garden summerhouses

This weekend saw us taking a drive up into Dartmoor to visit an open garden under the National Gardens Scheme and what a delight when on the two and a half acres and amidst a field of wildflowers we saw this

a reproduction of a 1924 ‘Angela’ caravan.

lovingly fitted out with a little sink and hob it would be the perfect place to relax after working your two and a half acres.

Now these summerhouses below are raised off the ground on staddle stones which was always the way of keeping harvested grain dry and pest free. They are made from sustainable wood and are erected on site and can even be wired up for electrics and telephone points making the ideal garden room/office and what’s more you don’t need massive acreage for these!

grainstoregardenbuildings.com

back lane eggs & cow parsley

Our neighbouring farm had hen and duck eggs for sale so we wandered up the back lane to buy some and then scrambled them just with butter.

I stuffed mine in some floury pitta breads and they were yummy

I noticed on the way that the cow parsley is trying to take over in the back lane

The hens roam and pick around the back lane so in a cyclical way the back lane is also feeding me!

ramblers bone

These awesome cabin images come from  www.ramblersbone.com

On April 5^th, American born photographers Mikael Kennedy & Sean Sullivan set out from Los Angeles, CA, on a 30 day road trip to explore America.

Sullivan & Kennedy, both veteran travelers of the American highways  wandered east into the deserts of New Mexico, turned north through the Rockies into the wilds of Montana, then across to the Pacific for the last leg of their journey, down the California coast where  wilderness meets water; the point where early explorers of the West realized they could go no further.

you can see their travels on www.ramblersbone.com

shepherds huts

So the Olympic torch made it’s way through Cornwall on Saturday bypassing our forgotten corner but hopping on the Torpoint ferry would get you a great view just on the other side of the Tamar. The flame was due to come alongside the Naval base and pass through Devonport and I said to Mad Friend, ‘what are we doing for the torch’!  so she decided to put on an impromtu barbeque and friends got busy baking really yummy brownies and cakes.

all decked out

contributions to the grill

medals were given out

we trundled down to the local park where the grass naturally slopes down to the roadside, creating a perfect viewing point.

the torch passed by just as dusk fell creating a perfect light to let the flame shine out.

Now this week it’s the Chelsea Flower Show and as it seems there’s a fascination with shepherd’s huts, showman’s wagons and the like (I note many people read my previous post regarding huts and trailers,) I thought I’d mention these guys below

http://www.plankbridge.com/

I  came across this site which repairs shepherds huts and builds reproduction ones and one of their huts will be within a show garden at the Flower Show this week – the Plankbridge Shepherd’s Hut Show Garden to be precise. I love the opening paragraph on their website (below) it certainly makes me want to read more and I shall be watching the television coverage of the flower show hoping to get a peak of the hut.

The Plankbridge story

“Our story begins in the year 2000 with an old, very decayed shepherd’s hut on a drover’s road leading from Waterston to Higher Bockhampton in Dorset, where Thomas Hardy was born. We, Richard Lee and Jane Dennison, would often wander up the track to walk the dogs and would stop and admire the hut. It is very likely that Hardy himself would have walked past that hut. “

festivals

We are entering the festival season with the Du Maurier festival already well into the swing of things, in fact it ends this weekend but there’s still time to hear Timothy & Shane Spall talking to actress Frances Barber about “The Voyages of the Princess Matilda – The adventure of a lifetime…” as seen on BBC4, or Helen Dunmore talking about her new book ‘The Greatcoat’. There’s an Edwardian costume display inspired by the Titanic anniversary, a flower display in the 14th century parish church and a couple of gardens open – the Hidden Valley gardens and Marsh Villa gardens, plus lots of other events.

www.plymouthvolksfest.co.uk

The Plymouth Volksfest is from the 1-5 June at Newnham Park, Plympton and the Maker festival on the Rame Peninsula is on 29,30 June and the 1st July with Way with Words following on the heels from the 6-16th July. Way with Words at Dartington is packed full of literary talks and readings plus comics and poets thrown in for good measure – I particularly like the Wondermentalist cabarets hosted by Matt Harvey which this year will be broadcast for BBC radio 4. We then get the daddy of festivals for this neck of the woods Port Elliot 19-22-July hotly followed by the Plymouth Jazz and Blues festival the weekend of 27-29 July.

photos from the Port Elliot gallery 2011 hover over the pics for credits

Into August we have the Knee Deep Festival(10-11 August) occurring at a secret location, which will be revealed on purchase of a ticket (it’s somewhere between Plymouth and Liskeard) and then way ahead in October we have the Plymouth Oxjam festival on the 22nd October but I think I’ll remind you in a couple of months about that.

So whatever your fancy is, literature, music or old VW vans, get your tent and wellies out and pray for sun!!

jubilee market

It’s great that over the last 6 months or so there has been a move up the foodie ladder in the Plymouth area and so it continues. On Monday 7th England’s first bank holiday of May there was a large foodie gathering at the Royal William Yard and they have just announced that there will be another one on the June bank holiday coinciding with the Jublilee.

The Royal William Yard Good Food Market was deemed a success with the largest footfall ever in the old victualling yard and the next market, hoping to grow on that will include crafts and entertainment as well. With over 30 stalls on the first outing we came away with chilli infused squid, local Dartmoor cheese, mackerel caught that weekend and wild herbs picked that morning, ruby red beef, olives, bread, hummus and salted caramels made with goats milk and butter that were so divine we are counting the days until the next available purchase. We could’ve sat down on the grass and eaten it there and then, which is what the organisers, Event Jam, are hoping people will do on the 4th June. We also had a great cup of coffee from Bean Bug who were having their inaugural business start up day on the day of the market.

I am really looking forward to the next one – the only thing that could improve it would be the weather,  and a larger supply of salted caramels!!

For a list of the stalls from the market on May 7th click here

cabin envy california

It’s not a wooden chalet but it ticks all the cabin boxes (well maybe not the road bit). I love the colour against the greenery and there’s a sneaky air of ‘there maybe more but it’s not for your eyes’. I like the fact that the tiles may follow a pattern or just have a few missing but either way it doesn’t matter.

Maybe it’s the light in California but the colours just look so much more intense.

There also seems to be a lot of pimping of pavements!