Falmouth Holiday Second Week

Sat - “Falmouth water torture” - dripping tap

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

Tintagel Castle is one of the places associates with King Authur. Exactly why anybody would want to build a castle in such a reomte location is something I cannot fathom. It doesn't appear to have any strategic value at all. Nevertheless its an interesting old ruin. I remember visiting Tintagel as a child, and later when my own children were young. From the town, we walked down a long road, there is a Landrover if you can't make it down or back. It is definitely not the entrance I remember. At the bottom, almost on the beach are the entrance ticket booths, toilets and a visitor centre. On the other side of the ravine there is a café, a little further up the hill. We watched the film in the visitor centre. The history certainly undermines the myth. After the film we walked out on to the headland – up and up narrow steps until we got to the top quite puffed out. Then we wandered about through the broken and abandoned walls, visiting settlements that had been there over hundreds of years. We were looking for the arched window that we both remember Andrew running towards, down hill at great speed. Our memories are slightly different, Jo remembers a tunnel, I do not. We saw various pieces of building and watch young couples take pictures of each other . It's a lovely place in the summer, but I imagine very cold and windy in the winter. Down again and across the narrow cliff – crumbling fast and soon to be gone completely but for the work of English Heritage and a lot of cement. Up, and up again on the other side to what was the church. Here I found what I am convinced was the original entrance, and could picture the path to the car park on the other side of a hill. So eventually it was time to go down again, and we decided to eat at the café. Good, simple food, but slightly expensive, we sat outside looking up at the cliffs. After lunch we walked away from the castle along the Cornwall coastal path for a while. When we eventually stopped we spent some time watching a Kestrel hovering over the undergrowth, diving, and then moving on. Hovering again, its head stationary, but its body moving just enough to keep it in one place, riding the wind. We walked back via a different foot path and came into Tintagel another way. Then we walked the length of the town and spent some time in the Tourist Information / visitor centre. Finally for Tintagel it was back to the 'Old Post Office' – a strange little house, one of the oldest buildings, with a well in the garden. It had only been a post office for a short time. There were pieces of old furniture in the house to give an idea of what living there might have been like. Very Spartan, with no running water and few possessions- still the idea has its attractions! Next door was an exhibition and sale (of needle craft mainly) and we had a chat about the green credentials of linen nappies verses disposables with the lady minding the stalls.

Then it was off to Boscastle. We mainly remember Boscastle because of the miracle of 16 August 2004 when a flash flood destroyed much of the village, but no-one was killed. There is evidence of the work that has been done to limit the effects of a similar incident happening in the future. The river bed has been lowered and the car park next to it raised. We also saw the new bridges across the river. We spent some time in the visitor centre reading about what had happened and the history of the area. Then went to the Riverside Restaurant where they were still (only just) serving the day time menu. Through the restaurant across a bridge and on to the decking on the other side of the river. Here there is the odd gull, but the jackdaws are the birds to beware of! So there we were eating soup (very nice , home made soup – orange and fennel, if I remember correctly) on quite a hot day. The sweets – from the evening menu were huge and very enjoyable. I also tried a pear Rattler – its a perry really.

After eating we strolled up the river for a mile or two, sat on a bench listening to the birds, and then returned to the car for the long drive back to Falmouth. It was fairly late and we soon went to bed. As were relaxed Jo heard the sound of dripping. I couldn't hear it a first, but then after listening more carefully there it was. One of us had not turned the tap off completely. We had been almost asleep and were now almost away “Falmouth water torture” I joked as Jo returned to bed. It's the best I could manage.

Sun - “Bad food day”
So far the breakfasts have been lovely, with the occasional kippers, or just beans, tomatoes and mushrooms. Not a full English but there are limits that I have to keep within. This mornings was not so good. A small part of the kippers was not cooked. I ate the parts that were OK and left the rest. It was the only time I had the slightest concern about the breakfasts.
We made our way up the hill to Emmanuel - Falmouth Baptist Church. The service was similar although the minister preached. Fro other parts of the service other people lead. There was also the welcome of a child. (Baptists do not Christen people, that has to wait until they are old enough to so “I Will” to following Christ for themselves. After the service we walked into town for lunch. It was pretty busy, being Fathers Day.

