There are some days that only coffee and cake will do!

Topsham flowers up close and personal after today's light rain...

The bees are back in town! #topsham #bees #photography #devon

A lovely couple of hours being a tourist in Exeter, thanks to a visit to @waterstones.bsky.social to spend some book tokens. #exeter #tourism #exeterguildhall #exetercathedral #photography #devon

Must admit I didn't feel great today on my heart rehab walk in Exmouth, but I took it slowly, and with an easy day tomorrow (heavy showers forecast), I can just put it down to finding the right balance between exercise and rest. At least I can go up my ten stairs at home now without puffing! 🤣

Took a worthwhile punt on finding green-winged orchids at Orcombe Point in Exmouth: I took the train from Topsham to Exmouth Station and walked to Orcombe Point and back for my daily heart rehab exercise, and was amply rewarded. What beautiful things they are! #orchids #exmouth #photography #devon

Heart update: my walks are getting longer and a bit brisker, but it's clear that it's going to take all of the 12 weeks rehabilitation time to get anywhere near form: the mauled body needs to heal, and the heart needs to regain its shape. No idea when the atrial fibrillation will be sorted though!

Quite relieved that Exeter voters didn't completely lose their heads last night. It's messy, with a lot of close results. Topsham kept its Labour councillor, which, if you know Topsham's demographic, remains as remarkable as when it first flipped from the Tories. exeterobserver.org/2026/05/07/e...

Here's why I like old stuff: a little corner of my house reminds me of how we all pass into history and the world forgets who we were, even if we left a little mark somewhere.

I let the train take the strain (£4.95 rtn) for a jaunt down to Dawlish Warren from Topsham. And lovely it was too, even if it was quite ambitious (aka probably 'a bit too much') for my still-recovering-post-mitral-valve-repair heart. So an easier day tomorrow, I think. #devon #photography

Topsham turned up trumps this evening when it was time for my heart-friendly exercise walk... nearly four weeks since my mitral valve was repaired in an 8-hour operation at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. #topsham #devon #sunshine #photography

More Topsham flowers! #topsham #devon #flowers #photography

Today's Topsham bouquet! #topsham #devon #flowers #sunshine #photography

What a stunning display of bluebells at Blackbury Camp in East Devon today! Kindly driven there by a friend, and got to share his fantastic collie 'Tripp' for frolicking in the unreal scenes. Tripp did more frolicking than me. #eastdevon #bluebells #collie #photography

I'm 62, 2½ weeks post-8-hour mitral valve repair by one of the country's finest surgeons, with a year's worth of testing and planning, and another couple of months of follow-up tests and aftercare to come. Can you guess how much it's going to cost me, to the nearest $?

It's wisteria time in Topsham! #topsham #wisteria #devon #photography

It's good to be home. #post-op #topsham #devon

Two weeks post mitral valve repair: rather then do one longer walk, I decided to do two walks, the second around County Hall in Exeter. Very slow but very pleasant! #mitralvalverepair #exeter #countyhall #photography

Hungarians chanting “Europe!” 🇭🇺🇪🇺

I think this might be what Sundays are for... #photography #commonbeavercafe #exeter

Ha, it's always fun to find a detail of an Ordnance Survey map that needs revision: here's the River Otter at Callper Lane Honiton not behaving as the map would like it to... #ordnancesurvey #honiton #riverotter

Just a short ride today into Exeter, to catch up with a few people before I head of to London for heart surgery next week. A gusty NE wind with the odd chunky shower dissuaded me from going any further! #exeter #cycling #photography

Un jour de repos pour moi, en faisant un peu de ménage chez moi avant le départ lundi pour aller à Londres. Bonne soirée et une nuit pleine des beaux rêves dans votre barque de sommeil lorsque vous montez à bord #devon #photography #topsham #sunset

I know it's daft, but as someone brought up on paper-based accounting and invoicing, I still get a little rush of pleasure each time I use a spreadsheet to create PDF invoices and email them out with a personalised message. Rather more reliable than my prior 'date-based filing system' 😉🤣

