What a dull dark day it is today! I made a new Sherlock video last night but I need to do more to it before I upload it. I don't know if it will be very popular but doesn't matter. :) The day seems so quite without Esmy about! For 3 weeks I barely stopped and now everything seems so slow, must take myself out somewhere this weekend! I actually still need to buy my ‘outfit’ for the Sherlock meet up. I actually brought a top hat while down Devon but it’s a bit tight and I’d rather a better one. It seems a nice one won’t come cheaply. Sherlock Holmes museum sells them for £45 and Oxford Street for £65 - £75. This is not good because I’m rather broke now! Anyway, enough of that…

While Esmy was here there were a lot of ‘firsts’ for me. Some will know already how social anxious I can get and how I can’t call up strangers on the phone and things of that nature. Well I hailed a cab in London, rang up and booked a cab while staying in Devon (twice in fact), and ordered at a restaurant and a pub. These are all important firsts for me! Simple things often taken for granted by everyone else but big things for me so I’m pretty pleased with myself.

While Esmy was here we went to a number of old cemeteries, churches, went on a boat trip across the Thames, went to the Pollock’s museum of childhood, sherlock holmes pub and we went to Devon to watch Ottery Tar Barrels event among other things!

In Devon we stayed in a most beautiful old Devon Longhouse (Higher Barns). The owners (Vaughan and Angela Glanville) are Potters and have a delightful pottery studio adjacent to their fabulous home. Oh it was wonderful to walk around looking at their creations, and their home was equally as full of interesting pottery. I could seriously live in a home like theirs. All the rooms have wooden beam ceilings, and none of the rooms are even floored or walled, everything has a usual shape or a delightful imperfection. It’s so natural and the countryside surrounds were delight as well.

Vaughan and Angela were so friendly to us and treated us like relations more than paid guests really. Every day we were offered lifts into town as well! The day after the Ottery Tar Barrels event (which Vaughan picked us up from at midnight!), Vaughan drove to Sidmouth he said we’d really like it.

Esmy and I really loved Sidmouth! It’s a small sleepy seaside town with some beautiful old shops and churches. It’s so quite and peaceful compared to the crappy area of London I live in, and so clean! We spent some hours in a churchyard and exploring the interesting shops (not one brand name store!!) before heading to the pebbled beach. We started at the beach sometime until it was getting quite dark and then we caught a Taxi back to Higher Barns. That night I had an early Birthday party of sorts seeing Esmy wouldn’t be around for my actual birthday. I’m not a drinker but Esmy had brought a couple of bottles of the dizzy stuff and I decided to find out what I was like when drunk! Apparently I am highly amusing! Haha

I spent an hour trying to prove I wasn’t drunk by trying to walk in straight lines and I kept crashing into the bed and falling on the floor. Then I recall having a strange drunk conversation where I mentioned Sherlock & Watson, and then presended to babble on about Jeremy Brett a lot! I have a feeling I said some pretty odd things! And I did all this while wearing a top hat and laying flat on my back on the floor, lifting my head up now and then to say "ohh my head feels funny". Esmy was kind enough to film it *worries*. No doubt when she has unpacked and found time she will be sending me a DVD of this. Oh dear!!

The next day it was time to leave Ark Pottery behind but not before having a philological and political discussion with Angela around the breakfast table. Then Vaughan taking us out back to feed their small family of sheep some tasty bread. Then Angela dropped us off in Ottery for us to catch the bus to Exeter (which we had decided to go to for the night before heading back to London). In the end we decided to catch a Taxi from Ottery because the buses aren’t utterly frequent. So I CALLED a taxi and it was with us in about 15 minutes.

The hotel in Exeter was seriously dull compared to the Devon Longhouse but we only planed be there the night so we didn’t complain too much. Soon as we dropped off our bags at the hotel we went out to have a look around Exeter. We headed for Exeter cathedral, a lovely old building in a disappointingly modern country city. We spent a good hour there before leaving to locate the Norman Castle and old city wall of Exeter. The climb was a little steep for tired feet but it was lovely once we reached the castle.

I think I’ll stop typing here because I’m rather tired, no doubt I’ll mention more about the eventful three weeks when I’m more rested. Plus I have a lot of photos to download from my camera. :)