Here Comes Summer….!

by | Jun 13, 2014 | Uncategorized |

One of the great things about having a seaside home is showing off the lifestyle to folk from ‘up country’. And what better way to celebrate my partner Paul’s birthday, than lunch with some visiting friends at the newly renovated Godolphin Arms in Marazion. It was great to see them taking in the views across the bay and St Michael’s Mount with the awe-struck eyes of holiday makers. There is nothing like the visitor wow factor to make you look at things afresh as well. Sometimes you can become blasé about beauty and it’s good to be reminded from time to time.
‘Do you feel like you are always on holiday?’ one of our friends asked. Truth is, no. But boy do I feel lucky living down here. After spending a year in the beautiful sub tropical island of Bermuda, we weren’t looking forward to coming back to the Blighty weather. Yet Cornwall on a sunny June day with good company, food and weather – well Bermuda it ain’t, but it’s not too far behind. The grim winter we’ve just had seems a long way off now.
As for our new cockapoo pup Bonnie, she’s coming on leaps and bounds. After taking her for a first ‘walk’ – she has just had her second injection so the real walkies will have to wait for a couple of weeks – I now realise what a social magnet a new pup is. We must have spoken to at least 8 strangers who couldn’t resist stopping and cooing over Bonnie. So what should have been a brief stroll to the beach and a sniff of sea air, stretched to almost an hour. Still, madam has taken it well and seems to be basking in all the attention. Meantime, we’ve met some fascinating people while bonding over the pooch. One couple, (who hadn’t clapped eyes on each other since 1979), have just been reunited after making contact through Facebook. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall during that first conversation!
Over to Bonnie now for her latest take on things:
‘Hi folks – well I’m settling into the new pad now and sorting those pesky owners out. I think I’ve got them wrapped around my little paws and I’m enjoying the play times and regular tasty scran. I’m liking the walks as well but I’m getting fed up of being carried everywhere. This girl needs to get down and dirty, so I’ll be working on that pretty damned soon. Of course I need to be a sweet Bonnie occasionally just to give them a bit of ‘positive reinforcement’ – I’ve worked out that’s the best way to train up those rents. Loving the trips down to the beach and can’t wait to roll in that sand. Bring it on! Loving the new red harness too and it suits my colouring don’t you think? I could mention my very first shampoo and rinse but I’ll leave that one for next time. Woof and out…Bonnie jacket

A VERY CORNISH COCKAPOO

by | Jun 5, 2014 | Uncategorized |

So finally – Bonnie the Cornish cockapoo pup has landed at our home. She’s adorable, impish and totally demanding. Exactly what to expect from a new pup and we’re now tackling the hard stuff. A double whammy of toilet and cage training.
The ‘cage’ bit – where we leave Bonnie to sleep overnight in her cage and encourage her to spend some time in there during the day as well – is going OK so far. She had a good old protest whine and bark on the first night but we resisted the urge to go and pet her. Hard I know but necessary if you don’t want to share your bed forever with a pooch. Just in case you think her cage, (aka nest), resembles a prison cell, then rest assured. There’s a fluffy bed, fleecy blanket, hot water bottle and various toys. A place fit for a doggy diva!
Early toilet training is much more hit and miss, literally. Madam still has to get the idea that puppy pads are there to be used and that a ‘poop’ is supposed to arrive not too long after food. But hey – as I write it’s only day 3 and as the saying goes in Cornwall, she’ll pick things up ‘dreckly’. See Bonnie’s own take on things below….
Meantime, in the world outside Bonnieville, I’ve just been reading through the fantastic programme for the Penzance Literary Festival, (Litfest), which runs from July 16-20. With the BBC drama Poldark being filmed in Cornwall, writer Debbie Horsfield and executive producer Karen Trussell, are just two of the exciting line up of speakers. More about Lifest in future posts.
Since moving to Cornwall in 2012, I’ve been bowled over by the sheer number of talented artists living here. One of these is the fabulous Marazion based potter, Penn Boylan, and we’ve just acquired one of her latest Agapanthus range. Simply gorgeous eh?Agapanthus bowl
So over to Bonnie for the final say….
‘Hey folks – I’ve arrived in my new home with a bang. And don’t those new owners know it? If they think that I’m going to kip straight through the night in my den or poop to order, they can go hang. This Bonnie is her own girl and I’m only prepared to be good some of the time, strictly on my terms – if you get my meaning? What are owners for anyway, other than to play with and get some decent scran? I’ll have the pair of them trained up in no time, so watch this space. Woof and out… Bonnie 5

PIRATES, PISTOLS AND POOCHES

by | May 28, 2014 | Uncategorized |

Welcome to my new blog about adapting to seaside life in beautiful Cornwall. In 2013 I moved from the West Midlands to the West Cornish coast after a year living in sunny Bermuda. So a true ‘West End Gal’ both then and now!
As I write this, I’ve just got back from ‘Pirates on the prom’, a fantastic spectacle in Penzance (where else?) which saw over 14,000 people get together on Bank Holiday Monday dressed as er well – pirates. Yes, you read it right. Plenty of plastic swords, hooks and pistols too – just the sort of thing that would get you arrested in parts of the Midlands. Not forgetting the occasional pooch wearing a nifty pirate kerchief or even an eye patch. Only in west Cornwall – except that pesky seaside town of Hastings has also got in on the act.
Back in 2011, Penzance made the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest pirate get together with over 8,000 people doing their best impressions of Jack Sparrow and co. The previous record was held by the much bigger seaside town of Hastings and it didn’t take them long to plunder the prize back from Penzance. So of course Penzance had to have yet another plastic sword stab at it…and boy did they put on a show this time around. Of course me and the other half had to join in as well, with the pictures to prove it. As the saying goes, when in Cornwall…Pirate Maggie Pirate Paul
By a miserly 77 pirates, Penzance just missed seizing back the record. I blame the rain which came down between 3-4pm and persuaded a few buccaneers to hang on in the shelter of the pubs outside the main entry gates. Rules dictated that the counting stopped at 4pm, apparently leaving a good few hundred still not counted in. Aargh bloody aargh! They know who they are and where are the press gangers when you need them? Still, there’s always next year and all the £1 entrance fees went to the RNLI.
More about piracy and Cornwall in future posts and about our own new cockapoo pooch, Bonnie, who we take home next week. As she was born in St Austell, she’s the only true Cornish one in the house. She’ll be featuring in her own micro blog about trying to train her owners! So I’ll end by saying ’aargh’ to the fabulous pirates of Penzance and ‘ah’ to Bonnie who definitely lives up to her name.Bonnie 3