Friday 4 June 2010

A little piece of heaven!! ;-)





Almost every day, I drive by this lovely house.
It is a stone's throw from where I live and I remember it from many years ago when it was run down , falling down and dilapidated.
Then someone took it on... and improved it no end...
Well...one day, a year or two ago, there was a table outside with a few plants on it and an honesty box.
You know how much I love to see plants for sale on such tables!
However, this year I noticed that the sign said...'Come in!' ;-)
The only problem is that there is only one parking space and every time I have driven by, it's been taken!
Not today though!
And I got in...and boy did I get the surprise of my life!
If you are a garden lover, you would have loved this!
I didn't have to pay for admission but I gladly would have!
I entered a very secret garden; a little piece of heaven which if it was mine, I don't know if I could share it!! ;-)


Firstly, I was gobsmacked at the amount of land behind these previously closed doors.



Secondly, I met a lovely lady who must have the greenest fingers in Devon .

Oh.... and a touch of vintage, which always goes down well with me!
Sue (lets give her a name!) dropped what she was doing to give me a guided tour of her garden with its charming hidden paths and borders.

Little places to rest here and there.


And querky features... like this piece of wood found in the nearby River Teign.
To me, it resembled a large bird about to take flight!

I just adored this place!
It all came quite unexpectedly as I did not expect to be able to stop and park!
I mean..I could easily have walked there but..there's the problem of carrying what one buys!!
;-)




I'm going back there, no doubt about it!







If you are local and want to know where this it, it's on the Exeter road (otherwise known to us locals as the 'Bumpy Bridges road') between the Bovey Tracey road and Kingsteignton.
Just before the Teigngrace turning, if that helps!








That was my morning!
And I am so glad that I am able to share it with you.
I found my camera in the back of my car,when I thought I didn't have it with me!
And thank you to Sue for your time... and for making my day!
Have a great weekend everyone!
It's Exeter for me tomorrow!
;-)


Thursday 3 June 2010

At home with me!! ;-)



I'm quite excited! ;-)

My humble little abode is going to be open for business! ;-)

Here's something I've been thinking of doing for a while but what with one thing and another I've been too busy to organise it...until
now!

********

AT HOME WITH SAL ;-)

********

If you can't quite see the poster,
click here to find
out more!



The dates :, Mon 14 June / Tues 15 June/ Weds 16 June and
Mon 21 June/Tues 22 June/ Weds 23 June

The time : 11am til 3pm

The place : My place!

All of my vintage and handmade items will be for sale in my little shabby area next to my teaching room...and might even spread into that very room (indeed you might get an English lesson too!! LOL)..I have no idea just how much room I will need ..yet!

I have lots and lots of lovely new arrivals in the vintage fabric dept!
Plus... a variety of handmade goodies with a vintage touch.
Plus... plenty of more modern fabrics for those lovers of those more up to date designs.
Or better still, for those who like to mix old and new, a lovely selection from which to choose and drool over .



And that's not all!
....free tea, coffee, cake and a natter...


...in my kitchen!

It's going to be a very 'low key' affair!
Everyone in blogland in Devon is welcome.

You can pop along if and when you like, at the times stated on the poster...that's if you're in

Devon of course! Or if you happen to be on your hols here, you are also very welcome!
Bring a friend too...(but no children, sorry... there are too many hazards around in my garden !)
Looking forward to seeing some of you!

;-)

Tuesday 1 June 2010

70s style..trendy or what?



Imagine my surprise, when I was looking on 'Friends Reunited', the
other day, I saw this photograph.
And in it was ... a very young me with my class!!

I had progressed from my college days, slit jeans (in order to make them flare, we used to slit them and put triangular pieces of fab fabric in the sides), loons, smocks and Biba...and was now a Chelsea Girl/Miss Selfridge/Snob girl/Van Allen gal!!
Those were the clothing shops on
offer to girls like me , in the 70s.

And not to mention this very 70s hairstyle!
You can tell I have rolled straight out of the 60s... but calmed down somewhat!

Dear Mr S has edited this photo for me and I received it in an email entitled,
'Kevin Keegan, the early years!!
Cheeky devil!

I am quite offended! ;-0

So..let's get the laughing over and done with...(anyone on Facebook has already seen this... and plenty have guffawed!!)


Moving on swiftly from the hair... (it is all my own hair and not a wig! And I had the perm done at Blackwater,where I lived.)..to the outfit.
I remember this particular outfit well.. the blouse was from Selfridges in Southampton .
I spent many a Saturday in Southampton , that's where I first came across the phrase, 'Never Knowingly Undersold' , at the store Tyrell and Green... and I even tried my best to prove them wrong, at times!




I'm not sure where I found my blue 'Bib 'n Braces pinny but I loved this and wore it endlessly with a variety of shirts and blouses etc and I had bib 'n braces dungarees too!
Lord knows what I have on my feet (!) but I know they were comfy as I had to be comfy being on my feet a lot of the day! I think they were some sort of clogs with trendy flowers embroidered on them!

I was 25 years old and in my first teaching job at a First school in Lightwater, Surrey.
Does anyone live near there...or better still know anyone in this photo?

In those days Surrey had what was known as 'First schools' and Middle Schools. The class in the photo was the top class of Lightwater First school, so equivalent to year 3 children nowadays. I did have a handful of year 2 children in this class, I recall.
And this class, without a doubt, was also the nicest class that I have ever taught!
I was really lucky to have found a good school in which to start my teaching career and I was very happy at Lightwater.

Going to school each day was an absolute pleasure...oh yes and not forgetting the fact that you could shut your classroom door and get on with your teaching ...no Sats, no Ofsteds (there's only one 'f' in Ofsted (think on that one!!! LOL!) , no piles of files to take home at night, records were to a minimum and amazingly every one of these little darlings could read write and spell exceedingly well..and their handwriting was beautiful. That was not all due to me because they had had good grounding before they reached me and all I needed to do was build on that.
I can remember at the end of the year that I was oh so sad to see them all leave me and that my teacher's table was covered in bunches of flowers and goodbye gifts.
I will never forget this lovely class and I can still remember all of their names!
To see them staring out at me the other day was quite a tear jerker!

These children would be around 40 years old now...and their teacher um... just a tad older of course !!!!!

A real trip down memory lane! Happy days!

Must fly..I have a hair appointment..

' A Bubble perm, please!'

;-)