Gareth and Charlotte x

This gorgeous couple found us on Google from Dubai, and came to view because of our name.... Mr Picknell couldn't believe there was a venue so closely associated with his name, so Mrs Picknell (to be) persuaded him to just come and look.

The rest is history.

I knew this wedding was going to go with a swing when I found Gareth's sister Erica mixing up the final ingredient (brandy) into the family's 'South African inspired' home-made drink. The family lived in South Africa for many years before moving to the midlands when Gareth was fifteen.

These little bottles were made as favours for each person to take home with them. I am sipping on it now as the family very kindly gave me two huge bottles of it (as a 'thank you'). It's like a twist on Baileys and tastes heavenly poured over ice (I might just add that I am writing this in the evening)!

The home-made theme continued as great friend of the family, Jane, showed me these amazing vases she had made herself as a gift for Gareth and Charlotte.

They were going to form the centre-piece for each table.

This is quite a large clue to the theme of the weekend!

There were sea-shell candles all around our Entrance Hall.

A cargo net had been ordered on-line by Gareth and Charlotte, but it hadn't arrived... It was meant to form the basis to a lot of the decoration. Thanks to Mortehoe Shellfish for coming to our rescue! The idea was that guests would take pictures of themselves with the Polaroid camera (making full use of the props) and then write a message and peg it to the net.

Here is Charlotte, leading by example!

This was only one cake..there were MANY cakes!! So much love and care had gone into these cakes which were all made by family and friends.... 

and as you can see, fitted the theme perfectly. Check out the 'sand' at its base! Clever, hey?!

The table plan looked brilliant! All the tables were named after their favourite beaches and, what a great idea, to have an image of our house as the backdrop.

The wedding rehearsal was a good laugh. I have rarely seen such a relaxed bride and groom. From these pictures, I can clearly see what drew Gareth and Charlotte to each other...

Its the penchant of filling up your right jean pocket as much as you possibly can, without something falling out. 

So, the wedding rehearsal was done. The tables looked great.

The flowers were sitting gloriously on their stands..

and after Gareth's mum and auntie had come out from under the dress,

and it was hanging beautifully (all set for the next day);

we were ready.

The sun was shining the next morning (can you see the dress hanging up in the top right hand window? Love it!)

Perfect for the planned garden ceremony, under our Rose Arbour.

When all the chairs were set up and the guests had gone to get ready, I couldn't resist taking this film as the air felt so peaceful, but expectant, and I thought a film might show what my words cannot.

The bouquet's that arrived seemed to reflect the sunshine and relaxed feel of the weekend.

Notice the driftwood and shell design surrounding the blooms?

I popped up to see Charlotte who was in the throes of getting ready. Hair and make-up were all taken care of by  Gold's Hair and Beauty salon. 

When I returned later on, I found Laura (Charlotte's sister and the matron-of-honour) in the make-up chair and Charlotte....

playing chess with her bridesmaid Kate!

Well..that's a first!

I had been handed a mystery gift to give to Charlotte from her old Hockey team. It turns out Charlotte was a bit of a pro Hockey player before leaving for Dubai, and the girls thought they would treat her to a  baby-blue garter!

The boys came downstairs, all looking rather dapper I must say.

This is Gareth's friend Phil (and his lovely wife). Phil is a member of the band who performed later in the evening.

I had to capture this moment when Charlotte's twin (yes, twin) brother Dan came up to see her in the dress. Dan had just asked her what she had done with his sister and you can work out what Charlotte's reply was!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, lovely.

I'm not sure WHAT Charlotte is doing here...I think it's to stop herself from getting too emotional?

I have put it in, just because it made me laugh!

Oh yes, mustn't forget to show the shoes. Good old Jimmy Choo's!

Laura and Leslie (Charlotte's dad, VIP, and mind-boggling dancer *see later in the blog) looking fab.

Kate, the gorgeous chess-playing bridesmaid (and senior RNLI Lifeguard too btw!), has noticed the guests arriving.

It's a great window, in this room, as you can see all the action below.

