Month: Jan 2022

#105 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn HolidaysLeave a comment

Yesterday did not go as planned. But I knew the best laid plans had failed by 6pm the night before so a different plan was hatched. Serendipity stepped up to take the place of forward planning and for the first time in just over two years we got a seat in our favourite and now local coffee shop, so the birthday fairies were not totally having a bad day. First World problems and all that but it was lovely to have coffee in a cup sat at a table indoors. The surprise element of the birthday outing still happened but not in the way it was meant to be. A pair of pyjamas in a carrier bag does not have the same impact as pyjamas served in a biscuit tin which depicts the destination of the next couple of days. The irony is not lost on me that 6 months ago we moved out of a Cornish cottage and yet I had booked our first break away in a Cornish cottage. To be fair to me my search area for a cottage was anywhere between Penzance and Bristol. I had four search parameters.

1- Price

2- Dog friendly

3- Plenty of walking with no need to use the car for three days

4-A homely cottage, not cute and absolutely not decorated in blue and white, with beach huts, seagulls or fish as decorative features.

Number 4 turned out to be the deciding factor.

When we moved from a non touristy part of Cornwall to a very touristy part of Devon we moved our decorative fish with us but beyond that one detail we prefer a more organic style of interior design. Stuff gleaned from ebay, skips or dumpster, charity shops or friends and neighbours discarded or unneeded items.

After a sunshine filled hour or two in Truro, we took the road to St Ives.

Truro Cathedral

We arrived after dark and just like short stay tourists everywhere we trundled our little suitcases the ten minute walk from a car park to our destination.

Comfy cottage.

More irony as we settled down with a cup of tea. A programme about Cornwall was on the TV as we settled in.

We did not eat spider crab last night, but fish and chips and sausages for dogs filled us up ready for today’s walking.

Not a beach hut, Seagull or fish in sight.

#104 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

We are off on a little adventure today. Not words that have been used very often over the last two years. The weather has been checked and a booking made but beyond that nothing has been done in preparation, because the adventure is a surprise for everyone else @theoldmortuary. Which makes this a very brief blog.

Thankfully a friends new Podcast was released yesterday which gives me something to share with you.

https://castbox.fm/x/2sAj8

See you all on the other side the adventure.

#103 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Anecdotes, Serendipity1 Comment

Blogging was a lot like these little boats today. Left behind by the tide of my own technical inadequacies. I had failed to charge my laptop and then plugged it in to a socket that wasn’t turned on. Zoom meetings had to be attended on my phone. Irritating as this was it was enlivened by WhatsApp messages from friends.

One friend was moving his hot tub to his new home. It looked like more fun than I was having.

©Mark Curnow

Another friend who lives in France was thrilled to find a biscuit selection that included custard creams.

©Angela JS

However much I yearn for in- person meetings. It would be rude to get my phone out so this newly learned meeting brightener will be shortlived but I may now default to my phone for Zoom meeting’s just for the onscreen entertainment.

But the joy when I got out of my second Zoom meeting of the day was palpable. Maybe the dogs will prefer it when I no longer Zoom at home.

#102 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns, SerendipityLeave a comment

Blue Monday began by delivering stuff to a charity shop, accidentally as can so easily happen, something was also bought. This time a tiny pill box.

It is the exact same pattern as a powder compact I received as a bridesmaids gift when I was 12. It was a lovely jolt of recognition and nostalgia. Something that happens rarely in my life as I no longer have any living relatives who knew me as a child or teenager. Obviously a trip to deliver stuff to a charity shop is not a reason to buy more stuff but this little pot will be useful for travelling earrings. We had coffee and a croissant overlooking the symbolic Mayflower Steps and harvested more Vitamin D while taking in all the positive blueness of the day. The Bakery we bought the croissants from predates the sailing of the Mayflower by almost 100 years, that is a lot of years to perfect baking skills.

#101 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Devils Point, SerendipityLeave a comment

Defiantly red on the 3rd Monday of January. Traditionally the Blue Monday of the Northern hemisphere. Maybe it should be the Blue, blue Monday as the world marks nearly two years of Covid restrictions. We are all a little tatty round the edges regardless of the day. Maybe Blue Monday has lost its bite in the pandemic as life has progressed so long with a slightly blue tinge.

Bucking the blue trend as well was Miss Spearmint who is very assertively making sure the local beach is closed for the day by resting on the steps. Yet enhancing the day by spreading out her tail flipper to show off her lovely pink webs.

© Debs Bobber

#100 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Devils Point, Serendipity1 Comment

#100 a late blog, not for complicated reasons. More weather related, we woke up to sunshine this morning and just felt the need to walk in sunshine and harvest Vitamin D while it was still an option.

The bright sunlight did provide some lovely complicated images though.

Fennel seed heads, shadows and repaired, cracked masonry.

Our walk just took in really familar territory at a ponderous speed and lots of basking in pools of daylight.

