Synopsis: Christmas Holidays with Helen and Laura visiting from Germany.
Saturday 17th December: Helen and Laura arrive at Heathrow
Helen and Laura were due to arrive at Heathrow at 15:55. I had time for some last minute cleaning around the house and drop off some household waste at the Recycling Centre before setting off with Mum on our journey to Heathrow. There were warnings of ‘severe delays’ showing on the notice boards on the stretch of motorway leading into Heathrow, but we had a clear run, arriving at Heathrow at 15:42. Helen and Laura’s plane was delayed by about 40 minutes, but we were soon on our way home, leaving the car park at 16:53. We of course had to stop for our traditional, and by now mandatory, KFC supper on route.
We watched a little bit of a West Life concert on television at Mum’s during the evening.
Sunday 18th December: Mum’s Birthday trip to Castle Drogo (NT)
Last year I had it in mind to take Mum out to Castle Drogo but the snows came in making it impossible to do this trip. Little sign of snow this year, so the trip was back on, this time with Helen and Laura, and Christine and Louise too.
Mum’s present from me was to be a box set of Chronicles of Narnia on Blu Ray, but unfortunately these, along with the film soundtrack from Helen and Laura, were still in the post. We had to think of a good way of breaking this to Mum. We grabbed some line drawings from the Internet, a lion, a witch, and a wardrobe, and printed these out on a sheet of paper with a message making our apologies for the lack of presents and asking Mum if she could guess what they were. Mum got the witch and the wardrobe, but for some reason had difficulty with the lion, but got it eventually.
Mum’s Birthday roast lunch in the Visitors Centre
On arriving at Castle Drogo just a little after midday, we opted to eat first and after lunch do the tour of the castle. We discovered that the new reception facilities contain a large restaurant that was serving roast meals that included a pudding in the price, which we all agreed was just what was required.
Which way do you think it is?
After eating we purchased our tickets for the castle. The tickets were at half-price, which was described as the winter price. This is in part because not all of the castle is open during the winter months. There was however some confusion as to which was the way to the castle!
Christmas tree and presents, traditional style
What is nice about the castle around Christmas time is the fact that rooms and hallways are decorated in a traditional English fashion which is quite delightful.
After our visit we all returned to Mum’s for a cheese, dips and salad supper. We put on a little Christmas background music to listen to, courtesy of Helen and her YouTube playlists. My brother David joined us there. Helen, Mum and Christine went to a Carols by Candlelight service at St Mark’s Church. David showed us the video footage of a Christmas at Mum and Dad’s house in St Anne’s Road, a video that he’d uploaded to YouTube.
Monday 19th December: Shopping, swim and meal at Mum’s
Helen had some banking business to do in town, and as it was raining first thing this morning we decided this would be a good day to get this done. Laura was also keen to do a little shopping herself. We set off after breakfast and parked in the Cathedral and Quay car park and walked the short distance to the town centre. Both Helen and Laura picked up really nice coats in Primark, which made them very happy (same jacket, different colour, in that Laura went for grey and Helen for white). I needed to get a Christmas present for Mum, and thought she might like some additional Christmas music, so we all trekked to the music store where we came across a nice compilation CD.
After conducting our business in town we needed a quick snack and settled upon sausage rolls and fruit drinks which we consumed in the car in the car park. Lacking a little in atmosphere, but practical, since we were about to set off to Riverside Leisure Centre for a swim, which was most enjoyable. By the time we’d finished our swim the sun had come out making for a pleasant walk along the river back to the car.
On our way back from town we had some grocery shopping to do so we decided to pop into the Lidl’s store near to where I live. This was quite a pleasant surprise, as there was a fine selection of foods for us to pick up, and all for a very reasonable price. Must make a mental note to shop there more often.
We watched some of a Take That concert on TV, and then latter that evening we watched the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 film on Blu Ray at Mum’s.
