The Sennen Cove Diary
September 10th - Thursday
The tide had changed without me noticing and we were forced to go around the block this morning. We stepped out when it was so gloomy it was close to needing my torch and by the time we reached Coastguard Row on the back nine, it was daylight. I do not know if we were inordinately slow going around the block or the sunrise was inordinately quick and rising.
It was pleasant enough to be out for a stroll, so I did not agonise too long over the philosophy of the natural arrangements. It was only after we went that I remembered hearing something about rain in the forecast. I had not paid much attention and since we did not get wet, it did not matter. I did, however, note the grey skies when I could see them, the lack of wind and a more temperate ambient temperature. When I looked later, the temperature had started rising at four o’clock in the morning and had picked up a couple of degrees by mid-morning.
By and large it was a quieter day even than yesterday. Today I did not have the cash and carry to do but I did have the lists I made yesterday from our salesman’s visit to convert into electronic format. That took some time and I noted that we had some checking to do. I was also able to dismiss some items that I has a chance to consider overnight that perhaps were not for us. The Missus went up to The Farm in the afternoon where she did a bit of counting but there was not much up there that I had not already discounted.
The other distraction from my boredom this morning was that I managed to acquire some replacement benches just ahead of ours collapsing in a heap of splinters. Having already established that the benches outside the café next door were of superior build quality, I managed to drop by this morning and find out who the supplier was. It turned out it was small concern that happened to be very good at turning out such things as well as a whole lot more.
The owner and I had some difficulty coordinating our simultaneous free moment to discuss the matter, but when we did, the deal was very swiftly done. He was asking a reasonable price for the benches and the delivery of them and did not ask for payment in advance or a deposit. I do not know how long it will take and neither did I particularly care. If the current ones disintegrate before the new ones arrive, it is not the end of the world.
What might have been pretty close in magnitude of disaster was the absence of any message from our fish supplier to say that the order we placed last week was ready for collection. Seeing the tide in on the beach this morning made me realise that the next spring tides were upon us already. I found some time to send him a message in the middle of the morning just to prompt him. It was the right thing to do because he had clearly forgotten. It was just in time, as well. When I checked the table for the next few days we are in for some very large tides. I had the message back quite quickly that our order will be ready tomorrow morning, just in time for Mother to get a bit of haddock for her tea.
I think that business today suffered from a poor forecast more than poor weather. At points during the day, we had patches of mizzle float through the Cove but most of the day was dry and reasonably warm. The total cloud cover did not make it look particularly pretty and as the day went on, the swell in the bay increased making the bay look very untidy. I do not even think it was that good for surfers. I only glanced the once and a string of surf schoolers were marching out in a line between two of the sandbars. There might have been a wave or two there for a while.
At some inconvenient moment in the day, our chutneys and preserves turned up. We had fair motored through the last top up order in the middle of the season and were fast running out of nearly everything. We were not the only ones. I had the message early on that we would not get raspberry jam or blackcurrant jam now or for the foreseeable future. It appears that growing things was a bit fraught this year and if the professionals are having trouble, I think we might be in for a hard winter and into the new year for food generally.
We did our bit to save the world by not ordering anything but dairy produce. I have not had to do much in the way of topping up the soft drinks in the last few days and even the beers have taken less of a beating that we have been used to. We are selling more red wine than white, too, which is probably indicative of something that I am not going to think too hard about.
The only other order I placed was for bread and largely only because I had picked up an order during the day. For the last week, our customers have been ignoring our sourdough bread in favour of everything else. Today, having reduced the amount we had on display, everyone wanted bleddy sourdough. I resisted the urge to order in too much more as bread sales on Friday are traditionally very slow.
I was lucky to recognise that it was Friday tomorrow as I had spent the entire day thinking that today was Friday after Lifeboat practise yesterday. Forcing myself to think about the Lifeboat reminded me that we had left the slipway lights on last night when I went to lock up the station after running the girls around last thing. I should hopefully be back on the right track tomorrow.
September 9th - Wednesday
I meant to mention yesterday that the weed on the Harbour beach had rolled up into a few big piles. I was not paying that much attention and was more keen to be getting away than making notes about the weed.
This morning, it was lighter for one thing, and we had more time to examine our surroundings and yes, the oar weed was indeed sitting at the bottom of the slipway in roughly three big piles – ain’t nature tidy. The western side of the beach was almost entirely clear, which is always an oddity. Where the weed was, it blocked any launching of fishing boats as it was in exactly the wrong place.
When I closed the shop in the middle of the day and took the girls down, the Harbour tractor had been at work and had gathered and pushed the weed off to the eastern side alongside the Lifeboat short slip. In doing so it had made the rest of the beach a fair facsimile of The Somme battlefield shortly after the battle. I had to pick my way across it as we headed for the sea to save falling into a geet hole.
After the busyness of yesterday, it was hard to contemplate it being quiet today. It had looked a little dark in places above us during the early part of the morning and one local lady commented that she felt that she had been lucky to get away with it. I think that we were all lucky as earlier when I had looked at the rain radar, there were patches of rain about which had missed us entirely. I had thought that they had all gone by the time I opened the shop and the dark clouds were actually harmless.
Whatever the reason – perhaps it was a St Ives day – we were relative quiet throughout the whole day. It would have suited me well in the morning when I had agreed to meet a salesman from our beachware company but, of course, we had some of our busiest moments while he was here.
He came the same time last year and we made a list of a number of custom novelties that we could have The Cove’s name on. This year, the list has expanded and we shall have at least a dozen new and exciting alluring gifts to attract and entertain our customers – half of which will be complete duds and we shall have them forever.
It is an exercise in concentration and mental arithmetic. Decisions need to be made almost instantly regarding each item, the margin needs to be calculated, or at least reasonably accurately estimated, and a mental tally needs to be kept to make sure I am not spending too much. There is the opportunity to change my mind, but I have two weeks to firm up the commitment, which, of course, will be gone in a flash. At least one of the items needs some further work. I need to select one of our photographs that will translate well into a poster painting, like the old railway posters, in portrait format. It sounds like it should be easy, but all my photographs are landscape and many too detailed for the task. I think it could take some time even though our salesman offered the use of their graphic designer.
