On the Paignton Pier in the amusements building (we visited all of the slots we could everywhere!) I discovered an old machine the same as I used to play as a child when we went to holidays to Dawlish (an early gambler from way back)!

Sun - May 26, 2002
Left North Bay airport for Toronto under sunny, cold skies. Met Pat at airport. Flight left at 10:10Pm. Got seats in Row 26 A and B - nice leg room. Meal was good too!

Monday, May 27
Flight really good. Arrived Gatwick at 9:30am. Customs took 1 hour. Met Derrick and Doug and Doug drove us in his Mercedes down A303 to Plymouth. Had pub lunch at Bell Inn at Winterborne. Traveled under partial rain and sun through Surrey, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Devon. Was nice to meet Eve again in Plymouth.

Tuesday, May 28, 2002
Rainy and sunny, hi 16ºC. Derrick and Eve drove us through Dartmoor. We stopped at Tavistock and bought souvenirs and also visited the Antiques Market there. Then on to Dartmoor Prison and Village of Princeton - all owned by the Prince of Wales. We had lunch at a really wonderful pub there called the "Railway Inn". I had Pâté and a roast lamb lunch. We all had tons of food. All over the moors are wild ponies and sheep and lovely old stone villages. At Widecombe-in-the-Moor it is all old stone cottages and an old church and graveyard. I bought placemats in shop there. Then on to Bovey Tracey and we toured them "Marble House" and also the "Cardew Tea-Pot House". The Marble house had a glassworks and we watched the glass being hand-blown. At the Cardew Tea-Pot House they made teapots in every shape and form. These were both very interesting places to visit. I took some photos on a tiny bridge and of thatch cottages called "Forbes Bridge". We drove back to Plymouth by 5:30pm. It was a wonderful day. My camera broke and I had to borrow one of Pat's.

Wednesday, May 29, 2002
We drove to the Plymouth City Center, the Military and the Waterfront. We saw Devils Island and HMS Illustrious which is the sister-ship to HMS Indomitable (Dad's ship that he was on). We then toured the Dome which is a museum about the history of Plymouth. Toured Dock Yards and had lunch at the "Queens Arms". Then toured the "Barbican Glassworks" and then went shopping at the City Centre. At night Derrick cooked a fabulous dinner and Doug and Pat Harris came over. We all had a fun day and evening.

Thursday, May 30, 2002
Off early for visit to Liskeard in Cornwall to meet the Mayor Anthony Powell. He showed us around the Public Hall and then we visited the new museum to be officially opened the following Thursday, June 6 by HRM Prince of Wales. I took photos of the fountain on Parade Street, Town Public Hall on West Street, and back view of the Clock Power on Pike Street. The Mayor apologized for not having on his chain of office as it was being cleaned for the upcoming visit by Prince Charles. Derrick then drove us to Looe and it is a lovely Cornish fishing village. We ate at a pub called the "Bullers Arms" (www.bullens.great-pubs.com). In the pub we had a Cornish beer called "Doom". Derrick then drove along the coast through Seaton, Downderry, Crafthoe, Whitsun Bay and we caught the ferry at Torpoint to return to Plymouth over the Tamar River. It poured of rain all day long.

Friday, May 31, 2002
Derrick drove us to our Bed and Breakfast called "Mount Edgecombe" in Torquay. It is a fabulous hotel and really clean and the owners Rod and Christine, along with daughter Em and dog Max are wonderful hosts. Our room is just what we had wanted. We spent a sunny afternoon walking on sand and looking at boats in the marina. Temp was about 16ºC. My feet are very sore for all of the walking! We were back in our hotel room about 5:15 to put up feet and watch telly after a salad plate for 'tea'.

Saturday, June 1, 2002
In the morning after a big breakfast we walked around the corner from the hotel to the village of Chelton. It is a lovely village with quaint shops there. Then we walked to the bus station and back to the hotel. Then on to beach at Cobyn Sands and had fun watching the kids in rock pools looking for crabs. After a few hours we walked to the city center. Bought Fish N' chips for 'tea' and back to hotel. Hot and Sunny. Buildings are all decked out in bunting for Queens 50th Golden Jubilee.

Sunday, June 2, 2002
Temp - Cloudy 16-18ºC. After breakfast walked to Village of Cockington. We both decided the Cockington is the very best village in the whole of UK (#2 is Grasmere and #3 is Ambleside). We went to the Church of England service in the "Cockington and Cheldon Church" which had a special "Golden Jubilee" church flower service. It was very pretty and the service was spiritual. We toured the village manor and rose gardens then had "Clotted Cream Scones and Tea" back at the thatched roof cottage called the "Rose Cottage". It was so quaint with a fellow playing the piano and lots of flowers, ducks and waterfalls. Back to our hotel for a rest then on to Torre Abbey to view it's rose and botanical gardens. We walked along the promenade then back to our hotel for feet up and telly shows of Queens Jubilee.

