Friday, November 17, 2017
FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY
Published in Womans' Weekly 2017
Sue Kittow, from Cornwall
Following a very unfortunate episode with a colleague at work, I suffered from a panic attack on the way home which was so terrifying I had to leave the car in a layby. I still had to drive to work every day, but it was a horrible ordeal, and I dreaded every journey. But I was ashamed of my fears, and didn’t want to admit them to anyone, even my husband. I continued to have panic attacks while driving for over 25 years which made me feel extremely vulnerable.
I tried seeing a therapist, but he said he didn’t cater for “minor” problems like that - only death and divorce - so I did a lot of research and tried to live with this constant fear that had me in its grip. I hated the loss of independence; the fact that this irrational fear was holding me back, and imprisoning me. When I finally told my husband, he insisted doing most of the driving, trying to help, which in retrospect probably made matters worse.
It was the death of my husband that made me realise I had to get in the car and drive, for there was no one else to do it for me. I was terrified, but as I needed to drive for work and to walk my dog, I just had to get on with it. Gradually my fears receded to the point where, although not overly confident, I can drive several hundred miles without panicking.
I’m much better if someone’s in the car with me, and I wouldn’t want to drive long distances, but I am much more confident now and I’m not plagued by these anxieties that used to cloud my whole life, making me feel imprisoned, useless and belittled.
Last year, I wrote a blog about my driving fears, and was amazed at how many women contacted me saying, “This made me feel so much better - I thought it was just me.”
Sue’s tips
Talk to other people - don’t be ashamed of how you feel.
Start with small trips and then bigger ones.
Do a long or difficult drive with someone else, then do it on your own.
When getting over panic attacks or any anxiety, remember it’s not a straight line - you will get wobbly days and that’s OK. It will get better.
Marilyn Roberts, Somerset
Marilyn Roberts, from Somerset, stopped driving after a car crash. Despite repeated attempts to conquer her fears, she is still plagued by anxiety and avoids driving where possible.
“I used to drive to work, but over the past few years we’ve had four accidents and I now dislike driving intensely. In the last six years I’ve got much worse.
The main reason is fear of another accident because there are so many cars on the road with arrogant, inconsiderate drivers. I hate having to drive fast because I feel like I’m on the dodgems, where one small error can have catastrophic results. This makes me panic stricken as I’m afraid I will make a mistake and cause an accident.
Also, being small myself, I can’t see properly to judge the width of a car or see round it, and I’m never comfortable: my foot isn’t properly on the accelerator so I’m always too tense, and can never relax. A smaller car might help a bit but cars aren’t made for small people: my body won’t fit into it comfortably. A car’s a very claustrophobic environment.
But I felt I had to do something, so last year I had 12 driving lessons for Fear of Driving with a really good instructor. She had dual pedals which made a difference, so I felt safer with her in the car. But on my own I still feel really nervous. She told me I was a good driver and there was no need to worry - that it was all in my mind - but I was always shaking and never felt confident. I am driving a bit more now - I drove twice over the weekend, but I won’t go when it’s busy though I don’t mind driving at night.
Perhaps I could try hypnotherapy - if someone came up with something I’d give it a go. Other people take driving for granted but I hate feeling like this - it makes me feel isolated and inadequate, and that really affects my confidence.”
Marilyn’s tips
Try Fear of Driving lessons - it does give you confidence
Be open to trying new ways of getting help
Don’t give up!
Vivien Simmons, from Dartford, Surrey
“I didn’t learn to drive until I was 35, and I only learnt then in case of an emergency. I was always very nervous, and I hated parking or reversing, but I never had to drive far as I could use public transport.
Then when I was 50 my mum had a stroke. She lived in Cornwall and a friend came with me and drove my car down there, but she had to fly back early, so I had to drive my car back to Dartford on my own. I was terrified, but I had no option - I had to get back.
I couldn’t sleep the night before and was terrified the whole journey but I kept thinking of it in short journeys of 10 miles and did that 25 times.
I had to keep going back and forth because of mum’s recuperation, and I was really nervous, but each time got a little easier.
Now I’m 65 and much more confident. The journey doesn’t worry me so much, but I still prefer it if I’ve got company.”
Viv’s tips
Visualise a long journey in short sections. Know the route well and plan plenty of breaks.
Keep in the main flow of traffic and keep to the speed limit.
Don’t drive too slowly and don’t be intimidated by other drivers.
Listen to the radio or play your favourite CDs or audio tapes.
Friday, August 1, 2014
SECOND TIME LUCKY FOR SAILING ROUND THE WORLD
Facebook is an amazing medium. Through my sister-in-law, Shelagh, who lives in Vermont, I discovered that Andrew Halcrow, a yachtsman from Shetland, was coming to Falmouth in October to prepare for his second attempt at a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe under sail only. The Facebook page had been set up by Jim Strang, a Shetlander who no longer lives there, and isn’t known to Andrew, his wife or family.
Through the Facebook page, I was able to get contact details and interview Andrew and his wife just before he left Falmouth in November 2013.
Andrew’s first attempt was in 2006 when he set forth in his 31 foot steel yacht, Elsi Arrub, which he built 26 years ago. All went well until, some 300 miles south west off Australia, his appendix burst. Andrew phoned his wife, Alyson, on the satellite phone, and she alerted Shetland Coastguard who then contacted Falmouth international rescue centre. Andrew was taken on board a bulk carrier to hospital in Albany, Australia, for an operation that saved his life.
Months later, back home in Burra, Shetland, Andrew was amazed to find that his boat had been found afloat. “I got a phone call at 7am one morning to say she was safe,” he said. And so Elsi Arrub arrived back in Shetland in May 2007. “Last year I shot blasted the deck and painted her up and she looked really good when I’d finished,” Andrew says. “It was as if she was all dressed up and nowhere to go. So Alyson said why don’t you have another go?”
Months of preparation followed, and Andrew decided to leave Shetland at the end of September and head for Falmouth for final preparations. “It was easier to leave from Falmouth as it’s the best route to cut out a month of bad weather,” Andrew explains. “Also, Falmouth is a great place to leave from as it has a great seafaring heritage. It’s a great place to return to, as well.
Andrew’s father was a keen sailor and encouraged his son’s interest in boats from early on. By the age of 18, Andrew was keen to build a boat. “I’d always wanted to travel, so sailing and travel seemed a good idea,” he explained. As a blacksmith he was used to working with steel, so he built a 31’ (10 metres) steel boat. “I started the Elsi Arrub in 1985 and launched her in 1987. Then in 1988 I set off with my brother on a circumnavigation for 5 years, arriving back in 1993.” But the five years sailing with his brother only underlined Andrew’s real ambition. “I had a hankering to do a singlehanded non-stop circumnavigation so in 2006 I set off.”
Bearing in mind that this boat has no engine, Andrew is relying purely on his considerable sailing skills to get him out of trouble. And as his first voyage was cut short, this trip is all the more special.
“I’ve been wanting to do it for 30 years,” Andrew says. And his faith in Elsi Arrub is especially touching. “She’s been part of my life for 26 years and I know her inside out. She’s a huge help and I have great confidence in her.”
He pauses and smiles. “I’m looking forward to the Trade wind sailing which is as good as you can get. And being at sea for a long period of time is good. I like the solitude although I’m not really a solitary person. It’s the challenge and a big adventure.” In addition, as Andrew teaches sextant navigation, he will use just a sextant, with GPS for emergencies.
The hard part will be being away from family and friends. “Alyson and I spend most of our time together so it will be difficult being apart,” he says. “And I’m not looking forward to the bad weather, or tinned food for a year.” He grins. “The first proper meal will be wonderful back here in Falmouth.”
As to the future, Andrew and Alyson are looking forward to some leisurely cruising – “we’ll take off and sail somewhere,” he says. Somewhere warm? “Antarctica,” he adds, to my surprise. “If I don’t do this trip now, I am never going to do it. I dinna want to be sitting in an old folks home, being 90 years old and thinking I really should have done it.”
In the meantime, his growing number of followers can do so via the Facebook page or the website: www.elsiarrub.co.uk.
CLIPPER RACE - THE RACE OF YOUR LIFE
“I spent 37 years in the Navy, and when the chance came up to take part in the Clipper Race, I grabbed it,” says Mick Leonard who has wanted to sail round the world since he started sailing aged 12. Now 58, Mick says, “I’ve done lots of coastal sailing deliveries around Europe, the U.S., Middle East and Far East and the Mediterranean, and I’ve done the AZAB two handed. This is a way of joining all the dots from the past.”
The Clipper is the longest ocean race in the world covering 40,000 miles, six continents and 16 ports in over 11 months in the biggest fleet of large one-design ocean racing yachts in the world. What makes this race unique is that it’s for amateurs - 40% of crew have never sailed before they start their pre-race training. This year (2013/14) 670 crew were selected to take part, from truck drivers to film directors, nurses, vets, professionals and students.
When I spoke to Mick who was in Rio after the first leg, he’d got through the Doldrums, and survived the Shellback Ceremony (to celebrate a sailor’s first crossing of the Equator). He said, “I know the The North Pacific will be very tough physically and mentally because it can be wet and bitterly cold. But I intend to get round and enjoy it.”
At the end of November, Mick’s boat was off Albany, Western Australia. “We were adjusting the sails and one of the sheets span off the winch and a fully loaded rope caught my leg.” In agony, Mick was carried to Albany to see a doctor who said Mick had damaged the ligaments in his knee and pronounced him unfit to continue. “I was absolutely gutted,” Mick says. “It’s been so frustrating to watch the race and see what I’m missing out on.” Thankfully, Mick’s knee is healing well and after physiotherapy he hopes to rejoin the boat in March.
The Clipper race is a steep learning curve, and not just about sailing. “I’ve learned patience,” Mick says. “When I commit to something I commit absolutely, and when I see other people not pulling their weight, it annoys me. But I’ve learnt that people don’t necessarily have the same attitude as me. It’s about being competitive at the right time and relaxing at the right time.”
Ben Turner was 18 when he took part in the 2011/12 Clipper Round the World Yacht race. “It’s not so much about the racing, but the people you meet, the contacts you form and the teamwork. It’s about working with people.”
Ben has sailed since he was two, and was inspired by endlessly watching the video of Ellen MacArthur’s 2000 Vendee Globe, but help came from another professional sailor.
“My mum worked with Pete Goss and she told him my dream of sailing round the world,” Ben says. Pete told Ben about the Clipper Race so he followed the 2007/8 race online, then saw the Clipper racing yachts in the Solent. “Later I got some money from my grandparents who’d passed on, and I decided to do the whole trip in my gap year.” The cost is high – around £45,000 for the whole trip and between £3-5,000 per leg. “Though that includes your training and all your kit.”
The intensive training lasted a month, and being the youngest, Ben felt at a disadvantage. But after a while he was made Watch Leader. “That really boosted my confidence and the others looked up at me then. You have to be very calm under pressure and be someone they can talk to. You’re the skipper’s right hand man.”
After some amazing adventures, Ben’s confidence grew. “The skipper said I was capable of becoming a very good sailor. I came back a completely different person.”
Now, Ben has his Yachtmaster Ocean and his Cruising Instructor qualifications. “It’s given me an opportunity to move into the sailing industry and make it my career,” he says. His advice to anyone considering entering the Clipper race is, “Even if you can only afford to do one leg, go for it. It changes you massively. It’s tough work but makes you grow as a person and toughens you as a sailor. Even if you’re not looking to go into sailing as a career, the contacts you can make are lifelong and you’ll be amazed who you meet who may help get you get work somewhere else.”
ww.clipperroundtheworld.com
Monday, November 26, 2012
Amanzi restaurant review
AMANZI RESTAURANT, ARWENACK STREET, FALMOUTH
01326 312678. www.amanzirestaurant.co.uk
Ian and Carolyn Turton, who were born in Zambia and Malawi respectively, took over Clarks restaurant in Falmouth in July 2010 and reopened in May 2012 as Amanzi, which means water in Zulu or Xhosa. “We wanted to bring our own feel to the restaurant,” says Ian, “and differentiate from the rest of the competition.”
Ian previously owned a restaurant in Johannesberg for five years with his brother. “Although our inspiration is our African roots, our dishes are an infusion of flavours from across the globe,” Ian says. “With a focus on seafood, grill and delicious vegetarian options, we have secured a wide range of Cornish suppliers so that we can literally offer people the opportunity to “eat local, taste global”. All our meat is Cornish and our vegetables come from an allotment near Stithians. Since we’ve changed our name we’ve had a lot of encouragement to have more African dishes: we’re the only restaurant in Cornwall to provide African food.”
“We try and look after people and give them the whole experience,” Carolyn adds. The restaurant has a warm atmosphere with music playing quietly, tea lights and a rose on each table and a wonderful selection of wooden African art on the walls.
By 8pm all the tables were taken and the place was buzzing with customers of all ages – Amanzi has only had a handful of quiet nights since they opened in May, and soon we could see why. The service is excellent – very warm, friendly and informative yet unobtrusive.
Deb and I had a glass of South African Chenin Blanc while we tried to decide what to eat, but eventually I chose a starter of seared scallops with hogs pudding and a crab bisque sauce. The scallops were so tender they melted in the mouth, the delicacy of the scallops was offset by the robust hogs pudding, and the velvety crab sauce made for an unusual combination that worked really well.
Deb’s squid was very tender, unlike the chewy morsels I’ve usually eaten, and served with spring onions and a soy, ginger and honey dipping sauce that was light but provided a good balance of flavours. Being messy, we dripped sauce on the table which was cheerfully wiped down between courses – another bonus point.
My poached cod with mussels in a creamy white wine sauce served with crusty bread was fabulous – the mussels were steamed and fragrant, just as they should be, the cod tender and subtle, and the sauce was delicate but tasty.
The Bobotie, a South African dish of spiced lamb mince, baked with an egg topping was served with yellow raisin rice and apple and fig chutney. We were told to mix these together before tasting them and we could see why – the lamb was quite bland but mixed with the sweetness of the raisin rice and the chutney was absolutely delicious - so good I could eat it every day. We shared a mixed salad and some seasonal vegetables – runner beans, carrots and red cabbage that were beautifully nutty – but the main courses were so delicious and plentiful we didn’t have room for the greenery.
The food is unusual, and beautifully cooked by someone who really understands it, particularly fish. We had a wonderful experience, so do go – but book, or you may be disappointed.
Dinner £12-18 per main course. Open 7 days a week from 5pm, Saturday and Sunday open daytimes but bookings can be made for lunch. Sunday lunch £9.95 (£12.50 for 2 courses) Traditional and African Christmas menus will be available.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Isabel Wolff
THE ALLURE OF THE PORTRAIT PAINTER
“I thought what an odd environment it must be where you are being stared at, every square inch of you, by a complete stranger,” says Isabel Wolff, talking about her latest novel, The Very Picture of You
Isabel is not an artist, so interviewed six well known portrait painters at length. “I didn’t sit in on any sittings: I felt that would be too intrusive, but I spoke to them about the technical aspects.” She also had her portrait painted in order to experience the other side of the canvas. “I became fascinated by the relationship between artist and sitter. The intimacy of it and what is said in the sittings: the things that can be revealed as well as those that are hidden.”
Unlike many of her heroines, Isabel has not been jilted at the altar, lost her mother nor had a disappearing husband. But she believes that “novels are informed by who the writer is: their moral judgements about the world and their values and their understanding of human nature. I think that anyone who writes a good novel has to have a sharp eye and an understanding heart.” Isabel believes her earlier journalistic training helped her develop a sharp eye, and the rest of it comes from her own experiences.
Anyone who has read Isabel’s novels knows they are in for a good read. “I aim to write with a mix of poignancy and humour because we can all connect to that,” she says. “I hope my readers enjoy a page turning story with lots of twisty mysteries that takes them out of themselves for a while and they look forward to getting back into.” She looks up and smiles. “I hope they find them rewarding and amusing and think about the book afterwards - I also hope they are as well written as I can make them.”
Writing commercial fiction, Isabel says that the story is the main thing but finds the plot very hard to work out. “It’s like making a map of a place you’ve never been – you’ve got the general terrain but you want to put in the geographical detail and also little blind alleys and cul de sacs to lead the reader down and get them pleasurably lost. But you have to lay the clues properly.” She finds it’s like problem solving. “It’s like making a jigsaw puzzle – you make it then smash it up and the reader puts it together for themselves. It has to be hard to see the pattern but not so hard that they can’t do it.”
Isabel believes that, “The power of a good story well told is to move, entertain and uplift, that is the privilege. That isn’t about how many copies you sell - it’s about touching someone’s heart.”
Her many fans will be pleased to know that the novel she is currently writing, which will be out in 2013, is partly set in Cornwall. “It’s semi-historical like the last two, and has a slightly supernatural element.”
Isabel’s favourite parts of Cornwall are the Roseland Peninsula, and the Isles of Scilly. “All my earliest memories are of Cornwall: the excitement of getting up very early and driving down to Penzance, then the thrill of getting on the Scillonian to get to the beloved Isles of Scilly. “ She smiles as her children run around the garden. “It means so much to me now to be able to give my own children the kind of happiness that I had of Cornwall. It’s a place of intense longing and happiness.”
The Very Picture of You published by HarperCollins available now
Cornwall Today FEb 2012
“I thought what an odd environment it must be where you are being stared at, every square inch of you, by a complete stranger,” says Isabel Wolff, talking about her latest novel, The Very Picture of You
Isabel is not an artist, so interviewed six well known portrait painters at length. “I didn’t sit in on any sittings: I felt that would be too intrusive, but I spoke to them about the technical aspects.” She also had her portrait painted in order to experience the other side of the canvas. “I became fascinated by the relationship between artist and sitter. The intimacy of it and what is said in the sittings: the things that can be revealed as well as those that are hidden.”
Unlike many of her heroines, Isabel has not been jilted at the altar, lost her mother nor had a disappearing husband. But she believes that “novels are informed by who the writer is: their moral judgements about the world and their values and their understanding of human nature. I think that anyone who writes a good novel has to have a sharp eye and an understanding heart.” Isabel believes her earlier journalistic training helped her develop a sharp eye, and the rest of it comes from her own experiences.
Anyone who has read Isabel’s novels knows they are in for a good read. “I aim to write with a mix of poignancy and humour because we can all connect to that,” she says. “I hope my readers enjoy a page turning story with lots of twisty mysteries that takes them out of themselves for a while and they look forward to getting back into.” She looks up and smiles. “I hope they find them rewarding and amusing and think about the book afterwards - I also hope they are as well written as I can make them.”
