Village Life

It is Sunday morning and the bells of little St. Paul's Church are pealing over the village. It is an inspiring and joyful sound. We watched the bell ringers as they practised on Thursday evening. We were impressed by their slim bodies and after a while we realized that this is very hard work—an excellent aerobic and arm workout! The bells have stopped now and I wonder how many people will be at the service after the rigours of the Garden Show yesterday. So many people worked so hard to pull it off and it was pronounced a great success by everyone, including the Canadian interlopers. We set off for the lunch, scheduled for 1 PM and arrived by 1:10 to find the tent full. Luckily, they found places for us and we sat down to roast beef, new

potatoes, salad, bread, wine and cheesecake. The people around us were very friendly and chatty, wondering about us and sharing information about their own lives. We were both struck by the difference between this experience and the one we had last year in Warkworth, Ontario when we attended the Longest Lunch (tables set all the way down the main street with a home-cooked lunch). There we couldn't pry a word out of anyone. They studiously ignored us. I wonder if this year has made us more approachable? Or do we just blunder in now and begin conversations? Anyway, it was fun and we enjoyed meeting these people, some of whom had grown up in the village. Someone sent us to meet a local teacher who had worked for years in Montreal. Now retired in Staverton, she returns to Canada every summer to go to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals (although the original Stratford is a stone's throw from here!). A long welcome speech from the chair of the organizing committee ended with his invitation to any of the judges who wished to speak. This fellow, in the most delightful of Devonian accents, then

 
regaled us with his disappointment in the shape of the 'spuds'. When we reached the display

tent, there was his note for all to see. 

Look at these spring onions (trimmed and untrimmed—2 different categories), and this Best in Show display: have you ever seen such large parsnips? We were impressed by the number of entries from young people

and from Mrs. A. Mann who seemed to be everywhere: gardening (those are her potatoes), baking, arranging flowers and winning prizes at them all. It was not

surprising that when it came time for the Honorary President

to present the prizes that she was a winner.

When they began the races, e went back in time to our own childhoods and Sunday School picnics.  43 in total, there were egg and spoon, three legged, parent and child relays, and of course the Mature Women's (which had 2 contestants) and the Veteran Men (which had many more!). The competitive spirit is alive and well. Look at the expressions on these faces!

We finally left around 6 when they were beginning to organize for the tug of war with several more games to come. It had been a lovely afternoon and great fun.

We had a great hike this week along the Devon coastal trail. After manoeuvring roads like this,

we set out across fields to the cliffs on the edge of the Channel. 

 It was a magnificent walk with breathtaking scenery in all directions. Imagine how surprising to find this bed of flowers at the bottom of a long hill through a forest!

  

Of course, there are stiles everywhere but this one had a place for dogs.

We are having fun, relaxing, reading a lot. Perhaps this coming week, we will turn into real tourists but I wouldn't bet on it. Village life is slow and enticing!