Marazion.

Just got back on-line after a mysterious internet failure to my PC. Maybe something to do with me moving stuff around (which Peter really didn't want me to do) to set up the tv. on the new unit. The design was based on one made by New Forest Rustic Furniture. It took me a while to make and could have been better but it's not too bad.

Due to the lateness of the hour I'm just posting photos of the beach and town of Marazion.  

After the somewhat eventful journey down we eventually found the campsite and made the camper ready for the night. Then we walked into Marazion via the beach. The weather kept changing from sudden downpours to clear blue skies when the strong but warm wind blew us completely dry in five minutes. 

I then left Peter in the pub while I continued walking around taking photos and checking out some of the shops.

The bakers had shut which they do once they've run out of pasties so we headed back to the campsite in time to catch the visiting fish&chip van for freshly cooked fish (delicious) and chips (a bit under done). After the drive Peter needed to rest so I headed back to the beach for a long walk down towards Penzance. I didn't take my camera but simply enjoyed walking in the wild wind watching the kite surfers, seven of them, the birds and keeping an eye out for interesting stones. The local stone is granite and there was a treasure trove of smooth pebbles of varying colours and sizes lying in swathes across the sand. Rather gritty sand which wore a hole in my toe by the side of the flip-flops toe-post. 

More tomorrow ......

Back Again.

We've been away again. Not to Borth this time but mainly for relaxation These first two photos taken on Friday might lead to thinking that we were in the sunny Mediterranean but in reality they were taken at  St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. I had never visited it as a child and thought it would be a good opportunity to make use of our NT. cards. It was amazing and gardens were beyond words, more photos in the next few days.

Our campsite at Marazion was a few minutes walk from the beach and we were glad to arrive because …….. on the way our SatNav had taken us down a narrow road to avoid driving through Launceston. This then led to not one but two stone bridges that were only 6ft. 6ins. wide. With the camper being just under 6ft. wide we slid over the first bridge but the next one must have had a stone sticking out because it caught the side of the camper damaging the side door, pillar and further back the access door for the toilet tank. It's going to be a big insurance job and I think our excess is £350. On the brighter side we were able to carry on and we weren't planning any trips in the near future.  We taped it up with duct tape and heavy duty plastic but couldn't use the side door which was a little inconvenient.

We spent two nights in Marazion and yesterday drove to St Ives. I'd noted which pitches at the campsite had the best view so when Peter booked we got a level pitch, not too far from the facilities and a great view of St. Ives. Yesterday was very wet but we still managed to eat hot pasties by the harbour and then escaped the rain by visiting the extremely interesting museum which was packed full of exhibits showing life in St. Ives in past times. There was everything from Neolithic arrow heads and stone tools to pilchard processing, mining, farming, blacksmithing, the Salvation Army, wrecks and of course fishing boats just to mention a portion of what was there. No photos allowed which was a shame. We then braved the rain and walked to The Sloop Inn where I left Peter while I headed out to check out the shops and visit the glass gallery again. I bought a dark blue hanging glass ball for the new house and then because I was only wearing a vest top under my rain coat shivered my way back to Peter. A cup of coffee revived me while we waited for a cab to take us back up to the campsite.

Then followed a windy night with the camper being continuously rocked by fierce gusts. With the radio on, a hot drink and maybe a pastry from the bakers we had a very cosy evening. We thought about staying on another night but the rain was only going to get worse so this morning we headed home.

I've unpacked, aired the kitchen, hoovered and fed Speedy who seems to have eaten all the food in the feeders and now we're ready for a relaxing evening and early night.

Still Wet.

A little warmer and not quite as wet as yesterday but not the nicest of weather.

In the morning I had some shopping to do and while I was out I decided to pop into the Laura Ashley shop by Lidl's. With the colour scheme for the new kitchen being white walls and units with wooden counter tops and a pale green/blue splashback I thought that the L.A. duck egg blue might blend quite nicely. They were having a sale and some of the fabrics were half-price. I didn't have the splashback sample with me but took a chance and bought 2 metres  each of the polka dot oil cloth style fabric for the table and the leafy fabric to make cushion covers. It's not a perfect colour match though closer to the smaller sample which is the frosted version which we're having. 

The rest of my day has been spent working on the tv. unit. In theory it is done but I'm not happy with some of the joins and want to do a bit more work on them. I waxed the top section just to see how it will look and the pine has come up a beautiful golden shade. I think the proportions would have been better if it had all been lower but that would be too low for the tv. Peter looked at it and said that it was the right size for a really big tv. I don't think we need anything bigger.

A bit more from Borth.