Writing commercial fiction, Isabel says that the story is the main thing but finds the plot very hard to work out. “It’s like making a map of a place you’ve never been – you’ve got the general terrain but you want to put in the geographical detail and also little blind alleys and cul de sacs to lead the reader down and get them pleasurably lost. But you have to lay the clues properly.” She finds it’s like problem solving. “It’s like making a jigsaw puzzle – you make it then smash it up and the reader puts it together for themselves. It has to be hard to see the pattern but not so hard that they can’t do it.”
Isabel believes that, “The power of a good story well told is to move, entertain and uplift, that is the privilege. That isn’t about how many copies you sell - it’s about touching someone’s heart.”
Her many fans will be pleased to know that the novel she is currently writing, which will be out in 2013, is partly set in Cornwall. “It’s semi-historical like the last two, and has a slightly supernatural element.”
Isabel’s favourite parts of Cornwall are the Roseland Peninsula, and the Isles of Scilly. “All my earliest memories are of Cornwall: the excitement of getting up very early and driving down to Penzance, then the thrill of getting on the Scillonian to get to the beloved Isles of Scilly. “ She smiles as her children run around the garden. “It means so much to me now to be able to give my own children the kind of happiness that I had of Cornwall. It’s a place of intense longing and happiness.”
The Very Picture of You published by HarperCollins available now
Cornwall Today FEb 2012
CORNWALL LAUGHTER CLUB
Having fun and keeping healthy
“Everyone knows how to laugh – it’s a language we all use: no one’s taught it, and it makes us feel good,” says Steve Patterson. “A child will laugh on average 3-400 times a day whereas adults only laugh on average 16 times a day – if that.”
Steve Patterson moved to Cornwall in 2001 from Devon, and had numerous jobs but wanted a challenge. “I worked in drug rehabilitation as a support worker and knew the benefits of laughter but wasn’t sure how they could be utilised,” he says. “So I found a course in London on Laughter Yoga. We learned how to take groups including all the different meditations and breathing exercises – some of it was quite spiritual. And we learned how to take it into schools, old people’s homes, prisons, hospitals and businesses.”
Steve was asked to take laughter yoga sessions at the NEC in Birmingham, then at WOMAD and Glastonbury in 2010 which proved such a success that he formed the Cornwall Laughter Yoga Club and hasn’t looked back. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor, started Laughter Yoga with just 5 people from a Mumbai park in 1995. It has become incredibly popular and there are now several thousand clubs in over 65 different countries.
“In early 2011 I trained in India with Madan Kataria, and it was amazing. There were 29 people from 16 different nationalities and it was an amazing way to bring all these nationalities together. There was a man from Vietnam who spoke very little English but was able to communicate through laughter.
“Laughter yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on comedy, jokes or a sense of humour,” Steve explains. “We initiate laughter as an exercise in the group, including eye contact, which gets everyone smiling, and lots of childlike playfulness. Soon, the exercises turn into real and contagious laughter. The reason we call it Laughter Yoga is because it combines laughter exercises with Yogic breathing. This encourages increased oxygen to the body and brain which makes you feel more energetic and healthy. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on scientific fact that the body cannot tell the difference between fake and real laughter – you get the same physiological and psychological benefits.”
Steve believes that childlike playfulness is extremely important. “Children laugh when they’re running along whereas we adults have it drilled into ourselves that we haven’t got time to play - we have to be serious and work. In fact when you bring play and laughter into the workplace it can be so beneficial for team building, self consciousness and creativity.”
Laughter has also been proven to help relieve pain, cancer, depression, anxiety, grief and stress. “Laughter gets the endorphins going which is the body’s happy drug and pain relief. It also gets the body’s immune system going,” Steve explains. “Norman Cousins wrote a book called The Anatomy of an Illness – he was very ill and found that if he laughed heartily for 10 minutes he had 2 hours of being pain free.”
Steve currently runs sessions in Newquay and is looking to expand into Falmouth and Truro. “My ultimate dream is to have a laughter club in every town in Cornwall,” he says – with a laugh.
But he has found the western perception of Laughter Yoga different from that in India. “I’m concerned that the name Laughter Yoga doesn’t capture the essence of what it’s about,” he says. “We don’t do yoga poses - it’s all about yogic breathing, so we need to come up with another name. In India yoga is known as being very spiritual whereas here it’s more known for keeping fit. 10 minutes’ laughter yoga is equivalent to 30 minutes on a rowing machine for cardiovascular exercise but there’s more to it than that.”
Helen Young would agree, having been to Steve’s classes. “I’m a great believer in the healing power of laughter – none of us laugh enough,” she says. “A lot of women release stress from crying and I think it’s more healthy to release stress through laughter. It also exercises the lungs and keeps me feeling younger. The idea is to try and get people to regain their sense of humour, which I think has really gone downhill – because of political correctness people are afraid to laugh these days.”
And how did she feel after the first class? “It was a definite release of stress and put me in a good mood for days,” she says. “A great place to practise is in the car – I tried and felt a lot better for it. It made me see things a bit differently.”
A sentiment that Steve echoes. “I’m passionate about how fantastic I feel after a session, both as a teacher and a student,” he says. “Laughter yoga has taught me the importance of laughter and playfulness in life for everybody. We don’t laugh as much as we could, and I think that could be why we get ill and stressed.” He pauses and his eyes crinkle up into another smile. “The best times we have are when we’re laughing and having fun.”
Cornwall Laughter Club has sessions on Thursdays at 7pm at the Hotel Victoria in Newquay
www.cornwalllaughterclub.org
info@cornwalllaughterclub.org
Cornwall Today March 2012
“Everyone knows how to laugh – it’s a language we all use: no one’s taught it, and it makes us feel good,” says Steve Patterson. “A child will laugh on average 3-400 times a day whereas adults only laugh on average 16 times a day – if that.”
Steve Patterson moved to Cornwall in 2001 from Devon, and had numerous jobs but wanted a challenge. “I worked in drug rehabilitation as a support worker and knew the benefits of laughter but wasn’t sure how they could be utilised,” he says. “So I found a course in London on Laughter Yoga. We learned how to take groups including all the different meditations and breathing exercises – some of it was quite spiritual. And we learned how to take it into schools, old people’s homes, prisons, hospitals and businesses.”
Steve was asked to take laughter yoga sessions at the NEC in Birmingham, then at WOMAD and Glastonbury in 2010 which proved such a success that he formed the Cornwall Laughter Yoga Club and hasn’t looked back. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor, started Laughter Yoga with just 5 people from a Mumbai park in 1995. It has become incredibly popular and there are now several thousand clubs in over 65 different countries.
“In early 2011 I trained in India with Madan Kataria, and it was amazing. There were 29 people from 16 different nationalities and it was an amazing way to bring all these nationalities together. There was a man from Vietnam who spoke very little English but was able to communicate through laughter.
“Laughter yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on comedy, jokes or a sense of humour,” Steve explains. “We initiate laughter as an exercise in the group, including eye contact, which gets everyone smiling, and lots of childlike playfulness. Soon, the exercises turn into real and contagious laughter. The reason we call it Laughter Yoga is because it combines laughter exercises with Yogic breathing. This encourages increased oxygen to the body and brain which makes you feel more energetic and healthy. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on scientific fact that the body cannot tell the difference between fake and real laughter – you get the same physiological and psychological benefits.”
Steve believes that childlike playfulness is extremely important. “Children laugh when they’re running along whereas we adults have it drilled into ourselves that we haven’t got time to play - we have to be serious and work. In fact when you bring play and laughter into the workplace it can be so beneficial for team building, self consciousness and creativity.”
Laughter has also been proven to help relieve pain, cancer, depression, anxiety, grief and stress. “Laughter gets the endorphins going which is the body’s happy drug and pain relief. It also gets the body’s immune system going,” Steve explains. “Norman Cousins wrote a book called The Anatomy of an Illness – he was very ill and found that if he laughed heartily for 10 minutes he had 2 hours of being pain free.”
Steve currently runs sessions in Newquay and is looking to expand into Falmouth and Truro. “My ultimate dream is to have a laughter club in every town in Cornwall,” he says – with a laugh.
But he has found the western perception of Laughter Yoga different from that in India. “I’m concerned that the name Laughter Yoga doesn’t capture the essence of what it’s about,” he says. “We don’t do yoga poses - it’s all about yogic breathing, so we need to come up with another name. In India yoga is known as being very spiritual whereas here it’s more known for keeping fit. 10 minutes’ laughter yoga is equivalent to 30 minutes on a rowing machine for cardiovascular exercise but there’s more to it than that.”
Helen Young would agree, having been to Steve’s classes. “I’m a great believer in the healing power of laughter – none of us laugh enough,” she says. “A lot of women release stress from crying and I think it’s more healthy to release stress through laughter. It also exercises the lungs and keeps me feeling younger. The idea is to try and get people to regain their sense of humour, which I think has really gone downhill – because of political correctness people are afraid to laugh these days.”
And how did she feel after the first class? “It was a definite release of stress and put me in a good mood for days,” she says. “A great place to practise is in the car – I tried and felt a lot better for it. It made me see things a bit differently.”
A sentiment that Steve echoes. “I’m passionate about how fantastic I feel after a session, both as a teacher and a student,” he says. “Laughter yoga has taught me the importance of laughter and playfulness in life for everybody. We don’t laugh as much as we could, and I think that could be why we get ill and stressed.” He pauses and his eyes crinkle up into another smile. “The best times we have are when we’re laughing and having fun.”
Cornwall Laughter Club has sessions on Thursdays at 7pm at the Hotel Victoria in Newquay
www.cornwalllaughterclub.org
info@cornwalllaughterclub.org
Cornwall Today March 2012
Waterfront Crew
The coolest club for young people in Falmouth
“It’s amazing the stuff that’s dropped onto Falmouth waterfront,” says Mel Bailey, Student Manager at Falmouth School. “We’ve found a gold watch, an entire toilet, a set of false teeth, countless trolleys, stereos, TVs and chairs. On the Roseland we’ve done cleanups by canoe which have been very successful. It’s fun and reaches areas you can’t reach by foot.”
Mel’s talking about some of the work undertaken by the Waterfront Crew, a group of youngsters who work out of school hours to help clean up Falmouth waterfront. In return they receive meals, go sailing or kayaking and learn to work together, so they feel included. As Mel explains, “It's a very simple idea – it's about earning your reward and having fun with it.”
The idea was pioneered in 2007 by Falmouth School in conjunction with Falmouth Police, Falmouth Town Council and local businesses. “We wanted to show the good work that young people can do, make that higher profile to give a boost to their self esteem, and so that the community got to know about them in a balanced way,” explains Mel. “It’s also about a sense of belonging – feeling part of something with others. The bond that has developed between the young people is immense.”
Police Community Support Officer, Sean McDonnell adds, “The waterside area in the town centre looked neglected and no one seemed to take ownership of it, so we thought why don’t we tap into that fantastic natural resource, and clean it up? If we can assist youngsters in trying to take ownership and take care of their own environment we’re helping them develop into good citizens who will want the best for their town,” he continues.
The businesses in the town have been supportive and delighted at what the young people have done, and the cleanups are rewarded with fish and chips, canoeing, sailing, kayaking etc. “From early on the youngsters’ perception was that the town was helping them and providing something, and out of that has come contacts and even employment,” says Sean.
Mel targets young people that she thinks would benefit from the experience, but the selection process is delicate, as she explains: “It’s normally around 20 young people, complemented by extra referrals from the community, the police force, and we blend it in with a mix of other students so they become part of something like any other activity.” It’s all voluntary so it takes place in their own time, after school or at weekends.
Sean adds, “It’s important it’s not seen as a naughty boy reward scheme. So we go for a mix of achievers, some who are vulnerable, young carers, and they grow as a friendship group which has been refreshing to see.” From the policing side, Sean sees other benefits. “It’s built an awful lot of bridges. It’s a great leveler if you’re out trying to kayak or windsurf.” Mel laughs. “They see us fall in the water which happens regularly and that’s a huge barrier breaker.”
The Waterfront Crew have worked with the National Trust, Cornwall Marine Network, Eden Partnership, amongst others, and in 2010 they focused on the gateways to Falmouth to encourage visitors to return. “We cleaned the Dell station, Falmouth Docks cruise ship terminal and also the police station gardens,” says Sean. “The head of Devon & Cornwall Police was stunned and recognized our work as a way forward of embracing young people in the community.”
It’s the youngsters who tend to come up with ideas of where to clean. “They start coming up with ideas for a clean up and select a reward and we see if we can make it possible.” Mel laughs. “The clean ups are as much fun as the rewards which is an unexpected result.” There tend to be 6-8 clean ups in a year, mostly in spring and summer, and in winter they estate cleanups inland in the Falmouth area. But neither Sean nor Mel realized what a huge success this would be. “It’s surpassed my expectations,” says Sean. “We’ve had offers to make it a national blueprint but it wouldn’t work because you need to keep it small or you’d lose that personal side.”
The nurturing aspect is the shared part of the role between Mel and the police. “After the first year, we’ve said if the young people wish to continue and work with younger people, we are more than delighted: it’s good for them to work with other age groups. There’s a huge waiting list now.”
So the plan is to continue as they are, looking after Falmouth, the waterfront, and most importantly, the young people of Falmouth. “It’s about giving consistency to those who don’t have much,” says Mel. “We aim to be there as much as we can for them.”
“It’s amazing the stuff that’s dropped onto Falmouth waterfront,” says Mel Bailey, Student Manager at Falmouth School. “We’ve found a gold watch, an entire toilet, a set of false teeth, countless trolleys, stereos, TVs and chairs. On the Roseland we’ve done cleanups by canoe which have been very successful. It’s fun and reaches areas you can’t reach by foot.”
Mel’s talking about some of the work undertaken by the Waterfront Crew, a group of youngsters who work out of school hours to help clean up Falmouth waterfront. In return they receive meals, go sailing or kayaking and learn to work together, so they feel included. As Mel explains, “It's a very simple idea – it's about earning your reward and having fun with it.”
The idea was pioneered in 2007 by Falmouth School in conjunction with Falmouth Police, Falmouth Town Council and local businesses. “We wanted to show the good work that young people can do, make that higher profile to give a boost to their self esteem, and so that the community got to know about them in a balanced way,” explains Mel. “It’s also about a sense of belonging – feeling part of something with others. The bond that has developed between the young people is immense.”
Police Community Support Officer, Sean McDonnell adds, “The waterside area in the town centre looked neglected and no one seemed to take ownership of it, so we thought why don’t we tap into that fantastic natural resource, and clean it up? If we can assist youngsters in trying to take ownership and take care of their own environment we’re helping them develop into good citizens who will want the best for their town,” he continues.
The businesses in the town have been supportive and delighted at what the young people have done, and the cleanups are rewarded with fish and chips, canoeing, sailing, kayaking etc. “From early on the youngsters’ perception was that the town was helping them and providing something, and out of that has come contacts and even employment,” says Sean.
Mel targets young people that she thinks would benefit from the experience, but the selection process is delicate, as she explains: “It’s normally around 20 young people, complemented by extra referrals from the community, the police force, and we blend it in with a mix of other students so they become part of something like any other activity.” It’s all voluntary so it takes place in their own time, after school or at weekends.
Sean adds, “It’s important it’s not seen as a naughty boy reward scheme. So we go for a mix of achievers, some who are vulnerable, young carers, and they grow as a friendship group which has been refreshing to see.” From the policing side, Sean sees other benefits. “It’s built an awful lot of bridges. It’s a great leveler if you’re out trying to kayak or windsurf.” Mel laughs. “They see us fall in the water which happens regularly and that’s a huge barrier breaker.”
The Waterfront Crew have worked with the National Trust, Cornwall Marine Network, Eden Partnership, amongst others, and in 2010 they focused on the gateways to Falmouth to encourage visitors to return. “We cleaned the Dell station, Falmouth Docks cruise ship terminal and also the police station gardens,” says Sean. “The head of Devon & Cornwall Police was stunned and recognized our work as a way forward of embracing young people in the community.”
It’s the youngsters who tend to come up with ideas of where to clean. “They start coming up with ideas for a clean up and select a reward and we see if we can make it possible.” Mel laughs. “The clean ups are as much fun as the rewards which is an unexpected result.” There tend to be 6-8 clean ups in a year, mostly in spring and summer, and in winter they estate cleanups inland in the Falmouth area. But neither Sean nor Mel realized what a huge success this would be. “It’s surpassed my expectations,” says Sean. “We’ve had offers to make it a national blueprint but it wouldn’t work because you need to keep it small or you’d lose that personal side.”
The nurturing aspect is the shared part of the role between Mel and the police. “After the first year, we’ve said if the young people wish to continue and work with younger people, we are more than delighted: it’s good for them to work with other age groups. There’s a huge waiting list now.”
So the plan is to continue as they are, looking after Falmouth, the waterfront, and most importantly, the young people of Falmouth. “It’s about giving consistency to those who don’t have much,” says Mel. “We aim to be there as much as we can for them.”
Jenny Coleman - ditch the research!
“Every knock back and experience helps in a way, even if it feels horrible at the time,” says Jenny Colgan, bestselling author of novels such as Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend, and The Good, the Bad and the Dumped. “Nobody's life is an unparalleled success, and if you want to write about people's trials and tribulations it probably helps to have had some of your own. Of course it sounds really trite to say that now: it didn't feel like that at the time at all.”
Having struggled herself, Jenny can well empathise: something that is often reflected in her books. “After college I started working in hospitals as an NHS trainee - it was awful, I was terrible at it. Really bad,” she says. “It's tough to be trapped in a career that doesn't suit you, and I was always looking around for something more creative to do. I did try stand up comedy, and I met some fantastic people doing it, but I was never any good at it. I also tried cartooning, children's books and sketch writing - being a novelist was the first thing anyone ever said yes to!”
Jenny’s latest novel, Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, is a comedy about a woman following her heart - which longs to bake for people- over all her sensible instincts. “I suppose if there is a theme, it's to try and find something to do for a living that you love,” she says. “And I know better than most people that it isn't easy!”
Before writing the novel, Jenny wasn’t a cook though she enjoyed watching The Great British Bake Off. “I didn't used to be able to cook, then I learned; that's what the book reflects, really. I really do enjoy cooking and baking, but I'm not a fancy chef. I make a terrific fish curry and brilliant cheese scones (not together), basic stuff like that.”