The girls are starting to get nervous now.

It's time to go. Doesn't Charlotte look beautiful?

Together with her dad, Charlotte starts the walk to the Italian garden...

pausing at our door for pictures. This is one of my favourites.

Getting ready to walk up the 'aisle'. At this point, the music is playing (Labrinth 'beneath your beautiful' ; instrumental version) but no-one can see what is happening below the wall, so there is great anticipation.

The music has really kicked in now and emotions are running high as everyone turns to see the gorgeous bride.

The girls follow behind, lighting up the garden in their stunning coral-pink gowns.

Charlotte arrives to the front as the music slowly fades.

The ceremony was beautiful, with 2 readings which were planned and one complete surprise poem which Laura, Charlotte's sister, had written herself. 

It was really loving and thoughtful, and certainly brought out a few tears and not just from Charlotte!

The confetti moment!

The Pimms, with its stripy straws, and delicious canapés helped the afternoon go with a swing and, of course, the croquet went down well.

As did the props....

It wasn't long before the netting filled up with some hilarious images!

At least Barry (Gareth's dad and fellow VIP) was happy. This brilliant man used to be in a rock band and you can sample some of his talent later...

Time for the wedding breakfast...

The food was divine. To start - crab and avocado torte, followed by local Gressingham duck, and to finish, none other than the delicious wedding cakes, home-made by the friends and family.

The speeches were fantastic. Especially Gareth's, as he learnt his entirely by heart. In fact he was walking in our woods at 6am practising it that morning.

The best man's speech - don't ask!

As the evening progressed, so did the hilarity.

It was when Gareth suddenly dropped to the floor that I became concerned..

But then others joined him...

CHARLOTTE!!! What are you DOING?!

Aha! (or should I said Arrrrggghhh?) its a human pyramid! Yeah, this happens all the time at weddings. Straight after the wedding breakfast, the guests break into 'the pyramid'. So much so, we now plan it in ahead of time.

As soon as Phil (Pirate hat, bottom row) managed to release himself, he went to join his fellow band members 'The Vibes' from Plymouth...

The first dance was very romantic, 

and soon friends and family filled the floor (and pretty much stayed there all night!)

Charlotte's dad entered the circle and performed, what must have been, one of the most energetic and brilliant dances I have seen happen on the Pickwell dance floor.

Ending up with 'the kissing of the guns'. Leslie I am lovin' your style.

All that dancing meant some top-up fuel was needed. Lee's fish and chip boxes are perfect at times like these. The fish literally just flakes off the fork. They went down a storm.

 The whole atmosphere of the wedding was just brilliant.
As the night drew to a close, and guests jumped into taxi's or went upstairs to bed,

Barry played a song to end the perfect day...

Mr and Mrs Picknell, we have had great fun on this wedding journey with you. You are made for each-other, and we'll be thinking of you as you start your new life back in Dubai.

Go well 

x

Samantha and Charlie 8.6.13

We knew the weather was going to be amazing.

My family (the Baker's) and I had just flown in from being on holiday in Durban, South Africa.

We saw the forecast before we left and could see the whole week in Devon would be a scorcher!

I was absolutely thrilled for my couple Samantha and Charlie. 

Samantha has dreamt of this weekend, every minute of every day I think, for a very long time. 

She put so much thought into each and every detail, including making up these bed plans to go on easels, each side of the house (in our brand and colours too).

Samantha bought some brown envelopes, purchased a stamp from 'Not on the High Street' and filled the envelope with wild-flower seeds. What a lovely idea!

These menu cards were printed by the bride and groom to go on each table. A great design I thought.

The table settings were starting to look really good.

I found a redundant piece of bunting so knew a great place it could go... Amity (where Samantha and Charlie were staying).

Samantha had even bought this little fella to add some character to the garden!

White candle lanterns marked the entrance to the terrace.

Our gardens are in bloom and some of the scents, that waft past your nose as you walk, are gorgeous!

The umbrella's were so needed as the sun beat down.