Eventually we went in the Quayside pub to get a roast lunch. It looked a bit run down on the outside. When we got in I now realise I should have known better. There were flies circulating around the middle. We ordered food, even that took a long time as the system for ordering failed to be operated properly, and the girl on the till started doing drinks. Someone else was assigned to that and had already served me with mine. As I returned to the table I was told of some of the others around us receiving the wrong order. If I hadn't paid, I'd have left then. Eventually someone came to our table and took our order again, the computer had failed. Staff were apologising to just about everyone around us. One man responded “Never mind, it happens”, the waitress said “It happens a lot here”. Which we already knew to be true. Our chicken roast dinners arrived. Another apology was immediately forthcoming – they were pork, not chicken. After another short wait our Chicken roast dinners arrived for real. I should think the chicken had been cooking since 10:00 am. Even so it wasn't exactly hot. We ate what we could and followed the advice of the mother and son (I assume) on the next table as the elderly lady said “lets get out of here quick”.

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

Wondering if our stomachs would survive the night we walked through the centre of Falmouth and out the other side as far as the Green Bank Hotel. It looked like the sort of place I where can't afford the entrance fee.
In the evening we had tickets to see The Miracle Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet (To die for ..), or at least we had booked tickets.

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

So we decide to try to find the place a little early and look around. We found it easily with the Satnav, so we drove around local villages and came across one of the strangest place names I've ever heard of – Praze-an-Beeble. Back at the house where the performance was to be given we were shown into the garden and invited to start a new row of chairs – as the second row, so we had an excellent view. Here is a scene from the play, taken from the web site. The play we saw had a temporary two story stage. The six actors played many parts each. It was a mixture of Shakespeare and modern. All the classic lines were kept. At times the play spilled over into the audience and the rest of the garden. It was very well done, particularly to by a stand-in who had to read his lines from a script, carry his props and climb about on the stage!
A very enjoyable evening. By the time we left it was getting dark and quite cold. We were glad we had brought winter coats – they were needed.

Mon  - “A friendly cat”

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

Trebah gardens are lovely. From the top where the house is the gardens goes all the way down to the beach. There are some wonderful old trees and some very nice views - not just from the top, but from the bottom up to the hose, and from various places in the gardens. We wandered around enjoying the view and the shade on a very hot day. At the beach there is a shed selling ice cream where the seller clearly had no idea of the prices of his goods and tried to over charge us. I really hate this approach to selling. The sales people can read the price list as easily as I can. Walking back up to the house we made friends briefly with a cat (or did we just happen to be going the same way?) and at the top had some lunch. The restaurant was very modern and the food very nice. We also discovered Helford Creek apple juice – some of the best cloudy apple juice I have tasted. After lunch we looked at the parts of the gardens we had not yet seen then drove to Portlevan we parked in the car park. The single ticket machine was out of order. I decided to try to pay by phone, but when the message told me the fee would be paid because of the convenience I enjoyed paying by phone I declined. We left the car with a note and hoped. As it turned out the guy who said “No-one cares, I've been here all day” was correct. We decided to walk along the beach, it was horribly stony, with tiny stones that were very uncomfortable to walk on. We got a fair way along the beach and over a couple of rocky breakwaters. All the time looking back and trying to decide whether the tide was coming in – it wasn't, but even the local lady I asked didn't seem sure. We had walked past a few restaurants and decided to try Amélies at The Smokehouse. The waitress had an accent that reminded me of Calypso in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, but didn't look anything like her (of course). She gets a mention here because she was very helpful and skilful, carrying the 'Hake Tower' I ordered all the way from the kitchens to our table outside in the corner.  Amélies is another restaurant that is well worth a visit.

Tue - “Walking Day”

