Blame it on the rain.
There is no getting away from it, Moho travel and relentless rain do not go together – hence the gap from my last blog post. As soon as we got a break from the rain we were off, this time staying in Cornwall with trips to the fishing villages of Polperro and Mevagissey.
As a test of winter resilience, we opted for parking without an electric hook up and just rocked up to the main car parks at both places. Not that we were slumming it with gas heating and use of our own roomy shower! Polperro was the more expensive place costing £25 for a 24 hour stay whereas Mevagissey was less than half that price.
At this time of year, both locations were quiet and we were able to choose our own spots with just a short stroll into the respective villages. Polperro is one of those scenic places loved by tourists, yet still manages to keep an authenticity despite the hordes of visitors who flock at the height of summer. Yes there are the mandatory gift shops – but not too many – and we had a great lunch at ‘The Three Pilchards’ pub where the staff were friendly both to us and our pooch Bonnie.
A doggy welcome always a bonus!
Mevagissey is a bigger and busier port, more ‘touristy’ but like Polperro still retains a strong sense of community. The main car park is a family run place and good value for an overnight Moho stay. We found a level spot (no stabilisers needed!) and can recommend the ‘Sharksfin’ restaurant for great seafood, wine and that all important dog friendliness.
My ‘on the go’ book for this trip was Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’, covering her childhood growing up in Chicago, her journey from a secure, loving but relatively poor working class-family, to studying law at the Ivy League Princeton University.
She went on to have a stellar career both as a lawyer and in the public sector, meeting her future husband, Barack, when she was assigned as his mentor at the Chicago law firm where she got her first job.
The rest is history. She became America’s First Lady after Barack won two terms as the US President and during that time Michelle made her own mark especially in the fields of childhood well-being and nutrition.
What comes over most is her honesty about her struggles adjusting to the relentless public scrutiny, especially with two young daughters, and the constant monitoring from close protection staff. She writes candidly about the attempts to retain some sort of individual and family normalacy in a situation which is far from normal.
I loved the book both for its humanity, humour and her willingness to open up about the one thing that affects many people from working-class backgrounds who smash the ‘class ceiling’ and enter the highly competitive professions.
That niggling inner voice sometimes saying ‘not enough’. In other words the imposter syndrome that many people, especially women, feel when they have stepped outside the confines of the social groups they were born into.
Michelle certainly is enough and more. It is no surprise that ‘Becoming’ has resonated with so many and that she is an inspiration to those young people who see her as a fantastic role model. It is a book that stays with you long after you have finished reading it and the writing is good too.
While on the subject of books, in the new year I will be re-launching the ‘Dilemma Novella’ series, (I haven’t done any significant marketing for a long time and it shows!), along with a new compilation of short stories. In preparation there is a batch of nifty bookmarks designed by Spencer Smart and they will come in handy as I’ve just been invited to give a talk at a local library. Some radio advertisements are planned too, with input from a clever copywriter. So watch this space.
Finally, as it is nearly Christmas, here is a festive photo to be going on with and hope 2020 proves a great year for you all.
As the Irish say, Slainte!
