Monday 15th August 2022

I got up at 8 am this morning as I had to get the 9.47 train to Exeter St Davids, that was the plan anyway.  I got two boxes of berry medleys from Tesco yesterday but only managed to eat one for breakfast, I gave the other to Dan along with some Greek yoghurt.  He is good and helps me carry buckets of my washing-up water to put in the garden as we are now officially in a drought, the news says it could last until next year.

I went to a craft thing at big Tesco, I could have done the same thing if Facebook had alerted me it was going on, they are a pain and hide important posts.  I was a bit annoyed, the Carer's craft store was there so were Swan and The Talking Place.  It was very hot and soon the sun will swing round onto the tables, luckily they finished at 2 pm.

I went to Bournemouth on Saturday to escape the heat, I think many other people had the same idea.  It was like a sauna on the bus.  The driver has air conditioning but there's none for the passengers!  They are going to have to do something as this is the new norm now, I sat in the disabled seat and didn't move unless I had to.  I took my chair as the deckchairs are far too expensive, and have to be put away at 5 pm.  At Ringwood the traffic crawled along due to the roadworks, it was bad towards Southampton.  The A338 wasn't too bad with a couple of broken-down cars along the side because the engines probably overheated.

There was a long queue for the pier but I just showed my card, they have different colours for each year and it's pink this year, last year was blue.  The beach was one mass of blue and white umbrellas, I noticed that a lot of Indian people visit Bournemouth, the ladies wear some very pretty series that glitter in the sunlight.  The pub on the beach was playing loud music then some boys came along and started playing their music which was a pain, luckily they went away.  

I got the 7.20 bus back which wasn't too bad, the sun was like an orange ball.  Had to go back via Christchurch as the traffic on the A338 was too long, went through a couple of villages which must have seen a lot of history.

I visited my parents and we had lemon cheesecake for dessert and watched a strange horror film about the ghosts in the Tower of London, someone does have a weird imagination.

Coming back to today.  I decided to use that pink suitcase I bought in Waymouth, what a mistake that was.  The damned wheels on the thing keep getting stuck against things, especially when I tried to push it in front of me.  It also keeps getting top-heavy and falls forward so it makes it very hard work, I will loom in TK Max when I get back for a new one.

I forgot my Nationwide book and had to pay £1.90 fair from the Canel to the train station because my disablement card doesn't work before 9.30, then the train got delayed at Honiton and I thought I would have to change trains at Exeter then Exeter St Davids.  Luckily I'd booked passenger assistance so the staff helped me with my bags.

I trundled round with the case to the Seaway B&B, John and Barbara are such nice people, I was losing my rag with the suitcase.  It was much too late to go to Dawlish for lunch so I stayed in Teignmouth. 

Teignmouth has a lot of childhood memories for me when I used to come with my parents for a week, a lot of things have changed.  We used to stay at a B&B called Redsands which funnily enough is across the road from where I'm staying now.  It was owned by Mrs Bullock who had a blind Siamese cat and a deaf dog.  She only had one leg, but being a stupid kid I never noticed.  I used to visit her when we came down to stay in her flat, we stayed upstairs in the attic.  Sadly she died in hospital and the new owner who came from London who took over, wasn't that friendly and we eventually went elsewhere.  

We also stayed opposite a chip shop called the Gypsy Moth, that's now an Indian restaurant, Redsands became a private house.  I do recall a stuffed ottar in the reception area.  The smell still reminds me of happy childhood memories of long hot days and seaside fun.

I try and come down here as much as possible now and one day I would like to settle here, I have no intention of staying in Salisbury.

I went to a cafe called The Old Jaffa House and had a teacake and a bit of velvet cake, I didn't finish all the cake.  Two ladies were cooing over another lady's dog, there are dogs everywhere. I walked along the seafront, they took the water out of the old Lido.  There were people on the beach but not as many as I suspected, I looked on the pier and noticed they have removed the puppet show box I loved as a kid.  It conked out last year and someone is repairing and restoring it, they were like old friends to me as a kid.

I went to Dawlish at about 5 pm, there were tents on the green (or should I say yellow now?) as it was the Dawlish carnival.  I will spend an afternoon here when I can if it's fine, someone said it might rain tomorrow which is depressing.  The sun was glorious tonight so glad I wore my sunnies, I get headaches in bright sunlight.

The black swan chicks were cute, Dawlish is famous for its black swans and the chicks sit under a heat lamp, there are other birds like ducks and geese on the stream that runs through Dawlish.  I got the bus back to Teignmouth and sat around the backwater watching the sunset, a lot of people were outside in chairs in groups having a ball.  

Walking along the seafront I noticed dark grey storm clouds gathering, I also heard the distant rumble of thunder.

I am in room 4 my bedroom overlooks the street.  It is noisy but not as bad as Ivy Street, occasionally a seagull squeaks and there's loud noise from the bar next door but it's not too bad.  The mattress is more comfortable than Jackie's in Newquay, I must get blinds for my window as the lamp outside shines in through my curtains.

Off to rest back now, see you tomorrow.