The new roof looks fantastic.

All-weather team

The Scaffolding is dismantled ...

... to reveal our beautiful new roof and windows

From the Plen an Gwary

Where the damp got in before the roof went back on...

... and a general view of the dining room ready for painting

A good spread

A good time was had by all

Spot the new mobile phone

What a wonderful view

David and Philippa

3. Cape Cornwall Street Christmas Fair Saturday 3rd December

This was our first joint venture with the new St Just Art and Crafts Gallery next door and it was a great success. We both welcomed guests with mulled wine and mince pies. In The Cook Book, those had been baked by Emily Jelbert and they were delicious. We had seven stalls in the dining room selling everything from home-made fudge to bespoke leatherwork, and the steady flow of visitors gave the place a lovely atmosphere.
Emma & Emily had decorated the bar, dining room and scaffolding, and insisted on suitable decorations for the staff as well!

Dressed overall

Emily & Emma

Mulled wine & mince pies

Aggie keeping an eye on proceedings

Tristan's first Christmas at The Cook Book

The gallery, stall-holders, The Cook Book and visitors all hope to make this an annual event.

4. Banjo Cottage

Our lovely 18th Century cottage is again available for holiday lets. Visit Banjo Cottage for full details of availability and how to book.
There is a 10% discount on bookings made before 15 February.

5. Why we live here…

...it's a great place to walk the dog...

...or watch waves

Winter sunset...

...and time to get home before the light goes

The Brisons in half a gale

Lines in the sand

Windsurfers at Long Rock...

...an ebbing tide

St Michaels Mount

Freshly washed

Christmas Fair 3rd December 2011

The brain child of our neighbours in the new and brilliant St Just Art and Crafts Gallery next door to the Cook Book, we look forward to welcoming you to our first Christmas Fair with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie.

In The Cook Book we’ll have a number of stalls offering beautiful work by Bosorne Leatherwork, Helen Jay Pottery, Evocative Cornwall and others, as well as genuine book bargains and Julie Chapple’s scrumptious mini Christmas cakes and rum truffles.

Tea, coffee and cakes will also be on sale.

2. Morrab Library Book Fair

Philippa really loved her first Book Fair. Once again John Lewis shared our stand and was a huge help in setting up and striking down, as well as on the stand throughout the day. The Book Fair is the only one we attend and is a great shop-window for us, as well as, of course, being another place where we sell books – and buy them too. It’s good to report that we always sell more than we buy!!

Setting up – it’s an early start

John Lewis & Philippa unpacking boxes

3. Family News

Out in Canada
Rowan, aged six, is a serious chess player. He went to two ‘Chess Camps’ during the summer holidays and recently took part in a championship match where he came third, beating young people at least twice his age.

Third Prize

Chess champs – first & second prize winners are at least twice Rowan’s age!!!

He regularly competes all over the world online on Chess.com. He’s been beating Ellie. Now it’s my turn! “Don’t worry, Grandpa, you’ll learn from your mistakes.”

October is the month for birthday parties out there, with Miranda, Jake and Liv all celebrating within a couple of weeks of each other, as well as Jake and Miranda’s seventh wediing anniversary. Happy times.

Down Under
Ellie and Tim have bought a fabulous house together on the edge of a 52 acre nature reserve, yet really close to the centre of Brisbane. From the photos we’ve seen it looks palatial – and right now they are entertaining my sister Jo and her husband Jamie, who are having the holiday of a lifetime visiting friends and family all over Australia.

Ellie’s heavily into gardening. We keep forgetting it’s spring out there and continue to be amazed at the speed with which her various plants are shooting up. So is Ellie!!

4. Back at The Cook Book

Nine years after the surveyor told us the roof should be replaced, we’ve finally plucked up enough courage to get on with it. Actually, we didn’t have a choice as it had got to the point where it couldn’t be patched up any longer.
A big thank you to Cornwall’s Conservation officer, Penny Stokes, who advised us that we didn’t have to replace it with a wet-laid roof, providing planning permission was granted. This would enable us to make savings of at least 1/3rd of what that would cost.

Farewell ancient roof. You did us proud!

South Shore Scaffolders build our tent

Starting at the front

Encased in steel

And tented over

Slates come off

Going...