Despite the fact that the novel encompasses setting up a business, financial implications, health and safety etc., Jenny did very little research. “Like almost anyone else I've worked in bars and restaurants in the past, so I have an idea what goes into a catering business. I'm always impressed by people who run their own cafes or restaurants; it's an incredibly hard way to make a living.
“I think a lot of people who want to write get horribly bogged down in research and getting the details right,” she continues. “It's a total waste of time. Get the characters right; try and feel them as living, breathing humans who have something to say, and worry about the details later.”
Jenny tackles some important issues in this novel – redundancy, dementia, single parenthood as well as lack of confidence and setting up a business, yet with a light touch. “I didn't see it as issue tackling, just using the characters to tell a story,” she explains. “I did fall a bit in love with Pearl and Louis though - the single parent family. As soon as I started thinking about how she could manage a job with a child, I realised how unbelievably difficult it must be. I honestly don't choose types to write about, I get a view in my mind's eye of a person then take it from there, follow my instincts as to what their life is like.”
The setting is also important: Meet Me at the Cupcake Café is set in Stoke Newington, an area well known to Jenny. “It's a real melting pot, you get absolutely all sorts of people there. Also it's in London but it's not on the tube, so it has a proper village-y atmosphere right in the middle of all this high-density housing. It's a great place.”
Jenny now lives in the South of France, and she and her husband have a flat in the City of London for her work. Listening to her description of her family, it’s clear why her books are so popular. “Living in the South of France sounds show-offy but if you saw our house you would realise it really isn’t,” Jenny insists. “My husband is a marine engineer and works a lot round here, and we have three children. Wallace is four and likes calamari, trampolining and making loud announcements about just how he will run the world when he is Spiderman; Michael-Francis is nearly two and likes singing lalala, tucking bears under his arms and peering dubiously at new food, and Delphie is brand new and likes sleeping and the way the sun moves across the tree leaves.”
Although writing seems to come naturally to Jenny, not all her books have been easy to write. “Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend was the hardest to write,” she says. “It was really, really hard to get the tone right; to make this spoiled rich girl sympathetic. My editor and I must have ripped the whole thing apart about four times. I think it's rather good now, but there was a lot of unsightly tugging and sticking going on behind the scenes.” Whereas other books came out with very little effort: “Class, which I wrote as Jane Beaton, just tumbled out, easy as pie, in about four months; we barely changed a word of it.”
When it comes to what makes a good novel, Jenny believes page turning quality is vital. “It's really important, especially when we're all so busy and distracted all the time. My books are meant to be fun, and funny, and I hope I give readers a real urge to keep turning the pages. There's not much I like better than getting into a hot bath with a good book and a big mug of tea.”
Jenny is a self confessed bookworm: “I will read high, low, and the Richard and Judy lists in between. All that matters to me is that it’s good.” Her definition of good writers is eclectic – “Liz Jensen blows my socks off. The Rapture knocked me out. Curtis Sittenfeld is great.” She pauses. “Kashuo Ishiguro- imagine writing Remains of the Day AND Never Let Me Go in one career. I think both of those novels are perfect. Who else? Dan Rhodes is great, Jon Krakeur, and I think the best non-fiction writer at the moment is Michael Lewis.”
It’s clear that Jenny loves her work as “novelist, journalist and occasional radio big gob”. What she particularly enjoys is “Being your own boss, and the sheer fun of it, the chance to disappear into your very own world for a few hours a day.” She smiles. “Plus people are nice to you, and other writers are on the whole really nice, interesting people, and the parties are good.”
So is there anything that she dislikes, or would like to change? “I worry about the future for my industry, but I don't think I'm alone in that; a lot of industries are going through a lot of change.”
Like many writers, Jenny has found social networking to be a bonus for feedback. “Twitter is brill (I'm @jennycolgan); it's a lovely place to interact with readers directly.” But like many authors she steers clear of Amazon reviews. “You can always find something to spoil your day. The best feedback is good sales, it makes me so happy when people are obviously enjoying something and telling their friends.”
Jenny has written and spoken much in defence of ‘chick lit’ as a genre, and is rightly proud of her contribution to commercial women’s fiction. But the fact remains that public opinion is still very dismissive, even though many of these novels tackle vital and often rarely discussed issues. Jenny believes it’s because of “Sexism. That and the fact that a lot of people who don't read very much are idiots.” So who is at fault for this misconception?
“You know what, I’m not sure how much of a problem it is,” she continues. “These books do tackle important issues, and it's entirely possible that having a pink, or genre cover means they reach more people than they would otherwise. I'd much, much rather write a book that reached out to hundreds of thousands of people that had a pastel jacket, than a slim novella with a 1920s photograph on it that was well-reviewed and completely unread except by four blokes wearing expensive glasses who live in quirky apartments.”
There’s no danger of Jenny’s books being read by a mere four people, and her army of fans will all hope she continues to keep writing her intriguing, satisfying books. So how would she like to be remembered? “Like every other single person on this earth: as that old, old person who died safe and warm in her bed, surrounded by people who loved her.”
Meet me at the Cupcake Café is published by Sphere April 2011
Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams is published by Sphere March 2012
Writers' Forum March 2012
Having struggled herself, Jenny can well empathise: something that is often reflected in her books. “After college I started working in hospitals as an NHS trainee - it was awful, I was terrible at it. Really bad,” she says. “It's tough to be trapped in a career that doesn't suit you, and I was always looking around for something more creative to do. I did try stand up comedy, and I met some fantastic people doing it, but I was never any good at it. I also tried cartooning, children's books and sketch writing - being a novelist was the first thing anyone ever said yes to!”
Jenny’s latest novel, Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, is a comedy about a woman following her heart - which longs to bake for people- over all her sensible instincts. “I suppose if there is a theme, it's to try and find something to do for a living that you love,” she says. “And I know better than most people that it isn't easy!”
Before writing the novel, Jenny wasn’t a cook though she enjoyed watching The Great British Bake Off. “I didn't used to be able to cook, then I learned; that's what the book reflects, really. I really do enjoy cooking and baking, but I'm not a fancy chef. I make a terrific fish curry and brilliant cheese scones (not together), basic stuff like that.”
Despite the fact that the novel encompasses setting up a business, financial implications, health and safety etc., Jenny did very little research. “Like almost anyone else I've worked in bars and restaurants in the past, so I have an idea what goes into a catering business. I'm always impressed by people who run their own cafes or restaurants; it's an incredibly hard way to make a living.
“I think a lot of people who want to write get horribly bogged down in research and getting the details right,” she continues. “It's a total waste of time. Get the characters right; try and feel them as living, breathing humans who have something to say, and worry about the details later.”
Jenny tackles some important issues in this novel – redundancy, dementia, single parenthood as well as lack of confidence and setting up a business, yet with a light touch. “I didn't see it as issue tackling, just using the characters to tell a story,” she explains. “I did fall a bit in love with Pearl and Louis though - the single parent family. As soon as I started thinking about how she could manage a job with a child, I realised how unbelievably difficult it must be. I honestly don't choose types to write about, I get a view in my mind's eye of a person then take it from there, follow my instincts as to what their life is like.”
The setting is also important: Meet Me at the Cupcake Café is set in Stoke Newington, an area well known to Jenny. “It's a real melting pot, you get absolutely all sorts of people there. Also it's in London but it's not on the tube, so it has a proper village-y atmosphere right in the middle of all this high-density housing. It's a great place.”
Jenny now lives in the South of France, and she and her husband have a flat in the City of London for her work. Listening to her description of her family, it’s clear why her books are so popular. “Living in the South of France sounds show-offy but if you saw our house you would realise it really isn’t,” Jenny insists. “My husband is a marine engineer and works a lot round here, and we have three children. Wallace is four and likes calamari, trampolining and making loud announcements about just how he will run the world when he is Spiderman; Michael-Francis is nearly two and likes singing lalala, tucking bears under his arms and peering dubiously at new food, and Delphie is brand new and likes sleeping and the way the sun moves across the tree leaves.”
Although writing seems to come naturally to Jenny, not all her books have been easy to write. “Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend was the hardest to write,” she says. “It was really, really hard to get the tone right; to make this spoiled rich girl sympathetic. My editor and I must have ripped the whole thing apart about four times. I think it's rather good now, but there was a lot of unsightly tugging and sticking going on behind the scenes.” Whereas other books came out with very little effort: “Class, which I wrote as Jane Beaton, just tumbled out, easy as pie, in about four months; we barely changed a word of it.”
When it comes to what makes a good novel, Jenny believes page turning quality is vital. “It's really important, especially when we're all so busy and distracted all the time. My books are meant to be fun, and funny, and I hope I give readers a real urge to keep turning the pages. There's not much I like better than getting into a hot bath with a good book and a big mug of tea.”
Jenny is a self confessed bookworm: “I will read high, low, and the Richard and Judy lists in between. All that matters to me is that it’s good.” Her definition of good writers is eclectic – “Liz Jensen blows my socks off. The Rapture knocked me out. Curtis Sittenfeld is great.” She pauses. “Kashuo Ishiguro- imagine writing Remains of the Day AND Never Let Me Go in one career. I think both of those novels are perfect. Who else? Dan Rhodes is great, Jon Krakeur, and I think the best non-fiction writer at the moment is Michael Lewis.”
It’s clear that Jenny loves her work as “novelist, journalist and occasional radio big gob”. What she particularly enjoys is “Being your own boss, and the sheer fun of it, the chance to disappear into your very own world for a few hours a day.” She smiles. “Plus people are nice to you, and other writers are on the whole really nice, interesting people, and the parties are good.”
So is there anything that she dislikes, or would like to change? “I worry about the future for my industry, but I don't think I'm alone in that; a lot of industries are going through a lot of change.”
Like many writers, Jenny has found social networking to be a bonus for feedback. “Twitter is brill (I'm @jennycolgan); it's a lovely place to interact with readers directly.” But like many authors she steers clear of Amazon reviews. “You can always find something to spoil your day. The best feedback is good sales, it makes me so happy when people are obviously enjoying something and telling their friends.”
Jenny has written and spoken much in defence of ‘chick lit’ as a genre, and is rightly proud of her contribution to commercial women’s fiction. But the fact remains that public opinion is still very dismissive, even though many of these novels tackle vital and often rarely discussed issues. Jenny believes it’s because of “Sexism. That and the fact that a lot of people who don't read very much are idiots.” So who is at fault for this misconception?
“You know what, I’m not sure how much of a problem it is,” she continues. “These books do tackle important issues, and it's entirely possible that having a pink, or genre cover means they reach more people than they would otherwise. I'd much, much rather write a book that reached out to hundreds of thousands of people that had a pastel jacket, than a slim novella with a 1920s photograph on it that was well-reviewed and completely unread except by four blokes wearing expensive glasses who live in quirky apartments.”
There’s no danger of Jenny’s books being read by a mere four people, and her army of fans will all hope she continues to keep writing her intriguing, satisfying books. So how would she like to be remembered? “Like every other single person on this earth: as that old, old person who died safe and warm in her bed, surrounded by people who loved her.”
Meet me at the Cupcake Café is published by Sphere April 2011
Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams is published by Sphere March 2012
Writers' Forum March 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Ian Rankin
The secret of good research, and how to play God
“I find writing crime quite cathartic – it gets it out of your system, so crime writers tend to be fairly well balanced people,” says Ian Rankin. Crime fiction is also brilliant if you want to write social realism – the problems we have in society whether economic, racism, it’s a great medium for exploring these questions. I there’s a preoccupation with Scottish writing per se - the notion that we all carry within us the ability to be good and to be evil.” He pauses. “If you look at The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, you’re never sure if she’s a force for evil or for good and I like the ambiguity. Are some people born evil or made evil?”
Ian Rankin’s soft Scottish burr gives an added intensity to the ideas that bubble out of him like spring water. As the UK’s number one bestselling crime author, he has won numerous awards and is most famous for his Inspector Rebus books which have been translated into 23 languages and are bestsellers on several continents as well as being made into a major TV series.
But Rebus wasn’t popular straight away. “It was book 7 or 8 before I hit the bestseller lists,” says Ian, “I was lucky that publishers would take a risk then, i.e. publishing at a loss for a long time in the hope that eventually they would find an audience. When the books did find an audience it was a big one.”
So why are the Rebus books so popular? “He’s a conflicted character with a lot of baggage – he’s not easy to get on with.” Ian laughs. “I guess male readers like him because he can do things they wish they could still do, such as play rock music late into the night, and drink whisky. I don’t know why women like him – maybe they want to change him. They seem to want him to stop smoking and have a decent meal.” He pauses. “But he’s a maverick, and we all have a soft spot for mavericks.”
The Impossible Dead, out October 2011, sees the return of Malcolm Fox. “Having spent some time with Malcolm I felt the process wasn’t yet complete so I thought I’d find something else for him to do. I liked the milieu he works in – Internal Affairs, and the idea of cops who are more like professional voyeurs – they are investigating themselves so they are liked by nobody,” Ian explains. “To be that kind of person you have to have a certain mentality that is pretty much 180 degrees from Rebus.”
A sense of place is very important in Rankin’s books. “The Rebus books have a strong sense of Edinburgh,” explains Ian. “I think it’s something that crime fiction does very well. You can walk through Maigret’s Paris, or Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles, and I wanted to show a side of Edinburgh that people don’t usually see, and I thought a detective was a good way to do that because police have access to different layers of society.” He pauses. “I still write about Edinburgh because I still haven’t found out what makes it tick.” For those eager to experience Edinburgh through Rebus’s eyes, there is now the Rebus Walking Tour and if you have an Iphone Rebus has his own App. “I think readers like that it takes place in a real city with real pubs and a real police station; as an author it helps to get the readers to suspend disbelief. If they know that this stuff is real they might start to believe that what I write is also real.”
Having read his books, it’s surprising to hear that he doesn’t do a lot of research. “I’m not research heavy. I go to the police if I have a specific problem but I don’t want my books to be PR exercises for the police.” The research doesn’t come till after Ian starts writing. “I get a question that I want to try and answer, and find a plot to allow me to do that. Then once I’ve done work on the structure I start writing. Between the first and second draft I’ll go and visit the place. An agent said to me a long time ago, ‘Keep writing, do the research after.’ Sometimes you can know too much and the secret of good research is to persuade the reader that you’ve done it without hitting them over the head with a sledgehammer.”
When it comes to the requisites for a good crime novel, Ian believes there is no easy answer. “There are tightly structured whodunnits like Jonathan Creek which are about solving the puzzle, or some books are about spending quality time with a character detective. Other books explore a sense of place in a different culture like Vienna or Los Angeles, and some books are about social commentary and ask big moral questions about the state of the world.” Ian pauses. “Put them all together and you get a rollercoaster ride of tension and danger thrown in which for a reader is about getting ‘a lot of bang for your buck,’ as the Americans would say. Hopefully you’re getting all of those.”
Given all the ingredients required, Ian does not plan his books in any detail. “I’ve never been to a creative writing class: I’ve tried teaching it and find it incredibly difficult because I just write off the top of my head most of the time,” he explains. “I’ve got a theme I want to explore, I’ve got the inklings of a plot, I’ve got enough notes to write the first 20 to 30 pages and by the time I’ve written these first 30 pages I’ve introduced a cast of characters and I’ve decided which are relevant, but the story constantly surprises me.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when I start writing: the book knows what’s going to happen, but I don’t. And so the story will say, ‘hang on , Ian, we need to go here now because that guy who walked out 20 pages ago is the guy who was in the hotel that night’. And I go, ‘oh right! I didn’t know that!’ So the first draft of the book is me playing detective: getting to know the characters and their motives and how useful they can be. I don’t take a lot of notes before I start but I make notes as I go along during the course of the first draft.” He pauses. “It all gets tidied up in the 2nd or 3rd draft. The first draft is making sure the plot makes sense. I write that very quickly – in about 2 months. The 2nd/3rd draft puts meat on the skeleton of the characters, colours in the settings so they are vibrant and realistic, makes sure the theme is there; that’s when the hard work gets done. Then it gets finished about mid June.”
So what does Ian find hardest about writing crime? “Making it all work! You’ve usually got a large cast of characters, maybe 3 or 4 different subplots that eventually need to meet up, and I don’t know how it will end. It’s only when I get to know the characters that I know who the potential villains are. And there is this fear that this time you’re going to fall flat on your face: that it won’t work out.”
Of course Ian Rankin’s books always work out in the end, a fact that he doesn’t take for granted. “The most enjoyable moments are when I start to see connections between characters and plots. But sometimes it can be the second draft when that happens which is really quite worrying.”
Having written since he was a young boy, it’s clear that Ian has found his métier in life and loves it. “I get to play God!” He laughs. “This morning there was a big queue in the post office: a guy at the head of the queue was taking his time, holding everyone up, and I can just come home and kill him! That is quite cathartic – the power of life and death.” He pauses. “Also I think writers are all children who’ve refused to grow up so we still play with imaginary friends. It keeps you young,” he adds cheerfully.
When it comes to advice for writers, Ian believes that reading is vital. “Read lots of writers and maybe early on copy their style, whether consciously or sub consciously, and only through doing that does your own style emerge,” he says. “You have to have a story that you don’t think anyone else is doing, but apart from that there really are no rules. The structure for a crime novel is crime, investigation, resolution, but within that you can do pretty much anything you want.” He pauses. “And if you’re really clever you don’t even need to stick to that.”
The Impossible Dead is published by Orion October 2011
Writers' Forum January 2012
“I find writing crime quite cathartic – it gets it out of your system, so crime writers tend to be fairly well balanced people,” says Ian Rankin. Crime fiction is also brilliant if you want to write social realism – the problems we have in society whether economic, racism, it’s a great medium for exploring these questions. I there’s a preoccupation with Scottish writing per se - the notion that we all carry within us the ability to be good and to be evil.” He pauses. “If you look at The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, you’re never sure if she’s a force for evil or for good and I like the ambiguity. Are some people born evil or made evil?”
Ian Rankin’s soft Scottish burr gives an added intensity to the ideas that bubble out of him like spring water. As the UK’s number one bestselling crime author, he has won numerous awards and is most famous for his Inspector Rebus books which have been translated into 23 languages and are bestsellers on several continents as well as being made into a major TV series.
But Rebus wasn’t popular straight away. “It was book 7 or 8 before I hit the bestseller lists,” says Ian, “I was lucky that publishers would take a risk then, i.e. publishing at a loss for a long time in the hope that eventually they would find an audience. When the books did find an audience it was a big one.”
