title	Chilli Farms, Okehampton and the Oxenham Arms, South Zeal, Devon - 10th April 2023
intro	The Oxenham Arms Hotel - built in the 12th century around a 5,000 year old Menhir, once home of the first professional pirate John Oxenham, where Charles "Chazzy D" Dickens wrote the Pickwick Papers, and which has been an inn for over 530 years - isn't open on Mondays so we make sure to get a visit in on Sunday evening. It's an amazing place for a beer. Then, on Monday, Sis and Nosher visit Throwleigh and then Fred and Nosher head off to the South Devon Chilli Farm near Loddiswell in the South Hams. There's not much there at this time of year, although there are some early nursery plants to buy, but Fred's happy as it's a sort-of Holy Grail for chilli fans. After that we meet up with Isobel and Harry in Moretonhampstead and do a quick visit to Grandma J, before heading into Okehampton for a takeaway from Ma'ida Indian Restaurant on Fore Street, where we're almost bona-fide regulars. Then, the next morning, we pack up and head off back up the A303 and the M25. It's much easier as it's not the Easter holidays any more, when we had learnt the hard way about the realities of over-subscribed charging stations, so we have fairly hassle-free hops from Exeter to Fleet and onto Gridserve outside Chelmsford. It still takes a good nine hours to get back though.
imgp0265	We head into the 12th-century Oxenham Arms
imgp0266	There's a stone cat guarding the door
imgp0270	The 5,000-year-old Menhir at the heart of the hotel
imgp0272	Fred and Isobel cube whilst Harry draws a picture
imgp0275	A portrait of Mary Oxenham follows us around
imgp0278	A bust of Charles Dickens up the hotel's stairs
imgp0279	A suit of armour guards the dining room
imgp0282	A Roman stone props up another part of the building
imgp0285	Walking back under sodium lights
imgp0286	We have another drink in the King's Arms
imgp0287	A death warrant for the execution of Charles I
imgp0289	The church of St. Mary's in Throwleigh
imgp0291	A view from Sis's putative new house
imgp0293	Stained glass in St. Mary's Throwleigh
imgp0295	Some ancient stone construction
imgp0298	Sis roams around the nave of St. Mary's
imgp0302	A view up the road to South Zeal
imgp0303	A classic car rots in the street, intestate
imgp2546	Fred looks at chillis at the SDCF
imgp2547	More chillis in the plant nursery
imgp2550	Fred roams around by a polytunnel
imgp2553	The South Devon Chilli Farm shop
imgp2554	Harry looks at the fish in Ma'ida restaurant
imgp2556	The arcade in Okehampton
imgp2559	A closed-down takeaway on St. James Street
imgp2560	The Kings Arms on St. James Street
imgp2561	The site of the Pig Pen in Okehampton
imgp2563	Ma'ida on Fore Street
imgp2566	We wait for our food in Ma'ida
imgp2567	St. Michael's on Fore Street
imgp2568	Inside St. Michael's Church
imgp2571	Fred reads the guest book in the church
imgp2574	A sculpture on a house in Park Row
imgp2576	The cottage has some cute paper models of Chagford
imgp2579	Isobel heads back for more bags as we pack the car
imgp2580	Isobel and Harry buy some stuff in M&S
imgp2581	Exeter Services is much quieter than Monday
imgp2583	Fred scoffs a big doughnut
imgp2584	The back of a big Costa sign
imgp2585	A quiet Exeter Services
imgp2588	One of the Gridserve chargers gets fixed
imgp2590	Fred gets a photo of Harry on his tablet
imgp2604	Fred's photo of the A303
imgp2620	A Fred photo of Stonehenge, through the wires
imgp2623	Harry by the charger at Fleet Services North
imgp2624	We cross the link bridge to Pizza Express
imgp2626	A line of mid-lane tossers on the M3
imgp2627	Pizza Express's kitchen area
imgp2629	Fred lurks outside WHSmith
imgp2635	Harry watches M3 traffic from the link bridge
imgp2637	We stride around Fleet North
imgp2639	A view from a Costa at Fleet Services
imgp2645	The boys play a game at Gridserve Chelmsford
imgp2646	The car charges away at Gridserve
imgp2648	We eat ice creams
imgp2650	Isobel heads back to the car
imgp2654	Fred spots a Twatla with an almost-Tesla plate