Where to begin? There has been so much going on here at Bosinver Farm cottages that it will be difficult to fit on one blog! The summer weather has been variable but has not deterred us or our guests from getting out and about and enjoying the many activities organised for us all here in Cornwall.
Last week was Falmouth week – a festival of sailing with lots of entertainment in town, plus yacht racing in the River Fal and out to sea. On Wednesday evening the Red Arrows took to the sky and I was lucky enough to be able to watch them from a friend’s boat. The sky was dotted with little puffy clouds agains the blue sky and the display was awesome.
The first weekend in August saw the Boardmasters festival at Watergate Bay near Newquay. There were some big name acts such as Newton Faulkner, Plan B and Seasick Steve. It was set against the backdrop of the beautiful North Coast and was fully booked. It was my first festival and I really enjoyed it, except for th sleepless night in the tent! Breakfast at Jamie Olivers’ Fifteen restaurant and a walk on the deserted beach at 8am helped clear the cobwebs! The breakfast was superb and it was a real privilege just to sit and enjoy the wonderful view.
My favourite theatre company Kneehigh, based here in Cornwall at Gorran Haven, have had a big fund raising effort to buy a massive tent to make all their outdoor performances more waterproof. They have called it the ‘Asylum’ and it has been erected near Truro for the whole summer and they have been performing three of their past Cornish productions. We went to see the ‘Red Shoes’ and I am pictured here wearing them. For a small Cornish company of actors, their success has been phenomenal and they currently have their production of ‘Brief Encounter’ playing on Broadway. If they are ever in your area, do go and see them. You will not be disappointed!
Here at Bosinver we have been busy too. From the beginning of the school holidays we have been running a ‘Wild Kids Club’ down in the woods. Nooney Laycock has been running them for us and he has been a great hit with all the children. We have been pond dipping, camp fire and den building, going on a Bear and Gruffalo hunt, singing songs and telling tales. We have spotted baby frogs, newts, countless larvae, coots, moorhens and a common toad. I have been reading ‘Last Child in the Woods’ by Ricahrd Louv, an American guy who is most concerned about childrens’ lack of contact with nature and the effect it is having on the first generation of children brought up entirely in towns or cities without access to ‘wild’ areas and free play. We have the ideal space down in our woods so we thought we would try to encourage the children into it. It has been a great success and children have been returning to finish off their dens and climb the odd tree or two – just like we did when we were growing up!
Farmer Dave now has 54 fans and they will have received their goody bags and packets of cress seeds by now. The first competition is to grow a cress head of Farmer Dave or one of the animals, take a photo of it and send it in for judging to win a prize. Take a look at his Facebook page and click here to join if you missed the last blog. He has been very busy as usual, cutting hedges, learning how to vibrate tarmac, mending fences and keeping Bosinver tidy as well as the daily animal feeding. Helen has been running some pony grooming sessions with passionate pony children and parents have been complaining because their children don’t want to go out in case they miss anything going on here!
We have hatched out ducklings and baby chicks this month and the wildlife is expanding too. The geese on the lake reared 8 goslings and have now flown off, the swallows hatched out their chicks in the barn and have gone too. A buzzard family reared one chick and we have been lucky enough to watch them feeding it in the field by the play barn.
I do hope you have been lucky enough to enjoy the summer as much as we have.
Speak soon.
Pat