So why are the Rebus books so popular? “He’s a conflicted character with a lot of baggage – he’s not easy to get on with.” Ian laughs. “I guess male readers like him because he can do things they wish they could still do, such as play rock music late into the night, and drink whisky. I don’t know why women like him – maybe they want to change him. They seem to want him to stop smoking and have a decent meal.” He pauses. “But he’s a maverick, and we all have a soft spot for mavericks.”
The Impossible Dead, out October 2011, sees the return of Malcolm Fox. “Having spent some time with Malcolm I felt the process wasn’t yet complete so I thought I’d find something else for him to do. I liked the milieu he works in – Internal Affairs, and the idea of cops who are more like professional voyeurs – they are investigating themselves so they are liked by nobody,” Ian explains. “To be that kind of person you have to have a certain mentality that is pretty much 180 degrees from Rebus.”
A sense of place is very important in Rankin’s books. “The Rebus books have a strong sense of Edinburgh,” explains Ian. “I think it’s something that crime fiction does very well. You can walk through Maigret’s Paris, or Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles, and I wanted to show a side of Edinburgh that people don’t usually see, and I thought a detective was a good way to do that because police have access to different layers of society.” He pauses. “I still write about Edinburgh because I still haven’t found out what makes it tick.” For those eager to experience Edinburgh through Rebus’s eyes, there is now the Rebus Walking Tour and if you have an Iphone Rebus has his own App. “I think readers like that it takes place in a real city with real pubs and a real police station; as an author it helps to get the readers to suspend disbelief. If they know that this stuff is real they might start to believe that what I write is also real.”
Having read his books, it’s surprising to hear that he doesn’t do a lot of research. “I’m not research heavy. I go to the police if I have a specific problem but I don’t want my books to be PR exercises for the police.” The research doesn’t come till after Ian starts writing. “I get a question that I want to try and answer, and find a plot to allow me to do that. Then once I’ve done work on the structure I start writing. Between the first and second draft I’ll go and visit the place. An agent said to me a long time ago, ‘Keep writing, do the research after.’ Sometimes you can know too much and the secret of good research is to persuade the reader that you’ve done it without hitting them over the head with a sledgehammer.”
When it comes to the requisites for a good crime novel, Ian believes there is no easy answer. “There are tightly structured whodunnits like Jonathan Creek which are about solving the puzzle, or some books are about spending quality time with a character detective. Other books explore a sense of place in a different culture like Vienna or Los Angeles, and some books are about social commentary and ask big moral questions about the state of the world.” Ian pauses. “Put them all together and you get a rollercoaster ride of tension and danger thrown in which for a reader is about getting ‘a lot of bang for your buck,’ as the Americans would say. Hopefully you’re getting all of those.”
Given all the ingredients required, Ian does not plan his books in any detail. “I’ve never been to a creative writing class: I’ve tried teaching it and find it incredibly difficult because I just write off the top of my head most of the time,” he explains. “I’ve got a theme I want to explore, I’ve got the inklings of a plot, I’ve got enough notes to write the first 20 to 30 pages and by the time I’ve written these first 30 pages I’ve introduced a cast of characters and I’ve decided which are relevant, but the story constantly surprises me.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when I start writing: the book knows what’s going to happen, but I don’t. And so the story will say, ‘hang on , Ian, we need to go here now because that guy who walked out 20 pages ago is the guy who was in the hotel that night’. And I go, ‘oh right! I didn’t know that!’ So the first draft of the book is me playing detective: getting to know the characters and their motives and how useful they can be. I don’t take a lot of notes before I start but I make notes as I go along during the course of the first draft.” He pauses. “It all gets tidied up in the 2nd or 3rd draft. The first draft is making sure the plot makes sense. I write that very quickly – in about 2 months. The 2nd/3rd draft puts meat on the skeleton of the characters, colours in the settings so they are vibrant and realistic, makes sure the theme is there; that’s when the hard work gets done. Then it gets finished about mid June.”
So what does Ian find hardest about writing crime? “Making it all work! You’ve usually got a large cast of characters, maybe 3 or 4 different subplots that eventually need to meet up, and I don’t know how it will end. It’s only when I get to know the characters that I know who the potential villains are. And there is this fear that this time you’re going to fall flat on your face: that it won’t work out.”
Of course Ian Rankin’s books always work out in the end, a fact that he doesn’t take for granted. “The most enjoyable moments are when I start to see connections between characters and plots. But sometimes it can be the second draft when that happens which is really quite worrying.”
Having written since he was a young boy, it’s clear that Ian has found his métier in life and loves it. “I get to play God!” He laughs. “This morning there was a big queue in the post office: a guy at the head of the queue was taking his time, holding everyone up, and I can just come home and kill him! That is quite cathartic – the power of life and death.” He pauses. “Also I think writers are all children who’ve refused to grow up so we still play with imaginary friends. It keeps you young,” he adds cheerfully.
When it comes to advice for writers, Ian believes that reading is vital. “Read lots of writers and maybe early on copy their style, whether consciously or sub consciously, and only through doing that does your own style emerge,” he says. “You have to have a story that you don’t think anyone else is doing, but apart from that there really are no rules. The structure for a crime novel is crime, investigation, resolution, but within that you can do pretty much anything you want.” He pauses. “And if you’re really clever you don’t even need to stick to that.”
The Impossible Dead is published by Orion October 2011
Writers' Forum January 2012
Monday, August 8, 2011
BILL BRYSON
BLENDING HUMOUR ONTO EVERY PAGE
“I do think one of the most adorable and admirable qualities of British people is their sense of humour,” says Bill Bryson. “It’s the best sense of humour in the world.” And as an American famous for his highly entertaining books, he should know.
“I think humour is just something I naturally do,” he explains in his measured, quiet voice. “We all have certain language skills that we do well and things we don’t do so well. I always struggle with descriptive passages or lyrical prose, but I seem to have more of a knack for seeing a joke and I learned to make a virtue of that.” He smiles. “Technically it’s a real challenge to write humour successfully but I find it’s very satisfying.”
Though of course Bill doesn’t just write humour – he has written books about travel, the English language, science, history, a memoir, his love of the English countryside, and about the home. “I’d gladly write another 25 books if I thought I was going to live long enough,” he continues. “I think from now onwards, I have to start getting more selective and for that reason I’m taking more care in committing to the next book. But I haven’t made a decision yet.”
Bill grew up surrounded by books. “We had floor to ceiling bookshelves and I used to go in and just take these books down - I had no idea what I was reading and discovered people like P.G. Wodehouse and Robert Benchley; all funny writers.” But it was Wodehouse that made an impression on the young American. “P.G. Wodehouse particularly seemed wildly exotic, describing life in England in a way that I had no personal connection to; it was just funny and engaging. That was very important to me - not just in writing in a way that made people laugh, but also being able to connect with people.”
Bill’s parents were both journalists so it was no surprise that he chose to become one.
“I wasn’t under pressure but it was just the natural progression, and English was the only thing I was ever any good at,” he explains. “I didn’t have any scientific or mathematical aptitude.” So Bill worked as a sub in Bournemouth, then went to London. “I worked for the Times, and then I worked on the Independent when it first started which was a very exciting period.” He smiles. “I’m proud to say I was one of the founding journalists (of the Independent) - though not a very important one,” he adds. “Then we moved to Yorkshire and I quit my job and was a freelance all the time.”
The move from journalism to writing books was a gradual one. “When I was working at the Evening Echo in Bournemouth, I started doing freelance articles to earn more money as I had a young family, and little by little I discovered it was something I enjoyed very much. I started writing books in my spare time and I thought this is what I would really like to do – not commute into London every day and fight the crowds and all of that, but live in a nice rural, idyllic spot and write for a living.” He pauses. “At the time I wrote articles and books – you know, anything that people would pay for – and that’s what I have done ever since.”
Bill’s writing day starts very early, before he’s properly awake. “I get up around 5-5.30 at this time of year and have one cup of coffee with my wife, and we have a brief chat about what we intend to achieve that day.” And his endearing honesty is one reason why his books are so incredibly popular. “Then I take my second cup of coffee and go to my desk and start writing before I have any time to reflect on how little I want to work - that’s the only way I can do it. If I went to check things in the greenhouse, I would never get back to my desk.”
When it comes to planning his books, Bill needs to know where they are going. “I don’t necessarily write them sequentially; I hop around a bit, but I do need a clear idea of what ground I’m going to cover and how to link all these things up.” He frowns. “Sometimes you discover things or stumble across devices as you work away on it, but at other times, in a weird way, what goes on in your head doesn’t actually seem to relate to what comes out of your fingertips.”
His current book, At Home, came about when his family returned from America to live in England in 2003 and it was time to come up with the idea for a new book. “I’d just written A Short History of Nearly Everything and took on the whole universe and I thought what’s left to do? I was sitting at the kitchen table and realized that a house is sort of a universe in its own right. The idea was that I would wander from room to room and write a history of the world from the perspective of each room, and how those rooms had been lived in throughout history. So the bedroom would be the history of sex and sleep, the bathroom of hygiene, the kitchen cooking and so on.”
For such a prolific writer, I was surprised when Bill announced that all his books have been “a nightmare” to write. But the hardest was A Walk in the Woods, about walking the Appalachian Trail. “Essentially we were just walking which is the hardest thing in the world to write about,” he explains. “I felt there was no material for a book and I felt quite gloomy about the whole thing. So when I finally managed to get a book out of this experience, I felt most pleased.” He pauses. “I realized of course that things did happen but I didn’t necessarily pay much attention to them at the time. This happens every time I write a travel book.”
It is clear that Bill is content with his life, although not so happy about getting older. “I turned 60 this year and it does make you realize that there is a finite period. But I very much enjoy writing and I don’t want to stop working: I feel lucky to be able to do it.” He gives another slow smile. “Writing to me is the greatest indulgence in the world because I can indulge a huge area of curiosity and make a living from it. I can’t think of a better wheeze than that!”
Although he concedes that life is tougher now. “It’s harder being freelance. One of the things that I used to be able to do was sell the same articles over and over. One to the Washington Post and then to the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune and you can’t do that any more because you sell it to the Washington Post and they put it online and they have world rights. So it’s become a lot harder to find markets for some things.”
But when it comes to new writers getting published, Bill is pragmatic. “It is difficult but it’s always been difficult, and a lot of aspiring writers think that it’s a question of being sprinkled with fairy dust, whereas it’s actually mostly hard work and application and the ability to withstand rejection and keep plugging away.” He pauses. “Just go into any big bookshop and look at all those books - every single one of those writers was unknown when they started out. Half a million books get published every year so it’s not that remarkable a thing – it’s a question of persevering. Though if you do fail again and again you do have to ask yourself is this the right line of work for me?
“You have to be able to take rejection without taking it personally,” he continues. At first it’s natural to feel slightly crushed and that the odds are stacked against you. But I don’t think publishing is stacked against you any more than life is generally. Assuming that you have some talent and a real story to tell then things will come good for you.”
At Home is published by Transworld, out now.
Writers' Forum August 2011
“I do think one of the most adorable and admirable qualities of British people is their sense of humour,” says Bill Bryson. “It’s the best sense of humour in the world.” And as an American famous for his highly entertaining books, he should know.
“I think humour is just something I naturally do,” he explains in his measured, quiet voice. “We all have certain language skills that we do well and things we don’t do so well. I always struggle with descriptive passages or lyrical prose, but I seem to have more of a knack for seeing a joke and I learned to make a virtue of that.” He smiles. “Technically it’s a real challenge to write humour successfully but I find it’s very satisfying.”
Though of course Bill doesn’t just write humour – he has written books about travel, the English language, science, history, a memoir, his love of the English countryside, and about the home. “I’d gladly write another 25 books if I thought I was going to live long enough,” he continues. “I think from now onwards, I have to start getting more selective and for that reason I’m taking more care in committing to the next book. But I haven’t made a decision yet.”
Bill grew up surrounded by books. “We had floor to ceiling bookshelves and I used to go in and just take these books down - I had no idea what I was reading and discovered people like P.G. Wodehouse and Robert Benchley; all funny writers.” But it was Wodehouse that made an impression on the young American. “P.G. Wodehouse particularly seemed wildly exotic, describing life in England in a way that I had no personal connection to; it was just funny and engaging. That was very important to me - not just in writing in a way that made people laugh, but also being able to connect with people.”
Bill’s parents were both journalists so it was no surprise that he chose to become one.
“I wasn’t under pressure but it was just the natural progression, and English was the only thing I was ever any good at,” he explains. “I didn’t have any scientific or mathematical aptitude.” So Bill worked as a sub in Bournemouth, then went to London. “I worked for the Times, and then I worked on the Independent when it first started which was a very exciting period.” He smiles. “I’m proud to say I was one of the founding journalists (of the Independent) - though not a very important one,” he adds. “Then we moved to Yorkshire and I quit my job and was a freelance all the time.”
The move from journalism to writing books was a gradual one. “When I was working at the Evening Echo in Bournemouth, I started doing freelance articles to earn more money as I had a young family, and little by little I discovered it was something I enjoyed very much. I started writing books in my spare time and I thought this is what I would really like to do – not commute into London every day and fight the crowds and all of that, but live in a nice rural, idyllic spot and write for a living.” He pauses. “At the time I wrote articles and books – you know, anything that people would pay for – and that’s what I have done ever since.”
Bill’s writing day starts very early, before he’s properly awake. “I get up around 5-5.30 at this time of year and have one cup of coffee with my wife, and we have a brief chat about what we intend to achieve that day.” And his endearing honesty is one reason why his books are so incredibly popular. “Then I take my second cup of coffee and go to my desk and start writing before I have any time to reflect on how little I want to work - that’s the only way I can do it. If I went to check things in the greenhouse, I would never get back to my desk.”
When it comes to planning his books, Bill needs to know where they are going. “I don’t necessarily write them sequentially; I hop around a bit, but I do need a clear idea of what ground I’m going to cover and how to link all these things up.” He frowns. “Sometimes you discover things or stumble across devices as you work away on it, but at other times, in a weird way, what goes on in your head doesn’t actually seem to relate to what comes out of your fingertips.”
His current book, At Home, came about when his family returned from America to live in England in 2003 and it was time to come up with the idea for a new book. “I’d just written A Short History of Nearly Everything and took on the whole universe and I thought what’s left to do? I was sitting at the kitchen table and realized that a house is sort of a universe in its own right. The idea was that I would wander from room to room and write a history of the world from the perspective of each room, and how those rooms had been lived in throughout history. So the bedroom would be the history of sex and sleep, the bathroom of hygiene, the kitchen cooking and so on.”
For such a prolific writer, I was surprised when Bill announced that all his books have been “a nightmare” to write. But the hardest was A Walk in the Woods, about walking the Appalachian Trail. “Essentially we were just walking which is the hardest thing in the world to write about,” he explains. “I felt there was no material for a book and I felt quite gloomy about the whole thing. So when I finally managed to get a book out of this experience, I felt most pleased.” He pauses. “I realized of course that things did happen but I didn’t necessarily pay much attention to them at the time. This happens every time I write a travel book.”
It is clear that Bill is content with his life, although not so happy about getting older. “I turned 60 this year and it does make you realize that there is a finite period. But I very much enjoy writing and I don’t want to stop working: I feel lucky to be able to do it.” He gives another slow smile. “Writing to me is the greatest indulgence in the world because I can indulge a huge area of curiosity and make a living from it. I can’t think of a better wheeze than that!”
Although he concedes that life is tougher now. “It’s harder being freelance. One of the things that I used to be able to do was sell the same articles over and over. One to the Washington Post and then to the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune and you can’t do that any more because you sell it to the Washington Post and they put it online and they have world rights. So it’s become a lot harder to find markets for some things.”
But when it comes to new writers getting published, Bill is pragmatic. “It is difficult but it’s always been difficult, and a lot of aspiring writers think that it’s a question of being sprinkled with fairy dust, whereas it’s actually mostly hard work and application and the ability to withstand rejection and keep plugging away.” He pauses. “Just go into any big bookshop and look at all those books - every single one of those writers was unknown when they started out. Half a million books get published every year so it’s not that remarkable a thing – it’s a question of persevering. Though if you do fail again and again you do have to ask yourself is this the right line of work for me?
“You have to be able to take rejection without taking it personally,” he continues. At first it’s natural to feel slightly crushed and that the odds are stacked against you. But I don’t think publishing is stacked against you any more than life is generally. Assuming that you have some talent and a real story to tell then things will come good for you.”
At Home is published by Transworld, out now.
Writers' Forum August 2011
Par Walk
Airing our hangovers with “foreign” friends from over the Tamar
I originally met John and Annie as they lived in the same village as my mum. Over the last few years we've had holidays together: my husband did the cooking, while John and Annie and I explored before settling down to enjoy Pip’s cooking. Last time, John had a bad back so we decided on a shortish circular walk starting off at Par Beach to air our hangovers.
From Fowey, we took the main St Austell road (A3082), turning left just before the railway bridge at the bottom of Polmear Hill, past the Ship pub. Continuing along this road for several hundred yards, we parked in the car park on the left, near Par Beach, which is free in winter.
We walked back towards the Ship pub with a row of almshouses next door: these were built in 1650 by the Rashleigh family and converted into modern houses in 1977/8. By Chapel Cottage there is a Saints Way sign and a yellow waymark leading uphill to a very steep path, populated by holly trees with rich red berries and festooned with particularly vicious nettles which weren't good for myself and John, both wearing shorts. We struggled and panted up the path which led to a large field at the top of the hill populated by five very lovely horses.
John was route master for this walk, and directed us across the field where a faint path could be seen through the grass heading towards the trees on the skyline. Looking down over the huge Par Beach is a fabulous sight: St Austell Bay stretched out in the distance, while the china clay chimneys smouldered around Par Harbour, and we could see a huge pool, next door to the caravan park.
John found some mushrooms here but discarded them as not being good enough – having picked them since he was a child he is something of a connoisseur. We turned right here, parallel to the hedge, heading inland until we reached another stile on the right, with a rotted waymark sign lying forlornly on the ground. We walked diagonally left until we reached a double wooden and granite stile in the corner of the field which led us to the busy, fast road heading down Polmear Hill.
Hurrying over the road we reached the pavement on the opposite side and headed uphill. Ahead was a road sign to Polkerris Beach and Menabilly on the right and we took that, past the sign to Trill Horse Trail and walked along, passed a lone letterbox. Turning right again down to Polkerris, the clouds parted and we walked down the narrow and steep hill with high banks on either side smelling of warm wet earth from the recent rain, fresh autumn air, and a sudden blast of white sunshine gleaming off glossy ivy leaves. Blackbirds sang on either side as we passed underneath the remains of a footbridge, with dense, ivy clad woods on either side.
