Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: A party to remember

Monday, 14 November 2011

A party to remember

So, I decided to celebrate my birthday on Saturday night, about 2 weeks after my actual birthday, as half term was not a good time to get everyone together. We hired out Putsborough beach cafe for the night and oh, what a night.

We put candle lanterns on the steps to come down, the floodlights lit up the sea, beautiful music was coming out of both the inside and outside speakers, you could see Woolacombe all lit up in the distance. Magical. It reminded me of Cafe Del Mar in Ibiza (yes i did go once when i was 18, that's a WHOLE other story and a WHOLE different blog!).

We went down early in the evening to set up the bunting, the decks, the candles and the drinks.

Steve very kindly agreed to DJ and we'd spent a wonderful hour in the day going through the play list and hunting out some treasured memories on vinyl.

We spent the first hour chatting, telling stories, loving the view and appreciating how great we all look when we're not in jeans and hoody's!

The coloured lights and candles and ambient music all felt lush. It was exactly what i had imagined, actually no, it was better. Surrounded by most of my very special mates, it was perfect.

Tony runs the cafe and as a complete surprise handed Tracey a cake to give to me... yes you are seeing correctly. It was a pair of boobs in a glittery purple bra. Turns out Tony won it in a competition in the Kings Arms pub the other night, it was 'guess the weight of the cake'! So, stick a couple of candles in the nipples and hey presto! Sus has a cake!

As the lights went out and the volume of the music went up, so the dancing kicked off. We had to be careful with certain dance moves not to keep hitting the buckets hanging above our heads!

No party would be complete with Mrs P. I think she was going for the biggest bucket count...

By the end of the night, things were getting a little silly.

This was Tony's 8th event in the cafe in the evening. I think he is just starting to market it now. I cannot recommend a better place to have an event.

Buckets + Tony + postcards + great music + sea + great mates = magic.

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Our Story

Many people have asked what the story is, how did the Bakers and Elliotts come to be at Pickwell?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Tracey and Susannah became friends at 6th form college. Steve and Tracey lived in the same village in Sussex. Steve's dad was the vicar and Tracey's dad was Steve's scout leader. Even more wierd, Susannah's dad (also a church minister) and Steve's dad were friends, but Steve and Sus never met.

One summer Tracey took Susannah along to a youth summer camp. Steve was one of the leaders (read : heightened attraction) and a little later Steve and Sus got together. During their 6 on/off years they met Richard, a blue eyed boy from Guildford.

At a club night run by Steve, somehow through the dark and crowded room, Tracey and Richard bumped into eachother (if you have seen the shapes they pull on the dancefloor you would know how easily this happened)..

In the year 2000 they all got married. Tracey and Susannah were eachother's bridesmaids. They have remained firm friends ever since.

When Steve and Susannah came across Pickwell Manor, they knew they couldn't manage such a project on their own. They asked the Elliotts if they would give up their house, their jobs and their community to come and live and work with them and own the project together. They knew there weren't many people they could ask to do such a thing knowing they would still love each other by the end. So they all left everything in Sussex and came to Devon.

They moved on the same day in August 2008. It has been a crazy, wonderful, scary, emotional and beautiful experience so far. All of them would say they feel very ALIVE!

Since they moved they have run 51 successful and wonderful weddings (with more to come), many, many holidays, built or totally refurbished 6 apartments from scratch, updated carpets, painted white throughout, put in quite a few kitchens and bathrooms (including 2 baths on concrete plinths), changed much of the furniture, converted a laundry and have started to convert the chapel. Every year they also have a bonfire gathering in October, an Easter Eggstravaganza fundraising event, and anything else that is not-for-profit that they can fit in. Tracey has completed a dissertation and gone back to nursing for 2 days a week, Steve has started up a new company in London, Richard has mastered a lot of the running of the house as well as training as a coach, specialising in stress management, Sus has taken on the interiors and Tracey and Susannah have learnt weddings in at the deep end! All with 4 young Pickwellians by their sides.

"Our passion is for making life count. Our values lie in
friendship, celebration, valuing others, and social justice. We see Pickwell as a reflection of these things but also a place for rest, recouperation, laughter and conversation. We want to support charities and social enterprises to fufil their dreams and make a difference."

"We love Devon, we love the community here, we love seeing our children grow with nature and discovering the great outdoors. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes when we think about our life here, it is amazing".