So enthralled were we in our work that two hours had gone by and we scarcely noticed. He had a very thick book that he was leafing through and much of it was of no interest to us. I would say that I had chosen items from around a quarter of it. Every now and then I had to stop to see what we had ordered last year or to note a price or to see what was left on our shelves. There was also an increasing number of customers coming and going and at one point, I had a queue with some serious gift buying passing across the counter.
Even when I thought that we had finished, he told me he had another book of early buyer deals. All the companies would prefer to know in advance what they have to order for their customers. With a previous company, now long ago, we were compelled to place our entire year’s order at the start of the year and commit to it. This is the same process with our current company except they prefer to persuade us to place advanced orders by offering cheaper deals on bulk orders. We are not compelled to take it at once, although from a space point of view, I am sure they would like us to. Since we have storage and it suits us to take the stock while we have less to do, we will take the stock early in the calendar year.
Since I was now pressed for time, I selected some 20 items that we sell in abundance and placed bulk orders for all of them. It was very much going in blind and not knowing current stocks, although I had some idea and could always back out of some if needed. It is unlikely, though; most of the items will sell come what may, so to have overstock is not that important. I made sure to add plenty of parasols, too, which will guarantee a poor summer next year.
I really was quite exhausted after such a lengthy period of concentration and mental exercise. It did not help that it was so quiet after he went and I had nothing to occupy me. The only thing that I had to do was the cash and carry order which required more concentration and mental exercise. I did it anyway as it had to be done.
It had felt a tad chilly on the beach in the morning despite having a thicker rain jacket on – my lighter one was still in the shop. Later, in the shop, I had felt it again for the first time in a number of months. It continued to halfway through the afternoon before I felt compelled to turn on the fan that had been my constant companion since the start of summer. I checked the temperature at Land’s End, about the only bit of its weather station still working, and we had lost five degrees since Monday. In the middle of the afternoon when I turned on the fan again, I noted that the temperature had only increased one degree. I surmised that the temperature increase had only been in the shop as a result of the wind backing to the west and rapidly diminshing.
It was this kindness in the weather that convinced the Lifeboat powers to move our normal exercise night back a day. A training launch of both boats was penned in for half past six o’clock which meant cramming an early tea in the shop. This Missus had stopped by, on her return from Mother’s appointment in Truro, at the store of a friendly saint. There she had procured some of their finest comestibles for me to indulge in. What she had not vouchsafed was time for me to consume it.
At around half past three o’clock in the afternoon we went from quiet abandonment to manic shopping frenzy. It lasted all the way through to half past five o’clock when a five minutes to closing rush took over. In fact, we also had an exactly on closing rush when two gentlemen in a passing car screeched to a halt outside as I was sliding to the first electric sliding door in The Cove. I stayed my hand while they came in and purchased some beer, foodstuffs and a lot of maps.
I had arrived at the mission briefing just in the nick of time and thereafter dispersed to our various duties. I had allocated myself as head launcher on the Inshore boat but, having done that, joined everyone else setting up after the big boat launched.
We were slightly hampered by the presence of the weed on the Harbour beach. The tide had flattened the geet pile the Harbour tractor had pushed up and had also removed much of it. The rest had been more thinly spread across the eastern side of the beach and dictated where we launched the Inshore boat from. Unlike the summer, there were few people to scream at to get out of the bleddy way. I had gone down in advance of the launch to prewarn those down there. A few, resting on the raised part of the old slipway, I told to remain as they were perfectly safe there. I hesitated and then qualified that by saying that it depended on who was driving, which raised a giggle.
For the first time in a while we were able to sit around and discuss matters of great import and drinks cups of coffee. It was hugely disappointing that our cake lady was not present and neither had anyone thought to provide chocolate biscuits. Words will, no doubt be had.
Both boats returned roughly at the same time, although the Inshore was slightly ahead as they wished to practise docking on the cradle with some more inexperienced crew. It meant that by the time we had put the inshore boat to bed, a very much textbook recovery up the long slip had already taken place. We joined the rest of the crew in the final stages of a washing and strapping down ahead of the next service. Being a day early, has bamboozled us into wondering what day of the week comes next. We are, after all, a very confused, very excellent Shore Crew.
September 8th - Tuesday
The little bit of rain that we knew was coming along with the second cold front was a tad larger than we thought. The system covered a third of the country and rained through the night. When I had a geek at it in the morning there was no option but full metal jacket waterproofs when I took the girls out in the morning. We did not tarry.
The rain was not going to let up in time for me to get the shop ready but at least it eased off a bit. I wore my light rain jacket but really did not need it as the main bulk of the heavy rain had already passed through. It did save a final fling for when the shop was open, and I had to hurriedly close the first electric sliding door in The Cove to stop the rain piling in.
The rain was very swiftly followed by largely clear skies and sunshine accompanied by a robust northwesterly breeze that tousled many a curly lock. We subsequently made a killing on hats, hair bands and bandanas throughout the rest of the day. I honestly cannot see what the fuss is about.
It was not just hair that was having a bad time. The sea was in a tousled state as well. Big waves were rolling in with their tops white and flicked by the insistent tailwind. It was apparently not big enough for the Lifeguards to red flag the beach and even near high water both surfing and swimming flags were out. Despite that, no one seemed willing to take them up on the invitation.
I had cruised through a very quiet morning as the Missus went off for her bone crunching turn. She does not like to be outdone. While she was gone, I contemplated the replacement of our greetings card stand. It was probably not the best time to do it, but the existing display had long ago overstayed its welcome and was started to misbehave by letting cards drop down the gaps on the shelves into the drawers below. The thought of its replacement had been on my mind for some time and the nagging was getting too hard to ignore.
The existing stand had been there when we arrived 23 years ago, and it was old then. I had a look on the Internet for replacements and it seems that such items are no longer in vogue; replacements were all second hand or made to order and very expensive. Several years ago, having seen the writing on the wall, I replaced half our magazine shelves with a set more suitable for greetings cards. I was rather hoping that I could extend the wall shelves along and use a similar arrangement to replace the card stand. The only thing then would be to replace the drawers that I would miss terribly if they were not there. I might just upcycle the existing ones.
So, I had a vision in my head of what I was after. All I needed now was someone to supply it. Over the years we have predominately used one company for our replacement shelving, so it was my first port of call. I sent a message describing what I was after and sent photographs of the existing arrangements including the newer greetings card display. They replied near immediately with a message telling me that they could almost certainly supply what I was after. It required a bit of enquiry on their part, but they were very confident. They had been equally helpful in the past, so I have high hopes.