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

We drove to the church of St Just in Roseland. We had heard that Jesus visited the place. While this seems unlikely, it is not impossible as we know little of his life when he was growing up. The church sits almost on the edge of a small natural harbour and is surrounded by a steep graveyard where the graves are set to form 'steps' up the sides of the hills. The church is probably more notable for the windows in the roof that let in light and give the church a better atmosphere than the darkness of some old churches. Inside we were met by a guide who spoke to us about the church and the developments they are planning. The church needs a new roof, and with all such things it will be difficult for the small congregation to raise the funds. The are also planning a visitor centre, where they will be able to serve refreshments, but is must be a little way away from the church to avoid ruining the peaceful atmosphere. To get to Roseland we had used King Harry's Ferry – a chain ferry to get across the river. There are only a few of these in England. According to the Sat-Nav its top speed on our crossing was 2.8 mile per hour. We parked in the car park (free) in the village and walked the half mile down a steep hill to the church. This was not a good idea, as you have to walk back up the hill later.
After our visit to the church we drove into St Mawes and after lunch at the Café Roseland in the Tourist Information bought a pack of walks around the area. We declined a sweet course and set out of Walks one and two. Two being an extension to One. We walked along the coast from St Mawes to Just-in Roseland and back along the top of the hill – to the Café Roseland, where refreshments were greatly needed – a distance of about 5 miles.
Later we visited Veryan, where I walked around the Church of Saint Symphorian which has a swan on its notice board (Jo had had enough walking and took a rest). We were looking for somewhere to eat, but the local pub did not look appetising. We also visited Portscat but finally found the Punchbowl & Ladle on the way home. It looks like a very old inn, and the ceilings were quite low. We had to wait for a table and only got one just as the party that had booked the area we were asked to wait in arrived. The food was very good when it came, but the service was slow everywhere – even for drinks. They do serve Tribute, which is a very good ale.

Wed - “59 games all, final set”
We set off on the longish drive to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The gardens have seen some development since we were last here in the 1990's. Still there are the vegetable gardens with all their unbelievably large vegetables and the other pieces of the formal gardens. It is a lovely place, but even in June is quite busy. Some of the paths can be steep, especially out of the main gardens on the estate. The restaurant is expensive, but the food is good enough. We emjoyed our time in the gardens and again appreciated the shade they provided.
After the gardens we went to Mevagissy, where many years ago as seagull stole my chips. Here we also came across more Cornish Car Parking madness. Arriving at 5:40 you must pay for a full day's parking (£3.50) and if you are staying after 6pm you must pay a full evenings parking (£2.50). I save a foreign tourist from getting his ticket a 2 minutes to 6. We had our evening meal at Blue Café Bistro. There are only eight tables in this tine shop. Most of them were reserved, but one was available. The two ladies in the café cook and serve. It's almost like being in your aunties lounge. The food is cooked in sight of the diners and has a genuine home-cooked quality. It is cheap too, compared to the prices we had paid elsewhere! We had a lovely meal, and as we left two others arrived to take our table – still the only one not booked. Tonight was another England game in the 2010 World Cup. The result: England 1 – 0 Slovenia. Amazing, they'd done it and were through to the next round. A more unbelievable sporting event was on the radio as we travelled back to Falmouth. Isner was playing Mahood in the Wimbledon Tennins Championship. The score stood at 59 Games All, in the Final set as play was suspended for the day due tyo failing light.

Thu - Return to Eden
The Eden Project is a sight to see. Three plastic domes at the bottom of an old quarry. Inside the domes are a tropical region and a Mediterranean region. As we entered we were asked to complete a survey, and then repeat it at the end. It was to test the projects effectiveness at communicating the environmental message.

From 2010_0612-26 Falmouth

Inside the tropical zone are plants from Africa, Asia and South America. There is also lots of information about the damage we are doing to our world and some suggestions about how to improve things. The real question was not addressed though. The planet Earth cannot support an ever increasing population. In truth it probably cannot support more than about 3 thousand million of us comfortably. IF we are ever to address the problems of climate change and environmental destruction we must first reduce the population. Until we do we will have problems sharing scarce resources.We had passed the Norway Inn on many occasions as it is alongside one of the main roads into Falmouth. We'd both said it looked nice and that it was probably expensive. The food was indeed excellent and the prices were also quite high.
Isner beat Mahood 70-68 in the final set

Fri - "Back on the train"
A driving free day was required as tomorrow the holiday is over and I will be driving back home. We walked the short distance along the coastal path to Swanpool, a nature reserve. Swanpool is a unique mixture of salt water and fresh water. This is a rare habitat and is now carefully protected. The roads around Swanpool have a 20mph limit and it is 'give way to ducks'. Once round the pool was probably a waste of time as there isn't much round the 'back'. The we set out across country, eventually returning to a built up area we found ourselves at Penmere Station and decided to get the train back to Falmouth. We then had take-away fish and chips, but it was nowhere near as nice as the food we had eaten in the restaurant. In the afternoon we had tea in the shop run by the town centre church. The two ladies on duty fussed around the customers and each other, there were a reasonable number of people there. What will England be like when the older generation is finally gone – when it's our turn to be old? Sandwiches for our evening meal and for the journey were bought from Tesco and the day ended quietly as it should.

