Meanwhile, in the heart of a small village . . .

One thing we are are blessed with, here in the South West, is artistic talent and it turns up in the most unlikely of settings. Yesterday, for example, my Good Friend M, from Random Distractions, and I met in Rackenford, a small village which - like mine - isn't really on the way to anywhere. So, you could live in this area for years and never go there. You'll find something about the history of the shop over at M's place, so do take a look. (As it happens, I had been to the outskirts of Rackenford, as it's where I learned to ride when I moved to Devon.)

We'd gone there to see a demonstration by fellow Devon dweller (and blogger), Michele of Hedgelands Glass Gems, whom we'd first come across here at Musings from a Muddy Island.

Michele explained that she had originally worked with stained glass and then moved on to beads and gems - and dichroic glass. It was fascinating to watch as she manipulated pliers with tiny pointed ends around thin shafts of silver wire and from disparate beginnings created pieces of real beauty. She'd brought along a selection of her work including necklaces, bracelets, keyrings, bookmarks and brooches and we could not, of course, leave without buying a thing or two - or rather more, in fact. But I'm not going to say what because some of these things will be turning up in the not too distant future, gift-wrapped . . . You can read Michele's account of the morning on her blog, which is right here.

After which, we walked down the lane to the Stag Inn (see yesterday's picture) for lunch. Home-made leek and potato soup in proper, large bowls, each served with three thick slices of freshly-baked bread and generous pats of butter (not a foil wrapper in sight). Impossible to resist. And followed by a very large plate of local cheeses that included Sharpham Rustic, which you can read about and buy online at the Cheese Shed.

See? I like to do my bit to support local producers and suppliers. If the Stag Inn had a website, I'd include that too but, sadly, it doesn't, so I can't. You'll just have to take my word for it.

(The views from the village are - well, just what Devonshire hilltop views should be.)

Comments

[Juliet]

Mmmmm, it all sounds heavenly. The Stag Inn is now on my to-be-visited list. Distance no object if there's a large bowl of home-made soup at the end of the journey. And I've never tried Sharpham Rustic, either - I'll have to investigate.

[Michele B]

I've had my question answered D! I might take lunch there one day after packing up as I have not been being a southerner (relatively speaking) - South-ish of Tiverton.