The reason that it was not the best time to do this was that the existing display and the current wall will need to be dismantled which I cannot do with the shop open. It means that if everything works out, I cannot really ask the company to wait until the end of October and we will have to find somewhere to store the new unit until we are ready.
What I should have been doing instead of floating off on a flight of fancy was the cash and carry order. I had agonised about whether we should do it this week or next. The state of the toilet roll stock and the current demand eventually made the decision for me; we would likely run out before the week after. By the time I came to start the list we were starting to get busy and eventually I had to park the task and serve customers instead. We are not pressed for time just yet, but this order needs especial consideration because it is likely to be the last before end of season and some of the items will need to last until the end of October but no longer.
Despite the fearsome blow, trade was quite brisk, especially in the afternoon. It was a much better day in the end than it looked like it might be first thing. We even sold out of pasties again (sorry, MS). That is the second day running we have had the numbers exactly right by accident, erm, I mean meticulously planned. You know how I do not like to blow my own trumpet, dear reader. I ordered slightly more for tomorrow as the weather will probably be fair from the outset. The wind, however, is likely to persist for a while.
We closed on another five minutes to closing rush. Just ahead of that a car parked so close to our newspaper bin, half on the pavement, that the occupants struggled to get out. I was waiting for someone to complain to me about it but fortunately they did not. I was trying to access the newspaper bin at the time, so I stood at watched them struggle with meaning written all over my face. I suppose it is a pet hate of mine but I cannot see why people insist on parking so far up the pavement it is impossible to pass comfortably and a wheelchair would have no chance. It is pure irony when a disabled badge holder parks in such a manner.
Looking out across the bay while we had our tea, you would never have guessed that earlier in the morning we had a guts of rain passing through. You would definitely have believed the wind if you, like me, had to endure standing at the top of the slipway while two nosy girls nosed around in the weeds for ten minutes. My, it was breezy and chill, too.
September 7th - Monday
We could easily have been caught out again with a brief spell of rain first thing. It was almost identical to the one that soaked us. It was just half an hour earlier. The wind was battering at our windows which alerted me, and I had to check because it was the sort of howling wind that was most unlikely at this time of year.
It was all over by the time we did go out which was much earlier than I had planned. For the last few days, I have been able to lock both girls in the bedroom while I carry out my gruelling morning exercises without additional assistance. Unfortunately, BB decided to sleep in the living room last night and I had all the help I really did not need while doing a three minute plank.
It also means that I am compelled to take them both out sooner. I would normally avoid the beach in the dark but today I capitulated when they both pulled me down the slope. It was very much a case of tracking the reflective strips on their harnesses or I would have lost them completely.
The progress of the daylight was somewhat hampered today by the arrival with the weather front and its attendant cloud cover. It was a cold front that passed through and it knocked a couple of degrees off yesterday’s temperature. Despite the lack of sunshine and slight reduced temperature, the day still seemed warm and comfortable. It did not seem to affect the numbers walking about, in fact, there appeared to be more perambulating about today.
We probably had the addition of all the people who were on the beach yesterday. There were precious few down there today and the tide being in for much of it was not helping very much. The surfers, however, were happier, certainly at lower reaches of the tide in the morning, because we had waves again as the low pressure system crept a little closer.
I avoided the gymnasium this morning. One of the peculiarities of the season is that my body has no time to rail against the punishment that I hand out to it on a daily basis when we are hard pressed in the shop. Once my spring is unwound my body seems to think it has carte blanche to object to things like lifting 12 kilogram cases of water out of awkward positions. For the last couple of days, my back and shoulders have registered their disapproval, and I was forced to make an appointment with the bone cruncher or more accurately, my pin cushion supervisor.
On one hand, getting an appointment the afternoon I made the call is a happy circumstance and on the other, it might point to the bone cruncher having a lack of business. I would be entirely lost without their occasional services.
The other uplifting news was the return of my not working false ear. Unable to conveniently get to the optician that does ears, I sent my broken false ear in via the Post Office – tracked and signed for. They had already said that no one would get to have a look at it until today, so a call from them was the last thing I expected. The very pleasant lady told me that they had sourced a replacement and that they would courier it to me, paid for by the fiver I had posted along with the unit. Given the abysmal service I had from the other shower, I was most amazed by service at the other end of the scale.
I provided some service of my own today to the veritable hordes who turned up for a pasty today (sorry, MS). I had placed an order yesterday with the grand plan that the stock would last two days. I did not want to be concerned with not making minimum orders because we had not sold very many. Even before the middle of the day, it became very apparent that pasty demand was in the ascendant and that my two day stock was unlikely to last the day. Just half an hour before the deadline I reached for my telephone to place another two day order for tomorrow that may or may not last two days.
Our army friends magically find themselves in our environs around the middle of the day and croust time. The first of them, a big strapping lad, asked for a steak and stilton pasty that had me cringing a tad. I considered a caustic comment but demurred on the basis that I do not think that our home-made anti-cheekiness screen would be effective cover if I upset him. I explained that such aberrations were more likely available in shops whose main purpose was the provision of pasties. Shops such as ours had little scope to widen our offering.
Our boy at first complained that he was fed up with eating the same type of pasty day after day and left. He was back two minutes later having presumably come to the conclusion that there was little alternative. I am sure he will either get over his disappointment or learn to love the one true pasty.
Not half so fussy were the next two military men who arrived at the counter. Emblazoned upon his fatigues were the words U.S. Marine Corps. I made the rapid and life preserving decision not to enquire if the US stood, as it does over here, for UnServiceable. Instead, I told him that I was not expecting to see that on a shirt today. I asked if he had invaded. He said, probably not as no one had shot at him yet, which I thought was a friendly riposte. I joined in and told him that there was no shooting the last time we were invaded, either, (I did not think he meant arrows) but it did not stop it happening.
It is, however, good to see that we are still occupied with holiday makers making merry with their time here and the season in not done just yet. Only yesterday did I meet with a party intent on having a pub crawl in The Cove. I admired their optimism that they did not let the fact that there is only the one pub and a bar spoil their fun. I learnt today, closing in on midday while they still languished in bed, that they had given it their absolute best and done some thinking outside the box. They commenced by procuring their first beverages with us in the shop, proceeding to the chip shop for a couple more before not only drinking but dining at the Surf Bar. Not content with that, they went on to the OS where they went for more drinks and second helpings by ordering roast dinners.
