"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out
—Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
—Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
—Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
—and there was no one left to speak out for me."
So ends the formal blog of this adventure. Several days in London as a capstone.
First class train ride was not: wifi broken, no tea service on Saturday, two children and an adult squeezed into two seats next to us….
Hotel room not ready until 6pm. Room poorly provisioned. At least it is expensive.
Fabulous dinner prepared by Bobby and muru. Worthy of the trip and wait.
JD performing at a club called Borderline. Quite enjoyed it. He was great as was his band.
21 October Friday
Same cool weather with calm seas
QB sinus infection returns early evening with some vengeance.
Two ferries to get back to Penzance where we had booked a wine tasting dinner, five wines and lots of food.
Easy trip, very calm seas, were able to read the whole way.
The dinner: one gathers at 7 for 7:30. Good food, wines not to our liking; for were sweet whites. One red was just OK.
Thursday 20 October
Same weather, maybe even milder.
A visit to Bryer was planned but did not materialize. Replaced by a long nap and walk around the perimeter of this almost empty island.
Kippers, almost finished, for breakfast. Jeff fought the good fight, but the kippers ultimately triumphed. Kippers were fresh with just a hint of butter, said tongue in cheek. Afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream.
Good conversation with a couple from Bristol. Learned about lions club international and deacons clubs. Very well informed about American and international politics, and hoping this crop of women leaders, USA, UK, Germany, India, Pakistan, etc. will do better.
QB's sinus flare up not adding to her enjoyment.
Wednesday 19 October
Partly cloudy
Not a great start today. QB is either having a relapse of her cold, a sinus infection, or a new cold. Not a great start.
Gig racing is big here. Missed it this year.
https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/news-events/events/world-pilot-gig-championships-2016
While QB caught up on some sleep I wandered about checking the shoreline and settled in to read and enjoy the quiet. The island has about 150 full time residents.
There is a small inland lake, about an hour to walk around, with bird hides for viewing the local residents. QB identified a number of the floating ones, e.g., swan, duck.
On a later trail, well maintained as most of the island is, QB mentioned that Tresco lacks the usual unappealing English neglect of facilities.
Notice the green rose petal shaped plants, apparently the are like weeds here, many varieties, we were told that they are like cabbages.
Tuesday 18 October
More sun! Where is the rain we came to see?? Ou sont les neiges d'antan?
Air, glorious clean breathing air. Excellent here as in new Zealand. The latter is further from home but easier to get to than the isles of Scillies. Both take about the same amount of time
Asked the barman last evening for some Doombar. "Nope. Why not? Hate the salesman. What do you have close? Nothing close."
Abbey garden Tresco. The link below only gives a hint of how pleasant it is to stroll through these gardens. Up there with Kew and many in Japan. The Abbey garden is exceedingly well maintained, 3 student gardeners and 4 full time pros.
http://www.tresco.co.uk/enjoying/abbey-garden/?gclid=CM7Kmveb5M8CFQGOaQodyrsF9A
Pictured is an interesting topiary to be found on the walk into the garden. Many pictures taken by QB to be found on Flickr. These include many red squirrels introduced here recently. No grays here. Additionally the Valhalla collection of ships figureheads.
Monday 17 October
Off to the sub tropical English islands
Cool day, sunny to partly sunny.
Early, 8 am boat from Penzance to St. Mary's, then water taxi to the private island of Tresco.
A good sized boat on a not too choppy day running 28 miles to the saint Mary's. QB took the British equivalent of Dramamine and slept most of the 2 hours and 45 minutes. I, however had a miserable trip. Took the same drug about 90 minutes in; did not work. Quite surprised as I took nothing during two rough weeks on a small boat in the Galapagos.
A very English toast and beans breakfast in St. Mary's. A little look about the town and then onto a water taxi/small ferry to the southern end of Tresco.
So far the landscape has been Cornwall charming. Fresh air, wildlife, sea, and very rich Cornwall ice cream. Very rich. Maybe negative sugar rich.
The new inn, our abode for three nights, is a functional, friendly small hotel. Sixteen rooms.
Have had, within the first few hours, discussions with two birders. I started by asking if the viewing was good. Not so good. Wind is from the east. Neither liked the easterly winds which are sweeping the scandavian birds to the east coast of England and not here.
Scillonians, islanders, locals. Spoke with a local who has lived here 38 years. If your family has lived here for many generations you are a Scillonian, born here on island. If your children are born and raised here, they are "islanders." She was a mere local. Told us a story of an imposter Scillonian. Also used is the term for not quite locals, blow-ins
Sunday 16 October
Some more rain
Morning walk up some of the hills and through three neighborhoods. Virtually all of the single family homes are made of the same Cornwall granite and are of the same(lovely) design. Most shops and eateries are closed. Found one open.
QB had a complaint about the shower not functioning properly. Management investigated and found it was her fault. Very British.
Skone, we say scone, with illy coffee at the Cornish hen deli.
Windy walk to newlyn, the next town over going east. Had to put my hood on so as to keep my hat on.
Local Cornish bitter: Magik. Certainly not Doombar but drinkable.
Tomorrow, very early, a boat to the Scillies.
Saturday 15 October
Some rain last night and when we got up. More during the day.
Sunrise on the west coast.
Downpour and heavy winds on the coastal path to Marazion. We had to abandon after a mile or so and take the inland path.
Found a cozy tea shop in town.
We go to the Scillies islands on Monday. Planning for a scarcity of provisions on these remote islands, we went shopping. Apples, biscuits, two melons, and nuts were added to our current stash
Dinner at the BBC Turks Head, the oldest pub in Penzance. Visited there on our previous Cornwall excursion. Enjoyable dinner with sufficient Doombar. The waiter's accent, Cornish, was barely understandable. With just a minor skip of full attention I could have ended up with Mayo or worse.
14 October,friday
Cooler
Still no daytime rain. Have not had any yet on this trip. Finslly, rain in the night.
Wandering, shopping, eating, planning.
Stopped into a small shop that looked good. QB was shopping and wanted to come back. What is the address here I asked. The two owners discussed but could not agree until one said, ah, we have a card. Now I have the address.
Stopped for soup at a place that had many women eating and chatting outside. A good choice. Home made excellent chicken soup with lots of chicken and noodles. Perfect for the QB cold. Picture on Flickr.
How's your Cornish? Test it on the picture.
Mussels from the river Exe. Farmed by an innovative company that has developed a business from the fast flowing waters of Devon's Exe. They were excellent, similar to those in the waters off Seattle.
Mushroom dish. Egg, many types of shrooms, kale, lentils.
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