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l am Elsie, married to Brian, and we live on a National Trust estate, Arlington Court, in a lovely part of North Devon, England, open in the summer season. I used to work as a seasonal steward there; I now help out with photographic projects. I am often seen out and about with a camera round my neck as part of my dress code. I take far more with digital cameras than I ever used to with the old film cameras, though I have numerous albums of old photos and negatives, which people need to access occasionally for one .On the estate are Jacob’s sheep, Shetland ponies, cross shire horses that pull a public carriage, and peacocks. ** The horses also help to teach those who want to learn carriage driving.The newest one, a grey,is called Scrooge, as they are named after Dickens characters.

Arlington is a small scattered hamlet of about 100 people. We no longer have a village hall. The Women’s Institute therefore meet in other venues. Further news on this is in the Arlington Community Newsletters, for which I am Editor and they can be seen in another part of the website.
Brian is a radio ham and a bowler which keeps him busy during the summer season. His other hobby is wooden bowl turning, as can be seen by my collection. My hobbies include computering, photography, poetry when inspired and I am also a community news correspondent for the weekly N.Devon Journal . We both do the garden with flowers and vegetables; I have found out how to set seed for the candelabra primulas that grow here and the greenhouses are full.We both enjoy our dogs, Tara, the German Shepherd and Sky, a cross terrier. Retiring does not mean that work stops however, just who controls it hopefully.