Friday, 9 November 2018

Lest we forget - Hadleigh and others

The displays around the district were also a poignant reminder of the suffering and loss of life in the Great War - still remembered 100 years on. They ranged from the simplistic but effective display in Raydon, to the huge 21000+ poppy display in Sudbury.


The beautiful, simple display of Raydon Church. 


The amazing cascade in Sudbury. A cascade of more than 21,000 knitted and crocheted poppies covering the local church, many of which were donated from all over the world. 


While I was dodging traffic to get my photograph , this rainbow appeared behind the church. 


I wonder what he would have made of it all? 


This display in the Castle Park, Colchester, features willow sculptures and a floral World War One tank, and incorporates over 11,000 plants. It is the town`s commemoration of the centenary of the end of World War One, as well as remembering the town’s important role during the conflict, when up to 20,000 soldiers were stationed in the town, and 1,263 men from the borough who sadly lost their lives. 



And then we had displays (below) in Hadleigh. Some in the Church and other commemorations on railing in the high street.



A couple of images of the display in St Mary`s Church in Hadleigh 


The mural on Magdalen Road was painted by Mark Brennan and Jane Olive 


Commemoration by the school children of Hadleigh 


The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. 


The role of women in the World War One was huge, as this excerpt from the BBC History states: 
Women and the war 
As men left their jobs and went overseas to fight in the war, suffragist and suffragette leaders volunteered their members to take their place. At first, the government met their offer with patronising remarks. But by 1915, as the war forced Britain to recruit more and more soldiers, the women's willingness to volunteer could no longer be ignored. Hundreds of thousands of women were employed in industries key to the war effort, such as munitions factories and weapons manufacturers. Many more women worked as conductors on the buses and trams, as labourers on farms, in hospitals as nurses and in offices as secretaries and assistants. 
With the majority of young men enlisted in the army, the role these women played was crucial not only to the war effort but also to the running of the country. Even during the worst of the war, the buses still ran and the mail was delivered. 


These two images show local tributes to that effort. 


Soldiers at the Hadleigh War Memorial 


After the laying of the wreaths


Flypast by two Apache helicopter Gunships 


Home    Forward     Back

Thursday, 25 October 2018

Lostwithiel, Fowey then onto Golitha Falls

Thursday started as an easy morning looking, and finding, a local Geocache with Izobelle and Rosey. Afterwards we went for coffee and cake to the Duchy Coffee shop near by. It had looked very tempting from the outside and we were not disappointed.



Coffee and cake digested, on the way back I took a picture of St Bartholomew Church near the house. The present church at Lostwithiel was mainly built around 1300, though first mentioned in about 1220. Before this, Lostwithiel inhabitants had to climb the steep hill to Lanlivery or go down river to St Winnow to worship.
Built in the Early English (or first Gothic) style when the town was a prosperous river port, Lostwithiel church stood at the top of a medieval triangular marketplace. The Duchy Palace and river crossing were at the lower end of this space. 
Most Cornish churches were enlarged in the late medieval and Tudor period when the tin industry started to generate wealth, but not Lostwithiel. A new churchyard cross of lantern type was commissioned for the churchyard, but the church was left alone. As a result, the church still has clerestories (upper windows) and narrow lean-to aisles as per the original plan. Sepulchral recesses, possibly designed for the Cardinhams who were lords of the borough of Lostwithiel before the Earls and Dukes of Cornwall, remain on the outside of the building. Inside, the church pillars are octagonal and lack capitals, as at Fowey and some French churches, and there is no chancel arch. The crowning glory however is the early 14th. century spire, now reduced in height, with a Catherine Wheel on the side facing the bridge.


Methodist Free Church with attached Sunday School, dated 1900. Lostwithiel United Free Methodist Church was constructed on The Bank (renamed Albert Terrace in 1846 after the visit of Queen Victoria and Albert). This chapel was rebuilt in the late 1890’s and was reopened in 1900 becoming known locally as Bank Methodist Chapel. The chapel was closed in 1987 and converted into apartments and the local Methodists then met in nearby St Saviours Church (Anglican) on Grenville Road. 
And then we  headed to Fowey again. 


A great sky above the houses on the riverside of Fowey facing the water. What a view!



Some of the narrow streets of Fowey


I wondered where it came to rest!


The King of Prussia Pub on the QuaySide, Fowey, named after an infamous local. John Carter of Prussia Cove was known as the “King of Prussia” and was the most successful and notorious smuggler of the Penzance district between 1777 and 1807, together with his two brothers, Harry, and Charles. According to 19th century historian Sabine Baring-Gould, John Carter received his nickname as a boy. The cove was originally called Porthleah but became Prussia Cove in recollection of Carter’s exploits.


This tanker was entering the estuary as we wandered along. Not sure of its cargo. Finished with a coffee and cake before heading home to take a few more photos in the vicinity of our house and then to Monopoly - and Izobelle won!