Not that you can really see it, but that is a giant Jenga set, right there on the lawn,

and of course, the guests always enjoy a spot of croquet before a wedding!

It's a good idea to let people know what to expect and when. This board looked great on our terrace.

Samantha had personally wrapped different styles of lace round each jam jar,

and put tea-lights in each one.

Samantha made use of the island unit in the Snug by covering it with a table-cloth and putting lovely things on top.

One of those lovely things was a gorgeous thumb-tree print whereby guests put their thumbprints (like leaves) all over the tree and sign their name next to it.

Another was a framed picture of the newspaper announcement of their engagement. 

This lovely hand-painted card box with their initials on, kept all the cards safe.

A photo-booth came in the evening and so Charlie decided to demonstrate to me a couple of the props!

A fabulous wedding plan with a map of our area complete with luggage tag table names and numbers.

This white floral bunting was so simple but effective on both our fireplaces.

Again a simple idea, but the lace really lifted the staircase and tied in with the candle - lantern jam jars.

Our lovely driftwood stand (hand-made by a talented friend) looked fabulous in the entrance hall.

This was one of the choices of reception drink which i loaded into the fridge. I was just trying to find the right spot to take this picture (without my foot getting in the way) when I fell backwards over a pile of boxes and holding the bottle and my phone aloft, careered to the floor. Luckily, the bottle remained intact (which is more than i can say for my poor elbow!) SO relieved no-one saw!

The men were out early to polish up the cars and decorate them with ribbon.

While Samantha was up early to glide around the apartment and begin to look like a bride. To help her to do this, Samantha was in the very capable hands of Eve Ashby for make-up and Golds hair salon for hair.

The flowers arrive and Steph (matron-of-honour), Becca, Rebecca, and Rachel (bridesmaids) try out their bouquets.

The men have beautiful white roses as their buttonholes,

and the women have tiny versions of the bride's bouquet as their corsages.

The table centres are three huge hydrangea heads in a low round vase.

single stems were placed in Samantha's lace-covered jars,

and the effect was stunning. 

Upstairs, the boys receive a lesson from Ali (the best man) in how to do up a good tie.

Justin was clearly having difficulties!

Aha! The photographer has spotted a good shot...

brilliant!

Samantha's hair is done, the veil is in...

I honestly thought this was the dress, she looked so chic in it. 

but, no, turns out its a nightie.

the cake arrives and looks fantastic. All the flowers and petals are made from icing.

Samantha sourced the wooden bride and groom from Etsy. You can have them designed to your exact wedding-day look. Originally Samantha was going to wear a tiara, but changed her mind.

So, the boys are suited and booted and ready to make the walk to the village church. 

When I asked Justin about why he was taking a packet of wet-wipes, the answer came back - "sweat".

Ah, the brothers. 

Don't they all scrub up well?

Clever hey? I took a pic of the photographer taking a pic of the bride's mum, taking a pic of the bridesmaids. Little trick of the trade ;)

The bridesmaid's shoes all in a row, waiting to be worn. The bridesmaid dresses are from Jasmine Belsoie

The white London Taxi arrives, 

and the nervousness goes up a notch. This is our first glimpse of the dress..

Absolutely stunning, yet very simple. The dress is from Beverly Lister, based in Guildford, Surrey.

Beautiful. 

Samantha's shoes are Christian Louboutin, sadly no picture of Sam wearing those beauties. 

This was the significant moment when Samantha came down the stairs to be greeted by her mum, her three bridesmaids, her matron of honour and her VIP Granddad (just out of shot). Hang on a moment, bridesmaid Becky -are you on the phone?!?

Samantha's Granddad Michael is a very important person in her life. Much of Samantha's childhood was spent with him, and this was a very emotional moment.  

He lovingly held her veil as they walked to the car,

posed for a photograph..

then squeezed her hand and had a giggle; to stop them both from getting too emotional.

The bridesmaids were all smiles and ready for the service.

We just had time to do all the finishing touches to the tables,

Prepare the wine,

and light the scented candles (in advance so the room would smell delicious for later)

and stand ready with our trays of Prosecco, Prosecco mixed with sloe gin, half pints of 'Proper Job' Devon ale and some apple and orange juice.

