In Common

What do a sparkling day, the new Vicar, a Sunday Carvery, two Jazz guitarists, sunbathing on white sand, and a cream tea at the Digey all have in common?

Us! We are what all of those wonderful things have in common because all of those wonderful things happened to us, today. Waking up to a cloudless sky and zero wind was the first harbinger of goodness and peace, and then they just kept right on coming. 

The Parish Church at St Ives began on the stroke of 9:45 a.m., processing around the Nave, down the aisle, and on to the front. At the end of the procession line was someone we had never seen before, but wanted to. He was wearing a long green robe with gold accents, and it was then that we knew who he was. It was the new Vicar! He was young. He was happy (anyone could see that). He directed all of the bits of the service smoothly, and even when the announcements were left until last, everyone agreed that they had been delivered with aplomb.  

I asked the choir director what it was like having a new Vicar come to town. He smiled cheerfully and said, "It is just splendid, and I must say that the congregation is feeling mighty pleased with itself." A very normal British understatement!

The Lifeboat Inn was our next stop. You haven't seen anything till you've seen - and enjoyed - a Sunday Carvery. Here is a picture of my own plate, which turned out to be much more food than I had originally planned for it to be. When they are putting things on your plate, you just keep on saying, "Yes please". 

Are you wondering about the two Jazz guitarists? We got to hear them because St Ives is currently experiencing their annual September Festival, where all sorts of musical acts, artists, potters, florists and poets get to show off for the rest of us. They are all over the place! The act we saw was the Gypsy Jazz Guitars who played at the Coco Kitchen while people ate scones and drank tea while watching them. We couldn't actually squeeze very far inside (it was a tiny cafe with not enough room to swing a cat in) but we could sure hear those two in there playing their hearts out.

The day shone and sparkled so heartily that we were drawn to the beach, where there was really no other choice than to sit with our heads tilted back, reveling in the sunshine. After a while, friend Rosie, our Em, and I decided to go out and 'paddle' in the little waves. This we did while the tide was out. But after a while we began to notice that the tide was coming back in and we were sort of stuck on a spit of sand and had to wade in the rising water to get back to Ted.

"Ted will be worried about us," I said, taking comfort in this fact.

"No, he won't," said one of the ladies. "He's so involved in his book that he won't even know we are here." And then she laughed.

We got back to Ted whose nose was in his book, and who noticed us when we were about a foot from his face.

"Didn't you miss us?" I said, to which Ted replied, "Hmm?"

So we got ourselves up, all sandy and warm, to go to the Digey for a cream tea. Since nothing is nicer than a cream tea at the Digey, we took our time to enjoy every bite, talking about our wonderful young people (we never get tired of this topic).

And so, dear Readers, that is what a sparkling day, the new Vicar, a Sunday Carvery, two Jazz guitarists, sunbathing on white sand, and a cream tea at the Digey all have in common!


See you along the way!
the SconeLady