Swollen

It didn't rain! The sun was shining and with a spring in my step I headed out to see what I could find! Having passed over Gunnislake New Bridge I decided it was the day for photographing it.I've always intended to but by the time I return home  I already have enough photos and it's day has never come - until today!
New  Bridge was built in 1520 and still remains one of only 3 local bridges to cross from Cornwall into Devon - if for any reason the bridge is closed, asin last previous New Year when a driver went crashing through it and landed in the river ( his car went under but he survived and was then charged for drunk driving!) it means half an hours detour via Horsebridge or an hours via Greystone! Built in the 1437 and 1439!! Add the traffic, narrow lanes, humongous puddles across the road and basically it's an hour either way you try! On looking up the bridge on google I discovered Turner had been down this way and the site I looked at wrongly attributed the bridge he painted to be New Bridge - as you can see if you look here, it's the Calstock Viaduct!!!
But today it was open and the river was moving in a fast brown torrent! It's a single lane bridge and busy, but there are 4 handy pedestrian refuges either side which I made my way into dodging the cars! It's a habit when crossing the bridge to look briefly at the river to see how high it is - Gunnislake is the point where if The Tamar is  going to flood it will do so here! There is a garden on the Devon side with Grecian urns and a pond - these are often underwater! As I sheltered in one of the refuges a van beeped at me - it was my homeopath friend who I was meeting later to give her my spare heaters as he boiler had broken down!  
Having taken photographs of the muddy river and quaint toll house, I carried on upstream along the muddy track. It was quite mesmerising to stand next to the river and watch it surge pass. I even found a waterfall! But having no tripod and enough photos I decided to come back another day for it! I have added extras as who knows if we will be here a year to take advantage of them? Others are here!
I stopped at the road side stall to get veg for the chickens when Landscape Gardener stopped! Herein lies the moral dilemma of the day! Wednesday ( today as I write, which is getting me in a right tangle as to which tense I write various parts of this blip!) a  gang of us are heading to see The Danish Girl - she has already seen it and on the facebook group conversation where times and lifts were arranged, she had warned us to take tissues. Well she went one further and told me the ending!!! I mean! Seriously?!!! She was concerned for Friend - now she could have spoken directly to her but has now left me with the decision by default! So do I give her the spoiler or not?! I have decided not! I refuse to be handed the loaded revolver and to shoot! She knows it's a weepy and wants to go, if she had concerns she could have lookedit up herself and may well have done so! I don't intend to spoil the film for her too! Plus as we stood chatting Friend drove passed and joined us for a chat! Landscape Gardener said nothing to her about the film!!!!
Once home I discovered I had missed a parcel from Yodel! On the card was written - "neighbour refused to take" I ask you! I have walked his dog for over a year yet he refuses to take a parcel for me? Now monday eve there was an insistent ringing and knocking on my door - I was not feeling sociable and the insistent nature of the calling made me more determined not to answer! Now I wondered  if it was him and he was calling to tell me Lucy had died!!!! Maybe my walk with her sunday had strained her heart due to her portliness! Spent the rest of the eve trying to hear her barking! This morning thankfully I heard her barking at the postman! My next moral dilemma - do I take her for a walk today? If it was him knocking and Lucy is still alive, does it mean his wife has died or his other neighbour who has been in hospital since before Christmas? Maybe it wasn't him at all! You may wonder why I have not called round previous to this to ostensibly  take Lucy for a walk and find out - but he drinks and has a temper and if Lucy was dead he would blame me not his overfeeding and would likely hit me!! Atleast attempt to! Yes - I'm a coward it seems!
The end of the day that was yesterday as I write, in case you are confused! - Homeopath called for the heaters. She rented a treatment room in Neals Yard in Tavistock, but now she is moving into one of the newly built rooms at Make Do and Mend which is opening this weekend. She used my photos for her postcards to advertise her practise and wanted to use my misty viaduct ones for her new place. So that is why this is a backblip! Took ages to locate, download and crop them to her liking! I also discovered her mum has untreatable  lung cancer and at present a urinary infection. This is how my other,lovely,  neighbour passed away so I fear she has less time than expected. So after a lovely day a rather sobering end to it - hence again the back blip-really didn't have the oomph to write last night! Today my oomph has returned! So as the sun is shining once more, and if Yodel delivers my parcel in time, I may well head out to Horsebridge and show you another old bridge and swollen Tamar! Failing that it may be the cinema at Plymouth or the cocktail bar! Dilemma is, do I go and get Lucy if there is time for me to go out?! 

Please make the pledge to buy Blipfoto for ourselves and swell  the total raised!