Holidays.

We’ve finally gone and booked a holiday. Two weeks in a cottage in Yelverton, Devon. It looks pretty good too, being fairly secluded and remote and with the River Taymar running close by. All we need now is the weather. Most times when we’ve been to Devon we’ve been very lucky. In fact, usually, the weather is so hot there’s a drought on. Seriously, there’s a place called Becky Falls where, we are assured, the water crashes down over the rocks pretty much all year. But on the four occasions we’ve been there it’s been dry enough to walk and climb on the rocks without getting our feet wet.

But this is all in September and who knows what the weather will be doing by then? Could be an Indian summer or it might be snow. Guess we’ll just do what we normally do: hope for the best but expect the worst. Reet’s sister, Pat, will be coming with us, which is only fair I suppose, since she’s paying for most of it. It’s going to be a very lazy holiday I think since Reet doesn’t like to get up too early in the mornings and Pat is too ill to move too quickly before 10am. That’s, okay though, It’ll give me a few hours to myself every day. I’ll have my camera with me and plenty of reading material. I’ll also be taking my laptop so if the weather is too dismal I can do some writing. All the sightseeing will be left till the afternoons and will no doubt finish with a cream tea and a scone somewhere along the river. I can think of worse ways to end the day.

After the holiday we’ll be looking to get a dog. We talked about it some time ago and we kept putting it off but now I think the time is right. We’ve settled on a Labrador. This is something of a compromise as I wanted something huge and lolloping but Reet wanted a spaniel. Well, there was no way I was going to be seen walking a sissy looking Spaniel and, to be honest, the house is way too small for a big St Bernard or a Great Dane. So, a Lab it will be, eventually. There are a few rescue centres around so we can take our time and choose wisely. Of course, we won’t agree on a name but I’ve already told Reet that whatever she calls it, I’ll be calling it Fido. I think all dogs should be called Fido and all cats should be called Tiddles. That would make things so much easier all round don’t you think? (Mind you, that’s not what I call the cats who keep leaving their mess-ages all over my garden.)

Today I drew Mexico in the world cup sweepstake so that was a fiver wasted. Still, I cheered them on as they played their way to a 1-1 one draw today against South Africa. It could have been worse I guess, I might have drawn England.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I’m off to a stag night for a guy who used to work with me. There are a few of us going from work so it ought to be a good night although we will be watching the England match along the way so there’s every chance it will end in tears. And on Sunday, hangover permitting, I’ve been roped into cutting Pat’s hedges. Can’t wait for that! The hedge at the front of the house is okay but she has a hedge in the back garden that’s vicious as hell. It’s about six feet high, four feet across and runs the length of her garden – and it has spikes on it that are two inches long! They are the most horrible things to cut as you can’t help but get scratched to pieces even when just bagging up the rubbish at the end of play. I’m very tempted to borrow a chain saw and cut the height to around four feet. At least I wouldn’t then have to balance precariously on a step ladder whilst trying to cut the damn things.

So that’s my weekend pretty much planned, I hope yours is more exciting.

Cheerie – bye. x