Party Time!

After our afternoon trip, we headed back to the caravan to get ready for the party, getting all dolled up in our finest gear for the occasion

even Fred and Hamish got in on the act, and stole everyone's hearts once more

the evening was wonderful, with curry and chilli con carne on tap, and the Cornish Tinners playing int he background whilst we talked and ate.

Once the food was finished, they stepped it up a notch and got everyone up dancing Ho-Down style..... Yeee Hah!

Great fun, and a wonderful celebration for Sharon and Mike - Congratulations to you both.

St Mawes Mooching

This afternoon we took advantage of the heat and went for a wander around St Mawes,

walking along through the town and on up to the Castle

we took advantage of the photo opportunity and then wandered back through the town via a lovely ice cream shop, where we all partook of the creamy delights that were on offer!

Arrival at Veryan

Our weeks holiday had finally arrived, and we headed off to our first port of call.

Veryan was chosen mainly because of the fact that our friends were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and were having a party, to be held in Veryan, on the Sunday evening.

And so we arrived and settled on our pitches, with Sally-Ann and Mike next to our little varacan in their RV

Fred took great delight in nicking my chair at every opportunity

mainly when I was trying to look like I knew what I was doing, ie filling the water carrier and hooking it up!

The most important part of our arrival though, was the test drive on the swings.... just to be sure that they were safe for the children you understand!

My Names PIG! What's Yours?

It was just too glorious to come home this morning so we decided to stay until early evening, to give up a chance to enjoy a very possible, and highly probably last weekend at our BAH.,

Once we were ready to leave, we hooked up the trailer and headed up through the site, parking up on the sea front, so that we could give Fred a last stretch of the legs before the car journey home

Home Farm was just a couple of minutes walk from us, so we headed off over there to say goodbye the the chicks, ducks, hens, sheep, and pigs....

I love pigs, which is terrible considering the business I work in, but I can't help seeing the intelligence behind their trusting little eyes LOL

having introduced himself, I think Fred felt the same way too!

Our journey home was uneventful, but now I have eleventy hundred boxes of "essential items" (I have to say that as we took the trouble of bringing it home!) in my living room to go through.

And Finally, Maybe, Possibly...

Friday afternoon bought with it the prospect of our final trip to our BAH to empty the very last of the bits ready for the sale.

The front steps on the porch were looking a little rusty and Paul wanted to take the angle grinder to them and re paint them with hammerite, thus giving them a more loved look for the new owners, when they decided to buy!

Off came the steps and Paul proceeded to remove any flaky paint with a sharp tool, before taking them up to the yard where he could make noise and not disturb the neighbours

meanwhile, it was a roasting 32 degrees and Fred and I were enjoying the sunshine.... I had worked hard this morning filling the car and trailer with crockery, cutlery, pots, pans, and pretty much all of the final important bits we could now use in the tourer

Paul was quite disappointed at how bad the metal on the steps had deteriorated, but cracked on with the clean up anyway

soon enough, they were all cleaned up and placed back on the van, looking very smart with their new coat of paint.

A grand job done well. Now it's time for a nice bit of grub at the local hostelry! Well I have packed the plates and cutlery!

A Disgruntled Doggy!

Fred is a hairy monster! His legs have lovely westie trousers on them, and his belly has a lovely westie skirt....... unfortunately for Fred, and all his own doing I might add, it is very, very matted.

The reason? you ask. Freds intense dislike of the brush. So much so, he will run and hide even if he hears you lifting it from the shelf.

An so, the result of this brush phobia? Fred has to be shorn like a sheep!

OK, yes, he does look smart, but he is not my little westie without his trousers and skirt, and it is most disconcerting to see all of his 'bits' dangling and wobbling when he walks LOL


His coat will grow back, and in the meantime, we are trying to rid him of his phobia by gently brushing his belly when he rolls over for us, but somehow I think this stubborn little bow-bow will have his own way and will we losing his coat again in the not too distant future!

Theatre Trip

Tonight I went off to see the Calendar Girls at the Hall for Cornwall with the girls from work, and Sally-Ann.

I have borrowed this wording from their website to illustrate what the show was about, for those of you who have never heard of it before:

"A group of extraordinary women, members of a very ordinary Yorkshire WI, spark a global phenomenon by persuading one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference! As interest snowballs, the CALENDAR GIRLS find themselves revealing more than they'd ever planned...
A very British story, with a very British heart, CALENDAR GIRLS is based on an uplifting and very inspiring true story that is quirky, poignant and hilarious." (wording from http://www.seecalendargirls.com/)

The place was packed, and we were up in the gods so to speak, but the atmosphere was electric, and all of the women there were looking forward to a unique performance.

Our show is with the cast that runs up until 24 July, and includes, Letitia Dean, Charlie Dimmock, and Hannah Waterman.

