Author: crowlasludgvanwi

A group of us spent a delightful afternoon at Polgoon Vineyard today! We’re just so sorry that Kathy, our fabulous organiser who arranged the day so beautifully, wasn’t well and was unable to attend. You were missed, Kathy.

We met at the Polgoon Kitchen, the vineyard’s lovely outdoor café, for lunch. Fortified with crab sandwiches and delicious cheese, we then set off for a tour of the vineyard.

We were led by Jess, a friendly and knowledgeable ‘Polgooner’ who moved to Cornwall from Australia only about six months ago. She took us through Polgoon’s apple orchard, explaining that it had been planted after the vineyard suffered a disastrous few years with little or no grape harvest due to bad weather. The vineyard’s cider is now really popular!

From apples, we moved on to grapes and saw some of the vineyard’s thousands of vines – including Rondo and Pinot Noir grapes. Jess explained to us the different ways of pruning and training the vines for maximum yield. We also saw more vines in some of Polgoon’s polytunnels.

Harvesting will begin in late September and will take about a month. No extra hands are hired; all the Polgoon workers and families pitch in to help. It’s very much a family business.

We then visited the wine making facilities and saw the labeling process, as well as the huge stainless steel vats containing what must be GALLONS of wine. Jess explained the sparkling wine process to us which, at Polgoon, is done in the same way it’s done in Champagne.

After the tour, we returned to the café for a tasting of some of Polgoon’s products. We all took our tasting notes very seriously!

We tasted wine, sparkling wine and cider.

After a quick browse in the vineyard shop (which also sells other Cornish food, drink and gifts), we said our goodbyes and made our way home.

If you missed out on today’s get-together, you can tour Polgoon on your own anytime. Tours and tastings are held on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 2pm and cost £10 per person. But do try and go before the grapes are harvested!

For more photos of our afternoon at Polgoon, click here.

 

Yesterday’s circular walk took the group from Redruth town centre to Gwennap Pit. The weather was ideal for walking but some low cloud meant we could not enjoy some of the views.

We were warmly welcomed at Grennap Pit by very friendly volunteers. It was interesting to walk around and view some of the archives that are held there. There was also a good cup of tea or coffee available made by the volunteers.

We then made our way uphill to the summit of Carn Marth where we ate our picnic next to a flooded quarry.

The rest of the walk had some stunning views of the countryside and the heathers which are just beginning to put on a colourful show. We ended the day by a walk around the town centre where we enjoyed yet more refreshments!

Last Friday we had a lovely morning at Di’s with bottomless cafetiere of coffee and a magnificent selection of cakes. It was a great social affair with lots of catching up and some intrepid exploration of Di’s beautiful gardens.

As well and enjoying each others’ company and some delicious refreshments, we also raised just over £100!

Thanks to everyone who made it a success, and especially to Di and John for giving us the use of their beautiful home and garden.

You can see more photos of the coffee morning here.

The Murley Hall was full of chatter and laughter on Monday night as we celebrated summer with a ‘Picnic’ meeting.

We welcomed seven (!) guests and hope they enjoyed our hospitality! We look forward to seeing them again at future meetings.

A great big thank you goes out to the committee for providing such a sumptuous spread and for working so hard to make the evening run smoothly.

 

Last week four creative and hard-working Crowlas & Ludgvan WI members set to work to make some gorgeous greeting cards.

In the end, they produced a whopping 44 cards!

The cards will be used for members’ birthdays and other occasions. Check the post when it’s your big day!

Thanks to Val for coordinating the workshop and to Pam, Liz and Jackie for all their time.

A big thank you to everyone who helped at yesterday’s Open Day at the Murley Hall. And also to those of you who came along and brought friends!

We made a bit of money and we think we introduced ourselves to some lovely new potential members.

The displays showing off our crafts, outings, coffee mornings, camera club, walking group and rag rugging looked spectacular and garnered a lot of attention. Well done, everyone!

A very special thanks to the hardest working committee around!

Don’t forget that we’re holding an Open Day this Saturday at the Murley Hall from 2pm until 4pm!

Come out and show your support and please bring a friend (or two)!

It’s a great opportunity for people to find out about all the wonderful things we get up to!

How many of you were inspired by Jane Bolt, our June speaker, to start moving a little bit more?

If you were, you may be interested in trying out one of Jane’s gentle exercise sessions held at Clarence House in Penzance. To attend a free introductory class, ring Jane on (01736) 363052 or (07751) 053536, or drop her an email on info@janebolt.co.uk.

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean we’ve been sitting around doing nothing! Crowlas & Ludgvan WI members have been up to all sorts of things over the past few weeks.

The Book Group held its annual Summer Garden Party at the end of June. It was held indoors this year, but all had a lovely time.

Val organised a SCUBA workshop for a few intrepid divers. With the help of instructors from Peninsula Sub Aqua Club, the members got kitted out and learnt the basics. Well done! (Click here to see more photos from the SCUBA workshop.)

And yesterday, our Camera Club had an afternoon session with wildlife photographer David Chapman at Tehidy Woods. He taught us his tricks of the trade for capturing the best shots of squirrels, birds and plants. (Click here for more photos of the Camera Club’s day out with David Chapman.)

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”

Robert Browning was right about that. There is nothing on earth as wonderful as the taste of freshly-baked bread. Or the smell of it either! And the delicious aromas wafting from Guval Village Hall on Friday must have had the whole neighbourhood salivating.

Sarah Judd from Jordan’s Cake and Catering Company (who also sells her fabulous bread at Sennen Market) led us through the day, making it all seem so easy.

In the morning, we made white loaves, some freeform and some braided, and granary loaves.

We weighed out ingredients, getting flour everywhere, and kneaded until we couldn’t knead anymore.

After lunch – a fantastic quiche and salad provided by Sarah – we settled in to make focaccia. Two kinds! Both savoury with rosemary and garlic, and sweet, with slivered almonds and chocolate chunks.

It was a really enjoyable and educational day! Thanks to Sarah Judd and also to Val for organising it all for us!