Cornish Invasion

It was time for the Great Western Railway to carry me South Westerly to the cooler air of Cornwall. Through the window along the way, there appeared great herds of black and white cattle (Holsteins?) in fields hemmed by hedgerows, watching placidly as two new calves butted heads. The scene will stay with me for a long time to come.

Then there was the Saltash Bridge (exquisite Brunel!) and Truro Cathedral (to die for) which meant I was getting that much closer to St Ives. I leaned forward in my seat a little, dreaming of walking along the sands with an ice cream, and then window shopping on Fore Street. But upon arrival I was shocked to find out that everybody else in the world was DOING THE SAME THING, and had gotten there ahead of me. It was an invasion!

I gave it a good try, though, battling through the crowds until finally reaching the little pharmacy to catch my breath. Inside, a voice said, "Hello, my Lovelie. How can I help?"

It was the nice lady who always addresses me this way, with a bit of "My Darling", "My Love", and "Pet" thrown in for variety. I breathed out, "Where on earth did all these people come from?"

"Oh, them," she said. "Annoying, itn't it? They'll be here three weeks more!" 

My face must have fallen, because she continued kindly, "It's always like this in August, my Lovelie, didn't you know that? If you'd a' asked me first I could a' told you." There was some wisdom in this, but as she had been nowhere in sight when the plans were made, it wasn't very helpful.

She patted me comfortingly on the back, saying, "Don't you worry, my Dear, they'll be gone end a' August and then we'll have the place to ourselves again, won't we?" I nodded and turned to go.

Through the door of the Pharmacy I saw people and prams and dogs, sand buckets and surf boards and paddles, hardly an inch between any of them. As the mass inched slowly along, I took a deep breath, paused, and plunged on in.

If you can't beat them...join them.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady