Goodbye exams, hold on February!
Hold on February, I forgot to say hello!
Camellia morning over Long Mizzle.
Please cue the confetti cannons as I saunter in to the room nonchalantly in my silk housecoat... arms stretched out in a operatic way...THE EXAMS ARE OVER! I sat my last two RHS horticulture theory exams during the week at Duchy College Rosewarne. That's eight exams done and dusted, and I don't want to see another one any time soon! Time to be a lady of leisure, even just for one day.
After a night of binge watching 'Canal Boat Diaries', along with copious amounts of tea, I bundled the kids off to school the next morning and waited for my folks to pick me up en route to Redruth town and Portreath for lunch.
*Canal Boat Diaries on BBC iPlayer: Recommended for lovers of canal boats, locks, impossibly low and long tunnels, viaducts, aqueducts, Midland and industrial North adventures *
Above: 'Tinners Hounds' made from boots found at Geevor Mine, by artist David Kemp.
Redruth is a no nonsense kind of town. There were only three town bench 'philosophers' on the day I visited. It has six or so charity shops, perfect for a chazza crawl. I don't know whether the cash generator store being closed was a good or bad sign.
Regal Cinema
The staff in the first charity shop were struggling with an old battered radio. They said all the previous ones had been stolen. I said, "give it 'ere, I'll take a look". Within a couple of minutes I'd given it an electrical visual inspection, fixed the aerial, found a sweet spot in the rickety volume pot and tuned it into the requested Pirate FM.
Of course I didn't tell them I used to be a radio engineer. It's often more fun saying "I read something about this in Women's Weekly, in between the 'diet-yesterday-not-tomorrow' and 'hot celebrities do hot celebrity gossip' sections". It is even more fun when I have to pull out my trusty Weller soldering iron. Then I claim to have learnt to solder from an informative article - 'Think you have a grip of your hair straighteners?...well there's a new iron in town' .
Redruth has some incredible historic buildings, built in an era when the town was still bustling rich from the copper and tin mining industry. One set of bricks I'm particularly fond of is the Old Steam Bakery off Fore Street - now a vintage clothes shop (Daisy Rain Vintage), still complete with original bread oven and steep wooden steps.
The unusual building below, shaped like a wedge of cheese, is tucked between Fore Street (behind Jim's Department Store) and the railway station on Station Road. I've never noticed it before -
Having searched for information online, I couldn't spot it earmarked as part of the multi-million pound renovation of Redruth. I can only presume it is a private venture.
Things will get busy, after more tea.
Well done on completing your exams. That must be a huge relief. X
ReplyDeleteThank you Jules m' luverly, massive relief! xXx
DeleteWell done you clever girl. Do you have plans to set up your own plant nursery/tearoom. We'll all be driving down to Cornwall for a pot of tea and an overpriced plant. Can I come work for you...I'll take lots of cuttings that I've stolen from peoples gardens all the way down the country.:-) Just making a start on making my seed list for our seed swap. Still not got around to it cos I'm a lazy so and so.
ReplyDeleteCherie, now that's a plan!!! Of course you can join 'Pit Enterprises':) Imagine the amount of cuttings that you could take whilst driving down country, all the time I've got m' baking apron on and a big pot of tea on the go! (Incidentally Olde Penny's business is up for sale, due to retirement, but I'm not a very good baker). I need to email you.... xXx
DeleteWhat a lovey post. Well done getting through all those exams - what are you going to do with all that knowledge/qualification? were you really a radio engineer? I need to know more. That Olde Penneys vintage shop looks worth a visit. Your camelia garden is beautiful. Hope you enjoy playing with all those Alpine seeds.
ReplyDeleteThank you Betty :) The knowledge will sit in the old bonce for now, and occasionally used to bore my younger, cooler work colleagues. I did indeed work in radio, and TV too, on the engineering side, for ten years or so. A lot of stories there. Perhaps I should share a couple in a post. Sending you a virtual camellia flower xXx
DeleteDear Lulu
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously a person of many talents - gardening and radio engineering being just two! That cake looks amazing and is making me feel hungry!
Your camellias are beautiful too. With all those lovely seeds, i bet your garden will look a picture in summer.
