Trewidden Gardens

The Princess Royal visited Penwith College today to offer the royal seal of approval to our new buildings although what her brother would have made of them I am not sure. She then went on to The National Trust gardens at Trengwainton and then to these hidden gardens at Trewidden which are a real wonder. As they are more private, I had the gardens to myself when I visited and the magnolias and camellias were in full bloom. As the climate is mild and these gardens are protected by Mounts Bay there are a number of sub tropical plants and wonders brought from the far edges of the world by intrepid explorers of families made rich on empire and dubious plundering of peoples and resources, including their own Cornish subjects. Trewidden was owned by the Bolitho family whose name is everywhere in Penwith as Edward was the MP for St Ives in the nineteenth century and bequeathed a private school carrying his name which closed at Christmas only to be miraculously saved by a far eastern syndicate betting that private schools may reap dividends further down the line.

The tree fern pit is one of many oases of calm. Ferns like the pungas that are found in New Zealand were planted in an old open cast tin mine and the moist humid conditions have allowed them to thrive. The woods were carpeted in fallen petals from camellias and the vibrant reds and oranges blazed amongst the maze of walkways. As the visitor bimbles aimlessly around it is wish to give yourself over to the rhythms of the garden and chill and hug the trees. The walk was like meditation and I did spend rather too long staring at a redwood tree with its gnarled trunk twisted around a perpendicular spine. A little more imagination and it would come to life, an animators dream and a great children's playground. I left with a profound sense of peace. I wonder if Princess Anne could ever have quite the same experience with her retinue of hangers on and security. Simple pleasures the vulgar herd could never understand.

Hubert the Gull

Derek Tangye wrote about a gull that lived on his roof for a few years on his flower farm near Lamorna. Apparently injured or elderly gulls find solace in human company having been abandoned by their cruel brethren. Darwin felt that Seagulls were the perfect design, particularly their wings and I have seen enough to say they can hold their own in any food chain. I now have my own Hubert who looks at me in the evening as the sun goes down beyond the cottage in front of Cliffside. I know I shouldn't feed the seagulls, anyone who has been to St Ives and dared to eat a pasty or feed their kids sandwiches on the beach will attest to this, but Hubert is special and we have a bond. He only has one leg and knows he can wangle a crust if he stares at me long enough. He also likes old disposable barbecue coals which I tend to leave out to find ravaged in the morning.

Mazy Day

This is the big day of the year in Penzance when the pagan spirits rise for midsummer and chaos and revelry run riot in the streets. There are processions and dances throughout the day led by the Golowan band and a master of ceremonies who is a local legend called Roger White, a cross between the voodoo priest from live and let die and David Koresh, cult leader and man of many wives. A calmer maritime festival takes over on Sunday after the excesses of Mazy eve and the big day which saw blazing sunshine this year. The pubs were in full swing taking over Chapel Street with stalls all over the town selling tat and expensive balloons for guilty dads. Our five pound horse balloon escaped later to much consternation but the sight of pegasus flying out over the cliffside and up over the beach away to Cape Cornwall and beyond proved a source of wonder and quite possibly amazement to the pilots flying to the Scilly Isles. Mazy Isla had fun and I spent the day queuing for face painting or, eventually, hand painting, checking out my student Shay's stall and eating garlic mussels and cornish new potatoes. Will have to give myself over to full Mazy madness next year and let the spirits rise...

Hawk Roosting

Totally unruffled by a car pulling up alongside, this is the nonchalant look of some bird who is top of the food chain. Taken on the Lizard driving across the relatively barren windswept uplands near Goonhilly Downs. The road then melts into a softer landscape, the green hillsides of the picturesque Helford River. A Barry Buzzard I believe.

Spider Crab

Here is our very own Rick Stein with tonight's fish dish. Managing to shoot a baby spider crab and avoid the multitude of big fish around Sennen El Paolo retired to the kitchen to prepare a repast that had me wondering which was Lidl and which was plucked from the bounty of the sea in front of us. Lidl is as intriguing as spearfishing, never quite sure what one will find, and we came across some £2 lobsters in the deep arctic region of the shop. Along with some more baby crabs we got cracking...

The sea is flat calm tonight and it is warm, still 16 degrees at 10.30pm according to lands end weather and sleeping to the sound of the surf lulling. Basking sharks in the bay again, glastonbury on the tinternet (much better than the real thing) and footy highlights to round off each day.

A Cornish Ploughman's

Cornish Yarg is a 'semi-hard' cheese apparently. I only quote those more knowledgeable in the field of cheese. Where , incidentally they also find the nettles that they wrap around the whole cheese. I asked how much a truckle would be in a Penzance deli and its £16 so I only indulge on occasion and never share ! The Cornish Brie is rich and creamy and supposed to be a bit yellow like butter. Not sure if the calorie count justifies my smug healthy eating glow but I had enough energy to swim in the flat calm of Sennen beach this midsummer evening. Glorious sunset and clear blue skies, still light at 10.30 down here with the evening star, Venus, following the sun on the horizon. With the sound of the surf and the balmy, windless air it seems that summer is icumen in...I am off to find a good pagan sunrise...

Surf dude

This a real surer taken from the cliff above Gwynver beach as I was checking out the opposition.