Sat - "Homeward bound"
Traffic news on the radio is a marvellous invention. The program we were (sort of) listening top is interrupted and some other channel tells you that the road ahead is blocked and there is a 5 mile tailback. We stop for a dring and program the Sat-nav to take us via Crediton. Thus avoiding the A30/M5 junction and the traffic jam. It was a lovely cross-country drive. After three breaks and just over 6 hours 30 minutes we are home.

What must I do to achieve Eternal Life?

This story that Jesus told has so ingrained itself into our psyche that there is even an organisation that has taken the name. The Samaritans are there to help, to provide a listening ear for the most desperate people who have nowhere else to turn. That's the power of simple stories with a clear point and Jesus was the master story teller, so it is no wonder that his stories stick in our minds.
At the most basic level the story is simply one of compassion. Someone is beaten, robbed and left for dead. Those you might expect to help – in this case a priest and a levite – walk by on the other side of the road to avoid and contact. It is the Samaritan who goes to his aid, and makes the extra effort required to save his life.
I am going to look at the circumstances around the story to try to understand its deeper meanings, but we will look at the story too as there are some important lessons in it for us.
Jesus told the story for a reason. Luke is the only one of the gospel writers who has this story. Both Matthew and Mark make the same points, but the story is not included. It is placed after a private discussion with the returning 72 who had been out on a mission to local villages, so we don't know exactly where the story took place. It must have been in public, and Jesus must have been speaking to many people, because the story starts with the Lawyer standing up to ask a question. We are told that his intention was to 'test' Jesus. It doesn't imply that he was hostile, just that he was trying to assess Jesus' theology. Is he OK, or might he be a heretic? So the question he asks is

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” - What a strange way of phrasing the question! If his question had been “What must I do to inherit great aunt Maud's collection of grand masters?” then perhaps you could understand the use of the word 'inherit'. You only inherit something when it's owner dies. Perhaps without realising it he was on to something! His question though is centred on himself. - “What must I do?”
Jesus is having none of it and turns the question back on to the expert in the law. “What does the law say?” he asks, “How do you interpret it?”. The answer is easy for the expert, indeed it would be easy for any Jew.

The passages he quotes are Deuteronomy 6:5 – Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. and Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.
Both these verses are use as a regular part of Jewish worship. They are very well known. Jesus has used these quotes before, when he was asked which commandments are the most important.

Mt 22:35 One of them, an expert in the law, i tested him with this question:
Mt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 96 j
Mt 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
Mt 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 97 k
Mt 22:40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” l

So it is no surprise when Jesus says “Correct – Do this and you will live”.
No doubt at this point there were some in the crowd who thought “That was a bit too easy!. You'd have thought he could come up with a better question than that! He's supposed to be an expert” Perhaps there were even murmurings or groans. Maybe it was just the experts own view. He was expecting a debate and he got answered in a couple of short sentences. Perhaps he just wanted to complicate things – as some experts like to do. Whichever is was he felt the need to justify himself, so he asked a supplementary question.
“Who is my neighbour?”
and Jesus tells his story.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Lets take a look at the story and try to understand why it has made such an impact.
The first thing to note is that the story is set in a real place – one that was well known to his hearers.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho drops 3600 feet, the photo is taken about 2/3 of the way down the hill from Jerusalem. As you can see it is a very desolate place. The journey is 17 miles. Travelling from one city to another was always dangerous in the first century. On this road it is especially so, so much so that it was known as "The Way of Blood." .
Although we are not told anything about the traveller, we can assume that he was a Jew. That would have been the assumption of Jesus' audience.
Samaritans claim that they are the true Jews, the one left behind at the Babylonian exile, they retained the original Abrahamic belief that were altered by the Jews who later returned. Jews have hated Samaritans for hundreds of years. The name Samaritan derives from a Hebrew word meaning 'keeper'. Specifically Keeper of the Law. So perhaps that's why Jesus chose to make the hero of his story a Samaritan.
Another assumption of Jesus's audience would have been Jews are good, Samaritans are bad. Imagine the impact the story would have had. Had it been set in the second world war it would have been called “The Good German”, or during the Falklands war “ The good Argentinian”. Various modern interpretations of the story have used different groups of people to get the same impact, one I particularly liked was “The good punk rocker”.

