Surfing, polo and sunshine in Cornwall

This weekend was another stunner with beautiful sunshine all weekend, although a little chilly that didn't stop the hundreds of people crowding to Watergate Bay to watch the beach polo.

I'm not sure the dog was to impressed with the polo but far more interested in learning to surf. 

Now i'm not typically a horsey' person, i never learnt to ride a horse when i was a child and i never collected my little ponies, but even for someone that doesn't have an interest in horses it was beautiful to see so many of them on the beach. It's not oven you see so many beautifully dressed horses walking on the sand. Now I don't know polo either but i have now learnt that the game is split into four sections the first three 6.5 minutes long and the last 6 minutes. These quarters of the game are called chukkas. Even if like me you were slightly confused by some of the terms there was something for everyone from horse stunt displays, live music and a BBQ on the beach. Another perfect day in Watergate Bay.

Grizzly and the Grasshoppers at the Phoenix Watergate Bay

Saturday night not only saw the final of the Eurovision song contest but also saw live music at the phoenix in Watergate Bay.

To be honest I had not heard of the band before but after a quick look at their website and the promise of  acoustic roots and hints of blues, funk and reggae I was sold.

Clearly the call of Eurovision was to much and the pub was surprisingly quiet but that did not stop me enjoying the band. Grizzly and the Grasshoppers consisted of four band members with each band member playing an array of guitar, drums, bongos, slide guitar and saxophone not to mention the gruff vocals from the lead singer.

I certainly enjoyed the night and am pleased to have got the chance to speak to the band after their gig and learnt that they are coming back to Watergate Bay at the end of the summer for the Surf and roots festival.

Here's a rather shaky mobile phone shot of the band on sat, apologies for the quality a combination of my birthday and several ciders doesn't make the best photo on a camera phone!

Another stunning sunny day in Cornwall

Well what can I say! It's a gorgeous sunny day in Cornwall today, blue sky as far as the eye can see not a cloud to be seen for miles, but let's just remember that it is still quite cold and that it is actually only just a few digits above double figures. Not that I am trying to put a dampener on today because if you get out of the wind and enjoy the sunshine then it's beautiful.

I myself have been out enjoying the sunshine and actually been in the water today too, and lovely as it is the temperature outside was only reading 13'C which in my mind means that I shouldn't have had to witness overweight men with their tops off walking through Newquay just yet. The weather's lovely, beautiful and I really am not complaining but seriously I don't think it's quite bikini's and shirt off weather quite yet!

Top 5 Wedding Invitation ideas.

Getting home from work I was greeted by a small parcel on the floor from the postman. Opening the envelope I was surprised and slightly confused to have received a tea towel. 

Opening up the tea towel I soon realized this wasn't just a tea towel and was in fact a very creative wedding invitation.

Not just was the tea towel a very different way to send a wedding invite that certainly means I won't forget the date but the invite itself was particularly humorous. Rather than the obligatory 'dietary requirements' the enclosed card asked whether you were an Omnivore or Herbivore and proceeded to read 'And also that if i eat the following, I may be sick, or have to go hungry'  If the wedding is as beautiful, creative and funny as the invite then I can not wait for the big day. This then lead me to think about my top 5 wedding invitation ideas.

1. Tea towel, After today's received invite it would be rude not to put the tea towel in at number 1!
2. Jigsaw puzzle, Send a few puzzle pieces to then be put together by your guests to work out where the wedding is. Just remember to include something simple to fill out for the RSVP.
3. CD/DVD - Include a cd or dvd with all the details for your up and coming big day. Create a video with music and photographs with meaning to the special couple. The great thing about an invite like this is that you can include everything needed, images and information on the venue, directions and menus all in one place.
4. Fridge magnet - This is a really simple idea, including a fridge magnet as a 'save the date' you know that the invitation can't get lost and then be a constant reminder every time you make a brew and reach for the milk.
5. Chocolates - Send each of your potential attendees a small box of chocolates, then under each chocolate once eaten have details for the wedding. 