...Going

...Gone!

Timbers go on

But first this must go...

...so the roof looks like it did in about 1790

Lunch-break

Insulated by recycled plastic bottles, felt & battens going on

Reminds me of building a ship – the sweet lines of our new roof

The next stage is leadwork and then the slates!!!

5. Down to Earth

Autumn visitors

Great-nephew Jesse, over from Madrid

Jamie waiting for a mug of Latte

Becky Watson...

...and her new son Sam, just a few weeks old

We put our best foot forward....

...for Feast Monday

Why we live here

Surf on Trafalgar Day

Evening light on the silver sea

The Cook Book will be closing daily at 4.00pm from Monday 5th September.

1. This summer

A mixed bag of weather, with some brilliant days and others with cloud as thick as a bag and down to about 200 feet, which isn’t so good for people on holiday – St Just is over 300 feet above sea level. But it’s great for cafe-bookshops, so is rain and we’ve had several damp and dreary days outside, while inside there’s been a terrific atmosphere, lots of people, conversation flowing, laughter echoing and our lovely staff keeping the food and drinks flowing smoothly, at the same time there’s been a steady stream of people up and down the stairs for books.

Friendly dogs with their owners!

Many hands...making red onion jam

The two Ems + glasses to stop onions from making them cry. (It worked!)

Lafrowda Day came and went. The Cook Book was super busy Becca’s tried and tested system for running the place when we’re flat out worked brilliantly, our guests were happy and so were our excellent staff, though none of us had time even to take a photograph!

Philippa’s really enjoying running the book side of The Cook Book, from buying books to keeping the shelves stocked and tidy. This last part of the job is difficult at times, especially when the place is full and we’re really flying with food orders. However, it is so important, and so is managing to get books put back on the right shelves after some browsers have been visiting – or a lot of children have been upstairs!

Here’s a ‘fact’, recently reported in the press: three out of every ten households do not possess a book. Quite how this is established is a bit of a mystery, but if it’s true that is so awful for the children of those households.

No books = no sitting on a parent’s knee to look at the pictures, no stories read aloud, no curling up in a chair to escape to another world, no reading in bed, no atlas, no dictionary, no reference books.

No Books = no stretching of the imagination, no knowledge, no poetry, no curiosity, no comfort, no escape. How sad is that?

2. Family News

Ellie and Tim have bought a house together on the outskirts of Brisbane. It’s got four bedrooms and looks over a 52 acre nature reserve. It’s such exciting news and we wish them great good fortune in their new home.

Jake has unveiled his public art statue in Port Alberni, up on the West coast of Vancouver Island. It reflects the heritage of the lumber and coal industry, combined with the present and future tourist industry. He’s also had a great radio interview on Canadian Broadcasting: Radio interview with Jake. OK, proud parent writing, but it really is an excellent interview which simply and clearly defines the work of an artistic blacksmith.

3. Forthcoming Events

Saturday 24th September: Morrab Library Bookfair at St John’s Hall Penzance. From 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Bosorne Books will have it’s usual stall at this excellent bookfair and we look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones.

Saturday 24th September: Poetry at the Equinox at The Cook Book. From 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm.
The Poetry School’s annual presentation of new work by local poets who have attended seminars run by Alice Kavounas Taylor. Tickets from The Cook Book £3 to cover the cost of finger food. Pre-booking essential as seating is limited. You are welcome to bring your own wine or beer.

4. New Roof on The Cook Book

We are having to put a new roof on the building as the existing roof cannot be patched any more with any degree of certainty that it will survive another winter! That’s a lot of cream teas!!!!

We have applied for planning permission, requesting that we may replace the wet-laid slate with a dry-laid slate roof as this will save us a significant sum. That saving will enable us to remove the modern gable and casement window upstairs and the modern shop window of the dining room downstairs, replacing them with windows much more in keeping with the character of this late Eighteenth Century building. Fingers crossed for a favourable decision.

As soon as we know the date we’re starting we’ll post it in a special newsletter. At the moment, it looks as if we’ll only be closed for the time it takes to strip off the old roof. Renewing the roof will be taking place under a scaffolding tent so that work can carry on regardless of the weather.