It was a valiant effort. Next time it might be worth considering starting at Land’s End hotel and taking in the F&L if I were considering the thing properly.
Mind, perhaps they were right to be cautious. One of the Diary’s ears to the ground reported that the ‘Portaloos’ that had been installed in The Beach car park were removed today. In truth, I had no idea that Portaloos had been installed in the first place – nobody tells me nuffing. I assume that they were procured by the Parish Council to supplement the woeful lack of more permanent facilities at that end.
Apparently, the wrangle continues between Parish and the much maligned council. The land is owned by the much maligned council, leased by the family that operate the car park, and the Parish own or have responsibility for the toilets. The much maligned council are reticent about releasing the land to the car park operator who has offered to build new facilities on that basis. The Parish has similar issues and are stuck with expensive operating costs and a dilapidated building. It should never had been taken on by the Parish in the first place but that is another story.
We, on the other hand, had few issues with our business day, still enjoying the benefits of a delicious weekend. As I mentioned, there are still numbers about but we are now reliant upon good weather for good business: sun good; rain bad.
Talking of which, there were spots of rain in the air as we closed the shop after yet another five minutes to closing rush. It took its time, and it was getting better at proper raining when we took our last walk. I am sure it will get the hang of it eventually, after all, it had been a while since it has done rain properly.
September 6th - Sunday
There was a bit of cloud overhead when we stepped out this morning. It is remarkable the difference it makes to the light available on the beach. At the same hour yesterday, I needed no headtorch whereas today, I did.
The cloud did not amount to very much and by the middle of the morning the sun was splitting the hedges. The only difference from yesterday was the presence of a very noticeable easterly wind blowing through and keeping the temperature down. Otherwise, it was a perfectly reasonable day and by and by we saw gatherings on the benches across the road. Clearly, with ours newly licenced, sitting at them would be a much more satisfying experience than sitting at the other, yet to be licenced benches. It was still quite slow in the shop, and we would have to wait into the afternoon to see and serious action.
There had been numerous visitors slipping in an out of the shop during the morning, but the traffic was light. It gave me the opportunity to slip upstairs in the middle of the day to refresh my water bottle. On my way out, a length of rope lying in front of the counter caught my attention.
We have a ring attached to the front of the shop just by the doorway for the purpose of tying up big dogs while their owners’ shop. For a long while I had a sign there that said it was for errant children which caught quite a bit of attention over the years. I had attached a length of rope with a spring clip at either end to make the process of attaching a dog easier – or, indeed, a small child.
The rope that caught my eye as I went out was this very rope I had secured on the ring some years earlier. The only difference with it, and the thing that really got my attention, was that the spring clip was missing. Having already been victim, a few weeks ago, to some light-fingered yob nicking the cord off our wheelie bin, I immediately feared the worst. What irked me most was that the thievery was done under my very nose.
I considered this affront to our security while I filled my water bottle. It was then that I recalled an incident earlier in the morning when a customer had tied his older Labrador dog to the rope before he came into the shop. I had not realised that at the time, thinking that the dog was just obediently – for a moment – sitting there. That opinion was reinforced when the dog, having none of that separation nonsense, shot into the shop to be closer to his master. I concluded later that the dog had pulled the knot out of the rope and wandered off with the spring clip attached to his collar. It was a very old spring clip and a loose knot. Mystery solved.
Our ridge of high pressure that gave us such a stonking day yesterday eventually had its way with the sea as well. There was a bit of surfing going on low in the tide but as it pressed in, the waves ironed themselves out and the sea became a millpond again. At the top of the tide and for several hours after, the only people in the water were a few bathers enjoying a dip. We also had a few more camps set up along the tide line which is a bit further down the beach after the tide jumped today.
I was reading earlier – I have time now – that air from the continent, where they are having a bit of a heatwave, would be driven up for us to enjoy. It would last until the cold front that is due to pass us tomorrow sometime, would bring the temperature back down again. Fair do’s, the temperature did indeed increase a little bit up to the early 20s. It prompted a little flurry of swimsuit and swim shorts buying which was all rather jolly. As we have no facilities for people to try things on, it is always a bit of a worry that we will get items returned. We advise people to leave the labels on just in case they want to bring them back. It does happen but happily the incidence is low. Today I had one lady come back and tell me how well her costume fitted, which was good of her.
Our little bit of understated busyness evaporated in the latter part of the afternoon, and I was very much set adrift to twiddle my thumbs. It gave me time to fret about whether we should do a cash and carry order next week or leave it until the week after. I know there are some things that we could do with, but I think that we would struggle to make a minimum order. Oddly, we have had a big rush on toilet rolls. We have sold more in the last fortnight than we did at the peak of the summer holidays. I suspect that our current visitors, in smaller groups, did rather less shopping at Tesmorburys and decided to be more reliant on us, which is comforting.
I distracted myself by looking at the sales pages for a van to replace the truck. There are some alluring examples but when I look closely, the mileage is a bit high, the body is too low on the wheels or it is perfect and in Hull, which I fear is north of Camborne. I do not think there is any future in agonising too much about it. The purchase will be something of a lottery and all we can hope is that the salesman has not got a porkpie hat and a sheepskin car coat.
We might have to wait until the shop is closed, which is a bit of a nuisance because the weather is likely to be deteriorating. Arranging to pick it up while the shop is open, however, is a logistical headache particularly if it is some distance away. The other option is to really trust to fortune and buy online and have it delivered. The only reason to see the van in person is cosmetic; we are not mechanics and probably could not spot a duffer anyway. In the meanwhile, there is no harm in looking – other than the frustration.
I had to curtail my fantasy van buying in favour of a proper five minutes to closing rush, which after more than an hour of quietness was most welcome.
Mother is on holiday for a few days before an appointment in Truro on Wednesday. We sat around the table and watched the beach activity of which there was still plenty. It is very pleasant to have time to stop and stare while we still can. It will not be that long before all we will see is our own reflections, although that may be not until after the clocks go back. Come on, it was a year ago. Remembering what happened yesterday is a struggle.
September 5th - Saturday
The weather was a much kinder on us this morning. There was enough light not to need further illumination on the beach when we went down, and we only needed to go there the once. The tide was further out than yesterday and there was plenty of room for us and the blanket of weed that had been delivered on the previous tide. Again, on the western side there was also a field of shingle, which I am convinced is connected with the arrival of the weed.
