Tam wanted to go to the beach whilst she was here, so when she had finished working yesterday we set off for Pendine, but were quite surprised when we got there to find that the tide was totally in - normally you have to walk half a mile to paddle in it! This is the view to the East, with the long beach of Pembrey in the distance.
Looking in the direction of Tenby here, which you can just see in the distance beyond the headland.
Looking along the front towards some of the buildings along the front at Pendine, and cottages on the hillside overlooking it.
There were a couple of families paddling and bathing with children and dogs - the dogs were really having fun chasing a ball into the water.
A view of Caldey Island, which I still hope to visit this summer.
You can just see the spire of one of the Tenby churches in this photo if you look closely.
Above and below: we ate fish and chips and watched the waves coming to shore and breaking on the rocks. It was so peaceful, and we just sat and watched folk swim, and it was a wonderful way of unwinding after a busy week (and last weekend's stresses).
We drove through Laugharne to get to Tenby and when we sat down to watch tv last night, there was a re-run of the series "Keeping Faith" which was largely filmed in Laugharne, and we knew all the places they had filmed. It looks like being a good drama.
Below: I have finally been able to get out and do some tidying up in the garden, and got down 3 bags of bark chippings. There were only a few sparse weeds which have survived the drought, and I pulled them up and covered the area to keep any moisture in and stop the weeds growing.
I have been very tired this week and not up to doing a great deal - I just wanted to sit and read, so I have done just that, plus watching the racing from Newmarket on a couple of afternoons.
We are still having to be very careful with the water supply and the threatened heavy rain hasn't materialized here. There are some clouds about, but none looking like dumping the sort of quantities of rain we are desperate for here. The fields are all scorched now and I expect farmers are far more desperate than me for rain to give them more grazing as well as topping up water supplies - thirsty cattle drink an awful lot of water.
Have a good weekend all.
Above: Paxton's Tower overlooking the beautiful Towey Valley.
Looking towards the far side of the Towey Valley - our river valley leads off this.
I believe this was originally the servant's quarters. On Fair days, it is full of dealers selling their lovely finds.
Some of the lovely plantings where you can wander at will.
Looking down towards the Vintage Village. They had a bit of a breeze down here - definitely better to be outside than in!
A sparrow family in residence at the back of the old stable block (now turned into a cafe area.) The babies will have flown by now.
A lovely hexagon quilt on one of the stands in the vintage village.
This lady turns up regularly at Fairs, and is always immaculately turned out in swish 50s style. She has the figure for it too.
One of the areas sown with wild flowers. So pretty.
Apologies for the lack of words this morning but I am running late (having caught up with Poldark before getting started on this post). I didn't sleep at all well past 2 a.m. last night and I feel a bit groggy as a result. There were about three spots of rain at 6.30 this morning and some is threatened for this afternoon - it is overcast and cooler, so fingers crossed, though of course it would coincide with a planned beach picnic with our eldest daughter!
As you can see, these are the temperatures we were working in at the weekend - and it got hotter still, as at this point our neighbouring stall-holder put the barometer under the table,for fear the thermometer would explode! For two pins, after suffering from the heat and humidity on the Saturday, I would have packed and gone home, but when you have invested a good chunk of money to pay for the stand at a 2-day Fair, you are inclined to think you will keep trying. As it turned out, we took just £60 on the Sunday and so might just as well have thrown in the towel the previous day . . . Who wants to linger in a giant greenhouse when the temperatures are so high? Every stall selling a fan or two sold them, and people were walking round visibly perspiring (you should have seen us lot behind the stalls, even with fans going full blast we were wilting.)
The lovely setting was absolutely lost on me this time. I just wanted to be Somewhere Else! So did a lot of people and numbers were well down. It didn't help that the England match was playing on Saturday afternoon and it was empty after 2 p.m.
Sorry, a slightly steamed-up lens photo of part of my stand display. Studio pottery, including that gorgeous 1969 Royal Copenhagen bowl. That cost £21 back then!! In front of it is a French flail.
The African masks began to be affected by being in full sun, so we had to keep moving them to the shade, and then beneath the table, and we took them home Saturday night. The two lamps to the left are small vintage Lucas lamp (quite desirable we have been told), and a lovely French "onion" ship's lamp, used port side on a ship. The two American bar chairs to the right have swivel seats and are so comfy to sit on. Nobody was even looking at furniture though, and we should have taken it all home Satuarday night . . .
I like the unusual and I love history, especially social and domestic. The beautiful Bushel measure (imperial, dated 1861) is a recent auction find, and the amazing and possibly unique Viking-style kettle cooking pot is a design not changed from Viking times and still used around 1700, which this one dates from.
This lovely old travelling box would have been in use when Jane Austen was walking the streets of Bath. The name on it is "Mifs Halliday" - a family from Gloucestershire, who originally came down from Dumfries-shire when Walter Hallyday became Master of the Revels to King Edward IV (in 1461). The family settled in Rodborough parish, where they obviously still are.
A blurry close-up of the beautiful portrait of an Arabian horse, dated 1913. If it doesn't sell, I am happy to keep it!
Right, there are more photos from the weekend which I will put up later. I am glad to report it is a tad cooler today, and my breathing is starting to settle down again - it was bad in that heat and humidity and I spent as much time as I could on Sunday sat outside with my book, whilst Keith manned the stand (he doesn't mind heat!)
Looks lovely and cool doesn't it? That was in April though. This is the July heatwave and believe me it is hotter than Hell in there at the moment. It had been 44 deg. C all week (111 F in old money!) - yesterday it was 48 deg C (118 F) and nearly unbearable, especially when you have compromised breathing. There were big cold air blowers in the 3 doorways and I was glad to be close to one, and we had brought fans from home to blow behind the stall. That was the only thing which made it bearable.
