{"id":658,"date":"2012-02-22T06:26:11","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T06:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatbeetle.com\/blog\/?page_id=658"},"modified":"2016-03-29T02:44:42","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T02:44:42","slug":"sennen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fatbeetle.com\/blog\/?page_id=658","title":{"rendered":"Sennen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The images on this page are linked to the main gallery for this section<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday New years Eve 2011<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

We got up and finished our packing. While loading the car we couldn’t help but notice how measurably more full it had got. Never mind,it’s all good stuff. We locked up the flat and drove over to Mam’s to say our goodbyes. We chatted to Mam, had a cuppa, then just before we were about to leave, she asked; “Where’s my trifle bowl boy?”<\/em> Bugger! I left the girls with Mam, and went back to\u00a0find it. Now where could it be? We’d cleaned and polished the whole bloody flat\u00a0everywhere, and not come across it at all.\u00a0I’d have remembered it if I had, or at least Lee-Anne would’ve remembered for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you keep trifle? In the fridge of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

We hadn’t emptied the fridge at all, it was still heaving, half full of grub. I took out the virtually empty trifle bowl and washed it. I divided the rest into three categories; stuff to take with us, (most of it,) stuff to give to Mam, (bugger all,) stuff to bin, ( a small amount.) Mam was ever so pleased that I hadn’t smashed her trifle bowl, but not as much as I was. We drove to Louise’s said our goodbyes there too, and set off down the M4.<\/span><\/p>\n

We stopped off in Weston<\/a> to catch up with Pete and Catherine<\/a>, and it was great to see them. They gave us out Xmas pressies, which were fantastic, and included the complete \u00a0DVD series of “Gavin and Stacey”<\/a>, something I had been meaning to buy. Pete showed me his new bike, dead classy it is too, I want one!<\/span><\/p>\n

We went for lunch at their local, “The Woolpack Inn”<\/a> it’s a fine boozer. Unfortunately though\u00a0 it was a fine boozer with a numbskull barmaid on duty. I noticed\u00a0she didn’t seem to be the brightest bulb on the Xmas tree when I went up to order drinks,\u00a0it was a bit like talking to a fencepost.\u00a0I asked her THREE FUCKING TIMES to ensure my bangers and mash was of the Quorn sausage<\/a> variety, and not meat. She had the gall to look offended when I reminded her for the third time. Guess what I was given? Poor old Catherine also had her meal delivered with the exact opposite items to those she had requested. If you know Catherine you know that, like Lee-Anne, she is not someone to bugger about. The orders went back, and when the grub arrived in its correct form, it was well good.<\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0we were\u00a0 departing from Pete and Catherine’s we\u00a0implored them to consider coming down to stay with us, while we were staying\u00a0in Devon in a week’s time.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had stayed a bit long in Weston, so had to crack\u00a0 on a bit \u00a0to get to\u00a0Sennen<\/a> if we were to see the New Year in there as planned. The urgency of this was conveyed to us by the ever\u00a0increasingly\u00a0hysterical phone calls from Jamesy.\u00a0Him and Rachel were already there, and dreading New Years at the end of the world with no security against the Cornish. The last\u00a0call we took while we were getting supplies in at Tescos in Penzance. “Jamesy, I’m almost here, calm down for fuck’s sake and have a beer. Don’t worry, it really is nothing like “Straw Dogs,”<\/a> there.\u00a0 I know\u00a0 it was shot in Sennen using locals as cast, but it was just a movie for fuck’s sake! Believe me, you will be safe from the locals.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We found the digs<\/a>, and great they were too, although Jamesy, Rachel, and introducing Helen, got the best deal. We had barely unpacked and sorted out who was in which bedroom,\u00a0when Janet and Howard turned up, great to see them both again, much hugs and kisses were exchanged. Clarkie rang up and informed us that he had managed to make the trip from Ireland to Sennen safely, and that he was ensconced in his B&B, and so far Catherine showed no intent of killing him. If you’ve ever spent time with Clarkie you’d know why people tend to get violent around him.<\/span><\/p>\n

We drove to “The First and Last”,<\/a> and abandoned our car there. Walking back in the rain would not be so bad, it never is when you have the beer overcoat<\/a> and beer taxi<\/a> to call on. The place was relatively quiet, but soon filled up, and loads of my old drinking buddies were met, chatted with, tales swapped and friendships renewed.<\/span><\/p>\n