The Samaritan:
- used his own cloths as bandages
- used his own wine as disinfectant
- used his own oil as lotion
- used his own donkey as transport (he then walked)
- used his own money to pay for care and shelter
and promised more!

So if you haven't worked it out yet one answer to the question that our expert asked “Who is my neighbour?” might be “Anyone we come across who's in need”
The story shows us and Jesus' listeners the real requirements of the Law. It is easy to put human limits on such things. It was common in Jesus time to say “Do no harm” - it still is! but that was never enough and never will be.
Are there times when you have fallen short of this standard? If you've never come across someone who has been beaten to within an inch of their life, think of some less critical situation. The Law does not say you can do nothing just because the need is less. Whatever situation we find ourselves in we must respond as completely as the Samaritan did in addressing our neighbours problems.
If you fail to meet this standard on any single occasion you will never achieve eternal life. That ruled out everybody that Jesus was talking to.
For us it's even harder.

Here's some excerpts of a speech that Caroline Spelman gave to The John Ray Initiative (connecting Environment, Science and Christianity) before the Iraq war, when she was in the shadow cabinet.
It is a good and pertinent question for us today. With increasing globalisation people are brought closer together. Images of life in very poor countries are beamed into our homes, and images of our comparative affluence are beamed, well maybe into the old TV set in the street corner café.
As Shadow Secretary of State my job means treating everyone as my neighbour so let me introduce you to a few.
Meet the Tajik widow I got to know in the Jalozii refugee camp on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. She looked ancient crouched beneath a tent made of sacks roughly stitched together. In fact she was my age with 5 children to feed. She rifled through my briefcase looking for food. "What good are you to me?" she said, "You come, you look, you go and I am no better off. She's right and I made sure to bring her food next time. I did not realise till I visited this camp of 60,000 people that there are two types of camp. The official ones set up by UNHCR and serviced by aid agencies, and unofficial camps like this one where supplies of food were intermittent. "The problem", said the widow "is that I do not have a man to fight to the front of the queue for me and by the time I get there there is none left."
Throughout the Bible, we are urged to 'plead the case of the widow' as Isaiah puts it (1:17). With so much conflict there are many female-headed households who struggle to provide for their families.
You can read the remainder of the transcript at http://www.jri.org.uk/resource/whoismyneighbour.htm
For us the question of who is our neighbour is wider than just those we come across in the street, for us it must include those we come across through the media. It is not acceptable for us to see images of the starving and the homeless and take no action to help.
If we fail to meet this standard on any single occasion we will never achieve eternal life.
That rules out everybody here too.
The answer to the expert on the law is, of course, different for us. When that conversation was taking place Jesus had (obviously) not yet given His life for us. Now, as I speak to you today, He has.
We can rely on God's grace, and our belief in Him, to get us to eternal life – the life of the kingdom of God.
As the expert asked “What must I do?”, the answer for us is believe.

Believe that it has already been done for you. Everything that is needed has been done – all of our greed, all of our wilful failures, all of our careless omissions – it has all been dealt with.
That doesn't mean that we have any less responsibility for our neighbour. As James says
Jas 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? n Can such faith save him?
Jas 2:15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. o
Jas 2:16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? p
Jas 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. q
Jas 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, r and I will show you my faith s by what I do.

So the commands still stand
Deuteronomy 6:5 –“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” and Leviticus 19:18 ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.
We still need people who behave like the Samaritan.
We still need to be people who behave like the Samaritan.
When Jesus finished his story he asked the expert “Who do you think was a neighbour to the man?” The expert, unable to give Samaritans the credit answers “The one who had mercy on him”.
Jesus then told him “Go and do likewise”. That is His message to us today “Go and do likewise”.

