We woke to the pitter patter, not of Winstons paws on the kitchen tiles but of the rain hammering down outside. Not to be deterred Maice took a very grumpy Winston out for his first pee and poo of the day and brought an even more grumpy and rather bedraggled Winston back. Needing to get cosy he joined me on my single bed but two in a bed just don’t fit, even if one is a small pupster so we took ourselves next door and joined Maice in the king size bed, just like Morecambe and Wise used to do…….Me writing the blog, Maice sorting out the ‘photos what she took’. Of course the ‘photos what she took’ on her camera will remain in her camera for now as she forgot to pack the adapter that moves them from camera to iPad! However, she has assured me they will be posted on our last blog……just in case you get confused about where and when they were taken!!
After a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon we regrouped around the breakfast table to discuss our next move. To be honest a post breakfast cappuccino would go down very well which would mean a walk into Combe Martin. We could even partake in some last minute shopping whilst we’re there. How exciting. Decision made we togged ourselves up in our wet weather gear and set off. We bumped into Zacs dad outside who seemed quite bemused that we were walking. ‘It’s a very steep hill’ he told us….‘especially on the way back’. Hey, a steep hill would be no problem for us even in the rain. We set off purposefully, the three of us, down the hill to Combe Martin. He was right, Zacs dad, it was a very steep hill, so steep in fact they my knees were starting to ache! If this was what it was like on the way down, what would it be like on the way up?
At the end of the very steep hill we came to the High Street and followed the signs to ‘the beach’. As high streets go it was full of houses rather than shops and cafes…..the first thing we encountered was the village hall where there was a book and jeans sale. A strange combination we thought. Wanting neither of what was on offer, although it would have been good to get out of the rain, the thought of a cappuccino spurred us on. We could see in the distance a sign, a ‘coffee served here’ sign and quickened our pace, but when we looked through the grubby net curtains into the cafe we decided to carry on and find another cafe. We ended up at the beach having passed what seemed like the only two shops in the village. Everything had closed down, everywhere was looking pretty grim in the rain and there was no secondary cafe. We regrouped under an awning to discuss our options. The fact of the matter was, there were no options other than to go back to the cafe with the grubby net curtains. So that’s what we did. Two extremely sodden humans and a very grumpy pupster entered the cafe come bakery and took our seats by the window. They do say the state of ones nets say a lot about the inside and they were right. It was grubby inside too! However, it was obviously the hubbub of the village as all the locals kept popping in for their bread and for a chat and we did enjoy a rather lovely cappuccino. You see, you should never judge a book by its cover. Needless to say we decided not to make use of the loo, you know, just in case!
There was no respite with the rain so we decided to take a short cut back to the cottage. We’d seen a sign by the church indicating a bridleway path and on the walk down we’d also seen the same sign so presumed they were the same path and decided to follow it. Squelching through the mud, Winston no longer walking but being carried by Maice it seemed we were walking in the opposite direction to that which we wanted to go. Fortunately we met a local walking her dog who told us to turn back immediately as we were totally off-piste, so turn back we did and started our ascent of ‘the hill’. It was steep. It was very steep. In fact, it was a real killer of a hill. We finally made it to the cottage, very wet, muddy and bedraggled. The first thing we did when we got in was to put Winston in the bath. Oh dear, he was not a happy chappy and sulked on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile, in our efforts to dry our clothes we tried to put up the clothes airer. One would think it an easy task but it didn‘t matter what we did it wouldn’t stand up, it kept falling down and it kept falling apart. We were getting in such a muddle and it was getting so tangled in the end we gave up and relegated it to the corner of the room, finding alternative ways to dry our clothes.
Comfort food was what we needed on a wet and miserable day like today so we donned our huffle-buffs and relaxed on the sofa with a bowl of Maice’s home made bread and butter pudding and our version of a Canadian Cesar which translates to a Bloody Mary or an M&A Cesar! Ah, what more can one want on Christmas Eve! I personally would like a bigger sofa to relax on. There are two sofas here in the lounge. Maice is on one, legs outstretched, I am on the other, legs all crumpled up as it’s too short for me and if I put my feet on the floor my feet get cold despite wearing slippers. Oh what the heck, just have another drink Angela……!
This holiday we’d decided to resurrect our Gin Rummy tournaments which we used to play religiously on every holiday. The table was set, drinks were topped up and so we began. I have to say that after such a long time we both did well but happy to report we finished with me in the lead….! Just saying! Our next source of entertainment came in the form of Alexa. Neither of us have Alexa at home but here she is at the cottage. Every now and again when the TV is on Alexa springs to life and makes a comment yet when we speak to her she doesn’t respond. We can only imagine this is due to voice recognition presuming Zac the owner set it up. We tried speaking to Alexa in deep voices, high voices, shouty voices and in unison but to no avail. She wouldn’t respond to our requests so in the end Maice took on the role of Alexa and switches off the lights and turns the heating up and down!
We spent the rest of the evening on the sofas, relaxing, drinking, eating, listening to the rain outside, watching TV, Home Alone being our choice of film and one I’ve not seen and finally it was time for bed but not before Winston went out for his last pee and poo of the day. Poor love, he’d been all cosy on the sofa fast asleep then all of a sudden he finds himself outside in a field, in the rain!!!
On that note, ho ho ho, it’s time to go
See you on Christmas Day…..M&A and Mr Grumpy xx