A Happy New Year in Cornwall!

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2010 bring you everything you want and deserve. I will be looking forward to much development in Cornwall in 2010; hopefully counteracting a rather disconcerting 2009 for the region. The Newquay airport scandal was something that really caught my attention - and there are many other such incidents which dented the local infrastructure and the region's reputation.

Having said that, there were plenty of occasions when the region was presented in a positive light to the 'outside world.' It is interesting to notice that there were many television programmes, for example, which captured the spirit of Cornwall and in many ways its rugged beauty which continues to attract people the world over. Tourism did well in Cornwall in 2009; boutique hotels such as St. Moritz in Trebetherick and St. Michael in Falmouth highlighting the appearance of a stylish and sophisticated Cornwall which has struggled in previous years. To my mind, this can only be a good thing.

So, I wish everyone a prosperous 2010 and I wish a prosperous time for Cornwall as a whole!

Merry Christmas from Cornish Life!

I'm afraid Christmas is a time in which we are all very busy; and I for one will be too busy to continue updating my blogs as regularly as I would like. However, just a quick message now to wish everyone a very happy holiday and a great Christmas break.

If there's any Cornish or Cornwall related stories anyone has over the festive period then I would love to hear them!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights in Cornwall

I live in Angarrack, and in my opinion there is enough evidence to suggest that in recent years the lights in the village have gone overboard. Having said that, I'm learning to like it; to be honest many are rather vulgar and too bright and garish however for me that's now become part of the fun. I love watching young kids and families walking around enjoying the lights and the bracing winter air....and I think it's great to enjoy a bit of old fashioned Christmas spirit and get the kids prised away from the Xbox.

There will be pictures of the lights up on my website very shortly, and I will also upload on the blogs and to Flickr. Keep checking back for more info!

Bye for now,

Christmas in Cornwall!

It's is that time of year again, and a time of year I especially enjoy being in Cornwall for. I have great memories of Christmas in Cornwall - in fact I've never spend Christmas anywhere but...so for this post, I'd really like to hear of your memories of Christmas in this county.

Maybe you have some pictures you would like to share or some memories or stories to talk about; either way I'd love to hear it.

Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you all have a great break!

The Shipping Forecast

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8383178.stm

Came across this video on the BBC News website, which tries to go some way to explain our attraction to the shipping forecast on Radio 4.

I'd like to hear your views on this. Obviously, we in Cornwall have a far greater attraction to this than most...in fact much more of a necessity in many ways.  There is no doubting that the shipping forecast does evoke a nostalgic quality for me; a quality which reminds me of home, of course of the sea and also the men and woman who live their lives from the sea. It is also a poignant reminder of the danger of the sea. The lady who gives the shipping forecast has a great voice, but it is also a somewhat menacing and sobering one....it reminds of the vast expanse of uncontrolled natural waters out there. Quite simply, I think it's rather beautiful and an absolute treasure to still be able to hear it

Newquay to be Hawaii of Europe??? Sorry?!

Brining my attention to a article posted here - on the This is Cornwall website - about Newquay being compared to Hawaii....

Yes, Newquay could very well be a world class tourist resort - but I'm afraid one of the key elements of visiting somewhere like Hawaii is the weather and the climate! I know I wasn't supposed to take the heading of this article particularly literally, and no offence to its creator, but surely this is a little far fetched?

I can, however, see what's happening here. Newquay would do well to shift its anti-social reputation....but one thing Hawaii does have which Cornwall does not - is a vast sum of money. Newquay does need to be updated in a very many ways...from its hotels to its attractions as a whole - and I'm not sure whether the money will be sacrificed. Anyway, fantastic if it is as I would be amazingly pleased to see Newquay's position begin to grow in Cornwall once again.....for more information check out the Visit Cornwall website.

Cornish Twibes!

If you are a user of Twitter, and from Cornwall, I would strongly recommend visiting the Cornwall Twibe pages at http://www.twibes.com

General Twibe 'Cornwall' Group : http://twibes.com/cornwall 

'Cornwall Photography' Group : http://twibes.com/CornwallPhotography  


Go check them out, they are certainly are useful for networking and being updated in what's going on in Cornwall...even if you're not there!

Keen to See What's Happening in Cornwall? This Might Be Useful To You...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/webcams/webcam_penzance.shtml

Obviously there's more than this, and I'm sure many of you have already heard about it....just thought it was a nice touch to bring some nostalgic memories to those away from their home county.

Penzance Harbour Row Continues to Divide Community

It is with great interest with which I read the continuing debate concerning Penzance Harbour and the Penzance Harbour Redevelopment which is continuing the be a source of major debate in the local area.

I believe the the forecast for Cornwall is generally good; there are many exciting opportunities and it is generally hard to see what the debate is concerned with - of course, local pride will always play a part - but the row over switching the Isles of Scilly port from Penzance to Falmouth has caused an outrage throughout the area.

I will not get bogged down in personal opinions over the Penzance Harbour Redevelopment - suffice to say that I only think it can be a good thing. However, Isles of Scilly tourism has always been the preserve of the reasonably weathly...In fact it has dominated Isles of Scilly news for a while now that there is a lack of accessibility - I'm not sure how moving the port from Penzance will help.

Hotels in Penzance often do reasonably big business around the peak times for travel to the Isles of Scilly. Penzance harbour is major attraction in many ways, but having the Scillionian dock there is pretty much the only way it can sustain itself. Many people visit Falmouth for a variety of reasons, but it is becoming increasingly evident that people do not visit Penzance in the frequency in which they used to. Tourism in Cornwall is in a very strange state of flux but it still reamins pretty much the only way Cornwall can maintain the beauty it has to offer.

It will be interesting to see how this one develops. If you have any suggestions, feedback on what I have said or any opinions yourself then it would be fascinating to here them. Whatever happens, I trust that it will not affect the attraction to me of either locations.

What Would You Like to See From Cornish Life?

Now that the summer has well and truly drawn to a close and Winter is very much upon us, I'd be really interested in finding out what you, the reader, would like to see from Cornish Life blog.

I've been thinking up new topics over the past few days and will also be posting some Youtube Video's to my channel and updating my photography site...

However I've come across a bit of a dilema as my focus has become lost on the blog recently...I am completely diversifying my output....I am an amateur documentary maker so want to encorporate that...I take photographs around the world....so therefore I want to include that, and I still want to document and report on the issue that concern Cornwall and the people that live there. I have become aware of a certain degree of polemcism that has spread around the Cornish blogging world of late, and in my opinion that is not where I should be heading. I want to get involved with real life and human relationships to people and places and not get bogged down with the intricate nature of polticts or polemics.

I will open this up to everyone and please feel free to comemnt on what you would like to see!


Bye for now