Month: Jul 2020

Pandemic Pondering #125

On By theoldmortuary.designIn CornwallLeave a comment

Launceston, the town of happy thoughts. My first happy thought linked to Launceston was unknown to me for many years.

Charles Causley is a poet that attracted me as soon as I met his poems.’ Timothy Winters comes to school with eyes as wide as a football-pool’My first experience and a memorable first line. The rest of the poem is beautifully descriptive in an ugly way.

Launceston was Causleys home town and in this portrait painting he is leaning on another favourite of mine, the highly textured walls of St Mary Magdelene.

Appropriately in a Pandemic Pondering the Charles Causley Trust has the most amazing office tucked above one of the ancient gates of Launceston.

In the current pandemic people are giving up offices in favour of working from home , but surely this one is way too cute to give up.

Happy thought number two happened soon after I moved to Cornwall from Brighton.My dad was a real ale drinker and long before the days of instant research on Google he discovered an off licence in Launceston that sold locally brewed ale by the gallon. Several Christmases running a Christmas Eve ritual for him was to drive to Launceston and collect several gallons for the Christmas festivities.It’s a bit shabby now but worth a picture for a happy thought.

Happy thought number 3 involves the Castle. There is nothing more exciting to a pair of six or seven year old boys than being given wooden swords and a whole genuine castle to defend.

Something my son and one of his friends were able to do if we were lucky enough to be the only visitors to the castle on the days we visited.Today the castle is chained up indefinitely protecting its volunteers from the onslaught of Covid 19.

The map of happy places.One final happy thought . A great extended night out of Bollywood Dancing in the Town Hall with RSVP Bhangra.Extended because the band set off the fire alarms and we all spent twenty minutes outside.
https://www.rsvpmusic.co.uk/

After the final happy thought, a final ponder on the beauty of driving to Launceston. Launceston is at the high point of the landscape, which is why it has a castle, the drive to it in any direction is through beautiful countryside, well worth an excursion.

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Pandemic Pondering #124

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Cornwall2 Comments

When I woke up this morning I had an idea that I knew which way the blog would go today. We were planning to travel north roughly in line with the course of the River Tamar. It has been a wonderful day both weather wise and experience wise , and that will inform later blogs but today was actually completely hijacked by a geological sentence.

Breccicated Beds derived from Downslope slumping.

We took the dogs for a walk on Widemouth Beach near Bude in North Cornwall. In summer, dogs are only allowed on the southern end of the beach, known as BlackRock Beach. The foreshore is marked by black rocks that run into the sea which obviously give the beach its name.

It was the cliffs at the back of the beach that stole the show today. That, and a truly delicious first sea swim for the season.

I’m a bit lost for words with the beauty of these cliffs

I hope these photographs show why the blog had been dominated by rock formations and that delightful sentence from the geological description.

I love these rocks because they look like food, a toasted muffin or folds of meringue for a celebratory pavlova. They also have a feeling of Modernist sculpture. Parts of them also look like rust, one of my favourite textures..

I also found some actual rust. An aged nail standing firm on a sea and sun bleached timber.

Downslope slumping, beautiful stuff.

Pandemic Pondering #123

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

100 WordPress readers for the blog. I know it’s nothing compared to hugely popular blogs, but 100 people who are happy to read along on the pondering journey of someone insignificant, who just enjoys writing and connecting, is thrilling!
I was pondering the longevity of Pandemic Ponderings when I remembered one of my favourite books, ‘The Long Weekend’ by Robert Graves. It is a social history of the interwar years.

I wonder if we are entering a Pandemic ‘Long Weekend’ in Britain. Restrictions of the draconian type are being lifted and bits of life are returning to some form of normal. @theoldmortuary lives a more resticted life than the government suggests whilst still connecting with family and friends. We are mindful of the Second Wave of the pandemic which could start anytime between August or October depending on who you talk to.
So I will ponder on through the Pandemic ‘long weekend’ and into the second wave taking at least 100 of you with me.

On with the Sunday blog.
Two quotes landed in my social media feed today. They are properly robust pieces of secular writing with not a hint of whimsy, new agedness or religion.

I love them both. They need no explanation, but I would say they represent quite accurately my attitude to life.

Time to catch up on 3 regular topics in the blog.

The first dahlia of Pandemic Pondering #120 is the only Dahlia still. This morning he was looking gorgeous but as you can see from the photo, protecting him from slugs and bugs comes at a cost. He cannot live out in the green areas of the garden but has to live on the decking area where domestic life happens. Here he is this morning amongst the drying washing.

This evening he is still wide awake at sunset.

Our fitness regime, at home with Joe Wicks on YouTube continues, and has often had a mention blogwise but after more than 18 weeks of exercising at home we are addicted to having a velvet cushion for our aching knees. Surely all gyms could provide such comfort.

And finally we did our regular walk around Sutton harbour and the Barbican in Plymouth. Our regular haunt of Jacka Bakery was enhanced today by having some of our lovely family in it.