These pictures show what we’d like to replace, if we could afford to…

....this modern gable window

...and this redundant door and modern window & the resin-mix block work below it

...and this modern window over the front door

5. Staff Party

Almost at the end of another great summer, and already some of the young staff are leaving, a bit like the swallows, so we had a party at home to thank them for all their dedicated hard work that keeps The Cook Book going; some food, a glass or two to toast health and happiness, another glass or two to toast our thanks, great conversation, a lot of laughter and a bonfire beneath a canopy of stars, where we burnt eight wrecked cafe chairs!!

Round the dining room table...

...but not on these chairs!

The Cook Book Team 2011, Emma’s taking the photo, Natalie’s on holiday

A Little Piece of Heaven

Mine stack smoking at sunrise

Grass dancing in the wind

Aggie in new-mown hay

Penanwell on a grey summer’s day

Pendeen Watch from the South

Tidelines at the Crown Mines

Flumps digging to Australia

In....

...and still alive!

Sweet pea scent of summer

A bindweed bugle

Penanwell

Walking down to Cot Valley

Cliff edge flowers

Above Progo

Above Church Rock looking to the Brisons

Nanquidno, out of the wind

Aggie, in the wind!

It has been a busy month

Half term, a lot of walkers, sunshine, showers, prolonged rain, too much wind – and so many old friends and new coming into The Cook Book. It is always good when we’re busy, such a buzz of conversation out front and well-organised action from the moment your order is taken until it is placed in front of you.

Spilling the beans!!!

There are the odd exceptions:
(Don’t ask David to move the grinder, especially when the place is full…..)

Weight and Flight

On 9th June Angela Stoner and Claudia Hoffman took their audience on a journey through words and music.

33 people packed into the Cook Book, stripped of tables and converted to a theatre, for a fabulous evening of Angela’s poetry interpreted by Claudia on a range of instruments including the Celtic Harp, violin, tree harp and singing bowl.

Angela, left, and Claudia

Some of the wrapt audience

Tristan, sleeping like a koala bear!

At the end of the day, there is always much else to be done, but it’s not always hard work…. babysitting!

Bosorne Books

Philippa in her usual perch, pricing books, Aggie helping

Bosorne Books is now being managed by Philippa and, as you will notice, she’s got the book shop very well organised.

Philippa is now responsible for the buying as well as the selling. She and David still work together on the more unusual and expensive books, and David does the collecting of books from people’s homes as that is often very heavy work.

The main reason for the change is that Philippa knows a great deal about books and, with David cooking five days a week, he doesn’t have the time he used to.

It just has to be first!!

The Cook Book 'dressed overall'

We hadn’t really thought about Friday 29th until Bronwen Rowland asked us what we were doing to celebrate, about three days before the happy event. Unimpressed with, ‘Nothing,’ she then suggested that we host a ‘street party’ and set about organising people, food and drink, and told me in no uncertain terms to make sure that we had the bunting out …

The staff 'dressed overall': Becca, David and Emma in their wedding kit

The flags are ones I’ve had for years. It was good to fly the Red Duster again, even though we weren’t at sea.

Hat and cook

It was Philippa’s day off so she stayed at home and watched the whole celebration on television. We were moderately busy, but still had time to hear a fair bit on the wireless.

A Union Jack hat appeared just after we opened – not prizes for guessing who had to wear it.

Closing at 4.00pm, we were then taken over by the party team Mel, Bronwen and Megan. Our dining room was transformed into a ‘street,’ tables were decorated, plates of food appeared, closely followed by the wedding guests, all beautifully dressed and in party mood. The youngest was 11 weeks and the oldest 69.

A good time was had by all!

Setting out the feast

A prince

A princess

Prince and princesses

Philippa in one of Ellie's hats

A great place for a party

Bronwen in her tiara

The hat collector

Princesses in the book room & Aggie patrolling for crumbs

The Union Jack hat found a new owner ...

Those of us on duty during the day were able to watch the highlights in the evening, so too did those who had watched it the first time round.

Talking to the milkman the next day, we agreed it was an amazingly happy day and that the pageantry was something that we do so very well in this country.

A warm welcome to the FRIDGID COW!!!