Tuesday 20th December: A Dartmoor walk for Helen, Laura and Me
After the rigours of Christmas shopping in town the previous day we felt a need to escape to the country, and more precisely, Dartmoor. The walk we did started from the pretty village of Holne where there is a small car park attached to the village hall. It was quite a drag up the road onto the open expanse of the moor but this would at least mean that would be no great ascents after that.
Dartmoor walk 6 and a half miles with Daddy and Helen - (Laura's Photo)
We picked up the path that circles Venford Reservoir which was topped up to the brim. Near the dam we broke off towards the valley of the River Dart. There was a trickly crossing of the stream of water from Venford Dam but we managed to negotiate this without getting our feet wet.
Dartmoor walk 6 and a half miles with Daddy and Helen - (Laura's Photo)
That’s my girls!
Dartmoor walk 6 and a half miles with Daddy and Helen - (Laura's Photo)
We climbed up to Bench Tor where we ate our lunch in the shelter of the tor itself. From here there are excellent views of the Dart Valley. Then we began the steep descent to the River Dart. Wet leaves made things very slippery, but we were soon in sight of the raging river itself, which was a highlight of the walk.
That evening Christine and Louise joined us for a Chinese meal at Mum’s. I stopped off at the post office on the way to pick up the Chinese, as a parcel for me, Mum’s Narnia Blu Rays had come in and needed to be collected.
Christine had brought up the film Love Actually, which all the women in our family seem to love. I have to confess I enjoyed it too, as it’s very upbeat and chimes well with the Christmas season. I’m not sure David was that interested in the film, judging by the few glances he made in that direction as he finished what scraps were left of the Chinese meal.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 6.7 miles
Moving Time: 2hrs 51min
Stopped Time: 1hr 29min
Total Ascent: 426 metres
Maximum Elevation: 322 metres
Wednesday 21st December: Trip to Budleigh Salterton, Christmas grocery shop & wok supper at Mum’s
We were running at a fairly relaxed pace today. In the morning Wendy and Colin popped in with their bikes that they wished to store in my garage, and stayed for a cup of tea and a chat. Later we ripped some movie theme CDs and burnt some copies, before wrapping them as a Christmas present.
Walk with Nanny, Daddy and Helen along the Beach - (Laura's photo)
Early afternoon we set off down to Budleigh Salterton on the coast for a little walk and some fresh air. It’s a beautiful place, the sun was shining, and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. There seemed to be a feeling of quiet anticipation of Christmas approaching. I posted my parcel from the post office in the co-op.
I think we all felt rested and relaxed after our little walk, which was just as well, as our next stop was to be Tesco’s for our Christmas shop. In reality this wasn’t so bad, as we seemed to catch a relatively quiet time.
We then went around to Mum’s to prepare a wok meal that evening.
Later that evening we watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the very first film in the Harry Potter cycle. We watched this as the first of two free downloads that were available to Mum as part of the TV package she’d recently bought. We had tried to watch this on Monday night, but experienced a problem attempting to register Mum’s TV on Sony’s Entertainment Network, something I eventually did from my laptop rather than on the TV itself.
Thursday 22nd December: Badminton with David, Christine and Louise
Mum and I were taught how to play the Wizard card game by Helen and Laura after lunch at Mum’s. We had a little spare time before setting off to the sports centre for our badminton session.
Badminton with Daddy, Helen, U.David, A.Christine, Louise and Nanny as a spectator - (Laura's photo)
We had two courts for badminton, with six of us playing. David and I played some singles to kick start our badminton, whilst the ladies played on the other court. Part way through David and I partnered Helen and Laura in a mixed doubles game. Christine managed to whack herself across the arm, twice, something we only discovered later when we saw the bruises. Quite why Christine should do this I do not know.
In the evening we had pizzas at Mum’s. We watched some videos from YouTube of Laurel and Hardy on Mum’s new TV. The fact that it’s a ‘smart TV’ makes this really easy, and it’s nice that we can all watch the videos together on the big screen of a TV.
