A Week in Sunny Devon. © by Michael Levy.
It was six forty-five in the morning as our plane touched down at Gatwick
airport. This was the start of my one weeks vacation in Southern England. As we
drew up to the disembarkation gate the captain told us the weather forecast for
the next few days was warm and sunny ... what a bonus no rain.
Once we cleared customs and located our hire car which, as luck would have it,
had a diesel engine. What a great reward, considering gas is around five dollars
a gallon in the UK and this car would achieve sixty miles to the gallon. So off
we set on our journey down to Devon, where the rolling hills and lush green
valleys are a sheer delight. When we turned off the highways (after an hour) and
on to the county roads the scenery started out quite level, with the odd hill
scattered here and there. All of a sudden I began to see Stonehenge straight
ahead. As we approached the amazing monuments of age-old stone my heart began to
sense a bygone age of ancient rituals. I slowed down to a crawl (much to the
disgust of the impatient drivers behind) and could envision sacred blessing
being bestowed to faithful worshipers. A time gone by that holds many mysteries
and conjures up mystical thoughts that spark the soul.
All to soon the unexplainable stones disappeared in the rear view mirror as the
car picked up speed and headed towards Devon. As the scenery began to change to
rolling hills there was no need to look at the map to know we were approaching
Somerset and then Devon. Originating from Florida where everything is flat, the
rolling hills were a truly a refreshing pleasure to behold.
After four hours driving and one rest stop for toasted tea cakes and tea, we
arrived at our Devon cottage in the countryside where we were to spend the first
week of our vacation.
Longcombe Cottages is a delightful series of eight individual cottages catering
to all tastes in size. We lodged in a one bedroom cottage that was the home of
two horses before the conversion to a holiday home. It was tiny but very
comfortable. The owners of Lancombe Cottages are Vanessa and Chris Lewis. They
are a wonderful couple who go out of their way to make every guests stay a pure
pleasure. With a heated indoor swimming pool and children's play area the
secluded cottages are and idyllic setting for a peaceful holiday. Magnificent
Rolling hills that encircle the cottages accommodate a farm with sheep, cows, a
Rooster and an angry farmer who will not allow anyone on his land. Of course one
day we tried to walk over to the cows only to be told to Bugger off in no
uncertain manner. Gee! it's great to be back in the UK and be greeted with such
frank honesty. When I blew the farmer a kiss his faced turned to beetroot (nice
to see county folks with color in their cheeks)
Chris's father was MP for a north eastern town in England for many years. One
evening he brought over his fathers memorabilia, which contained amongst other
things, a collection of letters Chris's dad had receive from Winston Churchill,
Harold Macmillan and the infamous Enoch Powell. Every letter told a story and
there was even some correspondence from a minster at the center of the Perfumo
affair in the early sixties. What! you don't remember the call girl scandal that
brought down the defense minister.....Of course you do. They made a movie called
"Scandal" and I was reading a letter that was part of all the Hoo-Har......Fascinating
stuff.
The cottages are very close to the sea side towns of Paignton (Famous for its
great zoo), and Torquay. Both are well worth a day visit and the zoo is a real
nature reserve in natural settings. but be warned ... very hilly. Torquay takes
first prize for magnificent Gardens and superb sea front walking promenade. No
wonder they call it the "English Riviera" It even has palm trees, swaying in the
light balmy breezes. As we walked along the promenade we came to a large grassed
area that was holding a festival in aid of a charity. The site was filled with
many Marques that had children's gifts and there was a large stage for
children's entertainment. A little further down the line was a marque with a
large sign "Free Men's Health Check." It has been twenty years since I had a
health check so what a golden opportunity to get an examination. "What do you
do" I enquired. Cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and testicle
test came the reply from a young good looking nurse. "Really, where do I sign
up" was my immediate, cheeky smiling, response.
All my blood levels were perfect, then it came to the testicle test. The cute
young nurse brought over a rubber sack that resembled a mans genitals and she
showed me how to squeeze each testicle looking for and signs of a lump. It was
not the physical I imagined, but it was an important piece of information on
do-it yourself health check that can save a life. I had learnt something new and
I thanked all the staff kindly for their great work in preventing illness.
Another bonus to a great holiday.