Fridgid Cow: ice-cream parlour in St Just

Claire Stone’s latest venture is to open a wonderful ice-cream parlour in Market Square. It’s exactly what’s needed in St Just and serves the most delicious Roskilly’s ice-cream in tubs and cornets.

Family news

Jake took his family down to the southern part of California for the Californian Blacksmiths’ Association meeting, where he had been invited to run a workshop. It was a great success all round. The family loved their travels and there was an excellent response to Jake’s skills in design and forging. Some of his work is displayed on his website www.jakejames.ca

We do miss seeing our lovely grandchildren growing up.

Way down South, Ellie continues to love her life in Brisbane. Every time we speak to her we realise that she is becoming more and more settled in Australia.

It’s easy to understand why our children have left Cornwall and are making their way overseas and it is so good to know that they are happy where they are. Such has been the lot of Cornish families over the centuries and we are so lucky that we can at least talk and email on a very regular basis. Think what it must have been like when, for example, one of Philippa’s forebears walked out of St Just to seek his fortune:

On the 2nd day of April 1849, I left St. Just, to find my way to far off South America; I was almost the first to leave for a foreign land, so a great many came to see me off, to say “good bye”, for they thought I should never come back again.

On the top of Treguney, I turned, like the soldier, to take a last fond look of the old place, with a tear in my eye, I shall never forget it, for I was leaving all that was near and dear to me, to seek a strange land, where no familiar face would meet my eye, where a strange language should fall on my ear, not understood.

His parents would have waited anything up to a year or more just to know that he had arrived safely, not drowned off Cape Horn.

April, the driest since records began

What a lovely month. How lucky we are to live in this beautiful place and wake up day after day to clear blue skies, seas gleaming like polished silver, the scent of gorse, spring flowers blooming along hedgerows and foot-paths.

The school holidays and the Easter week-end were busy. So too was the Royal Wedding week-end. Indeed, we continue to be busier and busier as time goes by.

April Gorse

Ayre Point

An empty Gwenvyr

Friendly Long Horn

Aggie and Bluebells

High Tide at Little Sandy

Thrift

It was in November 2002 that Philippa said, ‘Let’s run a book-café,’ and changed our lives dramatically.

We opened The Cook Book on Saturday 5th April 2003. Eight years on and we are still enjoying ourselves, still welcoming old friends, still meeting new ones. Many of our guests come back year after year. Many newcomers are surprised and delighted to find a café-bookshop in the most Westerly town in England.

A huge thank you, one and all, for your wonderful support over the years.

2. Article in Cornwall Today

There’s a great article written by Liz Norbury in the April edition of Cornwall Today. “A Banquet of Books” traces the origins of The Cook Book before focussing on Bosorne Books and the book binding and book repairs that Becca Vosper does. There’s a fine tribute to The Helston Bookworm, where we learned about running a book-shop, and where Becca learned to repair and restore books. Malcolm and Ann are now running The Chester Bookworm in Vermont, so we can’t just pop round for advice and help like we used to!

3. Gold Award Presentation

David and Becca went up to Trelissick to be presented with the CHEFS Gold Award on 23rd March. It was a beautiful day, the gardens were filled with daffodils and blossom and there was a good crowd from all over the Duchy. One fact that amazed us is that there are 8,500 food outlets in Cornwall and fewer than 100 have the CHEFS Award. That makes it very special.

4. Cape Prize Winners Lunch

Cape Prize Winners

Head Teacher Brett Elliot brought the three prize winning “Good Mentors” from Cape Cornwall School to lunch on 4th April.

It was good to see them enjoying themselves and to continue the strong links we have with Cape.

In the very early days, and, of course before David became a school governor, we did enjoy our regular visits from a small group of Year 9 boys. They seemed to be able to wander out of school for an hour or so at about coffee time, would come in, have their espresso or latte, browse the Times and debate current affairs with us before heading back for the next lesson. Their extra-curricular activity didn’t seem to do them any harm!

5. Talking of Cape

Cape Cornwall, misty day, looking down from Carn Gloose

The Western Morning News reported on 19th March that Cape Cornwall is ‘named as the nation’s greatest natural wonder.’

