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.
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!!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
I retired from the Royal Marines Band Service in 2007 having served for 33 years as a musician, eventually becoming a Director of Music and running my own band. After retirement, I took my family sailing in the Philippines with a view to sailing back to the UK via Australia. However, for many reasons our plans changed and after 9 years living in Dartmouth we have now moved to Totnes .I am married to Lynn and we have four children. Daniel and his wife Sara live in Wales; Hannah is married to another Dan and they live with our grandchildren Sophia, Isaac and Elijah in Newton Abbot. Lydia is married to Tim and they live and work in London and have just had our fourth grandchild, Ernest. Julia married to Angus and they live in Newquay. My time is taken up with playing, writing and teaching music, working as a Debt Coach for the charity Christians Against Poverty, working and volunteering as a hill and mountainside on Dartmoor and the Lake District, and being very involved in our local church.