Easter Holidays in Cornwall: beware there are lots of photos!

For the second week of the Easter break we rented a 'cabin' type affair near Bodmin in Cornwall. What a glorious week we had, the sun shone and we were blessed with blue skies and beautifully warm days all bar the Friday, which was our last day anyway so we couldn't complain. We had decided that we would make the most of our National Trust membership on this holiday and made a good start with a visit to Castle Drogo on the journey from Somerset, through Devon and on into Cornwall (sorry, no photos.)

The next day (Easter Sunday) we headed for Lanhydrock, which was just about 3 miles from where we were staying so we got there just as it was opening up. There was an Easter Egg hunt (again, as we'd also done one at Castle Drogo) which kept DC occupied while hubby, Granny and I were able to enjoy the house and gardens. 

How's about this contraption for cooking the roast chicken?

There were about ten rooms dedicated to all sorts of different food prep, alongside the main kitchen; there was a dairy room (below), a meat room, a fish room to name but a few.

I've told hubby that I really want to move to a Victorian (or Edwardian) house again, so we can have rooms just like this:

And perhaps a corridor like this.

Unfortunately after this my battery ran out so that was the end of the photos, but believe me when I say it is a stunning house, chock-full of interesting historical artefacts, books, furniture, decor, and surrounded by a wonderful garden. I think Lanhydrock is at the top of the list for favourite NT places visited and I would absolutely encourage everyone to go there; I really hope hubby and I can make a return visit sometime soon. 

Day three and we ventured to Fowey so that DC could partake of his favourite holiday past-time - crabbing. Here he is with his brand new bucket, ready and raring to go.

We found the pontoon was the best place for crabbing and also for enjoying the view.

That's Polruan, on the opposite side of the estuary

As well as crabs, we were amazed to catch a starfish!

And some of us spent time catching the rays.

In the afternoon we took the ferry over to Polruan for a little wander round, although we weren't as taken with it as Fowey so we didn't stay all that long. I would heartily recommend a visit to Fowey if you are after a little town with fabulous views, a small selection of interesting shops to look round and some very nice places to eat.

Day Four and it was time to use that NT card once again with a trip to St Michael's Mount.

Our timing meant that we were able to get the boat over to the island and then walk back along the causeway after our visit

This is the Giant's Heart; it's hidden among the cobbles in the path that leads up to the castle

 Master of all he surveys

 Here's the causeway that you could see partially submerged a few photos back

 After St Michael's Mount, we headed a little further along the coast to the sweet little village of Mousehole (pronounced Mau-zel in case you were wondering!) The tide was well and truly out when we first arrived.

 I managed to take a photo of DC looking about 12 years old. Old before his time, poor chap.

 Hubby and I had a competition to see who could take the best 'photo that could be turned in to a jigsaw'; this was my entry. If it weren't for the shadow, bottom left, I think it could be a contender.

 We stayed so long that the tide came back in; the weather was absolutely glorious and we ended up having fish and chips for tea on the edge of the harbour, basking in the sunshine at 6pm - quite a rarity for April in England!

 

The next day it was back to Fowey for more crabbing!

 Not exactly a hardship though, with views like these.

 Thursday we decided to take a trip to St Ives, a place that has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Unfortunately I was rather disappointed. I know lots of people who absolutely rave about this town, but I just couldn't warm to it; perhaps my expectations were too high? It was very, very busy and crowded which put me off straightaway, there were touts along the main sea front road trying to persuade people to go on boat trips which I thought was rather tacky, and really there was just too much going on for my liking. Perhaps a visit out of season is called for so I can appreciate the place a bit more; I could see that the beaches were lovely, but we're not really a beach family so it was a bit lost on us. Plus poor old DC couldn't find a great spot for crabbing.

 On the way back from St Ives we called in at yet another NT property - Trerice. A very pretty Elizabethan manor house which was very pleasant to wander around, and is really quite compact so very easy to do if you only have a little time to spare. I think we'd have been disappointed if we'd made a special trip, but as we were 'just passing' it was a perfect stopping-off point.

 And the opportunity to buy and wear armour couldn't be passed up.

 And then it was Friday, the final full day of our holiday. And guess where we went?

 This little chap was absolutely in his element here - packed lunch, sword, bucket of crabs, he couldn't have been happier!