A list of Britain’s seven natural wonders was compiled to celebrate Britain’s Tourism Week and our Cape came top. This is no surprise to anyone who has walked up to the stack and sat in the sun on the bench overlooking the Brisons; or to the families who swim and picnic in Priest’s Cove every year; or to the hundreds of walkers who pass by all in all weathers.

One of the best views of this noble cape is from Carn Gloose.

6. And finally….

….March may have been one of the driest months for a long time, but down here we had our fair share of mist and low cloud. One consequence is the grounding of the Isles of Scilly Sky Bus from Land’s End Aerodrome, but, if they can fly, they do. The low cloud approach from the Scillies comes in over the Brisons and up Cot Valley, sometimes really quite low. They must be great pilots, flying in all weathers on one of the U.K.’s most spectacular routes.

Looking towards Sennen

Bank Square, St Just

The Cook Book

PS

Tristan, aged two weeks

Becca’s nephew, Tristan, has become a regular visitor. He was two weeks old when he first came in.

Now he’s become a dab hand at helping to price books.

Book pricing, the coffee bar

Book pricing, the dining room table at home

Newsletter 2/11 has the press release from Cornwall Council. As you can imagine, we are absolutely delighted to have been given this award. It is very much a tribute to Becca Vosper’s management of the café and to her sourcing of local suppliers. We really appreciate all her hard work.

2. Fund raising for the Queensland Maritime Museum

Sinking

Philippa on the phone

I forgot my camera! My excuse is that the England – France rugby match was on while I was changing at home. It was too much of a distraction to think straight, though if I had taken it you would now be looking at a picture of Philippa in her Quantas pyjamas, worn with great aplomb to the evening. Perhaps it was as well I left it behind.

We had a great time, the food was delicious,there were sad, happy and moving readings, including a message from Ian Jempson, CEO of the Museum, for which we raised £200. This will be presented in the near future by our daughter, Ellie.

Here is a picture of Philippa speaking to Ellie from The Cook Book the day after!

3. Cornwall Today

A day or two after we were assessed for the CHEFS Award, we were being interviewed by Liz Norbury for an article about Bosorne Books and the book binding side of the business. This will be appearing in the monthly Cornwall Today magazine sometime soon.

We will let you know when we have the publication date.

4. February Half Term

It was lovely to see so many old faces back in St Just, more specifically, in The Cook Book, over half term. There is a real buzz when the place is full, the murmur of many conversations, children’s feet thumping upstairs (why do children walk so heavily?), the coffee machine hissing, food going out, the dishwasher steaming.

It was a wet week …

…. but the sun came out on Sunday ….

5. New Flat Roof

….which was just as well, as we were able to renew the flat roof at the back of the dining room and over the store without causing too much disruption. The work was carried out by Terry Allen with the felting done by the Western Flat Roofing Company. It is a great relief to have that job well done.

6. Banjo Cottage

If you are looking for a really comfortable house for your holiday, with a sunny secluded garden right in the middle of St Just, check out our daughter’s cottage on www.cocooncottageholidays.co.uk. There are still some weeks free throughout the year and, though you might think we are biased, people who stay there love it.

7. Nuggets – Julia Trahair’s exhibition of textile and stone art

A beautiful and skilful combination of the softness of cloth and the elemental hardness of stones which carry sayings of great wisdom.

Julia’s exhibition opened on 8th March and runs until after Easter.

And finally

Many congratulations to Megan and Chris on the birth of their beautiful son, Tristan

Contrails heading West ...

... While Aggie waits by the Putty Rock

CHEFS Award Presented to the Cook Book

The Cook Book in Cape Cornwall Street, St Just has been awarded a prestigious Gold level CHEFS Award in recognition of its commitment to offering healthy menu options using locally sourced food.

The Award means that The Cook Book will be able to display the distinctive blue logo which tells customers that it has adopted and maintains a high degree of food safety and standards and provides and promotes a selection of local foods as well as using healthier cooking methods.

Cook Book owners Philippa and David James said:
“Thank you so very much for all your encouragement and help in putting The Cook Book forward for the CHEFS Award. We are amazed and delighted that, eight years after two ancient novices opened the door of our café-bookshop, it should have received such a prestigious award.