Friday 23rd December: Visit to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and then a return to place of birth
Mum was having her hair done in the morning which meant she’d be in town with the car. Christine had made the suggestion we visit the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, recently reopened after a multi-million pound refurbishment. I knew that there was an exhibition of photographs by Roger Fenton and Julia Cameron from the Royal Collection and was keen to see this. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert collected photographs from these two photographers.
St Peter and the Demon - statue that used to be at St Peter's Corner, junction of North Street and South Street
Helen, Laura, Christine, Louise and I met Mum on the steps of the museum. We had a really wonderful time exploring the exhibits. The new look of the museum, and the presentation of exhibits is so superior to how it was. Whatever money was spent on the refit was in our minds money well spent. The museum must surely now be a major attraction for anyone visiting Exeter.
There was also on display this statue of St Peter and the Demon, which would have originally been displayed high on a building at a corner on the High Street. The place from where the statue comes can still be seen today, but this was the first time that I’d seen the actual statue.
We stopped off at the new Waitrose on the way home and picked up some pasties and sausage rolls to create a snack meal with leftovers from previous meals we’ve had during the week. We recalled with amusement the fact that the new grocery store was once the birthplace of Helen, Laura and Louise, as previously this had been the maternity hospital.
That night we watched Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Blu Ray, which I’d given to Mum as a Birthday present.
Saturday 24th December: Our film production unit was out on the beach at Torquay
We had it in mind that we’d do a walk with Mum today, when early in the morning I had an idea for how we might add a twist to the day. I suggested that we go out for the day and collect some photos and video and compile a little Christmas Greeting blog. We opted on Torquay as being a good place to do this.
x-mas message in Torquay – Helen holding writing implement - (Laura’s photo)
I suggested we write a message in the sand which we could film. We all agreed that would be good, but I forgot to put the beach spades in the car. This subsequently required a stop on Haldon whereupon Helen got out and hunted down a couple of sticks suitable for use as sand writing implements.
x-mas message in Torquay - (Laura's photo)
Once at Torquay I set up a camera on a tripod (see left) and got Helen and Laura to mark out the four corners of my shot so that they knew where to draw. They then set about writing their message, one character at a time, so that I could get a shot as each character was added. Helen and Laura also sketched some pictures in the sand. As we were doing this passersby stopped to gaze at what we were up to, taking the odd photograph, and shouting Merry Christmas to us, which was all very delightful.
x-mas message in Torquay - (Laura's photo)
We then climbed the Rock Walk which has recently had much work done it to spruce it up and the gardens were replanted. Mum was a bit reluctant when she saw the climb, but soon set out following in our footsteps. After taking in the view, and shooting the occasional photograph, we descended to where there was a bench out of the wind, and set up camp for our lunch. A flask of tea I’d brought along was most welcome.
After lunch we wandered down to the Pavilions and strolled around this rather elegant seaside building. Then we walked along the harbour side before heading towards a church that sits high above the harbour. I had hoped we’d come upon a nativity scene but, as I should have guessed, the church was locked, probably because this close to town it couldn’t be left safely open.
We returned to the town centre where we saw buskers singing carols and a lady selling Father Christmas balloons. Helen gave some money to the lady singing carols and Laura, although indignant at the price of £4, bought a balloon, that can be seen in our photographs on our Christmas Greeting Blog.
That night, as well as publishing our first Christmas blog, we watched Narnia Prince Caspian on Blu Ray.
Sunday 25th December: Christmas Day at home with Mum
25.Dez.2011 – Mum holding her engraved glass tumbler from Helen - (Laura's photo)
Mum came around in the morning as we were going to cook the Christmas lunch. We’d decided on duck for a change this year. Helen, Laura and I were doing some preliminaries in the kitchen, and had just set the duck cooking when Mum arrived. We broke off cooking so that we might have a cup of tea and open our presents.