 And a dinner of jacket potato with cheese and beans certainly put even more of a smile on his face!

 And that was it for our trip to Cornwall. On the journey home we stopped at yet another NT property - Killerton in Devon

 We had such a lovely break, the weather was wonderful and it was so nice to spend time together relaxing and having fun. Here's to the next trip away in just a few short weeks!

Still Here!

Yes, I'm still here but life definitely seems to be getting in the way of blogging. Things are set to change though as the tea room I run has been sold and so, from the end of June, I shall have more time on my hands (unless I get myself another job, which I suppose would be a good thing financially, but otherwise isn't something I'm overly keen on...)

One blog post I had in mind was a book review round-up; I love reading and I love to share what I've read but I know I'm not particularly good at writing reviews with my opinions usually stretching to 'it was good' or 'I didn't enjoy it very much'. So, rather than doing a review for each book I thought I would lump them all together in one post every now and again.

Here is the pile of books that need to be 'discussed', teetering away on the edge of my desk just waiting for the day when I have a few spare minutes to get to the computer and start blogging. The two at the bottom were actually read in 2014 and can be ignored, but those from Styx and Stones upwards have been read this year. Perhaps I'll do a 'First Quarter Review' post. Yes, that will be just perfect, especially if I can finish off the book I'm currently reading before the end of the month, giving me another tome to add to the list of books to review badly. Bet you can hardly wait!

Dining Area Switcheroo

Way back in April 2013 we painted a couple of the walls of the living/dining room area in a lovely green (Vert de Terre by Farrow & Ball); then at some point last year we decided to go the whole hog and have the entire living/dining/kitchen space painted the same colour; we'd been a bit nervous of it overwhelming the space and making it feel dark, but we grew accustomed to it very quickly and now really like it. Here's a photo of the largest wall in the living room area with the colour added.

However, there was one wall which was left out when the rest were painted because we had a couple of large/heavy pieces of furniture in the way, and we just couldn't be bothered to move them. So we lived with a single white wall in the open plan area, until last weekend.

This is the wall in question in some of its various guises since we moved in:

The photo above shows pretty much how that wall has been for quite a while now, well right up until the weekend.

And what caused this turnaround? Well, just before Christmas hubby and I were at our local auction room (Lawrences in Crewkerne) and we spotted these cabinets. And we both fell in love with them.

Hubby was off work at the time having had an operation on his neck, so he went along to the auction to see what sort of price they were likely to achieve and to put in a bid if the price was right. Well, you've guessed it, the price was right and we ended up with the gorgeous cabinets (plus another one that we couldn't leave without.) Then there was the issue of where the cabinets would go. And really, there was only one place they could work. So we put an advert in our village shop offering these two cabinets for sale and within a couple of days they were sold.

That left us with a lovely blank wall to paint.

And we all know that the family that paints together...

Two coats later and it was time to move the auction cabinets in from their temporary home in the garage.

And here there are in all their glory. The one on the left a cabinet of curiosities, the one on the right housing our collection of travel books and a few other odds and ends.

A Stroll Along the Coronation Street Cobbles

On New Year's Day hubby, my Mum and I were up and at 'em early (what luck none of us had bothered staying up til midnight to ring in the New Year...) as we headed to Granada Studios in Manchester to visit the old Coronation Street set. We are all big fans of the show so were probably a little over-excited, to say the least and our 'fan-dom' was evident when between us we managed to answer nearly all of the questions that the tour guide asked on our way round the sets (we were actually starting to feel a bit embarrassed of ourselves come the end.) The tour starts with a short film looking back over the highlights of the past several decades of Corrie, followed by a look round some of the inside sets (no photos allowed, unfortunately) including Carla's flat, Gayle's house, the Duckworth's back room and then, the highlight of the inside part of the tour, The Rovers Return. Clearly this is only going to mean something to you if you actually watch the programme, so apologies to anyone who isn't quite such a fan as I am (and if you're not, why not?!?) After the sets we had a chance to look at some props including Hayley's cardboard coffin, Hilda Ogden's curlers, Vera Duckworth's hairnet, Deirdre's glasses and lots more (I know, it really doesn't sound very interesting unless you are a Corrie fan, does it?!) And then, finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for, a short countdown and the doors of Nick's Bistro were thrown open giving us our first view of The Street, cue the music and action:

With the chance to wander up and down those famous cobbles

And pretend to go into a few of the famous properties; here's hubby paying Gayle, David, Kylie, etc a visit

Before stopping for a pint of Newton and Ridley's finest

I'm holding my bag like that in homage to Roy Cropper and his infamous shopping bag, in case you were wondering why I look even more of a wally than usual...