(For some stupid reason I forgot to take my camera with me, if anyone has any photos of NYE can they email them to me please?)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We found an\u00a0area of seating big enough for our expanding gang. It had only one person and two kids sat in it, and so we commandeered that for the evening. The other person, a girl in her thirties, who\u00a0turned out to be Welsh, was alone with her kids that night, so we invited her to join our party, and so she did. She was a bit mad, and very Welsh, so she fitted in well. Then Clarkie and Catherine arrived, and introductions were made. I got stuck into the “Doom Bar Bitter”<\/a>, which is a great pint. Soon the place was in full party mode. There was a \u00a0fancy dress theme for the evening; “Gangsters and Molls”. <\/em>We hadn’t known this was happening, which was a shame, as I love dressing up as a moll. Many people had made the effort though, and many of them looked great. An exception to this was a person of indeterminate sex who although dressed as a “flapper”, looked more like a transvestite all in wrestler. Oh, and Luke Angove had come as “Robocop”, and someone else had come as Fred Flinstone, one can only presume to get their money’s worth out of the costumes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band kicked off, they were pretty damn good, they played rock versions of standard floor fillers. I looked around and saw Lee-Anne had become the first person up on the dance floor, oh dear, this doesn’t bode well for the morning. So the evening passed in a haze of chat and beer and dancing and catching up with everybody, bloody brilliant. I bumped into Vou, a girl I had worked with in mental health in Penzance for many years, we nattered for a bit an I got an insight into how much things had changed in my job since I had left.<\/span><\/p>\n

Come midnight and the TV showed the fireworks on Tower Bridge, and the band played a metal\/thrash version of “Auld Lang Syne<\/em>“, <\/a>and everybody danced and hugged and kissed. Even I got up on the dance floor and shook my funky stuff, much to Bethy’s dismay. There were a few fireworks let off outside the pub, and more hugging and kissing. Funnily enough many of the men kissed each other, and even me, too! Have\u00a0Sennen men, and my mates, really\u00a0got that cosmopolitan, hip, Metrosexual,\u00a0and “touchy feely”? Or were we just\u00a0very very\u00a0pissed?<\/span><\/p>\n

Clarkie found a young man dressed as a chauffeur and offered him a wedge of cash to drive him and Catherine home to the B&B. He agreed, not surprising as he was doing it, as he has done for a couple of years, to raise cash for Uni. Fair play to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, come chucking out time,\u00a0we staggered off into the dark, and back to the digs. I do not remember any of this trip home at all, and seeing as everyone was relying on me to find the way back, they were lucky, and I was even more lucky, that I didn’t decide to do my usual; “Follow me! I know a\u00a0short-cut home through these fields,” <\/em>trick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday: New years Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As you may imagine, all was not well the next morning, as in \u201cOoh, me fucking head!\u201d<\/em> Apart from Bethy that is who had had nothing stronger than \u201clemon, lime and & bitters\u201d<\/a> the night before. We have never forbid her from drinking alcohol, quite the contrary, she knows that should she wish she could have a glass of wine at home, or when out for a meal with us, she just doesn\u2019t fancy it. Though I suppose living with me would be enough to put anyone off alcohol.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jamesy, Rachel and Helen decided they were going down to the cove for a walk, and best of fucking\u00a0luck to them, it was drizzling and blowing a gale. Clarkie and Catherine turned up, at our digs, Clarkie looking a bit sheepish, and green. Catherine informed us that in his drunk state the night before, Clarkie had had a great deal of difficulty finding the loo in the B&B. This had necessitated him \u00a0rearranging the furniture, removing paintings from the walls, and having several near misses with glass ornaments. \u00a0God knows why B&B owners feel the need to fill every available space in their lodgings with breakables, Clarkie had my every sympathy. Fortunately Catherine had steered him to the right room, and pointed him in the right direction, \u00a0before he committed the ultimate indignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

So we decided that it was time for us too to do something energetic too. We decided to do one of my favourite UK walks, well when I say; “we decided,”<\/em> it was more a case of “I decided.”<\/em> But it’s a cracker.\u00a0\u00a0The walk is circular, and takes in Trevilley<\/a> where we have our house, Nanjizal Bay<\/a>, Carn Boel<\/a>, Pordenack point<\/a>, Lands End<\/a>, Sennen watch<\/a>, and then back to the head of the cove. It\u2019s a lovely, lovely, \u00a0walk, one I hope I never tire of.<\/span><\/p>\n