Sunday pondering, a little bit deep, a little bit superficial. Thanks for being 1 in 100 xxx

Pandemic Pondering #122

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Blogs written on a Saturday sometimes suffer from a little too much input…

Saturday started early for us, Hugo and Lola were booked in for the early slot at the groomers. After dropping them off we parked up at the National Trust car park early enough to be rapped on the knuckles by a diligent National Trust employee telling us off for parking overnight.

This view was our reward for being early birds. Eggs and bacon cooked while overlooking Wembury tasted fabulous.

Meanwhile Miss Lola was being pampered and featured on the groomers Instagram feed. Hugo declined to pose.
https://www.nataliesdoggrooming.co.uk/

She was obviously feeling competitive with Miss VV who appeared on the Cornish Lavender Instagram feed, this morning.
https://m.facebook.com/CornishLavender/

Grooming exhausts the dogs so a quiet afternoon was planned, a bit of domestica followed by some internet shopping was the height of planned excitement.

A quarter of British women buy their underwear from Mark’s and Spencer. We are in that 25%. The pandemic has not been kind to the underwear drawers. Without regular grazing in the lingerie department of M and S shortages have occured.

Internet shopping failed us today. The website was irritatingly erratic. However the local store had increased its opening hours so a very much unplanned adventure into post lockdown clothes shopping occured.

Its strange shopping in a familiar store with Social Distancing restrictions. By waiting until the early evening we missed all other shoppers. It was a really pleasant experience. Underwear was purchased and our reward for a first Pandemic clothes shopping expedition was a walk at the Royal William Yard, after a few hours rest, post pampering, the dogs were also ready to strut their fresh haircuts.
https://royalwilliamyard.com/

A box of chips was a treat for us all.
http://www.thehookandlineplymouth.co.uk/

Saturday blogging, it writes itself.

Pandemic Pondering #121

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Cornwall5 Comments

Pondering since March has strengthened our resolve to shop locally and support local businesses.

Today’s outing was planned with exactly that in mind.

Lavender fields have long been on our wish list of things to visit. Provence springs to mind but in reality when we lived in South London , Kent was closer, but we still never quite achieved it.

We booked an afternoon tea at Great Carnbargus Farm. Perranporth, Cornwall. Home of Cornish Lavender and a warm and fragrant welcome. Set on the slopes of the Perrancombe Valley , the lanes ease you into a rural world , very different from the hurly burly of Perranporth, the beach destination.
https://www.facebook.com/CornishLavender/photos/a.1586137621431019/2072360726142037/?type=3&source=44

What an absolute treat to have afternoon tea with Tina Bee and her lovely family, including three fecund pigs called Petal, Pepper and Twig.

This afternoon tea malarky was not even a thought two months ago. Tina had to plan a significant birthday for her Dad, with Social Distancing in mind she planned the party in her lavender field.

Lavender Dad being saluted with a Lavender shortbread.

The party went so well Tina thought she might open up her field as an Afternoon Tea destination.

We had our own small marquee with indoor seating and a table, bedecked with gingham bunting, and an outside lounging area with comfy chairs and a coffee table.

Afternoon tea with a Lavender theme was our order of today but there were many other things on offer.

The farm also offers a safe field for dogs to go mad in and a wooded walk with Fairy doors to find.

Just beyond the pigs there was an Airstream, another one of life’s ambitions. This one is awaiting Planning Permission before finding its moment of Lavender glory.

We had such a great time enjoying simple pleasures and it’s really exciting to see a business idea at such an early stage.

We do love a bit of retro, so we were also thrilled to see these old Crittall Windows at the farm.

We had eaten a good bit of the Afternoon Tea before I took photos, blogging error for sure but also a sign that relaxing in a lavender field can take your mind off everything.

Afternoon Teas are only available in July or, just as much in life, you will have to wait until 2021.

We booked by phone and Instagram

07909 222260

Or cornishlavender on Instagram

Trust us, you will…

It.

Pandemic Pondering #120

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Dahlias, Hugo and LolaLeave a comment

Dogs and dahlias take an early nap.

The first Dahlia of the summer @theoldmortuary decided to pop open this morning. It’s a risky life in this garden as the slugs here are super tenacious nibblers and the 22 year old cat thinks sprouting dahlias are the perfect place to do her ablutions. Thankfully both slugs and the cat choose the dull dahlias as their victims and ignore the glamorous ones. By midday this one was trying really hard to be gorgeous.

But it’s tough being the first dahlia in a summer garden and it was soon heading off for an early sleep.

Sleep in daytime was a bit of a theme. An art group committee meeting was scheduled for the afternoon. Hugo was fully ready for some Zoom action this afternoon.

But just like the dahlia he chose early sleep over the excitement of Logo design and postponed exhibitions.

