Sudden Visit to Luton

Mike had a regular Thursday check-up at Moorfields and they were a little worried about his left eye which is the one with some vision.  We had to be there for another check on the following Tuesday with the possibility that he may have an operation on it the next day.  The decision was made that I needed to drive us up to Luton on Sunday in the Mini which was fine by me so long as I could get help around the motorways at the end.  The boys met me at Fleet Services on the M3 where I moved into Phill’s car and Jamie drove his dad in the Mini.

On Monday evening we drove to St Albans for a walk around the park …

It was lovely and relaxing and kept my mind off the decision that would be made the following day.

Coffee and Shopping in Falmouth

No holiday in Cornwall is complete without a trip to Trago Mills! We all found a few necessary items and then we headed to the Watersports Centre for coffee and an early lunch. 

When we got back to the cars the Mini had a ticket attached!!  Apparently the machine has a problem with some coins and although it took our £2.20 it had only registered £2.10 and so there was just one hour on one of the tickets and two hours on the other.  We spoke to the Armtrac lady who understood our problem but couldn’t help us.  Thankfully upon returning home we managed to sort it out and no fine had to be paid as it wasn’t our fault.  Beware any visitors!  If you park on the Maritime Museum Car Park then do check your ticket and make sure it has printed the length of time that you want.

Fish & Chips in Porthleven

The day began by collecting Pam and taking her to Barncoose Hospital for an appointment at 11 o’clock.  Most people take one or maybe two people with them but Pam had an entourage of eight!!  After she’d seen the specialist we piled back into the two cars and set off for Portleven.

A couple of years ago we’d taken Pam for a fish and chip lunch and when we suggested it for this year she was over the moon.  We parked on the harbour and with Pam on her scooter we walked round to the grass area to find a bench.  Mike, Simon and I then took orders and went to The Top Chippy, the same fish and chip shop that we’d used two years ago.  When we mentioned it to the owners they said it was exactly two years since they’d opened and we said we remembered the good luck cards and flowers that they had for their new venture.  We delivered the food and sat and enjoyed it …

After lunch we went for a stroll around the harbour looking at Henry parked on the other side …

We then drove home, delivered Pam and the kids got changed for the beach.

The surfers had company in the water today – a seal …

Odds and Sods

I’ve gathered a few photos lately which don’t really deserve a post of their own so I’m putting them all on this one.

Firstly when travelling on the Park and Ride from Threemilestone to Truro I saw that the Graffiti Grannys (Cornish yarnbombers) had been hard at work and it all looked very pretty …

When we had the short spell of warm weather I managed to get a bit of painting done to the garage wall.  It’s not finished yet but I’ve made a start!

Coffee break time with Hamish …

A mini with eyelashes parked at Tesco last week …

Blossom in the village …

A rainbow a couple of days ago …

and last but not least my two boys fast asleep together …

Crystal Side Repeaters

The last time that Phill and Jamie were in Cornwall Phill noticed that the side repeater was broken on the driver’s side of Henry.  Well I finally got around to ordering new ones online from My Beautiful Mini, choosing crystal ones instead of the original orange ones and this morning we went up to Jo and Paul’s where Paul did a brilliant job in replacing them for us.  He also sorted out the rear washer which was just dribbling water and re-aligned the passenger side windscreen wiper.   Many thanks Paul x

Lunch at Juliot’s Well

Now we’re no longer MX-5 owners we won’t be renewing our membership of the Owners Club on 1st January.   Today there was a run which was stopping for lunch at a not too distant place and we thought it would be nice to surprise everyone and turn up to join them.  Juliot’s Well Holiday Park near Camelford had been used by the Club as a venue for a Christmas Party which we hadn’t attended so it somewhere new for us.  We arrived before the 5’s and parked facing the entrance.  As they drove in I waved and slowly people began to realise who the mad person in the Mini was who was waving frantically!  It was lovely with hugs all round and people saying how nice it was to see us there.  We joined them for a fantastic roast which was the bargain price of £5.95!  There were several new members who we didn’t know but also loads of our old friends and we had a good natter and catch up. 

Meeting up with a Cousin

Last November I sent a message to someone on Ancestry. My mother’s parents were on their tree and I was hopeful of finding a new cousin.  I’d completely forgotten about the message when in June this year I had a reply! 

I was now in touch with a first cousin called Valerie and she told her brother Michael who also made contact with me.  My mother was from a very large family and there are loads of cousins who I’ve never met – until today!

Michael and his wife Maxine were coming from Sussex to Devon for a holiday and so we arranged to meet at Kingsley Village at Fraddon.  Now that I am the chief driver due to Mike’s eye problems this was going to be the furthest I’d driven but everything went well and we arrived on time.  As we were looking for a parking spot we saw a couple waving frantically (I’d told them to look out for Henry) and then it was hugs all round.  We went into the Village to get a coffee and doughnut and have a good old chat.  Apparently Michael remembers meeting me when I was a child but I had no recollection of him or his sister at all.  His father Alfred was the eldest child in the family while my mother Grace was the fifth child and eight years younger than him.  After taking photos to commemorate the occasion we said our farewells and set off for home.

It was a brilliant day and hopefully there are more cousins out there for me to meet.

Cousin John’s Holiday

My cousin lives near Northampton and he arrived in Cornwall causing trouble before I’d even met him!  We’d gone into Redruth at 6.30pm to meet the National Express coach which was due in at 6.50pm and at 8.30pm we were still standing at the bus stop in the drizzle with no sign of either bus or him!  After talking to his sister I said I had to get home to get warm and dry and hope that John turned up on our doorstep some time.  As we were putting the car in the garage a neighbour came out and asked if we’d lost someone – yes it was John!  He’d been dropped at a different bus stop but he hadn’t come down to the one he arrived at last time, he just looked in the Station car park for a Mini and when he couldn’t find one he got in a taxi and came to Portreath.  I was not happy!!  I was cold, wet and very hungry – not a good start to the week!

We spent a quiet weekend in the village and then during the week we went for a drive to St Agnes Head which was very windy.  John had had an accident which damaged one of his legs so he walked with a stick and wasn’t terribly mobile.  Mike and I walked Hamish while John stayed in the car and admired the view …

We drove on into Perranporth but as they wanted £4 to park we turned around and came on home.  If we’d been parking for the day then I wouldn’t object to paying £4 but as we just wanted to stop for about half and hour it seemed a pretty steep charge to me.

Later in the week we packed up a picnic lunch and I drove us over to Marazion.  We parked in the car park that overlooked St Michael’s Mount and when a front row space became available I nipped into it!  John and I along with Hamish went for a stroll after we’d eaten our lunch and we watched the kite surfers enjoying the waves …

John was a great help to me when I began researching our family tree as he is a mine of information regarding the family.  I was able to show him photos and census records and he was very excited about it all.  I think he enjoyed his time in Portreath and when he left us he moved on to stay with a friend in Winchester before making his way back home.