Sing, sing, sing, walk, walk, walk....

Last week my smaller singing group (Semi Quavers) took part in Akoostica, an open mic night at the Compton Castle floating boat in Truro, and so enjoyed it, despite battling there in teeming rain. Everyone was incredibly complimentary about our singing, has asked us to come back and so we are now looking to get more paid gigs.

Then on the Friday night, our musical director Claire Ingleheart organised a singing and supper evening - 50 of us had a workshop for an hour and a half, which flew by, then a fantastic meal at the Eco park at Porthtowan, then sang for another hour or so round the camp fire. We had such a good time I didn\t want to stop singing. And Mr B and several other men, who hadn't sung since school, so enjoyed it - it was brilliant to see new people, singing their hearts out while the flames flickered, lighting up their beaming faces, and stars peeked out of the inky sky to see what we were doing.

This weekend we are singing at the Penryn Town Fair, then on Sunday at the Wadebridge Folk Festival - a big event in the folk calendar, so we're really excited about that. I'm then going on to stay near Bude - as Wadebridge is sort of half way there - to do the last walk for my Daphne du Maurier book. Well, there is another one I need to redo at least part of , and take pictures, as we had torrential rain for the last two hours of that one.

So hopefully September - or maybe beginning of October - will see my Du Maurier manuscript winging its way to the publishers before I start thinking about the next book. I hope, as the Semi Quavers, we can also get some paid gigs. So winter watch out, here we come!

I just need to start earning some money now....

Who'd write walks eh?

This almost hidden public footpath sign was on our way to Penrose, a beautiful old farm in the parish of Sennen (not to be confused with the Penrose near Helston). We did this walk on Saturday as I am keen to finish the Du Maurier walks book and only have two more walks to do - this being one of them.

Although the forecast was for rain, we decided to be optimistic and I drove over to Heather's house, and she drove down to Treen from there. The first two hours of the walk were good - it is a very unspoilt, undiscovered part of Cornwall, and we walked along happily, not meeting a soul.

Then the rain started. We got lost. The rain got heavier, but we persevered, rain running down our faces, despite coats and hoods. "It's fine as long as you keep walking," we agreed.

Having been chased by a field of frisky heifers, then later an even friskier horse, the rain abated, then gathered full force, until we were walking, sodden, cold, human beings.

Four hours later we got back to the car, drove back to Heather's then I drove home from there, very glad to change, warm up and have something to eat. And despite the fact that I will have to go back and do it again as it was too wet to take pictures, and a few parts of the walk could be improved upon, it was brilliant. Even Heather wants to do it again.

The next day, the forecast was thunderstorms and rain, so I packed up my wet weather gear and off we went. By the time we got to Mullion the sun was out and I cursed myself for not bringing sunglasses. You can never tell in Cornwall!