By all accounts the service was lovely. A slight dress malfunction (when the hem had accidently ripped) was quickly resolved with a couple of safety pins. Bobs your uncle.

Delicious canapés, including this Devon cream and jam one, were served and they went down a treat.

A caricaturist went round drawing people in the sun, he was very popular!

I placed Samantha's bouquet next to the cake, which I think finished the scene off perfectly.

Charlie's mum and dad bought these fantastic personalised umbrella's. Here's Rebecca demonstrating how they are still needed even in glorious sunshine!

Charlie and Samantha wanted to do a line-up (pre-wedding breakfast) to ensure they had greeted everybody.

Dinner is served! As described on the special menu card pictured earlier, guests dined on asparagus spears wrapped in parma ham to start, followed by roasted rack of Exmoor lamb.

For dessert, the ever-popular Eton Mess. Everyone loves our chefs' Eton Mess.

The speeches were both incredibly moving (Granddad), very sweet (Charlie) and very funny (best man Ali), then on with the evening!

While the guests enjoyed the sun, had lots of photos and generally chilled-out, the brilliant band, the dance floor  and the photo-booth man set up their bits.

Azey, who has recently joined our small team, set about lighting all the candles.

At this point of the day, this is where the true personalities start to emerge!!

The room was set, and ready for the evening.

The guests really enjoyed adding their stamp to the fingerprint tree, having v silly pictures taken in the photo-booth and making good use of the bar.

The cake cutting and the first dance, always kick start the evening in style.

It started off in a demure fashion..

when Samantha fed Charlie a slice of cake quite romantically. However, when it was Charlie's turn, hmmm..needless to say, thank goodness for Eve's great super-fix make-up! 

The first dance was performed by the band. The new Mr and Mrs Knight had chosen the Goo Goo Dolls - "Iris". They danced beautifully for about 2 minutes and then...

the dance floor filled with friends and family.

The Hog roast for the evening went down an absolute storm! 

I wasn't sure if people would have room for more food, but I think all the dancing had worked up an appetite.

It was still warm enough and light enough to enjoy the food outside on the terrace.

By now the tree was looking full of prints and names. What a great thing to frame and keep as a memento of the day.

Samantha had also provided colourful bags of popcorn in case anyone felt peckish later.

As the light faded, the candle-lit courtyard looked magical.

Uh oh, another dress malfunction. With friends like these girls though, there is no need to worry!

Had to capture these boys posing for the camera in the photo-booth.

As the bar became busier...

so the tie's made their way to people's heads. 

I love this pic with Charlie's dad in the middle. 

He is really enjoying himself,

as demonstrated by this wonderful film.

Charlie, is this REALLY a good idea?

Well I guess Steph gets to see your mushy side as a result. She is your sister-in-law now, after all. 

The throwing of the bouquet brought about much excitement..

especially as Steph was the one to catch it. Steph, you did say you wanted to get married here at Pickwell Manor, when it's your turn, so let me know when you want the chat ;)

All the family and friends formed a 'tunnel of love' to see out the happy couple. This picture was taken right near the end of the tunnel, thus the slightly rosy-cheeked groom!

Samantha and Charlie, you were a joy to work with over the last year or so. I have loved your enthusiasm and excitement over your wedding and I wish you the happiest of lives together.

X

Watersmeet for a cream tea

Two weekends ago Sus and I  had our annual girls weekend away with our wonderful friends Gemma and Toria. We travelled a GREAT distance (approx. 20 metres) and stayed in one of our apartments at Pickwell for the weekend. It felt like we were properly on holiday and we got to actually enjoy the experience of being a guest. All of us love walking and like to do a long walk each time we meet up. Although we have lived here for almost five years we have never walked to Watersmeet, despite soooo many recommendations, so the time had come!

 

 

Watersmeet is where the two rivers of the East Lyn and Hoar Oak Water meet together just above the picturesque village of Lynmouth on Exmoor. I am not sure which one of the two rivers this is but it certainly makes a dramatic backdrop.