Falmouth Holiday First Week

Saturday - “The Night of the Bleeding Chicken”
The journey was uneventful, it took about six hours, including two short breaks or about 30 minutes each. Esmond House seems OK, we are on the first floor and have our own balcony, something we haven't had before. In the evening, after unpacking, we walked along the waters edge up to the Princess Pavilion. We decided to eat in the bar, I should learn that when a place is empty it is not a good sign. We ordered Chicken and chips. After a short time it arrived, when I cut into my chicken it bled onto the plate. Jo's was not quite so bad but still clearly uncooked in the middle. They readily replaced the meals and gave gave us the sweet course as compensation. Otherwise it was very quiet. Fortunately we did not suffer any long term effects. After we had eaten we took a tour of Falmouth churches to decide which one we would go to the following morning. They all seem to start at 10:30, so we would have to choose and stick with it. I have to say they all looked rather dead. The Anglican church, in the town, even had its gates locked so we couldn't get to the porch to see what the church was really like. The last one had a graffiti board with Jesus written in large letters (see below). That was the one for me, it was also the one closest to the guest house.


Sunday - "Fish fortnight begins"
Sunday started as each day during the holiday would. Up about 7:30, in the shower. The shower was rather small and the curtain did not have weights, so tended to move in at the bottom and wrap around you as you turned. Still there was plenty of hot water. Then down to breakfast for 8:30. A full English breakfast was served if you wanted it. I had cereal followed by beans on toast with tomatoes and mushrooms most days.
We met Delwyn and enjoyed his light hearted chatter. After breakfast we went back to our room and sat on the balcony, enjoying the good weather and reading bible note and a book. Jo did some of her cross stitch. After 20-30 minutes it was on with the sun cream, collect up the supplies for the day and make our way to the first event.

Today's first event was Falmouth Baptist Church, about 10 minutes up the road from where we were staying.. Ship of fools has a pretty accurate 'Mystery worshipper review'. We were lucky enough to have a visiting speaker who was very good. The songs were mostly known to us, and the style was very familiar. The only difference seemed to be lack of a general confession.
After church we walked down a long hill to Swanpool, a nature reserve next to the beach. We had lunch at the beach cafe (rolls and a drink), then walked back along the coastal path to Esmond House. We watched the F1 Grand Prix, and in the evening returned to Swanpool, this time by car, to eat at Indaba on the beach. Indaba is a seriously nice restaurant, although it looks nothing special on the outside. I started my 'fish fortnight' here.

Monday - "Doctor!, Doctor! When will it get better?"
It's Monday and we need supplies, so our first event is to go shopping at Sainsbury's.  We bought sandwiches for lunch, lots of water and various other 'goodies' to help us through the week.  Then it was off to Lands End.  What a strange place!  Partly and exhibition centre partly a nature reserve (of sorts) and partly the End of the Land.  We wandered round and visited the RSPB hide, we watched the birds on the cliff for a while.  There was a strong wind, despite that visibility was poor!.  We went to visit the Air-Sea rescue 'ride'.  It was OK, but it could have been so much better, and we visited the Dr Who exhibition.  This was largely based on the first of the new series and features Christopher Ecclestone and Billy Piper.  As exhibitions go it was OK, but by now a little out of date. There are some animated Daleks, the video of one of them is here.  In the full display you are surrounded by Daleks, but I didn't find that out until I'd persuaded a small frightened girl that she really couldn't miss hearing them say "EXTERMINATE!"


After lunch and a wander round the rest of the site we decided to visit Sennen Cove.  There is a lovely beach, which we walked along until the sea would not let us go further, and then we stopped in the tea rooms on the way back.

We decided to drive to Lizard point.  When we go there we walked down to the Light House but by then it was getting late and the lighthouse was closed, so we returned to the town.  We stopped at 'The Witch Ball' for tea, and ate in the Garden.  Fish (Fillet of Brill), chips and a local ale, in the company of your wife – what more could you want?  It was a very pleasant evening when we started but got cold towards the time to leave.

Tuesday - "Creamless Tea"
The piece of water between Falmouth and St Maws at the sea, and up to Truro is known as the Carrick Roads. There is an excellent picture on wiki. We took a ferry from Falmouth to St Maws. The water was calm, and the ferry was much larger than I expected. The journey was pleasant with the crew giving the odd pieces of commentary on the crossing. On arriving at St Mawes, we walked up the road to the castle. Even from the entrance there is a lovely view – it is immediately obvious how important the castle is for defence. We walked around the castle following the English Heritage Audio Guide as it took us all around and explained what they knew, and in some cases what they didn't. The problem at St Maws is that the castle is not at the top of the hill. That makes ground defence difficult. We had our lunch, which we had brought with us, in a seat overlooking the Carrick Roads. The sun was warm and there was almost no-one about. Just occasionally the sound of a boat's motor on the water in the distance. It was very peaceful. After lunch we returned to St. Mawes and caught the ferry back to Falmouth. We returned to Customs Quay, which was a different point from our departure, but we knew Falmouth sea front well enough by now.
We went into a very small tea rooms, on google street view its called “Citrus Cafe”, but the name doesn't ring a bell. It's on Arwenack St near the Church Street End. Jo ordered a cream tea, I ordered a cream-less tea. Either way the food and the tea was very nice. WE like the place and their commitment to local supplies. After that we did the Falmouth Town Trail, which we had picked up in the Tourist Information. Then we had our evening meal at Harbour lights. It is a huge Fish restaurant, at the rear it overlooks part of the harbour. It was quite full, but we were lucky enough to get a seat at the back. They have a webcam on their website, follow the link. The food was brilliant and the environment was good.

