Grandma FT

Grandma hosted the family for a giving and receiving of gifts afternoon. To celebrate, she enjoyed Ginger mulled wine - her favourite!

Severn Bore

Matt and Gillie came to stay for three days of Bore Riding. The video shows two of the rides (Noose and Epney) and the top picture is the wave approaching at Over Bridge. The picture below is the party wave at Epney. Brilliant FUN.

Samos

We both got to work on a Greek Island for September.... with just days between moving to Cheltenham from Cornwall and flying out via Athens, we arrived slightly worn out. Organising tennis and bikes respectively, we soon relaxed into resort life and decided not to worry about unpacked possessions and our nomadic lifestyle. 

Some of the windsurfing and biking is captured in the usual GoPro video. 

Caves

On a warm bank holiday weekend, we hit the beach hard with The Simpsons. We paddled down a deep, dark cave off Pendennis Point. On saturday, we finished up with a roaring fire and BBQ on Fushing Beach. Sunday involved a walk from Point, past Trelissick and on to Roundwood Quay. Monday involved snorkelling and SUP, with a boat trip (with Matt and Jillie) acrosss to St Mawes for drinks and then fish from 'Harbour Lights' at Falmouth. 

Cellar Beach

Arriving into this calm creek cul de sac for a BBQ on a warm night was wonderful. We walked a short distance to look down over The Heads, then made a fire and got the Kelly Kettle going. We motored back in the dark, sweeping the sea with a torch for buoys and other craft. A lovely way to end the day ahead of the impending rainy weekend.

On The Water

Hannah arrived in time for an evening boating trip to the Kings Head at Ruan Lanihorne with Matt and Gillie. We followed the estuary North and then turned East, away from Truro up the Fal river until we could go no further on the high spring tide. We travelled back in a leisurely fashion, drifting for a while on the falling tide and taking in the sunset colours to the West. A magical evening. 

On Saturday Simo and Adam commenced their Powerboat2 RYA course at Mylor. The girls walked the estuary, while Jerry and Matt went kayaking (video) looking for the kettle lid that we dropped in the water on Friday evening - and found it! On the way back, we invented another new sport:

Skurfing

After a bun-run row to St Mawes, I joined David, Richard and Matt for a morning of tow-surfing behind David's 300hp motor! We couldn't quite get onto the wake wave without a tiny bit of 'pull' on the towline to keep us there. But tucked into shelter off Maenporth and Swanpool, we had a brilliant time (video). 

Gwithian

The boys wanted to hit The North Coast where some overhead sets were exciting the summer crowds. Early and after lunch sessions gave their paddling muscles a workout. Claire also managed two bodyboarding sessions on a perfect Cornish day.

Will and Luke

The lads arrived late, having battled with someone else's blown out tyre on the way down. On Saturday morning we took a trip around The Fal Estuary in 'Odyssey', spotting a seal on Black Rock and various craft of interest on the way.

In the afternoon we broke out the SUPs and BBQ'd on Ghylly Beach. The boys hit the town in the evening.

53

After finishing teaching a sailing course in the morning, we helped move cattle at Matt and Jillie's (after the A.I. man had done his work). We rewarded ourselves with birthday drinks and then supper at The Pandora, with a nice walk back.

Married 30 Years!

A performance of Shakespeare's 'A Winter's Tale' at the unique and amazing Minack Theatre delivered everything we hoped for after 30 years of marriage: Ocean views, sunshine, rain, comedy, engagement, a lifeguard, yachts and a surfer.... brilliant! Then we went and looked at the end of the land and the beach at Sennen, before heading up to St Ives for Cornish tapas (hams, seafood, sauces, asparagus etc) and a wander around the beaches and harbour (with a rainbow overhead). A really lovely day.

