Newquay ~ 5 July 2002

Our job is so mundane, we seem to just live for our two days off. Today we travelled down to a surfing town called Newquay. It is about a half hour drive from St Merryn. What was once a small fishing town is now a colourful fair ground for surfers, swimmers and tourists.

It's a good feeling having a day off and with hard earned cash in your pocket to spend on what you wish. We found an Internet cafe, it's a good relief to hear from home and write back. Kasey had written a wonderful poem and I wasn't too surprised to hear of Buster's adoption to the "donkey lady" down the road. [Buster was an unruly Terrier dog of my parents - my mother found it hard to cope with his energy]

Newquay has golden sand and interesting little coves. We wandered along the beach to see the "Island" There was a house converted into a cafe on the Island with a wonderful bridge crossing over from the mainland. It was a great little spot.

Padstow ~ 3 July 2002

Ian and I have been in Padstow for a week now. Padstow is a beautiful Cornish fishing village, filled will the British touris. Rick Stein has four restaurants here and also has his cooking school based here.

We are flatting in a smaller village down the road called St Merryn. The house is very nice and quiet with all we need. Our flat mates - Ed, a dope smoking chef, part time DJ who doesn't have a lot to say and John, who has too much to say and has an over sized chip on his shoulder and gets very excitable about the smallest things. He is a type of person who when you meet him you would say "A real nice guy, a lot of fun, but I wouldn't want to live with him." Well we are and he is going to be hard work.

Our job is at a restaurant called "Walkers" where we will be working with both Ed and John. The work is very mundane, I'm not sure if I can see myself doing this job until October.

We haven't had a chance to have a good look around Cornwall yet. The Cornish coast is very wild and moody - very beautiful. It's very different from Devon, not many trees and the houses are made from stone and slate, very charming.

Between us we have made enough money this week to buy a small car off a person at work. This means we will hopefully save money on public transport and be much more independent to do some sight seeing on our days off.

It's our day off today and I wanted to do something a bit touristy. We visited Prideaux Place, a historic home of the Prideaux family. A lovely home with interesting paintings and stunning pieces of furniture. A few films have been made here. The gardens were quaint with a pleasant view across to Padstow, it is a lovely place.

Crediton ~ 25 June 2002

Explored Crediton today. We discovered by accident "Searle Street" [my family name]. Crediton is quite a nice town. Small narrow streets, houses close to the road. Considering how small Crediton is, it has a beautiful church. I'm not sure at what stage we will get tired of looking at churches. Ian observed how small the churches appear from the outside until you walk inside and this whole new world opens up before you. It felt very peaceful inside, most of the time we were the only ones there.

It is now official. We are leaving for Padstow on Thursday. - a small fishing village on the Cornish coats. We have both found work and accommodation there.

Exeter ~ 24 June 2002

Today we ventured into Exeter. Main reason - to look for work and to visit the Exeter Cathedral. My Grandmother [who died before I was born] use to sing in the choir at this beautiful Cathedral. It's very impressive from the outside with intricate designs and stonework. It's amazing how the Cathedral was speared in the Blitz of 1942. Many buildings were destroyed and only a small part of the Cathedral was damaged. I lit a candle inside for the memory of my Grandmother, Gwendoline Harry.

Another interesting thing about Exeter is that it's surrounded by a Roman wall. Exeter is one of England's oldest cities and was founded over 2000 years ago by the Romans.

We have a job lead - I'm feeling quite nervous and scared. I suppose once again it 's just the unknown that is frightening.

British Sunday ~ 23 June 2002

Sunday - A nice peaceful sleep in. Bett and Arthur took us out a traditional Sunday lunch at the "Waie Inn". Afterwards we had a little walk through the woods near Eggesford. The forest is a popular walking track with wild Foxgloves and little streams running through.

After a cup of tea at a near by garden centre Arthur gave us a tour of his area where he grew up - Coldridge. Arthur has a wide knowledge of the area which makes our trip much more interesting. Lovely narrow country lanes, with fields, hedges and white washed thatched cottages.

I rang home later that evening. Dad spoke to Aunty Bett and commented on how she sounded just like his own mother. Bett and Arthur are such a wonderful couple!

Aunt Bett in Devon ~ 22 June 2002

It was never our intention to stay and work in London. Both Ian and I had a desire to work in Devon, Cornwall or maybe the Lake District. Today we decided to take the bus to my Aunt's home in Devon and from there we will organize somewhere to live and work.

We caught the coach at Victoria Station 10 am this morning. It was a bit of rush and we ended up running with all our luggage just in time to catch the coach before it left. The reason we were late....The All Blacks were playing Ireland this morning!

We are on our way to Exeter, Devon where Aunt Bett and Uncle Arthur is meeting us. It's a good feeling leaving the busy city. It doesn't take long until you can see green pastures, cows and horses. The coach trip was going to take the 'scenic' route until they decided against it. Yesterday was the summer solstice and many would be coming back from Stonehenge. That was a bit of a disappointment. Even though the scenery was just as beautiful. We past Winsor Castle in the distance. It is a huge building, impressive even from a distance. It was a 4 1/2 hour trip from London to Exeter and we arrived at 2.15 pm.

It was lovely to finally meet Aunt Bett after all this time. [I had been writing to Aunt Bett from New Zealand since I was a child] She and Arthur are very hospitable. They live just out of Exeter in a small town called Crediton. We went for a small walk with Arthur to pick something up for tea. I have a lot of family history here. We walked past the house where my Great Grandparents use to live, I'm sure I will discover more family history as we stay a little longer. The Crediton Church dominates the town where Black Crows or Rooks play on the headstones. It's a very pretty and quaint little place.

After dinner Arthur took us out for a drive to see the beautiful surrounding countryside. It's the classic English country scenes you see in the movies or in books. Coleford is a small village with thatched white washed cottages, small narrow lanes boarded with hedges, rabbits and crows - absolutely beautiful and so quiet! I really like it here.

The Tate ~ 20 June 2002

Ventured out by myself this afternoon. I was desperate to visit the Tate Britain. Outside was a sculpture of Millais. I only had a limited time because I had to meet Ian at the National Gallery late that afternoon, so I went straight to the Pre-Raphaelites. [I have a deep passion for the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, especially Rossetti] The first painting I saw as I walked in was Rossetti's 'Proserpine'. It was just stunning. Rossetti, Millais, Burne-Jones, Waterhouse, all my heroes. In a way I was glad I was by myself because I know Ian wouldn't have felt the same appreciation as did I. Millais 'Ophelia' was stunning, but I felt Waterhouses' 'Lady of the Shallot' was hung to high to appreciate properly.


There was a great collection of William Blake. There was a drawing of the spirit that taught Blake to paint in his dreams - it put shivers down my spine.


Just to prove how small the world really is, I was on my way to meet Ian at the National Gallery and not only had he caught the exact same train as me, we both found each other in the same carriage!