Wednesday - "A cold night on a Cornish cliff"
As we approached St Michaels Mount we came across Car Park signs far earlier than I expected. We parked the car and paid out fee (£2 for the day, if I remember correctly). It was quite a long walk to the mount. As the tide was in we would have to take a boat to get to the 'island'. Don't buy a return though as the causeway will be open later and we can walk back. Some of the literature seemed to suggest that visiting this place was going to be very expensive. That turned out not to be the case, although it was not cheap. St Michaels Mount is just what it says, and very steep in places. We started by walking around the gardens. In places they are spectacular but in other places the paths are barred, probably because they are crumbling. The map we were given did not seem to match the gardens, and we missed some of it. We had some lunch in the National Trust Cafe. A long building, with rows of long tables, which seat about 16 people, so you have to share at some point. The food was very good and the portions quite generous. We both enjoyed the meal.
Then there was the long climb up the hill to see the castle. Up and up and up some more. There is the legend of the giant, at least with his long legs he would have got there quicker. People still live in the castle but most of it is open. It would have been nice to have an audio guide here too. The castle and the associated church are stunning, as are the views from the top of the mount.  The picture shows the causeway, back to the mainland.

.. and a sculpture of the act for which St Michael is  famous:

We had tea at a little tea rooms and beach shop. It was only a snack, but they didn't have anything that was on the diet list. In the end I had a toasted ham ciabatta. They did not seem to want to cater for anything non-standard, then they wanted payment up-front – which I dis-like intensely. It was close to closing time – that can be their only excuse.

In the evening we had decided to see James and the Giant Peach at the Minack Theatre, so we made our way to Porthcurno. We visited the theatre box office and purchased our tickets. Then we parked the car and and walked down to the beach. It is very sandy, although rather small. There is another beach around to the left but the tide was too far in to get round to it. Walking near the waters edge my feet (and sandals) got wet for the first time this holiday, the water was very cold.. Finally it was time to return to the Minack. In the car we changed from our summer clothes into something more suitable for a clod night on a Cornish Cliff, and joined the queue for the theatre. Imagine our surprise when we were told that our tickets were for tomorrow! - and they were, we hadn't even checked them. Fortunately it was soon sorted out and we were allowed in. We walked down the steps to our seats, and placed the 'seats' we had hired on the rock/grass where we were directed to sit. Some very loud Americans soon began causing trouble, but we realised quickly that they were the cast and then enjoyed the fun. It was a superb production of a very simple story. “There really is a giant peach” we had heard said, and there was. An excellent 'summer pantomime' ideal for children and the young at heart. The cast of the Illyria company did an excellent job with almost no scenery and very few quite inventive props. It did get quite cold and we were glad to be back in the car and driving back to Falmouth as the last rays of sun disappeared from the sky.

Thursday - "Smuggling Days"
Pendennis castle complements St Mawes. Between them they cover the entrance to the Carrick roads. To get a ship past you must first disable one of the castles. We took the scenic route up to Pendennis castle past the Falmouth dock yards where they build and maintain large expensive yachts. They also do work for the military, and we looked on as the workers did things to an anonymous grey ship. There were one or two lonely looking men taking photographs – I wonder if they were spies? Pendennis is larger than St. Mawes and easily defended from land, but perhaps more vulnerable from the sea. English Heritage have done a good job of making the castle 'come to life'- the gun room is impressive, even down to the rat!

