Our Sepia Saturday theme image this week features a public house. Now as all my friends know, I am not particularly fond of public houses - didn't my parents enrol me in the "Sons Of Temperance before my fifth birthday! - and therefore I must pass the New Inn by and concentrate my sepia imagination on its location, the village of Clovelly in Devon. Clovelly is one of those places that the word "quaint" seems to have been invented for - lovely old cottages, narrow cobbled streets, picturesque donkeys: not to mention sun, sea and little fishing boats. It was a "photo opportunity" before photo opportunities were thought of, and a fair proportion of the population of Great Britain will have a picture of Clovelly somewhere within their family albums.
The first of my pictures dates back to the mid 1930s and was taken by my father during one of their "touring" holidays of the south-west. The touring was undertaken on a motorbike and sidecar with stops at bed and breakfast establishments throughout Devon and Cornwall.
My other two photographs date from two decades later - at a guess they probably were taken in or around 1960 when I was twelve years old. One shows me and my mother posing next to one of Clovelly's iconic donkeys, and they other is a smashing shot of my mother with the same laconic donkey. Looking at the photograph now - some 55 years after it was taken - it makes me long for those youthful days when the sun always shone and expectations could always outnumber realisations. Such thoughts are in danger of pushing me towards the maudlin : it's time to go to the pub! I wonder if the New Inn is still serving?
After you have enjoyed a drink at the New Inn why not pop over to the Sepia Saturday Blog to see what other Sepians are up to.
Thanks for the tour of the charming village, and great photos of you and your mom, and obliging donkey.
ReplyDelete"Those youthful days when the sun always shone"????????????? Im a bit worried about your memory. Love the old photos.
ReplyDeleteI like the photos of you and your mom. The first photo is a wonderful moment that was captured. The kid kicking, the person in the boat, the guy on the beach stooping over and there is something behind him-perhaps a dog.
ReplyDeleteClovelly looks like a lovely place to visit. There's a beach in Sydney named after it, but apart from water and the name, I don't think they have a lot in common.
ReplyDeleteThose pictures of you and your mother are priceless. “Yes Alan, you can be in thei picture. Now, hold my cardi and go and stand over there whilst we do it properly."
ReplyDeleteI can still see that cute friendly 12-year old face in your photo today. And somewhere the sun is always shining whether it be in your own backyard, or somewhere in a fantasy world of daydreaming, reading a good book, or writing one! :)
ReplyDeleteThe photos are absolutely beautiful. But who... I'm beginning to wonder.... who chose the theme image for this week ? :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which is better, the photos or the prose. I did think for a moment that the last photo was digitally altered to remove yourself. Donkeys are the definition of patience.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Clovelly and now I've been there twice today. Wonderful! Did someone polish the donkey's hooves?
ReplyDeleteDid you know they now charge something like 7 pounds to go down that street? I think they started charging in '88. Not sure I'd be willing to pay that much to walk up and down a hill. It was free when I was there.
ReplyDeleteA family trip on motorbike and sidecar. <3 I love it!
ReplyDeleteSuch sweet memories captured in those photos.
Lovely memories, thanks for sharing. Now do you know when SS will be up for the next Sat? It's Wed. already, hint hint.
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