Here's a view down the ginnel behind the terrace houses

Time to pick up a quarter of sherbert lemons and a copy of the Weatherfield Gazette

Not forgetting a pint of milk and a loaf

Before jumping on the bus and heading for Eccles...

What a great morning we had and I would thoroughly recommend it to any Corrie fan; there is talk that this old set is going to be demolished to make way for apartments, shops and office buildings. I can't say I'm surprised since it's a prime area of real estate right in the middle of Manchester, but it will certainly be a pity that a piece of television history will be lost for good (although if you're not a big fan you probably won't feel too fussed!)

Happy New Year! And some book talk.

How are we already five days in to the new year? It's a good thing that my resolution to blog more regularly wasn't an actual real life resolution. I've realised that making resolutions is pointless since I rarely manage to keep them and, let's face it, if something was that important I wouldn't wait until the new year to put it in to practice. The only thing I try to do year on year, is read more books than the year before. In 2013 I managed 28 (and a half), 2014 was a rather disappointing 24 (and a half) - sad face. I blame the laser eye surgery which rendered me practically unable to see for a couple of weeks let along read the small print in a book (and audio books definitely don't count towards the annual total.)

If you have the fortitude to plough through this blog from time to time, you may have noticed that I review the books that I read. I review them badly; that's not to say that I give the books bad reviews (such as nil points) but that I write poor reviews. It is certainly not among my (few) talents and it doesn't help that my memory is poor and I can barely remember what a book was about once I've finished it (or sometimes even while I'm still reading it.) Yet still I persist. Sorry. But at this point, as a fresh year of reading begins and I realise I only managed to write reviews for 13 of the 24 (and a half) books I read last year, I've decided to spare you those 11 reviews and simply list the books with a sentence or two to say whether, in my most humble opinion, they were worth the paper they're printed on.

Death by Darjeeling - Laura Childs. The first in a cozy crime series set in a tea room (seemed kind of perfect really considering my current profession!) Enjoyed this one.

The Sisterhood - Emily Barr. Jury's out on this one. I enjoyed it; expected it to be predictable, which it was in places, but there were also a few twists. Psycho-thriller-lite.

Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella. Oh dear. Once upon a time I loved reading the books in this series, but that was a while ago. Picking one up after such a long time has made me wonder were they always this dreadful/predictable/badly written/cliche-ridden, or is it just this particular book? I don't think I'll read any more to find out.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson. LOVED it. A bit odd to start with, but once it got going the constantly twisting-turning plot that went full-circle was a joy. Thoroughly recommend.

Sentenced to Death - Lorna Barrett. From the Booktown series which I consistently enjoy, and this one was no exception.

Gunpowder Green - Laura Childs. Gave the second in the Tea Shop mystery series a go and enjoyed it as much as the first; happy to keep going with these.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - Alexander McCall Smith. Ahh, Mma Ramotswe, how do I love thee?! This series never fails to disappoint, instantly transporting me to another place where all is comfortable and good (in the end.) I would thoroughly recommend the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series to anyone who wants to read a gentle, comforting, happy book.

The Vintage Tea Cup Club - Vanessa Greene. Oh dear. Trite, predictable, disappointing. Steer clear.

Thai Die - Monica Ferris. From another cozy crime series which I consistently enjoy. Again, it didn't disappoint.

Coming Home for Christmas - Julia Williams. So, I thought I'd read this to get me in the mood for the festive season. Humph. It's not even set at Christmas! What a con. Again, trite and predictable so don't be fooled by the title if you're looking for a seasonal read.

Fear on Friday - Ann Purser. UK cozy crime, so slightly (but only very slightly) darker and grittier than any US cozy; I very much enjoy this series and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a gentle 'whodunnit' without wanting the twee-ness that some cozies bring.

And the book I started in 2014 but didn't finish until 2015: Styx and Stones - Carola Dunn (which will be reviewed 'properly' soon.)
And there you have it, my book list for non-reviewed titles of 2014. Did you read any fantastic books or fantastically disappointing ones last year?