The Deli in the Strand
I do like to be beside the seaside
Especially when I find a new cafe that I really like!
Well, cafe is not strictly accurate as the emporium is a delicatessen too. This does mean as well as goodies to consume on the premises there’s loads of tempting things to take home – just in case you get peckish on the way of course. The cafe element is quite small but there’s space inside and outside.
I found by sitting with my back to the cheese counter and looking out of the window I managed to resist any further purchases.
The cake man, the cake!
A good mix of cakes was on offer as well as pastires. The chocolate cake was lovely with a sprinkling of white chocolate drops on top. I really enjoyed the coffe and would rate it as one of the best I have had recently. And served in a cup and and saucer which I like.
A friend tried the food and said that the lunch was very good. Those familiar with Devon cuisine will be pleased to hear Tom’s Pies are stocked.
Coffee and chocolate cake with white chocolate garnish
My mother said
The Deli on the Strand is situated near the indoor market in the Strand in Exmouth. For those unfamiliar with Exmouth the very expensive redevelopment of the strand has not met with universal approval in the town. The columns of the Exmouth Journal still glow with readers’ letters on the subject.
It was a mess when first built and looked like a classic white elephant. Observing a Christmas fair consisting of soggy white tents on the wet mud at this time prompted my mother to observe it reminded her of going into London after the Blitz. Happily it has improved with grass being laid and the lighting at night is quite pleasant. Also happily the local authority has not gone ahead with its plan to make a “super cafe” in the Strand which may have well put small traders like the deli out of business.
Exmouth is quite a traditional place...
Monument of the month: Lower Halsdon Farm
A farm a monument?
Well yes, most farms have significant heritage attached to them unless completely redeveloped. How obvious that heritage is does depend of course! The farm building itself is one of the earliest brick buildings in Exmouth and has a range of outbuildings also of brick.
The main house is built on a stone foundation and finished with brick which is covered with a lime wash one two sides. The thatch has a very distinctive roofline neither I nor an informed friend have seen elsewhere and after looking the only similar building was one outside Lympestone that is now demolished. By coincidence it too suffered a severe fire
Lower Halsdon Farm from Lower Halsdon Lane
A brief history
Mentioning fire means time to go into the history of the farm a bit. Nearby Exmouth had a thriving brick industry so probably supplied the bricks. As a friend pointed the bricks used in the farm are the wrong size and shape to be Dutch bricks used as ballast and dropped at Topsham. A walk round Topsham will reveal the difference.
The is no formal history of the farm but recent years are well remembered in Exmouth. Stanley Long was the last owner of the farm and a well known local character. He added to the farm by securing land from the Courtlands Estate next door. He was known for his love of animals and had gates raised so pigs could run under to eat the acorns to prevent his horses from eating the acorns (horses and acorns do not mix). His fowls included peacocks!
Stanley Long generously left the farm to the National Trust in 1996 with the intention of halting development from creeping up the estuary. Looking at the Ordnance Survey map will show Upper and Lower Halsdon Lane no longer are linked by a green lane due to building work over it. While this donation stopped development the farm was attacked by an arsonist and then rebuilt by the National Trust . Since then it has been run as a working farm again by the redoubtable Peter Renouf.
Old oak tree and Toby
A disclaimer and the future
I should admit I have a keen interest in the farm from having lived at the farm for the last four years. Hopefully I have contributed a little by attacking the garden and creating a rockery and pond. Recently the National Trust held a consultation over the future of the farm. Various thoughts were put forward by the National Trust, and my favourite is to link the estuary cycle path to Exeter Road thus creating a link to A la Ronde. Nothing has changed on the website nor on the poster outside the farm since November 2011. Well, apart from the possibility of turning part of the farm into allotments being mentioned at a talk to volunteers by a National Trust manager.
Farming is not an easy nor profitable venture on the scale of small farms like Lower Halsdon Farm. Given that 90% of us live in towns now it is a real asset for Exmouth having such a working farm where people can see it as they walk and cycle past at evenings and weekends.
