bunn

After a stressful week (stupid work things), I woke up early and saw the valley full of mist and Dartmoor all golden on the horizon.

(Must get onto cutting the hedge, I couldn't find a spot where the view was uninterrupted by twigs. Also, note to self, it would have been worth taking the time to put one of the old lenses on rather than using the jack-of-all-trades autofocus lens.  Still.  )

When we arrived in Looe last week, it was freezing cold with a steely grey sky.   I was pleased I'd resolved to walk in the woods rather than along the coast. 
( ... with photos of woods, hounds, food, cake, and a blue hat )

We went to Dartmoor Zoo today. Hadn't been for a long while and since then it has changed hands (and improved a lot of the more dodgy things)
( photos behind the cut... )

I feel that something bad is about to happen to the party:

Last week was the National Fireworks Championship. It runs over two nights, with three displays a night, and this was the first year we've been able to go to both nights. I even remembered my special Fireworks Picnic Rug (for sitting on the grass). (We didn't take the dog - she isn't bothered by fireworks, but I think such huge bangs would definitely test her nerves.) For once, both nights were gorgeous, clear and warm with an almost full moon. I took some decent night photos, though I should probably really have brought the tripod.

The first night we ate at Bistro Bene on the Barbican beforehand - which we both agreed was quite nice, but not quite nice enough to justify the slightly overpriced meal. Then the next day we met up with Xena and friend, and ate chips. Excellent chips indeed, but the QUEUES! Good grief! Any doubt we had that the chips were fresh was assuaged by the arrival, as we got towards the front of the queue, of two burly youths carrying an entire plastic dustbin filled to the brim with uncooked fresh chipped potatoes.

The winner of the competition was MLE Pyrotechnics, which is the one I thought was best too, though I didn't agree with the second and third placed competitors. Apparently you could vote by text, but I didn't know this till afterwards, so we didn't vote.

This weekend we were enormously efficient: I felled much of the jungle and piled it all on the compost heap, with the aid of my new lawnmower. Polo tidied the entire house (including the Compost Shelf, which has not been tidied since I put it up and was groaning under several year's worth of random paper and receipts.) Then we bought the final bits for our new bathroom, which is due to arrive next month, on Ebay. (Ebay seems to be excellent for things like tiles and stonework, if you are prepared to take the gamble of not seeing it till it arrives in the post). And we went to Valley's Hog Roast, which was slightly reduced in impressiveness over last year through the absence of the hog (Valley had been ill and therefore had not had time to wrestle half a pig into his car and then onto a spike. Still, the barbie was good none the less, and there was a range of food 'onna stick'. You can't really reject food if it's 'onna stick' can you?