Christmas and looking forward to 2012

As many of us gather together with our families for Christmas, the conversation often turns to holidays and to what everyone has planned for the forthcoming year.

In the six years we have run holiday cottages in St Just, the season has extended further and further from the summer and that just goes to prove how much the area has to offer all the way through from January to December. So I thought I would look at what goes on in some of the 'off-season' months.

October and the dog restriction on beaches is lifted through to Easter, so that gives our dog owning guests a great chance to make the most of even more of our lovely beaches in West Cornwall.

November, sometimes just into October, St Just's Feast is held every year on the first weekend after 31st October to celebrate the dedication of the parish church. The celebration comprises a church service and civic procession on the Sunday, and on the evening and through to Monday a larger scale popular local celebration (in other words a few beers are drunk!) and the local hunt fills the Market Square. This is closely followed for fireworks night in early November by a display at the rugby club.

December is the time for mulled wine and roaring fires in the local pubs, the Christmas lights in St Just were switched on Friday, nearly accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the amazing display in Mousehole is well worth a visit.

In the New Year, forget the sales, the beginning of the year brings acres of fields of daffodils and empty beaches in West Cornwall. And the thing about St Just is that whatever time of the year you visit, because this is a real, working town, shops will be open, and the pubs are welcoming.

And before we know it, it is April and Easter, and the season has started again.

Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone, and we hope to see you in St Just in 2012.

November Sun

It has been the warmest November since I have lived in Cornwall, the grass is still growing and the flowers have been fooled into budding and blooming again. This view is from the churchyard in St Just across Kenidjack Valley on a sunny November afternoon. This time last year we were blanketed in snow ... what a difference!

However, the month is ending with gale force winds and driving rain, so even in Cornwall we don't have it all our own way.

The town is gearing up for Christmas, our neighbours have already pinned up the lights on the outside of their house and a few of the shops have already put up their Christmas decorations. There is plenty to see and do in St Just so if you are in the area, or passing through, park up and stop for a visit.

And on the subject of parking up, for those who are keeping up with the car parking situation in the town (Cornwall Council trying to charge for our car parks in Pendeen and St Just - our Town Council trying to take them over and keep them free) according to The Cornishman this week, discussions are ongoing but far from concluding 

Other news, The Kings Arms is under new management, welcome to Neil and Angie, we are looking forward to popping in for a pint and a meal very soon. They are keeping the pub very dog friendly so that's good news for many of our holiday cottage guests.

Getting back to the festivities, the main light switch on is on the evening of 16 December so here's hoping for some good weather for some great carol singing in the Market Square. Lots of different events are happening from advent fairs to Christmas markets to visits from Santa himself, and you can find our more on the local Chamber website www.landsendchamber.co.uk in the What's On section.

A Stormy Sky in Sennen

I am not sure what the half-term weeks holds for our holiday-makers down here. The forecast is mixed but it should be exciting on the coast with the winds that are predicted whipping up the sea over the weekend.

We made a quick visit down to Sennen today to drop off some glass at the Roundhouse gallery. You could see right out to the Scillies in the distance from the top of the hill, but the storm clouds were gathering.

Good to see all the shops and cafes open in Sennen and hope for a busy and profitable week for us all.

October News

Our hectic Summer seems to have drifted to Autumn so quickly I wonder where the year has gone.

St Just seems busier than ever. The leaflets that we produced for the Chamber of Commerce to promote our local businesses - Exploring and Where to Stay in the St Just and Land's End Area - have been really popular and we hope we have encouraged people to stop off and stay for a while to enjoy what we have to offer in the town. Certainly many of our guests at the holiday cottage who have not visited before are amazed how much there is in the town and how friendly people are. If you are either looking to visit or planning to live in the area, the Chamber website is a good place to start.

Most of my time recently has been spent on a couple of marketing projects for clients and working on our own website for the fused glass that we produce. Our glass Christmas decorations are now out in all the galleries and available online which makes Christmas seem to come around even sooner. If you are thinking about what to buy for your loved ones this year, check out the The Glass House website for some great fused glass gifts and Christmas ornaments.

The other parts of our lives are winding down as the season closes. The clocks change this weekend so my summer evening agility classes are too dark and too cold to continue, but Saturdays are still busy. And we have guests in the holiday cottage until mid-November and then a few weeks for a break before Christmas and New Year.

And finally the picture above just about sums up the month of weather - very changeable, stormy, rainy, sunny, but overall very beautiful. I suddenly saw the view driving back from St Ives this morning as a rain cloud approached St Michael's Mount. Stunning.

A Glorious Autumn Day in West Cornwall

Christmas is approaching fast. Today we were dropping off some of our glass to the Out of the Blue Gallery in Marazion. And there was just time to pop out and take a photo.