That we have achieved the GOLD Award is very largely due to the dedication and hard work of our manager, Rebecca Vosper, our small team and to the support and advice we have always received from the Environmental Health Officers over the years.

It is a great honour to receive this. We are so happy to be able to display it in The Cook Book for our guests and staff to see.”

Launched in October 2005, the Cornwall Healthier Eating and Food Safety (CHEFS) Awards are awarded by Cornwall Council’s food safety officers working with in partnership with Eatsome/NHS Health Promotion Service, change 4 life and the Council’s trading standards officers.

Cornwall Council Environmental Health Technician, Martin Holland, said:
“This is the most prestigious award we give and to achieve it food establishments must satisfy Cornwall Council food inspectors that they not only offer healthier dishes but, through preferential pricing, that they actively encourage customers to choose them.

Award winners must meet the highest standards of cleanliness and food hygiene practices, including the use of a documented food safety management system. Customers will have a guarantee that a percentage of the items on the menu are sourced locally. Well done to the staff at The Cook Book for achieving this award.”

The award has three levels: the prestigious gold award, silver and bronze. There are criteria at each level which have to be met. If a business is successful in gaining an award, it will get a certificate and a window sticker for display. It will also be added to a list of current award winners.

Cornwall Council’s Cabinet member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods, Lance Kennedy said:
“The CHEFS Award encourages businesses to promote local produce and healthier eating, which is good for the local community as a whole. I’m delighted that the Cook Book has been awarded the Gold level for their commitment to using and sourcing local produce and for its track record of high standards of cleanliness.”

Most food businesses in Cornwall can apply. There is a detailed information pack for businesses about the CHEFS Award scheme, which includes tips on using healthier ingredients and local produce, modifying recipes to cut down the amount of fat, sugar and salt, and advice about the different Trading Standards requirements required to achieve the three levels of award.

If you would like to nominate a business for the award or you run a business yourself and would like to find out more, please, e-mail: envhealthandlicensing@cornwall.gov.uk or telephone 0300 1234 212 and ask to speak to an officer in the food safety team.

It’s good to be open again after a 10 day break with our Canadian family at the beginning of January, and then slogging hard to refit during the remaining three weeks.

We are, as always, delighted to see so many old friends back, to see The Cook Book full, hear the buzz of conversation, to answer queries about books, to know that it’s the start of another year, our ninth since we bought the place in January 2003.

2. The winter refit

The big job this winter was to scat out the decorative granite in the first book room and replace it with a glass-fronted book cabinet – without making too much mess!

This we did, with only a few skinned knuckles as lumps of granite were knocked out, and much grunting as each one was carried downstairs. In the process, we uncovered an interesting alcove, discovered a neatly drilled rock with tin in it and exposed a beautiful Edwardian safe.

Luckily the wall behind was in fair shape and didn’t need too much plastering, the safe was taken away by stronger backs than ours and the dust-sheets did their job.

It was interesting manoeuvring the book-case upstairs as there wasn’t much room to spare. Philip Semmens had measured carefully! He has produced another fine illuminated display case for our larger books.

My brother-in-law, Jamie Graham, was down for his ninth refit and built the other book-cases we needed. He, Becca Vosper and I got the book-room sorted, then Becca painted throughout downstairs while I finished off upstairs and re-decorated the outside loo.

The final flurry included pressure-washing the back patio and alley in bitter weather, re-arranging books, another job involving lots of grunting, and then hours of patient sorting by Philippa.

Granite scat out

New display case, alcove and bookshelves

Aggie checking the work

More bookcases

The end book-room

Are you doing food?

Our apologies to our guests who hadn’t realised we were closed. We do advertise that we are open all year and will be changing this to read ‘closed in January’ when we renew our publicity material. You will understand my amusement when the door opened one day, in spite of several large signs saying we were closed, and a person came in, obviously didn’t notice the tools, dust-sheets and other signs of work in progress, and, looking straight at me, asked: “Are you doing food?”

3. Christmas

We had a really special Christmas. Our Canadian family flew in on 12th December to stay with us for a month. It was so lovely to have them here. With no delays to their flight, sunshine, frosts, not much rain, cousins and other small boys to play with, snowflakes and paper-chains, castles, candles and stories, this Christmas in the Count House was one to remember.

