greetings from the Land of St.'s

yesterday we left the converted barn and headed to St. Austell via Penzance. which is really not a via, but I wanted to buy a few more Christmas decorations. We arrived in Penzance to a lovely sunny mid morning.. did the little bit of shopping and had a cup of tea.. then once again the skies opened up and rain pelted down. we were caught in a shop with no umbrella or raincoats. I think this must be very normal here. Penzance is a lovely town when it is sunny.. but when it rains, it takes on a miserable foreboding energy. and i don't like it at all.

we left for St. Austell.. the landscape changed .. I cannot put my finger on it, but it seemed to lighten up a little to that of the west country where we were. Arriving at our next cottage 'Queensgate' in London Apprentice, we were greeted by the owners David and Carole. they showed us into the cottage

[they had even decorated a tree for us!!]

and asked if we wanted a cup of tea, we declined for the moment. so we all sat down while they explained the workings of this traditional cornish cottage and conversation got around to why we were here.. I told them my story.. and we chatted some more.. they told us that they were 'real' Cornish people. born and bred in Cornwall.. and had family trees much like mine. David is a Bard and on special occasions wears the blue cloak and Carole could be related to me, as she has the name Truscott in her tree. They knew of the family Tregilgas. Carole understood the feelings that I had felt at Lands End, she said that she has felt the same thing. She understood my deep yearning to visit Cornwall.  they told me snippets about the Cornish..about how tin miners were very clever men and weren't poor, as tin was a very lucrative thing to be in.

"......and it was like sitting with family. They showed me a side of Cornwall that I thought was lost. They showed me the passion of a Cornishman for his country. They showed me my love of Cornwall that I thought I had lost. I feel light of heart once again."

this morning we headed off to St. Mawes.. [there are so many little villages that we want to visit this week, in this area, as well as a visit to Truro and Falmouth, we will be busy]

arriving in St. Mawes, just on lunch time, we went into a local pub and was greeted by a very rude waitress who didn't seem that interested in serving us.. so we left and instead, found a little cafe and sat down. Sometimes I wonder if I am being led by my ancestors.. no, actually, I know I am being led by them. They have my best interests at heart and this time was no exception. All the food was freshly made by the owner and not the huge mass produced pub meals that seem to be on offer here in Cornwall. I chose a Homity Pie with salad and a pomegranate tea.. and it was absolutely delicious. I think Homity pie will be on our menu when we get home!

while we were eating our lunch, a woman came up to me and said how much she liked my headband [had bought it in craft fayre in St. Austell] and on hearing our accents she asked where we were from and got quite chatty. She was English, but lives in Singapore at the moment for her husbands work and really doesn't like it much at all.. she misses the seasons and hates the humidity. She told us that she had just been to Mass up at the catholic church in St. Mawes. We chatted for quite some time.. and she told us of quite a few places that we must visit while in the area.. including the church up the hill..'it is a bit of a walk' [and it was..but we are glad that we did].. she also invited us to Mass next week. Her name was Amanda.. and I do believe she was an Angel.. another one sent to me, to help me with my struggle and homesickness

we said our goodbyes and went to look for the church..
on the way up, I was so excited to find a Holy Well.

there was no where to be able to touch the water, so we kept walking and found the Church which was a lovely old stone church. [I love the old churches. Modern ones just don't have the same appeal for me]

['Our Lady Star of the Sea & St. Anthony]

and then a wander around the streets

then for another short drive to 'St.Just in Roseland'.. a church that Amanda had suggested to see...

St. Just in Roseland.. surrounded by a beautiful garden and grave-yard. Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea was a tin merchant and came to visit this area bringing the boy Jesus with him. [there is evidence of human habitation from the late stone age]

 The church is an early Celtic church. Dating as far back as 550AD, a church has stood on this site. The present church consecrated 1261. just beautiful.

inside was beautiful, not grand like some we have seen but the spiritual presence that is within these churches was here also.. a quietness. I could sit all day in a church, it brings peace to my soul, calm to my being.

then we had a little wander around the gardens..
and a robin redbreast flew on to a grave stone.. i started taking photos.. and it just sat there for some time

then flew over to me. closer

sitting in a branch of a tree.. and it preened and turned and posed as I snapped photo, after photo. both Joe and I were in awe of this moment. It was like a messenger to me..

[Medieval Europe lore often depicted the robin attending the Christ child, an emblem of the Passion to come. The tiny robin flew to Jesus' Crown of Thorns, striving bravely to pluck the thorns away with his beak. Unfortunately, the bird only tore his own breast on the thorns. Since then it was thought that robins wore red feathers on their chests as a badge of honour.
The robin is a bird of divine service. Robin people often have past life ties to the Christ energy. Robin is a guide in the wisdom of change, growth, renewal.]
totem animals are of an interest to me..
Here, I am noticing alot of signs and messages.. it is like I am connecting to my earth wisdom & ancestral memories.. dreams are strong, intense and often quite weird.

then as we walked, we found a sign pointing to a Holy Well.. of St. Just.

[my grandmother would be aghast at my fashion sense here.. she always said 'blue and green should not be seen, unless there's something in between'.. well, it's cold.. and I grab whatever I have in the car!! I am no fashion plate here in Cornwall

Never one to ignore a sign, I followed..

I leaned into the well, jokingly saying to Joe, that I would die if hands grabbed me from the water.. it was a little scary I must admit.. spider webs around the sides.. but the water was sparkling clear and I dipped my hands in.. a few times..

and blessed myself.

so here we are for a week.. in an area with villages of Saints names.. St. Mawes, St. Austell, St. Ewe and others.. in an area where my ancestors lived in many villages nearby.. Mevagissey & Verny...now to begin to explore..