Ivybridge Devon – Situted in the South Hams district of Devon, the small town of Ivybridge sits at the southern edge of the Dartmoor National Park about 14 kilometres to the east of Plymouth. Ivybridge is what is known as a dormitory town on the outskirts of Plymouth, with a population of over 12,000 residents. Mentioned in documents of the thirteenth century , the history of Ivybridge is marked by its status as the location of an important bridge over the River Erme, on the road between Plymouth and Exeter. During the sixteenth century, mills were constructed to make use of the power of the River Erme. Ivybridge today is a popular tourist destination and an ideal base for visiting the Dartmoor National Park, and surrounding towns and villages such as Plymouth, Tavistock, Cornwood and Bickleigh.
April 6, 2012
March 26, 2011
Spanish Days of the Week
Spanish Days of the Week – One of the important lessons when learning Spanish is to learn the Spanish days of the week – in general conversation you will use these frequently and being familiar with them is an essential part of learning to speak Spanish. Check out our webpage with tips on how to say and learn the words: Spanish Days of the Week.
November 11, 2010
Websites for Sale
Going slightly off topic for a moment (if I have a topic!), I have several websites that I am currently considering selling. As I now have over 100 domain names, it is getting a little tough to keep up with them all so for now I am listing 4 which I would consider selling at the right price, 3 of them are Spanish based websites dealing with property sales (or rentals), the other is for personal trainers in my home town of Aylesbury. The Spanish property sites are based in Torrevieja, Villamartin and Moraira, and are all a little different in construction, though the Torrevieja and Villamartin ones both use wordpress so would be easy to export in their current form. The Torrevieja property site uses a plugin and can be viewed here: Torrevieja Property Site, it only has a couple of properties on at the moment, but of course if you purchased it, you would no doubt want to add your own properties. The Villamartin property on used a theme called classipress, so you would have to buy your own license if you wanted to keep it in its present form, it can be viewed here: Villamartin Property Site, again it only has 3 properties on at the moment though I will add more when I get time. This one is already on page 2 of google.co.uk for its keyword, so could be very profitable for anyone selling property in the Villamartin area. The third property site is for Moraira property (Moraira is in the northern Costa Blanca). This website was produced with Dreamweaver, so anyone using this software could easily have all the files transferred, and use ‘as is’, you can view this site here: Moraira Property Site. The final website that I have for sale (there will be many more), is for personal trainers in Aylesbury. It may seem a little weird but I am constantly getting requests to list personal trainers on my many town information websites, so I guess there must be a demand. This Aylesbury personal trainer website will shortly appear on page 1 of google.co.uk and hopefully will be at position 1, so it would be a great money spinner for anyone offering these services in Aylesbury, or wanting to list services for a fee, as it is in its current form. You can view this website here: Aylesbury Personal Trainer. So there it is, all 4 websites are for sale (no hurry), and I will part with them for the right price, they are not currently providing any income as I have not added Google Adsense ads to any of them, though this could easily be done, and would in time get your money back.
August 27, 2010
Torremendo
Embalse de Pedrera Torremendo
Shown in the picture on the left is the large Embalse de Pedrera reservoir which is located close to the village of Torremendo just back from the coastline of the southern Costa Blanca. The reservoir is used, among other things to feed water to local golf courses such as Villamartin, it is also a popular area for fishing and the fact that it is free to fish makes it even more attractive though recent rises in water levels have made it more difficult to catch. Ideal for a spot of carp fishing, you may also be lucky to catch a Black Bass, the fish are not huge but make good sport. The village of Torremendo itself is small and typically Spanish, though it is increasingly attracting the British and other nationalities. Those looking to settle in the area will find some decent Torremendo properties on offer, most enjoy super views over the lake and would be especially attractive to fishing fans, who could just take a short walk to enjoy their sport. Torremendo has a limited choice of facilties mostly revolving around cafes and bars, for better shopping and more choice you can always head for nearby San Miguel de Salinas.