Congrats on finishing all those pesky exams.
Have a happy week
Best wishes
Ellie
Hello Ellie, oh that cake is a delicious beast! It defeated me and I had to bring some back home. Thank you for the congrats. I'm certainly going to have fun with all those seeds. Hope you are having a good week. I'm sure I'll be over soon to see... Lulu xXx
Deletecongrats to getting all those exams done!!
ReplyDeleteand now i imagine how you´r - in a lush silk kaftan - wandering around redruth in the mild breeze of cornwall........
.....while we have bare frosts of -5°C :-D
not complaining - just hoping some pests get killed.
lovely trip around the chazzas and the lunch sound delicious - but wht did you buy?
i should plan a visit to the - housed in of course - famous camellias in the neighborhood.......
much love! xxxx
ps: ordered a huge foil tent for the garden.......
Hello Beate, thank you m' pumpkin. Oooh, that's chilly, is that what the huge foil tent is for? - protecting your plants? Can you believe after that big chazza trawl, the only thing I brought are some of those re-usable packets so I can make quick melted cheese toasties in the toaster. I did spot a wonderful 'Little House on the Prairie' style skirt (handmade in thick cotton / linen) that had a waistband far too tiny for me. I am thinking I was silly now not to buy it and stick it on eBay as 'Cottagecore' is all the rage apparently. Stay warm xXx
Deletecottagecore? is it something like datcha style??
Delete:-D
yes - the tent should protecting the plants - in the way that i can start planting out in april - not in the end of may! ... we often get light frost until then. hoping i can harvest more in an elongated season....
xx
Just looked up Datcha style - looks a bit similar Beate. They call in 'hugge' and 'friluftsliv' in Scandinavia. Claire (Winter Peach Photography) mentioned 'Cottagecore' in a post last year. It apparently sprung up in 2020 fueled by the lockdowns and imposed slow living - think old English rose gardens and Anne of Greengables. Laura Ashley cotton prairie style dresses were suddenly back in vogue - if my mam had kept all her dresses she'd be sitting on a fortune!!! It is possibly not a thing any more. I'm not very 'with it'. My motto: better to be never in fashion than out of fashion.
DeleteHere's to an extended grow season (raising my cup of tea) x
Hi Lulu, Good to have you back! A big congratulations on completing your exams. I'm sure you've "smashed it out of the park" as folks like to say now. "Camelia Morning" - aside from being a brilliant title for something - is a wonderful photo, bursting with optimism. I say this, as I sit with the laptop by the window up here in the Midlands, looking out at driving rain . I had to laugh at your creative explanations for your electronics knowledge. Very impressive. I love the bread oven and the Tinners Hounds sculpture...and vintage merch and cake has to be the perfect combination! Keep us posted on the wedge shape building if you ever receive any information on it. It's frustrating when t'internet doesn't deliver! I have to say, Cornwall seems to be very forward thinking with its recycling centres and the repair cafe you mentioned recently; both brilliant initiatives. Enjoy your day of leisure in that silk housecoat. I think you deserve a glass of champers (in a vintage champagne glass naturally) in order to hold court later, sharing your horticultural wisdom with anyone in earshot! xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you Claire ;) The 'smashed it' phrase made me laugh, I remember my midwife saying that to me when I had my littlest kid at hospital. I said she made me feel like I was on Ninja Warrior! Oh dear, it is a soggy camellia morning, no gardening for me today. The wedge shaped building really has me intrigued... I am on to it like Miss Marple and will share all that I find. The repair and recycling initiatives are fab aren't they! The less landfill the better. Champagne!!! It's Bucks Piss for me darling in an old scratched glass, while I enunciate latin plant names ;) xXx
DeleteI agree with Claire, you should be quaffing champers in your silk housecoat and, if you're double-jointed, patting yourself on the back for being so clever.
