yesterday and today: The Lizard and rain

19 December
rain has been forecast for the next week.
yes, it does put a damper on everything.. it is hard to walk in the rain.. the public 'footpaths' are soggy and muddy. very muddy [public footpaths here are not the same as at home.. here, they often go through fields].. and to try to walk on the side of the road is really like having a death wish. The drivers do not often slow down for walkers.. instead, speed by, splashing the hapless walker with mud and slush. Flooding has been forecast too.. roads are full of mud.

 JOURNAL: I am beginning to feel that I am living Groundhog Day [get up in the morning. it's raining. Plans aborted due to the rain.. what shall we do? go shopping to yet another seaside town.. eat and come home... have dinner, watch a movie...journal, go to bed]....
we have even discussed going home early. cutting our losses and just packing up and going home.. rain is forecast for at least the next week. And there ain't much to do in Cornwall in the rain. But I know I will feel a failure if I do that.. I feel as if there is something to do before I leave.. and I want to go to London... funny that, because I was not looking forward to London, in the beginning. Now, I cannot wait to leave Cornwall and get to somewhere else.. I wonder if that is how my great grandparents felt? I know that Laura visited once after William died.. but she didn't decide to stay.. she went back to Australia.. she high tailed it back, quickly, I reckon!!!]

 we decided to go for a drive to The Lizard. and have lunch on the way... arriving at a little village of Mullion.. and we are glad we did. it was like stepping back in time and a very welcome change from what we have been experiencing in Cornwall so far.
we went for a walk around the village first....

this is to show how narrow most foot paths are.. of course this is very narrow, but as you can see, there is no verge on the side of the road and cars whizz by very closely to the poor person walking along. Many the time, I have had close calls with cars. they just don't seem to care much about anyone but themselves. I feel very sorry for the elderly.

Mullion was a pretty little village

with yet again, another gorgeous old church. anglican of course. built a long time ago. I think this one was 13th century. [ all beautiful churches here, but I am beginning to wonder where the olde religion is.. the one of my ancestors.. earth wisdom/pagan.. where they followed the seasonal wheel.. was it swallowed up in the early christian church or was it beat out of them with fear and guilt.. very sad that it is not as common as I expected.. but, I still carry it within my genes and will do my best to keep it alive in my own life..]

then lunch. we found a delightful little cafe..

and went in. They were expecting a table of ladies in at any moment and offered us a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings.. we are both full, all the time. All we seem to do is eat.. and when we mentioned this, they offered to do a small serving for us both. so we ordered two roast turkey dinners.. and a pot of tea for two. and so glad that we did. The meal was THE best roast dinner i have had here.. turkey, stuffing, bread sauce, gravy.. roast potatoes, parsnip cooked in cloves and butter [delicious!]..peas, mashed carrots and parsnips and the brussel sprouts. We feel so lucky and blessed to have found this little cafe.. because it made an ordinary day feel special and normal...

the table was set for the group of 'old ladies' who came in every Wednesday and this was their Christmas luncheon get together - their table was set with bonbons and each received a Christmas card. each lady was in her 80's I would say. beautiful. ..... we sat and ate.. and I listened to the conversation behind me. eavesdropping. but in a good way..and this is what i heard in part:

"i love Christmas cards, traditional ones with snow on them. not the modern ones that are out now.  my brother sent me one with two old ladies in christmas hats... silly.. I know it won't snow on Christmas day but it is so nice to get a card with a snow scene. ..."

then I went for a walk by myself to the Church.. I have decided that if I can at least get to sit somewhere peaceful.. whether it be a church or a stone circle, each day.. I may be able to keep the homesickness under control... of course sitting in a stone circle will not be an option with the rain forecast for the next week and beyond.

JOURNAL: I know that it may have been different, easier and nicer if I had come in summer.. but the crowds would have driven me insane. It was my choice to come to Cornwall at this time.. and I have absolutely no regrets about that decision. Because it has shown me the reason why my Great grandfather decided to leave.. and has shown me that Cornwall is not the land that i had thought it was. it has shown me that I could never live here. and it has shown me that Australia is indeed a place of beauty and it is home.

I came back to the cafe.. and tucked into christmas pudding..
 'do you want brandy custard with that?' - yes please!!

then off to see the Lizard........

Joe, enjoying the view of the Cornish coastline known as 'The Lizard'

sorry about the photos... but that is Cornish mizzle for you!!

 

this is sea cabbage [so I was told] and apparently, the Cornish took this and domesticated it, developing the modern day cabbage.. it is a pick and come again vegetable here... so I was told.

ok. can tick The Lizard of my list.....

JOURNAL: "we have had a brilliant time in England. Amsterdam was fantastic.. then to come to England was a dream.. we have been to some amazing places, met locals and talked.. done things most will never have a chance to do.. I have walked where my ancestors walked, prayed in their churches, walked among their ghosts.. sat and cried with them.. and I am not at all disappointed in what i have done..or experienced.. I have some of the most amazing spiritual experiences that I could ever wish for.. and a settling within..

but I must say, that Cornwall as a whole, is a disappointment for me. I expected pixies, faeries and elves. I expected there to be witches and lots of magick shops.. where I could buy all manner of bits..
there is an oppressive energy here.. maybe it is the rain. I don't know. But it hangs over my very being.. sometimes dragging me into 'depths of despair'...
I thought there would be a lightness of energy, an elfin energy.. but no, I do not feel that.

and now, I know that what i yearn for, I have found at home. Australia. with its bursts of bright, sparkly energy. with its bird call every morning - kookaburras, cockatoos and australian magpies. where people walk with a spring in their step that is unique to Australia.
but don't get me wrong.. it is beautiful here. I am so, so glad that we came. It will be forever in my heart.. but not with the yearning that was once there.. "

20 December
This morning, Joe and I woke up to yet another rainy day. With flood warnings and amber alerts for the whole of Cornwall. Roads are closed or blocked. people have sandbags out again to stop the flood waters coming into their properties and homes..
this is not normal, seasonal rain.. this is flooding rain. so I can be forgiven for sounding as if I am complaining a little...

with such flooding happening, we decided to just make a leisurely way back to Truro..

for a little more Christmas shopping and lunch in the Cathedral cafe. we bought some movies to watch while it rains & I bought myself some Bach flowers. Walnut: helps break links with the past so that we can move forward more easily. and Star of Bethlehem: for grief . Comforter and soother of pains and sorrows. Star of Bethlehem awakens the personality and leads it back to its Higher Self. It re-establishes energetic links so that residues of energetic trauma can dissolve and allow the individual to regain energy, vitality, mental clarity, and inner strength. [I chose Star of Bethlem because at this time of the year in Australia, they are blooming and are a big part of my Summer solstice decorating]