May 12, 2010
St Tropez South of France
A popular tourist destination in the Var department of southern France, St Tropez is renowned as a destination for the rich and famous. Its name is derived from a matyr named Saint Torpes who was beheaded in the reign of Nero at Pisa in Italy, and set afloat, he is said to have landed where the town of St Tropez stands today. St Tropez saw some action during World War 2, when it was the location of a beach landing during Operation Dragoon. It rose in popularity as a playground of the rich and famous during the 1950’s, due mostly to exposure created by actress Brigit Bardot. St Tropez has a number of popular beaches which stretch around the Bay of Pampelonne, the area is also renowned for water sports such as sailing, windsurfing, power boating and jet-skiing. St Tropez Map.
March 13, 2010
Letchworth, Hitchin and Baldock Hertfordshire
Three of the larger towns in the county of Hertfordshire, England, Letchworth, Hitchin and Baldock could not be more different. Letchworth formerly just a small village, was joined with the villages of Norton and Willan to form Letchworth Garden City, one of Ebenezer Howard’s ‘new towns’ in 1903. Set out as part of his dream of a city surrounded by countryside, with every house having its own garden, Letchworth never quite lived up to Howard’s ideals. On the other side of the historic coin, Hitchin was a settlement of the Hicci tribe way back in the 7th century, its name seems to have derived from the local River Hiz (pronounced Hitch). The town later prospered due to the wool trade and was a staging post for coaches travelling north from London. Local legend tells that Henry VIII almost died in a fire in Hitchin, though he managed to escape across the aforementioned River Hiz. Not quite so old, but historic nonetheless, Baldock was founded by the Knights Templar during the 12th century, the town grew around the crossroads of the Icknield Way and the Great North Road, and, like Hitchin, became a coaching post for travellers to and from London. Baldock developed since the 16th century as an important brewing and malting centre, with three major breweries operating in the town, which was also renowned for its large number of pubs!
November 24, 2009
Who Would Have Cosmetic Surgery?
As there has been quite a bit in the news lately about women, these days, being less happy with the way that they look, than they used to be. The obsession with looking good, promoted by magazines, newspapers, TV and other forms of media creates this vacuum in which women (and in many cases men) seem to think that they are some way inferior. I have experienced this myself, not because I feel this way particularly but because a couple of years ago my wife Gill had a facelift and it was hard to understand exactly why. I have to say that afterwards she was very happy with the results although now you would be hard pressed to spot any difference although familiarity makes it hard to judge. People seeing her now, who have not seen her for a while, say she looks good (younger or whatever), and for her, it reinforces the idea that she has done the right thing, though from a personal point of view I do not understand why anyone would want to put themselves through cosmetic surgery, or for that matter, any kind of surgery, without actually having to (ie a necessary operation), but then I guess if you can afford it and you want it done – why not? For anyone who is interested in what a facelift involves, you can read Gill’s own story on her little website that she did (Cosmetic Surgery), you can also see before and after pictures and judge for yourself, although it has to be said that the afterwards pictures were taken some time ago and the effects of the surgery have perhaps worn off a little more now.
August 21, 2009
St Austell and Around
The most populated town in Cornwall, St Austell is also a good base for exploring the county, being close to such well known attractions as the Eden Project, the St Austell Brewery and Mevagissey’s Lost Gardens of Heligan. St Austell itself has a long history, though it was not mentioned in the Domesday Book, and it certainly had a church in Norman times, as remains can still be seen, the present Trinity Church however dates from the 15th century. As with many Cornwall towns, St Austell was much involved in the mining industry, especially copper and tin, but unlike others, this was replaced by clay mining as it became an important centre for the China Clay industry. These days tourism is more significant and the beautiful surrounding coastline is a big attraction with such pretty fishing villages as Mevagissey being an obvious place to visit. To the west of St Austell on Cornwall’s northern coast, the surfing resort of Newquay is a popular destination with miles of sandy beaches and ideal surfing conditions. Newquay is also well known for its nightlife, which is very lively, especially during the summer months. St Austell Map.
Bermuda Braces Itself for Hurricane Bill
Bermuda is currently on alert as the powerful Hurricane Bill approaches, the Category 3 storm was predicted to pass through open waters between Bermuda and the USA some time on Saturday. On Thursday the “eye” of the storm was 500 miles south of Bermuda. The hurricane is expected to regain Category 4 status on Friday, though is will probably weaken through Saturday. This first storm of the Atlantic season caused Bermuda to issue a tropical storm alert on Thursday, and is on hurricane watch, bracing itself for possible devastation.