Miles and Miles of Smiles at a Cornwall Feast Week

As these are difficult times we are experiencing at the moment I thought I'd travel back to a time to when there seemed to be smiles and joy everywhere - well, at least in Cornwall.

So I travelled back in my time machine to a Feast Week in St.Austell.

Look at all of those smiling faces. Okay the guy below might not look too happy, but he was a contrast to everyone else.

Even the horse was smiling. You can't actually see his full smile but, trust me, his gnashers had a quite a grin.

Of course, some of the more distinguished characters had to hide their smiles - for some people there is a time and a place for everything.

Behind their expressions though there is a build up of smiles waiting to explode.

Now that is some happy hat below! You can see his usual smile in the very first photo of this post.

And the lady below has a lovely smile.

Strewth, even the girl with her leg held high in the air has a wobbly smile.

As for the strong arm of the law there must be at least an occasional chuckle amongst the litigation.

Historically, St Austell had its week of 'feasten' activities surrounding the celebration of the Feast of Saint Austol. Somehow though this fizzled out in 1946. Since then there have been attempts to resurrect the festival.

The photo below is from the Feast in 1910, though most of the participants don't look too happy about the proceedings!

As is apparent the town of St.Austell is named after St. Austol.

The saint had a great friendship with St.Muen (St. Mewan today) of the adjoining parish. St. Muen died on June 21st 627 and St. Austol died seven days later.

Keep smiling, stay safe. As my dear old dad used to say:

Smile awhile
and while you smile 
another smiles
and soon there's miles and miles of smiles.
And life's worth living because you smiled.

Walking and Kitesurfing in Cornwall

The kitesurfing photos, above and the five near the bottom of the post were snapped prior to the coronavirus lockdown.

The next few photos are a 'legal' walk from home. The first part was under the train viaduct I mentioned in my previous post. The train from London to Penzance zoomed overhead while we were there.

The next photo shows some of the brickwork.

A viaduct was first built here in 1858 but had to be replaced in 1899. It's quite a construction as it has ten piers and is 115 feet (35m) high and 720 feet (220m) long.

Below you might be able to make out the original stump of the first viaduct as well as the present version. The newer viaduct has much neater brickwork.

Continuing the walk, some nice old granite pieces in a garden.

An old gate that appears to lead nowhere.

Now back to the kitesurfing. It was a dull, blustery old day.

However, the kitesurfers were having fun.

The kitesurfing pics were taken at Pentewan Beach, Cornwall.

When we returned home from our walk I noticed that one of the geraniums in our porch has started to flower. A sign, perhaps, of better things to come!

Thanks for visiting my blog. Stay healthy.

A Lockdown Walk in Cornwall, Plus Looking Back At a Sandy Beach

It's lockdown, because of the coronavirus so, like everyone else in the UK, can only walk from home.

We feel lucky though as we can wander along some interesting roads - under the train viaduct and past an old roadside marker.

There is even a small river to keep us company.

Trees to the right and a mound in the background.

The river keeps rolling along playing it's magical tune.

Oh dear, that spoils the moment - a dumped vehicle from long ago. I can never comprehend how / why this happens.

A look inside. No, definitely can't drive it away!

We continued walking for quite a while but unfortunately not to the beaches which are now out of bounds.

Below is the beach at Carlyon Bay on an early morning visit a while back, before the virus got a hold.

Another photo looking in the opposite direction from the beach.

It appears the lockdown could well last for six months. The restrictions are a nuisance but the health of everyone is more important

Thanks for visiting my blog. The search button towards the top right of this blog will give access to many Cornish beaches and villages. Stay safe.

Walking the Streets and Roads Near St.Austell, Cornwall

The world has changed, the cars have nearly disappeared and we are having to self isolate because of coronavirus - but at home and not on some deserted beach. We have to comply with the regulations and walk local to where we live.

The first three photos today show how the once busy roads are virtually empty. I did mess about with the top photo but the others are for real.

Above shows the normally busy A390 looking towards St. Austell and below looking in the  Truro direction. Not a car in sight, quite creepy!

It's even creepier when out walking and you see such signs! No Trespassing. We're Tired of Hiding the Bodies. 

A few palm trees by the A390.

There's always something to appreciate even on restricted walks, simple hedgerow flowers for instance ...

… or some daffodils roaming free.

Thanks for visiting my blog - stay healthy and happy.

Beautiful Flowers in Cornwall

A few floral photos today. The first three are flowers my wife received on UK Mother's Day along with a couple of gifts. All were very lovely but, because of self isolating, she really missed having a hug as well because of the dreaded virus.

On an (isolated) walk we saw these yellow gorse behind bars. Some sort of metaphor perhaps.

Ah, yes, below is the view from my front door - with a little bit of camera jiggery-pokery.

I levelled the top of our azalea bush (below) with the trees on the opposite side of the road when taking the photo. The trees are a little threadbare at the moment but will no doubt be full of life soon.

Not too sure what these plants are called - seen when out and about - but they are very pretty in their own way.

Some delicate laurel.

And more laurel, this time hanging over a local river,

Finally a magnolia, perhaps not at its best now but has had a lovely display. Many thanks for visiting my blog.

Also see: 22 Cornwall Flower Photos