Where In The H#ll Are The Hen And The Gob?

[dales]

Are you on an ever-continuing holiday?

I'm probably a little thick here with not keeping up with you two "jet-setters".

[loCAtek]

They said six weeks, but I'm guessing there's something to do with the Gales blowing through there now.

[The Hen]

We are currently residing at Peter Tavy on the edge of Dartmoor until 18 January. Then we de-camp to London for four days before returning home.

Here is the gaff we are staying in at the moment. It's lovely.

[Jarlaxle]

Looks it.

Err, actually...it kind of reminds me of an old monastery.

[rubato]

I like the way they've allowed the materials used to express themselves completely without modification or disguise. That looks more like a pile of rocks than most piles of rocks do.

yrs,
rubato

[Rick]

No thatch...

[BoSoxGal]

I think it's cool to see how things were built hundreds of years ago when protection from the elements was the only goal.

I couldn't live long in a place with such small windows, though.

[Guinevere]

What's a gaff?

(I find the language barrier fascinating)

[Lord Jim]

I sure would want to be in that thing during an earth quake....

[BoSoxGal]

'gaff' is British slang for 'house' or 'place'

I've got a few British English slang sites bookmarked; it helps with deciphering the Oz couple, Sean, Daisy, etc. - and with my reading, which tends toward Anglophile.

[Guinevere]

Thanks, I figured it had to be house-related but wondered if it was more specific. Turns out, it was less!

[Crackpot]

[The Hen]

The place we are currently renting is a converted Barn in Dartmoor.

It is made from the traditional Erme granite that is found in the area. The roof is made of slate (which was appropriate for a barn building).

The front of the barn is required to maintain its traditional outlook in keeping with the conservation requirements of the area. The rear of the building has had large areas of the granite removed to install large wooden picture windows that lead out onto a granite courtyard From there I have been sitting in the warm winter sun, overlooking the animals that are now kept on the farm. Lovely chickens, horses, sheep and goats.

The barn is warm, cosy, homey but exceedingly roomy. Over the past six days we have had six of our mates stay with us to indulge in Dartmoor walks. The fire has been cranked up each night and many a pleasant evening has been had by all.

Rubato, I am not surprised that you have difficulty with the building. You have shown over the years that unless things are culturally just as you would find them in the US you have no ability to enjoy yourself. I hope you always enjoy your Travelodge-styled world and leave life's rich tapestry of experiences for those amongst us that enjoy and appreciate such differences.

[Gob]

Jim, seeing at this place was up and running (as a barn,) when the Pilgrims set off to that barbaric land, I'm sure it will be up and about a while longer. It really is a fantastic place steeped in history, ( will tell more about it in my blog when we get back to Aus

Our local boozer..

It is thought that the Peter Tavy Inn was originally built as somewhere for the stonemasons to live whilst rebuilding the village Church of St Peters in the 14th or 15th Century. It was probably a single storey thatched building divided into two rooms. It is unclear what use was made of the building after the stonemasons left, but at some point a Meeting at the signpost to the Peter Tavy Inn, in the early 20th century a further storey was added and fireplaces and chimneys built.

By 1819 the building was being used as an Inn. A sale catalogue of that date describes the building as comprising a kitchen, bar, parlour, three lodging rooms and a stable.

Mary Warne, daughter of a former Landlord, recalls that during her childhood in the 1920s, the bar was in the room to the left of the front door. It was furnished with a trestle table and two or three settles. Mild and Ale were served at the trestle table. There was no barman and usually someone would pop over from the kitchen to serve customers, leaving them to call out if they wanted more. In the evenings her father might stay in the bar for a chat and be available to serve beer. No women were allowed in the bar.

Oil lamp in the window of the old bar at the 15th century Peter Tavy Inn, Dartmoor, Devon. The Inn gained a brief moment of fame in the 1960s, when it was one of the locations used in the film Run Wild, Run Free starring Sir John Mills. Several villagers served as extras in scenes shot at the Inn.

In the 1960s the notorious criminal Frank Mitchell, serving his sentence at Dartmoor Prison, is said to have met his girlfriend at the Inn, when he was supposed to be with a prison working party at Baggator. It is said that two men, later recognised to be the Kray Twins, came to the Inn asking for Mitchell. In
December 1966 the Kray Twins helped him escape and Mitchell was murdered shortly afterward.

The sort of history, class and culture little retard can only dream of, and the knowledge of his inadequacy in such areas drives him to his bitter extremes in posting.

[BoSoxGal]

It sounds terrific! What's the rent?

I have got to get my ass someplace not-USA this year. I can imagine bringing my kindle stocked with Brit Lit and just holing up in that place and reading, between walks on the moor.

I've ALWAYS wanted to walk on the MOOR.

I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.

[dales]

No spa, wi-fi, or in-room bar?

[loCAtek]

Keep off the moors...

[Gob]

Dales, we now have all of those in the hotel we are staying in. In London.

If anyone sees the new movie "The War Horse" it was filmed on the tors behind the house we rented!

Off out into "the smoke" now for some culture and fun!

TTFN, catch you agin soon.

[dales]

Off out into "the smoke" now for some culture and fun!

[Sean]

Culture? I thought you said you were in London...