 



 

I made a bit of a mistake with the walk route and for some reason we found ourselves accidentally  parking at 'The Valley of the Rocks' (spectacular though!!). My poor navigation skills had lead me to believe they were close (but they are actually on completely opposite sides of Lynton). Undeterred we set off along the coastal path determined to get to Watersmeet, whatever the distance!

 



 

The path takes you out along the dramatic coastal path to Lynton with the most incredible view.

 



 

I have to say my fear of heights did slightly get the better of me, I had to work really hard not to ask to hold onto one of the girls. I am sure this is getting worse as I get older!?!.

 



 

The path then takes you through a magical wood as you drop down into the back of Lynton. Both Lynton and Lynmouth are well worth a potter round, but we had a goal to reach........ the promise of a cream tea!

 





 

So we hopped onto the Cliff Railway which takes you from the village of Lynton down the 862 ft cliff to Lynmouth nestled at the bottom by the sea. Opened in 1888 the cliff railway is an incredible and beautiful feet of engineering.

 



Every time I go on it I always get that childlike sense of excitement!

 

 

 

A little picnic on Lynmouth harbour, Gemma was obviously telling an intriguing story by the look on Susie's face.

 

Our sights were on the prize, we set off across Lynmouth towards the valley that leads to Watersmeet.

 



 

 

Lynmouth had a terrible freak flood in 1952, where the river swept away the houses up stream and on the left of the river bank. Thirty four people sadly lost their lives and there is a memorial to them just by this bridge.

 



 

The footpath up to Watersmeet follows the river up stream through the most wonderful Gorge.

 



 

So beautiful!!

 



 

Gemma and I had to keep stopping to take photos.

 

 

"A sheep loose in the lane!!" We were a bit scared she might butt us on the way past, she had a bit of a menacing look!

 

This walk is truly enchanting.

 



 

What more can I say?!? I am planning a return visit with the children and Rich for some wild swimming when the weather warms up. There were some gorgeous little beaches on the edge of the river, just right for playing.

 



 

Then if the beautiful walk was not enough, there is a National Trust tea room at Watersmeet itself, yipee!!

 



This beautiful waterfall is next to the tea room, how amazing!

 



 

Here we are decked out in 'country casual'...Gemma might apreciate me mentioning at this point that she had to borrow my wellies (complete with lurid wellie socks!)

 



 

Yum! It gave us just the right amount of fuel for the walk back to the car.

 

 

Three beautiful girls on the cliff railway on our return journey.

Just time for a quick girls weekend away photo, thank you girls for another great and memorable time!

A Vintage Spring Wedding -Fran and Christian. Part 1.

Our first wedding of 2013!

The dress hanging in the bedroom gave the theme away, even if I had not known it before. 

Its lace bodice and train were absolutely gorgeous 

and set the tone for the whole way the weekend was themed.

From Fran's shoes,

to the chair sashes,

the home-made bunting

and the home-made table plan (made by Fran's talented mum, Maria).

These sweet little bags were sourced through Ebay but were customised by Maria with hand sewn lace. 

The children (niece and nephew, Megan and Harri) helped to fill them with mints for the day.

The Card box fitted perfectly with the theme and here again the lace bringing a softness.

The wedding cake was made by the amazing Claire (Christian's sister) and look, even that has a lace design around the top two tiers (and the spring theme round the bottom one).

Claire hand-made every single aspect of these flowers, even down to the tiny balls of the grape hyacinth.

It wasn't just Claire who helped make this wedding so wonderful..this is the Bride's Dad, Paul.

Claire's husband and son found a novel way to hang the bunting in the higher places (*please note for future weddings..we do have a ladder!)

and everyone joined in on the marquee outside.

Paul (Fran's brother-in-law) used his v neat handwriting to create this board explaining what was happening at each stage of the day.

Fran is so organised. This was her list which I took a sneaky pic of...It has all the details of who was allocated what for the breakfast packs in each apartment. Future Brides take note!