On the Saturday I was up a ladder in the front garden when a chap came along and introduced himself. He was the nephew of the man who had lived in the place and he and his cousin had inherited Red Roofs jointly. He told us a lot about his uncle and is going to send us the eulogy he wrote which has a lot of details about his uncle's life. One interesting story was how his uncle came to be called Chick which was something we'd been wondering about. Chick had two older brothers both of whom ended up being called by the shortened versions of their given names. So his parents named him Roy as you can't really shorten that. Along came Granny to see the new baby and said "Oh what a little chick." And Chick he remained for the rest of his life. He and his wife along with another couple spent many holidays in Borth and they all agreed that on retirement they should try and find houses near to each other in Borth. Unfortunately Chick's wife died early but they still carried out their retirement plan. On looking for houses in Borth they came across Red Roofs which they decided to buy jointly the agreement being the last one alive got the house. That's why the utility room was set up as a second kitchen but they got on so well they shared the house. It's really nice to hear about the past residents. Chick spent 32 happy years in Borth and we hope that we'll be as fortunate.

Wet.

Today has ben one of those days when some things have gone well and some not so well. After a night of heavy rain we woke to a rainy morning. Perfect for a bit of a lie-in to ease those 2-day-after aches and pains but Speedy had an appointment at the vet. Just his yearly vaccination but he still cried like a baby when he was in the carrier. Poking my finger through the bars and rubbing his chin did calm him down and we were seen promptly. Heavy showers interspersed with brief hot spells continued throughout the day giving me the opportunity to get on with the tv. unit. We'd brought the circular saw home from Borth but not only was it very heavy making it awkward to use but the blade had the biggest teeth, definitely not suitable for cutting my expensive wood. Instead I used the hand saw. It took a while but the job was done. After a long rest I thought it would be a simple matter to put all the pieces together but not so. The front edge of the middle shelf had very obvious saw marks (from the mill) which needed sanding out. Having broken the palm sander this job was done with sandpaper and a lot of elbow grease. I may possibly be able to put it together tomorrow. Another not-so-good moment was ringing up to find out why I've heard nothing about my cardio referral and being told I may have to wait for up to a year! That's even though the NHS states maximum waiting time should be 18 weeks. I think I might go a see my GP.

Last photos from Borth.

It may sound strange but this is almost my favourite view as it's the first proper view we get when we pull up outside the front door (on the right). We may have driven up with the sea on one side but once we step out of the car there's that glorious hit of warmth, sea air and the sound of the waves. Bliss.

There is a tiny view from the back garden, that's the shed on the right. One idea might be to have a raised deck there but then again with the view at the front do we need it? 

Having carefully tied back the montbretia on the last visit this time I began chopping it down. Only the leaves which need doing whether they stay or not. I don't like the orange clashing with all the pinks and blues of the hydrangeas so I'll move the montbretia elsewhere. 

I took this sunset on the first night before I'd cut back the sticking up bits of hedge which kept messing up the autofocus on my camera. Even on the last wet morning there was beauty in the low clouds sitting on top of the hills.

Breaking News- Dingles is up for sale. It was interesting to look at the details and see the changes. Not that much, they've just painted the kitchen cupboards and the wood in the bathroom white, replaced the hated Rayburn and turned the downstairs toilet into a wet room. Most of the walls are still the same colours and it looks like the bedrooms were set up for B&B. PS. Had another look and am very sad to see they have removed the wisteria, honeysuckle and climbing rose from the front of the house. Philistines!

Colder.

It's been cold and often wet today. We're both feeling very tired but there were still things to be done. Peter had to pick up a fresh barrel of beer so I got a lift to and from town where I went to pick up the rest of our prescriptions which hadn't been ready last week. That and my exercises were about all I did today. While we've come back minus any injuries I am sporting some dramatic bruises on my arms and legs probably from leaning against the ladder.

A bit more from Borth.

The view from the terrace never fails to enchant and there always seems to be something going on out in the bay. 

On the first evening we saw a small sail boat moored in the bay. Later on four lifeboat men in a rib went up to the boat which got us speculating. Were we going to see a rescue? For a while it looked to be so as the boat was towed off by the lifeboat men. But then after going round in a big circle the lifeboat men went off leaving the boat in the same place. More likely it was a training exercise. At the end of all this the rowing club crews out in the Celtic longboats paid a visit to the yacht after a long row out on the millpond like sea.

While in Borth we tended to retire quite early. Peter found that plugging the existing tv. aerial into the radio gave a clear signal so we listened to Radio 4. Or rather I did as Peter usually dropped off early while I was still doing my exercises. I didn't bring my weights but it was good to stretch out my back and do some core work.

