Eternal Refuge

As I said this morning I went to A La Ronde which is only a few miles away.

The house was completed in about 1796, and designed to be 16 sided, by 2 female cousins when they returned from their Grand Tour. They were great artistes, and the whole ceiling is a shell gallery, now too delicate to visit. One of the rooms has a feather frieze.





Mary's Will - 1848

Grand Tour - starting 1784


( Wandering round the house )


( And into the grounds )

As I said, yesterday I walked into the city and had a walk around the Cathedral. I am lucky that I get in free as I live in the city ... and however mny times I have visited, there is always something new to spot.

The Cathedral was finishd by 1400 (except for the section that had to be re-built after a German air-raid during WWII.











Exeter Cathedral has the longest uninterrupted medieval vaulted ceiling in the world, at about 96 m

The minstrels' gallery in the nave dates to around 1360 and is unique in English cathedrals.

The Font - added in Victorian times ... 2 close-up sections below





One of the fifty misericords are the earliest complete set in the United Kingdom ... the elephant was carved years before the first elephant came to England.



















WWI memorial for the Devonshire Regt

When Brenda arranged to visit I had hoped she could stay another day, but it was not to be.  As Claire had swapped things around so that we could all go out, we kept thhe trip anyway.

We went to Agatha Christie's home Greenway in Torquay. The house was Georgian (my favourite type of property), although the original house was built in Tudor times. She bought the house in 1938.

We didn't have great weather, so spent the whole time in the house, and left the gardens for another visit.



Painting of Agatha as a child ... with the doll on the seat below.





Tobacco jar





Max, her second husband was anarchiologist and he preferred sleeping on his camp bed, even when in England.

One piece of the original Tudor decoaration

Love the handles on these cups





A posh loo!

First editions of all her books

Photo of them in the front garden at Greenway.

Having fun with my camera ... using a full-length mirror.





The frieze was painted by the US Coastguard who were based here during WWII.  The images go round the room showing the journey of the 10th flotilla.

On the way back from Buckland, we stopped at Buckfast Abbey

As I said, once we had walked round A La Ronde, we walked into the town of Exmouth -












Seen a lot of the post-box toppers, but never seen a tree hugger



War Memorial

In the town square

As I said we had a good day out, and we actually were early there, so were finished our tour after lunch, so on the way back to drop Christine off we stopped at Buckfast Abbey, originally founded in 1018 ... but rebuilt last century.


 Water Mill





























Part of the original Abbey

As I said, on my flying visit yesterday, I had a great trip to Knightshayes Court with Claire ... it is in Gothic Revival, and the family apparently hated it, so much so that the ceilings were all boarded over once the family had moved on a generation.

We were so lucky with the weather as while we were in the house it was heavy rain, but before that we had time to actually look round the gardens




The hedges around this area are cut to show hounds chasing a fox



More topiary

Claire looking at "Lady Claire" (yes that's the ame of this colour)



I do love this light over the front door









The ceilings are truly amazing










We aim to go back again in the summer to see the gardens in more colour

As I said, we went to Crediton

Town Square -



War Memorial -





As I said we went to the timiest musem in the world.  It was all about the fire - on Sunday 14 August 1743, a great fire started (it is believed to be from a fire where they were cooking meat, and the people watching it got distracted) and it completely destroying High Street and buildings in the "West Town". At that period of time it was the second largest fire in the country, second only to the Great Fire of London. Sixteen people lost their lives, with over 2,000 made homeless and 450 houses destroyed. Other large fires occurred in 1766, 1769 and 1772

Apparently a wig maker got trapped, and saved himself byt crawling in a barrel -





In those days each house had to take out fire insurance, for the fire engines to come out.  Here is one of the markers -



Crediton Parish Church ... dedicated to "The Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who Hung Thereon"











The memorial to General Sir Redvers Buller V.C.

This is a Knight and his lady ... he died in 1388 ... at the age of 106 (and there was a detailed list showing proof he was actually that age ... wow!)