Claire 50

On her birthday, Claire had lunch out at Brasserie Blanc then evening meal at Flynn's. The following day, much scheming and secretive planning came to fruition as the garden was transformed into a party venue while she was innocently test driving posh cars and picnicking at the Music Festival. On arrival back at Brancaster, she discovered a marque full of friends and family, come to share in her celebrations of a half century!

Pam had created a wonderful cake and floral arrangements, The Harris's and Coots provided tent erection services (brilliant during a short downpour), Claudia arrived early to help and Hannah had co-ordinated everything superbly. A lovely couple of days.

French Alps

Tim and Sharon joined us for a working holiday in The French Alps. Arriving into Geneva in overcast rainy conditions, the sun soon came out to stay and we were able to enjoy walks to Roc De La Lune and up to the snow at Lac Pierre Blanche. With melting snow running in on one side, we took the plunge on the other, for a brief swim. The sun soon warmed us again.

We walked on into the snow on the way to the Col, but decided against risking life and limb on slippery hard snow. Instead we built a snowman.

Dave, Tim and I spent an afternoon climbing up a mountain stream in fast-running melt water (video). Lunch at Chez Pepe's was the culinary highlight of a week where we ate very well indeed. We got the Reberty chalets prepared for the incoming team and had a few days handing over top tips for the coming summer season. A marvelous way to enjoy the company of our lovely friends in the most amazing scenery. 

Perfect Day

An early start saw us putting Jackaroo in the water at Mylor and the riggers 'stepping' the mast for us.

Then it was a picnic at Castle Beach and an afternoon reading and snorkelling (video) . In the evening Claire played tennis and I rowed with the Supervets, the highlight being seeing a dolphin cruising past us - at Castle Beach! What a day.

Portreath

We rode the trail up to Portreath for tea overlooking the windy beach.

Lago Di Garda

We had an amazing week in Italy at the Grand Hotel, Gardone Riviera on the NW shores of Lake Garda. We were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, Antony and Claudia's 20th anniversary, Pam's 75th birthday, Claire's 50th, Hannah's 25th and Luke's 23rd (the previous week). The Grand Hotel is the oldest large hotel on the lake and our rooms opened onto balconies with lakeside views. The service and food was excellent, we managed to behave ourselves impeccably, dressing smart for dinner and casual for lounging about. On arrival, after pre-supper prosecco we immediately felt that we could get used to this sort of living.

The whole area is immaculate, with well-tended gardens, patterned tiles for pavements, lush vegetation and mountain backdrops. Everything seems to look over Lago Di Garda, with impressive villas since Roman times. Mussolini lived nearby and The Third Reich also knew a nice place to hang out when they saw one! The quickest way to get about is via boats, which crisscross the lake, whisking you to pretty towns for coffee and icecreams.

We had a day in Venice which is an absolutely unique city, with EVERYTHING relying on boats. The skyline is pierced by the roofs of wonderful buildings, with a myriad of waterways running off The Grand Canal, the main transport artery. From Piazza San Marco, we took a gondola ride under The Bridge of Sighs and around this labyrinth. We walked to the Rialto Bridge where we had lunch watching the boats and the people. 

Having never been to Italy, we left delighted to have discovered such an amazing country (video) and wanting to see and experience more. We'll definitely be back. Arrivederci. 

More 'Work' Pictures

I made sure the new paddleboards were floaty and nice on an early morning trip, with a local fishing boat and Turkey in the background.

The bike shed is a lovely cool place to spend time fixing up the new fleet of MTBs and hybrids. Then of course you need to try them out:

Breakfast

 We cooked red mullet over a beach fire - a brilliant way to start the day

Day Off

We enjoyed a beautiful day off, with a walk to the beach at Psili Ammos and swim out to an island.  In the afternoon we got some dinghies  out to mess around in the onshore light winds.

Samos Setup

 After a long overnight flight, it was great to be back in Samos with the fab team. As we are still awaiting the container with the bikes in, initial rides have been on the old bikes. The views remain wonderful and the island is so quiet, pre-season.