So sad.....

It is with much sadness that I write of the death of Stuart, Adrian's dad. He passed away on Monday 1st March.

He was an incredible gentleman who lived with Parkinson's for over 20 years and never let it get the better of him. He loved his cattle and ponies, and rare breeds. He is the reason we have our Exmoor ponies and in January 2019 he bought nine Whitebred cattle from Scotland - without telling Adrian. He always had an a little plan up his sleeve and would often say "I've been thinking...." sometimes it was "don't tell Adrian" and he would smile  (like the smile in this photo). He once told to me that he hadn't been keen on having the tents and at the time didn't think it was a good idea (probably because it wasn't one of his! 😁) but admitted that he was wrong. That was one of the lovely things about him, he could admit that he was wrong and he could apologise.

He loved his children and grandchildren and was a great role model to them, he was recently planning a new shed and on Friday spoke of growing cabbages and having sheep. 

He would entertain our guests with stories, which they loved. Sometimes he fell over (due to his Parkinson's) and guests would pick him up off the floor. The last couple of years meant that he wasn't out as much, mainly because he wasn't allowed to, Adrian's mum had put a stop to it. He was greatly missed by our regulars and frustrated him greatly although he respected Anthea's wishes.

Last year he had to go into hospital in February and really got caught up in the system as Covid hit, he was bounced to different hospitals and then to a couple of care homes. Helen (Adrian's sister) fought to get him home and in November he finally came home to Boswarthen and had a live in carer. His health improved, he became stronger and his mental health was restored, gone was the confusion brought on by the different environments. We saw him on a daily basis and we were able to take him out in the car and also on daily walks around the farm. He hadn't been feeling quite so well in the last couple of weeks but on good days was still up for a walk and a trip in the car. Unfortunately he became ill on Friday and went back into hospital.

We will be forever grateful that we were able to spend the last few of months with him, that he was able to enjoy these last few weeks being cared for by people who loved him dearly.

​XXXX