Marazion was looking fantastic today in the Autumn sunshine with a dramatic St Michael's Mount still attracting visitors across the causeway at low tide.

Having said that, last Thursday, the Mount had disappeared in the fog that was shrouding the whole of West Cornwall.

That's the thing about living in this part of Cornwall ... the weather changes, and sometimes very quickly. The past few days have been a mixture of heavy reain showers and glorious sunshine, so sometimes you just ignore the forecast and look out the window to see whether you should wear your wellies or your shorts.

St Just's Lafrowda Festival

The bunting is out and St Just is truly gearing up for the annual Lafrowda Festival. We are hoping the weather will be kind to us. This picture was taken a couple of days ago on my phone. Unusually there were no cars outside the church and with the cloth bunting it looked like a scene from days gone by.

There is something on every day this week culminating with the Barbeque on Friday night and the Festival on Saturday. Find out more at http://www.lafrowda-festival.co.uk

St Just Arts and Crafts is opening on Saturday 16 July. This new gallery is a collaboration between artist Nick Smith and Neil and Ann Christmas who run Bosvargus Barn B&B. Our glass will be in the gallery and I have just spent an evening sticking on labels and cutting ribbons for all the lightcatchers.

The St Just and Land's End Chamber leaflets are now available - one listing many of the shops, galleries and activities in the area, and one with local accommodation. Pick them up from many of the traders in the town or from the information stand at Lafrowda.

June News

The season advances and we come to the end of June with a week of sun, fog, sun, fog and now sun again.

Despite the odd morning of fog, St Just is warming up in many ways.

It is warm enough to sit outside the pub for a beer in the evening, but with a lovely breeze that means we rarely experience the intense heat that we used to living in the South East. The town is beginning to buzz with early season visitors and queues in the Co-op are getting longer with purchases of burgers for barbeques and beer to wash it all down.

There is a new gallery due to open in July next to the Cook Book in Cape Cornwall Street, you can now buy ice creams from the shop next to Just Fine Art and, after a short break, the Chinese takeway is back open again.

With Lafrowda just around the corner, the main festival day on 16th July, the programme is now on the website http://www.lafrowda-festival.co.uk/. After years of guests leaving and arriving on Saturdays, we have switched to Friday changovers so that we can enjoy the carnival day and relax like everyone else.

And finally the new leaflets that the Chamber of Commerce is producing to promote the traders and the accommodation in the area are due to arrive any minute and will hopefully encourage even more visitors to our lovely corner of Cornwall. The picture is taken at Cape Cornwall and has been used in one of the leaflets.

Mevagissey

A bit further than our normal travels, but we had a delivery to do in Mevagissey today to Avellana Crafts. Avellana stock our glass from The Glass House.

So while we were there, why not stop for a wander around the harbour and, of course, a pasty!

Simon ... a pasty ... and some lurking seagulls!

It was a slightly overcast day, but warm, and the rain held off until we were on the way back to St Just.

Cape Cornwall on a sunny June day

We are having such a crazy year, so busy, and the lovely weather (up until today, which is foul!) has really helped make life easier.

I have been putting together this year's guides for the local Chamber of Commerce - one containing details of where to stay in the area and one for the shops and traders - which are just about to go for print ready for the summer. Plus we have just set up our Chamber Facebook page which you can find by taking this link.

We did manage to get out last weekend with the camera as we needed to take some photos for the leaflets. Cape Cornwall was lovely ... that's me at the bottom of the hill with Molly while Simon stood at the top and watched.

Golowan in Penzance next weekend, then Lafrowda festivities on 15th & 16th July - looks like it is going to be a packed month of fun!

Is this really April?

Well it certainly seemed like Summer yesterday. I saw surf-boards, ice creams and shorts on the beach and it is only just April.

We popped down to Sennen Cove to drop off some glass at the Roundhouse Gallery, and ended up staying for a while including a coffee and a shared pizza at The Beach cafe.

What lovely weather, and so nice to have some evenings to enjoy the garden.

Cape Cornwall

At last the sun is shining in Cornwall after a week of mist, fog, drizzle and general greyness.

It is amazing how some blue sky can lift the mood. After a busy day we didn't have much time for an adventure, but you don't have to go far from St Just to appreciate what the area has to offer.

In fact, we only went down to Cape Cornwall and walked down to the right of the Cape past the ruined chapel. This view is north towards Botallack. The sea was choppy and the wind was brisk, but with the sun on our backs it was a very refreshing afternoon.

Then back home and, despite the fact that the recent wet weather had taken its toll, I managed to cut the grass in the garden for the first time this year ... surely it must be Spring soon.