A very pleasant ride on the Cannondale CAAD9 down to Dawlish Warren for a short stroll with a friend and his dog. Must return there sans chien to do the walk right to the end of the Warren (no dogs allowed!). #devon #cycling #dawlishwarren #photography

A little Topsham floral bouquet for you from yesterday... up close & personal! #flowers #photography #topsham #devon

What a delight to hear an ex-pupil's winning composition in the BBC's Tune Into Nature award: you can find Will Pearce's fantastically groovy and witty '2-spot Ladybird' from 50.45 here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #bbc #music #nature #tuneintonature #radio3

Making the most of sunshine and cake: a ride up to Exe Valley Farm shop for a humungous piece of their delicious gluten-free carrot cake (£4) was just what the doctor ordered. Well, maybe he didn't... 😜 #cycling #cake #devon #thorverton #photography More photos: www.facebook.com/unanglaisend...

How many times can I go in Exeter Cathedral and still be blown away by it? Dunno, but despite it virtually being a second home at times, I'm still nowhere near my limit! #exetercathedral #devon #photography

A delightful Dawlish Devon dawdle to enjoy the sunshine and warmth of a glorious spring day. There was cake, though even that refuelling didn't help me escape the shadow that followed me all the way there and back. #cycling #cake #dawlish #photography #devon

A lovely day for a Budleigh bimble to buy a big bun! #cycling #budleigh #chelseabun #photography

Something to brighten up a grey day in Devon... #devon #topsham #flowers #photography

A sunny Strand stroll around Topsham: Monmouth Street, Bowling Green Marsh, the Goat Walk, and Strand. Always a pleasure, and well worth waiting for the sun to put in its appearance today! #topsham #devon #photography

A nice little ride out to friends at Rockbeare for a souper lunch... the weather was kind, even treating me to a few random snowflakes, which is a bit weird when the air temperature is 10C! 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️ #cycling #devon #photography #soup More of my photos here: www.facebook.com/unanglaisend...

Damp daffodils... you'll never guess where!

Splendid GF fish & chips at The Chip Thief in Dawlish Warren for lunch today... well worth a cycle ride!! #thechipthief #dawlishwarren #cycling

It's nice when a plan comes together. Especially when it's taken two years to get to this point. www.jazzavienne.com/fr/edition-2... #devonyouthjazzorchestra #jazzavienne

A reminder of the good old days on Twitter, when I tagged the rather more famous @brianmoore666.bsky.social, and he tweeted right back at me...

From the commute into Exeter this afternoon... could be worse!! 😉😃 #cycling #ribblebikes #exeter #devon

It seems that it is worth the effort to complain about poor journalistic framing: between last night and this morning, @news.sky.com have amended their shameful initial framing of deaths in Lebanon.

It's one of those days when searching for microscopic beauty amidst the greyness is more fruitful... #photography #topsham #devon #macro

The sun shone in Topsham this afternoon... for nearly 10 minutes... yay! 😃🤣 So I had to mark the moment with a phone snap, below St Margaret's Church. #topsham #devon #cycing #photography #ribblebikes

I started my MA in Music with the OU when I was 40, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I had both the appetite and determination to make the most of it, which, erm, wasn't quite the case when I was 18! 😢🤣

More springiness, from a ride from Topsham to Exeter Quay... the sun put in a little effort to break through... #cycling #photography #exeterquay #spring

I was taught to use chopsticks by the vaguely famous conductor & harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood.

Spring in Topsham... slowly but surely... #topsham #exeter #devon #spring #photography

That's tonight's supper done: pork steaks in a herby mushroom and onion sauce... to be served with spuds & fresh veg when I finish work... #cookery #photography

With everything that's going on in the world, it's all the more important not to stop appreciating beautiful things: sunsets and bikes definitely qualify. #sunset #ribblegravel #photography #topsham #devon

More Topsham flowers today: after the dire weather we've had in Devon since the start of 2026, this is the tonic that we need, provided by mother nature, with a little help from humans along the way. #flowers #spring #devon #topsham #photography

The morning flower springwatch in Topsham... it's getting there!! 😀 #spring #flowers #topsham #devon #photography