Round up

Well, I haven’t yet shifted this gastro virus which has left me a little useless. I did manage to get away for my smallholding course, which was absolutely fantastic.

I thoroughly recommend Bicton Rural Academy (part of Plymouth University) – it’s a beautiful campus and the course was extremely well run. I got to handle sheep, cattle and pigs, drive a tractor and a quad bike and learn some really, really useful stuff about growing fruit and veg. I’m planning to do other courses in the new year.

The B&B farm (Quentance Farm) I was staying in was nice but I wouldn’t stay again – they got my booking so wrong that I was in a different room each of the three nights I stayed! It was just too much hassle in the end. Although to be fair they did reduce my bill and it was convenient for the college, but the breakfast was fairly standard as were the rooms (and there was only one that was en-suite).

I stayed with some friends in Plymouth on the Monday night which was very cool. Except we got some take-out and even though I only ate half, it made me feel really sick all over again. (I’ve since seen a doctor and they’re running some tests, but finally after two and a half weeks I am starting to feel better.)

The idea was to house-hunt during the day on Monday but it didn’t really work out. I did view a house but it was completely unsuitable and left me feeling a bit down about the whole long distance house hunting malarkey…

On the Tuesday I decided I wanted to go back to Cornwall and just have a nice hassle-free morning. So I went for breakfast at Route 38 an American style diner and then headed to Looe (about 8 miles away). I ended up having a fantastic time – did some shopping (got chatting to a woman in a surf shop that gave me some great advice about moving down to Cornwall and being patient about finding our new house!), picked up a pasty for later and then sat on the harbour enjoying the blue sky and hot sun before finally heading home.

Wednesday I took the car in for a service and left £325 poorer. The service was £251 and I had the two front tyres replaced. I actually really like the garage, Premier Autocentres near Sidcup in Kent, a Hyundai dealership – although they deal with all cars. (We need to get the car serviced at an authorised dealership otherwise the warranty is invalid.) Premier is genuinely friendly and helpful and they do a great job. Considering how many dodgy garages there are out there, it gives you peace of mind to find a good one.

And today was notable for getting into a stand-up fight with some fuckwad in a Tesco carpark. He parked in a motorcycle only space then hit my car door with his, really hard, and then he smirked at me! So I leapt out of the car and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He thought it was cool to call me a faker (is that an insult and if yes, what does it actually mean? Seriously I have no idea.) Then he told me to fuck off and tried to act the big gangsta (pretty hard to do in a Ford KA especially as he was also too scared to get out of said car). I called him a fucking idiot and got back into my car because my temper was well and truly lost and I didn't want the situation to escalate any more than it already had. My fairly new, fairly expensive car is my pride and joy. I also really can’t stand selfish people that don’t give a shit about other people’s property because they happen to drive around in a shitty rust bucket, so this was never going to end well!

I was only in the bloody carpark because it turned out my phone wasn’t working and when I finally figured this out and fixed the problem, I got 8 texts one after the other; one telling me a friend was ill another telling me a friend’s grandmother had died and as they had been sent to me the previous day I wanted to respond straight away.

Anyway, to end on a more positive note, my partner and I are going away for a few days before Christmas (to watch the winter solstice in Dorset) and I’ve just booked the hotel. Then we’re coming back to spend Christmas on our own – something we’ve always wanted to do but never have. We normally host Christmas at ours and go all out. This time, it’s going to be just her and me and the dogs! There will still be a fancy dinner and decorations but it will be peaceful and low-key. Bliss!

(Photos: SUNSET OVER EXMOUTH, LOOE HARBOUR)