We set off into the drizzle.\u00a0After a while, we\u00a0 passed\u00a0our house which\u00a0fired off some\u00a0mixed \u00a0emotions for me. While looking\u00a0about in the\u00a0courtyard our house faces into, I saw a guy come out of our place. I introduced myself, he was\/is Frank, one of our new tenants. We agreed that we should call around later in the week to have a natter about the place, and to get to know him and his partner Nickie, and them us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking the fields towards Nanjizal, we saw a group approaching us, it turned out to be Pete, Sara, and Aidan, Trevilley residents all. A brief natter was had, but despite the sun being out stopping for a gossip was not a good idea as it was a bit parky to say the least, and drizzle was threatening\u00a0on the horizon again. We all agreed to try to catch up sometime in the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Halfway round the loop Bethy started feeling unwell, so her and Lee-Anne took a shortcut back via Lands End. Me, Clarkie and Catherine pushed on, and were rewarded for our efforts by a glorious sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

We also stumbled across the wreck, not literally, of the RMS Mulhiem<\/a>, which was spectacular, though a bit sad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting back, and following a mad rush to St Just, I managed to get some stuff for our tea, and snacks and booze to take next door, as Jamesy, Rachel and Helen were hosting us that night. A pleasant night of beers, wines, snacks, chat, telling tales and swapping stories was well underway when Helen made the unfortunate error of getting a Trivia quiz out while Clarkie was present. Not her fault, we should have warned her. Clarkie knows everything, and can be very fucking boring on most subjects in depth and at length. And so he did, and was, and we refrained from hitting him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Monday \u00a02\/1\/12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We got a rude awakening, quite early, from Clarkie and Catherine who had come to say their goodbyes. Sad to see them go after such a brief visit, but they had family waiting for them to return to Ireland. \u00a0Seeing as Clarkie lives in Luxembourg, with his son David, and Catherine lives in Ireland with their daughters Sinead and Emma, (just don\u2019t ask, you wouldn\u2019t believe me if I told you,) and school holidays are the only times the whole family get together, it was wonderfully kind and touching of them both to come over to see us. For all my piss taking out of Clarkie, he knows what I really think, and how much I value his friendship. Besides, he\u2019s just about \u00a0the only person, \u00a0(him and Wynn, truth be told,) who ever say nice things about my music, and actualy mean them, so I have a dependence on him for my musical self esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n

After they departed, we wizzed into Penzance to get the ingredients for the Rogan Josh <\/a>that Lee-Anne had promised she\u2019d cook everyone\u00a0for the evening meal.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was decided that I would give Jamesy, Rachel and Helen the guided tour of the loop we did yesterday, Bethy and Lee-Anne found the prospect of dossing in front of the fire far more inviting. So off we went leaving them behind. At virtually the same spot we had bumped into the Trevilley crowd the day before, we bumped into Vou, my ex-work colleague, and her family, who were out for a post new year stroll. Nice to catch up again, especially as I was then sober.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we\u00a0hit the \u201cno return\u201d point of the loop at the bottom of Najiizal hill, it pissed down. So girding our loins we pushed on. Reaching Carn Boel the sun came out. \u00a0I fired off some snaps. Then it hailed. We reached Pordenack, and bumped into Aidan my farmer mate\u00a0again, and then the sun came out, though I\u2019m sure this was just a coincidence. We certainly got \u201cfour seasons in one day\u201d<\/a><\/em> as the song has it. Unfortunately this was the last time I was to meet Aidan. Despite all my good intentions and e-mails leading up to us coming down to Sennen, I didn’t get to catch up with him properly, ah well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(I\u2019ve just noticed that my spellchecker flags \u201cSennen\u201d as \u201csemen\u201d. Freud would have a field day.)<\/span><\/p>\n

We pressed on. The wind continued howling, the weather changed from wet to sunny and back to wet again with amazing rapidity. I did my best \u2018tour guide\u201d bit and pointed out Neolithic remains<\/a>, bronze age burial sites<\/a>, places I\u2019d done climbs<\/a>, various shipwreck sites<\/a>, leylines<\/a>, roman ruins<\/a>, treacherous rocks,<\/a> \u00a0and places I\u2019d had open air fucks<\/a>. The majority of these were welcomed with an enthusiasm, though not all. The willingness of Jamesy, Rachel and Helen to divert for half a mile to see another \u201cplace of interest\u201d seemed to wane the further into the journey we got, for the life of me I cannot fathom why.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I got back Lee-Anne informed me that we had forgot to get ginger and cinnamon, two essential ingredients for the curry, so a mad dash back to Penzance was needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back at the house Howard and Janet arrived, and, while Lee-Anne cooked we all got stuck into the vino. We did this soley\u00a0in the vain hope of not overburdening Jamesy\u2019s car with the gallons of wine we seemed to have collected, for its journey home the next day. We did our best. Well\u00a0I did. The curry, as ever, was fantastic, everybody was duly impressed. As they were when Helen cracked out\u00a0the blackberry tart she had kindly made and brought down with her.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night was fun, but most of us crashed out early following an overdose of curry, blackberry tart and coast path walking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tuesday 3\/1\/12<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