Helen had engraved a glass tumbler for me, which read “Big Chief Red Foot’ across it. This is something that you have to be in the know to understand. There was even a Smiley engraved on the bottom of the glass. Charming! Laura gave me a couple of pairs of colourful stripy socks, which was just as well, as only in the week did I exclaim my socks had worn thin and had to go. Nice timing Laura! Helen also gave me a souvenir from her summer holiday in Turkey with Can. I think the favourite present I gave Helen and Laura were some Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy figurines. Well, we so loved reading the stories when Helen and Laura were young. I gave Mum a present of some Christmas music, which probably we’ll all enjoy.
25.Dez.2011 Daddy's Plate - spot the brussel sprouts (Laura's photo)
The lunch came off a treat. We three worked like clockwork in the kitchen, and apart from a minor panic when we discovered we’d forgotten the bacon and sausages, soon put right, everything was perfect. We prepared homemade cranberry sauce to go with the meal, and cooked a joint of ham for our supper later in the day. This was our best Christmas lunch yet. And even the Tesco Value crackers (10 for £1) were just fine for the occasion. There’s a superb photo of Helen with her black plastic moustache in Laura’s photo album on Flickr (see link above).
This photo (see left) just had to be my plate, as it has brussel sprouts on it.
Ready for the Queen's Speech
After we’d cleared away our lunch and washed up it was approaching time for the Queen’s speech. I had a couple of Union Flags upstairs which I fetched down and told Helen and Laura that they had to stand to attention and hold the flags during the Queen’s speech, which they kind of adhered to. After the Queen’s Speech we watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas, a superb antidote to the sombre seriousness of the Queen’s speech. Though Charlie was rather glum.
25.Dez.2011 - House decorated for Christmas - (Laura's photo)
In the evening we watched the film Ratatouille which was rather fun. Then we all felt we needed some fresh air and exercise, and Laura suggested we walk down to the council estate where exteriors of some of the houses are decorated in the most amazing way. Laura took her camera and a tripod with her to capture some photos. When we returned home we had a cold meat and pickle supper. Then we played cards, the Wizard game, eating chocolates as we played. It proved to be a lovely relaxing Christmas Day.
Monday 26th December: Boxing Day at David and Christine’s, with all the family gathered together
We had a lemon drizzle cake (Mary Berry) to prepare for today’s visit to David and Christine’s, so we started preparations for this first thing. We asked Mum to pop around with the car and cool bag, as this would make it easier to carry our things down.
Laura said that she felt like going for a jog, and I foolishly said that I’d accompany her. I haven’t jogged in years, but thought I kept myself fit enough to be able to do this. As soon as the lemon drizzle cake was in the oven Laura and I got changed and were off, leaving Helen to watch over the cake. We jogged a loop around the nearby Ludwell Valley Country Park. It was pretty quiet, with just the odd dog walker to be seen. We had a quick bath when we got back and by then it was time to set off for David and Christine’s.
Nearly all of our family were able to make it today. Mike was working and didn’t know quite when he’d make it, but managed to join us early afternoon. Claire and Dave couldn’t make it during the day, but did join us later that evening. It was a lovely time to eat, drink and chat with the family.
Tuesday 27th December: Another walk day for Helen, Laura and Me, this time including cave exploration
In June Helen and I had done the circular walk out from Beer to Branscombe along the under cliff, then coming up out of Branscombe on the return leg along the upper cliff path. I think Helen felt cheated that time, at not having dared to climb to the cave, so this was a return visit to give her a second chance at that.
Our first job was a stop at the Halfords store on the Digby Retail Park, as I wanted to get new cycle helmets for Helen and Laura. Their original helmets were for juveniles and they’d grown out of these, so I had recently passed them on to a charity shop. I’ve always pounded away at the need to wear cycle helmets, with only limited success, but the one thing I didn’t want was for Helen and Laura to have the excuse of not having helmets. We soon found helmets that they liked and had these purchased, along with some fluorescent arm tabs which Helen bought for herself, and one for me. Helen’s were pink, and mine was of course green. Nice thought Helen!
