The first Odds & Ends of 2022

A bit of a Sacha-fest to begin

He loved the aeroplanes that Les bought him

And how about this…

…all dressed up for his martial arts class?

There’s always plenty to do chez Mamie & Papy

The temperature’s dropping with winter fast approaching…

…but our lovely log fire helps…

…and what about this jigsaw for a winter activity? Looks great but the pieces didn’t  hold together well so it was a bit of a nightmare to complete.

I was very impressed by our first attempt at making paneer cheese…

…the forthcoming curry wasn’t bad either!

Meanwhile my daily walks continue…

…sometimes with company…

…and sometimes with a very low tide.

One thing’s for sure, I’ll never tire of this view!

Back to La Tranche

It’s now November 2021 and we arrived back in La Tranche to find Jean-Pierre & Catherine in the area. They sold up last summer to move permanently to Belle Île off the coast of Brittany, but craftily bought a small ‘pied à terre’ in Le Rocher, just a short car or bicycle ride away from chez nous.

The weather was great and we enjoyed a walk along the beach. That’s Catherine & Tine followed by third generation cousin Jules.

Just a climb up the dune…

…and a walk through the gnarled woods.

The view just one minute from their front door!

A few days later we return with Jean & Monique for a little ‘cousinade’…

…complete with one of Tine’s famed pavlova desserts.

Healthy eating of course!

Goodbye England

All good things come to an end, and our week in Cornwall was nearly over.

Time enough for Mamie to pose on the bridge over the stream with Betty & Alfie...

...and take a photo of the engine house nearby where we stayed.

It looked even more beautiful by night!

Sadly our planned Plymouth to Roscoff crossing was cancelled (merci Covid) and we had a longer journey to Portsmouth instead.

One benefit was having a break at Lyme Regis...

...with its very busy harbour...

...and pastel-painted beach huts.

No photo of the wonderful bacon butty we ate on the harbour wall, but hopefully we'll be back to explore the area further.

Newquay & St Agnes

The largest resort in Cornwall is Newquay with its many surfing beaches. Sadly the town itself is very run down and we couldn’t see any improvement since our last visit.

The house on this stack has intrigued many people over the years…

…the surfers probably don’t even notice it.

The harbour is wonderful…

…and a hive of activity when the fishermen return…

…not today though, just a lot of lobster pots to be seen.

We motored on to St Agnes and were intrigued by the terraced housing named Stippy Stappy. From the IntoCornwall website: The unusual cottages known as Stippy Stappy are named in Cornish dialect, probably with reference to the steep step type nature of their construction.

We followed directions to the beach…

…known as Trevaunance Cove…

…another surfers’ paradise.

St Ives & back in Porthtowan

I’m sure you’ve read it here before: my favourite place in the world (so far!) is St Ives, even on a VERY wet day.

Here’s the view after arriving at the railway station, leaving the cars at St Erth and enjoying a brief train journey along the coast. It’s the easiest way as parking is a nightmare in St Ives.

We were already soaked to the skin by the time we got to the harbour (sadly no seals to be spotted)…

…but St Ives is beautiful in all weathers.

I bet Alfie wished there were a few escaped lobsters here!

I worked here in the summers of 1969 & 1970. It was a different restaurant then, destroyed in a fire which put an end to my waitering experience!

I couldn’t resist a photo of this shop named after one of Stephen King’s creations

Here’s the view from our bedroom in Porthtowan…

…and a video to show how near the beach we were.  That’s Alfie by the stream, if you hadn’t guessed!

Natural…

…and man made patterns. Do you remember the reference to Cornish walls in this post? https://anenglishmaninlatranche.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-coast-near-amlwch.html

I promised you lots of shots of the sea…

…with or without Alfie.

The RNLI is on hand if needed. It was a tad early for surfers.

Another brighter day, but the same ‘old’ Alfie…

…and another video to finish the post.

Welcome 2022

Happy New Year to all my faithful readers. Here’s hoping for a healthy 2022. Cheers!

The midnight view from our Yorkshire château, looking over the Aire valley and onto Bradford