Friday was a day we went in different directions and unfortunately the weather was cold, windy and prone to showers. Rosey and I wanted to go toward Bodmin, initially to Golitha Falls and then onto an area near Minnion.
The Golitha Falls are a series of spectacular cascades and waterfalls along a section of the river Fowey as it makes its way through the ancient oak woodland of Draynes Wood. It is one of the best known beauty spots on Bodmin Moor.
As the river flows through the woods the scenery varies, from wide wooded glades to the steep sided, craggy gorge where the falls are at their most dramatic. Over the course of the falls the river descends 90 metres meaning the water is always fast flowing 



It wasn't too difficult to find and, well wrapped up, we set off from the car park. 



It was beautiful to walk along beside the River Fowey, albeit it became more difficult underfoot, until we came to a point where we were warned about the difficult path ahead. Time to stop and head back! 



Beheaded and left behind! 

Having finished our walk, we headed to Minion and looked for somewhere to go for lunch. We found a pub claiming to be the highest on Bodmin and it took its name from our next proposed stop - The Cheesewring. 
We had a great meal and pointed ourselves for a trek across the moor toward The Cheesewring, which is a giant formation of rocks that we had not seen before. However, we were walking toward our starting point but turned back because of the darkening sky and howling chilly wind. 
We decided - not today! So what to do? 
Then we remembered Restormel Castle on the outskirts of Lostwithiel, and decided that it was a better bet.



A massive circular shell keep built atop an early Norman motte and bailey castle, one of the most complete remaining examples in the West Country. The domestic buildings within the circular curtain walls are largely intact, as is the high wall. There was an outer bailey enclosing the site, but most traces of that are gone, leaving only the striking ruin of the stone walled shell keep atop concentric earthworks, surrounded by a dry ditch and banks.
Sometime around 1100 the Norman Sheriff of Cornwall, Baldwin Fitz Turstin, erected a fortification on a spur of land above the river Fowey.
We know very little about the earliest castle, which was built of wood, and the first time that Restormel enters the written historical record is in 1264, when the leader of the Baron's War, Simon de Montfort, seized the castle. Though the initial fortifications were made of wood, the square stone gatehouse tower (now largely ruinous) was soon added. 

The circular stone curtain which is Restormel's most unique feature was probably built by Robert de Cardinham, who was lord of the manor here from 1192-1225. Robert's curtain wall enclosed an area roughly 40 metres across, within the earlier earthworks. The curtain wall is over 2.5 metres thick (about 8 feet) and stands to the height of an inner wall walk protected by a parapet.


Around 1270 Restormel passed into the hands of the powerful Earls of Cornwall. When Earl Edmund chose to make the administrative centre of his estates at nearby Lostwithiel, Restormel became his major residence. It was Earl Edmund who added the curious set of curving chambers backing onto the curtain wall, effectively creating a concentric castle with kitchens, hall, guest accommodation, and private solar inside the castle walls. 
When Earl Edmund died in 1299 the Earldom of Cornwall reverted to the crown, and Restormel lost its importance. After the Duchy of Cornwall was formed the castle was ignored and left to decay, save for a brief period in 1354 when Edward, The Black Prince, son of Edward III, held court here as the first Duke of Cornwall. But when Edward died in 1376 the castle was left unused again. 
There was a moment on the historical stage for Restormel in 1644 when Royalist forces under Sir Richard Grenville briefly occupied it, ousting a Parliamentarian garrison, but after this brief interlude it was left to slumber once more, falling into complete disrepair until taken into state care in 1925. It is now officially owned by the Duchy of Cornwall but cared for by English Heritage.

So, it was back to Lostwithiel and to contemplate getting ready for our journey home tomorrow. It's been a great holiday with the family and hope we can repeat it.

Wednesday, 24 October 2018

The Eden Project

Wednesday was earmarked for a trip to the Eden Project - amazing to see the changes since last here. I believe there were just the two main Biomes.
People were pouring in when we arrived on a beautiful sunny day. We wandered around many of the educational areas which kept Izobelle (and the rest of us) thoroughly amused. It really is well laid out and caters for all ages with its displays. Took a few images of the area to try and convey the size of the place.
History: 
The clay pit in which the project is sited was in use for over 160 years. In 1981, the pit was used by the BBC as the planet surface of Magrathea in the 1981 TV series of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. By the mid-1990s the pit was all but exhausted.
The initial idea for the project dates back to 1996, with construction beginning in 1998. The work was hampered by torrential rain in the first few months of the project, and parts of the pit flooded as it sits 15 m (49 ft) below the water table. 
The first part of the Eden Project, the visitor centre, opened to the public in May 2000. The first plants began arriving in September of that year, and the full site opened on 17 March 2001. 


As you can see there are more than 2 Biome now!


Air - a part of the Invisible Worlds Exhibition


In the ceiling of one of the exhibits - not sure which one!


