Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: Jubilee Celebrations Part 1

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Jubilee Celebrations Part 1

I might have to write this blog from a personal perspective, rather than a Pickwell-as-a-whole-perspective, as i think i might be the only Royalist here?!

But Royalist I am and I'm not afraid to say it! I was weeping with the best of 'em at the Royal wedding

and in these times of such sad news everywhere you turn, isn't it wonderful to be able to celebrate the good stuff, the stuff that brings a nation together?

We put up some lovely (and very tasteful, i might add) bunting, made by our talented friend Lou.

We hoped our guests felt good about it, royalist or not?

Thank you Lou, our Entrance Hall looks fantastic.

Even our gorgeous 16th Century Chapel must have known

as the red roses have suddenly come into bloom

and don't they look pretty?

I even bought some 'jubilee tea cakes' for my wedding viewings (although none of them were actually eaten)....hmmmmm...

Steve's Mum, brother, our sister-in-law and our nephew Sam all came for a few days to surf and chill.

We decided to take them, together with some guests (who came last year, so we're more like friends)

through the fields to the 'plateaux' nearby to see the coastal Beacons

there was much anticipation in the air

Zac had his trusty 'phoenix feather wand' in case of emergency

and Liza had her holiday friend Grace (can you believe Liza is actually 3 months younger than Grace - wow my girl is tall!)

and my nephew Sam had with him a ....toilet sign?!?

Apparently Steve made him carry it. I had no idea why and although we like to look after our guests, i must admit i did think providing toilets for 20 minutes of Beacon viewing was a little excessive.

When we got to the plateaux we could see a couple of Beacons to the left along the coast and Clovelly was lit up in a zig-zag shape but really, that was about it.

This exciting image of fires burning all along the Woolacombe coast line is merely a light trick of my camera! Or is it.......??? Whatever it is they definitely weren't there when i looked with my eyes! (oh, Steve's just informed me they are street lights boooo)

Suddenly we all heard the sound of sparks flying

and turned to see the real reason for the toilet sign! Yay! A Catherine wheel!

quickly followed by some rockets

Steve once again living up to his nickname of Gandalf..

It kind of made up for the Beacon disappointment anyway :)

The next blog post is definitely worth the wait..it involves a maypole and the WI... oh yes...

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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".