They put these lovely jams and conserves (from a local company Brendon Hill Crafts) in the breakfast packs. 

                                    The card case and the table plan were displayed beautifully.

Opposite our Cherub Settle, was this gorgeous scene..

'Sit awhile and give a smile'!

I love these novelty props...

The resulting pictures can be seen in part 2 of this blog. 

Part 2 -The Wedding Day!

x

Dance for Gaza

You may have seen in previous posts that Steve and I are both part of a group of local runners here that have become known as the 'Baggy Breakfast Club'. Earlier this year seven of us entered the Gaza marathon to raise money for the UN's humanitarian work with refugee children in Gaza.  

After several months of hard training we were all really disappointed, on so many levels, to hear the news that the UN had been forced to cancel the marathon after Hamas took the decision to ban men and women running in the event together.

  

Undeterred, we quickly focused on trying to find an alternative marathon and were amazed to find that just two weeks later was the inaugural 'Right to Movement' Palestine marathon in the West Bank in Bethlehem! Really sadly Steve is not able to make the amended date - which is really gutting!  

 On Friday night the runners, along with the Pickwell crew, hosted a local fundraising night here at the Manor called 'Dance For Gaza'.

  

 We chose a few themed elements to the night to try and give it a middle eastern feel. Firstly, we served Arak - a traditional aperitif from the region. A translucent coloured, aniseed flavoured drink of about 57%.... It is definitely an acquired taste!

   

 Mind you Katie definitely looks like she is making a good job of acquiring it! 

 So to go with the Arak a few delicious Mezze, courtesy of Damian & Ali (thank you guys!). 

Then to follow magnificent lamb kebabs, courtesy of the culinary skills of Tracey and Jake. 

"Oh no they've caught us.... quick back to the bar and look busy!"

 Sa'ad bought Fezes for the running boys on the bar. The look was much more Tommy Cooper than 'authentic Turkish headwear'! My favourite Tommy Cooper joke of the night: I said to the gym instructor 'Can you teach me how to do the splits?'. He said 'How flexible are you?' I said 'I can't make Tuesdays'.

It wasn't just the Fezes as uniform. Dave (our Kiwi runner) insisted on wearing his now infamous 'stubbies' for the night. A 1970's trend that perhaps should have been left there rather than resurrected!

If proof were needed it looks like Nige in his pullover is having more luck with attracting the 'ladies' than Dave in his stubbies!

The final key middle eastern theme of the night was our 'Shisha Palace' (lovingly created in Sa'ad's bell tent).

Many thanks to Medhat from Bar Venezia in Exeter for his very generous loan of the Shisha pipes and to Sa'ad for his kind donation of the tobacco.

Damian was a natural in his role as shisha host for the evening "You want hubbly bubbly?"

Anna looks like she was particularly enjoying the experience.

Nige adopted a less traditional grip on the shisha pipe.

Whilst it took Susie a while to realise that her pipe had got disconnected "This apple tobacco is so smooth... its like the air".

Damian's role as Shisha host made him the most popular man of the night. Men wanted to be him. Women wanted to be with him.

His popularity was closely followed by Pete Cox whose dance offs are not to missed.

Throughout the night great tunes were spun by DJ's Pete Robinson and Steve Baker. Thank you guys! It took a while but eventually everyone did 'Dance for Gaza'.

There were a couple of reminders throughout the night that this was all to try and help give Gazan children the opportunity to have some glimpses of the sort of childhood that our children take for granted.

Thank you to everyone who came and made Friday such a fun night and helped to raise over £1300.

So on Sunday 21st April we will be attempting to  run 26.2 hot miles around Bethlehem. If you want to check out more details or throw in a few quid you can find our giving site here.

A Royal Visit to Braunton!

Ever-since I can remember I have been a fan of the Royal family. I have to say now, from the outset, I am not representing the whole of Pickwell in this blog post! I think the rest of the team feel warmly towards our monarchy, but really it is only me who has the level of excitement that warrants a whole blog post. 

