May round-up: what we did, where we went

Where we went: Polperro twice; Polruan & Fowey several times; the Fowey Festival; Charlestown; Ruan Lanihorne; a range of garden centres; Tavistock; Lerryn again

What we did: B took the bike for its first Cornish outing; we attended the Fowey Festival; used both Fowey ferries; travelled west and met some friends for lunch; welcomed two lots of visitors

Who we met: Alan & Margaret: B’s friends down here on holiday from Scotland.  Lovely people! Edward and Margaret Hooper from our neighbouring farm

I left Cornwall for: a visit to Mum & Dad.  And we booked the tickets for their visit to us in July

Who came to visit: Russ and Char; Ellie and the boys

I’ve been walking: still around the local area but with a longer walk to East Court Wood to see the bluebells

In the house: various sets of curtains have been washed & pressed, swapped about and re-hung; 2 guest rooms are usable; our books are finally unpacked; I’ve boosted the kitchen with a bright cloth and flowers; the remaining unpacked boxes and homeless clutter has been reduced from being spread over 4 rooms to just 2

In the garden:  I’ve planted up pots for the balcony; sowed seeds, potted on and bought a bird bath. B has fixed the mower and the lawns are looking good

Bird highlights: mobbing; swallows; courting sparrows, courting chaffinches; early fledglings; buzzards performing and a lone heron

I’ve been watching: the finish of Master Chef and Outlander 1; the start of Outlander 2; The Great British Sewing Bee.  (And B’s been watching the original series of Star Trek)

I’ve finished reading: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens; Anne of Ingleside by Lucy M Montgomery; Timeless Simplicity by John Lane; A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman

I’m currently reading: Emma by Jane Austen; Handbook of the Soul edited by Richard Carlson and Benjamin Shield; Enchanted Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier; As I Walked Out One Midsummer Evening by Laurie Lee

I’ve been writing: this blog; the Footnotes; The Story Bear and The Madworthys for Evan; not enough letters and emails to friends and family

I’ve been studying: not enough of anything! A little on my Futurelearn course (What is a Mind?) but I’m falling behind again; a smidgen of Italian on Duolingo; a tiny touch of Memrise

May Highlights: wine on the balcony; Ferryside in the rain; tea with Daphne; our first visitors; Evan in the field; Polperro with the boys; reading The Story Bear to Evan

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Writing this list – almost a month after the last day of May, despite the apparent date of posting – has reminded me that May was quite busy really.  And balanced.  We welcomed loved ones and I met B’s good friends.  We made progress in the house and in the garden.  We experienced our first local events.  We did things together and we did things apart: we both found time for our own leisure pursuits.  We laughed and we rowed (though I’ve skated over that last part…) A good balance

And we continue to love our new lives in this beautiful corner of the world.  When talking about Cornwall, Daphne quotes Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, who said: “All England is palimpsest on which can be read the traces of former times, partially erased by a less romantic present.”  Like Daphne, I feel the palimpsest that is Cornwall.  And I seek to reinforce it with my own romantic present.