Three in the bed...

Candle-lit stories

Stocking time

Christmas Day at the White Gate

4. On the other side of the world

Hallo Brisbane!

It was extraordinary to be able to link up with Ellie by Skype on Christmas Day. She is so very far away and it was most peculiar to be seeing her, talking to her on the computer, especially as our link seemed to have several frogs parked on it.

She lives clear of the dreadful floods in Brisbane and, though the Ship Inn, where she works, is close to the river, thankfully it wasn’t flooded.

Appeal on behalf of the Queensland Maritime Museum
That wasn’t the case for the Queensland Maritime Museum, just opposite. Its dry-dock flooded, floating HMAS Diamantina clear of her blocks and capsizing and sinking the lightship Carpentaria. There was other damage too, though luckily not to the exhibits in the museum. We met many of the people who run this voluntary organisation, including one person whose grandfather was vicar of St Keverne, and who has a cousin living here in St Just. They were wonderfully hospitable to us and have been very kind to Ellie since meeting her. Because of their kindness we are hoping to raise funds to send out to the Queensland Maritime Museum to help them in a small way.

If you would like to help, please send any donation to The Cook Book. Cheques should be made out to The Cook Book with a covering note stating who its from and that it is for the Queensland Maritime Museum.

5. The Ashes

What a wonderful win!!!!!

6. Meanwhile, in South America…

…our ex-chef Toby arrived safely in Rio, stayed there a few days before moving on to Sao Paulo and, as I write, is on his way to Buenos Aires. It sounds as if he is having a great time.

Lines in the sand, Sennen Cove

Bosorne from Scrabbly Lane

Winter Solstice sunset and fire

Ah, bitter chill it was!
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;
The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass,
And silent was the flock in woolly fold

It’s a bit early for St Agnes Eve (21st January) but this famous poem by John Keats gives a wonderful description of the recent cold weather, which is continuing at the time of writing.

Compared to the rest of the UK, West Penwith has been fortunate, with only two days of really thick snow, though the frosts are hard and long. It’s a bit of a change from Brisbane a month ago.

When it first snowed, froze and then thawed, we had an unusual leak, eventually tracked down to a gulley which had become blocked by ice, thus forcing the melted snow up above the lead and into the building, fortunately with no damage, though we had to shut for two days.

Walking up to open on the first day of deep snow was fabulous, with crisp air and silence enfolding the landscape, save for snow squeaking under foot.

Who says young people of today have no initiative? At the top of Bosorne Road, four boys had a huge snowball. Rolled with increasing effort from Cape – I guessed the school, not up from Cape Cornwall! – they were heading for the bus stop. Beside the War Memorial a group of girls had built the biggest snowman I’ve ever seen. How did they put his head on? And who stole it? The very next morning it had vanished…..yet the snow still lay deep and crisp and even!!

Cold but no snow yet

Survey Vessel off the Brisons

Cable-layer off Sennen

Winter Garland

And then it snowed …

Virgin Snow

Aggie on the White Gate

Snowberries

Open as Usual

Who Stole this Snowman?

Breaking Their Fast

Yogi and Llama Friend at Play

2. ….and there’s some cricket in Australia!

A draw in Brisbane, but with the Poms very much holding the upper hand, followed by a fantastic win in Adelaide.

Waking up each morning, reading the results on the BBC’s Sports page on my computer ….a great start to the day, or an anxious one, especially the first day of the First Test, followed by a long wait until the next morning.

Here’s hoping we keep the momentum through the next three matches!

Ellie told us that for the five days of the Brisbane Test, the Barmy Army patronised the Ship Inn, where she works – and drank the pub dry. One of the ‘Army’ was from Penzance!

It does seem daft that in England we can’t watch our side playing cricket unless we have Sky (– or watch the English play rugby)

3. Winter Closing

Don’t forget that we close on Saturday 1st January for the winter refit , re-opening on Monday 31st January…

… and that we are closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

We close at 2.00 pm on Christmas Eve to help Father Christmas!!

Please read last month’s newsletter for further details.

4. Finally

A very big thank you to all our guests for your wonderful support for our little business, to all our suppliers for your help and support, and to our great staff for making it all possible

We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

St. Just in the Snow