This evening there was a ring of the doorbell and there was my neighbour asking if I had an onion. Her husband's been painting and she needed to get rid of the smell. At least I think that was why she needed the onion. (Googled it and yes it is supposed to soak up the smell.)

Back From Borth.

Back again from another working visit to Borth. WE SAW THE DOLPHINS! yesterday as we were eating our dinner. I had begun to think that like around here the often mentioned dolphins were much further out and could only be seen if you're out in a boat. I've been watching out for them every time we've been in Borth without any luck and then last night I heard some excited voices and there they were . Two, I think dolphins fishing in the bay and coming quite close at times. I tried to take photos but like many Nessie photos they were just a grey blur. 

The weather was amazing, bright sunshine and really warm. This morning's rainbow was the first hint of any rain. Luckily we didn't meet any rain on our homeward journey until we were on the Link Road when the heavens opened a couple of times.

We made some progress on organising the building works (hopefully). The man from the recommended window company came round and the windows will be installed in November. This doesn't include the bathroom or the utility room as they will be redesigned once we move or rather once this place sells. But it does include the doors and floor length windows in the sitting room bay window. The builder who is going to do the internal walls, plastering and insulating also came round and should be able to start once we get his quote.

Our main effort this time was clearing the back garden. Peter has the number of a community allotment who should take the two greenhouses now that he has cleared out all the stuff, apart from the shelving that was in them. He then set to work on the shed that looms across the end of the garden with about two ft. of cotoneaster on the roof.

The shed is sturdily made, though now rotting in places and was filled with heavy wooden furniture. Not to mention one layer of carpet and two layers of lino. No wonder we filled two skips this visit. 

One problem with the shed is how to remove the glass safely. It is all fixed in place with wood and naturally the screws have rusted solid. Peter got one pane out by breaking it but after that we weren't sure if the whole thing would collapse sending glass everywhere. If it hasn't fallen down by the next visit we'll tape the glass, attach a rope and pull from a safe distance. For my part I cut down the mahonia, got rid of a lot of ivy and random bits of wood and panels and weeded a small bed that had lovely rich soil. At last the back garden is beginning to emerge.

My other job was to cut the hedge from the inside down to the level Peter cut with the hedge trimmer last time. We've bought one of those extending ladders with rungs that slide back into each other. This was very useful for reaching the top of the hedge. At the moment it looks sad with just brown branches on the inside but I've been assured it will all grow back. A lot of the branches went in the skip and more are sitting in a heap on the lawn. The view out to sea has already been improved and will be even better once I cut back the highest bit by the terrace.

Back home for a while to recuperate. Speedy's two feeders and four water bowls (just in case) have been cleaned, everything unpacked, work clothes washed and hanging in the conservatory and the downstairs hoovered. Now we can have a rest.

Birds and Porthmeor Beach.

Today has been another sunny day ending with the sky shading from pink to purple with orange in between. It was sunny with a cooling breeze as I went for a leisurely walk to town wearing my straw hat. First stop was at the vets to book Speedy in for his annual vaccination next week. Then to pick up our prescription which once again resulted in a long wait and I'll have to go again to pick up the things they didn't have. I had my usual look around the charity shops but nothing took my fancy. I called in at Wilko's as I needed 12 long screws for the tv unit. As well as buying packets of nails etc there is a pick-n-mix section where you can fill a small or large bag for a set price. I got the screws I needed and some spares and then carefully filled the bag to bursting with long screws and big hooks which are always useful.

Now back to St Ives.

This is Porthmeor Beach, the largest of the town's beaches if you don't count Carbis Bay which is a little further on. A perfect beach for surfing with a lot better surf than Borth. However being the Atlantic rather than the Irish Sea it is also colder. 

As a child I would often be taken to visit Mrs Sanders, an elderly lady who lived in a cottage built right on Porthmeor.  Her cottage was the white one (below) on the left with what looks like a doorway on to the beach. This was actually about 3 ft. above the sand and led to a low room below and to the side of the sitting room where there was another doorway. Mrs. Sanders befriended my mother and took a great deal of interest in the artists who had come to live in St Ives. When she died not only did she leave me her piano which I kept right until we left London in 1993, but she left the cottage to the local arts society for artists to rent with the stipulation that my mother had first refusal. However my mother decided not to stay in St Ives much to my regret. To have remained in St Ives living on the beach would have been perfect for me. Never mind, we're on the way to living in our own beach house.

This is where we sat to eat our pasties.  

It wasn't long before we were joined by sandpipers and sparrows. Pasties are crumbly  and I'll admit to feeding the birds surreptitiously so as not to attract any seagulls. The sandpipers were quite brave and took small crumbs from my hands. 

