Yesterday was sunshine and showers again. I had to drive into town to collect Romas and water was pouring down the sides of the country roads and right across in several places. It seems strange to have flooded roads along the tops of hills but here the roads are always much lower than the adjacent fields probably due to 100s of years of erosion before the roads were surfaced. Even the verges are higher than the roads so any water goes straight onto the road. I feel a bit obsessed with the weather lately but it is even heading up the news on the radio. This last bout of rain has flooded 100s of homes in Northumberland and sadly 2 people have lost their lives. That is not to mention all the problems people are having in other countries.
This morning we went to church in Ifracombe and afterwards we went for a short walk by the sea. It was very windy but reasonably warm.
Ifracombe is a town that is in decline with a lot of social problems. It had its heyday in Victorian times when people came to walk along the cliffs and enjoy the sea air. There are some interesting buildings but many are in a state of disrepair.
It was surprisingly crowded this morning but maybe people are taking advantage of the reduced rates at the local holiday parks now that the school holidays are over and it certainly wasn't a day for sitting on the beach. Note the Hockings ice cream van, they make real ice-cream and only sell it from these vans in the local resorts. It is delicious creamy ice-cream but today I managed to resist as I have been a little indulgent over the summer.
On our way home we called in at the local re-cycling centre,(dump), to drop off some rubbish and yet another old monitor. It doesn't cost anything to leave stuff, (food/kitchen waste is not allowed and can only be put in the fortnightly roadside collection). You are expected to have sorted your rubbish into stuff for the compactor, wood, garden waste, old metal, tvs/monitors, old electrical goods and resaleable stuff. The money they make reselling goods goes towards the cost of the place. I am fascinated by the things they have and occasionally buy something- eg. plastic garden chairs £1. I hate to see things chucked away so if I have stuff that is not suitable for the charity shops and unwanted on freecycle then I would rather give it to be resold. It was quite busy this morning and one older lady had to overcome her British reserve and ask me why I was taking pictures of the dump. I explained that I was taking pictures of anywhere that was interesting. "Oh" she said.