We then set off for Beer, parking in the car park on the outskirts of Beer towards Beer Head. There we ate our beef sandwiches (ok, so I bought too much cold meat for Christmas), which were very tasty, especially when washed down with a cup of tea from the flask that we’d packed.
27.Dez.2011 - Walk along the coast near Beer + Cave climbing - Cave can be seen in cliff face - (Laura's photo)
Our walk took us out to Beer Head and then on a little way to where the path diverts, our route taking us down to the under cliff, the other path running along the top of the cliff. The views along this stretch of path are very dramatic, as we descend into a deep chasm caused by the land haven broken away towards the sea at some time in the past. We watched a person in a para-glider skimming the cliffs, and soaring the air currents blowing in from the sea.
27.Dez.2011 - Walk along the coast near Beer + Cave climbing - Helen goes first - (Laura's photo
We picked up the side trail which would take us towards the cave. There’s a tunnel of undergrowth we had to navigate before a steep trail to the foot of the cave. There we could see clearly the entrance to the cave about 5 metres above us. There were ropes dangling from the cave, and these appeared to be sound. Helen was first to go up, followed by Laura. I decided that the stiff climb to the cave entrance was too much for a man of my years, so I settled on guarding the entrance to the cave, in best Fred Flintstone style.
27.Dez.2011 - Walk along the coast near Beer + Cave climbing - Helen explores the cave - (Laura's photo)
Helen and Laura were so excited at being able to explore the cave. They’d forgotten their torch so they had to make do with the light on Laura’s mobile phone. Apparently it was pitch black at the rear of the cave. Someone had amusingly carved a ‘Press here for disabled access’ button on the wall of the cave. As Laura descended first she dislodged a stone narrowly missing me and some people approaching from below. I asked Laura to halt whilst the others could find shelter by the side of the cliff.
After the excitement of the cave exploration we continued in a more sedate fashion along the path in the direction of Branscombe. The path goes through a chalet park before rejoining the path over the cliff. Rather than lose the height by going down to Branscombe Beach, we settled on heading back in the direction of Beer. There was a stiff wind blowing by now, and we saw a man with a radio controlled model glider. Comparing the antics of the man with para-glider and the one with the model glider, I think my preference would be for the latter, wimp that I am.
We did a quick shop at Tesco on the way home, in particular because we wanted to pick up some things for Becky and Lee’s house warming party. The plan was to give them a pasta box, a box filled with a selection of pastas and pasta sauces, and an Italian wine to go with it. Laura selected the James Bond film theme on the car’s CD player as we approached the Tesco car park. Really quite appropriate for the endeavour that lay ahead. Somehow I managed to come away with a vacuum cleaner too. It’s not usual for me to impulse buy, but Helen and Laura had spotted a vacuum cleaner selling at £60, half price, which seemed like a bargain. Just prior to Christmas my vacuum cleaner, an old family hand-me-down, had started to disintegrate and eat itself, so I was desperately in need of a replacement machine.
We cooked up a quick risotto with some leftovers from Christmas that evening, which proved a very tasty meal. Helen had chance to try out her new microwave rice cooking pot that I’d given her for Christmas, which proved a great success.
In the evening we rather tentatively asked Mum if she would like to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I say tentatively, as we found that Part 1 which we’d watched a few days previous was a very dark film, and we weren’t sure if these were to Mum’s taste. Mum however said she was happy for us to put the film on, so we got to watch the final instalment of the Harry Potter cycle, a series of films we started watching in the cinema when Helen and Laura were quite young. I’ve missed a few along the way, so will need to do some fill in at some time.
Wednesday 28th December: Riki and John called around to collect Helen and Laura
John and Riki were having problems with their phone, so we all tried to help with this as much as we could.
Thursday 29th December: Second day for Helen and Laura to be with Riki and John
29.Dez.2011 Out with Mike & Chris - On Hound Tor - (Laura's photo)
Helen and Laura met up with their cousins Christopher and Michael and went for a drive on Dartmoor. They climbed Hound Tor, where they were nearly blown off the top by the high winds. Boys will be boys, and girls are usually no better!
