An interesting Californian in Budleigh Salterton
Some of you may have seen a post from Gary Canant, the American direct descendant of Roger Conant who is planning to spend his 80 th birthday visiting East Budleigh, the home of his ancestors. You may even have seen local artist John Washington's painting of Roger Conant in All Saints’ Church in East Budleigh. You may know that it shows Conant, founder of Salem, Massachusetts, confronting Captain Myles Standish the military leader of the 1620 ‘Mayflower’ Pilgrims. It’s pretty amazing that East Budleigh was the birthplace of TWO important figures in American history. Gary has fixed up accommodation in Budleigh Salterton. If you happen to see him around town, please say hello. He’s an interesting chap. He lives at Pismo Beach, California, famous for: i. Monarch butterflies. 24,000 of them wintered there in 2023. ii. Pelicans iii. Elephant seals. Gary writes: ‘ About 25,000 magnificent Elephant Seals make the beach in San Sime...