There were only a couple of deliveries to the shop this morning and they were of little concern apart from the usual Laurel and Hardy Newspaper Company issues that will seemingly be with us forever. Some of our bread was not delivered because the baker had problems of his own with a broken down oven to contend with.
I was very happy to know that I was not suffering alone, especially when the network failed again this morning. The first card payment did not go through and even attached to our secondary wireless access point, I could not get it to work. It sent me scurrying around for a fix and I discovered that there were two problems working in harmony to fox me.
We have a cable that runs from the router upstairs to the switch in the shop. It is a single point of failure and if it is not working, near enough everything stops. I noticed soon after our building work was completed that the upstairs end had a dickie connection and had to be treated with care. I had obviously moved it when I pulled the matrix unit away yesterday evening to see what was wrong with it. Jiggling the wire got it working again.
The root cause problem took a little longer to resolve as it was far more elusive. I had thought it to be the dodgy wire but when it was not just that, I was a bit dumbfounded. It took a while but when all that is impossible is eliminated, it only leaves the improbable, which was turning off the broken matrix unit which I did this morning. It seems that although the unit was not serving up the Internet, it was still talking with the other units in the matrix and by turning it off, the others went on strike in sympathy. Plugging it back it fixed the problem.
I will leave it until we do not need the downstairs network so earnestly to remove the unit via the software option before turning it off again. I will also get our friendly local electrician in to help me wire a backup cable between the floor and to fix the existing one. I have the tools to do it myself but there are around eight wires of subtly different colours which confound me rather.
Did I mention that it was sunny. We had largely clear skies above us and big white fluffy clouds out to the east. The breeze, such as it was, started in the northwest, and veered northerly before backing all the way around to the southwest and then on to the southeast later in the day. There was a fearsome ground sea running that kept the fishing fleet on the slip and the hardier of surfers out on the water. There were some very good waves either side of high water at eleven o’clock and I spotted more than a few have a good run in from quite far out the back.
Just into the afternoon, the Missus arrived and told me that I was going off to The Farm. She entreated me to go hence and hook up the flail mower to the tractor so that she could take it to her farmer pal so that he could have a look at it. If you recall, dear reader, the offer to have a look at the flail mower was extended before the commencement of the season. I could not hook the flail up then because the jack on the tipping trailer was broken and thus, I could not remove the tractor from it.
Since then, the Missus had propped up the trailer on blocks and moved the tractor to be close by the flail. We will have to be sharp about putting the trailer on some firmer footing as the wood is likely to rot and collapse if we leave it too long. That aside, the tractor was free to hook up to the flail – my job, apparently.
On the face of it, attaching the flail mower should be fairly straightforward and in the world of farmers and the average Joe, it probably would be. We, however, are talking about The Boathouse Farm and the grumpy shopkeeper doing it. It was never going to be easy, now was it.
For starters, which is a very appropriate phrase, there is an issue with the ignition switch. It needs a bit of love, care and a fair bit of jiggling to get it to start the engine. We have both become reasonably adept at it, but it can still take multiple goes at getting the tractor to start. Multiple goes at getting it to start tend to be a bit harsh on the battery and since the tractor had been barely used over the summer, the battery was not in the best condition to start with. It was not long before it became very apparent that the battery was not up to the job and the needed a bit of help.
I had taken the girls with me. It was not the best move when I had intended to move the tractor around a bit, but they needed to get out, so it was a compromise. With them hacking about here and there, I was loathe to move the truck, so in the first instance I went and fetched a spare battery from the cabin. It was not one that we keep on charge, so I was dubious about its effectiveness, but it was worth a try. Actually, it was not, because it did not help one iota.
There was nothing for it but to move the truck into position to jump start the tractor off it. This meant moving the girls, well, ABH anyway who had decided to rest in the shade under the truck by the back wheel. I managed to coax her out and with BB already deciding she had enough and was back in the truck while I laboured, I moved it into position.
In short order, I got the tractor started then had to move the truck out of the way again. With enough room now to manoeuvre the tractor into position, I set about lining the lifting arms up with the corresponding docking bars on the flail. That part was easy enough after some fine tuning, but the problem then was that the flail was too low for the arms which would go no lower. It was high enough when I left it there on a wooden pallet but that was six months ago or more. Time and weather had weakened the pallet which collapsed under the weight of the flail.
Not to be defeated so early in the game, I thought to push the flail back so that the back end slipped off the pallet a bit and the front therefore would rise. Unbelievably, that worked and I was able to slip the lifting arms under the bars and slot them into place. Having attached the top bar all that was left was to fit the PTO shaft that drives mechanism – when it is working.
Given that the flail was sitting in amongst a bed of nettles I thought to move the ensemble to somewhere rather less nettlely. The easiest solution was to put the tractor nose first back into its shed, leaving the back end out and accessible for the fitting operation. The PTO shaft is heavy and needs to be held level with one hand while the other slides it onto the shaft. It is a practised skill to make it work and one I still need to practise. It took longer than attaching the arms.
Last, I felt it sensible to test the PTO drive to see if after leaving the equipment alone for six months had somehow fixed it. For this the tractor engine needs to be running, so I turned the key and discovered that despite the engine running for half an hour, the battery was still flat.
Since the tractor was now nose first into the shed, no amount of positioning the truck would allow our jump leads to span the gap between the batteries. I understood that the battery would need to be charged, so I thought to remove it from the tractor and take it up to the cabin where I could attach it to the solar panel array. That would work very well if only I could have found the spanner that we use to move the batteries around. It was in none of the usual places, although I just remembered that I did not look under the sink in the cabin where the charging batteries are kept.
Time was marching on a bit, so I called the Missus and we agreed that I would leave everything and come back to the shop. She would be able to start the tractor from our booster pack – probably – when she needed to move it.
Typically, the girls had decided that sitting in and around the truck was not so much fun anymore and that running about the place and hiding from me was much more entertaining. Once I had started the truck, they magically reappeared and we saddled up and made to go home. If I had any notion that my tribulations were finished with, I was of course mistaken. As I went to close the gate behind us it occurred to me that I was still wearing my steel toecap wellies which, during the summer, are kept in the barn, which was exactly where I had left my shoes when I changed earlier. Cue, go and unlock the barn again to change footwear.