We walked past a cottage draped in Virginia Creeper and a couple of blue tits feeding in the garden and continued down to Polkerris which consists of several pretty whitewashed cottages with beautiful fuchsias growing in abundance outside. Until the end of the 19th century, Polkerris had one of the largest fish cellars in Cornwall, which still dominate the beach, and a huge fleet of seine boats.
At the bottom of the hill is the Rashleigh Arms, which was orginally in what is now the car park: the present pub building was once a boat shed. The granite wall of the harbour curved like a strong protective arm, and John pointed out several canons tipped up to act as bollards. This pier was built by the Rashleigh family around 1730 and what is now Sam's cafe was the old lifeboat house. John disappeared into the pub to get coffee for our hangovers, while Annie and Mollie and I sat outside in the garden admiring the view over St Austell Bay with the stunningly placed golf course off to the right.
“Don't get too comfortable,” John said a few minutes later. “They don't open till 12.” As it was only 10.30, we headed up the hill in front of a couple of cottages with gardens on either side, planted on an almost sheer cliff face. Fishing nets had been used as bird cages to tend the late raspberries, and Evening Primrose towered on either side of us, nodding lemon yellow heads as we climbed.
At the top we found a bench where we sat and digested the view as we sipped our bottles of water. Far below us a very young father with baby strapped to his body, wandered from the beach to the cafe, back into the car park. “He's probably been awake all night and is frantic for caffeine,” said Annie.
Heading back along the coastal path, we were greeted by the last of the blackberries, devoured by Annie, gradually acquiring a black mouth. Bright red and orange berries glistened in the hedges next to big fat sloes, making us think of sloe gin, and winter log fires. Old Man's Beard grew in abundance next to hawthorn bushes covered in grey-green fingers of lichen.
A cacophony of crows gathered and screeched above us, warned off by seagulls. “What's the collective noun for a group of crows?” asked John. “A congregation?” None of us knew, but having looked it up it is “a murder”: very apt, thinking of The Birds, and this being du Maurier country.
The sun was shining silver on the water far out to sea so we stopped and stared in admiration, while the tip of Gribben Head was just visible over the tops of the far hills. As we looked back, the young father appeared, baby still strapped to his stomach, and suddenly a skein of Canada geese flew over head, honking loudly. To our left, over the sea, flew a bunch of oyster catchers with their eerie scream as we turned the corner and a beautiful hill rose up on our right, in smooth emerald green. The path wound round back to where we started at Par beach, and we noticed the Canada Geese coming in to land on the pond at Par.
As we walked the last of the footpath, the ground was splattered with dark blackberry juice and we climbed down steep steps, over a little bridge and back to where we'd parked the car. Climbing onto the sand dunes, we looked out over Par Sands, where a couple of collies played tag in the lazy waves rippling on the edge of the sea. The sand was studded with silvery reflections and the sun beat down like a blessing. We sighed happily, hangovers gone. What could be better?
FACTBOX
OS Explorer Map 107 St Austell and Liskeard
Grading: a few steep hills, paths can be very muddy after rain. Varied views, landscape and wildlife.
Walk: 2.5 miles
Length: just under 1.5 hours
Dogs are allowed on Par Beach all year round.
Car park at Par Beach £2.10 all day at time of writing. Car park also at Polkerris.
Public toilets at Polkerris
Refreshments: Ship Inn at Par, Rashleigh Arms and Sam's cafe, Polkerris cafe at Polkerris
Cornwall Today 2011
I originally met John and Annie as they lived in the same village as my mum. Over the last few years we've had holidays together: my husband did the cooking, while John and Annie and I explored before settling down to enjoy Pip’s cooking. Last time, John had a bad back so we decided on a shortish circular walk starting off at Par Beach to air our hangovers.
From Fowey, we took the main St Austell road (A3082), turning left just before the railway bridge at the bottom of Polmear Hill, past the Ship pub. Continuing along this road for several hundred yards, we parked in the car park on the left, near Par Beach, which is free in winter.
We walked back towards the Ship pub with a row of almshouses next door: these were built in 1650 by the Rashleigh family and converted into modern houses in 1977/8. By Chapel Cottage there is a Saints Way sign and a yellow waymark leading uphill to a very steep path, populated by holly trees with rich red berries and festooned with particularly vicious nettles which weren't good for myself and John, both wearing shorts. We struggled and panted up the path which led to a large field at the top of the hill populated by five very lovely horses.
John was route master for this walk, and directed us across the field where a faint path could be seen through the grass heading towards the trees on the skyline. Looking down over the huge Par Beach is a fabulous sight: St Austell Bay stretched out in the distance, while the china clay chimneys smouldered around Par Harbour, and we could see a huge pool, next door to the caravan park.
John found some mushrooms here but discarded them as not being good enough – having picked them since he was a child he is something of a connoisseur. We turned right here, parallel to the hedge, heading inland until we reached another stile on the right, with a rotted waymark sign lying forlornly on the ground. We walked diagonally left until we reached a double wooden and granite stile in the corner of the field which led us to the busy, fast road heading down Polmear Hill.
Hurrying over the road we reached the pavement on the opposite side and headed uphill. Ahead was a road sign to Polkerris Beach and Menabilly on the right and we took that, past the sign to Trill Horse Trail and walked along, passed a lone letterbox. Turning right again down to Polkerris, the clouds parted and we walked down the narrow and steep hill with high banks on either side smelling of warm wet earth from the recent rain, fresh autumn air, and a sudden blast of white sunshine gleaming off glossy ivy leaves. Blackbirds sang on either side as we passed underneath the remains of a footbridge, with dense, ivy clad woods on either side.
We walked past a cottage draped in Virginia Creeper and a couple of blue tits feeding in the garden and continued down to Polkerris which consists of several pretty whitewashed cottages with beautiful fuchsias growing in abundance outside. Until the end of the 19th century, Polkerris had one of the largest fish cellars in Cornwall, which still dominate the beach, and a huge fleet of seine boats.
At the bottom of the hill is the Rashleigh Arms, which was orginally in what is now the car park: the present pub building was once a boat shed. The granite wall of the harbour curved like a strong protective arm, and John pointed out several canons tipped up to act as bollards. This pier was built by the Rashleigh family around 1730 and what is now Sam's cafe was the old lifeboat house. John disappeared into the pub to get coffee for our hangovers, while Annie and Mollie and I sat outside in the garden admiring the view over St Austell Bay with the stunningly placed golf course off to the right.
“Don't get too comfortable,” John said a few minutes later. “They don't open till 12.” As it was only 10.30, we headed up the hill in front of a couple of cottages with gardens on either side, planted on an almost sheer cliff face. Fishing nets had been used as bird cages to tend the late raspberries, and Evening Primrose towered on either side of us, nodding lemon yellow heads as we climbed.
At the top we found a bench where we sat and digested the view as we sipped our bottles of water. Far below us a very young father with baby strapped to his body, wandered from the beach to the cafe, back into the car park. “He's probably been awake all night and is frantic for caffeine,” said Annie.
Heading back along the coastal path, we were greeted by the last of the blackberries, devoured by Annie, gradually acquiring a black mouth. Bright red and orange berries glistened in the hedges next to big fat sloes, making us think of sloe gin, and winter log fires. Old Man's Beard grew in abundance next to hawthorn bushes covered in grey-green fingers of lichen.
A cacophony of crows gathered and screeched above us, warned off by seagulls. “What's the collective noun for a group of crows?” asked John. “A congregation?” None of us knew, but having looked it up it is “a murder”: very apt, thinking of The Birds, and this being du Maurier country.
The sun was shining silver on the water far out to sea so we stopped and stared in admiration, while the tip of Gribben Head was just visible over the tops of the far hills. As we looked back, the young father appeared, baby still strapped to his stomach, and suddenly a skein of Canada geese flew over head, honking loudly. To our left, over the sea, flew a bunch of oyster catchers with their eerie scream as we turned the corner and a beautiful hill rose up on our right, in smooth emerald green. The path wound round back to where we started at Par beach, and we noticed the Canada Geese coming in to land on the pond at Par.
As we walked the last of the footpath, the ground was splattered with dark blackberry juice and we climbed down steep steps, over a little bridge and back to where we'd parked the car. Climbing onto the sand dunes, we looked out over Par Sands, where a couple of collies played tag in the lazy waves rippling on the edge of the sea. The sand was studded with silvery reflections and the sun beat down like a blessing. We sighed happily, hangovers gone. What could be better?
FACTBOX
OS Explorer Map 107 St Austell and Liskeard
Grading: a few steep hills, paths can be very muddy after rain. Varied views, landscape and wildlife.
Walk: 2.5 miles
Length: just under 1.5 hours
Dogs are allowed on Par Beach all year round.
Car park at Par Beach £2.10 all day at time of writing. Car park also at Polkerris.
Public toilets at Polkerris
Refreshments: Ship Inn at Par, Rashleigh Arms and Sam's cafe, Polkerris cafe at Polkerris
Cornwall Today 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
CAWSANDS
A dramatic walk in the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park
and a house famous for its artistic treasures
I was intending to come to Kingsands and Cawsands for a holiday this March, but without my husband, it didn't seem right. However, Viv had been waxing lyrical about the two 17th century fishing villages, so I was looking forward to this walk, intrigued by the fact that Kingsands was once in Devon, with Cawsands in Cornwall. Ever one for useless detail, I also liked the idea that in days gone by, life for the smugglers of Kingsands and Cawsands was a constant battle with Customs: girls apparently took brandy into Plymouth under their petticoats.
Back to the present day, and minus petticoats, we took the A374 and followed signs to Millbrook, then headed into the picturesque village of Cawsands, where we parked in the car park in the middle of the village. From there, Mark, who ran the car park, gave us directions and a map, and we turned left up the street, past the village shop and turned right, past the Rising Sun Inn. Lost already, we got instructions from a friendly Welsh builder to go up the hill then turn right into Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Ahead lay Minadew Brakes, a wide grassy area with fabulous views stretching out over the huge expanse of Cawsand Bay, and Plymouth Sound further up. Fort Picklecombe could be seen ahead, and woods up on our left: this is a popular walk for walkers and dogs, who were both soon covered in the brick red mud typical of this area.
It was a raw grey winter's day, but beautiful nonetheless: a kestrel hovered overhead, and waves crashed angrily on the rocks to our right. But spring showed promise with daffodil buds shyly peeping out from walls of dried bracken and gorse flower the only colour on this scowling day. “Gorse in flower, kissing in season,” said Viv optimistically, though there was no one en route on which to try this out.
Heading for Maker church, we passed what might have been a quarry where huge trees hovered over us with bare roots like tortured arms, and branches like belly dancer's limbs; supple and bendy looking.
At the end of Minadew Brakes, we came to a kissing gate where we turned sharp right onto a lane which led in front of a large house and Hooe Lake on our right, then first left through an iron gate. Ahead of us were three paths – we should have taken the left hand path which leads straight to Maker Church, but we started off on the middle path – luckily two German walkers put us right and we found ourselves at the top of what looked like a grassy, incredibly steep canyon, which we had to cross.
Sliding down was one thing, but half way up the almost vertical bank opposite, I looked nervously back at Viv, who has a heart condition. She was puffing but was alive which was a bonus. Reaching the top, I looked back over Plymouth Sound and noted two Navy destroyers coming in. Rain clouds loomed on the horizon and above us, in the middle of miles of gracious parkland, a helicopter hovered: at any minute I expected machine guns to rain down on us, forcing us to flatten ourselves to the ground. But the helicopter moved on, and we continued our walk towards Maker Church that peeped out of the winter gloom like Rapunzel's tower.
Passing woods on our left, with dead branches waving ghostly grey fingers, we reached the top of the hill which must be one of the highest points of Cornwall – there is such a feeling of space here, looking out over Plymouth Sound, the River Tamar and Plymouth Docks, with Edgcumbe Park stretching magnificently in front of us. Behind us were fields and fields of emerald green with hardly a house in sight.
We decided to pay a quick visit to the church, the tower of which was used as a naval signal station, but it was locked so we turned our attention to Edgcumbe House and Park. Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele built the original house in his deer park in 1547-50. It was largely destroyed in the Plymouth blitz of 1941 but has now been restored and houses paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gerard Edema and William van der Velde, 16th century tapestries, Irish bronze age horns and 18th century Chinese and Plymouth porcelain. In the 18th century the family created formal gardens, temples, follies and woodlands with Californian Redwood trees sheltering a herd of wild fallow deer.
Setting off through the park once again, we headed along a path towards Harbour View Seat. The path disappeared and we were concerned that we would end up in Cremyll when we'd only got 6 hours of car parking time. Unable to find Harbour View Seat, we headed right, past the impressive Grotton Plantation on our left, and a herd of delicate deer gazing at us in the distance. “Is it rutting season?” said Viv, stumbling over the rough path. “No, I replied stoutly, “that's April isn't it?” I had no idea, but walked faster just in case.
The paths on our map bore no resemblance to the parkland we walked through, but we headed back towards the sea where Viv was determined to find Fort Picklecombe, which was hard enough to say when sober. We found ourselves on the seaward side of the canyon we traversed earlier, and a very steep path roughened by sliding hoof marks led us back to the iron gate near the road and we retraced our steps past Hooe Lake, with Kingsands and Cawsands nestled in the cliffs ahead of us.
“If we'd turned left, do you think we'd get to Fort Picklecombe?” said Viv hopefully. Seeing my frozen face, she added, “I don't want to do it today. Perhaps another time?”
From here we reached a sign saying Kingsand 1 mile and retraced our steps along the Minadew where we sat on a bench and ate the last of our sandwiches. This walk is full of beauty - the sheer size and scope of the parkland, the water and the woods – but wrap up warmly, for it is exposed on all sides.
We'll definitely come back to this forgotten area of Cornwall: we want to explore the villages, which boast several pubs and art galleries, as well as the many and varied walks. “Though we'd better get in training,” said Viv, sharing a biscuit with the dogs. “With the SAS.”
FACTBOX
OS Map 201 Plymouth and Launceston
Length: Approx 3.5 miles
Time: 2 hours
Grade: - some very steep hills, can be extremely muddy.
Refreshments: Rising Sun Inn and Cross Keys - www.crosskeyscawsand.co.uk
and plenty of other pubs
Mount Edgcumbe House and Garden – 01752 822236 www.mountedgcumbe.gov.uk
A passenger ferry operates between Cawsands and Kingsands and the Barbican in Plymouth.
www.cawsandferry.co.uk
Whitsand Bay, the longest sandy beach in England, is nearby.
Parking in Cawsands: £1 for 6 hours at time of walking.
Public Toilets next to car park in Cawsands.
Galleries - www.westcroftgallery.co.uk
www.panachegallery.co.uk
CT July 2011
and a house famous for its artistic treasures
I was intending to come to Kingsands and Cawsands for a holiday this March, but without my husband, it didn't seem right. However, Viv had been waxing lyrical about the two 17th century fishing villages, so I was looking forward to this walk, intrigued by the fact that Kingsands was once in Devon, with Cawsands in Cornwall. Ever one for useless detail, I also liked the idea that in days gone by, life for the smugglers of Kingsands and Cawsands was a constant battle with Customs: girls apparently took brandy into Plymouth under their petticoats.
Back to the present day, and minus petticoats, we took the A374 and followed signs to Millbrook, then headed into the picturesque village of Cawsands, where we parked in the car park in the middle of the village. From there, Mark, who ran the car park, gave us directions and a map, and we turned left up the street, past the village shop and turned right, past the Rising Sun Inn. Lost already, we got instructions from a friendly Welsh builder to go up the hill then turn right into Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Ahead lay Minadew Brakes, a wide grassy area with fabulous views stretching out over the huge expanse of Cawsand Bay, and Plymouth Sound further up. Fort Picklecombe could be seen ahead, and woods up on our left: this is a popular walk for walkers and dogs, who were both soon covered in the brick red mud typical of this area.
It was a raw grey winter's day, but beautiful nonetheless: a kestrel hovered overhead, and waves crashed angrily on the rocks to our right. But spring showed promise with daffodil buds shyly peeping out from walls of dried bracken and gorse flower the only colour on this scowling day. “Gorse in flower, kissing in season,” said Viv optimistically, though there was no one en route on which to try this out.
Heading for Maker church, we passed what might have been a quarry where huge trees hovered over us with bare roots like tortured arms, and branches like belly dancer's limbs; supple and bendy looking.
At the end of Minadew Brakes, we came to a kissing gate where we turned sharp right onto a lane which led in front of a large house and Hooe Lake on our right, then first left through an iron gate. Ahead of us were three paths – we should have taken the left hand path which leads straight to Maker Church, but we started off on the middle path – luckily two German walkers put us right and we found ourselves at the top of what looked like a grassy, incredibly steep canyon, which we had to cross.
Sliding down was one thing, but half way up the almost vertical bank opposite, I looked nervously back at Viv, who has a heart condition. She was puffing but was alive which was a bonus. Reaching the top, I looked back over Plymouth Sound and noted two Navy destroyers coming in. Rain clouds loomed on the horizon and above us, in the middle of miles of gracious parkland, a helicopter hovered: at any minute I expected machine guns to rain down on us, forcing us to flatten ourselves to the ground. But the helicopter moved on, and we continued our walk towards Maker Church that peeped out of the winter gloom like Rapunzel's tower.
Passing woods on our left, with dead branches waving ghostly grey fingers, we reached the top of the hill which must be one of the highest points of Cornwall – there is such a feeling of space here, looking out over Plymouth Sound, the River Tamar and Plymouth Docks, with Edgcumbe Park stretching magnificently in front of us. Behind us were fields and fields of emerald green with hardly a house in sight.
We decided to pay a quick visit to the church, the tower of which was used as a naval signal station, but it was locked so we turned our attention to Edgcumbe House and Park. Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Cotehele built the original house in his deer park in 1547-50. It was largely destroyed in the Plymouth blitz of 1941 but has now been restored and houses paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gerard Edema and William van der Velde, 16th century tapestries, Irish bronze age horns and 18th century Chinese and Plymouth porcelain. In the 18th century the family created formal gardens, temples, follies and woodlands with Californian Redwood trees sheltering a herd of wild fallow deer.
Setting off through the park once again, we headed along a path towards Harbour View Seat. The path disappeared and we were concerned that we would end up in Cremyll when we'd only got 6 hours of car parking time. Unable to find Harbour View Seat, we headed right, past the impressive Grotton Plantation on our left, and a herd of delicate deer gazing at us in the distance. “Is it rutting season?” said Viv, stumbling over the rough path. “No, I replied stoutly, “that's April isn't it?” I had no idea, but walked faster just in case.
