The unexpected - once more

I had an unexpected holiday in many ways. Firstly, it was in Penzance rather than Crowlas. The cottage was old fashioned and parts of it dark, but the living room and main bedroom faced the seafront and sunshine poured in the windows all day which was blissful. I was more tired than I’d realised and, while I was disappointed that my first guest couldn’t come, I was almost relieved that I had more time to myself. Not that I did very much, but pottering along the seafront in the sunshine (it was very warm and sunny that week) and sitting reading in an old fashioned, high backed chair in the sunshine, with a cup of tea, and watching the goings on along the prom with Moll dozing at my feet was wonderful.

The view from that window changed at every time of day with the weather and the tide. (The picture above is on my first evening, just before the prom lights were switched on.) At low tide I saw a heron one morning, and an egret the next day. Later on, we saw swans having their morning bath. When the tide was high, waves thudded into the promenade wall opposite with a noise like thunder, and the whole cottage shook. And at the highest spring tides, it was like a firework display – first the rumble of thunder from the waves, then they arched over the road and ripped into my garden before splattering all over the walls. That was truly a sight to behold.

I have several friends in Penzance so it was good to catch up with them – as a result Mollie went to her first private view which she thoroughly enjoyed, and I managed to catch up with an elusive editor. My friends Deb and Rich arrived half way through the week and we had a wonderful day out walking at Porthcurno and Porthgwarra, visiting St Just and a drink at the Tinners Arms in Zennor.

So while the first part of the holiday was extremely quiet it was just the rest I needed. Funny how life can turn out to give you what you want, even if you don’t know you need it.

Troubles come in threes

I'm in need of a Soothing Image this morning - so here's one taken on the way back from a lovely day out, having met Terence Coventry. Feel better now?

I never realised how uneven and gritty our pavement is until Sunday night, when I found myself face down, nose an inch from the ground. And no, I had not been to the pub. But, having retraced my steps, somewhat gingerly, this morning, I realise I slipped on some slippery bits of bark (it was raining, hard). There was a sickening wrench, when I felt my ankle go over, and next thing, I was flat on the pavement, with blood pouring from my hands. I struggled home (not far), limped up the steps and spent the next half hour trying to extricate gravel from my palms, wishing my mate round the corner wasn’t away – that First Aid kit has come in handy on the few occasions I’ve needed patching up.

Next morning, I thought I’d take Moll for a short walk round the block, but couldn’t believe how painful my foot was, and hobbled home in agony. It didn’t help that my palms are devoid of several layers of skin; courtesy of bandages, typing is possible – just – as I have a piece for Cornwall Today to finish, but washing up or pulling on a jumper or putting on a coat is – er - painful.

I looked up Treatment for Twisted Ankle on the internet. In amongst RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation), one site advised, "take it easy! Let others look after you for a change." I did suggest this to Moll but she gave me a filthy look and spilt the tea.

Being sedentary is not good for me (dear friends are helping walk Moll in the interim). Apart from making me feel like a caged animal, hobbling has thrown my back out, so I have to sit watching TV with offensive foot up on a cushion. Last night, watching Mamma Mia for the umpteenth time, I sat and wept and laughed - I’d forgotten what a joy that film is. I even managed a sitting down bop at the end.

Then on Monday night I rang the caretaker of the holiday cottage I’m going to on Saturday to say what time I’d be arriving. “But I’ve got you down for this week,” she said. My spirits crashed through the floor. To cut a long story short, there’s been a mix up and I can’t go there. But thanks to a coterie of friends and network cornwall, I’m now fixed up with a cottage along the seafront in Penzance, which will be a good place to explore from.

They say troubles come in threes, and the last one concerned my website, which a friend had said she’d do several months ago. Nothing happened, and when I asked her last week she said she didn’t have time. In brief, I’ve found someone who will do my website me if I help him with writing copy for his business. Sounds a great idea, and I look forward to working with him.

And now, I must go and pack…. A hot water bottle, flippers and a snorkel, given the forecast. But at least I got a bagful of books from the charity shop for £1….

Unexpected walks and boating

The above picture was taken a few weeks ago at Coverack – when it was summer, for a brief and unexpected day.

