I didn't get lucky... in finding a Wi-Fi spot, that is. What else, you dirty beggars. Seeing as my hope in finding a Wi-Fi hotspot was unfounded, I've decided to write posts for my blog as the days tick past. On my travels to the North Devon coast, I took my laptop for a little comfort and to do my homework. As well as doing homework, I also took it to play with - namely Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Oh yeah!
SaturdayThe last time I came to Westward Ho! (Which was last year) our caravan was ready as soon as we got here, which was about 11am. This year we arrived at around the same time but it seemed that last year we were a little spoiled. We didn't get into our caravan until about 2pm - which made sure I took the dogs down to the beach and over the rocks to fill the 2/3 hours we had to wait. When we finally got in we unpacked and I went into my usual room (we had got the same van as last year). As usual I joined the two single beds not even dwarfs could sleep in, let alone me. I set up the DVD player, set up my laptop, plugged in the joystick and slapped disk #4 of MFS2004 into my CD-ROM. Sorted. After about 2 hours of mid-air crashes and helicopter flying, I went, with my parents, to the bar across the street, beat my dad at 2 games of pool in a row - something not seen for 4 months - and tried to ignore a crazy man trying to talk to me about beer. Lovely. Anyway, we stayed there for about 2-3 hours and I came back to the caravan at about 5-6pm. I started my English coursework after scanning the ICT coursework booklet the school had surprised us with last Friday. To be honest, I wish that our teacher had given us warning because my time has had to be re-evaluated - thank god it doesn?t have to be in until the 3rd May. This means more flying before writing. Two games of Mastermind and a game of Scrabble ended the night before I went and read my 'String Theory' book for half an hour. Saturday had ended.
SundayThe second day of my holiday in lovely North Devon started off beautifully, the sun beaming through my room window and through the seating area's windows. The heat was actually quite annoying so the door of the caravan was open most of the day and the dogs were stretched out on the gleaming grass in front of the van. Anyway, a lovely full English breakfast (without the sausage but with the toast, beans, bacon and eggs) entered my belly that morning and I gained a few more air miles on the old simulator. In the theme of my reading list at the time, I found it quite nice not knowing what the time was. For some reason it made the day seem longer and carefree. Anyway, the average time of my awakening was about 10am and I spent 2 hours eating breakfast, playing and writing that morning. Then I went over to the club - got to love the pub Coca-Cola - and again beat my dad 2 out of 3 games of pool. Where we're staying there are long walks in the cliffs called the 'Tors'. There are 5 levels going up the cliff face. That day I started off at the second level and took the dogs on about a 1.5 mile walk along that level. The views even from that level were picturesque and I made sure that the next day I would go right to the top and see the World War II pill box. I went back and had a lovely steak dinner cooked by the ?chef? of the house - or mobile home in this case - and watched TV and flew over Rome. It was today that I also heard about the Pope's death. I had been quite interested in the Papacy since reading 'The DaVinci Code' and, even though it's a sad time, want to see the forthcoming events like the conclave. Even though I'm not a Christian, I felt, even before reading the Dan Brown books, that John Paul II did a lot for everyone, especially in Europe, and that he was a figure that youth could relate to. Sunday had ended.
MondayOn our last week we stayed down here, we meant to go and visit the 14th Century fishing village of Clovelly. We couldn't because the dogs would not go down the steps inside the visitors centre. But this year I was able to go while the dogs stayed in the caravan. Before I go on I?ll give you a little insight into Clovelly. The village is 700 years old and is built upon a cliff face and the village is half a mile from the top of the cliff to the bottom where the sea wraps a 14th century quay. When I got there, I thought that it would all be preserved and not actually lived in. But it's actually a 'real' village and they even have their own RNLI station. From the visitors centre we walked down a small but gentle cobbled slope (I suspect about a 35° slope) and then we could either stroke some donkeys or go and see the village. Hmm, hard. What I didn't bargain on was the 55° to 65° slope going all the way down to the sea. It was hard to keep my balance some of the way down, but that didn't stop me from looking around. The houses looked quite odd because of the angle they were at. Slate from the bottom of the village was used for the roof tiles and some of the houses were as old as the 14th Century but more were 17th - 19th Century. On our way down the half mile, almost vertical slope we stopped every so often to see the view. You could see for miles in every direction ? up the coasts and out to sea where Lundy Island stood. Once we'd got to the bottom of the village and had been repented of the cobbled street - my feet hurt - we climbed a ladder and walked the length of the 14th Century quay. We stayed there for about 5 minutes and then stolled over to the waterfall. The people of the village used to, and still do, use the water from the waterfall to water their gardens and to use for drinking water. It was the only source of fresh water for a few miles - I wouldn't use salt water if I had the choice. Anyway, now it was time to ascend back up to the car. One problem: it was half a mile of a 65° cobbled slope. I decided I wanted to try it, so I did. But because I did it, so did my parents (who wanted to take the land rover service back to the top) and, to put it nicely, they dragged behind. We stopped off for water - 3 bottles in fact - and headed back up. It took about 20-30 minutes for me to finally reach the top, but was it worth it. Anyway, we headed back tired, beat and cursing the pain in the back of our legs. That night I took the dogs out with my mum who decided to take a detour and climb up the cliffside, getting pricked every step, and up into a field full of horses. I will only say this: I lost 3 buckets of sweat and it took 40 minutes to get back to the caravan. Monday had ended.
