All is revealed

Edited Sunday 21/05 for a correction and extra photos...

 
 I can now tell you that the reason for the trip down towards Bude was to help celebrate Big Neil's 50th birthday. Little Neill had arranged for a cast of 11 (inc N&N) to get together at Eastaway Manor for a long weekend of relaxation and hilarity.

David and I were first to arrive after a fairly hair-raising drive along the A39 - well, not hair-raising so much as requiring total concentration. You can read about it in the previous post. 

Eastaway Manor is a place that Neill is head gardener at - the only gardener, tbh, but when he employs another helper again, he'll once more be in charge. As it is he deals with 4 acres of beautiful grounds on a weekly basis. His only helper currently is Hendrik the robot lawn mower, whose wanderings (yes he's random) are constrained by wires underground, I think. He has three tiny cutting disks (about 1.5cm diameter) and trims about 1mm off the grass in each pass. Poor thing works 16 hours a day with occasional returns to his charging station... I didn't get any photos of him, but if you think turtle with its head retracted, you'll be close...

 

Neill was there waiting for us on arrival. Then Andy and Luci arrived having driven from Cambridge, whereas we had only travelled from the Pewsham pub outside Chippenham! 

Tea, beer, G&T, allocation of rooms (we got the ensuite - no view but our own bathroom - result!), more tea, more beer. Then Neill left to go home and continue the secret keeping from Neil. He returned a little later, ostensibly at his Pilates class, had a G&T, and then headed home again, still keeping secrets...

Later in the evening, after David and I had gone to bed, Ricky and Brenda turned up with their 10 year old daughter and two whippets (Bruce and Tony). I gather it was a very late night, as the four adults had been friends for some years.

In the morning, little Neill informed us that big Neil's arrival time was later than planned - dental hygienist appointment and then a couple of client appointments. No worries - we were in the pool waiting.

Hannah in the pool, Ricky wearing short waders (?!) and Brenda - Brenda and Hannah were the first in the pool early in the morning, before anyone was up. They were back from the pool when I got up to make a cup of tea at about 7 or even earlier...

 

Eventually, but well before we turned prune-like in the 27 deg C water, they arrived. We did the unforgivable for a man who hates surprises, and yelled SURPRISE when he was led to the pool area. In hindsight, we should have continued swimming and just had him turn up with no fanfare. That would have been enough. But hey ho, he coped admirably and was shortly in the pool with us.

Luci and Andy and big Neil with the lovely Eastaway Manor in the background

 

Thumbs up from big Neil with Andy looking cool in the hot tub.

Andy, little Neill and Big Neil and beers ...

Luci and Neill

Melissa and Benjamin had arrived - more food, wine, beers. L-R: Melissa, Benjamin, Big Neil, Andy, Luci, Brenda - we were nearly dressed properly for dinner. Only Neil still had to change, not surprising given he didn't know the dinner was occurring, I guess.

 

Neill, Benjamin and Melissa

The weekend was amazing.

The centrepiece, so to speak, was to be a dinner on Friday night catered by a chef whose skills Neill was keen to test. We had previously selected our menu choices - I had brie and truffle oil with crudites and bread, a leek risotto, and chocolate brownie. David had a veg tart, hake and pannacotta. Plus more than half of my risotto - I had overdone the very yummy sourdough that was on the table beforehand ...

I don't often have photos of me looking tidy ... And I'm drinking sherry. A lovely Spanish or Portuguese one, I think. Melissa brought it to go with the very yummy aubergine crisps. I am going to make them and force David to eat them because I KNOW he will like them if he can just stop saying he hates aubergine. And we know it's not true, don't we Irene, because he loved the lasagne you made that had aubergine in it (and zucchini which he also apparently doesn't like...)

 

Pre dinner drinks in the formal lounge, don't you know. David, Brenda, Andy and Benjamin

The food was great, the company was really superb and hugely funny. Somehow, David was called Baby by Ricky (may have been alcohol numbing R's tongue ...); and it got taken up by Melissa. So Baby he was through pretty much the rest of the weekend...

The chef was explaining dessert to us - I thought it was self explanatory myself, but the others appreciated it. Considering how much wine had been consumed by that stage, I'm amazed he didn't get more cheek ...

There were extras of dessert so Neill decided he should check out whether he could slurp up a pannacota without utensils ...

Open wide - I'm not sure Brenda can believe this ...

Yep, there it goes...

And it's almost gone!

In other dinner party news:

There's Ricky, David (baby), Melissa and Neil, and you can see the wine bottles are emptying. That huge bottle of sweet sparkling wine was bought for me by Melissa. I did my duty as a grateful guest and drank a couple of small glasses of it, but I far preferred the sherry!

Benjamin lighting the fire in the snug after dinner, Andy watching with his hands in his pockets - was he anxious or was he trusting?

Saturday was another stunningly sunny day so more swimming, more relaxing in the hot tub, and for David and me a walk around the 4 acres.

A day for sun hats. We had to resort to pirate hats made of newspaper.

David and Ricky in their pirate hats, David well prepared for Cornwall sun with his rash shirt and we knew we had packed hats but couldn't find them in the motorhome - found a few days later in the shelf above each of our seats  - for easy access - but clearly even easier to forget ... You can see Andy either getting into or out of the hot tub. He did love that thing.

 I think croquet happened on Saturday too - full on day!

The croquet lawn is a smaller version of a full sized pitch but it did fulfil its role of keeping the team entertained. I gather Andy won, largely based on his view that if his ball went outside the pitch all he had to do was pick it up and throw it back in, without penalty. I like his style, confidence and his honesty when he stated to us all that had been his winning strategy.

Looks like serious technique ...

On Saturday most of us walked to the Bush Inn at Morwenstow - 20 minutes, Neill said. Yeah right! It was significantly more than that, I reckon. That may have been because it was hilly though. (However when we got back Melissa asked if we had worked out why she didn't come ...)

Neill, David and I decided we would go back cross country, and we hadn't taken our (Ian and Irene's) sticks and the track down into the valley and up out of it behind the pub was steeper than the road, and had more nettles, stiles, uneven stairs/steps. But it did have a huge rape-seed field that I led the way across.

And across these fields we went

And then these...

And through this field. That's David checking that it is the path.

I was pack leader at this stage - bizarre really considering from a few yards further on, I pretty much couldn't see where I was leading my pack to ...

On Sunday night those of us who remained (Andy and Luci, Neil and Neill, David and I) went back to the Bush Inn for dinner - by vehicle thankfully! The food was really good and I would certainly recommend it! 

Big Neil left on Tuesday morning, heading home to work - he is a wonderful upholsterer.

David and I were the last to leave as we were the only retired ones. Everyone else apart from the Neil(l)s was gone by Monday evening, and we headed away on Tuesday with Neill and I having done probably more 10 loads of washing from Monday lunchtime - bedding for 5 couples and one child and multiple towels and table-cloths.

The little stream through the property.

 

Neill and David had been down to inspect and discuss the 48 solar panels that provide powerto the house and help heat the pools.

One of my favourite people in the garden he maintains so beautifully.

He's a lovely guy!

We left Neill to do the final clean up of the fridge and the kitchen and on we went for the next adventure.

Big Neil's actual birthday was Wednesday, so when we were on the top of Pew Tor near Tavistock we recorded our best (not) Happy Birthday singing and sent it to him on WhatsApp. We told him we save our best totally out of tune raucous singing for the people we love. And he and little Neill certainly qualify!