Paradise Preoccupied

The drive from Cornwall was very pretty with hedgerows, sheep-covered hills, sea cliffs and such, and a bit of adventure when we were stopped by a farmer herding his cows down the lane and one … a very handsome, curly beast stopped to poke her head by the car window and say, ‘howdy’.

I’ve admittedly been a bit of a slug the past few days, so haven’t actually seen much of Paignton yet, but have until the end of the week to check out more than the view of the bay. It’s so comfy and warm here in Pat’s mum’s house, as it would be for a 92-year old who runs her own home in style.

Not often finding myself in the company of someone so intimately familiar with a Britain that’s now hard to find, it’s been fun hangin’ with Pauline. Her sense of humor is still well in place, and the fact that she does snarky so well … veddy, veddy British snark, of course … has had me cracking up. Pat’s dad had been a pilot with the RAF and Pauline an encoder in the WAF, so she has terrific tales to tell that I’m lapping up.

She, being interested in new things, allows me to feel as though I’m doing my bit entertaining her with bits and pieces about Seychelles and animals, which went well with my trip to the Paignton Zoo, which was a great day out.

Not only was the weather mild and dry, the bachelor group of five gorillas had me grinning like a … well … a baboon? Not large, the hilly setting makes for a lot of variety in enclosures and a number of water features for flamingos, pelicans, a variety of ducks … including whistling tree ducks, which are a big fav for me … and setting off islands for the orangs, adding atmosphere.

Paignton, being an English seaside town, is the usual mix of Victoriana and kitchy, touristy stuff. The bay is full of boats, the town rife with arcades, bars and chip shops and is a busy place even on an off-season Tuesday afternoon. There’s a steam train and a paddlewheel boat, so I envision major fun here in summer.

We’re cooking in, so I’ve nothing to say about restaurants, but can recommend the Paignton Sainsbury’s … but I have been known to be overly impressed with supermarkets lately.