Thursday 23 June 2011

Woke at 7am packed our bags, had brekky and headed away around 9am - we were heading for Cornwall and in particular a little seaside village called Pentewan (pronounced 'penchewon') which is close to St Austell. Mary has gone on strike and I can't interest her in helping out so I am relying on the AA guides we printed off in NZ and the A-Z map of Great Britain. Have to say it wasn't quite as daunting as previous days and we got here without too much trouble around midday. Pentewan is a delightful little place with a one-way bridge leading into it. It has a few little buildings, a carpark and a pub (of course) where we think we will have our dinner tonight. We introduced ourselves to our landlady (Jill) and Peter, her "man" took our bags upstairs. Our room is small but very nice and once again we have our own bathroom - well done again Kevvy! We asked about things to do and Jill said there was a good 1.5 hour walk to Mevagissey so we basically dumped our bags and headed out. I should have changed out of my sandals but didn't damn it! We both had in mind a beer and were told we could get one at the end of the walk. We set off and found the pathway which was about 1km along the road - it immediately started to lead upwards! It was a big walk with lots of ups and downs and I found it a bit hard going at times but we got there and sure enough there we found a beer. We found a pub called the Shark Fin and plonked ourselves down. Two pints of San Miguel ale, one prawn sandwich with salad and one prawn salad later and we were very happy! We went to Mevagissey in 2006 and at the time they were putting sand bags everywhere because they were expecting a spring tide! We were amazed because all the boats were aground and there was no water in the harbour basin but this time the water was well up the walls and all the boats were floating. The harbour is partly enclosed with a breakwater and an entrance for boats and of course the tide to come and go. We tossed up whether to take a boat trip to Fowey but decided to leave that for another day. We spent an hour or so wandering around the village and enjoying the atmosphere. There were flags and bunting flying in the breeze and it really was very colourful. Still a cold wind though! The are incredibly narrow but cars come and go and you have to be careful not to step out of a shop too quickly as you could get run over. We were amazed once again at the number of senior citizens sitting on the seats looking out at the harbour view and eating ice creams! We caught the bus home and it took all of about 10 minutes to get here. We have been following the tennis and just watched Hewitt lose to Sonderling - Hewitt blewitt basically! Ann you would have needed your brolly today at Wimbledon - they had a dry patch but the wet stuff has come in again!

Hey Chris great news about McKendrick Gerardus give our love to Gerard and Lu! We love your feedback keep it going.

Janey we hope to ring you tonight. No problems with wifi everywhere we go we have been able to log on. Sometimes we have had to take the notebook downstairs but not often. Mind you, Kev did look for places that had it so that might be why. I am writing this blog on my bed which is pretty much my usual routine.

Nanny you wouldnt believe the number of dogs over here. Every second person you see has one. We passed someone today with a little king charles spaniel that had lost the use of its back legs and was in a frame with wheels. I hope they shoot me before doing that to me!