The Wayfaring Path

I’m going to try very hard to not complain about the heat because a) I know we are very lucky to have lots of sunshine, and b) it’s not stopped raining at home since I left; but suffice to say it’s HOT and the UK isn’t really set up for HOT. The buses aren’t air-conditioned, the house we are staying in doesn’t have a fan or aircon, and people don’t seem to wear hats even in the blazing sun.

So bear that in mind when I tell you that for a second Sunday in a row I’ve opted to stay home while Regan braves the heatwave to go for a ferry ride and a swim. I’m impressed by him but also very happy to be here in the relative cool after a very hot and sweaty trip to Tavistock yesterday. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last Sunday I was feeling a bit rubbish and that carried on for much of the week – I went to town on Monday for a bit of a wander around the huge (air-conditioned) mall and the pretty Barbican. But I ended up feeling headachey and blah so headed home. Monday night I usually dial in to the All hands meeting, but it doesn’t start till 11:15pm UK time so I called in sick and was sparked out early.

Tuesday was another rough day, but I dragged myself into town for a walk round to Royal William Yard – Regan had a sea swim which was short-lived but very refreshing! We were super excited to see cider ice-blocks for sale but they had sold out, dang it! Never seen such a thing! I was still feeling shite that evening and started to get very worried that something dreadful was happening.

But on Weds I felt back to my old self, thank feck. After work we visited the Hoe which I hadn’t been that jazzed to visit but was actually pretty cool. Everyone very relaxed in the sun. I liked that the information boards call out the fact that Drake and the other “great” men with statues in their honour were basically pirates and that they were usually involved in the slave trade too. Hopefully this starts to translate into renaming some of the MANY “Drake” things in the area, and maybe replacing some of the statues with other notable local people. Or ducks. Drake Island would be far more exiting if it was a duck sanctuary and the statues would be waaaay more exciting if they were of mallards.

On Thursday we took a ferry out to Mount Edgcumbe and it was brilliant to be out on the water. Mount Edgcumbe is at the end of a peninsular, rather than on an island, but it feels like a different world, even though it’s only a short ferry ride away. There’s a beautiful big old house which hosts weddings, a few follies to visit, a duck pond, lots of lovely big trees and a generally green and gorgeous vibe. It’s where the Faery Festival was held that we attended when we were last here together in 2018, and it definitely feels like the sort of place faeries hang out!

We opted for a cheeky cider at the waterside pub instead of taking the return ferry stuffed full of schoolkids. But the joke was on us as the next ferry didn’t return us to the Barbican and was ALSO full of yelling kids. Ah well, at least the cider was nice! This week saw the five year anniversary since Regan’s Dad passed away, so it’s been really lovely to be by the sea and on the water this week, as they are so strongly associated with him. He was a wonderful and adventurous man, and is greatly missed.

We’ve been spending lots of time in the local cemetery as that’s the nearest green space to walk Pluto, so I’m feeling very close to those who have departed. It’s interesting to see the graves of the men who died in the war are so well maintained compared to the rest – the local RSA equivalent does a great job. I’ve found one NZ serviceman who died in the Great War at the age of 20 – the rest of them seem to be British or Canadian. I feel sorry for this poor chap who died so young, so far from home. I visit him with Pluto each evening and sing him a song from NZ. The other day two massive crows sat and watched me singing to him, it would be funny to know what they were thinking!

I’m not sure if it’s everywhere in England but we’ve noticed that there’s a lot of ‘benevolent neglect’ of the graveyards – it doesn’t look like there’s any regular mowing happening by the council or similar. It makes it (to my eyes at least) look lovely and soft and cottagey, but I appreciate not everyone would like that. We’ve noticed a few people bring little electric mowers and mow around their person’s grave. But the war graves are all nicely mown and there are flowering plants between them, which makes me feel a bit better for the poor kiwi soldier.

I also found a mass burial site where an older graveyard had obviously been decommissioned and everyone brought up to Efford. All the remains are in the middle of a dell area, with all the grave markers around the outside. I took a walk around and found two Holmans! No idea if they are actual relatives, but it’s nice to visit them when I’m walking the dog. As far as I can see they’re the only Holmans in the cemetery, and it’s not a name I tend to see often.

Friday was a quiet day, mostly hiding from the sun! I had planned to do some cleaning after work but it was too hot to do anything other than loll about, reading. Which is ok too! Same same for Sunday – a hot day where I’m enjoying pottering about (very slowly), and writing to you!

Yesterday was our trip to Tavistock, a town which has shot to the top of my ‘Places I’d Like to Live’ list. It’s about an hour’s bus ride from here and we got started super early, walking Pluto and playing with the kitten before we left in the hope that they’d settle down to sleep once we left. The bus wasn’t air-conditioned (of course) which was ok on the way out but I was dreading the return trip! Once we arrived we realised it was a festival week and Saturday was the “Tavifringe” music festival day – yay! So the town was buzzing, full of people and musicians and dancers, and a really fantastic time.

We started off in the Meadows park – I’d wanted to see the Abbey ruins and get a dose of greenery after a week in the suburbs. We came across an incredibly friendly squirrel! He came very close to me and stood on his back legs with his front paws clasped together. It crossed my mind that he might have been rabid and tricking me into getting close enough that he could leap at me and maul my face. But happily that didn’t happen! The mystery was solved a few hours later when we met a man with a “Squirrel Whisperer” t-shirt who feeds them every day (blanched hazelnuts are a favourite, for the record).

We wandered into town and admired the buildings. There were large parts of the Abbey wall incorporated into buildings, and then a number of really lovely structures that are clearly loved and taken care of. Tavistock has a wonderful mix of heritage and modern facilities – it looked to us on first glance that it’s a place that prioritises the well-being of its residents, with tennis courts, a swimming pool, BMX track in the big park. Everything looking well-maintained and everything being used by people.

The town was cute, the community groups were out in force, and the combination of music and sunshine created an amazing atmosphere. I was very impressed by the people playing music and dancing out in the blazing sun, absolute legends! The noticeboards were full of great events and groups, and there was at least one Art Deco antiques store, two haberdashery shops, and three organic food shops, so yeah it’s my idea of middle-aged, middle-class heaven lol!

By early afternoon we started to get worried that the animals would be roasting indoors so started the trip home. It was a very uncomfortable hour-long bus trip with people whining about the heat even more than I was! (Poor Regan!). My back had been tweaky that morning and I was feeling quite faint on the bus so it had been a great trip but obviously one that had it’s challenges too. I was so relieved to get home to a coolish house and two happy animals. The footpath was too hot for Pluto’s paws so we waited till 8pm to take him to visit our new friends in the graveyard (or “country garden” as our neighbour called it!).

We are heading back to Tavistock on Thursday, there’s a folk music gig happening and we are planning on a curry and then some good tunes. From Monday the weather is supposed to be packing up (yay!) so it’ll be interesting to see if we love the town just as much on a grey, wet Thursday afternoon!