Monday 19 May 2014

Mousehole

A very comfortable bed, the sea breeze through the wide open window, squawking seagulls nesting on the roof just outside and the smell of the sea..... what a lovely way to wake up.

This morning while we hung the washing on a rack in front of the open bedroom window on the top floor we saw a cruise ship over the rooftops of the other houses.  We quickly got organised and walked down to the harbour to watch it go by.  It cruised past St Michael's Mount, turned and went on its way again.  A bit of sightseeing it seems.

We walked up and down almost every street in Mousehole, checking out all the little shops and eateries.  I bought a few little knick knacks for my nieces and we came back to the cottage for coffee.  For lunch we bought a cornish pasty and sat in the sun overlooking the harbour.  We were amazed to see there were "stop planks" for the entrance to the harbour.  They weren't exactly planks but huge thick beams. 

This afternoon I worked, to catch up on what I missed in the couple of days of sorting out the boat.  Mick went for another walk and then came back to get me to sit by the harbour people watching.  We spent a very pleasant hour and a half chatting with a lady who lived a mile away in Newlyn and liked to walk to Mousehole to buy a coffee and sit by the harbour.  What an idyllic lifestyle!  She was telling us about once sitting at that very spot and chatting to a father and his sone who ended up inviting her back to the cottage they were staying in for dinner.  She said it was the most ridiculously small little place on a very steep hill.  It was over three floors and had absurd steep stairs.  The bedroom was on the top floor and the bathroom was on the bottom floor so there were two sets of steep steps to negotiate to go to the loo in the night.  This was sounding very, very familiar to us.  It was the cottage we are staying in!  We all had a laugh at that.

Mick called Peter, at home, who had kindly offered to come and collect us from the airport..... at 5.30am!!  I took a photo of him standing in front of the harbour chatting to someone more than 10,000 miles away.  It is so strange to be arranging this.  In a way it feels like we're on holiday and soon we'll be back on the boat.  That is, after all, the only home we've had for nearly 2 years.  Actually, it feels like we're moving house, which I guess we are.  I keep looking at photos of our old house.... and the new house.... and its all a jumble.  The old house doesn't feel like home any more really and the new one doesn't either.  Maybe the caravan will feel home when we get there.  I'm sure by the time we get some of our belongings into the house it will be fine.  I think we've been away so long that without having lived in that house I don't have familiar memories of it.  We only spent time up there to clean or paint or garden.  We didn't even have a chair to sit on in all the time we spent up there before the tenants moved in.  We would sit on paint tins or stacks of timber.














 
 
 







 
 






8 comments:

nb Bonjour said...

Hi Elly and Mick,
We've been very entertained by your adventures since meeting you last summer at Fenny Compton. It must be a wrench leaving the boat after all this time! Good luck with the future and hope the times are as good.
By the way, the pink flower in all the hedgerows is probably red campion.
Give us a wave as you come past Exeter on your way back from Cornwall !
Debby and Dave

Elly and Mick said...

Hi Debby and Dave,
It was lovely to meet you and yes, it's been rather sad to say goodbye to Parisien Star. Lovely folk, the new owners.
And, thanks for identifying the flower. You're exactly right.
Elly

Paul and El said...

Love Mowzal, we have stayed there a few times. The stop planks are put in place for the whole of winter to keep out the big seas/storms etc.
Good food at the Coastguard.
Paul xx

Elly and Mick said...

Paul, Mousehole is up there on our list of favourite UK villages. At the top I'd say! It's the most gorgeous place. We've loved it.
E x

Dot Campbell said...

Hi Elly & Mick, Great to see photos of home! Made us quite homesick. Glad to see you're enjoying it! xxxx D & G

Elly and Mick said...

Hi Dot and Gordon,
We are loving every minute. What a beautiful part of the country! Which was your home town?
Elly

Dot Campbell said...

Hi Elly,
We lived in the countryside above Mousehole. Our local pub was the Kings Arms in Paul village which is half a mile up the hill from Mousehole.

Dot

Elly and Mick said...

Lucky you Dot, to have lived by such a lovely place!
Elly