It is no wonder when you see how I was raised...my mum was ever so fond of a home-made hat.

This is me, in 1977. It was the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne. Our village celebrated with a street party. As you can see, I had a GREAT time!

 In 1980, the village all turned out again, this time for the wedding of Charles and Di. This is my sister. Despite my mum's best efforts, I'm not convinced she felt at home in that strange ensemble.

I mean, it's no wonder I get so excited about the Royal family, it was ingrained in me right from the start.  So when I heard that The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were coming to Braunton (a village just up the road), in the wake of the terrible flooding there, you can imagine my excitement.

My friend Sarah and I were determined to get there to see them. Sarah's husband Pete Cox was the official photographer for the visit. I'll point him out later.

We could see the crowds as we approached in the car.

It looked like everyone was waiting in anticipation..

Which was a relief because we were late and we thought we were going to miss them.

As we walked from our parked car towards the village, a policeman said 'Watch your backs ladies, you're about to be run over by the Royals!' As I turned, I saw a very smart car heading towards us..

and THERE THEY WERE! Even though I was holding my camera in my hand, all I could think to do was drop it and wave madly (and in a slightly unhinged manner) into the window straight at Camilla. I thought that was bad, but Sarah said she found herself jumping up and down...I think I came off lightly!

It must have looked terrifying to poor Camilla to have these middle-aged women leering in at her. I'm not sure we painted Braunton in the best 'first-impression' light. Afterwards I was so cross I didn't get a picture of it. I think it was the shock.

The sleek black car pulled into Caen Street and we heard the crowd cheer and applause as Prince Charles stepped out...

and there he was! (not sure where Camilla was at this point, possibly trying to get over the weirdo's she just saw in the car-park?)

Flanked by security, it looked impressive.

I didn't think they looked that scary. In fact one of them could have been my Dad, and he's got muscles like a sparrow's knee caps.

You could feel the electric atmosphere in the crowd. My heart was beating in my chest.

He started to head straight for me! I did wear my bright blue hat, in a hope he would be drawn in my direction.

I struggled to get through the crowd. 

This lady was my final obstacle, but she was moving for no-one, hat or no hat.

So this was as close as I got,

Before he moved away :(

The car moved along very slowly behind them the whole way down the street.

As it passed by the school children, they noticed they could see their reflection in its black, shiny body.

The girls found this to be most entertaining,

and the boys started an entire silly face-pulling and dance routine. It was hilarious to watch.

I took a picture of the driver because he had a spirally white ear piece, that reminded me of Jack Bower.

There were so many cameras and microphones.

Camilla is in the red coat (in case you hadn't noticed).

I recognised quite a few of the photographers from our weddings.

They went into five shops along the road and met some of the worst-affected flood damaged businesses.

The Gulf Stream Surf shop boys looked very pleased to have met Prince Charles! This shop is the place to go for the best board shaper in North Devon. Steve got his 'fish' board from here for his 40th Birthday Present.

Next stop, the Newsagent.

I was quite pleased with this pic!

You can see Pete Cox (Sarah's husband and official photographer extraordinaire) in the background here, in a smart grey suit! Prince Charles and Camilla went in and out of the shops,

While everyone waited patiently for a glimpse

and occasionally they would cross the road to the crowd and say a quick hello.

I really felt the whole village had risen to the occasion, 

with the great turn-out of people,

 the decoration and the welcome notes everywhere.

This one was in my favourite 'home' shop, Kittiwakes. Despite being devastated by the river water, they have cleared it all up, totally refurbished and just launched a beautiful new shop. 

The stationary shop even had a revolving crown in the window!

The end of the day brought a last highlight. I spotted the wonderful lead singer of the Military Wives Choir! The choir all live at the Army base close to Braunton, and one of the singers used to be in our cleaning team, so we have been following their progress with excitement.

This was Pete's favourite picture which he felt summed up the day. Prince Charles had commented that he loved her hat. (That's the last time I wear that blue hat, I'm getting one with plaits for his next visit).

 Great work Pete

x