Saturday 1 October 2016

Ode To October

Lanyon Quoit



 





 


Hello there!

If the blooming showers will ease up, we are off for our first doggy walk along Porthmeor beach since Easter. The dog ban is officially over today, and I for one look forward to this seasonal change in our weekend routine. We drive to Gramps' house (he overlooks Porthmeor, lucky devil), and descend upon him with all the noise and fuss that an unruly family can muster. Depending on the weather, we either have tea and biscuits with him before our walk, or after. Sometimes we do both. Sometimes he comes along with us too. I always have a sneaky peak of the Saturday papers. He takes The Telegraph. They do a good magazine and gardening section, even if their politics are decidedly Middle England Conservative Nonsense. Sometimes Marc and Olly go up into the loft and play with the Hornby trains, and then Gramps and I have a giggle together.

I have been very fortunate in always getting on famously with my in-laws. My sister in law is my closest friend and confident. My mother in law was one in a million. My father in law is the most sprightly eighty seven year old you'll ever meet. He still vaults his garden wall. He has an indomitable spirit, and a tireless energy. He is out dancing with his close friend, Christina most weekends. He and I share the same naughty sense of humour, and he delights me with his quick wit and close to the wind jokes.

We don't see as much of him during the summer months, and that's partly due to his hectic holiday schedule. He still lets out his holiday flats, and has a very busy social diary. But come the day that the dogs return to the beaches of St Ives, there we are knocking at his door. He knows, because he buys in shortbread fingers, and treats for Honey. "Come in, come in." he says. We take our shoes off at the door, and hang our coats up on the peg. Olly and Gramps have a special bond; Olly was only eighteen months when Granny passed away. Being too young to understand, he transferred his affection from Granny to Gramps, and they often sat cuddling on the sofa together. He brought smiles and laughter at a time that was overshadowed with grief and sadness.

Honey loves Porthmeor. If she could talk, I think she'd tell you that it's her favourite place of all. She sits by the cupboard in Gramps' kitchen, waiting to be given her treat. She lollops up to the front door, and enters via the cat flap. She barks at us, impatient to get going. She runs along the path past the bowling club and putting green, and reaches the beach before any of us. Again, she barks. For a stone. She loves to be thrown pebbles. She carries them in her mouth, and digs them into the sand. Once she's made a suitably comfy hole, she'll sit there happily. Over the years, people have stopped to take photographs of her sat in her hole. I like to think that somewhere, she's on someone's camera roll looking pleased with herself.

We may well carry on into town, and grab a take away lunch on the harbour. The colder months are for eating lip smacking, hot as Hades pasties. It's the only time of year I eat them. They are definitely cold weather food. The gulls aren't so abundant either, so there's less chance of it being snatched by one. We sit on a bench overlooking the harbour, and munch them down. Olly scales the harbour walls using the ropes that secure the boats. Sam and Alfie did the same thing when they were little. A little bit of family history repeating itself.

All in all, October remains one of my most favourite months.

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

Leanne xx

(the photos above were mostly taken during a day out Marc and I had to celebrate our wedding anniversary. A day discovering ancient monuments and settlements. A day that I saw a Goshawk. A day for sitting outside Betty drinking a cup of tea, and watching the butterflies. I hope you don't mind that my pictures rarely correspond to the text. It's got to be a terrible habit of mine to unleash my camera roll willy nilly onto the pages of my blog :)).





19 comments:

  1. I love to see your photos, so much of our beautiful country I've never seen xx

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  2. Gosh, that first photo takes me back. Pre-children we had a camping holiday in Cornwall and spent the week discovering ancient monuments. I think we may even have a photo of Lanyon Quoit somewhere. Your October tradition sounds lovely - you and Honey must be really glad to see the back of all the tourists. Happy pasty eating! xx

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  3. It's been a while since we've been to Cornwall, but your pictures bring it all back. One of my favorite places in England, there's just something spiritual about it.
    I had a great relationship with my inlaws too. My Mother-in-law became my best friend and I miss her still.

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  4. I love October as well, it is nice to have quieter beaches to walk along. Betty has polka dots!!! How cool is that.

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  5. Traditions are great aren't they! Love the sound of gramps; my sort of man. I can just see the two of you giggling. I love the change of activities that come with season change. Soon be time to light that new stove of yours. Lanyon quoit stirs memories of my youth. My aunt and uncle lived near St Just and I remember visiting Lanyon quoit on one of our many visits as children :) B x

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  6. Stones perched in prehistoric balance, bees dye themselves orange in the last of the pollen

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  7. Gorgeous photos and beautiful words. Your in-laws do indeed sound wonderful. I love, love, love the image of Ollie's grandad vaulting his garden wall. Brilliant. And of course every childhood should have a little playing with trains in the loft. I hope you had a lovely walk. The sun is set to shine all day today here, so I hope it will with you as well. Have a good Sunday Leanne. CJ xx

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  8. oh what a wonderful ritual of visiting. sounds heavenly. enjoy xxx

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  9. What an absolutely wonderful post. I adore those shots of the little white house seemingly perched on the hill by the sea. Perfection. You father in law sounds exactly like mine who, at almost 80, it still working full time in his own wood business, walking the miles every day and generally being healthier than the rest of us. (he reads the daily express though....it pains me.....) Happy October to you, gorgeous lady. Xx

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    1. Walking the dog! Serves me right for blog reading on my phone, can't type with my fat fingers.

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  10. October is one of my favourite months, too. It is just wonderful to have such a great relationship with your in laws. Richard parent's are both dead unfortunately so I don't know how I would be getting on with them. I am a bit scared of Richard's sister! Your Gramps reminds me of my own grandpa (whom I called Opapa). We once travelled the Tanzanian bush together. One of my fondest memories. x

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  11. Gorgeous post my dear, your father in law sounds like a right hoot. My father in law was a good man too, I fondly remember him driving his mobility scooter much too fast! I was thrilled to see the shot of the sea on IG the other day, it will be a few weeks before I get close to the coast here x

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  12. Your father-in-law sounds wonderful. I'm so glad you married into a nice family, they all sound great. Your photos are beautiful. I always enjoy seeing your view of the world.

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  13. I don't care what your photos are of, I love seeing them and reading your posts. Gramps sounds wonderful. I never really knew my father-in-law because he was locked inside Parkinson's Disease and a form of dementia until he died a few years ago. My mother-in-law now has a new lease of life. She is indomitable. S xx

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  14. Wonderful photos and text and even though you say they don't correspond it feels like they do. Maybe beacause they're both a glimpse of you and your life. Together they form the picture us readers have of you. So keep blogging in your wonderful way sweet Leanne. It's always such a treat to visit your blog.

    Take care.♥

    Charlie
    xx

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  15. October is looking and sounding good in your neck of the woods. So nice to have family nearby and all the traditions that go with them xx

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  16. I love seeing and reading about your part of the world and your life. Hope you had a fabulous weekend - it's nearly time for the next one!! xx

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  17. What a gorgeous post. Before I even reached the pasty chapter I was craving the last one I had in St Ives, it was the best pasty inhave ever eaten. I only eat them in St Ives, they just don't taste the same to me anywhere else on the planet. Glad Honey is back to enjoying her beach routine..George had a whale of a time on his first beach trip to Norfolk. Our small garden just doesn't cut it. Your Father in Law sounds ace. Happy weekend lovely x

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  18. Wonderful to read about the close bonds that you have in family. We are lucky that currently there is only one beach out of bounds here during the summer months. It always seemed a long time for October to come around when we lived in Weymouth. Sarah x

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