Back in Falmouth later we had lunch at Rick Steins Fish and Chips. This along with the Tesco where we bought much of our food is in a recent development similar to Cardiff Bay – but a lot smaller. This is another place where excellent food is served but again somewhere where I have to choose carefully. Traditional beer batter is not on my menu, sadly. After all the walking in the morning we decided something more relaxing was in order – a boat trip to smugglers cottage. From Falmouth, up the Carrick Roads towards Truro. A very pleasant trip. Smugglers cottage is now a public house, so a pint was most welcome as we relaxed waiting for the return trip. Around Falmouth the water is very deep. All the way up here ships that no longer have a use are stored. It makes for an ugly backdrop for the cottage, but no-one seemed to mind. We sat on a terraced bank and consumed our refreshments discussing how the 'ship situation' might be resolved, not that it was anything to do with us!
On our return we visited Tesco and purchased some sandwiches and fruit for tea, which we later ate on the 'beach' near the guest house. While we were eating the tide was coming in. Both Jo and I kept a careful watch on different parts of the beach, and when the water reach a certain point decided that it was time to move. Eating on the beach was nice, but we were accompanied by a very determined sea gull. I tried to dissuade him by throwing an occasional stone in his general direction, but it was really a pointless exercise.

Friday - "Flight of Fancy"
A very early start today. We are booked on the 7:30 flight from Penzance to St Mary's one of the Scilly Isles. Our hosts had provided some breakfast for us the night before, and we ate it in our rooms before we left. We arrived at Penzance just in time. It was the first time either of us has been on a helicopter. The fare was not cheap and we may not have done it if we had not received a gift some time ago. This definite counts as one of the '25 things' plan which has been so disrupted by my accident. One of the first things you notice about a helicopter is the noise. It is something you notice all flight. We walked from the gate to the helicopter, past the hot, unbreathable exhaust gasses, under the still spinning rotors and up the steps. It is a relief to get inside, but the noise doesn't stop. I've been describing a helicopter ride as a slow motion theme park ride. You can never tell what it will do next. At the start of the flight it went straight up, stopped , turned 90 degrees right, stopped, the front tilted down, and then back to level, the turn continued to full circle, or thereabouts, the nose went up and the helicopter move away from the airport, gaining height. The outward journey was at about 3000 feet, the return at about 1500 feet. No point in going higher than you need to. St Mary's was soon on the horizon, the flight only lasts 20 minutes, and we are back on the ground. The helicopter company have a very efficient taxi service to town and back. They dropped us outside Lloyds bank, and picked us up again in time to be back at the airport for check-in.

Once on St Mary's we have to decide what to do. We were there only a couple of years ago, so we know the layout. First, visit the Co-op and buy some lunch. Then visit the Tourist Information, where they are just about open, and are chalking the days activities on their black board. A guided history walk around Star Castle caught our eye. We had not bee able to get in the Castle before – it is a hotel now. So we paid our £5 each and our knowledgeable guide walked us around the castle, inside the grounds, around the battlements and back into town. We finished at the lifeboat house. That just left us a couple of hours to wander round before we were due back at the bank. The helicopter was late arriving for the return journey, so we ended up back at Penzance later than expected.
We decided to go to St Ives for tea. Here's where Cornwall starts to get a little mad. We were directed to the park & ride. There were no other useful sign posts. Arriving there and talking to the bus driver we found that the buses stopped soon, well before we would be back. Other passengers told us that they get a taxi back for about £3. The park and ride itself was £3.50 and the bus would have been a further 75p each. We drove around a bit and found another car park, quite close to town for £2.50. No bus required.
The parking story will get worse.
It is the night of England vs Algeria in the Football World Cup. England are expected to win easily. The town and the pubs are full – very full - overflowing - there are people in the streets. We found a pub – it looked a little dismal from the outside, but there appeared to be some room inside. We went in, and were informed that there would be about an hour's wait for food. We decided to stay put. We couldn't see the T.V. So had no idea on the progress of the match – only that there were no loud cheers or groans. The food arrived, a little inside the hour. The grilled mackerel was the best of the holiday, better than Harbour lights (which was very nice).
England drew nil-nil, a disastrous result. We walked around St. Ives and watched the 'killer' gulls. Well they didn't kill anyone, but there were so many warnings not to feed them I felt I was in a Hitchcock film. Fortunately I had brought the Sat nav with me, because we were lost, and couldn't remember where the car park was. Our guess though was good, we were just one road away and soon back at the car.