It had been very warm and gloriously sunny for all the time we were up at The Farm. I had, naturally for such a venture, changed into DIYman winter overalls – which proved sensible in as much as otherwise I would have been nursing nettle stings all weekend. However, I was uncomfortably warm, with my exertions making me hotter still, and was very pleased to change back into grumpy shopkeeper shorts and shirt when I got back.
We had been busy, I was told, and we remained busy thorough what was left of the afternoon, which was most gratifying. In fact, we were busier than we had been all week selling goods from across the spectrum of our stock.
Many people are amazed by just how wide that spectrum is and feel it necessary to comment upon it when they arrive at the counter. This happens with some frequency so it was with some bewilderment that one of the five minutes to closing rushers earlier in the week told me that he expected to see more “nick-knacks” in the shop.
I had observed his progress down the grocery aisle and a brief dalliance at the posh food section by the drinks fridge, so I enquired has he looked down the gift aisle, perhaps. He expressed surprise that there was a gift aisle, telling me he had not seen it and promptly wandered off in the direction of the newspapers and surf jewellery, narrowing missing the top of the gift aisle by mere feet. He left without making a purchase, which included the energy drink he had in his hand which, in fairness, I could not vouch that he had not brought in with him.
We closed the shop on a very successful out of season day with the bay still looking splendid in its glorious coat of slowing setting sunshine and blue sky. It was still dark when I took the girls out last thing but at least it was not raining and nor were we shrouded in mist. I say that on balance, that was a good day for grumpy shopkeeping and Boathouse Farming.
September 4th - Friday
Well, that was a bit unwelcome. As usual I poked my head out of the door first thing ready to take the girls for a spin and noted that there was still some mizzle floating in the air. I was in two minds, because it did not seem that heavy, but discretion won the day and I stopped to put on my light rain jacket. We were halfway down the slipway when the light drizzle got a little heavier, but it was still not too bad and bound to get better in a minute, I thought. A minute later and the rain was lashing in, charged with a bleddy geet squall of wind behind it. We were all drenched in seconds while we made a bolt for home.
The culprit was a pencil thin line of rain heading southwest across us and was gone almost before it arrived. Ten minutes either side and we would have avoided it. As it was, the girls suggested that we go down again because their run out had been so brief they had not had a chance to run around. We were not there for long, but it was a far more enjoyable experience the second time around.
The rain was not the only thing to stick the boot into an otherwise unremarkable morning. The milk had arrived just ahead of the shop opening and I had milk bottles strewn across the floor in front of the fridge when the first customer came in. I left the milk where it was to go and serve the lady only to find out that the card machine was not working for the lack of a wireless Internet connection.
As a stop-gap, I connected the machine to next door’s wireless signal and was about to return to the milk when the pasties (sorry, MS) turned up. They had been late all week and the one day when being late would have been helpful, they were early. I stopped to help bring them in and then left them while I returned to the milk.
I was fortunate enough to be able to finish putting the dairy away when the next customer turned up. Again, the card machine failed to process the payment. It had reverted to our own, not working, network because it was the stronger signal. It took a few moments to sort that out after which I had to go and sort out the pasties. That done, I went off to reset our main router which would normally resolve any glitch, but the wireless was still not working after that.
Since there was still the greengrocery to pack and weigh, I settled on that to rest my brain from trying to work out what might be causing the issue. Our wireless signal is provided by a matrix of small access points arranged up high around the shop and store room. We also connect to it in the flat above and usually it works well providing a strong signal throughout the building. All units had working lights indicating that there was no fault, indeed, I had signal from them, there was just no Internet in the signal.
In the end, I traced it to the master unit that connects by wire to the router. Once I had replaced that, the wireless Internet sprung back into life – just in time for me to head off to the gymnasium for a major blistering session.
I returned to the shop. There was no running the girls out again as the Missus was heading off to The Farm straight away. It will not be too long before I can get up there myself and start with the long and getting longer list of tasks and projects.
Being change-over day again we were faced with another round of goodbyes with people who had been frequent customers for the last week or, occasionally, two. One of the departing groups were led by a lady we have known for some years. Her pals were first time visitors, hailing from somewhere transatlantic by the sound of it. They had obviously brought their smarts with them because they won last night’s quiz in the OS and were most chuffed about it to. It had fetched them a handsome purse which they very kindly donated to the crew comfort fund. Thank you very much.
Change-over day was one of the reasons it was quiet today and I imagine that the weather was the other. It was a cheerless and dull day with nothing much to commend it. The surfers would have been happy with some swell in the bay, but I had to warn off a gentleman and two young girls from fishing in the early morning. He had already worked out that the Harbour wall would be off limits but asked about casting off the beach. At near high water, the waves were quite merrily thumping in on the sand and standing anywhere near it would have been fraught. I sent them to Newlyn and Penzance to the harbours there which would be more sheltered and much safer.
One of the advantages of not being busy behind the counter is that I have time to keep the shelves topped up. I set to along the grocery aisle in the late afternoon filling all the gaps. It took about ten minutes. That is the other thing about not being too busy: we are not selling anything.
There were, however, enough gaps to warrant thinking about a cash and carry order which, if we follow the pattern of the last couple of months, is due next weekend. There are now two considerations, the first being would there be enough of an order for a delivery. The second, which is far more tricky, is that from now we need to be running down our perishable stock while still keeping enough to avoid disappointing our remaining customers. I suspect that we will either skip a week or send the Missus out for a shorter list of essentials.
I had plenty of time to consider that too because we were quiet for the rest of the afternoon until around five o’clock. It was around this time we started to see arrivals though many fewer than in previous weeks. Despite that we still managed a bit of a five minutes to closing rush, so how about that, then.
It is still light enough to sit and watch the beach as we gather for tea with Mother. There were, even at that time, plenty of people on the beach and more still enjoying the delights of the sea. Where these people were during the day, I do not know but I shall be asking questions when I see them, that is for sure.
The other thing that is certain is that there was no one to ask any questions of when we went for our last walk. There were a few less lights on in holiday lets, although it might be that people had not arrived yet, and there was more of that out of season feel. I shall have to restrain myself from being too demob happy over the coming weeks as there is much to do – including replacing our benches across the road. I can do that now as the Pavement Licence arrived last thing.
The much maligned council even managed to mess that up. I was sent a message telling me that the licence and its conditions were attached. They were not and I had to go back and ask for the documents. I should be impressed, though, that there was someone there to ask at near six o’clock. I bet that will cost me.