The paths on our map bore no resemblance to the parkland we walked through, but we headed back towards the sea where Viv was determined to find Fort Picklecombe, which was hard enough to say when sober. We found ourselves on the seaward side of the canyon we traversed earlier, and a very steep path roughened by sliding hoof marks led us back to the iron gate near the road and we retraced our steps past Hooe Lake, with Kingsands and Cawsands nestled in the cliffs ahead of us.
“If we'd turned left, do you think we'd get to Fort Picklecombe?” said Viv hopefully. Seeing my frozen face, she added, “I don't want to do it today. Perhaps another time?”
From here we reached a sign saying Kingsand 1 mile and retraced our steps along the Minadew where we sat on a bench and ate the last of our sandwiches. This walk is full of beauty - the sheer size and scope of the parkland, the water and the woods – but wrap up warmly, for it is exposed on all sides.
We'll definitely come back to this forgotten area of Cornwall: we want to explore the villages, which boast several pubs and art galleries, as well as the many and varied walks. “Though we'd better get in training,” said Viv, sharing a biscuit with the dogs. “With the SAS.”
FACTBOX
OS Map 201 Plymouth and Launceston
Length: Approx 3.5 miles
Time: 2 hours
Grade: - some very steep hills, can be extremely muddy.
Refreshments: Rising Sun Inn and Cross Keys - www.crosskeyscawsand.co.uk
and plenty of other pubs
Mount Edgcumbe House and Garden – 01752 822236 www.mountedgcumbe.gov.uk
A passenger ferry operates between Cawsands and Kingsands and the Barbican in Plymouth.
www.cawsandferry.co.uk
Whitsand Bay, the longest sandy beach in England, is nearby.
Parking in Cawsands: £1 for 6 hours at time of walking.
Public Toilets next to car park in Cawsands.
Galleries - www.westcroftgallery.co.uk
www.panachegallery.co.uk
CT July 2011
Magnificent Seven
CRANTOCK AND POLLY JOKE
Best for Campers
This is an ideal walk for campers, with several campsites within easy walking distance of both beaches. Polly Joke is a remote jewel nestling round the corner from Newquay’s brasher beaches, and this summer walk provides incredible views through the tamarisk trees on Pentire Head which is carpeted with red poppies in summer. From Crantock Beach, head up through the sand dunes past fields onto West Pentire Point, where skylarks soar overhead and rock pigeons swoop over the rocks. Drink in the stunning views before arriving at Polly Joke, where the soft sands beckon to families, surfers and dog walkers alike. The path winds inland over Cubert Common, while buzzards linger overhead, back to Treago Farm and along the road back to the Bowgie. Sit outside and watch the spray crashing off Goose Island, long waves rolling up the Gannel Estuary, and the misty outline of Trevose Head in the distance.
DAYMER BAY
Best for small children
This beach is a children’s paradise, with fine golden sands perfect for building sandcastles and swimming. The walk is also suitable for small feet if you can bear to leave the tempting rock pools. From Daymer Bay, head out towards the Norman church of St Enodoc Church which was buried in the sand for many years and is the final resting place of John Betjeman. Keep an eye out for golfers as you cross the golf course and head towards Rock where you can stop for a drink in one of the many pubs, or catch the ferry over to Padstow. Wander slowly back through the sand dunes and look out over the Camel Estuary and the famous Doom Bar, which has wrecked over 600 ships since records began 200 years ago. Arrive back at Daymer Bay in time for a paddle and an ice cream – and back to those wonderful rock pools.
ST MAWES
Best for exclusive hotels
St Mawes can be reached via the King Harry car ferry from Feock or by passenger ferry from Falmouth, both providing the feeling of coming abroad to this seaside town popular with those wanting a special holiday in one of the exclusive hotels. An easy walk rambles along Cliff Drive, past apricot coloured roses and walls of tumbling rosemary to St Mawes castle, where the sea sparkles and shimmers in the summer sunshine. Meander along Newton Cliff and pause at the top to look out over Falmouth harbour and the docks. On a Saturday afternoon watch dinghies, yachts and all manner of seagoing vessels race on the river Fal, or go for a sail yourself. Return in time for a cream tea or a cocktail. In these stunning surroundings, any of the exclusive hotels in St Mawes will ensure that your stay is unforgettable.
MOUSEHOLE TO LAMORNA COVE
Best for painters
When the painter Lamorna Birch came to stay here, he decided to take the name Lamorna, so stricken was he by the quality of the light and the stunning seascapes. He was closely followed by other painters who made up the Newlyn School of Painting, and this walk, starting in Mousehole, shows the wonderful views that inspired them. Take in Lamorna Pottery, and their fabulous coffee and cake, before walking down to Lamorna harbour where Carn du headland lies to the left. On a clear day look out over to Tater Du lighthouse and you may see the satellite dishes of Goonhilly in the distance. The path passes through Kemyel Crease, up and down incredibly steep steps before arriving back in Mousehole. Enjoy the magical views out over Mounts Bay and St Michael’s Mount, then take time to enjoy the many galleries and craft shops here and in Penzance. You will return as excited as those famous painters of the early 20th century.
CADGWITH AND THE DEVIL’S FRYING PAN
Best for seafood
Cadgwith hit the big screen with the 2004 film, Ladies in Lavender, starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith as two spinsters who rescue a handsome young man who is shipwrecked and washed up in Cadgwith. Visitors are constantly drawn to this tiny fishing village where crab, lobster and local fish are still caught. The village used to be famous as being one of the most important pilchard fisheries in Cornwall: the old pilchard cellar still stands on the quay beside the pub. Take time to wander round the village and enjoy succulent seafood for lunch. The walk takes in Grade Church, the second most southerly church in England, and continues past the unforgettable Devil’s Frying Pan, a collapsed sea cave where the sea funnels through a narrow arch at high tide – a spectacular sight in a storm.
Chapel Porth
Best for mesmirising views
Climb up from Chapel Porth beach and pause at the top of the cliffs to enjoy the views over the beaches of Portreath and Porthtowan. Further on, come to Wheal Coates, one of the most photographed mine engine houses in Cornwall, and one that adorned the cover of Daphne du Maurier’s Vanishing Cornwall. Further on, come to St Agnes Beacon, where bonfires are lit on Midsummer Eve and other special occasions and on a clear day you can see 30 church spires or towers. From the highest point look westwards to St Ives, and up to Trevose Head near Padstow in the north. Surfers and swimmers alike enjoy the excellent café at Chapel Porth, so return along the cliff path as the sun goes down. Sit outside the café with steaming mugs of tea and cake while nature paints a fantastic backdrop of yellow, red, pale blue and rose pink.
GILLAN CREEK, HELFORD
Best for hikers
This is one of the loveliest summer walks, which takes about 3 hours and shows the many facets of the Helford river at their best, with a good variety of walking through woods, fields and creeks. The passenger ferry from Helford Passage (check return times) will take you to the whitewashed cottages of Helford Village, then through Bosahan Woods where the sunlight sparkles white on ivy leaves. Round Antony Head, walk through fields of summer grass and look out at the many boats on the Helford river, then round to Gillan Creek, where beautifully restored gypsy caravans perch on the side of the river bank. Every Good Friday local families gather at the cockle beds around here to collect cockles and other shellfish. This tradition, dating from pre-Christian times, is known as trigging. Continue along the creek to Manaccan where a fig tree grows out of the church wall.
GREAT FLAT LODE
Best for cyclists, horse riders - and historians
This walk is perfect for a summer’s day ramble exploring the mines of this area, and parts of it are also suitable for wheelchairs and buggies. At 3 miles long, the Great Flat Lode was the longest and richest vein, or lode, of tin in Cornwall and part of the group of Basset Mines. World Heritage status for this area was granted in 2006 and has helped provide funding to interlink all the mineral tramway projects in this area. There are many interconnecting walks here, with beautifully preserved mine workings which are safe to explore and information boards provided. Visit Wheal Basset Stamps to find out how the tin ore was crushed, and further on visit South Wheal Frances and associated buildings, some as elegant and regal as cathedrals. These walks provide a fascinating mix of quiet grassy lanes, high open moorland and a sense of Cornish mining history that is all around.
.
FACTBOX
Porth Joke campsite, Treago Mill, Crantock, Newquay, TR8 5QS. Tel: 01637 830213
Treworgans Holiday Park – Cubert, Wesley Road, Cubert, Newquay TR8 5HH. Tel 01637 830200.
Polly Joke is dog friendly all year round.
Daymer Bay - The Camel Estuary is a haven for birds and wildlife.
The Camel Trail winds from Padstow to Bodmin, covering 17 miles: bicycles can be hired.
St Mawes Sailing Club - www.stmawessailing.co.uk
King Harry Ferries - www.kingharryscornwall.co.uk/ferries/st_mawes_ferry
St Mawes Castle - www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.11392
Lamorran Gardens open Mon, Wed and Fri, April – September 10-5.
Victory Inn – 01326 270324
Cadgwith Cove Inn – Cadgwith, Helston 01326 290513
Helford Passage ferry - www.helford-river-boats.co.uk.
Ferryboat Inn, Helford Passage - 01326 250625.
Shipwrights Inn, Helford Village – 01326 231235
The beach at Helford Passage is not dog friendly in summer.
The Cornish Mining World Heritage Trails are free and easy to use.
Go to www.cornish-mining.org.uk/AudioTrails.htm
There are several free car parks in the area but beware of open mine shafts with children and dogs.
CT July 2011
Best for Campers
This is an ideal walk for campers, with several campsites within easy walking distance of both beaches. Polly Joke is a remote jewel nestling round the corner from Newquay’s brasher beaches, and this summer walk provides incredible views through the tamarisk trees on Pentire Head which is carpeted with red poppies in summer. From Crantock Beach, head up through the sand dunes past fields onto West Pentire Point, where skylarks soar overhead and rock pigeons swoop over the rocks. Drink in the stunning views before arriving at Polly Joke, where the soft sands beckon to families, surfers and dog walkers alike. The path winds inland over Cubert Common, while buzzards linger overhead, back to Treago Farm and along the road back to the Bowgie. Sit outside and watch the spray crashing off Goose Island, long waves rolling up the Gannel Estuary, and the misty outline of Trevose Head in the distance.
DAYMER BAY
Best for small children
This beach is a children’s paradise, with fine golden sands perfect for building sandcastles and swimming. The walk is also suitable for small feet if you can bear to leave the tempting rock pools. From Daymer Bay, head out towards the Norman church of St Enodoc Church which was buried in the sand for many years and is the final resting place of John Betjeman. Keep an eye out for golfers as you cross the golf course and head towards Rock where you can stop for a drink in one of the many pubs, or catch the ferry over to Padstow. Wander slowly back through the sand dunes and look out over the Camel Estuary and the famous Doom Bar, which has wrecked over 600 ships since records began 200 years ago. Arrive back at Daymer Bay in time for a paddle and an ice cream – and back to those wonderful rock pools.
ST MAWES
Best for exclusive hotels
St Mawes can be reached via the King Harry car ferry from Feock or by passenger ferry from Falmouth, both providing the feeling of coming abroad to this seaside town popular with those wanting a special holiday in one of the exclusive hotels. An easy walk rambles along Cliff Drive, past apricot coloured roses and walls of tumbling rosemary to St Mawes castle, where the sea sparkles and shimmers in the summer sunshine. Meander along Newton Cliff and pause at the top to look out over Falmouth harbour and the docks. On a Saturday afternoon watch dinghies, yachts and all manner of seagoing vessels race on the river Fal, or go for a sail yourself. Return in time for a cream tea or a cocktail. In these stunning surroundings, any of the exclusive hotels in St Mawes will ensure that your stay is unforgettable.
MOUSEHOLE TO LAMORNA COVE
Best for painters
When the painter Lamorna Birch came to stay here, he decided to take the name Lamorna, so stricken was he by the quality of the light and the stunning seascapes. He was closely followed by other painters who made up the Newlyn School of Painting, and this walk, starting in Mousehole, shows the wonderful views that inspired them. Take in Lamorna Pottery, and their fabulous coffee and cake, before walking down to Lamorna harbour where Carn du headland lies to the left. On a clear day look out over to Tater Du lighthouse and you may see the satellite dishes of Goonhilly in the distance. The path passes through Kemyel Crease, up and down incredibly steep steps before arriving back in Mousehole. Enjoy the magical views out over Mounts Bay and St Michael’s Mount, then take time to enjoy the many galleries and craft shops here and in Penzance. You will return as excited as those famous painters of the early 20th century.
CADGWITH AND THE DEVIL’S FRYING PAN
Best for seafood
Cadgwith hit the big screen with the 2004 film, Ladies in Lavender, starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith as two spinsters who rescue a handsome young man who is shipwrecked and washed up in Cadgwith. Visitors are constantly drawn to this tiny fishing village where crab, lobster and local fish are still caught. The village used to be famous as being one of the most important pilchard fisheries in Cornwall: the old pilchard cellar still stands on the quay beside the pub. Take time to wander round the village and enjoy succulent seafood for lunch. The walk takes in Grade Church, the second most southerly church in England, and continues past the unforgettable Devil’s Frying Pan, a collapsed sea cave where the sea funnels through a narrow arch at high tide – a spectacular sight in a storm.
Chapel Porth
Best for mesmirising views
Climb up from Chapel Porth beach and pause at the top of the cliffs to enjoy the views over the beaches of Portreath and Porthtowan. Further on, come to Wheal Coates, one of the most photographed mine engine houses in Cornwall, and one that adorned the cover of Daphne du Maurier’s Vanishing Cornwall. Further on, come to St Agnes Beacon, where bonfires are lit on Midsummer Eve and other special occasions and on a clear day you can see 30 church spires or towers. From the highest point look westwards to St Ives, and up to Trevose Head near Padstow in the north. Surfers and swimmers alike enjoy the excellent café at Chapel Porth, so return along the cliff path as the sun goes down. Sit outside the café with steaming mugs of tea and cake while nature paints a fantastic backdrop of yellow, red, pale blue and rose pink.
GILLAN CREEK, HELFORD
Best for hikers
This is one of the loveliest summer walks, which takes about 3 hours and shows the many facets of the Helford river at their best, with a good variety of walking through woods, fields and creeks. The passenger ferry from Helford Passage (check return times) will take you to the whitewashed cottages of Helford Village, then through Bosahan Woods where the sunlight sparkles white on ivy leaves. Round Antony Head, walk through fields of summer grass and look out at the many boats on the Helford river, then round to Gillan Creek, where beautifully restored gypsy caravans perch on the side of the river bank. Every Good Friday local families gather at the cockle beds around here to collect cockles and other shellfish. This tradition, dating from pre-Christian times, is known as trigging. Continue along the creek to Manaccan where a fig tree grows out of the church wall.
GREAT FLAT LODE
Best for cyclists, horse riders - and historians
This walk is perfect for a summer’s day ramble exploring the mines of this area, and parts of it are also suitable for wheelchairs and buggies. At 3 miles long, the Great Flat Lode was the longest and richest vein, or lode, of tin in Cornwall and part of the group of Basset Mines. World Heritage status for this area was granted in 2006 and has helped provide funding to interlink all the mineral tramway projects in this area. There are many interconnecting walks here, with beautifully preserved mine workings which are safe to explore and information boards provided. Visit Wheal Basset Stamps to find out how the tin ore was crushed, and further on visit South Wheal Frances and associated buildings, some as elegant and regal as cathedrals. These walks provide a fascinating mix of quiet grassy lanes, high open moorland and a sense of Cornish mining history that is all around.
.
FACTBOX
Porth Joke campsite, Treago Mill, Crantock, Newquay, TR8 5QS. Tel: 01637 830213
Treworgans Holiday Park – Cubert, Wesley Road, Cubert, Newquay TR8 5HH. Tel 01637 830200.
Polly Joke is dog friendly all year round.
Daymer Bay - The Camel Estuary is a haven for birds and wildlife.
The Camel Trail winds from Padstow to Bodmin, covering 17 miles: bicycles can be hired.
St Mawes Sailing Club - www.stmawessailing.co.uk
King Harry Ferries - www.kingharryscornwall.co.uk/ferries/st_mawes_ferry
St Mawes Castle - www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.11392
Lamorran Gardens open Mon, Wed and Fri, April – September 10-5.
Victory Inn – 01326 270324
Cadgwith Cove Inn – Cadgwith, Helston 01326 290513
Helford Passage ferry - www.helford-river-boats.co.uk.
Ferryboat Inn, Helford Passage - 01326 250625.
Shipwrights Inn, Helford Village – 01326 231235
The beach at Helford Passage is not dog friendly in summer.
The Cornish Mining World Heritage Trails are free and easy to use.
Go to www.cornish-mining.org.uk/AudioTrails.htm
There are several free car parks in the area but beware of open mine shafts with children and dogs.
CT July 2011
LOSTWITHIEL AND RESTORMEL CASTLE
A very picturesque part of Cornish history
MollieDog and I went to meet Viv and Titch one sunny Sunday morning but our journey was delayed by a very special birthday – Viv’s neighbour, Alice, was 100, so we had to call in and sing Happy Birthday. Alice was more alert and sparky than the four of us put together, and on that sobering thought we set forth with our sandwiches for Lostwithiel.
On the A390, we headed east from St Austell and approaching Lostwithiel, continued past the traffic lights and turn right at the signed car park, just after the Royal Talbot pub. We went downhill past the fire station and parked round the back near to the park.
From here, we headed uphill out of the car park to cross the main road and took the first right (Duke Street) past the Royal Talbot, boasting a plume of wisteria outside. Duke Street was long, narrow and very steep – at the first junction we continued right past a house called Mount Pleasant on the right. We struggled on past bluebells, primroses, campion, and a plethora of dandelions – or dandelion clocks - which seem to be exceptionally prolific this year. Lords and Ladies (“I thought that was an Arum,” said Viv) nestled in between celandines, overhead birds sang undisturbed by traffic, and all was right with the world – except for the hill that continued up and up.
Eventually, about 100 yards up from the school, opposite Knights Court was a Public Bridleway on the left which we turned into with some relief and passed through a metal gate leading to a narrow, leafy lane. Through another wooden gate we continued along the path where a slight breeze ruffled the baby ferns, shyly unfolding their new leaves to a warm spring morning.
