Devon diary

Wow, finding time to get onto the internet proves difficult when one has sight seeing and shopping to do! We are now in Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy and it's 10.40pm but I need to go back quite a few days first...

The day after visiting Glasgow I wanted to visit one of the places my anscestors came from which happens to be 10 minutes down the road from Euan's parents. That genealogy interest turned out to provide the spring board for one of the more memorable days. It started in the village of Kilwinning with a visit to the abbey there which is now little more than ruins. We were fortunate enough to catch one of the volunteers who maintains the exhibits and spent a delightful hour taking in what was on offer. He took us up the bell tower and showed us the clock mechanism and we were next to the bell when it struck 11am. Not as loud as I expected! At the top was a lovely view.

It also turns out that Kilwinning is Masonic lodge number zero. Apparently the lodges originally split in to two factions with Edinburgh claiming numero uno status to which Kilwinning said, uh-uh it's us. Most of the overseas lodges affiliated with Kilwinning and eventually common sense prevailed and the two factions united. Kilwinning was not prepared to give up its calm though and rather than renumber all the lodges took the number zero. All that history, and much more, for nothing. Although we did leave a ten pound donation.

For lunch we went to an exhibition mill in Dalgraven. It was restored from a wreck some fifteen years ago and contains many exhibits, the highlight of which currently is a collection of chinese silks circa the Boxer Rebellion, circa 1899. This first class collection was donated after a 'wan pasty faced youth' from the Kelvingrove Museum turned it down. More fool him! The mill is in working condition and also has a great collection of agricultral and dairy equipment.

Next day it was down to Devon by train to see our neice, Lucy, for the first time. Euan's sister now lives in Cadeleigh in a converted farm house. It's huge! A lot of work has gone in to it though as it was pretty much a shell, not even that, when they took posession. There's still some work to be done but what has been done looks like it's stepped straight out of a gorgeous Laura Ashley collection. My neice is a delight, she's in the terrible twos and is very far from terrible. Within 10 minutes of arriving we were helping her with her jigsaw puzzle. Lovely home made chicken curry for dinner followed by meringue, berries and cream. Carol is a splendid cook!