I finally got around to taking a surfing lesson and it definitely makes me want to try again although I had to have a kip after. The main worry was the other surf dudes who did not look in control of their pointy boards whilst I splashed around in the shallows with my egghead in danger of being cracked. Needless to say I couldn't shift my great heaving mass into a standing position but will try again tomorrow. I did say the same in Santa Cruz a decade ago though. The surf school were excellent and said I could use their boards anytime as a local which mad me feel wanted. These are huge 8 foot foam 'swelly' boards which even a creaking lump of lard can float around on. Some big surf and lots of falling off but after two hours I think I am ready to go it alone. Sam Smart runs the surf centre from the chip shop in the cove and not only is he a pro surfer but he is a pro boxer as well. Beating someone up in Plymouth last night but fracturing his jaw meant his young apprentice Jake took myself and two others into the waves. I should have learnt when I arrived as they were really friendly and a font of local knowledge. It is fine to spear fish and take the spider crabs I have seen so often and the various rips and currents were explained. My moment of realisation that I may not be able to compete with the local lads who are surf obsessives came as Jake said, 'its never too late to learn.' The surf ego landed but the search goes on..

I did manage to come second this morning in the Deloitte Ride Across Britain and was cheered home down the finishing straight at Lands End and congratulated by the winner James Cracknell. He came from John O Groats and I came from Sennen. He has thighs like bratwurst. I thought it was funny anyway, but in retrospect ...

Cliffside

These are various shots of view from mi casa Cliffside. Birds on a wire, liitle harv having had too much fun and the work station.

I have been able to watch the sunset every evening out of my lounge window for the past 10 months. It means that I have to choose between watching the sea or Cameroon vs Denmark on the laptop as the sun means I cannot see the screen on my laptop. No reception here may have been a blessing. I no longer know the developments in Albert Square which I had become accustomed by osmosis. I suppose I am what they call an early adopter and have enjoyed using the BBC I-player to watch things like Luther, the BBC Idris Elba vehicle, and keep up with essential classics like Have I got News for You and local hero Frank Skinner's road crash chat show. I still think he’s great. Most evenings it has been Spotify and sunshine. No need for all these CD’s anymore. Paolo Nutini has become a favourite and I am no longer sure if this is something I should admit being away from the nerve centre of cool. This month has seen basking sharks and dolphins in the bay and more activity in the surf. Kite surfers were out today blasting around the surf, performing aerial feats that look like they would fly off into the air never to return only to land in total control of their flying machines. I have realised I am not a thrill seeker and much prefer to observe these guys, and they always are blokes, searching for the undefinable need to prove one is living life to the extreme.

The sun sets over the Atlantic and the ships going by can be tracked by this incredible web-site about marine traffic which Larry Hartwell put me onto. If you want to see a proper blog check his Newlyn Harbour one which has some excellent photography and provides a taste of Newlyn life. I will miss this view and have been blessed to find such a spot. I think I had a dream once that I would live somewhere overlooking the ocean watching the sunset each evening. It is one of those things one never thinks they will achieve especially when toiling in the heart of England. Anyway I can now say, ‘seen it’ repeatedly, done it and if I cannot share it with those I love each day it will still be there when I come back. Will miss you O giver of life but will find you anon…

Jubilee Pool

A murky day but this is the best way to invigorate oneself; jumping in the cold sea water of the lido on the promenade in Penzance. It was free on the opening day of the year so I bought a pair of trunks and a giant travel towel for £20 justifying this extravagance by forcing myself to dive straight in the deep end. Not many others were taking up the freebie but the refreshing tonic effect a dip in too cold water has on the body must be doing some good. Either that or a heart attack. As entry was free there was a selection of Penzance's unique inhabitants taking a look around which endears the town to the open minded visitor. It is the kooky nature of the town that rewards as it becomes more interesting as it slowly reveals its quirky nature. The butchers shops, galleries, tea shops and flea markets of Chapel Street where everyone has a word for those with time to dwell are a real lift to the spirit and a welcome reprieve from the usual anonymity of the high street. I met Boleslawa who cheered me as I eventually dived in. She offered an excuse for me to stand on the side of the pool for a while and not look chicken. She could have been a pop star in Poland but chose to try and make it in swinging sixties London, had a breakdown and moved from Knightsbridge to Penzance. She told me she was a descendant of Joseph Conrad and how he was fluent in Polish.

After 3pm it is only £2 for locals so I have packed the swimming gear so I can dive in after work on sunny days. It is the 75th anniversary of the opening of Jubilee Pool and there has been an exhibition at the PZ gallery showing some wonderful images of the pleasure it has provided for residents and visitors over the years. An under-appreciated gem that deserves to be preserved.

I got some better images on a sunny day when the turquoise and white colours show the art deco ingenuity against a blue sea and sky.

Kynance Cove

Lots of people have mentioned this cove and eulogised about its beauty and they are right. As one visitor wondered aloud , ' who needs Thailand ?' The granite stack looks like limestone Karst and coupled with the azure sea reminds me of the Man With the Golden Gun's hideaway which is near Phuket. The images are at low tide so will have to return as the diving is incredible. I saw spider crabs and some fair sized fish, lots of different ones that I wanted to shoot and eat. Next time they will not be as lucky ! Snorkelling alone I was wary of the currents but it seemed quite safe. The rocks create lagoons and pools to explore. A competitive Dad was showing his son, Samson, how the jellyfish did not sting in one translucent diving pool until they stung him quite badly. He claimed that Loggerhead turtles out at sea were eating the jellyfish as there were some chopped in half.

The Cove can be reached from a National Trust car park on the top of the cliff or by walking along the coast path from Mullion or the Lizard. The sky always seems to clear on this southerly peninsula making for stunning colours in the sea and blue skies.

Basking Sharks

Basking Sharks have been in the bay for the past month but these ones today were off Maen Cliff, a short walk up the cliffside from Sennen. A popular spot for climbers, Oxford University students were scaling the cliffs today, the granite outcrop afforded a great view of these monsters of the deep. Their huge jaws hoover up the plankton and they can usually be seen from somewhere along the coastal path around Lands End at this time of year. Two large ones and a baby were basking close in to the shore around the Cowloe Rocks allowing me to get close enough for these photos.