New Years Eve - Walk to Coleton Fishacre

Lynn and I decided to brave the end-of-year drizzle and try to burn off a mince pie or two by walking along the coast. We crossed the river, thank you Debs, and set off along a very muddy path. Although drizzly, it was quite warm and the coastal path to Brixham is renowned for it steep inclines. We made it as far as Coleton Fishacre before heading inland and back to Kingswear and a ferry home.

Julia's Shelves

The dinghy is now build (see Gypsy Sophia Blog) and the girls have skedaddled off to Portsmouth for a few days, so Lynn set me to doing a few home DIY jobs! The only problem is: no money = no materials!! However, our next door neighbours are having work done, including their floorboards being changed - so to save the builders having to dispose of said boards, they were shaped down on my saw bench and have become shelves in Julia's wardrobe.

Christmas 2011

One by one our family have visited us during the Christmas period. Firstly, Lydia returned from University after her first term away from home. She was closely followed by Hannah and Sophia. Hannah also brought along her 8 month old bump. Then on Christmas eve, Dan and Sarah together with Spooky and Deefur arrived just in time to see Christmas day in. 'Twas lovely to see them all.

Ten Tors December Training Walk

A lovely day on Saturday saw the Ten Tors training team completing a shortish walk on the Moors. One shower midday had the walkers scrabbling for waterproofs, but the sun soon appeared again.

Short stroll on the Moors

A little stroll was taken on strolling on Dartmoor today. Lynn and I , together with Colin, Lee and Sparky his dog took to the hills and visited Bellever Tor, Bellever village and Laughter Tor, where we all laughed heartily.

Where did October go?

Amazing! I've just checked and found out that I've not updated the blog for a month! Well, in these few weeks Lynn has visited and returned from the US of A; I've started building a dinghy (see gypsysophia.blogspot.com); the ALPHA course away-day has happened; the Volunteer Band Conference has happened; I've visited both HanDan & DanSara and Julia has taken her Bible Knowledge O-level exams in Bristol. But apart from these things the month has been fairly quiet!!

Ten Tors 2012 first training walk

On Saturday about 25 youngsters, plus a few oldsters set out on the first Ten Tors 2012 training walk. This was a 9 mile stroll from Dartmouth Castle to Beesands on the lovely Start Bay coast. The weather was kind, and a few hot spots and blisters began the job of toughening up the feet! Lunch was taken at Street Gate.

Three A*s - off to Uni!

Lydia's A level results rewarded her hard work with three A*s and a B, so it's off to the university of her choice - Norwich; just about as far away from Dartmouth as it is possible to be! It's a good job we have a van, as the amount she is taking with her would supply a small family with all they would need for 10 years! No, she isn't taking the piano. One last walk at her favourite spot - little Dartmouth

St Ives Camping

After a busy summer with all of us working we escaped, one wet and windy day to drive down to near where the land eds - at St Ives. We pitched in a campsite with glorious views over Porthmeor beach and out towards Godrevy and the North Cornish coast. We didn't have lazy beach days, but it was lovely to just unwind and wander the winding ways of this old town.

Decoy Country Park 2011

On Tuesday we took our annual Baptist Church trip to Decoy Country Park. As ever, the day started with rain but God was good and answered our prayers for the sun was shining from a blue sky as we arrived in Newton Abbot. I took the kids out on the lake on canoes, and we all enjoyed a BBQ at Bruce's and Eunice's home.

Creation Fest

A few days at Creation Fest, a Christian Music Festival and Bible week was enjoyed under a Cornish sun, albeit with a chilly wind. As well as some excellent music and great talks, we enjoyed an afternoon on cycling on the Camel Trail from Wadebridge to Padstow.

Cruising

Lynn and I took advantage of a few free days to have a first small cruise on Lucy M. We visited Brixham, Teignmouth and the upper reaches of the River Dart.

Working woman

Lydia is now between serials! A levels are completed and University is beckoning. So, she now is part of the sales staff at Sainsbury's where it is rumoured she can construct a mean Latte. On her days off she needs to relax, so this week we took a walk out to Little Dartmouth, a favourite haunt.

Sailing on Pinafore

Last week I traveled to Brighton to sign on as crew on the good ship Pumpkin. After being shown to my cave, I dug out my sailing togs and we duly set sail - westward ho! Great plans had been shrinking as the year went on, and plans for the Caribbean, then the Channel Isles had become as quest for west to Dartmouth and possibly beyond. A long first day; long due to lightness of wind and contrariness of same, gave us an excuse to spend a day in the splendid Chichester Marina. We escaped this haven for the delights of the Folly Inn before running under a strengthening wind for Southsea, when we were holed up for 3 days whilst gales and rain tried to do their worst. The week ended with a delightful sail back to Brighton, force 3-4 on the starboard quarter (sounds painful). Pinafore is up for sale as the Durdin clan want to move onto a larger vessel to accommodate their expanding family. Hero of the week: Sophia, of course!

In the Navy!

Julia has joined the Navy! Well, the Sea Cadets actually. They are keeping her extremely busy with sailing, banding, drilling (for what I wonder)and tonight she will be running; yes, running! I only have one photo of her in uniform which is extremely unflattering, but I'm told she looks a treat in her Number Ones!

Sophia's visit

Sophia decided to come and visit us this weekend. She told her parents to go away and do something, so they went to Cornwall and stayed in a yurt. Mum and dad missed their little girl and came back for cuddles on Sunday, which happened to be Fathers Day and dad's birthday. Happy birthday to Dan!

BBQ on Slapton Sands

Half term, and the weather has realised that summer is here, so what better to do than to pootle over to Slapton Sands with a bag of wood and a banger or two for a barbie. We had to drag ourselves away, I tell you!