I've Been to St. Ives

Our last stop on the coastal tour was St Ives. We always tried to sit in the front of the bus, which became very exhausting this time. Why? These were the narrowest roads, and being in front, we had to figuratively help the bus driver maneuver. When our friend, Howard, suggested we go to Cornwall, I asked if we should rent a car. He replied that we could possibly drive there if we had a GPS and realized that the roads were very narrow. I am so thankful that we did not make the choice to rent a car here. We have the utmost respect for these bus drivers.

The part of the trip to St. Ives was all along the west coast of the peninsula. Not only the coastline, but farmlands and small villages were delightful. In one section of the trip we went through the visual amber waves of grain fields.

Saint Ives was an especially nice seaside community, and the weather was ideal with sunshine and temperatures around 75 degrees. We enjoyed our afternoon there and watched the tide roll into the bay.

The tide was out and boats that did not get out early enough were stranded on the sand.

Water slowly returns

The boats, once stranded, are now floating.

We were glad we took the full coast tour.

Back in Penzance, the next day, I had a the privilege of attending an outside concert by the Fisherman’s Friends. The Fisherman's Friends are a folk music group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties. They were so very good, very funny, but also took the audience musically through Cornwall history and conveyed the pride of being from Cornwall. They are very popular in UK.

I found these lyrics of one of their songs engaging. Their music is on YouTube and worth a listen I think.

Come all you no hopers, you jokers and rogues
We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
It might be a ladder to the stars, who knows?
Come all you no hopers, you jokers and rogues

Turn off your engines and slow down your wheels
Suddenly your master plan loses its appeal
Everybody knows that this reality's not real
So raise a glass to all things past
And celebrate how good it feels

Wash in the sea of our own vanity
We should rejoice in our individuality
Though winds, gail force
Will stear our course to insanity

And I loved this encouraging song, “Keep Hauling”.

When love just seems so far away
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
The tide will flood your heart someday
Keep haulin', boys

When your guidin' star's in cloudy skies
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
You'll find your way to the bright sunrise
Keep haulin', boys

Keep haulin', ho!
Rouse and raise your voice
Hold your course and don't let go
Keep haulin', boys

If you gave your best and your heart stayed true
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
There's only one thing left to do
Keep haulin', boys

If you fought so hard and you lost your hold
Keep haulin', keep haulin'
Remember fate rewards the bold
Keep haulin', boys

You know you are in a special place when they have a statue of Davy. Of course, not the Davi

d who I think deserves a statue, this is in honor of Humphrey David who was from Penzance.

Julie probably knows a lot about Humphry Davy. Why is Humphry Davy important? He is best known for isolating, by using electrolysis, many elements for the first time. These include potassium, sodium, calcium, strontium, barium, and magnesium. He was one of the originators of electrochemistry use in chemistry.

I’ll leave the Cornwall posts with one more pirate themed store in Penzance. Argh and Ahoy!