Yes, it was a fascinating day out ... and we mostly managed to avoid the rain. We stopped at a village Church on the way there, then went to the town we were also visiting. We went round the Church, and round the smallest museum in the world (well it seemed like that). Had lunch and then went to Sir Redvers Buller V.C.'s house. It had been built in the 1700's and is still in the family, which is lovely to see. We met the owners when we arrived, but they had a guide. No photos allowed inside, and nothing much to see outside ... although here are a few images -

























He got his VC rescuing men under his command ... 6 separate rides into the battle to rescue downed comrades, so well deserved. However the other fascinating thing was he was the same age as I am now when all that happened.

So, as I said, 2 Churches, etc, but I need to sort those photos. I hope to post them, or some of them, before I head off to work this afternoon.

Before I do that -

1 – World Letter Writing Day: Do you still write actual letters to anyone (email doesn't count!)? Did you have penpals when you were young(er)? Do you miss receiving actual letters in the mail (or any mail other than junk/flyers)?
Oh, don’t remind me … I owe a few letters! Yes, I have a few people I write to, and all of them are owed letters (maybe that is one of those tasks I can do once I have less shifts)



Right, let's get some more photos edited x

I am posting this that I wrote a couple of days ago that I couldn't post then ... and will finish with a final catch-up ...



What an odd day … and LiveJournal doesn’t want to load. Oh well, hopefully I will get this posted today, if not it will be ASAP!

Many of you know I am a member (& co-mod) on photo_scavenger and thought I would share a couple of my recent entries. They are Tin & Chaos and I took these photos this morning especially for the 2 challenges and the 2 sets are in honour of Mum & Dad.

TIN
Mum was born in the late 1920’s and one of her Christmas presents was this tin, and as you can see she has a collection of tin toys/figures. A very special collection –







CHAOS
I did wonder what I could do for this photo when I realized that I could share something of Dad this time. He was a teenager as WWII started and working in East London …. Here are some pictures he drew. Both of which are labeled as local to him. The one in landscape mode is of a shop, so all in all remembering the chaos that Dad lived through –





So, it was lovely to re-look at Mum’s tin of toys, as well as Dad’s pictures. And even nicer to have the excuse to share them.

I have other photos to share, as well. When I posted yesterday I shared photos of Arlington Court and as I said then there is a carriage museum, so here are a few photos …





The Chichester Family Carriage made in 1840


A Barouche made in 1860

Standing in frint of a couple of hearses

A Postillion Landau made in the mid 19th century

A Punch Carriage

A Park Drag

A State Chariot made in 1850

Hansom Cab made in 1900

A Victoria made in 1903



Right. LJ is still not loading, so this will get posted on Saturday … so until then I will do the questions and save this document


10 – Duran Duran Appreciation Day: Do you appreciate Duran Duran – a band who pushed the limits of acceptable music video content and helped change the face of new wave music in the 1980s? Do you have a fave Duran Duran song or album?
I like some stuff from the 1980’s but not as a fan, just to enjoy in the background.

11 – Play in the Sand Day: As a child, did you enjoy playing in the sand – either at the beach, or in a sandbox? Did you build sandcastles? As an adult, is this something that still appeals to you?
I love sand castles … Dad used to make us a boat, while mum built the castles. When I went with Ana & Lily last month I built her a sand castle. So, yes, I love sandy beaches.




Right, will post this on Saturday, and then post Saturday’s on Saturday … I hope.




So, yes I can post. I have been at work this morning, and it's been another long, slow 6 hours. Still I got some reading done and di an update email to both brothers about Auntie Joyce. I then had a look at some dresses on eBay ... so all in all a very positive shift after all.

Now all I need is to catch up with the questions -



12 – Garage Sale Day (or Boot Sale, in the UK): Do you regularly, or occasionally, check out garage sales in your area? Have you ever organized one yourself, or in conjunction with some neighbours?
Never been to one

13 – International Lefthanders Day: Are you, or is anyone close to you lefthanded? Do you know anyone who, as a natural leftie, was forced to learn to use their right hand, either by their parents, or at school?
I am pretty ambi-dextrous. In fact when I worked it tended to be left-handed. I did judo left handed, but could fence with either hand. I do write right-handed ... although can use crayons with either hand.



Right, that's me till Monday