Monday, June 3, 2002
Took bus to Paignton and it is the best 'real seaside experience' in all of England. Bought fresh cockles, mussels and whelks from a stall on the seafront. It was very rainy and misty. There were traditional seaside shops everywhere. Went to arcade on Pier and played slots and a machine with a flip steel marble game which I played on as a kid was in it. Then caught bus to Brixham and went through Goodrington then on to Brixham which is a lovely fishing village. Had 'fish n' chips' for lunch and bought a whole crab to take back to hotel room for dinner. Bussed back to Torquay and hot sun came out so we sat on seawall and enjoyed the ocean for about an hour. At 7:30 Queens Jubilee "Pub Party at the Palace" came on the telly and the rock party started and we watched it till 11:30 while also watching the fireworks over the seafront from our hotel window. Pat started waving her windmill decorated with the union jack and we both laughed so much all night.

Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Nearly got ran over at crosswalks of Falkland and Walnut Roads by an AA auto van. Bus system is horrendous. We finally got to Babbacombe where it was too steep to get to the beach so we paid 50P to take the bus down the cliff. We sat on beach for 2 hours and then took the bus back up to the top. We walked around shops and bought grub and beer. Caught bus back to hotel at 4pm. Watched Jubilee parade from London on telly.

Wednesday, June 5, 2002
Weather - cloudy then sunny, hi of 16ºC. Took bus to Exeter - went through Shaldon and over Shaldon Bridge to Teighnmouth. Took allot of pics from bridge. Bus went through Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross and up to Exeter, bus then turned around and we then got off at Dawlish. Picked up fish n' chips and ate them on the seawall. Then lay on beach. Took bus to Teighmough and went on pier and gambled. It is allot like Peington. Got back to hotel at 6pm. The fountain in Teighnmouth was built in 1885.

Thursday, June 6, 2002
Weather hi of 14ºC, overcast and gloomy. We walked all over Torquay City Center and the shops. Ate seafood lunch (scampi - tastes like lobster) in restaurant. Picked up grub roast chicken and stuff. Watched fishing boats come in loaded with live crab. Back to hotel by 4pm and really tired out!

Friday, June 7, 2002
Caught bus to Bournemouth and the "Kings Langtry Hotel". It's not as nice a hotel as the one in Torquay but it was clean. We were two flights up and the hotel room was very noisy all night long from the gangs (male and female) that roamed the streets at all hours. Walked to seafront and as World Cup football was on there were many gangs of hooligans drunk everywhere. Some nude males were cavorting in the waves on the seafront and there were also many drunks in gangs. We saw allot of underage young people drinking beer from cans walking about the streets (like about age 11 to 15!). A noted absence of police everywhere - everyone seems to be out of control! Crowds were everywhere and we found it frightening. Sandy beach is the best so far for the lovely sand but that is all about Bournemouth. Cold and gloomy on bus but sun came out at 5pm. Ate fish n' chips and went to room by 5:15pm. Bus drivers have bad attitude and same for most visitors here - all rowdy and rough. We locked hotel door and put a bungee cord with teapot hanging from it as an alarm connected to another door; had our showers and watched telly. Taxis cost to hotel from bus station cost £5 and paid the same to Rod in Torquay for taking us to bus station.

Saturday, June 8, 2002
Weather - rain and drizzle all morning, clearing at about 11:30am. Sun came out at 3pm and it got hot. At 9:15am we walked down the "West Cliff Zag-Zag" walk down high cliff to seafront. Then it rained. We put on plastic rain ponchos and sat under a shelter. The it got so cold so we walked to an amusement center to get inside and get warm. We played slots. Then later the sun came out and we sat on the beach and had a nap. Ate fish at noon then for dinner ate at "The Durley Inn" on the seafront. Walked back to hotel by 7:15pm

Sunday, June 9, 2002
Weather only high of 14ºC. Poured of rain heavy all morning. Left hotel at 9:30 for Town Centre and wandered around in the pouring rain. Finally found a pub and sat in it for lunch for over 1½ hours to dry off. Then went to the wonderful free Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery for 1½ hours. It is a really fascinating museum and we really enjoyed our visit there. Then the sun came out and it got hot so we sat on the sand for an hour and then walked back to our hotel and ate sandwiches for dinner in our room and packed up our luggage.

Monday, June 10, 2002
Took bus through Heathrow, Gatwick to Brighton and the "Lanes Hotel" on Marine Parade. Bus took 4 hours and was a nice bus. The hotel is lovely and Victorian and we got a better room than we had originally booked. We were given a £35 pppn room instead of our reserved £25 pppn. So that was a good deal. The room was very large and overlooked the main pier and the ocean. The weather was sunny but with very high winds. We walked down the pier and played the slots. Had supermarket ribs for dinner. Brighton has a beautiful seaside. The weather was about 16ºC.

Tuesday, June 13, 2002
At 7am we walked along the Promenade to the Marina and saw a destroyer in the English Channel in front of the Marina. Then back to hotel for breakfast. Afterwards Pat sat on the sand and I walked to the far West Pier and along the seafront. Discovered a lovely Fishing Museum on the seafront and went through it. Walked north through the city center to the shops. Met Pat later and we had fish n' chips and scampi and then lay on the beach in the sun. Back to room at 4pm. Weather cloudy with sunny breaks. Very windy and cold.

Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Weather very cold and rainy. Taxi picked us up and took us to bus station for 7:15am bus to Gatwick. A long journey but a safe one back to Toronto and then for me another flight to North Bay. It was wonderful to see Ken waiting for me at the North Bay airport. Then a 1½ hour car ride north before reaching home in New Liskeard, Ontario. Canada.