A week in the Tamar Valley

I mentioned in my previous blog post that we unexpectedly ended up going to Cornwall for a week. We had been planning to go to Cambridge but then our reason for going over there got cancelled. So we headed to Kernow instead, literally just inside the county staying in sight of the River Tamar with Devon on the far bank. 

We were staying in a little cottage in Calstock, a small village with an impressive viaduct over the Tamar.

We could see the river over the roofs and chimneys from our bedroom window.

Calstock isn't very big. It had a couple of pubs, some nice art galleries, a coffee shop and an ice cream parlour. I tried the peanut ice cream. It was delicious.

Walking along the river, we visited Cotehele, which the locals call C'teel. It's a big National Trust property set in nicely scaped gardens.

The closest 'big' place was Tavistock, just across the county border. Neither of us had visited the town before and we enjoyed exploring it. It has some impressive 19th century buildings.

In the Guild Hall we got to see the old magistrates court (and the cells underneath!). Cathy got to sit on the magistrates bench...

... while I was in the dock!

In the exhibition in the building, the list of offences tried in the court included "refusing vaccination" (is it time to bring that back?) and the 19th century equivalent of road rage.

Tavistock also seemed to have an abundance of toy shops, which was great! We got the obligatory photo with a giant Playmobil figure outside the Toymaster.

I really love the wildness of the Cornish coast and the dinky little traditional fishing ports. We went to see the sea at Portwrinkle and then went for an explore in Looe.

And we were also very close to Plymouth. We had both been to Plymouth before. I had a memory of it being a dismal city centre built out of concrete. We saw a different side to the city this time. We parked near the Barbican area next to the Marina.

We saw the Mayflower steps, where the pilgrims set sail for the New World.

And we saw the Leviathan, which is apparently also referred to as the Prawn.

The Barbican is claimed to have more cobbled streets than anywhere else in England. It was full of galleries, boutiques and independent eating houses. Apparently it is where both Catherine of Aragon and Pocahontas both first set foot in England (not off the same boat!). It's also where the word "potatoes" was used for the first time!

We finished our exploring by driving around Plymouth Hoe. The views out to sea were wonderful.

We, thankfully, didn't see any Armadas though.

We drove through the outskirts of Plymouth another day as well - on our way to Dartmoor Zoo. We took lots of photos of animals, enough for a standalone blog post. So that's coming next!

That's Mister Potato to you

I liked this quirky collection of random, obscure internet terms, which they could have been making up.

I was particularly struck by the term POTATO - Person Over Thirty Acting Twenty One (or Twenty-one Online). A cruel smack in the face to those of us who've grown old but haven't grown up.

Still, if you're over 30 and you regularly use 'lolz' you deserve to be called much worse than a potato.

On the subject of potatoes, I'd seen this postcard before Elaine blogged it but have no way of proving that now - the secret of true happiness!

I heart potatoes

And sometimes they heart me!

Word pair of the week: Betsu Bala

This word pair is actually anglicised Japanese, that can also be spelt/said Betsu Bara. Interestingly, Japanese doesn't have an 'R' or an 'L' so either can be used when it's anglicised, which is plobabry why steleotypes of Japanese people speaking Engrish mix them up.

Anyway Betsu Bala means 'additional stomach'. Apparently only women have them and it explains why women might not be able to finish their main course, but will have enough room for dessert. You'd use it as in the following:

"My friend Terri who has just come back from Japan couldn't finish her roast potatoes at the carvery the other night, but fortunately, while in Japan, she developed a Betsu Bala, which meant she had enough room to order the treacle sponge with the bottomless jug of custard. The pig."

Ten guilty pleasures

I caught that TV show 'Guilty Pleasures' on a digital channel the other night. Now before you think it's something very dodgy, possibly involving naked people and soft focus camera work, it's a show where various celebrities list the things they like, but feel they shouldn't. So, for example, Stephen Fry revealed his love for Abba, and Georgette Heyer novels.

It got me thinking, if I had to list my guilty pleasures, what would they be. Here are ten.

1) Country music. I don't know if it's the twang of the gee-tarr, or the cowboy hats, but I really like country music. Today I bought The Best Country Album...Ever! in the Zavvi clear out, and I'm amazed how many of the songs I know. Now I own them. I'm so happy.

2) Potatoes. I don't care how they come. Baked, mashed, chipped, fried, roasted, in potato salad, as crisps, whatever. I love potatoes. I would like to reincarnate as a potato weevil and just eat potatoes all day. (I'm sure not coming back as a human, with my karma.)

3) Blogging in work time. Not that I ever do this, ever! But if I did, I know I'd love it...

4) Games Workshop. One day, when I've made a mint and I have enough time to properly learn how to paint models, I'm going to buy the mother of all 40K armies and create beautiful mayhem. I'm thinking of going Tau.

5) Failblog. I shouldn't laugh at the failures of others, and yet I do. Frequently. The same is true of Cake Wrecks. The writing on the CW site is comedy of the highest order.

6) Playing Guitar Hero... alone. I'm too cool to rock out properly when other people are watching. But when I'm alone I swing that axe as if I was a rock god.

7) Verbal doodling. I've written a game-by-game history of an imaginary football team covering the last 25 years. And it's all for me. I know it's nerdy and unproductive, but hey, it's my time and I can waste it if I want.

8) Cherry tomatoes. Sure, they're healthy, but in the summer I was buying them in 5kg boxes from the organic veg providers at the end of my street. And we ate them all.

9) Other people cancelling. You know when you've got something on which you don't really want to go to, but you feel you ought to, and then someone cancels and you're suddenly free and it's not your fault. Best feeling ever. Closely followed by when someone asks you to do something then tells you that you don't have to do it after all. That's about as close as I get to job satisfaction.

10) Trips to the toy shop. I love wondering round toy shops, looking at all the lovely things, maybe buying some....Yeah, I play with my Star Wars figures. Why else would I have so many?

Ah, I love the English language

Computer spellcheckers are often unintentionally hilarious. I typed the word ‘Shropshire’ and it wasn't in the computer's dictionary. It suggested "trashier" instead!

Yesterday I was telling Matt my personal graphic designer who’s secretly called Philip, about my love for potatoes. “I’m a potato whore,” I said.

“Or a Potat-ho” was his reply.