St Ives

We both slept well. I was awake early and showered and dressed soon after seven. A red line was visible along the horizon and as the minutes ticked by we were treated to an amazing sunrise. Diane had to use her blood analyser today. This is the first time it has been used in the situation for which it was intended, i.e. when the test is due and we are away from home. Results were submitted and we had received the response from the hospital before we went down for breakfast.

The plan for the day was to visit St Ives and the Tate St Ives Gallery. Trevor had volunteered to drive today so we settled into the back of car and were whisked across country. As we headed north-west the clouds became more prevalent and it was clear that the. Weather had not read the weather forecast. By the time we arrived there a cool, stiff breeze was blowing across the bay and a fine drizzle came and went throughout the visit.

We made our way to the Gallery, bought our tickets and headed for the coffee shop. This afforded stunning views over the town and over the bay. It also served horrible coffee. I should have seen that as an omen. With coffee under our belt we headed down to the Gallery’s 10 exhibition spaces. Po-faced attendants sat in each gallery trying to stay awake and not dying of boredom. Pretentious visitors stood in front of anything with a description-panel hoping to find some morsel of talent or artistic merit in whatever was in front of them. The most interesting exhibit was actually an installation of two buckets which caught drips from a leak in the ceiling. Whilst there was a warning notice, the artist wasn’t revealed. Trevor and I had soon had our fill and escaped into the wind and rain. Diane and Jane persevered. As Trevor and I sat in the circular outside meeting space, “The Temple of Pretension” students started to gather until the whole space was full. Their lecturers took the attendance register and they started to file into the Gallery. Bringing up the rear was one of the lecturers. I asked him “What on earth have these kids done that deserves a punishment this severe?” He laughed and responded “Not impressed then?”. He then divulged the most interesting fact about the Tate St Ives. The reason it is built in the circular temple-like fashion is that it occupies the site of the old gas storage tank (gasometer?) for the town.

When the girls emerged we pottered down the hill and into the town itself. The town made up for the Gallery. It was absolutely charming - though I can imagine that it’s an absolute zoo in high season. 

As we made our way down the lanes and byways we stopped into various shops until we got down to the harbour itself. By then the timer was running down on the car park so we had to turn back to the car. The wind had picked up and the drizzle was cheeky enough to morph into a wind-blasted rain. Diane found the walk into the wind rather breathtaking and we had to stop for a few moments to let her catch her breath.

Diane and Jane wanted to visit the “Sea Salt” factory outlet while down here so the SatNav was set and we stopped off at the edge of Penryn on our way back to Falmouth. They swept into the store while Trevor and I walked up to Asda for a comfort break and a cup of tea. We then went back and waited in the car while several glaciers melted, continents drifted apart, and Jupiter did another circuit of the sun. Eventually, the boot was opened and their purchases loaded in. The front of the car needed to be weighed down to counterbalance the new load in the boot. We limped back to the hotel for a quiet hour before meeting for dinner.

It has been another super day