Diary of my holiday with Denis & Pat Green

Buckfast Abbey

A nice Sunny Morning on Monday the 4th of July, as the Taxi called with Denis and Pat to pick me up. Arrived at Portsmouth Harbour Station well in time to catch the 06.50am train to Salisbury with connecting train bound for Torquay. There was a delay of 50 minutes due to power failure at Fratton Station, which resulted in missing our connection to Torquay. We had to change at Westbury and Exeter St David's, and we arrived at Torquay at 12.45.pm. Denis's back played up and also, Pat's leg began to ache due to her recent hip operation. Denis managed to re-book the taxi to meet us at Torquay.

We had a lovely lunch at Tuffin's Bakery/Restaurant, and afterwards, did some shopping. That evening, Denis and Pat were very tired from their journey. I had a little exploration of Babbacombe promenade and the Downs, which overlooked the Lyme Bay. After viewing the spectacular scenery, I walked down a very steep lane to Babbacombe beach. The Cliff Railway was closed for the evening, so I walked up another steep lane back to the Hotel. I was puffed out! I never realized how steep those hills were!

Tuesday 5th July was a rather cloudy and unsettled morning, and I was up at 7.am for a full English breakfast for 8.am. The taxi arrived at 9.30.am to take Denis, Pat and me to Buckfast Abbey. It was a nice drive through the outskirts of Torquay, and along the country roads to Totnes, where we met up with heavy traffic. But we were back on the country roads through the Dart Valley, en-route to Buckfast Abbey. Rain settled in from late morning, 'til we arrived back to our hotel. We had a tour round the Roman Catholic Abbey, founded by the Benedictine Monks, admired the beautiful stained glass window in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which took a Monk nine months of dedicated work to complete. Denis, Pat and I sat in awe of the wonderful figure of Our Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. When we left the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, we all browsed round the various Christian bookshops, at which Denis and Pat made quite a few purchases of birthday cards and gifts. Later, we all had a delicious lunch in the modern Refectory. After lunch, Denis suggested that I saw the video of the history of Buckfast Abbey. When the video was over, Denis arranged with Pat that I should meet them at the archway, and made our way to the Methodist Chapel to sit and pray, while the rain eased off. Our taxi arrived at 2.30.pm and drove us back to our hotel. Denis stopped off at a shop in Torquay to stock up with a dozen jars of jam and marmalade, and I carried them for him to the taxi for our short journey to our hotel. At 3.30.pm after a cup of tea, I wrote some postcards, which took surprisingly an hour! Had sandwiches for tea and afterwards, found a letterbox for posting my cards. When I arrived back to the hotel, watched tv until 9.pm, and took a walk along Babbacombe seafront. I called into a hotel, which had live entertainment in the Oasis Bar, and during the interval, had a game of Bingo. Unfortunately, I had no pen, but an elderly lady who was with a group lent me one of her pens, and I won {\163}14 for a full house! Treated her to a drink with my winnings and got back to the hotel at 10.30.pm. Had a cup of tea, and went to bed.

Wednesday 6th July was a very warm and sunny day, as Denis, Pat and I had our breakfast. At 9.am, our taxi arrived to take us to Torquay station for the 9.20.am train to Exmouth. Most of the journey was along the scenic coastal route, via the Lyme Bay and River Exe estuary. We had a magnificent view of Exeter Cathedral, and went past the famous Royal Marine Commando Training Establishment at Lympstone. Arrived at Exmouth station around 10.35.am, which is a branch line. The centre of Exmouth was very busy, with traffic and holidaymakers. There were a lot of interesting shops, notably the well-known Exmouth Indoor flea market. Denis walked about six yards ahead of Pat and me, as I was concerned about Pat's recent hip operation, due to the fact she couldn't walk as fast as Denis. So I held onto her arm, which gave her support. Denis was more interested in shopping! Had lunch, which was a welcomed break from all the walking! After our lunch, did some exploring on my own. At Exmouth, they have a lovely relaxing park in the town centre, and a pleasant sea front, and a Victorian clock tower. I took the land train from the clock tower to the sand dunes, which took a round trip of about an hour. Met up with Denis and Pat at Exmouth station for the 2.45.pm train back to Torquay, to which we arrived at 4.15.pm, as our taxi was already waiting for us. During our train journey from Exmouth, we had a lot of noisy school children, which boarded the train at Newton Abbot to Torquay. Denis, Pat and I were quite tired from our day trip to Exmouth, but it was a pleasant day out.

It was another very sunny day on Thursday 7th July as I met up with Denis and Pat in the hotel lounge. We were greeted with a rather chilly wind, as we made our way to Babbacombe shops. Denis walked ahead of Pat and me. So again, I held on to Pat's arm to give her support due to all the walking around the shops at Exmouth the previous day! Our first port of call was to the florist for a basket of flowers for the proprietors of the Blue Conifer's hotel, Sally and Allen, who are friends of Denis and Pat's, and also flowers for Tom and Ann, also friends, Denis and Pat having arranged to spend the afternoon with them. Denis did some more shopping whilst I looked after Pat. Pat wanted a rest from the walking, so the three of us had a refreshing glass of orange juice in one of the caf{\234}s. Afterwards, we had a look at the many interesting shops in Babbacombe precinct, as Denis couldn't get a pair of shoes he wanted. At around 12 noon, had a lovely lunch at Tuffin's Bakery/Restaurant, where Pat was falling asleep during our lunch! After our morning's walking, made our way back to our hotel. Then at 1.pm I bought a pot plant for my Auntie Audrey who lives in the outskirts of Torquay. The taxi arrived at 2.pm for the ten-minute journey. It was lovely to see my Auntie, who I hadn't seen for about twelve years! We had a cup of coffee, along with a good long chat about past news and family. At around 5.pm helped my Auntie to prepare beans on toast with a cup of tea and sponge pudding for dessert. When we finished our tea, I took a photograph of my Auntie, and she showed me the many photographs of her family and of my late Uncle Ernie's family, which was interesting. Phoned for the taxi at 7.30.pm, and got back to the hotel at around 7.50.pm. had a little wander round the shops at Babbacombe, then called into a pub called The Snooty Fox where I had a couple of pints of bitter shandy, then arrived back to the hotel at around 10.15.pm. Had a cup of coffee, and have just finished writing my report of today's events. Now ready for bed!

Leon Bartosiak

- to be continued.