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Well we had such an interesting and eye opening guided tour by Jeanette Ratcliffe, an archaeologist, who set up her guided walking business last summer.  Such knowledge of the area, we could have spent longer listening and being shown different, off the beaten track, places in and around Newlyn.

She spoke of the Spanish raids, the copper work apprentices, the various bridges and a ford that use to be at the bottom of Jack Lane (Jack Ford), now a well -used bridge. She told us about the farmers routes to market in Penzance and the building of New Road. We learnt about the Rosebud and visited the garden named after the boat. Extending the land into the sea to build what we see and use today. The goings on in the Red Lion in its day. We heard about the slum clearance in the 1930s and how the war put a stop to it. Car parks in Newlyn are the result of the slum clearance.

Jeanette gave us a taster of what’s to come in Newlyn too. There is a plan to make use of the old ice works to make it into a museum with all amenities, watch this space….. (Julie) 

Camera Club made the most of the recent beautiful weather and went to Hayle for their latest meeting. Concentrating around the Millpond area the vivid blue of the Early Spring sky made for delightful reflections in the water. The industrial heritage of the area with it’s ropework ruins and a sprinkling of seasonal flowers gave each photographer plenty of subject matter. Next month’s meeting will be at Tremenheere Woods, looking for some early bluebells.

At our Annual Meeting this month members voted for Wendie Leo to be our President for a futher twelve months. Supported by the committee, Wendie has ensured that Crowlas and Ludgvan WI sailed through the turbulence of the past year with all that Covid threw our way, and emerged fully prepared for all that the coming year has to offer. There was a fun twist to the evening with a song to accompany the slideshow review of the year, plus plenty of time to enjoy tea, cake and a chat.

Our Coffee Beans social group met this week for their regular monthly coffee and chat. The venue for the latest catch-up was The Cornish Barn, in Chapel Street, Penzance. Next month the group are going try somewhere different, so they have decided to catch the bus and go to Porthleven.

TThe Meet and Eat group have just had their March get together at Senara restaurant at Penwith College. As usual the food was delicious and of course excellent value. On the specials was lobster thermidor at £18, but many chose the sirloin steak. Also on the menu was grilled sole and a delicious vegetarian dish called thali. Desserts included coconut chai panna cotta and passion fruit meringue roulade. Next month’s meeting is at The Watermill, Lelant on Friday April 1st, and in May we should be at the Trevenson restaurant at Cornwall College .

Book Club met for lunch this month at the Tremenheere Kitchen, where they enjoyed lovely food and discussed the novel Summer in February by Jonathan Smith, which is described as a ‘love story of beauty, deprivation and tragedy’. The story is set at the end of the Edwardian era and based on the life of Sir Alfred Munnings and his contemporaries and was made into a film, released in 2013.

This month the Living Well group learnt about the role of gut microbial diversity in nutrition and health. This group meets monthly and is a joint venture open to our members and also members of the community.  It’s not a expert led group but a meeting where issues about health and well-being can be discussed, giving us the opportunity to then explore these further for ourselves . Each session also includes a short period of relaxation plus some general exercises .

Members of the Meet and Eat group met this month at The Victoria Inn in Perranuthnoe to take advantage of the special menu for the over 60s.The inn decides on the day what will be on the menu but I think we were all impressed with the selection of courses and a good time was had by all. See more about the lovely 12th Century pub here. https://www.victoriainn-penzance.co.uk/

Members of Camera Club had a lovely afternoon in St Ives, enjoying the winter sunshine and the empty streets, and taking the opportunity to take plenty of photographs without the usual crowds. The next meeting will be in Sennen Cove where we will be looking at reflections. See Lisa if you want to join us with camera, tablet or phone.

Members of our Living well Group enjoyed taster sessions of balance improving exercises and an Aquafit class in the Hydrotherapy Pool at the Harbourside Physiotherapy pool in Newlyn. The saltwater pool is kept at a constant 34 degrees and is a wonderful way to improve fitness while the water supports the joints. We are hoping to have further sessions in the pool and with the therapists in the future and hope that other members will enjoy sessions there too.