Pandemic Pondering #119

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Gardens and gardening, Serendipity2 Comments

The Saturday newspaper runs a Wordplay section every week. One part is a quiz to guess the meaning of unusual words. I don’t catch it every week and it doesn’t always spark my inner word- nerd. This week, though, a lovely word popped up.Shikantaza is one of those words, a firework of a word; it could go off in any direction. Street Food, the art of folding tree branches into mysterious shapes, a high fashion garment, the possibilities are endless.What it is, though, is Zen Meditation involving sitting and thinking. I do a lot of sitting and thinking , often adopting other positions too. Already I’m anxious to find the word for Zen Meditation while leaning on a wall. Thinking is one of my favourite activities. I also like to meditate which is the opposite of thinking.I’m not particularly good at static meditation, intrusive thoughts are the fuel of Ponderings why would I want to banish them?I’m more inclined to meditate when doing onerous tasks or when doing something that is regular and repetitive.
This morning I did a very familiar walk that, recently, has been very conducive to a snippet of meditation and sometimes if a bench can be found some Shikantaza.

Today there were loads of people about, quiet contemplation, of any sort, was not possible.It was very easy though to concentrate on the buzz of busy bees on spiky plants and feel wistful about the quieter days of lockdown.

Busy bees are buzzing in these next three pictures but unlike this singular chap above they did not stop to pose.

Too many humans, and not enough busy bees, I suspect, are a major part of the problem expressed on this embellished piece of slate, found later in my day.I found this pebble hiding on the edge of a field, while walking again, Another thing to contemplate. The message is compelling after such a pretty walk this morning.

It’s also been a day of thinking; time to sit down and turn it into Shikantaza.

Pandemic Pondering #118

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends, Serendipity3 Comments

Sweet Peas, such a thoughtful gift from a neighbour who we’ve come to know better during the pandemic. Gil and his wife Jen live just down the hill from our renovated Cornish Hedge. Gil is also a South Londoner, by birth rather than adoption like us! I found the perfect vase @theoldmortuary for a gift from a native Londoner.

I also tried another ‘flat-lay’ with the Sweet Peas, the orange painted 🍊 box and inadvertently my foot.

Gifted sweet peas are a happy reminder of Hannah’s mum who always gifted us large bunches of them and my grandfather who always delivered home grown flowers. With him Sweet Peas were always safer than his dahlia deliveries which always came with a side serving of earwigs that nipped small fingers.

Another gift this week of gooseberries has inspired another ‘Flat Lay’, thanks to Mel and Ed for the goozgog inspiration to make Gooseberry Drizzle Cake and Gooseberry Fool.

Pandemic Pondering #117

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns, Hugo and Lola, Serendipity1 Comment

Making hay while the sun shines.

Rural chic is having a moment, probably inspired by any number of city dwellers who have managed to endure lockdown in the countryside.
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/jul/03/david-beckham-leads-the-way-as-men-flock-to-cottagecore-look

The nature reserve near us has cut and laid the hay ready for collecting. As a backdrop for fashion photography this location would be perfect.

It is a fabulous image of rural charm, as is the Guardian article about the decorative Mr Beckham.

My recollection of Hay making in my youth is that it is a dirty, dusty job that has been romanticised way beyond its reality.

The term first appeared in a 1546 collection of proverbs by John Heywood. It is believed to have been in regular use in Britain since the proliferation of farming in Mediaeval times. Being included in a collection of proverbs suggests it quickly moved from sage farming advice to general life event guidance.

Literally or idiomatically, making hay while the sun shines was picturesque this morning.

To make the most of the idiomatic moment I can throw in two pictures of fluffy dogs making hay while the sun shines, one of them hay coloured.

Pandemic Pondering #116

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Food ( but this is not a food blog), SerendipityLeave a comment

Reflections on the first beer and other unplanned activities post lockdown.

Today’s walk was a familiar one to us, and to regular blog readers.

At weekends parking is free, in places, on Commercial Street. Giving the perfect opportunity for a circular walk. We do it so many times , and in particular in lockdown that it often gets a blog mention. Today, beyond the walk, we had no plans, we had VV with us so it was pretty much serendipity predicated by the whims of a 20 month old.

As usual, with a weekend visit to Plymouth, the first good coffee of the weekend was purchased at Hutong Cafe. Currently based at The Lord High Admiral.
https://www.facebook.com/TheHutongCafe/
https://m.facebook.com/thelhaplymouth/

Energised by a smooth Oat Milk Flat White we set off from Commercial Street.

Normally it is a two coffee walk with a call in at Jacka Bakery for coffee number two.
https://m.facebook.com/JackaBakery/

Today though we walked closer to the harbour of the Barbican.

Serendipity showed us an empty table outside the Maritime Inn. Time for the first beer since Christmas.
https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Pub/Barbican-Maritime-Inn-1375656692678932/

It was all the better for being unplanned. We carried on our walk, essential dog walking training is taking place.

Then serendipity struck again, Suphas, a Street Food Cafe also had a seat available out in the sun. Suphas has been on our radar for a while but time and a pandemic have made this our first chance for a visit.

Our drinks, snacks and the environment were vivid in every way.

One of life’s coincidences. Juice of the Day, Watermelon, exactly matched VV’s drinking bottle.

http://www.suphas.co.uk/

In addition to these visually vivid comestibles we also ordered Spicy Fruit Salad . As vivid in flavour as these pictures are vivid.

Three hours well spent wandering familiar paths .A Sunday walk in the sunshine.