Anyway, I'm not going to push my luck today and intend to sit in the doorway where it's cool and airy, with a good book and only approach my stand when I have customers.
Anyway, it IS a lovely setting, even if I have no intention of my normal strolls round to stretch my legs (too hot for that today). I shall have a wander outside with my camera instead.
I was up early (as usual) yesterday and decided to have a walk along by the river whilst it was still nice and cool. As you can see, the river is VERY low. In fact, it's been several years since you could see the old cast iron stanchion which used to be the central support for the bridge, until it was damaged by floods and replaced with big concrete pillars.
Low enough indeed for 3 trees jammed in the narrow canyon of the river to be totally exposed and I am just waiting for someone to decide it's worth harvesting them for winter fuel. A few years ago, that might have been us, but we realize our limitations these days. Below is another section of tree.
Common Cow Wheat.
Betony.
I think this is Common Spotted Orchid.
Sun Spurge.
Part of the pebble beach (now considerably enlarged from the days when our kids used to skim stones from it).
View upstream.
. . . and downstream.
Sorry, low on words as we have to go into town again this morning, and then get sorted for the big Antiques Fair this weekend . . .
This heat gets to me. I am fine sitting around in the shade of the open doorway with a book, but the moment I have to do anything, I soon get tired. The most blessed relief today was when I stuck my wet-with-sweat head under the cold water tap! I'd been clearing roots out in the two areas roses are going tomorrow. I got a whole trug full of roots. I can't recall the name of the plant, but why did I buy it? Invasive? You bet! It has a white flower, sort of orange-blossom scent (which actually makes me feel quite sick) and reddish stems.
I am watering the veg and roses and susceptible plants (the just-planted trees etc) twice a day. Every time there is water in the washing up bowl for whatever reason, that goes on the garden too - the poor Magnolia tree has just been the recipient of that as it is looking a bit sorry for itself and the leaves are browning.
This was yesterday's sunrise (about 5 a.m.) but though it gave a shepherd's warning, there was no rain, just another hot day. This really is turning into a rerun of 1976, only with the occasional splash of rain - but not enough to be of benefit.
So I have had one of those bitty days. I finally got around to strigging the Blackcurrants that Danny cut for me on Sunday (I always cut the fruiting branch off and strig them indoors in the cool). Then I remembered that the "wild" Blackcurrant at the top of the yard (where I used to grow them when we first came here) had fruit on it so donned my wellies and cut back a few brambles and got a good picking off of that. All washed and frozen now.
I have started on a new crime novel, Sharon Bolton's "Dead Woman Walking" which is the sort that grab you on page one and now I'm on page 130 since breakfast-time! I can recommend it. I found it (and a couple of others) in the books donated for Charity, in Tesco. I shall look out for other of her novels now.
Not quite the show of Nasturtiums I normally have in the top of the wall, but amazing I have any considering their little roots must be frying daily!
Right, this won't do. Time for a proper hair wash and bath and then back down for an hour's tv before bed.
I think I must have availed myself of the "tiredness bug" which has been bothering my OH for the past week. I feel I could sleep for Wales. I think it's probably a summer cold as I have the snuffles too and I don't think they are pollen ones. I could do without it, but hope I will have shaken it off by Friday, when we set up for the 2 day Fair at the Botanic Gardens.
We were down at the car boot sale around 6.45 a.m. yesterday and picked up a couple of useful things for the garden - a roll of weed-supressant membrane for £2 and a roll of heavy duty black plastic - just what we needed for keeping the weed growth down on the track to the back of the house. Turns out it is even exactly the right width! That was £8.
I found a couple of pieces for the Antiques Fair next weekend too:
Isn't this gorgeous? Antique, probably French or German and has a maker's stamp on the bottom but the only bit I could make out clearly was "Frantz". The little cream jug and sugar bowl fit perfectly - it's so well potted and I love the little bird motif. Just in perfect time for Wimbledon!! I shall put strawberries in it, and some grapes on the grape stands I bought a while back.
I couldn't resist this little black cat either - 1950s/60s, kitch, but reminds me of the latest stray to us, Whitby, who is still about and when he is of a mind, will let me stroke him, but never twice in a row! Unfortunately Theo still wants to chase him off and now has an abscess forming on his back from a fight and a bite . . .
Here is something that never got as far as the Fair - where it would have sold straight away, I am certain:
It is the happy marriage between a lovely old turned Walnut "gypsy" base, a wrong top but which turned out the EXACT size for this mirror and mosaic top someone had made. How lucky was that? Anyway, son Danny was here on Saturday to help out with some heavy jobs, and really liked it, as did his mate he will be flat-sharing with soon, so they made us an offer and it will go to them. That quite surprised me as I thought it would be going away with a bo-ho lady!!
We also managed to find a home with Danny (the flat is only partly furnished) for 4 dining chairs, two crappy coffee tables, and he also spoke up for the spare double bed we had been looking for a mattress for (sigh!). I have found him all sorts of kitchen stuff very cheaply at car boot sales recently, so he should be quite well equipped by the time he moves in.
A rather blurry photo of Danny cutting Blackcurrant wands for me to strig in the cool of the kitchen.
One last photo of my rambler The Garland, one of the first roses planted here, and an absolute picture every summer.
Now I will away. Try not to melt (another hot one, though we did have a couple of rainy intervals yesterday evening, but nothing like the "amber alert" warning we were given!