Viv picked a small flower that she thought was a Scarlet Pimpernel but as it was purple, decided it probably wasn’t. It survived the journey home but has so far defied categorisation. The path continued steeply downhill towards a road where we turned right and looked out for a turning ahead. The turning was a long time coming – “You can tell the person who wrote this walk hasn’t done it,” growled Viv, muttering expletives as the road continued up and up, steeper and steeper. The banks were full of the sweet lemony scent of primroses, and in an orchard nearby were a cluster of Gunnera-like nightmare rhubarb.
Eventually we found the turning on our right past a signpost to Lostwithiel, and shortly after a Public Footpath sign on the left through a wooden gate. This led to a path with the most fabulous views over the fields and woodlands, with Restormel Castle peeping out from a cluster of trees.
We vowed to learn more about birdsong, as the birds were so loud they drowned out our chatter. We continued over a ladder stile into a field with a ridged section at the top, with views over Lostwithiel golf course to the right, and Restormel Castle growing nearer. The air here is pure and clear and there is a tremendous, almost giddy-making sense of breadth and depth, of space and height. It’s a place to bring visitors from cities, turf them into the field and say, “Breathe!”
At the end of this field was a notice indicating the footpath through a gate and we turned left into another field then another ladder stile at the end that led into another field. This path, on the right hand side of a field, led through a wooden kissing gate and another very steep ladder stile into a field of sheep (put dogs on leads) - and finally below us was Restormel Castle and car park.
The wealth of Lostwithiel, once the administrative centre of Cornwall, relied on the Cornish tin trade but it was this that caused the decline of the town when the River Fowey silted up with tin waste: as the port of Lostwithiel declined, so did the importance of Restormel Castle. The 13th century circular shell-keep of the castle stands on an earlier Norman mound surrounded by a dry ditch, on top of a high spur beside the River Fowey. It was once a luxurious residence to the Earl of Cornwall and built in the largest deer park in Cornwall.
During the Civil War in 1644, on 21st August, Sir Richard Grenville took the castle from the Roundheads. After this it became ruined and is now in the care of English Heritage – the principal rooms are still in amazingly good condition.
Many thanks to Lorna Trevallion-Law who allowed us in so we could take pictures of the castle and enjoy the wonderful views over the surrounding countryside from well placed benches while we had our picnic. As usual I’d eaten mine so Viv gave me a spare hot cross bun which I felt duty bound to share with Mollie – we have an agreement. We called in to see Lorna on the way out and Mollie and Titch had a good nose round the well stocked shop where poor Lorna was recovering from a bad bout of bronchitis. We nearly succumbed to an ice cream but as we were without cash this proved a good deterrent and the dogs made do with a welcome drink at the dog bowl provided.
Having made more friends, we left the castle, walked into the car park and down a steep narrow road. By this time we had discarded jumpers as the sun was quite strong and we felt smug as we passed various walkers puffing their way up this road – we’d done our fair share of hills for the day.
At the bottom of this road was Restormel Farm and we turned right, hoping to find a footpath to take us back to Lostwithiel. We ended up having to return on the road but we had plenty to look at along the way – the wind rippled through ridges of pine trees towering in the woods up on our right, sounding like a fast running river, while water meadows full of placid sheep lay on our left. At a hole in the wall we noticed two cock pheasants, vying each other for some food. We’d hoped there might be a bit of action but they merely lunged at each other before waddling and squawking off in a huff.
This road was apparently the Royalist route from the castle back to Lostwithiel, but today the road passed Lostwithiel Bowling Club, where the first bowlers of the season enjoyed the peace of the emerald green lawns with Lostwithiel golf course as a backdrop. Soon we reached the outskirts of Lostwithiel and the road led us back to the main road near the Royal Talbot pub. We crossed the road and walked as far as the bridge over the River Fowey, where we found a path on our right which led back along the river bank. The dogs could scamper here off the lead and we basked in the afternoon sunshine, watching for any tales of the riverbank, while a train rumbled by in the distance. A perfect end to a beautiful spring walk.
FACTBOX
OS Explorer Map 107 St Austell & Liskeard
Length: 3.5 miles
Duration: 2.5 hours to include visit to Restormel Castle
Grade: several very steep hills.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/restormel-castle - check website for opening times. Dogs and children are welcome.
Cornwall Today May 2011
MollieDog and I went to meet Viv and Titch one sunny Sunday morning but our journey was delayed by a very special birthday – Viv’s neighbour, Alice, was 100, so we had to call in and sing Happy Birthday. Alice was more alert and sparky than the four of us put together, and on that sobering thought we set forth with our sandwiches for Lostwithiel.
On the A390, we headed east from St Austell and approaching Lostwithiel, continued past the traffic lights and turn right at the signed car park, just after the Royal Talbot pub. We went downhill past the fire station and parked round the back near to the park.
From here, we headed uphill out of the car park to cross the main road and took the first right (Duke Street) past the Royal Talbot, boasting a plume of wisteria outside. Duke Street was long, narrow and very steep – at the first junction we continued right past a house called Mount Pleasant on the right. We struggled on past bluebells, primroses, campion, and a plethora of dandelions – or dandelion clocks - which seem to be exceptionally prolific this year. Lords and Ladies (“I thought that was an Arum,” said Viv) nestled in between celandines, overhead birds sang undisturbed by traffic, and all was right with the world – except for the hill that continued up and up.
Eventually, about 100 yards up from the school, opposite Knights Court was a Public Bridleway on the left which we turned into with some relief and passed through a metal gate leading to a narrow, leafy lane. Through another wooden gate we continued along the path where a slight breeze ruffled the baby ferns, shyly unfolding their new leaves to a warm spring morning.
Viv picked a small flower that she thought was a Scarlet Pimpernel but as it was purple, decided it probably wasn’t. It survived the journey home but has so far defied categorisation. The path continued steeply downhill towards a road where we turned right and looked out for a turning ahead. The turning was a long time coming – “You can tell the person who wrote this walk hasn’t done it,” growled Viv, muttering expletives as the road continued up and up, steeper and steeper. The banks were full of the sweet lemony scent of primroses, and in an orchard nearby were a cluster of Gunnera-like nightmare rhubarb.
Eventually we found the turning on our right past a signpost to Lostwithiel, and shortly after a Public Footpath sign on the left through a wooden gate. This led to a path with the most fabulous views over the fields and woodlands, with Restormel Castle peeping out from a cluster of trees.
We vowed to learn more about birdsong, as the birds were so loud they drowned out our chatter. We continued over a ladder stile into a field with a ridged section at the top, with views over Lostwithiel golf course to the right, and Restormel Castle growing nearer. The air here is pure and clear and there is a tremendous, almost giddy-making sense of breadth and depth, of space and height. It’s a place to bring visitors from cities, turf them into the field and say, “Breathe!”
At the end of this field was a notice indicating the footpath through a gate and we turned left into another field then another ladder stile at the end that led into another field. This path, on the right hand side of a field, led through a wooden kissing gate and another very steep ladder stile into a field of sheep (put dogs on leads) - and finally below us was Restormel Castle and car park.
The wealth of Lostwithiel, once the administrative centre of Cornwall, relied on the Cornish tin trade but it was this that caused the decline of the town when the River Fowey silted up with tin waste: as the port of Lostwithiel declined, so did the importance of Restormel Castle. The 13th century circular shell-keep of the castle stands on an earlier Norman mound surrounded by a dry ditch, on top of a high spur beside the River Fowey. It was once a luxurious residence to the Earl of Cornwall and built in the largest deer park in Cornwall.
During the Civil War in 1644, on 21st August, Sir Richard Grenville took the castle from the Roundheads. After this it became ruined and is now in the care of English Heritage – the principal rooms are still in amazingly good condition.
Many thanks to Lorna Trevallion-Law who allowed us in so we could take pictures of the castle and enjoy the wonderful views over the surrounding countryside from well placed benches while we had our picnic. As usual I’d eaten mine so Viv gave me a spare hot cross bun which I felt duty bound to share with Mollie – we have an agreement. We called in to see Lorna on the way out and Mollie and Titch had a good nose round the well stocked shop where poor Lorna was recovering from a bad bout of bronchitis. We nearly succumbed to an ice cream but as we were without cash this proved a good deterrent and the dogs made do with a welcome drink at the dog bowl provided.
Having made more friends, we left the castle, walked into the car park and down a steep narrow road. By this time we had discarded jumpers as the sun was quite strong and we felt smug as we passed various walkers puffing their way up this road – we’d done our fair share of hills for the day.
At the bottom of this road was Restormel Farm and we turned right, hoping to find a footpath to take us back to Lostwithiel. We ended up having to return on the road but we had plenty to look at along the way – the wind rippled through ridges of pine trees towering in the woods up on our right, sounding like a fast running river, while water meadows full of placid sheep lay on our left. At a hole in the wall we noticed two cock pheasants, vying each other for some food. We’d hoped there might be a bit of action but they merely lunged at each other before waddling and squawking off in a huff.
This road was apparently the Royalist route from the castle back to Lostwithiel, but today the road passed Lostwithiel Bowling Club, where the first bowlers of the season enjoyed the peace of the emerald green lawns with Lostwithiel golf course as a backdrop. Soon we reached the outskirts of Lostwithiel and the road led us back to the main road near the Royal Talbot pub. We crossed the road and walked as far as the bridge over the River Fowey, where we found a path on our right which led back along the river bank. The dogs could scamper here off the lead and we basked in the afternoon sunshine, watching for any tales of the riverbank, while a train rumbled by in the distance. A perfect end to a beautiful spring walk.
FACTBOX
OS Explorer Map 107 St Austell & Liskeard
Length: 3.5 miles
Duration: 2.5 hours to include visit to Restormel Castle
Grade: several very steep hills.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/restormel-castle - check website for opening times. Dogs and children are welcome.
Cornwall Today May 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
THE USE OF TROPES IN HORROR FICTION
Trope: in literature, a familiar and/or often used symbol, style, character, theme or device.
“I have a problem with the term 'horror' because it's not a genre, it's an emotion,” says Steve Feasey. “My books are action/adventure stories with a healthy dose of horror aimed at young adults and teenagers.”
Steve's first book, Changeling, came out in 2009. “Since then I've been pumping them out every 6 months, at an average of 80-90,000 words,” he says. “I didn't realise just how much stress I'd be under.” Writing for teenagers and young adults has its own pressures. “Because it's a young audience we are hoping to hit, and there are five books in a series, with a book a year you've lost your audience very quickly because it's unlikely that, if they start to read the books at about 12, they will carry on reading them when they're 17 or 18.” Steve pauses. “We had to strike while the iron was hot.”
It was a television programme that initially sparked Steve's interest in writing. “Post war there were lots (of books) for boys but that had died away and with Harry Potter suddenly people are starting to write for boys again,” he explains. “A lot of the books mentioned were ones that I'd grown up with – Treasure Island and Kipling - and at the end of the programme it was almost like an epiphany. I read lots of fantasy as a teenager and sci-fi and then I moved into horror so I felt I wanted to amalgamate the two. So I just went ahead and had a go.”
As a lifelong reader of this genre, Steve knows a lot about tropes, a term not known to many. “A trope is something that immediately resonates with a reader: they may have come across it before in another form of entertainment – a book or film,” he explains. “As a writer your job is to take those tropes – those recognised elements – and rework them so they fit within your world, the one you are creating for your reader. It's very rare that you get a truly original monster.”
The protagonist in Steve's books is a werewolf called Trey. “Werewolves are a tragic symbol of duality – like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - but I think that works incredibly well for teenagers. The analogy of a teenager caught between the child and adult worlds, and a reluctant hero who discovers he straddles the human and supernatural realms is an interesting one, but I wanted to explore it in a new and exciting way.
“I wanted Trey (the protagnist) to baulk at and resist his powers, and not just come across as an all-conquering, two-dimensional superhero. So I explore his feelings and emotions in a way that I hope isn't typical for books that are mainly aimed at a young male audience. Yes, there are gore filled action sequences in the books, but I wanted to really explore the werewolf myth – to take the lycanthrope trope and make it fresh and exciting and thought provoking.”
Horror fiction often features twisted monsters – like Frankenstein - but why do we love them? “I think there's something fundamental in most of us that we just love to be frightened,” says Steve. “That's why there are so many thrill seeking things these days like rollercoasters – we love that moment when it tips over the top edge and plunges down and the adrenaline rushes.”
Steve believes that monsters have that kind of appeal. “They're a trademark; like spaceships in science fiction, good horror uses monsters in the mundane and I think that's when they work really well. Long gone are the days when we have mist shrouded castles in Transylvania – the great thing about modern horror is that it brings the supernatural into your living room and kitchen, into the workplace. I think that's why it works – anybody could be anything.”
Monsters have different purposes. “They can be a foil for bringing the supernatural into the human realm, or you can develop them into a more important character,” Steve explains. “Because horror relies so much on extraordinary events, the protagonist reacts in an extraordinary way and perhaps that's the key: the monsters imperil the protagonist in a way that other fiction perhaps can't, and allows the protagonist to become the superhero that many of us would like to become. In doing so the monster will realise strengths and weaknesses they didn't know they had.”
And they don't just have to be the bad guys. “My hero Trey is a good guy so that's another example of spinning out an old trope. You don't have to adhere to old ideas of what a trope should be. With writing you can rework those old energies yourself.”
Tropes evidently work well within horror fiction, for it seems that the same monsters turn up again and again. “Stephanie Meyer, Marcus Sedgewick, Alex Duval, to name but a few, have all written books that explore vampirism in different ways,” Steve explains. But werewolves differ in that they explore the two sides of man. “The original seed was Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: the brutal side of man versus the more refined side. Most werewolves explore the question: when the person does change, will they be able to control their animal instincts and overcome the beast?”
Steve believes research is vital when reworking these old favourites. “I did a huge amount of research on old legends and supernatural creatures. That way you can work out which elements you want to keep and which to discard.”
While some might consider horror an unsuitable topic for children, Steve laughs. “Children are the most bloodthirsty creatures you could ever wish to meet! If it was up to them the books would be full of gore but the publishers are aware of the parents, librarians and teachers.”
Looking ahead, Steve has another contract with MacMillan, but this time to write a trilogy. “It's going to be a different genre completely, and I will be doing one book every 9 months, which gives me a bit more breathing space.” He gets a lot of school bookings and is keen to encourage young readers. “I most enjoy talking to the reluctant readers. It's much more rewarding if you can enthuse them to explore fiction.” He is surprised by how many girls read his books, “because I write the book that I would have enjoyed (as a boy). But girls are on the whole much more avid readers than boys and I get very good feedback.”
Steve's literary influences have been Elmore Leonard, Stephen King – and Enid Blyton. “They all understand that the story comes first. You have to appeal to a wide audience,” he explains. “They all hook you in and drive the story forward. As a boy I devoured Enid Blyton's books because she writes short chunky chapters with a great hook at the end that makes you read on.” He laughs. “I remember being under the covers way past my bedtime as a boy because she just didn't let me go and I think great writers do that – they don't let you go.”
Writers Forum 2011
“I have a problem with the term 'horror' because it's not a genre, it's an emotion,” says Steve Feasey. “My books are action/adventure stories with a healthy dose of horror aimed at young adults and teenagers.”
Steve's first book, Changeling, came out in 2009. “Since then I've been pumping them out every 6 months, at an average of 80-90,000 words,” he says. “I didn't realise just how much stress I'd be under.” Writing for teenagers and young adults has its own pressures. “Because it's a young audience we are hoping to hit, and there are five books in a series, with a book a year you've lost your audience very quickly because it's unlikely that, if they start to read the books at about 12, they will carry on reading them when they're 17 or 18.” Steve pauses. “We had to strike while the iron was hot.”
It was a television programme that initially sparked Steve's interest in writing. “Post war there were lots (of books) for boys but that had died away and with Harry Potter suddenly people are starting to write for boys again,” he explains. “A lot of the books mentioned were ones that I'd grown up with – Treasure Island and Kipling - and at the end of the programme it was almost like an epiphany. I read lots of fantasy as a teenager and sci-fi and then I moved into horror so I felt I wanted to amalgamate the two. So I just went ahead and had a go.”
As a lifelong reader of this genre, Steve knows a lot about tropes, a term not known to many. “A trope is something that immediately resonates with a reader: they may have come across it before in another form of entertainment – a book or film,” he explains. “As a writer your job is to take those tropes – those recognised elements – and rework them so they fit within your world, the one you are creating for your reader. It's very rare that you get a truly original monster.”
The protagonist in Steve's books is a werewolf called Trey. “Werewolves are a tragic symbol of duality – like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - but I think that works incredibly well for teenagers. The analogy of a teenager caught between the child and adult worlds, and a reluctant hero who discovers he straddles the human and supernatural realms is an interesting one, but I wanted to explore it in a new and exciting way.
“I wanted Trey (the protagnist) to baulk at and resist his powers, and not just come across as an all-conquering, two-dimensional superhero. So I explore his feelings and emotions in a way that I hope isn't typical for books that are mainly aimed at a young male audience. Yes, there are gore filled action sequences in the books, but I wanted to really explore the werewolf myth – to take the lycanthrope trope and make it fresh and exciting and thought provoking.”
Horror fiction often features twisted monsters – like Frankenstein - but why do we love them? “I think there's something fundamental in most of us that we just love to be frightened,” says Steve. “That's why there are so many thrill seeking things these days like rollercoasters – we love that moment when it tips over the top edge and plunges down and the adrenaline rushes.”
Steve believes that monsters have that kind of appeal. “They're a trademark; like spaceships in science fiction, good horror uses monsters in the mundane and I think that's when they work really well. Long gone are the days when we have mist shrouded castles in Transylvania – the great thing about modern horror is that it brings the supernatural into your living room and kitchen, into the workplace. I think that's why it works – anybody could be anything.”
Monsters have different purposes. “They can be a foil for bringing the supernatural into the human realm, or you can develop them into a more important character,” Steve explains. “Because horror relies so much on extraordinary events, the protagonist reacts in an extraordinary way and perhaps that's the key: the monsters imperil the protagonist in a way that other fiction perhaps can't, and allows the protagonist to become the superhero that many of us would like to become. In doing so the monster will realise strengths and weaknesses they didn't know they had.”
And they don't just have to be the bad guys. “My hero Trey is a good guy so that's another example of spinning out an old trope. You don't have to adhere to old ideas of what a trope should be. With writing you can rework those old energies yourself.”
Tropes evidently work well within horror fiction, for it seems that the same monsters turn up again and again. “Stephanie Meyer, Marcus Sedgewick, Alex Duval, to name but a few, have all written books that explore vampirism in different ways,” Steve explains. But werewolves differ in that they explore the two sides of man. “The original seed was Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: the brutal side of man versus the more refined side. Most werewolves explore the question: when the person does change, will they be able to control their animal instincts and overcome the beast?”
