Blue skies and lavender

Good times under waterfalls in Malaysia truly Asia

On top of sunny cliffs in Devon

Ok a wave of nostalgia has just hit, allow me to endulge."Nice to meet, nice to part and nice to meet again" a quote that I hear repeatedly from my friend Thom I. Parting is something many of my friends and I have had to do a lot as of late. They can begin slightly awkward,  the vague 'see you soon' never knowing when that will be and a little hug before they move on to part with the next person sitting at the table. The benefit of being teenagers and having graduated is these goodbyes usually take place in social hang-out venues like bars, pubs or clubs - meaning that after a drink or two (one for me), everyone's in a slightly buzzy mood and the sad edge is lifted. The goodbyes start to get tiring once you've done it a few times and the reality of possible not seeing the person again is masked by the parting routine and the leaving 'personality' you develop. I've started to become aware of mine, the generic smile, a warm hug and a sincere-as-possible 'I hope I see you soon' -- the line 'we'll stay in touch' is usually true in most cases today due to our ability to access social networks everywhere we go. At our little hidden beach today I happened to glance at my phone only to see '2 facebook notifications' spanning the screen.. the world's constantly shrinking so why hold onto worry about seeing people again when we all know there's high possibility that it will happen! Anyway, back to today's events..A

Ecstasy in the English sea

Mid-walk breather

Today we walked down to 'Limebry', a nearby beach that's hidden away behind the swarming, popular, touristy beach mill-bay. We edged cautiously passed the spiky brush that had sheep wool caught in it from the poor buggers that constantly try to squeeze pass, to only find themselves standing at the tip of a cliff and having to turn back. We scrambled down the rock face to the glittering water down below. The surfers in wet-suits were out, granny's in bikini's, kids in arm-bands and teenagers playing Frisbee. It's so great how when the sun's out everyone just seems to converge in nature. The grandparents are no longer limited to Tesco and thrift shops, teenagers don't just hang out on curbs of streets or indoors - politely keeping their hormonal moods at bay from the unwanting public, and kids aren't limited to drizzly playgrounds and trolley's while their parents push them around for hours giving them the odd lollipop to keep them quiet. We'd walked passed an ice cream van earlier selling 'home-made Devonshire ice creams', i peeked over a little girls shoulder at the enticing honeycomb, mint-chocolate chip and hazelnut ice cream - perfect for a summer day. 

Brotherly sisterly love.. and exhaustion

One family tradition we have while down here is swimming in the sea. Now this, as easy as it may sound, takes serious balls (that stand the high risk of freezing off on contact with this water). The temperature, i'd describe as ice slowly melting - you know when you keep your hand in ice-water for too long and your bones start to ache? That's basically what your whole body experiences before the numbness takes over and  your mind convinces your body that it's warm. I've managed to stay in for 5 minutes so far before running out in fear of getting hypothermia. 

We ate our sandwiches - hummus, chorizo and lettuce, with kettles crisps and apple cider. Chilli chocolate for pud. and after half an hour to digest we launched into a game of cricket with some good friends. 'Unfortunately' I chose to stand in the spot where the ball was never aimed at so I didn't move too much but soaked up a few rays in-between bowling and batting.

View of Salcombe near our cottage

We made our way back to the car with my brother bantering on about how 'the reason he had no body hair was because the angels thought he was too beautiful so had to take something away from him'. I looked at him with a grin "I met your best friend ego the other day", 'who's ego?' replied mum. Dad chuckled walking ahead and we got into the car for our quick drive along the narrow country lanes back to the cottage. 

Amazing array of sweets from our
local traditional sweet shop 'Cranches'

At present, I'm sitting in our garden surrounded by white daisies and green grass listening to the trickle of water in the estuary as the tide's slowly rising and the stepping stones are gradually disappearing. The summer sun's still high in the sky giving no indication of what time it is - but the family's getting ready to head out to our favourite dinner spot in Torcross that serves the most beautiful fish and chips you will ever have the privilege of tasting. Light golden batter and thick chunky chips with vinegar and salt. Steamed treacle pudding with clotted cream for pudding followed by a satiated drive back home. Almost time for a shower, I'll sit here for 5 minutes soaking up the whiffs of lavender and the expansive blue skies above before it all disappears into another night - looking forward to the munch that awaits!

FISH AND CHIPS!

Recipe of the day: Steamed treacle pudding (Serve with vanilla ice cream or clotted cream!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/steamedtreaclesponge_81747