Final days in England

I'm writing this from the comfortable home of friends in the New Forest after a lovely weekend with granddaughter Isla in Paignton - here she is making cup cakes with Mary.  We stayed in a nicely run, cramped but comfortable B&B, the Waverleigh near the seafront and not far from where Charmaine and Isla live.  One of the pleasures was to be able to walk out along the seafront or through the local Victoria Park to the town centre, and since the weather was mild and dry we could wander when not with Isla.

Yesterday we went with friends Jan and Anthony, who came from their home in Bodmin, to the Treby Arms in the little village of Sparkwell north of Plymouth.  Chef Anton Piotrowski and his wife run this little village pub and had started serving excellent food before he won Masterchef the Professionals last year.  Now of course it is packed and we were lucky to get a booking, but the food is simply marvellous and the service impeccable in a small, light and spacious dining room upstairs under the eaves, while the locals enjoy their pints in the bar below.  A lovely relaxed atmosphere and everything we ate was impeccable, from the little crisp black pudding scotch eggs (with soft yolks) onwards, absolutely up to the high standards we'd seen in the broadcasts.  Winning a competition is hard enough, but dishing up the grub day in day out like that is hard work, and it has succeeded.

Now, it scarcely seems possible, we are on the way home.  By this time tomorrow we'll be queueing for the boat, and I'll add a final message about the trip when we're home.