middle, quite a lot of variety.  Our purchases were cider, two six-pack packs of eggs and bars of chocolate.  The lady thought our purchases were amusing, and asked if that was all we were going to get.  With a smile I told her that I thought we had covered all the necessary food groups (not telling her we had done our main shopping the day before) and she laughed.  These shops are just up the hill from where we were staying, and Gregg enjoyed a walk each morning to get the newspaper, and also any necessary items we might need before we started our day.  We were all in a good mood after our lovely day out, but were exceedingly tired and slept well that night.

Thanks for following along with this old post, and I hope your day is a great one.

ALL ABOUT TOTNES IN SOUTH DEVON, UK - PART 1

Another one from my archives. 

Totnes is a wonderful town and when I lived not too far away I visited often.  First when my family and I had our annual vacations in South Devon, starting from the age of eight, and then later when we moved to Devon at 15, and I started meeting new friends.  
I mentioned some of its history in a previous post, and am adding on to that.  Legend has it that Totnes is where the British people had their origins.  Following the Trojan War in 1170 BC, the defeated Trojans sailed off to find a new home.  Eventually they reached an island which had supposedly been promised to their leader Brutus by the goddess Diana.  He jumped ashore onto a granite boulder (forever called The Brutus Stone) and proclaimed, "Here I stand and here I rest.  The town shall be called Totnes." According to this legend, Brutus and his followers were the first people to reach the shores of Britain, making Totnes and The Brutus Stone the place of origin of the British people.  

I found the photo above online.  In all those years that I lived in Devon and visited Totnes often, I never knew it was there, though I must have walked by it hundreds of times.  The actual stone can be found next to #51 Fore Street as you walk up to the East Gate Arch, and can easily be missed on a busy day when the walkways are crowded with shoppers and tourists.  Whenever I was there the town was always busy, and as a younger person the history of the town was unknown to me.  

I told Gregg what I had learned and his curiosity was peaked as much as mine.  In his research he learned that the Island of Britain was derived from Brutus, a Roman Counsul who conquered Spain in 138 BC.  Brutus is the great-grandson of Aeneas, a Trojan hero.  Aeneas settled in Italy after the Trojan War.  

One of the many things hubs and I have in common, is that we both enjoy history. The older I get it seems I enjoy it even more and is a favorite topic.  There are very interesting discussions when either of us finds a tidbit of history, which always makes us want to explore a little further.  

Totnes' recorded history started back as early as 907 AD when its first castle was built.  It was an important market town as mentioned in my other post, and was one of five Devonshire towns mentioned in The Doomsday Book.  It was considered one of the five wealthiest towns in Medieval and Tudor history, second only to Exeter (another city I visited often).  

The above photo shows the East Gate Arch on Totnes Fore Street.  The Gate was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1990.  The original gate dated back to the early 16th century when Totnes was a walled borough, and it was the main entrance way coming from the port.  

Its clock was installed by the town council in 1879, when they leased this part of the building from the Duke of Somerset.  Sadly the structure was destroyed, along with a couple of neighboring buildings.  That fire threated to engulf the whole town center and fire crews from all over Devon were called.  By the time the blaze was under control, all that was left of the East Gate was the stone shell.  Fortunately it was insured and recreated using as much of the traditional materials and techniques, a process which took almost two years.  
When I think of the many times I visited Totnes with my mother, father and sister, I have one memory that always pops into my head.  This was several years before I met my husband.  Being a dog friendly place, we brought our new-to-the-family Golden Labrador along with us.  My sister bought him for us to ease the pain of losing our other dog.  He was still very young and we didn't want to leave him on his own (on reflection perhaps we should have as we would have all volunteered to stay home with him if we had only known).   However, not having any foresight of what was to come and being in a very happy frame of mind, cooing over our sweet little newcomer and wanting to give him a fun experience, we went off to Totnes, to walk around and do some shopping.  

Our unfortunate incident came as we were walking up to the East Gate Arch.  As we were passing a small terrier, it attacked our little pup without provocation.  We were beyond startled, and our poor dog's nose got the worst of it as the terrier clamped down hard and wouldn't let go.  It even took its human by surprise as he had a hard time getting his terrier to let go.  Our poor pup could not stop trembling, and us along with him.  We scooped him up, got back to our car and took him straight to the vet.  Our Golden Lab had the sweetest of natures but a very long memory.  He was never comfortable around small dogs for the rest of his life, and we always had to be very careful if we ever came across one.  Who knows, perhaps the terrier as a pup may have had his own encounter with a larger dog.  We held no grievance but just like our dog, we never forgot.   

We came across the cute little dog below from our trip in 2015.  She was a happy little thing and was getting lots of attention.  It was almost as though she had a smile on her face.  

A very cute little girl was taking her cat for a walk.  We did a double take and my niece and I laughed as we saw that the 'cat' was a plush toy. Her mum was focused ahead and didn't notice as the cat bounced down the street behind her little girl.  

I thought this was a cute scene as a group of young school children made their way down the street. Most of them were carrying a bag...

and I realized later, after I had a chance to look at the photo on a larger screen, that they must have been heading to the RSPCA Charity Shop with donations.  What a super project for young children.  

When I was their age our school encouraged us to join "Friends to the Animals" which is something I enjoyed very much.  

The shops were fun to browse around and we enjoyed window shopping for a while.  

I have more photos from Totnes, but this has been long enough for today.  Part 2 will be shared soon. 
 

Thank you for dropping by and wherever you are in the world, please stay safe and I wish you a happy day.

GOSIA'S FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

For Gosia's fence meme this week, I am once again digging into my archives.  In 2015 we were visiting Totnes, not too far from my home where I lived from the age of 15 years until 25.  In 1975 I met my husband and subsequently moved to the States.

Totnes is in South Devon and my photos were taken of an old church that had been sold, purchased and turned into a private residence.

I visited Totnes frequently when I lived a few miles away.  I had friends who were on the outskirts, and at other times my Mother and I would go shopping.  

The town is at the head of the estuary of the River Dart and about 21 miles from Exeter, another place I visited frequently.  Totnes has a recorded history dating back to 907, when its first castle was built.  By the 12th Century it was already an important market town and merchants' houses built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries can still be seen.

I would have loved to have looked inside to see how the owners decorated their home, but was content to take photos of the old iron fences out front.  

I am sharing the last two photos because I loved the name, Ticklemore Street.  
The same street with one last fence.

I am sharing a map of its location in South Devonshire.

Thank you for hosting Gosia.  If you would like to see other Fences Around the World, or join in with your own, you will find the link here.