Regardless … will somebody please make a Cornish version?
One day this week there was an unusual degree of noise from the crows. Investigation with the binoculars revealed a tractor working in a field on the skyline across the valley, and behind it, crows clamoured in large numbers. Continue reading “Birds on the Balcony: Hitchcock vs Daphne”
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Henry David Thoreau
We are expecting our first visitors shortly. This fact focuses the mind: two guest rooms are required. One didn’t take long at all; the other meant I needed to unpack my books, which meant B needed to secure the bookcases, which couldn’t be done until the broadband connection was moved. Continue reading “White tea and Walking books”
I don’t know why she’s exerting such a huge influence on me here but I’m glad that she is
I could have tagged this onto either of the previous posts. But really, this small nugget of time was so special that I need it to have a post all to itself. A seemingly tiny thing, and I don’t expect to do it justice in words, but I need to have it here. Continue reading “The View from Here: The Pinnacle of my Festival Experience”
“I am creative. I am a writer: this is what I do and this is who I am”
I went to one festival talk on my own entitled: A Space to Write. There is a book of the same name which inspired the talk and was already known to me. It had caught my eye in the Sunday supplements a while back and made my way onto the “books to read one day” list, but it’s too costly to buy new and doesn’t seem available as used. Perhaps I could ask for it as a birthday or Christmas present. Anyway: a book in which writers talk about their respective writing spaces and discuss their approach to their craft – wonderful! And the talk was wonderful. I loved it! Continue reading “Final Festival Talk: A Space to Write”
I did have a naïve, romantic expectation of seeing something “like I’d see on the telly”
Our second guided walk was more for B although I had high hopes for it too. We travelled to Charlestown – a little place west of Fowey – which is a purpose-built and perfectly preserved Georgian harbour and has been used in many films and tv productions. Continue reading “Festival Talks and Festival Walks (iii)”
I did worry slightly about whether discovering pleasure in a guided walk puts me even more firmly into a certain age bracket. And then I thought: so what?
One talk down: next came the guided walks. Guided walks have never been my thing. Communal events in general are not my thing. But in this new chapter of life I really do want to embrace the traditions and the history of our adopted home, and to do that properly you need to participate and experience – even if only as a member of the audience. Reading about an event is just not enough. Continue reading “Festival Talks and Festival Walks (ii)”
A number of gentlemen in the audience immediately put their hands to their own ‘flowing locks’
There are a great many events within festival week: walks and talks making up only a part of what’s on offer. There are workshops and musical performances and foodie things; there are debates and book signings and group readings. I was seriously tempted by the harp workshop; Continue reading “Festival Talks and Festival Walks (i)”
