Hi Everyone,
today is grey and threatening rain so I'm posting an account of a sunny day some years ago in Cornwall to cheer me up and you too of course.
Later today I'm meeting with some writers who are launching their blogsite Out on a Limb today which know is a great read.
August 2006
The Cove
The last time I went camping with my family was in 2006. I’ve done it before many times and still enjoy it. In all there were fourteen of us in four tents.
After much discussion we had decided to camp at Sennen near Land’s End and arrived on the fifth of August for what was to prove the best weather that August.
On one typical day we found a secluded beach at the bottom of some steep cliffs, the beach we had hoped to go to was packed, so we had followed a car down a steep winding single-track road. And ended up parking in some tail end farm pasture for a couple of pounds.
The sandy beach was small but quite delightful, set between cragged rocks that had a tunnel carved out leading to another more rocky beach.
This beach had already been discovered by other people who had found this little haven. And the little bay was gay with children splashing in the shallow water wearing brightly coloured costumes. Nevertheless we found a suitable spot and set up camp for the day.
I was guard, looking after the clothes and bags. And sitting in my chair with my large umbrella shielding me from the bright hot sunshine I attempted to draw and sketch but more often or not one of the grandchildren would bring me a treasure they had found on the beach or in the rock pools , and I would spend the time marvelling at them. By the end of the day I had a large collection of shells and pebbles that the children insisted I kept.
The rest of the older children and some of the adults went snorkelling delighting in viewing the bass and mackerel chasing sand eels. Brian tried to catch some fish from the inflatable rowing dinghy, which had earlier been a big hit with the children.
The one annoying thing I find about the sea are the tides, they do insist on turning just as you are quite settled, the waves which only half an hour ago was quite some quarter of a mile away, are suddenly lapping at your feet. And the comical ritual of gradually moving up the beach is taken in stages as if no one can believe that the sea can come any higher. No sooner has everyone got themselves settled, when another lick of water pushes up the beach until the last vestige of golden sand has been reclaimed by the sea and we poor mortals were left stranded at high water on the rocks. As far as I could see nobody actually packed up and left the bay and by two o'clock about a hundred or so people were strewed on the rocks just like so many seals. Everyone waiting for the tide to turn again so that the younger children could resume the building of sandcastles or hunting in the rock-pools.
True campers as we are, all our meals were cooked el fresco. A Time honoured menus of burgers; beans, bacon and eggs served on huge burger buns and washed down with tea or cider. Today was no exception. Later on the smoky barbecue on the beach in late evening was a must or else the whole expedition wouldn’t have been worth the trip. But no matter how hard we tried to ensure that the barbecue was in a sheltered spot a wind would come from nowhere and we would be wreathed in smoke. The coals would either be far to slow and nothing cooked quickly or burnt so fast that the chicken legs and sausage resembled burnt offerings. Quite a few were offered to the gods who came in the form of seagulls.
Then after watching the red coal sunset fade into indigo and the division between sky and sea blurred, tired we trundled our way back to camp. There we soothed our skins with after Sun lotion and gossiped for awhile before turning in. Hoping that tomorrow we would find another lovely spot to enjoy.
By the end of the day a smattering of rain heralded a wet night and I fell asleep with the nylon canvas of the tent flexing and the pitter-patter of rain drumming above me.

First of all can I thank everyone who responded to my blog and I hope that you will enjoy the new one. Unfortunately the failure of my first blog address was it turns out down to my mistake entirely. Now months later I'm ready to start again although by now I have been back home for quite some time. So the blogs will return to holiday memories past and present. With I hope some relevant current stuff too.
As I write this my daughter Anne and her family are spending a holiday in South Africa en route to coming back home after spending the last few years in Australia. As they are settling in the South East they will still be a little way off but much closer than the thousands of miles betweeen here and Aus. I'm hopng that our summer weather will give her a big warm welcome and that this present very rainy spell will end soon.
Tomorrow I'm heading out to Conwy with my other daughter and her family to pick up a print I bought a couple of weeks ago. It's a painting of Benllech Beach on the Island of Anglesey. Benllech Beach holds a lot of childhood memories of holidays there and this picture captures some warm feelings I have for this place.
While in Conwy we'll visit the castle and the Tudor house. Go down to the harbour to see the `smallest house in Wales` a tiny dwelling tucked against the town walls. Then finish off the day with afternoon tea in one of the many little cafes. That's the plan but of course it will all depend on the weather.
Friday 23rd July

Hello again,

What Saturday already and I've been here almost six days.

The weather has been fine and each day it has crept up to the low seventies by noon, and then dropped down each evening to the low sixties. Evening though is much earlier than at home, it's dark by six o'clock!

I was reading earlier about the Icelandic volcano eruption and the chaos it's causing the airlines. Has it affected the weather too? Looking at the temperatures it seems colder than it was a week ago.

If we think our governments are crap how about this for muddled thinking.
Canberra has sold licences to two of the worlds biggest coalmining industries to invest in open-cast mining on Australia's best and most productive farm land on the Liverpool Plains in NSW. One of the companies is state owned by China. They have 750 coal-fired electricity producing plants. So much for reducing dependancy on fossil fuels. I wonder who is more culperable in this case Australia or China? Already 22 farmers have sold up their land for mega bucks. Obviously they don't really care for the future. However there are many other farmers who are dismayed at the turn of events and what they see as wanton destruction and probable pollution of the land and the water reserves which lie in the rocks.

Spent this morning browsing around the huge three storey shopping mall in the district of Hornsby. It's a fifteen minute drive from here. It's in the middle of the town and houses most of the shops there. But the variety of stores is amazing, everything from post-offices to pet stores, DIY to diners, banks to boutiques, craft stores to Art gallerys as well as Butchers and bakers. Sport shops and gift stores. Also department stores like David Jones and Target. I wish Liverpool had gone for something like this mall instead of the cold and windy Liverpool 1 complex.

Must close dinner is ready.

HI Everybody,



Arrived safely last night after travelling for 24hours in relative comfort.

Anne collected me from the airport and drove me back to her house through quiet evening roads. We didn't feel sleepy so we talked until about 1am catching up on family news.

This part of the world is just going into autumn but believe it on not they will get the same spring flowers coming out in the next few weeks that we have now. Daffodils and pansies and camillas etc besides some rather eyecatching native trees that blossom in autumn.

Weather wise it's in the 60F region although it can be hotter. Tomorrow is going to be a good day weather wise and we are all going a beach called Bigola.

about half hour's drive away.

Hope to have more news tomorrow, my mind is a bit fogged at present delayed jet lag I think!



Oh by the way I have bought Jon's Mortlock and now the kids are fighting to be the first one to read it. It's a pity I couldn't get to Chester to have it signed but I sort of ran out of time so I went into Birkenhead and got it in Waterstone's. Jon's signing books there on the 24th April.

Hello and welcome to my first blog!