The View from Here: love is the true price of love (George Herbert)

It’s now – looking back – that I can see how worthwhile it was.

This post has existed in draft for almost a year.  It seems fitting to publish it now – in its original guise – with an update at the end.

July 2019 It was easy when I began blogging.  I wrote for myself.  Slowly a community has built which I value highly, but as it has grown I find myself questioning the content I choose.  I begin to ask myself what others may wish to read; I begin comparing what I post against what others post.  And that’s not what it’s about.  Family stuff has quietly slipped off the table although it was a key part of why I started the blog in the first place.  But this is a post that I want here for many reasons.  I remind myself that it’s easy enough for people to slide on past if the subject matter is not to their taste. Continue reading “The View from Here: love is the true price of love (George Herbert)”

The View from Here: on an afternoon in April

The view from here on this soft and mellow April afternoon has been filled with small and simple joys

We have sunshine.  I took a longer walk than usual, striding along the top road with the warm wind in my hair, skylarks singing in the heavens and solitary seagulls hanging at jaunty angles against the clear blue sky.  I checked the wires for newcomers.  The wires were empty.  Soon, I thought.

Soon. Continue reading “The View from Here: on an afternoon in April”

The View from Here: water, water, everywhere

The view from here has been aqueous

B new years eveJanuary draws to a close.  One month ago this evening – on New Year’s Eve – it was wet.  Torrentially wet. The tale of our attempts to enjoy the NYE celebrations at Looe may resurface at more length one day but for now I shall say only that the weather played a significant, and not very pleasant, role.  B’s face probably says it all. Continue reading “The View from Here: water, water, everywhere”

The View from Here: Christmas 2017

And that moment captured the essence of this year’s Christmas, which for me was all about the very old and the very young.

downloadIt is the twenty-fifth of January.  This time last month was another 25th.  It was Christmas Day.  Yes, a distant memory already; we’ve been back in the real world quite long enough to have packed away all thoughts of Christmas with the baubles and the tinsel.  When it comes to including Christmas here in A Corner of Cornwall I’m even later than last year, but I do want a record of it and it is just a month back after all. Not so very long ago.  But be warned.  And if you really can’t stomach the thought a brief foray back into festive realms I can’t blame you.   I suggest you move along briskly. Continue reading “The View from Here: Christmas 2017”

The View from Here: family, fizz, fireworks and damp squibs

At least it solves the delicate problem of who to ask to buy those red knickers.

red-chanticleerThis weekend’s new moon ushered in the Chinese New Year.  It is the year of the Rooster: the Fire Rooster no less.  I knew I was born in the year of the Rooster but only now have I learned that I am a Fire Rooster.  Fire Roosters are apparently trustworthy, with a strong sense of time-keeping and responsibility at work.  I doubt there is anyone that knows me who would vouch for my strong sense of time-keeping but the other two attributes I’d like to think were applicable.  I am in august company, it seems.  In no particular order, more famous fellow Fire Roosters include Dawn French, Donny Osmond, Jools Holland, Stephen Fry, Hans Zimmer and Martin Luther King III.  Who knew! Continue reading “The View from Here: family, fizz, fireworks and damp squibs”

The View from Here: Christmas 2016

In allowing myself these few days in which to celebrate family, my heart opens.

How to write about Christmas when it’s all packed away, in the past, gone and forgotten?  Maybe not entirely forgotten but certainly time has moved on and people are thinking of other things now that January has its feet firmly under the table.  But Christmas is an important event in my calendar and I can’t pack away the memories along with the boxes of decorations.  The memories need to be stored here. Preserving memories and thankfulness were key reasons for starting this blog.

So feel free to move right along on these belated festive posts – they’re likely to be schmaltzy and sentimental but I need to give Christmas and New Year their moments in the spotlight.

Continue reading “The View from Here: Christmas 2016”

Memory Moments: July

“We do not remember days; we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese

Once again I am a full month behind in preparing this post.  But I’m discovering a poignancy and a beauty to July that I may perhaps have missed had I not had this cushion of time from which to look back.  Going through the photos already feels nostalgic after just a month.  And I’m seeing things differently.

Events and weather in July are all wrapped up together.  Let’s see what July offered…

The weather in July seemed universally cool and grey …

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… with days of lingering mists.

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Be it brume or smirr; be they dimpsey days or smuggy days …

… the cows remained curious.

But we had the briefest blaze of fiery warmth, perfectly timed for Mum & Dad to enjoy the newspapers in the sunshine.

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Tom and Amy were not so lucky: their visit was shrouded in cloud.

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But it didn’t stop us enjoying the views of Fowey  as we began a month of memorable foodie experiences.  The Old Ferry Inn gave us…

… crabs’ claws and bouillabaisse ..

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… and delicious fine dining.

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And the Bodmin and Wenford Steam Railway gave us…

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… cream teas – in vintage style.

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We enjoyed steam at Boconnoc too.

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Jungly ferns and …

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rain-spattered verges have vanished.  For we have been shorn.

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But over walls and hedges, in gardens and on station banks, hydrangeas abound.

Despite its preponderance of gloom and brume, July offered us some magical sunsets.

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Bruised purple skies above swirling mists …

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… and fantastical silvered clouds that made me think of dragons’ breath.

July’s inclement weather gave us card games in high-summer.  Gin rummy with Tom & Amy, and Canasta with Mum & Dad.

And it must be Mum & Dad’s visit which is the pinnacle of these July memories.  A chance for us to make memories with them in our new home.  And for them to revisit old haunts and relive memories of their own from many years before.

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Memory Moments: June

“We do not remember days; we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese

With June has come the green. The trees are in full dress.

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Walks on our doorstep …

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are mellow and enticing …

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…and enhanced by curious cows.

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Grassy verges are lush and abundant …

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… and industrious workers are kept busy.

 

The garden is fragrant with blooms.

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And under the tree is the perfect spot …

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… for sitting and loving …

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… and sitting and reading.

We had more visitors on the balcony …

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… we had views and vistas …

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… and we had the sea.

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There were beaches for small boys to play on …

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… and for quiet contemplation.

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June was a month for:

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wild flowers,

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garden flowers,

and exotic flowers.

And for …

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Singing in the Rain.

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Memory Moments: May

“We do not remember days; we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese

A month of …

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… huge skies…

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…fluffy clouds …

… and wild flowers.

Polperro at low tide…

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… and high tide.

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Evenings on the balcony …

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… on our own…

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… and with those we love.

Ellie and her boys …

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… loving and laughing…

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… and exploring.

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Watching the sun set…

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… and filling the skies with colour.

And not forgetting…

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… Ferryside in the rain.

Blessings indeed.