Front doors of Teignmouth

Yes, you did read that right.  On our recent trip to Devon on the Sunday morning having ducked out of a longer walk, I had a wander around Teignmouth. As in most seaside towns I was struck by the pretty coloured buildings, and then I started to notice something else...

...the front doors. So here's a whole post on Teignmouth's front doors - bear with me.

This one was the one that started it off, but doesn't it look welcoming?

It wasn't long before I'd picked up on a common theme: a wider-than usual door, with an arched fanlights or in technical speak an elliptical Transom and invariably a number of panels.

Some were grander than others, heraldic even.

SOME WITH HANGING BASKETS

OTHERS FAILING TO DISGUISE THEIR WHEELIE BINS

The door above has, I think got letter boxes covered. All three of them.

And while the churches don't technically have front doors, they were pretty fancy.

In any seaside town the fish and chip shop front door is a must.

The tiled panels above bring a touch of colour to even the plainest of front doors.

I saw a couple of smaller, older doors too. This green door on the Cameo Gallery is small but looks even smaller I think because of the panelling detail.

This was another favourite of the ones I saw, with its oval window. It's the elegantly styled door pull underneath the Yale lock and the classic black and white tiled flooring, along with with what I suspect are the original bells on the left did it for me. At first glance, you just see a door, but there is so much more to see!

Heading back into the town I saw this old car, now wouldn't that be fab parked outside the door above?

What does your front door say about you?

Baked Apple mishaps

This autumn, thanks to Monty Don I learnt that MOH really rather likes baked apples. You'd think having lived together since 2002 I might have known this, or he might have mentioned it before. But as Monty was wrapping his bakers in foil and placing them on the bonfire MOH said he quite liked a baked apple.

Nothing revolutionary there I know. And I'm not against a baked apple either, it's just I never think to cook one. I prefer my Bramleys as Apple Compote á la Hugh F-W for breakfast with yogurt or as a Kentish Apple Cake like this one from Sarah Raven.

So being the dutiful wife that I am, and thinking how hard can a baked apple be I thought I'd give it a go.

Hmmmnn.

It started so well.

VERY SHINY AND REFLECTIVE APPLES

I had some cooking apples from my Dad's recent visit. He and the lady up the road have a marrow for apples swap going on, which seems like a good deal to me. Look how shiny they were.

1.

2. 

3.

4.

1. Check. They fit into my enamel pie dishes.

2. The core is removed.

3. The cavity is stuffed with sultanas and some soft brown sugar.

4. Covered with foil and ready for the oven.

And then. Fail.

I forgot to score the circumference. So instead of baked apples, we had exploded apples, and I've never been more grateful for foil or else I'd be cleaning the oven...  We ate them, but really there wasn't much there. Just as well we had ice cream too.

So as MOH likes Baked Apples I thought I'd try again.

And this time I learnt from my previous mistake.  I scored the circumference.

So how did it go?

Well these ones looked more like Baked Apples but still still weren't right.

Again we ate them but I've not achieved a passable Baked Apple. I might just need to resort to a recipe, unless you've got tips for where I'm going wrong - please let me know, because MOH really likes Baked Apples, and it seems I'm unable to cook a decent one!

Styling the seasons: October

This month I'm a little earlier with my Styling the Seasons post which Katy at Apartment Apothecary and Charlotte at Lotts and Lots run. The idea is that you style an area to reflect what that month means to you. Like last month, this month was relatively easy for me, as this month it's all about returning to work. 

So what better thing to style than a desk. Yes exactly.

This desk is actually a side table and is on my landing rather thank in our study, the light levels are much better there and it's a part of our house we don't get to use that much, so it's nice to dress it up for this.

So, on my desk I have the laptop, a notebook and pen all obvious choices. There's also a mug for my tea and a soup caddy for my lunches.

One of my previous work friends used to like having "Desk flowers" and while I can't manage that I do have a plant - a long life one at that.

There's an apple because I should eat more fruit, and because we're still eating our way through our allotment apples. And some simple wooden cats, because everyone needs to feel like they belong and because I used to lay claim to being almost a crazy cat lady.

My car key is there too - and that's significant, as for the first time in my working life I'll be driving to work. Previously I've hopped on the train into London along with everyone else. But not for this role, I'll be heading off by car and no doubt some days into traffic.

So what does October mean to you?