TuesdayTuesday was a 'real' lazy day for me. In the morning I started a flight in a leer jet from Canberra to Sydney, only to miss the runway and land in the sea. That flight took me 1.5 hours and then I go and ruin it (and not bother to save my progress). Anyway, went down to the club for two hours after that and had some more games of pool, beat my dad once more and had a portion of cheesy chips. Yum. After that we took the dogs down to the beach once more. They love it on the beach. They go mad in the sand and chase each other into the sea and try to run into each other - it's rather funny when they do. After that we came back and spent another hour in the club. I love pub Coke. Then my parents went to a nearby town to have a look around, so I looked after the dogs in the caravan, watched TV, read my book and flew over Benson AB. A bit of rain during the day made it seem a little dull ? but that night it really hammered it down with hail and rain and the wind was just awful, rocking the caravan every so often. Tuesday had ended.
WednesdayI'm actually writing this as we head home on the A361, but here goes anyway. I woke up feeling quite nauseous. I don't know why and the cause was never brought to justice - the good old British justice system, eh. Wednesday prompted a new energy in me and I actually offered to take the dogs out. Yes people, I volunteered to do exercise. I took my two dogs up the Tors (I referred to them in a previous paragraph) and the views, again, were just immense. My dogs nearly caught a rabbit which was fun. Not for the rabbit, of course, for me. I came back, read my book and then looked forward to a trip to a near by town to finally get rid of my £20 Woolworths vouchers that had been festering in my wallet for some time now. This town was Bideford and it just happened to have a Woolworths - and I didn't spend a bloody penny. Nothing that I really wanted so I spent some money - not mine - in the arcade; that always seem to work. We spent about 2 hours in Bideford but, to be honest, it was a little boring. One thing I will say is that there were about 3 or 4 townies where I was. Also, at the park we were staying at I only saw 1 townie from Monday to Wednesday. I think it's because most other schools started their Easter holidays one week before I did so I think they came in that week. The last time I came down to Westward Ho! it was townie galore. They filled up the arcade, sat on the pool tables and smoked, vandalised the frontage of the club and ran riot around the caravans at night. Now can you see where my hatred comes from? Anyway, got back and went to the club for some lovely pub coke and I played about 5 games of pool and only won 1 out of the 5. It seemed my luck (or skill) had run out. I went back to the caravan early only to find this townie (female type) searching around our caravan and the others near it. She said "I've lost my ferret". I just unlocked the door, went in, closed the door and locked it again. Who brings a bloody ferret on holiday with them? Moving on, the girl went away and I flew my leer jet from Johannesburg to Cape Town in South Africa. Took the dogs out and then made myself presentable and ready to go out to one of my favourite bar/restaurants in the area: Pig on the Hill. It was great and the waiter had those band things on - the breast cancer one, the heart ones and the anti-racism ones - and my mum thought that because he was wearing the bands that he was gay. God, that was funny. Wednesday had ended.
ThursdayNot much to say about this day. Just a normal 2 walks: 1 up the Tors and 1 down to the beach. It was quite a horrible day really, the winds were bloody strong and were rocking the caravan. It rained most of the day and night with small hail but the wind made the small droplets deadly against your face. Even though the caravan was chained to the slope it was still a little worrying to feel the wind rocking this caravan. Anyway, life goes on and so must I to the next day. Oh, we went to the Pig on the Hill again because it was so good. Thursday had ended.
FridaySome family who had stayed here previously with us (not in the same accommodation) were coming down today to start their week of holiday. Some 5 cousins, godmother and 2 3rd cousins were coming down and staying in a double chalet. We took the dogs out to the beach in the morning and stopped off at a bar overlooking the ocean. The dogs were soaking and I got caught in the tide and was drenched from the knees down. I won 2 toys from the arcade attached to the bar and also had a go on my favourite shooter: Time Crisis. We went back and went into the club and played pool 3 times - I won twice - and I had some lovely cheesy chips which are the best in the area, in my honest, totally unbiased opinion. It was then that the family invaded the club. Dun dun dun. We had a few drinks with them, I beat the oldest at pool 2 out of 3 times and I took the toddlers down to the arcade. We then want back to the caravan and the rest of the family took the dogs out which left me, the oldest cousin and the second oldest to our caravan. We played poker, rummy, blackjack and trumps a few times. We then had a few games of mastermind and a game of scrabble. I'm not going to say what words came up from the second oldest - that's for you to think up. Anyway, we were left in the caravan for about 2/3 hours and had a ball. They then went home and I had lovely, good old English, fish and chips. Gorgeous. I watched TV and played rummy with my dad for 2 hours. Friday had ended.
I have a lot more to say, about the Pope's funeral, the program called 'Life Before Birth' and many other things. I just can't fathom typing any more.
Sunny
, and I just wanted to post my list of what films I think are the best ever that I've watched.