September 3rd - Thursday
We must have been later to the beach this morning because it was much lighter than yesterday. It was also foggier. The returning mist had closed in from every quarter, and we could scarcely see the top of the cliff. It was also not advisable to look up because it was drizzling harder than it had all day yesterday. When we got back, I had to hurriedly find a towel with which to wipe down the girls before I let them back up on the bed again; the mizzle soaked their coats as much as it did mine.
There is far less to do in the shop during the morning now. During the season it was a fairly consistent amount of work that I could allocate the same time to each day. Now, some days will require more effort and time than others. Quite fortuitously, today needed little time or effort which put me in good position to respond to the Lifeboat pager going off at twenty past eight o’clock.
A Newlyn fishing boat had lost its steering and was essentially adrift close by the Runnel Stone, a semi-submerged rock pinnacle off Gwennap Head, windiest place in the universe. Skipper had the added advantage of being pals with most of the local crew being a family raised in The Cove. This would explain that when I got to the station a few minutes after the pagers went off, most of the Boat Crew were dressed and waiting to go out.
We launched with just two crew in quick time and other very excellent Shore Crew not far behind. Assuming the likely outcome to be a tow to Newlyn, we closed up shop and started heading for the door. It then became apparent that the fishing boat skipper thought that he could fix the problem, and before we could entirely retire, we had the message that the Lifeboat had been stood down.
By this time, we had a full complement of experienced crew to hand and set up the short slip just ahead of the boat coming back into the bay. Of course, we only had the Coxswain’s word for that as we could see no further than the end of the Harbour wall. We could not even hear the boat’s engines, muffled as they were by the fog. It loomed out of the mist almost in the Harbour to be brought up the short slip in what was clearly a textbook recovery. It was something of a surprise that I remembered what to do having been absent for the last six weeks. We are, after all, a very remarkable, very excellent Shore Crew.
The Missus had covered the shop in my absence, although she had very little to do, I did not want to miss the pasty delivery (sorry, MS). As it happened, we did not as the driver services St Ives first and comes to us late. It did not really matter; there was very little doing pasties or otherwise for the whole of the morning.
We had to wait until the middle of the day before we saw any serious action. Today was a pasty day. It is exceeding difficult to manage the supply of pasties on a daily basis. One day we will hardly sell any and, like today, we will sell more than we might expect of a dull and misty day out of season. It is impossible to predict numbers, so the best we can manage is a rolling two day supply and hoping the average works out. And as for ordering for the weekend, forget it. That is pure guesswork.
I was asked in the morning if the mist would clear later. My assumption was that as long as the breeze was in the southwest, it would persist. Radio Pasty had already told us that it would be warm and humid from last night and they were not wrong. They had also said that the afternoon would be clear and sunny, and they were wrong about that.
I had not heard any of the predictions for the day, so I told the customer the mist was with us all day. An hour or so later, the misty promptly lifted and sat above us, letting is some bright sunshine. I was actually rather pleased that it came back again an hour later on and was just as thick as it was in the morning, otherwise I would have looked dafter than I usually do.
The second time the mist cleared at around four o’clock, I could see enough of the beach to note that there was a host of surfers sitting just off the shallows in the middle. At the time, there were a few waves closer in and the occasional surfer occasionally caught one. The rest could be more accurately described as bobbers. The ones out the back were probably waiting on the tide and the sea to build up. I never did get to find out because I ran out of time – or interest – to watch them any longer.
What I have been watching is one of those expensive water bottles people carry around with them or, in this case, someone not carrying it around with them; it was left behind more than a week ago. It is not the first time. I think this is the fourth this year. This one is worth between £12 and £20 depending on where you shop for it, so it is not cheap trinket. I left it in a prominent position on the counter; customers can easily see it when they leave and it is clear that I can see it too. Despite that, every other customer seems compelled to tell me it is there. It has happened so often now it has surpassed irritation. If one more person tells me it is there, I will feel compelled to heave it over the sea wall.
I managed to contain myself for the remainder of the afternoon. We had been relatively busy on groceries and there were orders to place. I got these out of the way early because I had to go straight off to Lifeboat training after we closed.
Since I had already performed my head launcher role once in the day, I allocated myself to the winch operation. Earlier, we had some issues with the turntable not raising and we were tentative about how it might perform in the evening given that it would be another short slip recovery. We would test it when the boat was out and also train the newer members on the emergency procedures for the turntable.
Without the weight of the boat on it, the cradle lifted and turned without issue. The emergency procedures involve using the buttons on the hydraulic pump mechanism rather than the remote controller. It was during this process that we spotted a leak on one of the seals and thus the root of the problem.
The boats returned at around eight o’clock. With rather less fog about than earlier in the day, we were able to see it come in across the bay in the fading light. From my vantage point in the winch room, it was abundantly clear that we carried out a textbook recovery up the short slip, followed swiftly by a washdown and a haul back onto the cradle. We were lucky that the hydraulics held because as the pump kicked in to push the boat up to level on the cradle, a fountain of hydraulic fluid spouted from the leaky seal. The station mechanic will look at it in the morning.
Having released our collectively held breaths, we strapped down the boat, closed the doors and made ready for the next service. We are, after all, a very relieved, very excellent Shore Crew.
September 2nd - Wednesday
There was mizzle this morning when we set out. It looked like it had been raining more heavily during the night or perhaps it had just been mizzling for a long time. It was no trouble at all for us and no rain jacket was required. After we got around the Lifeboat station corner and halfway down the slipway, we were sheltered from any wind that I think had gone around to the southwest.
The mizzle came and went in heavier waves during the morning and completely removed any likelihood of any decent trade. Customers were coming out of necessity for bread and milk. It is the difference between in and out of the main season. During the peak, a bit of mizzle would have slowed things down a little not removed business altogether.
It did at least allow me a worry free trip to the gymnasium where I resumed my normal length blistering sessions. In previous years I would have gradually worked back up to the full session. I guess that I really had not clipped the sessions by that much as extending the session did not bother me at all.
So much so that I took the girls for a spin as soon as I got back. I took them down to the Harbour beach that we had almost to ourselves. We had avoided it during the season so as not to annoy the various other users down there. Earlier, we had gone down in the dark with my headtorch. It was more intensely gloomy that proper dark and I was able to track the girls by the reflective strips on their harnesses. That became a little tricky when they did their normal thing of wanting to be at opposite end of the beach.