Steve believes research is vital when reworking these old favourites. “I did a huge amount of research on old legends and supernatural creatures. That way you can work out which elements you want to keep and which to discard.”
While some might consider horror an unsuitable topic for children, Steve laughs. “Children are the most bloodthirsty creatures you could ever wish to meet! If it was up to them the books would be full of gore but the publishers are aware of the parents, librarians and teachers.”
Looking ahead, Steve has another contract with MacMillan, but this time to write a trilogy. “It's going to be a different genre completely, and I will be doing one book every 9 months, which gives me a bit more breathing space.” He gets a lot of school bookings and is keen to encourage young readers. “I most enjoy talking to the reluctant readers. It's much more rewarding if you can enthuse them to explore fiction.” He is surprised by how many girls read his books, “because I write the book that I would have enjoyed (as a boy). But girls are on the whole much more avid readers than boys and I get very good feedback.”
Steve's literary influences have been Elmore Leonard, Stephen King – and Enid Blyton. “They all understand that the story comes first. You have to appeal to a wide audience,” he explains. “They all hook you in and drive the story forward. As a boy I devoured Enid Blyton's books because she writes short chunky chapters with a great hook at the end that makes you read on.” He laughs. “I remember being under the covers way past my bedtime as a boy because she just didn't let me go and I think great writers do that – they don't let you go.”
Writers Forum 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
THE SMALLEST MUSEUM IN CORNWALL?
“I'm a history nut!” says Lynda Small. “I love researching things and I love anything to do with social history.” So it is fitting that she is Chairman of Callington Heritage Centre, which must be one of the smallest museums in Cornwall. “It's in one half of a cemetery chapel.” She laughs, anticipating my expression. “The chapel is in the cemetery and one side is consecrated and we are in the unconsecrated part - the cemetery itself is split into the left side, which is the Methodists and the right is Anglican. The Heritage Centre is basically one room with an attic above and a porch area so we are very small.”
The idea for a heritage centre came about when a local history group was formed in 1984. “The idea was to try to engender an interest in heritage of the whole area,” Lynda explains. “Our interests span all aspects of the social and economic history of Callington and the surrounding parishes which include South Hill, Killaton, St Dominic, St Eve, Stoke Climsland, St Mellion, Calstock and Linkinhorne.”
As well as being a place of interest, the Centre provides resources for anyone interested in the local history, and welcomes visits from local schools, youth groups, and any others. Lynda adds, “It is very much a local centre, but because of the mining history of the area, we get people coming from all parts of the world. Not a season goes past without Americans or Australians coming to research the mining history of their ancestors.”
Callington Heritage Centre was opened on 2nd June 1994 and modernised and re-launched on 22nd July 2006. Unfortunately it was hit by a terrible fire in March 2007 and wasn't able to re-open until 2008. “The fire brigade saved most of the archive, albeit with smoke and water damage, but there is some china that will need professional restoration and we are trying to raise the £5000 towards this,” says Lynda.
The importance of chapel china is not easily understood nowadays. “Methodism was very strong here in the late 19th and early 20th century, and could be part of your entire life, and certainly your social life,” Lynda explains. “There were a lot of chapel teas which were big events and much looked forward to – they all dressed up for them and were on their best behaviour and had their tea using the chapel china.”
So restoring the china is of great importance. “We are being charged £700 to professionally restore one saucer and we don't have the funds for that,” Lynda says. “Often when a chapel was closed, the china was distributed amongst the members, so we need to find these people. We're hoping they might donate or loan some on a long or short term basis - we could come to some agreement about it.”
Because the chapel is so small, the Centre has found that the best way of exhibiting their archive of 1600 items is to put on constantly changing exhibitions, although they may supplement these with material borrowed from the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro and the Plymouth Museum.
“We've just done an exhibition on Kit Hill which changed throughout the year, and one on the Guides Anniversary, one on Collars on Clothing and a few other smaller ones.” Lynda pauses, her enthusiasm highly contagious. “Next year we are doing an exhibition on Tipplers and Teetotallers – the history of drink in this area. This will include the history of ancient pubs around Callington, the pubs that have disappeared (the Methodists were responsible for the Temperance movement which got rid of a lot of them), the history of the beer mug, and dimples – which were multi faceted beer mugs. They started off in the 19th Century and are virtually disappearing now: the way things are going, beer mugs will disappear too.”
Bottle openers will also be included in the exhibition. “They are quite fascinating,” continues Lynda. “Somebody's loaning some spittoons and we're collecting bar paraphernalia such as old match holders and ways of igniting them. We're not quite certain whether we're going to touch on rum, but we are definitely doing flagons and beer holders, because in the past every town had their own maker of ginger beer and mineral water. There is quite a lot involved but it's very interesting and we're probably putting together a leaflet on it.”
In addition to the exhibitions, the Heritage Centre has many facilities available for the Callington area, which can help towards researching family histories. These include parish registers, census records, cemetery records, directories and surveys, newspapers, Wills and computer records. A huge selection of photographs has also been donated, and all of this information is free, though donations are much appreciated.
“We are entirely voluntary, and a key example of one of the smaller voluntary facilities and services to the community with no funding from anywhere,” explains Lynda. “We do get free accommodation from the Town Council but that's our only support. We have to raise £2,000 just to cover our costs and that doesn't allow us to publish books properly.”
As all their income comes either from donations, membership fees or sales, the Centre needs to boost their membership, which is their only reliable income. “We have the same problem of all museums: people expect to do all their research from their computers,” says Lynda. “It's the problem of trying to get people over the threshold, and because Callington is not a big tourist town we have to keep getting the people of Callington to come back, although we do get some other visitors, and we do put a certain amount of information on the website.”
Volunteers are much in demand, particularly for stewards. “We give training and it's a wonderful opportunity for people to have a good rummage and see what we have,” says Lynda. “If people could give us 3 hours a month that would be an enormous help. We also need someone with IT skills and an interest in history for the website so that we can set up our online shop and update things. And we need someone to organise events.” She pauses. “Ideally, we'd love a nice dry building rent free in the centre of town as we can't accept larger items.”
In these digital times, it's clear that the importance of Callington Heritage Centre cannot be underestimated. “If we don't preserve the heritage, who's going to do it?” asks Lynda. “We can store old papers and records in the correct, humidity controlled environment. We are the focal point: without the Centre all the records would be lost.”
Callington Heritage Centre, Liskeard Road, Callington, Cornwall, PL17 7HA
01579 389506 or e-mail us on enquiry@callingtonheritage.org.uk
www.callingtonheritage.org.uk
During the closed season it may be some days before messages are picked up.
Open: Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, 10am–4pm, Easter - end October 2011.
There is disabled-friendly access
The idea for a heritage centre came about when a local history group was formed in 1984. “The idea was to try to engender an interest in heritage of the whole area,” Lynda explains. “Our interests span all aspects of the social and economic history of Callington and the surrounding parishes which include South Hill, Killaton, St Dominic, St Eve, Stoke Climsland, St Mellion, Calstock and Linkinhorne.”
As well as being a place of interest, the Centre provides resources for anyone interested in the local history, and welcomes visits from local schools, youth groups, and any others. Lynda adds, “It is very much a local centre, but because of the mining history of the area, we get people coming from all parts of the world. Not a season goes past without Americans or Australians coming to research the mining history of their ancestors.”
Callington Heritage Centre was opened on 2nd June 1994 and modernised and re-launched on 22nd July 2006. Unfortunately it was hit by a terrible fire in March 2007 and wasn't able to re-open until 2008. “The fire brigade saved most of the archive, albeit with smoke and water damage, but there is some china that will need professional restoration and we are trying to raise the £5000 towards this,” says Lynda.
The importance of chapel china is not easily understood nowadays. “Methodism was very strong here in the late 19th and early 20th century, and could be part of your entire life, and certainly your social life,” Lynda explains. “There were a lot of chapel teas which were big events and much looked forward to – they all dressed up for them and were on their best behaviour and had their tea using the chapel china.”
So restoring the china is of great importance. “We are being charged £700 to professionally restore one saucer and we don't have the funds for that,” Lynda says. “Often when a chapel was closed, the china was distributed amongst the members, so we need to find these people. We're hoping they might donate or loan some on a long or short term basis - we could come to some agreement about it.”
Because the chapel is so small, the Centre has found that the best way of exhibiting their archive of 1600 items is to put on constantly changing exhibitions, although they may supplement these with material borrowed from the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro and the Plymouth Museum.
“We've just done an exhibition on Kit Hill which changed throughout the year, and one on the Guides Anniversary, one on Collars on Clothing and a few other smaller ones.” Lynda pauses, her enthusiasm highly contagious. “Next year we are doing an exhibition on Tipplers and Teetotallers – the history of drink in this area. This will include the history of ancient pubs around Callington, the pubs that have disappeared (the Methodists were responsible for the Temperance movement which got rid of a lot of them), the history of the beer mug, and dimples – which were multi faceted beer mugs. They started off in the 19th Century and are virtually disappearing now: the way things are going, beer mugs will disappear too.”
Bottle openers will also be included in the exhibition. “They are quite fascinating,” continues Lynda. “Somebody's loaning some spittoons and we're collecting bar paraphernalia such as old match holders and ways of igniting them. We're not quite certain whether we're going to touch on rum, but we are definitely doing flagons and beer holders, because in the past every town had their own maker of ginger beer and mineral water. There is quite a lot involved but it's very interesting and we're probably putting together a leaflet on it.”
In addition to the exhibitions, the Heritage Centre has many facilities available for the Callington area, which can help towards researching family histories. These include parish registers, census records, cemetery records, directories and surveys, newspapers, Wills and computer records. A huge selection of photographs has also been donated, and all of this information is free, though donations are much appreciated.
“We are entirely voluntary, and a key example of one of the smaller voluntary facilities and services to the community with no funding from anywhere,” explains Lynda. “We do get free accommodation from the Town Council but that's our only support. We have to raise £2,000 just to cover our costs and that doesn't allow us to publish books properly.”
As all their income comes either from donations, membership fees or sales, the Centre needs to boost their membership, which is their only reliable income. “We have the same problem of all museums: people expect to do all their research from their computers,” says Lynda. “It's the problem of trying to get people over the threshold, and because Callington is not a big tourist town we have to keep getting the people of Callington to come back, although we do get some other visitors, and we do put a certain amount of information on the website.”
Volunteers are much in demand, particularly for stewards. “We give training and it's a wonderful opportunity for people to have a good rummage and see what we have,” says Lynda. “If people could give us 3 hours a month that would be an enormous help. We also need someone with IT skills and an interest in history for the website so that we can set up our online shop and update things. And we need someone to organise events.” She pauses. “Ideally, we'd love a nice dry building rent free in the centre of town as we can't accept larger items.”
In these digital times, it's clear that the importance of Callington Heritage Centre cannot be underestimated. “If we don't preserve the heritage, who's going to do it?” asks Lynda. “We can store old papers and records in the correct, humidity controlled environment. We are the focal point: without the Centre all the records would be lost.”
Callington Heritage Centre, Liskeard Road, Callington, Cornwall, PL17 7HA
01579 389506 or e-mail us on enquiry@callingtonheritage.org.uk
www.callingtonheritage.org.uk
During the closed season it may be some days before messages are picked up.
Open: Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, 10am–4pm, Easter - end October 2011.
There is disabled-friendly access
TELLTALES
The writers' community that's taking Cornwall by storm
“Good words are good words regardless of their purpose,” says Clare Howdle, one of the founders of Telltales. Clare was brought up in Liskeard, but worked in London until 6 years ago. “I didn't plan to come back, but I met Helen Gilchrist, who was setting up Stranger magazine in Cornwall, and everything spurred me on to move back,” says Clare.
Telltales came about through Clare and her friend, Chelsey Flood. “We wanted a reading night which was an inclusive community to welcome everyone to share their writing.” Clare talks quickly, using her hands for emphasis. But Telltales wasn't to be an open mic night. “We wanted a wide variety of writing styles to be profiled alongside each other in a dynamic set which would keep audiences engaged and leave fellow writers inspired. We wanted Telltales to represent first timers and established authors who would all draw something valuable from reading their work out. Finally, it couldn’t be intimidating.”
Telltales started in Babahogs, a tiny cafe in Falmouth, but quickly outgrew that space and is now in its third venue, at the Rum Bar above Nancy's bar in the middle of Falmouth. “Jane Pugh often says it has a New York 1960s boho feel to it with all the candles on the table and I love that idea,” says Clare.
In terms of material to be read out, there are no rules. “It's about the quality of the words, not experience,” says Clare. “As long as it's an original piece of work by the writer, we take prose, poetry, novel extracts, travel journals – any writing that has a creative bent to it. ” Work can be submitted by the website – http://wordslikepictures.com/telltales But Clare aims to achieve a balance. “We get a lot of submissions so I try and make sure we get different people reading out every month – that way we give as many people an opportunity as possible.”
Now people have understood what Telltales is about, the quality and diversity of work has improved. “We wanted to provide the opportunity to aspire to something, which is why we put first timers alongside more experienced writers. So it's about the upwards curve which is where the idea for the Parabola Project came from.”
The Parabola Project is a collection of short stories by Telltale writers. “I've always had a passion for print and a sense of independent publishing,” says Clare, enthusiasm bubbling out of her. “It struck me that after 18 months we'd heard so many talented writers but sometimes, if they weren't practised performers, the audience needed to read it themselves so it was really about wanting to take that talent to the next level in print.” She leans forward, eyes sparkling. “For a lot of writers having something in print is really important and can make a big difference for someone wanting to launch their career or reach a new audience.”
Clare managed to find funding for this project and worked with Venn Creative to make a book that has style and substance. “You don't often see a marriage of imagery and design with words in creative writing, and that makes a big difference when it comes to people picking it up. I was so impressed with how it looks and reads.”
Telltales also featured at the Port Eliot festival in 2009, and Clare had bigger ideas for 2010. “I wanted to be on one of the main stages so in 2010 I pitched much earlier and they scheduled us in the Walled Garden. We were the first literary act and it went down really well and the writers were asked to perform again,” she beams. “It's great experience for the writers to perform in a different environment, and we hope we're doing it again this year.”
Clare's enthusiasm is infectious, and she has many other events planned for the future, including live events at the Poly in Falmouth. “I'd love to do it all day every day but because I do it in my free time I just don't have the hours in the day,” she says regretfully.
But she is delighted at how Telltales has taken off. “More and more people are coming along just to listen and have a good evening. Maybe people who haven't picked up a pen in years will think, 'maybe I could do a bit of writing'.” She finishes her coffee and looks up. “It's really gathering momentum and I want to keep that momentum going. I love to see someone growing into their own writing and sharing their work.”
Check website for future events and next meetings - http://wordslikepictures.com/telltales
www.parabolaproject.com
www.venncreative.co.uk.
Clare@wordslikepictures.com
Cornwall Today May 2011
“Good words are good words regardless of their purpose,” says Clare Howdle, one of the founders of Telltales. Clare was brought up in Liskeard, but worked in London until 6 years ago. “I didn't plan to come back, but I met Helen Gilchrist, who was setting up Stranger magazine in Cornwall, and everything spurred me on to move back,” says Clare.
Telltales came about through Clare and her friend, Chelsey Flood. “We wanted a reading night which was an inclusive community to welcome everyone to share their writing.” Clare talks quickly, using her hands for emphasis. But Telltales wasn't to be an open mic night. “We wanted a wide variety of writing styles to be profiled alongside each other in a dynamic set which would keep audiences engaged and leave fellow writers inspired. We wanted Telltales to represent first timers and established authors who would all draw something valuable from reading their work out. Finally, it couldn’t be intimidating.”
Telltales started in Babahogs, a tiny cafe in Falmouth, but quickly outgrew that space and is now in its third venue, at the Rum Bar above Nancy's bar in the middle of Falmouth. “Jane Pugh often says it has a New York 1960s boho feel to it with all the candles on the table and I love that idea,” says Clare.
In terms of material to be read out, there are no rules. “It's about the quality of the words, not experience,” says Clare. “As long as it's an original piece of work by the writer, we take prose, poetry, novel extracts, travel journals – any writing that has a creative bent to it. ” Work can be submitted by the website – http://wordslikepictures.com/telltales But Clare aims to achieve a balance. “We get a lot of submissions so I try and make sure we get different people reading out every month – that way we give as many people an opportunity as possible.”
Now people have understood what Telltales is about, the quality and diversity of work has improved. “We wanted to provide the opportunity to aspire to something, which is why we put first timers alongside more experienced writers. So it's about the upwards curve which is where the idea for the Parabola Project came from.”
The Parabola Project is a collection of short stories by Telltale writers. “I've always had a passion for print and a sense of independent publishing,” says Clare, enthusiasm bubbling out of her. “It struck me that after 18 months we'd heard so many talented writers but sometimes, if they weren't practised performers, the audience needed to read it themselves so it was really about wanting to take that talent to the next level in print.” She leans forward, eyes sparkling. “For a lot of writers having something in print is really important and can make a big difference for someone wanting to launch their career or reach a new audience.”
Clare managed to find funding for this project and worked with Venn Creative to make a book that has style and substance. “You don't often see a marriage of imagery and design with words in creative writing, and that makes a big difference when it comes to people picking it up. I was so impressed with how it looks and reads.”
Telltales also featured at the Port Eliot festival in 2009, and Clare had bigger ideas for 2010. “I wanted to be on one of the main stages so in 2010 I pitched much earlier and they scheduled us in the Walled Garden. We were the first literary act and it went down really well and the writers were asked to perform again,” she beams. “It's great experience for the writers to perform in a different environment, and we hope we're doing it again this year.”
Clare's enthusiasm is infectious, and she has many other events planned for the future, including live events at the Poly in Falmouth. “I'd love to do it all day every day but because I do it in my free time I just don't have the hours in the day,” she says regretfully.
But she is delighted at how Telltales has taken off. “More and more people are coming along just to listen and have a good evening. Maybe people who haven't picked up a pen in years will think, 'maybe I could do a bit of writing'.” She finishes her coffee and looks up. “It's really gathering momentum and I want to keep that momentum going. I love to see someone growing into their own writing and sharing their work.”
Check website for future events and next meetings - http://wordslikepictures.com/telltales
www.parabolaproject.com
www.venncreative.co.uk.
Clare@wordslikepictures.com
Cornwall Today May 2011
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