Sea Salt & Honey 4

First anniversary of my Cornish life

Would you believe it’s been a year since we decamped to Cornwall?! How different our lives are now, and it’s not just the scenery. We’ve created a new home, made a new circle of friends and have new activities.

I’ve grown to love my (almost) daily dip in the sea and can report that the temperature is now a balmy 13 degrees :) Himself has mastered his long board and today caught his first, perfect, green wave ride. Not bad for a fella who used to get his kicks from cooking. (Downside to that: no more Ottolenghi meals for me. Luckily we’re finding plenty of fine local produce, so we’re good.)

There’s much for us to discover and explore here. Last week it was the Tremenheere sculpture garden, a subtropical eden overlooking Penzance Bay. From the western side one can see St Michael’s Mount in the distance. And the garden’s full of interesting sculptures, like James Turrell’s Skyspace. This is an elliptical construction with a hole in the roof through which one can contemplate the clouds. Best meditation place I’ve been in. Attending a recent violin recital there, by Peter Sheppard Skaevard, felt very special indeed.

And we are entertained by the goings on in our town. A few weeks ago Falmouth was jolly with pirates belting out foot-tapping tunes in the International Sea Shanty festival. Foolishly, I’d agree to pop down to the local radio station and read one of my stories live on air. I found myself talking over a troupe of lustily singing Bretons, plus the tattoo of heavy rain beating on the tent of Source FM’s makeshift studio. Live radio, it was!

Soon it will be time for the Pink Wig parade when the women of Falmouth take to the streets to raise funds for Breast Cancer research. And did I tell you that a mermaid washed up on our local beach, to the delight of youngsters?

AND…

I have not been writing idle, despite alluring Cornish distractions. My second novel, Kalahari Passage, published by me, Mongongo Books, is now available as a paperback. Thanks to the good folk at Streetlight Graphics for doing the formatting and to author friend, Melissa Addey, for the tip about their excellent service.

Did you know, that if you buy a book you’ll be helping me to support the Village Schools Feeding scheme? All my income from sales goes to this charity I co-founded in 2017. Or you may prefer to become a paid subscriber to this newsletter for just £4.00 a month, or the US dollar/euro equivalent. Those subscriptions are helping me to pay for marketing and promotional services to try and make my novels more discoverable.

Enough from me beside the sea. Enjoy the season, wherever you may be. And please feel free to leave a comment. You’ll make my day.