At the end of July we hired a car and drove down to Devon for a change of scene.
Luckily, I have a base there and so we stayed in Exeter and did touristy things. We visited a beach on the north coast (brrrr!), hiked on Dartmoor (my spiritual home) and met up with Devon friends.
Near the house is a river and Rhiannon was delighted to see this bundle of super-cute ducklings. There is also a swans' nest but the cygnets are large now and begging for food with their parents. Rhiannon called them "swanlets" which I think is far nicer and very endearing.
We finalised the shopping expedition and stocked up on kid's clothes; a nice winter coat for school, socks, tights and so on that are impossible to find in Japan. Sainsbury's was also ransacked and I treated myself to a huge pot of real Clotted Cream and stuffed myself daft on scones and meringues slathered with this delicious taste of "home". (I grew up in Devon, in case you were wondering!)
Another memorable trip was to the Miniature Pony Centre where Rhiannon had a wonderful time patting and hugging the dinky foals and riding around a ring. She seems a natural horse-rider so in the future perhaps we'll take this further. I haven't ridden for years; quite fancy a hack. One pony was fat and tiny and had a dreadful trot - how I laughed to see Rhiannon bobbing around like a demented toy! It reminded me of the wonderful Thelwell drawings.
Then it was time to get Tim back to Hampshire ready for his trek back to Japan. Naturally, Rhiannon was sad and tearful about this - she's very much a Daddy's girl - but we'll be heading back ourselves soon enough. Once again, he made me promise to return too! Bless him - as if I'd give him up to stay in England - crazy thought. The fate of his friends is obviously very much at the forefront of his mind.
Rather than allow Rhiannon to dwell on his leaving, I take it upon myself to drive all the way back down to Devon the day following his departure. What a nightmare! It was a very stressful trip with a whinging child and aggressive British drivers.
Back at our Exeter home, I let her run off some steam at the local park, got some fish and chips and, when she was finally in bed I relished the absolute peace and quiet of a Devon night.
Knowing my total lack of any sense of direction Tim bought a GPS before he left, so I programmed in a trip to somewhere I remembered going as a kid - Becky Falls.
OMG! I had totally forgotten about the Devon roads! Sooooo narrow, with enormous hedges on either side with the chance of turning a corner and meeting either a local car at top speed, a flock of sheep in the road or a huge tractor. To think I used to bomb confidentally around these roads as a teen is terrifying to remember.
Becky Falls has changed a lot in… erm… thirty odd years and is now a complete "experience". We had a fantastic time and made a note to take Tim next year. There are beautiful walks around the area with a small quiz to encourage reluctant children to continue walking; they have to collect stamps hidden around the trail in order to receive a small prize at the gift shop.
Tim called to let us know he'd got home OK. Our helper had been living in to look after Raymi (the cat) and Tim reported all was well apart from Raymi's ears which were bitten raw from mosquitoes. He also said he'd got some outings planned for our return - wonder what that could be?
We spent some time with my Devon friends and had a lovely time.
Then another horrible drive back to Mum's for a last bit of gardening, and to return the hire car before making our way to Hellish Heathrow and back to Japan.