All four also drove around to their Uncle David and Auntie Julie’s place and paid them a visit. Busy as ever!
Friday 30th December: A trip to Teignmouth with Mum, and then Becky and Lee’s house warming
We thought it would be nice to see the sea one last time, and possibly find a fish and chip cafe at the same time, so, on this rather dismal day, we set off for Teignmouth. Always thankful for small mercies, it wasn’t raining when we arrived, so we set off on a brief stroll along the front then cut back into town, to a fish and chip cafe that Helen, Mum and I used in the summer.
30.Dez.2011 - Teignmouth with Daddy, Nanny and Helen - (Laura's photo)
Our previous visit was on a glorious, warm and sunny day in July, but today wasn’t going to quite match that. Still, fish, chips, mushy peas, slice of bread and butter, and all washed down with a cup of tea, for the very reasonable price of £4.95 a head, was something not to be sniffed at. We had enormous portions of delicious fish once again.
After our lunch we strolled through the town in the direction of the docks, past a wonderful cake shop (without stopping!), and then walked out to the main car park on the sea front. We then strolled back along the promenade in the direction of the pier.
By this stage time on the car park ticket was running out, and we did see a parking attendant inspect the ticket on our car as we approached. Thankfully we still had a couple of minutes yet to run. We probably spoilt the poor man’s day.
I pointed out to Helen, Laura and Mum, a viewing position on the cliff across the mouth of the river, out of Shaldon, a view from which is quite spectacular. Helen and Laura were both keen, so we got into the car and drove towards Shaldon car park.
30.Dez.2011 - Teignmouth with Daddy, Nanny and Helen - View of Teignmouth from The Ness - (Laura's photo)
Mum was complaining of feeling cold, so she said she’d stay in the car, so it was just Helen, Laura and myself that set off along the coastal path in the direction of the viewing spot. They were not disappointed when they saw the view. From our vantage point, even on this dull and overcast day, we could look out across Teignmouth, the Teign Estuary, and right along the coast.
From here, we tentatively had the notion that we might drive to the Haldon Obelisk but as we headed up to Haldon the rains came in and it wouldn’t have been enjoyable, so we passed up on doing that and continued on back to Mum’s place, where we played cards for a while, till the time came to go around to Becky and Lee’s house warming party at 6:30pm.
We were given the guided tour of their new place, and charming it is too. Very spacious accommodation and extremely well fitted out. It was easy to see the delight in their new accommodation on Becky and Lee’s faces. Helen, Laura and I excused ourselves early, shortly after supper, as we had to be up at 2am the following day, to set off for Heathrow.
Saturday 31st December: Early start for the trip to Heathrow for Helen and Laura’s return to Germany
With an 8:30am flight to catch, we set off from home at 2:50am. And not altogether surprisingly, the roads were pretty darned quiet. There was some light rain and the suggestion of fog that never really materialised, so we made good progress, arriving at Heathrow about 6:30. Helen and Laura, after a little reshuffling of baggage as Helen’s bag was too heavy, were ready to pass through security a few minutes before 7am. This would allow them plenty of time to catch their plane. We said our sad goodbyes, as we so often have, at the passing of yet another holiday and our having to go our separate ways. I think we all were too tired and stunned to show very much emotion.
I headed back to the car at around 7 am for the return journey back to Exeter, and left Helen and Laura to await the boarding of their plane.
Santa balloon, bought on trip to Torquay on Christmas Eve
Whilst reflecting on our holiday, each of us was agreed that it had been an incredibly successful and enjoyable time. We’d done so much, and seen so many people and places in just a couple of weeks. Our holiday had been full of interest, fun and relaxation. A lovely Christmas holiday! Even my Father Christmas balloon was still sailing high after a week of being tied to the back of my dining room chair.