I am very sorry to leave Lower Halsdon Farm but would be even sadder if the National Trust changes it from a traditional working farm into a visitor experience in pursuit of profit and membership targets. I suspect the neighbours wouldn’t like the extra traffic either!
Like this:
Monument of the Month – A la Ronde
A round house with many angles
A la Ronde is one of those National Trust properties that really feels like a discovery when you first see it. It has a great charm and more atmosphere than many of the Trust’s grander houses. It is also one of the odder properties being an elaborate cottage ornee with Victorian additions.
There is a story that it was inspired by a church in Venice but I feel it is more in the tradition of similar 18th Century buildings that drew inspiration as widely as possible. It is a great shame that the cottage ornee at Prior Park in Bath is ruined as it would make an interesting comparison.
Spring Trees at la Ronde
A house of two stories
The property was created by two spinster cousins (the third was sent home from their grand tour) and intended to descend in the female line of the family. The ground floor of the house is still very much concerned with the Parminter cousins and the many souvenirs from their grand tour. Not to mention lots of handiwork with shells and feathers! The National Trust have restored the central octagon to give the feel of the original and it is a fine space. As a friend says, you can imagine their parrot flying up to the top of the shell gallery there.
The shell gallery is still astounding as it is a decorative work created from shells, feathers and other media embedded and stuck to plaster. It has windows all around with amazing views across the estuary. I find it very impressive that the cousins created this without a safety rail given the dress size to walkway ratio!
The tower!
However, despite their best efforts a man inherited in the form of a Victorian vicar called Oswald Reichel. He was something of a character whose activities included suing his bishop! He became a reformed character in later life and contributed many articles to local historical journals.
He also converted the first floor into accommodation, put in a bathroom, a dumb waiter and gloriously steam punk central heating! He also tiled the roof and made other changes but kept the shell gallery.
I feel the National Trust is missing a trick in not telling his story as well as the Parminters. Not least because they each shaped one story of the building in both senses of the word story!
Get involved!
I have volunteered at A la Ronde form some years now. Working in the garden was fun as it needed rescuing a bit and over time it’s been good to see it progress. I did my first work on collections at A la Ronde and was trained in object photography there too. I didn’t manage to photograph all the objects but got a good thousand done before a new job in the heritage world meant learning more new skills and less time for volunteering.
Volunteering is always a great way to get to know a place and it can be a lot of fun at A la Ronde. They have a website but why not drop in and see for yourself?
It is a bit Way Out
Photo Blogs Squared
Not just one but two!
I am a longstanding reader of Mike Johnson’s The Online Photographer blog. I enjoy the mix of news, reviews, articles, and odds and ends. As you can tell from that list there’s plenty of variety too! I first came across Mike’s writing in Black and White Photography when he provided a monthly column on US photography. Sadly the column came to an end but I then found The Online Photographer – hurrah!
It’s the blogger’s style and open approach as well as crunchy content, like in depth reviews and thought provoking pieces, that keep me going back. Plenty of comments and opinions on there too. Another nice touch is having guest bloggers contribute posts and it was one of these that prompted this post.
Another blogger whose posts I enjoy is Kirk Tuck, also from the USA. His review of the first model of the Olympus Pen encouraged me to invest in one.
Now there’s a coincidence
This week Kirk Tuck has contributed a guest post to Mike’s blog about digital formats. Specifically the pleasure of the square format. Unlike Kirk I never saved enough for a square format film camera, so on finding my Olympus Pen can provide square format images with a few clicks in the menu it was goodbye Bronica aspirations and hello square images!
Kirk Tuck’s own The Visual Science Lab blog is well worth trying. He opens a very clear window into the thoughts of a professional photographer. Again he is often thought provoking and also responds to comments – even to the point of changing a recent post on SOPA.
His advocacy for the Olympus Pen was one factor that made me decide to try and then buy one. Sadly I couldn’t afford the model he recommends but if you can I would say go for it!
And the excuse for the pun?
Well two photography blogs is surely a square? With that and a discussion of square format I couldn’t resist it!
Since finding the square format on my Pen I have been restrained. I get the most out it by using it for a specific set of shots or the good old photo project approach of taking all my shots over a day in square format.
Squaring the circle
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