Last weekend was full of unexpected walks - on Saturday a group of us from singing went (with our dogs) to Constantine where Natalia had organised a walk where we all listened to tapes of people from Constantine talking about their backgrounds – the mining, the history of the area – and why Constantine was important to them – while we walked. This was part of her PhD in Music and Movement, and we collected outside the Tolmen Centre in Constantine which is a fabulous venue for films, events and a brilliant café – definitely worth another visit.

It was a sunny, autumn day where the leaves were turning and crunched beneath our feet and the sky was a lazy Wedgewood blue streaked with mare’s tails. We gathered in an old quarry in the woods for a picnic half way round and sat in the sunshine while John fed Moll crisps when he thought I wasn’t looking. It was lovely to do a walk listening to the tales of people from the area, then share a picnic with friends old and new.

The following day I met my friends from Coventry – Jane and John – and as it was low tide, we set off along the foreshore from Penryn to Flushing, investigating all the boats as we walked. While Jane’s sister rang for a long phone call, John and I noticed a flock of what turned out to be curlews, crying and gathered on a spit of land - we’d never seen so many birds together like that before, and they were still there on our way back, several hours later.

It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon with good friends, talking about boats. And I have to say, as my boating mate is away, I do so miss it – and it’s only six days since I was last on a boat. Mind you, as anyone who’s been around boats knows, it’s important to have the right company and the right vessel. Get either wrong and the experience can go from joyous to miserable very quickly. But on Sunday it was a lovely morning and I looked out to sea where the sun sparkled on the water and thought – I want to be out there.

I miss that lovely feeling of space and freedom, of feeling the water cradle and rock the boat. I miss the peace and contentment that being on the water gives me – where all the everyday troubles somehow float away with the tide. I miss feeling the wind in my hair, of standing at the helm watching for other boats (“steely eyed Kittow”), for buoys or cormorants. Of seeing Moll, with her ears streaming back in the breeze – even she has a little boaty grin, for she has become a true water babe.

But there are good days in autumn and sunny days in winter, so it’s not all doom and gloom. In the meantime I will look for some winter boating gear and have some land based adventures.

Talking of which, I attended a Sitting Down Exercise Class last week in order to write it up for Cornwall Today. Since then, my back has been agony….More next week, from Crippled of Cornwall

Listen to your body

This picture was taken on the Lizard - Moll admiring a very lovely stone sculpture, before having a wonderful game of chase on the beach. Dogs are particularly good at listening to their bodies - which is what this post is all about.

Would you believe I’ve been doing another dog review? And just in case you think I’m leading the life of Riley, I don’t have any other reviews coming up. So that’s the end of my gadding about. Back to walking around Cornwall again…..

Talk about it never rains but it pours – and there was plenty of that on Sunday when we set off, in torrential rain and gale force winds, stopping to see my mum on the way. We headed onto Dartmoor by which time the fog descended and you could almost hear the wolves howling over the tors, but we finally found the hotel (which took a bit of finding) and had a lovely few days. Despite the weather.

The place is called Cherrybrook and has 7 rooms, all with lovely bathrooms and incredibly comfy beds, and the most wonderful views over Dartmoor. At 7pm each night the bar opened and we cracked open the wine, then had a 3 course dinner. Well, I couldn’t quite manage 3 courses but Viv valiantly struggled through, and we took the dogs for a quick walk in the dark, crashed into bed and slept as if drugged.

The first morning I was so tired at breakfast all I could think about was going back to bed. So we gave the dogs a run and as Viv had to finish her German OU coursework, she made a coffee and did that while I pushed aside any feelings of guilt and snuggled under the duvet. It felt so decadent it was blissful. And, I knew, just what I needed.

I dozed for a bit, read for a bit, then slept for an hour. I woke up and hugged myself, sent a friend a text and dozed a bit more. I felt as if I was playing truant – going back to bed is something I’d never do at home, but we felt so removed from real life, it was just the right thing to do - and all the better for the autumn gale howling outside our window.

I got up later, by which time I needed to eat again, and set off in search of food and a post office so Viv could post her coursework and I could send a postcard. And after refuelling, we set off through Bellever woods and had a wonderful walk through the trees.

We both felt incredibly relaxed afterwards, and it made me realise that sometimes we have to go away from home to realise just how tired we are. I said to a friend last night that the next review I have, we must do that – go away, and sleep all morning if we need to.

