Our book group met at Colleen’s house last month for a lovely tea party in the sun!
They also discussed Life of Pi by Yann Martel. If you’re interested in joining the book group, please either see Colleen at one of our meetings or email us on crowlasludgvanwi@gmail.com.
Pat Gloyn will be leading our walk this month, as Shirley is on holiday. The walk will be on Tuesday the 22nd of July, instead of the usual Wednesday.
Pat has done a recce of the walk and it sounds brilliant! You’ll be heading from the back of St Just across the fields and valleys to Botallack, along the cliffs above the Botallack Crowns to the back of Cape Cornwall and finally up into St Just. The walk is suitable for dogs.
Members can either bring a picnic lunch with them or have a drink, etc. in St Just. Pat will clarify all the details at our meeting next Monday.
The walk will begin promptly at 10am from the free car park in St Just. It will take about 3 hours at a reasonable rate to take in all the areas of interest along the way. Sun hats are advised if it’s a sunny day! If the weather is appalling, Pat will ring those interested to cancel as it’s not a suitable walk for bad weather.
If you’re interested, either speak to Pat at Monday’s meeting or drop us an email on crowlasludgvanwi@gmail.com. Please note that the walk will be on Tuesday this month, and not on Wednesday.
About 15 of us, including some guests, met at Birdie’s Bistro in Hayle today for our monthly Coffee Beans get-together.
With cappuccinos, lattes, cake and lots of good conversation, it was a lovely morning!
Our next date is Friday the 8th of August at 10:30am at the Rock Pool in Mousehole. We hope to see you there!
Earlier this week, Val Puddiphatt and Helen Kestle went on a CFWI outing to The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth. The Sanctuary is an international charity founded in 1969 which works to protect and care for donkeys and mules all over the world.
All the work of the Sanctuary is funded by donations and legacy gifts, so raising money is always vital! One of the ways in which money is raised is by the sale of knitted donkeys, knows as ‘woolleys’. People are encouraged to knit woolleys which are then sold in the Sanctuary’s giftshop!
If you’d like to knit one (and we know there are some keen knitters among you!), you can download the pattern by clicking here.
If you haven’t visited The Donkey Sanctuary before, a visit is highly recommended! We had a marvellous time. Here’s Val making friends with one of the donkeys:
About 25 members of Crowlas & Ludgvan W.I. met at Trengwainton Tea Rooms to celebrate the very special birthdays of Pat Gloyn and Pam Smith.
Fortunately we moved inside to eat just before the heavens opened and it poured with rain – but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits! Once inside, we were served our meals quickly and the food was varied and delicious.
Before we knew it, two huge cakes were delivered to our tables and a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ was duly sung with the rest of the customers joining in ! A good time was had by all.
Happy birthday, Pam and Pat!
A few weeks ago we were treated to a fantastic afternoon at lovely little St Hilary Church.
Husband and wife team Owen and Carrie Baker, who volunteer at the church, spoke to us about its history.
We heard about the colourful Rev Bernard Walke who was parish priest at St Hilary from 1913 to 1936, and who was responsible for bringing the glorious Newlyn School art to the church. Walke’s wife, Annie, was an artist and counted among her friends many of the Newlyn artists we all know and love. In the church are works by Ernest and Dod Procter, Norman Garstin, Harold Knight and, of course, Annie Walke herself.
After our tour of the church, we moved next door to the tearoom above the new St Hilary Heritage Centre where we had a sumptuous cream tea. After our tea, we explored the wonderful collection of documents in the Heritage Centre.
For anyone who hasn’t been, the Heritage Centre is open on weekdays during the summer and the tearoom is open on Wednesdays. Both are well worth a visit!
Before heading back home, we all had a wander around the lovely old churchyard, examining some of the fascinating stones. Norman Garstin and the Procters are all buried here.
A big thank you goes to Kathy Merrett for organising such a fantastic day for us!
(See a few more photos of the day by clicking here.)
Coffee Beans will be at Birdie’s Bistro in Hayle this Friday at 10:30am. Last time we were at Birdie’s, we had a very full house! Let’s hope this week’s visit is just as successful!
If you’re not able to get to the either of the quilting exhibitions you read about here yesterday, you might be interested in the PenTEG (Penwith Textile and Embroidery Group) exhibition, which is a little closer to home.
Last month, a group of us headed north to spend a day with beekeeper Lynda Evans as part of a CFWI event.
In the morning, we sat in the sunshine in Lynda’s beautiful garden as she explained the process to us – and we all came away with new-found respect for beekeepers and the hard work they do. Lynda has 35 colonies but at one point had 60! And this is in addition to her full-time office job.
After that came the moment we’d all been waiting for – the donning of the bee suits! Amid giggles, we all managed to get ourselves dressed in our suits, wellies and Marigolds, and were ready to meet the bees.
The walk to Lynda’s hives too us through fields where we met a turkey, a cockatoo and a pony – all friendly and eager to join us.
Once we reached the hives, Lynda opened one up for us to see the bees. We were amazed at how clearly we could see them returning to the hive with their bright pink or yellow pollen-laden legs! It was truly an eye-opener.
Back in the garden, we divested ourselves of our very warm bee suits and settled in to eat our sandwich lunches and talk about bees.
After lunch, it was time for some candle-making, using the beeswax Lynda collects from her hives to melt down. We took turns patiently dipping our wicks into a big pot of wax and eventually were rewarded with beautiful amber-coloured tapers!
Before going home, Lynda gave us all cake slathered with clotted cream and her own delicious honey. We all came home with jars of honey, beeswax furniture polish, candles and a huge amount of new knowledge about the importance of bees.
What a wonderful day it was!
Click here to see lots more photos of our day.
There are a couple of quilting events coming up (before our next monthly meeting) that you might like to know about.
The first is the Saints of Cornish Churches exhibition, for which quilting groups throughout Cornwall have made wall hangings depicting Cornish saints. This wonderful free exhibition is on at Truro Cathedral from 30th June to 14th July from 10am – 5pm.
And, while you’re in the area, why not stop in at Coast & Country Crafts & Quilts in Perranarworthal. If you quote ‘SAINTS’ at the till, you’ll receive 10% off your purchase! Coast & Country is open Monday through Friday from 10:30am to 2:30pm, and on Saturdays from 10am until 4pm.
The second upcoming quilting event is the Gate Quilters Exhibition to be held at Leekseed Chapel (near the Church Rooms in St Blazey, opposite the Four Lords Pub) from the 10th to the 12th of July.
Crowlas & Ludgvan WI 