The last public holiday in England before Christmas Day. A day that often disappoints with slightly grumpy weather. Today though, was gorgeous and this panoramic view is like a great turquoise smile expressing exactly how a holiday Monday should be.
I had a swim and didn’t want it ever to end, but superb swims, like all good things must come to an end. The balmy waters of Firestone Bay were just perfect today. There is a suggestion that the weather will turn tomorrow…
And just like that the rain arrived overnight.
Very disappointing weather behaviour. Of course exactly the sort of thing that underlines that the scrag end of summer has established itself as a transitional season and that layers and waterproofs may be needed for all future adventures.
Not exactly my favourite recipe but definitely the favourite of the week.
Our weekend newspaper has a pull out cooking segment. Most weeks we find something new to cook.
Koftas are a favourite meal and this recipe was so simple and pretty to make, it will definitely become a regular.
The most favourite of these weekend magazine dishes is a chicken and Chorizo dish which also features oranges. We have been making it for years. We no longer refer to the tatty scrap of torn out page that first inspired us. Who even knows if we are adhering to the actual recipe. Do we care?
Not a bit, it whatever form it takes, is a classic family meal.
That is my answer for today but as yet I have not read the recipes in this weeks ‘Feast’. There could be a whole new favourite on the blog tomorrow.
Bantham boathouse doesn’t really look like this but I wanted to create an image that depicted a really hot day and the hubbub or cacophony of sound that floated over the car parks as families spilled out of their cars for a day at the beach at the height of summer. The image is unreal in the way that it might be depicted in an animated film. All a bit too much going on. Bantham is a regular spot for us to visit out of season when the world is calm and the beaches are empty.
But this summer we have defied our own rules and visited really iconic and beautiful places nearby in peak tourist season. When people have travelled thousands of miles to visit us it would be churlish of us not to go to the most beautiful but busy places. The same scenario last year, just slightly off peak season taught us a thing or two about not being so precious about places being crowded.
So once the last of our summer guests left we packed up the van and took off to Bantham . There is something magical about large numbers of people all being set to have a good time in the same place. The simple pleasure of a bucket and spade day on a beach in sunshine is timeless.
Our plan was a BYOB* and coast path walking trip. Audio or photos would have suggested some sort of coastal carnage. As people, looking like ants from a distance, criss-crossed the ancient sand dunes in a quest for a few square feet of space with a nearly high tide taking most of the beach.
Absolutely not the calm and empty space we are used to but beautiful in a different way. Alive with the energy of humans having fun.
I am no town or indeed city planner so this is entirely a personal fantasy. My city would be a port with a large deep river flowing into the sea.
The river would have islands.
And bridges.
The central area would be traffic-free and would have independent retail outlets and restaurants, parks, libraries and cultural destinations. Book shops and cafes would edge the canal banks while other retailers would cling to the river banks. Low rise mixed use accomodation for holiday makers and long term renters would create calm and shaded squares and back streets. Most importantly the streets would be paved and cobbled with trees providing shade. The real world would be held at bay by the river and canals so the central space could be a kind and comfortable beating heart of the bigger city. A place to connect with people, or not, and to expand thinking and life experience before returning to the real world via water based public transport.
In this fantasy I am simply a city centre kind of designer. The money making, practical and essential suburbs are someone elses responsibility.
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
We have been hosting meals for the last 19 days, everyone always attended. Two different groups of relatives. 7 in each group. It would have been lovely if we had a home big enough to host them all at once and that their schedules permitted that. 5 of the 14 live locally the other 9 travelled from London, Hong Kong and Canada.
I realise this prompt wants me to mix an erudite or entertaining group of famous people. But really how awkward and uncomfortable might that be. Far better to go for people I actually know and whose qualities I value. I have chosen my family in this first instance but equally I could throw 14 friends together around a dinner table and be confident of a good time. In either case their names would mean nothing in this context and that is exactly what would make the experience enjoyable.
I bought these engraved pebbles in a church yesterday. There were loads to choose from but these 5 called to me. The other words just didn’t interest me, their messages were more strident and possibly more powerful . I could hand any one of these to a friend or just pick one myself and they just instantly add a bit of positivity to the day. I also bought them a saucer to rest on. Tinners Hares in shades of blue.
Hares have always seemed to be one of my favourite animals and the base colour matches my pebbles. So two purchases that make me feel very happy and were completely unplanned.
Here is a Dartmoor Sheep demonstrating where a Scrag End of Lamb is anatomically. However for the purpose of this blog the sheep is actually chasing down the Scrag End of Summer. Which has been officially declared in this house. Just like Swifts, the birds ; the last of our summer visitors have left the building today. Our Swifts, our family have flown, not for sub-Saharan Africa but for Hong Kong and Canada. So the main events of Summer are done.
However I am a big fan of the scrag end of summer. The slightly faded landscape, the gentler heat and even the unpredictable weather. Sometimes I fool myself that Scrag End Summer is a pretty long time period. But right now we are missing our summer visitors and a bustling busy house. It will take a little adjustment and a few cups of tea before we fully embrace the reality of the Scrag End of Summer 2025.
Yesterday was a day of peaks. Fitting a lot of local tourism into a day and achievements of different sorts all slotted into the day like pieces of a jigsaw.
I would like to say we peaked early in the day calmly by taking down the marquee at the Tennis Club. Our family of tall and fit individuals were invaluable.
But just before that, I had hit a peak of stupidity and miscalculated who was where and had house keys. Neatly managing to lock the house with no keys on the outside. Luckily I had managed to only lock the front of the house. Just a twelve foot stone wall to clamber.
Luck was with me, as it was for the whole day. I had also locked out a former Welsh Guard who did a very athletic vertical wall climb to save the very early part of the day.
Dilly Dallying firmly behind me , the marquee was taken down and we visited our Canadian Cohorts Airbnb to see very familiar sights from a different perspective.
Their accommodation was over our favourite coffee shop.
Then with peak efficiency we hit our Family Gathering Brunch exactly on schedule.
Entertained vividly by the RNLI we posed by an old crane.
Then straight off to Tinside for a swim.
Although that particular peak experience was to swim in the sea so we were a little to the left of this picture.
Then up to the Hoe for some posing and musing about the Beatle Buttock print sculpture nearby.
And just like that the last schedule of the day was on the horizon. Dinner at Nora”s with Norah.
But while we were busy being peak performing tourists something funny was happening. This blog started reaching a record number of views. Peak viewing.
The wonderful thing about hosting out-of-town family is that we fill the day with lovely things. So much so that locking everyone out of the house is just a minor inconvenience.
On August 16th, 2025 Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club celebrated 80 years since Japan’s surrender spread and World War II officially ended.Bunting and Union Jack flags were strung between the clubhouse and the marquee, enrobed by camouflage netting, protecting from nothing more serious than the sun on this occasion.
Sunshine, good food, great music and some wonderful dancing set the scene for an afternoon of catching up with friends, meeting new people and enjoying good nattering time with our family. Some dancing from the era of WW2 was achieved elegantly by some, less so by the rest of us…
80 years since the end of WW2 at Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club.
The hard work that these events require from a few for the pleasure of a whole community is always amplified in value if the weather is good. Yesterday the weather was very very kind. Just a slightly nippy wind that made flags, skirts and hats fly but also cooled what could have been an over hot afternoon.
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