What are you idea's for creative DIY wedding invitations? Have you sent out something different? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Newquay Dub Club Cruise

Yesterday Newquay Dub Club came out in force to enjoy the spring like weather. When I say spring like weather the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, sadly the temperatures didn't quite make it much out of single figures however it was a beautiful but chilly day.

Meeting in St Columb Major a group of nearly 20 vehicles ranging from classic Volkswagens including split screens and bay window campers, Several BMW E20's, a token Mini and several water cooled VW's all convoyed together into Newquay, With a pit stop at little Fistral beach.

Heads were turning as all the cars passed, children were pointing and we saw several passers by film us as we drove along the coast road in a selection of iconic vehicles.

From little Fistral we then moved onto West Pentire and to the Bowgie Inn Car Park to watch the sun set and grab a bite to eat. An awesome little outing for those with a love for driving wonderful classic vehicles on the beautiful coast roads of North Cornwall.

The big Spring Freeze

We are now nearing the end of March and with British summer time officially beginning on Sunday when the clocks go forward we are most definitely stuck in winter mode. However cold Cornwall is it is not as bad as up country. For those of you who didn't blink and miss it we did actually get a few flakes of the white stuff today.

So it was a very light flurry and it didn't settle but Cornwall had a tiny amount of snow non the less. I know we should be grateful of the slightly warmer weather but quite frankly unless there is going to be enough snow to give us snow days off work and let us build a snow man or go sledging in the Cornish fields then quite frankly it needs to be spring right now.

With Easter only a few days away and weather forecasters saying the cold snap could last another month when are we going to get spring weather?

We all know that the last few summers have been complete wash outs with 2012 being the wettest on record, fingers crossed if winter is lasting this long surely summer can only get better.

Here's fingers well and truly crossed for a hot summer this year in Cornwall.

Cornwall on flood alert

Yesterday being the first day of Spring and the Spring equinox we got off to such a great start, it was dry and bright all day a little chilly maybe but the skies were blue and winter finally seamed behind us. Then today the heavens have opened, all day it has rained non stop and the worst is yet to come according to the weather forecast. 

With flood warnings out for the evening for the whole area Cornwall is yet again bracing itself for the worst. Driving home this evening on the main trunk road through Cornwall the road was only just passable with deep brown muddy torrent rushing down off the fields and into the roads. 

Lets just hope over night it doesn't get too much worse and we wake up a little soggy but not to flooded anywhere. 

Be careful on the roads out there tonight everyone in Cornwall.

Really amazing cover - Can you guess what it is?

As a lot of my regular readers know i'm quite into my live music especially local music, supporting bands in the west country like Willie and the Bandits, The Jeremiahs, The Claze to name a few but after seeing the singer song writer Craig Hammond post this on You Tube I just had to share it.

Can you guess the song before the chorus?



Bloody Brilliant!!!

Wille and the Bandits play in ESSEX!

As some of you may know i'm originally from Essex but been living in Cornwall for the past seven years. My family are still in Essex but all very much love the Cornish lifestyle.

When I heard that favourite local band Wille and the Bandits where playing in Essex I had to get my sister to attend and show some support, she thoroughly enjoyed the gig and is now another firm follower of the band.

My sister text me several times from the gig saying how amazing the band was and at the end of the night I had a very happy message from my sister meeting the band!!

Cornish band gains airplay on BBC Radio 2

A few years ago I posted about local Cornish band The Claze that I saw play at the Merrymoor inn in Mawgan Porth. The years may have past since this small gig but the band have been going from strength to strength and lots of practicing and song writing later they were featured on BBC radio 2 this morning.

It's really good not only to hear new music on the radio but to hear local bands getting national airplay.

A massive well done to the boys and hopefully I get to hear you play live again soon.

For those that haven't yet experienced the band you can check out there tunes here. My favourite has got to be 'Cornish Man' Check them out and let me know what you think?