Cast iron railings, shadows and masonry

Nearly four hours of walking required two stops for coffee, and of course a wee.

Complicated shadows and textures outside a loo.

We were not the only ones having a bask. Miss Spearmint was also making the most of the sunshine.

As were the Cormorants.

And then just like that nature turned the lights off …

Rusty downpipe and masonry.

#99 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Hugo and Lola1 Comment

Earlier this week the dogs had a true post pandemic moment. Of course they probably have no concept of the pandemic but they must be aware that the past two years they have spent far more quality time with us. This week they went to the vets and a mummy was actually allowed to accompany them into the consulting room. Such is the skill of animal nurses and vets that they almost certainly have no thoughts on attending the vets without us. But for the humans @theoldmortuary visits to the vets have been additionally traumatic as we have had to wait in the car park as they have endured, and not always silently, their various treatments and procedures. Our veteran 24 year old cat took the single ticket, one way trip to the surgery last summer and Hugo has had a very intimate area probed. His howls of indignity filled the car park and set off supportive howls from all the dogs in the car park. Lola in particular took the howling to operatic levels of sound and drama. So as they snuggle on the rug I imagine they are looking at me with gratitude.

But in reality I think they would like me to move on and leave them in peace.

#98 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn StonehouseLeave a comment

Candy coloured houses. The clear blue sky of yesterday lunchtime gave me this gorgeous photo. These homes are on the beginning and end of my dog walks. The dogs pay no attention to the colours of the houses but are very particular about sniffing all the canine messages that are left on the low walls to the front gardens. Sunshine has really lifted this week out of the rigours of January. The Christmas selection tins of chocolates are beginning to look completely ravaged which is another sign of the seasons moving on in an encouraging way. I think I am unusual in loving the fruit creams, so for me a ravaged tin is one that only holds anything that isn’t a fruit cream. Either way sunshine and ravaged sweet tins are fine markers of the Northern Hemisphere turning towards springtime!

#97 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Devils Point, SerendipityLeave a comment

Very close to sunrise and Spearmint, the seal keeps a watchful eye on a paddleboarder. She escorts him out of the water but decides not to clamber up the slope that he uses to exit the water. Instead she decides to swim off to a nearby swimming beach.

Just moments later with the sunrise properly established she finds a beach with several swimmers. All the swimmers know not to be in the water with her and step away from their proposed swims.

Spearmint takes a few moments to bask in the rising sun.

And have a bit of a morning face wash with her flippers.

The swimmers all managed to sneak into the water on the far side of the beach and swam as she settled down for a sleep.

Its been a long two months without much sun. Sunrise and a seal is a lovely way to start the day.

#96 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Memorial Benches, Serendipity1 Comment

Funny to start an early morning blog with a sunset but this one is a pointer to the next day, which is today.

Yesterday was a day of dreadful mists and traditional West Country Greige.Until this gloriously over the top sunset arrived, better late than never! The whole day had been an impenetratable colour and sensation of meh. My actual day was hardly any more enlightened with dull, domestic tasks and my relaxed moments filled with a book I had no wish to read. Over Christmas a small pile of lovely new books has appeared. I have yet to start any of them due to other reading commitments. In the greatest piece of bad luck, this months book group book is by a new- to- me author that I have a tiny bit of history with. I will name no names but the author is a well known T.V. presenter whose books, apparently, are both breathtaking and on many lists of bestsellers. Prior to Christmas,and probably against my better judgement I downloaded one of her literary mistresspieces. Having read one chapter I returned it, the prose being not quite to my taste. Flimsy would be my best description. Imagine my horror when the book club book for January was by the same author. I decided to adopt the cold water swimming approach and just get straight into it. I dedicated all of my reading time over two days plus some extra to get it done so that I could start on my Christmas pile.

Was my one chapter and out behaviour the correct approach? Mostly yes, but the plot of the book club,book choice, was really quite clever and deserved much better, deeper writing than the celebrity author had bothered with. Surprising really as she is not a foolish woman and has a wide breadth of life experiences. The editor also had an off day, some of the inaccuracies were absolute howlers that had me reading them several times to try and make some sense of them. There was no sense to them!

So, bad weather and bad book was yesterday and so far I have no idea what today will bring, but my, very cold, early morning walk shows promise.

The dawn sky was as good as last nights sunset. There is a millionaire parked up in the Sound.

Luxury Yacht just off Drakes Island.

I think I might have chosen somewhere a little warmer to park my $250 million super yacht in January. Presumably the owner of both the Dallas Cowboys and this boat has his reasons.

More heart warming than a Super Yacht was this bouquet of flowers on a bench. The bench is dedicated to someone, now deceased, who loved this area.

The dew that had formed at dawn created a poignant reminder of the tears we all have for the people and moments that we have lost forever.

And an even more powerful reminder to push on through the greige days because the sun always returns, eventually.