While we were walking around the Island I spotted a flock of feeding gannets, a few of which can be seen below. I tried hard but failed to catch them as they dived into the water like missiles sending up a distinct spray of water. 

Here the geese were flying south this morning very noisily and I didn't notice any going in the opposite direction in the afternoon.

Beautiful Things.

After a cloudy morning the day improved becoming hot and sunny. I took myself off for some supermarket shopping. One stop was Tesco's where I marched or at least pushed my trolley purposefully to the customer service desk to return the microwave which had developed a line of rust after only a few months. From the main customers service desk I was directed to the upstairs desk, not a good start but from then on things went well. Not only did the assistant express horror at the fact that rust had appeared so soon but she happened to be one of the mums from school. She had to make quite a few phone calls to get authorisation but eventually I got my refund and had a nice chat at the same time. I then bought the very basic value model for 2/3s of the other one. We may end up getting a fancy one when the kitchen gets done. However I think that a lot of the 'upgrade' is superfluous. For a start I think there is less to go wrong with mechanical controls than with digital settings and I can't imagine using the programmes where you enter the weight and kind of food you wish to heat/cook. When I returned home Peter was out cutting all the grass including our neighbour's after which we spent some time sitting out and enjoying the sun. Speedy has worked out that if I leave the kitchen windows ajar he can push them wider and get out. I felt sorry for him so I put his lead on, kept the cone on his head and let him sit out on the decking with us. 

Now for some beautiful things from St Ives.

First a close up of the earrings that I bought. I decided on this colour combination to remind me of the crystal clear sea swirling over the sand.

While we didn't visit the Tate St. Ives I did call in to a gallery in Fore Street simply to look at objects of beauty. I had permission to photograph the work though what I really wanted to do was to touch many of the ceramic and wood pieces. 

These exquisite pieces by Stuart Cairns were like nothing I'd seen before. I have to agree with a remark overheard that the tiny thorn and metal tools looked as if they had been made by fairies, slightly sinister ones in my opinion.  

These wooden bowls cried out to be stroked but I guess you'd have to buy them before you could do that. 

I saw the bat again tonight but there are several larger species (up to 30 cms.) so I couldn't identify it without seeing it in the light. All morning we saw skeins of Canada Geese flying southwards and then this evening about the same number flying north. The same ones having a change of heart or groups with different winter locations?

St Ives Shops.

Today has been mostly grey with heavy drizzle/light rain. Once again I was up and doing my exercises by 7.00 which is remarkably early by my standards. I got all my routine done and then tackled the next stage of the tv unit. After many, many checks I cut 2 notches at the corners of the middle shelf using a handsaw. Accuracy doesn't come naturally to me so everything was labelled and marked using a try and mitre (had to look the name up) so that my cuts were true. The next step will be to cut along 3ft 6ins to reduce the depth of the middle shelf. I could do it by hand or wait until we bring the circular saw back from Borth. Completed today was the hand shredding of all my old bank statements.

I tend to only draw the sitting room curtains halfway so I can watch the sky and this evening a large bat, about the size of a blackbird, was flying around the buddleia bush. I think it must have been after insects either attracted to the buddleia flowers or to the light from the sitting room.

St. Ives Shops.

Above is the local bakery I found. It's so small that you can only fit one customer inside so that the lady serving can get to the windows where the cakes are. I got talking to the lady and she told me that the shop had been a tobacconist and then in 1956 her aunt changed it to a bakery.  Of course I told her about my origins and as with every local I spoke to bemoaned the takeover of St Ives by wealthy tourists. There were no prices on display and I wonder if they might have been flexible with a hike up for tourists. There was a good selection and it was obvious that they were not the mass produced items sold in a lot of the other bakeries. They also sold pasties, proper Cornish pasties made with short pastry and filled with beef, potatoes, onion and swede. We bought hot pasties to eat sitting by the harbour and my small and Peter's medium pasties were large enough to be enough for a whole meal. 

A chocolate shop aimed at the tourists. I went in for a look around and a dark chocolate button taster but resisted buying any.  

There were a lot of shops selling original art, prints and other tasteful decorative items. 

This shop sold vintage maritime items, shells and fancy rocks.

And now my favourite shop, a tiny glasswork studio tucked away in a little courtyard. I fell in love with the round jewellery and decided that even though they were very expensive by my standards I would treat myself to a pair of the hand made earrings. It was so hard to chose as apart from the red and black designs I loved them all. In the end I bought the ones bottom left above. I went back to the shop the following day to buy something smaller for somebody else and to take photos. I always ask permission first which the owner appreciated. She said that often people march in, photograph everything and march out again. That's just so rude.

The shell boat (below) is more in the interesting category rather than tasteful.