ReplyDeleteLong Mizzle looks ravishing and I'd love a rummage around Redruth. The ceiling mounted parasols are so pretty and I'm drolling over the butternut squash pie! xxx
PS Jon is obsessed with Canal Boat Diaries! xxx
DeleteThanks Vix :) Double jointed! I fear not :0 Oh yes, it'd be great if you came along for a rummage and a butternut squash, curry and spinach pie. I wonder if Jon's aware that there is also a Canal Boat Diaries channel on YouTube? xXx
DeleteHaving done said exams I know how you feel, here's to the results!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are a lady of hidden talents! Radio engineer, what a super power to have at your beck and call! ha ha ha 🦸
Bless ya Kate (you know my pain then!) . I am a multi-skill-less kind of lass ;) xXx
DeleteWell done on finishing your exams and I think confetti and a silk housecoat are the perfect way to celebrate your freedom :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the Camellias, and oh my, what a view you've got from your garden!
Radio engineer: you definitely are a girl of many talents.
Loving the Tinners Hounds, and I wouldn't mind having a browse in that vintage shop. Nor would I decline a slice of that double layer Victoria sponge!
The Canal Boat Diaries sounds right up my street. Unfortunately the iPlayer isn't available here in Belgium ... xxx
Yah Ann, I got the servants to clean up the blasted confetti. Eh, I have just discovered there is a Canal Boat Diaries YouTube channel - and although it is not the programme as aired on the BBC, it does appear to have lots of adventures from Robbie Cumming on it - https://www.youtube.com/c/RobbieCumming/videos
DeleteSending you a virtual slice of Victoria Sponge xXx
p.s. hope Storm Eunice isn't too hard on you in Belgium, she passed over us yesterday
Many congratulations on completing the exams, that was a lot you have taken, I am not surprised you are glad that they are over. I love that sculpture, so clever! You used to be a radio engineer? I love how you casually throw that in, is there no end to your talents. Your photos are as always a feast for the eyes and make me want to visit those hidden corners of your beautiful county even more. Enjoy your week x
ReplyDeleteArh, thanks m' dear. I do have a mush-n'-grumble about the study, but it is indeed a marvelous feeling when the exams are over. The hound boots are very cheeky, I should have got a photo from the other side too. I did do stints in radio and 'the dark side' (TV). The engineering was hard work, but great fun. Hope you are having a good week. Lulu xXx
DeleteOnce an engineer... Good work in the charity shop. And yes, Lu is indeed a qualified Broadcast Engineer.
ReplyDeleteLovely story.
It's amazing what you can learn from 'Womens Weekly'
DeleteThank you for endorsing my CV there Martin ;) Do you know, there may be soldering tutorials in Women's Weekly for all I know. I've only ever glanced at the magazine whilst waiting at the dentists!!! xXx
DeleteWhat a perfect Camellia morning and many congrats on finishing your exams. An entertaining post as always. You found so much more of interest on your Redruth visit than I ever have - mind you I've only been once in the last 10 years. All good wishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike :) Oh Redruth is well worth a stop off if you're passing through. It's not at all touristy, and a little rough around the edges, but it is interesting. There's also the Old Buttermarket, and a wonderful derelict firestation near St Ruman's Garden (set in the ruins of an old 13th C Druids Hall) that I failed to photograph on this visit! xXx
DeleteBravo on the Horticultural exams!!! My friend Lara recently did those so I know how much work there is and how many Latin genus names you had to learn!!!
ReplyDeleteAlright, TAUNT me with the Penny's Vintage photos after I failed to go there! THAT CAKE!!!!!
Your seed swap is a bit exciting!!! Can't wait to see how they progress!!!
I DEMAND PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF quaffing drinks in silk housecoats!! (SORRY about the capitals- sounded FAR more bossy than intended!!!😁
Thanks Kezzie :) Thankfully there wasn't too much latin to learn on this one, but the last round of exams was crazy for it!!! Then after all the endless lists, the exam paper only required a couple of names :0 THE CAKE WAS AMMMMMAAAAAAZZZZZING (capitals back at you, in an excited, not at all angry way) AND THE PIE TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm afraid the drinks evidence has since been quaffed Miss Marple ;) But the silk house coat still exists :) xXx
DeleteI like the pictures from charity shops, those places and antique (junk) shops are a goldmine for photography. You'll be feeling happy after completing your exams.
ReplyDeleteThank you David :) I asked permission to take a picture of the steep wooden steps, just in case they thought I was on some insurance scam / tumble stunt rouse! Gotta love a junk shop for piccies x
Delete