There was an adjoining marque so I went inside to see what was going on. My
eyesight is not what it used to be when it come to reading small print. Sitting
on a table was a basket with small black packages in it, that had the words
"extra strong" in bold white letters. The rest we lots of small words I could
not read without my glasses. I Thought they were extra strong mints, so I asked
the girl if it was OK to take a couple. "Yes, certainly it is OK and you will
need this lubricant to go with them." She kindly replied. "What! Lubricant with
a mint?" I laughingly responded.
She laughed out loud and declaimed ‘They are not mints .. They are condoms"!!!
The laugh was on me and everyone in the tent fell about laughing. What with
testicles and condoms this was turning out to be very safe sex, but alas.......
No mints!!!
Meanwhile back at the cottages Vanessa and Chris had organized a get-together
with all the other guests. It turned out to be a great party with many
interesting English folks who all had stories to tell. More about that some
other time.
Another lovely place close by is the ancient town of Totnes. It is a town
steeped in English history. Steeped is the correct word for the town is built on
an extremely steep hill and walking up is not for the unfit. We had a lovely
guide to show us around and tell us of the local history. Medieval legend has it
that, Brutus of Troy,(based on myths) is the originator of the British race And
this would be the place early settlers would have arrived along the South West
coast in the 10th century. Totnes, which means 'The Fort' was originated by the
Saxon kingdom of Wessex. In 1206 people secured their charter of independence
from King John, and sent their first MP to Parliament in 1295. The list of
Mayors in the Guildhall begins in 1359.
Many houses in the town depict the wealth of rich merchants from the 16th
century, several with lavishly carved ceilings. Throughout the Civil War, both
sides used the town as a base, with Sir Thomas Fairfax, Charles the Second and
Oliver Cromwell visiting the town and leaving their mark in the history books.
Today the ancient character of the town is still in felt with the clock tower in
the center to chronicle an ambiance of past era. Shoppers will enjoy strolling
around some unique and diverse shops in the town. It also boasts of a great old
fashioned fishmonger with very fresh fish.
There are so many day trips in the local area, we would have needed a month to
see them all. One of the place we did visit was a working farm called Pennywell.
It is filled with an assortment of half-hourly events and various cute animals
that make for a very enjoyable day out. The highlight for us was the bird of
pray display that was truly amazing. Another subject I will be writing about in
an other article..
Some of the other places to visit in the area, which the locals told me were
great fun are: Canonteign Falls , Cardew Teapottery, Coleton Fishacre House and
Garden, Dartington Ciderpress Centre, Hedgehog Hospital, Paignton and Dartmouth
Steam Railway, Quaywest Waterpark, River Dart Country Park, Sharpham Vineyard,
Sorley Tunnel Adventure Farm, South Devon Railway, Totnes Rare Breeds Centre,
Woodlands Leisure Park. Numerous choices and with our weeks visit was bathed in
sunshine, we visited as many places as we could.
************************
Bio sketch MICHAEL LEVY.
Michael levy was born in Manchester, England on the 6th March 1945.
After many life experiences and a successful business career he retired to
Florida in 1992.
In 1998 Michael established Point of Life, Inc., as a vehicle to project his
philosophy and spiritual understanding. The website www.pointoflife.com and the
associated newsletter (Point Of Life Global Newsletter) are visited and read by
thousands of people around the world every month. Michael is a frequent speaker
on radio, television and at seminars where he shares and discusses his views
about the purpose of life, finding peace and enjoyment and leading a healthy,
stress-free life.
In just a few years he has become a world renowned poet. In 2002 Michael was
invited to become a member of the prestigious Templeton Speaker's Bureau.
Michael has recently established the Point of Life Foundation, a National
Heritage Foundation dedicated to bridging the gap between science and religion
and to bringing a clear, unbiased message to the general public to help them
lead a meaningful, sharing and enjoyable existence. Starting in 2003 the Point
of Life Foundation will present seminars and conferences bringing together
opinion leaders from the fields of science, religion, medicine, philosophy and
nutrition to help find common guidelines for leading a purposeful life.
Michael Levy is the author four books "What is the Point? ISBN 0966806905",
"Minds of Blue Souls of Gold"ISBN 0966806913 , "Enjoy Yourself - It's Later Than
You Think"ISBN "0966806921 and "Invest with a Genius"ISBN "0966806948. His
poetry and essays now grace many web sites, Journals and Magazines throughout
the world. His philosophies have become a major source of Truth, Wisdom and Love
for many people
Web Sites : http://www.pointoflife.com http://www.polfoundation.org
E-mail: mikmikl@aol.com
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