We were woken by a storm, which seemed to put paid to our plans for the day. While Jamesy and co packed, I took a spin into the cove to try and get some shots of the storm, and to avoid helping. It certainly was a dramatic sea; and I took a fair few shots, none of which turned out any good as the weather was foul. Idiot.\u00a0 By the time I got back the weather\u00a0had cleared, and most of the hard work was done. Sorted.\u00a0\u00a0So we again revised our plan. Janet had promised us free tickets to the Minack theatre<\/a>, and Jamesy and co wanted to see this phenomena. The Minack is a wonderful open air theatre, carved into the granite of a Cornish headland. It\u2019s the work, mainly of one (completely barking mad,) woman and her gardener. So with\u00a0Jamesy’s car packed, we took off. Janet was good to her word, and we got the free tickets. After a bit of tooing and froing, all my fault, we eventually got to the Minak. There we found out the free tickets were out of date.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Still the Minack is always worth a visit, and what with the wind and the sea putting on a bravura show of the power of the natural elements, we enjoyed our time there immensely. Some humour was added to the visit by Bethy finding some \u201cAss Fudge\u201d in the gift shop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Cultured out for the day, and time being pressing, Jamesy followed behind me to Penzance, and there we said our goodbyes. Such a shame to see them go, it was great having them down at Sennen.<\/span><\/p>\n

We parked up in Penzance, and the girls went off to do some shopping, again, \u00a0so I decided to have some me<\/strong><\/em> time. First port of call was to stop off at Kelvin\u2019s shop<\/a>. Kelv and me had been neighbours at Trevilley for some time, he now runs an emporium in Penzance. Originally a second hand book shop, he\u2019s expand his empire to take in paintings and antiques, although the antiques are curated by Holly, his daughter. Great to catch up and swap yarns, Kelv said he\u2019d try to catch up with us later that week for a pint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately I had to leave before Kelv could talk me into going for a beer, as I had an appointment with Fleur, our lettings agent. Saying goodbye, I made my way up\u00a0Causewayhead to the office. I\u2019d not met Fleur before, and we had a good chat about Trevilley, the new tenants,\u00a0and work which needed doing, (think \u00a3 \u00a3 \u00a3 \u00a3 \u00a3 \u00a3!!!<\/strong>) I then had to rush off to meet the girls, though I did stop off at Oxfam and got a copy of the DVD \u00a0\u201cHow to irritate people\u201d<\/a> for a couple of bob, (not that I need any advice on that matter.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Pausing to take a picture of the statue of Humphrey Davey<\/a>, I was assaulted by a gale force attack of Linda. Linda talks so fast she could be Welsh. Great to see her, and promises were made that we\u2019d meet up with her, and Rob her husband, before we left.<\/span><\/p>\n

I got to the girls just in time, Driving to Newlyn Combe we grabbed some pastys from Aunty May’s pasty shop<\/a>, I was greedy and had two, and then made our way back to our digs at Sennen.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had a quiet night in, watched some DVD\u2019s, and, after a brief bit of excitement when all the power failed, we made it to bed just after midnight. Hang about? It\u2019s after midnight, it\u2019s my birthday!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wednesday 4\/1\/12 (me birthday!)<\/span><\/h3>\n

My first treat of the day was poached eggs on toast for breakfast; Lee-Anne does the world\u2019s best poached eggs on toast. Then I got to open my presents, I got\u00a0a classy hat, a great jacket, and a\u00a0new rucksack, all of which were perfect, I couldn\u2019t have chosen better myself!<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this we took a walk along Sennen beach in a force 8 gale, which as you will have guessed, was my idea, and my treat,\u00a0rather than theirs. Between bouts of getting sandblasted and soaked we tried to enjoy ourselves. I had no difficulty in this, I love being on a beach in those conditions, the other two not so much. I showed them the beach which is owned and regulated by an old acquaintance of mine. Hell of a thing to own, and it only cost her a lifetime of sucking up to granny to get it. Bargain!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

We got back to the digs, but as I was still feeling restless I took myself off on my own, the others having had enough of being battered by the elements for one day. \u00a0I walked along \u00a0Maria\u2019s lane <\/a>and got to the lookout to take photos. Not much cop again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to phone, and to tell anyone who would listen, that it was my birthday, and to celebrate it I was stood on Sennen watch in a gale. This was exciting for me, but not many people were interested in discussing it, for some strange reason.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n


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