Air - birds flying


Part of the Invisible Worlds Exhibition - Infinity Blue

"Our huge ceramic ‘breathing’ sculpture pays homage to one of the world’s smallest but most important organisms: the cyanobacteria. Artist duo Studio Swine wanted to build a monument to these vital but invisible unsung heroes, in the same way as notable people are commemorated with statues. 
Three billion years ago the cyanobacteria started to produce oxygen – which changed the face of the Earth forever. Today they, and their distant descendants found in plants and phytoplankton, provide the oxygen in every breath we take. Without them we would not be here.
At over eight metres tall, Infinity Blue is one of the world’s largest ceramic sculptures. Come and see if you can catch one of its vapour rings!"


At least I captured an image of one!



The Humid Tropics Biome at Eden is the largest conservatory in the world and allows the tropical rainforest trees it contains to reach their full potential. It has been described by the team at Eden as 'a steamy supermarket'.
It contains carefully selected tropical plants from botanical gardens and nurseries all over the world. The air is kept between 18C and 35C. This provides a range of environments that suit the tropical plants. The automatic misters and stunning waterfall keep the air moist.
It contains the crops and lush rainforest sights of the tropical world, from the Oceanic Island to Malaysia. The biome offers a taste of life of a place far away.
Had a coffee and the visited the Tropical Biosphere - right to the very hot tropical top! Saw many strange but interesting plants and crossed the wobbly bridge, much to Izobells delight.
An huge array of plant life and flowers. A walk of the swing bridge and a view of the waterfall. Izobelle loved it, but like the rest of us, was glad to descend to cooler levels at the end.


We spent time watching the waterfall in the tropical Biome. This waterfall cuts a path down from the very top of the rainforest Biome. The waterfall is fed by rain water that falls on the Biomes. And so to lunch. We had a very Mediterranean Platter and thoroughly enjoyed it.


.... as did the little fellow clearing up the scraps on the next table.


Another rather large bird passes by while we were eating.


Another wander around part of the outside while the family took to the Ice Rink.


The large Bee ...


.... and a giant man pulling a rope - statues in the gardens.


The dome housing the stage where music acts and others can perform.


Story time - told in the peaceful surroundings of the Citrus Grove inside the Mediterranean Biome. What a great idea



One has to finish off the day with a facepaint! I was excused thankfully.


Tuesday, 23 October 2018

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Tuesday was a trip to the Lost Gardens of Heligan which was the family seat of the Tremaynes for over 400 years. By the early 20th century the house fell into neglect and the gardens were allowed to become overgrown. 
The Tremayne family purchased the Heligan estate from the Hill family in the 16th century and built a new manor house here in 1603. The house was rebuilt in 1692 in William and Mary style. The superb gardens surrounding the house were begun by Rev. Henry Hawkins Tremayne in the late 18th century. Rev. Tremayne called in Thomas Gray to create a garden plan around 1780, and this plan helped the eventual restoration work. Tremayne planted trees to screen the site and laid out the northern gardens and rose garden. 


The Burmese Rope Bridge across 'The Jungle' 


Later generations of the family added a wild area known as The Jungle, with subtropical plants including giant tree ferns, overlooking the fishing port at Mevagissey below. 
The last resident Tremayne was Jack, who built the Italian garden, but then relocated to Italy itself, and leased the house. Heligan was used as an army base in WWII, and the house was later converted into flats and sold. 
While the house was undergoing all these changes and the estate lacked a resident owner, the gardens were neglected and quite literally became overgrown and 'lost'. For over 70 years the gardens slumbered on and were covered by an overgrowth of brambles, weeds and dense foliage. 
In the 1990s a group of garden enthusiasts joined together to restore the gardens, a process that was featured on a 1996 TV series and became the largest garden restoration in Europe. The gardens were fully restored to their early 20th-century glory and opened as a visitor attraction. 
It is obviously a very large area to cover (80 acres) and we were probably going at the wrong time off year - also at half term! However, there were things to do and see in the barnes for the children and us adults explored some of the gardens. 


This sculpture was created by Artist Sue Hill and her brother Pete Hill. The giant looks alive…the shape of his eye sockets and eye balls are so compelling. His sculpted ear and nose are somewhat exaggerated and humorous and integrate so well with the plants of his hair and skin. 
The Giant’s head was created out of a fallen tree with a huge root ball. Again, mud was plastered onto the tree root to create the face. Finally twigs were scattered through and stuck on the top of the head. 



The British Lop pig is an endangered British breed of pig, with less than 200 breeding sows left. Halegan is proud to breed these impressive pigs and looks to raise awareness of their endangered status. The Lops are easily recognisable, they are the pink piggys with the floppy ears that hang in front of their eyes, it’s a wonder how they see anything?! 


Have tree, must climb! 


A few Honey Fungus spotted on a fallen tree


This attracted me with its sprawling branches going in all directions 


In one of the barns there were activities for the youngsters to take part in. Izobelle wanted to do some of them so we joined the throng! What attracted our attention was the man displaying various creates not normally seen in the Uk including this Tarantula and allowing those brave enough to actually hold one. This picture is of Rosey holding it - very brave I would say!