A lot of us have very busy, stressful lives which means that often we don’t listen to our bodies.

It’s about time that we did.

Another review

View from the barn we stayed in.

Last weekend I did another review up at the most gorgeous converted barn in East Devon just outside a remote village called Plymtree which is the sort of place you only go to if you’re looking for someone – or you’re lost.

The barn had been beautifully renovated with fabulous oak doors and furniture and was very light and spacious, looking out over sheep filled fields and orchards filled with ruby red cider apples, and in the far distance, Dartmoor lay shrouded in mist.

We had to visit the local pub of course – the Blacksmiths Arms – where Moll roamed happily off the lead, eating crumbs off the floor, before we went back for our supper – a Flowerpot special that went down very well, washed down with Lidls Chardonnay. Very good.

The next day we did the review with the farmer’s wife, Sue, and Mike the farmer came over and asked if we’d like to stay another night as it was empty! We said YES! before realising that we had tickets for the St Ives festival on Sunday night so had to get back.

We stopped off at Okehampton railway café for huge burgers that were grilled on a barbecue at the station by a friendly fellow who gave us extra onions and cheese on top – no extra charge. Suitably refreshed, we chanced upon a car boot then headed back via Bissoe to give Mollie – and us – a run.

Deb and Rich had saved us seats at the Guildhall in St Ives and despite being tired by this time, it was a really lovely end to the weekend.

Always difficult coming down to earth after a few days away like that, isn’t it?

Radio interview and Terence Coventry

The radio interview with Source FM went very well apparently, according to those that listened. I certainly enjoyed it, though there were a few hairy moments for which I was unprepared, such as talking about my anorexic years, which is a period of my life I try and forget about. But apart from that, I enjoyed it. And had various comments, such as, “you have an addictive voice on radio – you should do more of this,” and, “you’re better than Jenni Murray,” – but the latter was somewhat biased…..

Life has been busy as ever – we had another lovely boating trip on Friday night though the second outboard gave up the ghost in St Mawes harbour just as the sun went down, so we chugged back on the Suzuki, arriving back in the dusk having watched the sky turn a kaleidoscope of pinks, purples and the palest grey. It really was the most stunning evening, and we repaired to the pub to warm up.

On Saturday we went down to the Lizard to meet the sculptor Terence Coventry who has to be one of the most talented, focused men I’ve ever met. He’s been a pig farmer much of his life but went back to sculpting in 2003, in his early 60s, and now sells his work all over the world.

We had a fascinating hour and a half talking to him and admired his sculptures in the fields near his workshop. He isn’t keen on publicity – his gallery in London sells everything for him – so I may not be able to use the material I’ve got, but it was an incredible privilege to meet such a driven, dynamic artist.

We all know we should ‘live in the moment’ and make the most of the time we have, but it’s rare to find someone who actually lives like this. He’s a true inspiration.

Radio Star and Boating

I saw this when we were on Exmoor and had to take a picture...

I’m sitting here with a gurgling stomach, going over and over my choices and notes for a radio interview this afternoon. Before you get too excited, I should say that this is Source FM, Falmouth’s community radio station, (96.1 FM), not Radio Four. Even so, I’m due to be on air for an hour (gulp), from 4-5pm today, talking first about my walks book, Discover Cornwall, then my life and my six favourite records.

If you’re not in the Falmouth area you can still listen to me and highly edited extracts of my life via broadband on www.thesourcefm.co.uk/listen.

Luvitt made me read my intro several times last night (though a glass of wine helped) which was really helpful, and I was able to make notes (and laugh a lot) but even so, today my stomach is plummeting every time I think of it, as if I was in a high speed lift. Deep breathing, Jane has just texted me, and a big smile. Remember you have friends rooting for you – how lovely is that? Even so, I am wearing lucky knickers, lucky earrings and - anything else I can think of?

And another bit of news – after a lovely day out on Saturday, I am officially in love with boats again. I had a long period of being frightened of being on the water, but as of Saturday – and again Monday afternoon – that is now over. I’d forgotten the exhilaration and freedom that boats can bring. The way my mind empties of everyday worries, and I just concentrate on steering, constantly checking what other boats are coming up, and looking at the way the wind ruffles the water. Even Mollie took to it like a – er – dog to water……

Cue one Flowerpot with a very, very big grin.