The show was fantastic!

I laughed 'til I cried and then cried 'til I laughed again.

An inspiring story for all women and well worth a trip to the theatre if it is showing in your area.

Meal Time Lock Up

It's been a lot of years since we visited Bodmin Jail, and ever since moving to Cornwall I have had a thing about wanting to go back.

I managed to talk everyone into going there for our evening meal tonight, and was so glad I did....

the surroundings were awesome in the rapidly approaching evening light, and the meal itself was wonderful

more importantly the two dogs were made very welcome by the staff there, and soon settled down under the table, and wishing it was their food about to be served and not ours.

I managed to get these fantastic images as were were leaving , and am so glad that the camera held the twilight feel that surrounded us.

If you are not far from Bodmin, and are stuck for a place to go for a good meal out in really unusual surrounding this is the place to go!

After our meal we headed back to the caravan site for a cup of coffee before heading off to bed.

The next morning we packed up our many boxes and barrels and headed back down the A30 towards our homes.

A very successful weekend indeed.

Cardinham Constitutional

After leaving Pinsla, and as we were so close, we headed on to Cardinham Woods to let the dogs off their leads and have a good old walk.

We headed on over the bridge and on around the circular walk

and once we arrived back at the car park, we emptied out our back packs from the car and headed over to the picnic area for our lunch.

That eaten, we drove back to the van and RV, for an afternoon nap..... Well, all that fresh air and walking had worn us all out!

Pinsla Gardens

After a good nights sleep, we used the good old shower block, where I proceeded to have a wonderful hot shower, and then realised I had forgotten my towel and it was still in the caravan.....

Now what? I'd not got my mobile, to call Paul to bring my towel across, and had not got a clue what to do next!

Thank the lord for the fact I had my clean knickers with me - it's amazing how much of your body you can dry with a pair of knickers!

It was then a quick dash from the shower block, very naked under my jacket, to get back to the van, and dry off properly before getting dressed and cooking breakfast!

We had already decided that we would go to Pinsla Gardens today, as there was a 2 4 1 voucher in the local paper, not that it was expensive to get in anyway!

The gardens belonged to someones very unusual home, and they had opened it up to the public, offering a little cafe area, and a full on nursery where you could buy any plants or ornaments that you wanted for your gardens

Although we are not really at the right time of the year to see it at its best (apparently August according to the owner) it was a beautifully laid out garden with lots of hidden areas, and scattered with unusual sculptures and ponds

Fred obliged by posing in a bamboo corridor with his Dad

Although these gardens are quite small, they were lovely, and we have decided that we will most certainly visit again in August to see what changes the plants have undergone in the meantime.

The Shake Down Trip

This is the first time we have used the tourer, and so we decided to keep it local, and chose the Bodmin Caravan and camping club site for this auspicious occasion LOL

We were guided onto our pitch by the site owners, and settled up for the night. I had decided to cook for us all so as to use all of the kitchen equipment and ensure it all worked OK

As you can see below, the Lasagne, salad and garlic flat bread went down a treat

after a few glasses of something nice, we turned in for the evening, and, even though I had been dreading having to make up the bed in the area you can now see as the table and seating area, it all went quite smoothly and we got a good nights sleep.

No doubt Paul will go into far more detail on his Caravan blog, but so far so good!

Tomorrow, we have plans to visit some local gardens, and a trip to Bodmin Jail for our evening meal...... hope they let us out again!

Little Pink Hen!

Alison is getting married on Monday, and we decided to ensure she is well and truly henned all day!

We dressed all around her desk with balloons, L plates, sprinkles from our hole punches, and the tiara that she was made to wear

and she was a game bird for the day I have to say - we sent her out to the canteen at every opportunity, just to make her walk through loads of staff, whilst she was dressed up in her tiara and banners


We threw confetti over her whilst she was opening her pressies

and then we got the obligatory group picture for the wall - Good Luck for Monday, Al x

Veggie Patch - The Story So Far!

Woo Hoo.... I think it's starting to work!

There are some sprouty little green bits starting to appear in my pots for the peas, carrots and onions! There are no sign of the green beans yet, but I think I am doing Barbara Goode proud so far LOL!

As far as the cauliflour, cabbage and sprouts are concerned, they have gone mad and triffid like.... time to re-pot them I think.

Having bought 15 small plastic terracotta pots to transfer all of my babies, I found that 9 of those posts were filled by the sprouts alone.

I moved what cabbage I could, and left the rest in the grow bag with the lettuce, that will stay there but will be spread out along the bag once I have more pots and the other veg are moved on.

I am hoping that this success so far, will continue, and then hopefully I shall have some bartering power with my friends.

Sharon is also growing veg, but totally different stuff to me, and I'm hoping that I may have enough to swap with Mel for some of her free range eggs. What do you think ladies? Roll on harvest time.