The quietness ended around the middle of the day when the mizzle cleared a little, and the cloud seemed to break up a bit. It remained dry, sort of, for the rest of the afternoon but the mist came back and sat above us like a big warm duvet. It really was the last thing we wanted as the warm, wet southwesterly brought humidity that eventually had us feeling like we were walking through glue.
Into this arrived our hooded sweatshirts. I had asked that the delivery be deferred until the first week of September when I might have more time to process it. As it turned out, I had plenty of time to process it; I had nothing else to do. I do not know how long it took but I was able to devote most of my time to it with very few interruptions.
The deferment did not introduce too much of a delay to the normal delivery time but even so, I still managed to sell an unexpected number of one size that has now left me short of 2XL garments in that colour. It may not matter as it could be weeks before we sell another hooded sweatshirt in that size and colour but there again …
Towards the middle of the afternoon, I had given up trying to fill the empty hours with any meaningful work. Over the last few days, I had completed several orders that will see us into next year. Our man from our main beachware supplier called to tell me he will be coming next week to show me the new season’s custom gifts. These will be emblazoned with the name of The Cove so all those little mites who have been named after it can have lots of goodies with their name on it. Trouble is that we will need to do a stock check of all the custom goods we bought last year.
The buying of Cove named goods for children named after The Cove has been going on for some while and some of the little mites must be getting on a bit. Perhaps we should be looking at more grown up gifts with the name on, such as Cove beer bottles and Cove steering wheel covers – surely dads still get them for Christmas. I really think we should be planning ahead with Cove Zimmer frames and Cove incontinence pants.
Quite amazingly, we had a five minutes to closing rush after being quiet all day. Last minute presents for the children you left at home and, having been enjoying yourself without them, suddenly remember you should take home gifts before you leave, I can sort of understand. Why you suddenly need flip flops at six o’clock defeats me.
I watched some television in the evening for the first time in six weeks. I discovered that I had not missed it. I also had tea on my lap instead of at my desk and only realised later that I forgot to place an order. Unlike the summer rush, it will wait another day.
The girls required a last run out in the evening since the Missus had not been up to The Farm late. I think the likelihood of that is now gone for the winter. The mizzle had returned in a very light way and the mist was getting thicker. I have no idea what the forecast is for tomorrow but, with the wind staying in the southwest, I imagine some more mist to come.
September 1st - Tuesday
You can instantly tell that the holidays are over: the wind dropped and the sun came out; blue skies, fluffy white clouds and mermaids frolicking on the rocks, no doubt. Last week and before, during the morning twenty or thirty people would be gathered around outside, dropping in for breakfast goods or going in next door to have it made for them. We now have a few groups of five or so milling about. It is a new world.
It is a world where there is more opportunity to have a little fun to make the day run along in a more delightful way. Well, it does for the grumpy shopkeeper; the customer may feel differently. For example, a lady approached the counter with a punnet of mushrooms that she did not expect to find in our little backwater store. Delighted though she was, she felt it necessary to query why they had to come from Poland. Eager not to stray into such a political territory I told her that they were not, in fact, from Poland. The signage indicated that there were our very finest mushrooms and I had taken care to ensure that each individual mushroom looked its best. The label merely indicated that they had polish.
We move swiftly along to an errant shower of rain that swept through The Cove in the middle of the morning, just as things were beginning to bump along quite nicely. I was blissfully unaware of it until a bunch of very wet people pressed into the shop. The shower, while brief, had been unexpectedly heavy and had caught a number of people out. It produced an unexpected flurry of activity in the shop which dissipated as quickly as it had formed.
It was not the last flurry of activity but all the others we had during the day were not rain induced. It was nowhere near as busy as the same time last week, even in poorer weather, but for an ‘out of season’ day, it was reasonably respectable. What was not respectable was the level of pasty sales (sorry, MS) that have dropped through the floor. I have noted before just how difficult the transition to quiet is and pasty ordering is one of the hardest things to achieve.
Over the last six weeks or so ordering 50 to 60 pasties a day is normal. Any less and the world comes to an end. It is very hard to switch to ten pasties a day and be convinced that it will not. With minimum ordering, the pasties now need to be ordered every other day, which makes it even harder.
With customer visits turning sporadic, I was able to have a good geek at the big beach during the day. Midway into the afternoon, under a bright sky, the beach, still showing off its spring tide sandbars, was busy at both top and bottom. There was a small host of paddlers, swimmers and surfers roughly in the middle, doing what those respective parties do in the water. Up by the dunes, quite a few more than yesterday, was a sprawling collection of camps stretching out as far as The Valley. Down the middle of the beach was dotted with several perambulators widely dispersed. It was certainly that sort of day.
Business petered out after about four o’clock. By five o’clock our end of The Cove had gone peculiarly quiet. The only thing to shatter the silence apart from the occasional passing car or motorcycle was the incessant cry of a young herring gull. I do not know if it was a distress call, but it was certainly distressing me. It has been having a go for the best part of a week. Because only my right false ear is operational it has given the effect that the squeak from coming from one of the chillers at the far end of the shop. It was only a chance conversation this morning that confirmed it was the gull. If it carries on, it will be more than bleddy distressed.
Part of the silence was the absence of any waves breaking on the rocks or the shore. We had gone from waves breaking over the Harbour all 24 hours ago to hardly a ripple on the bay at all. There must have been some underlying swell still because there were some surfers having a good time on the waves breaking slightly offshore on the main beach. There were also a few more, lower in the tide, around the sandbars. A couple of hours before high water, they had nearly all disappeared.
We all sat down to tea, a roast dinner at that, for the first time in six weeks. Very pleasant it was too as we gazed out over the bay. There were still a couple of wall jumpers, stalwart until the end and, the Missus noticed, two boarders paddling out to the northwest. As we watched they kept going and then going some more. Probably nothing to it as they looked confident, but I sent a message out on the crew gossip page for an eye to be kept.
They eventually stopped around a quarter mile off the north of Cowloe and started handlining. Slowly, they drifted back into the bay when I called off the watch. It did not look like they had caught anything which was an awful lot of effort for an empty dinner plate.
The Missus went back up to The Farm after she had taken Mother home. She was back again before half past eight as the light was failing and it can be a bit spooky up there in the gloom. It underlines the shortening of the days, and the end of season will be on us before we know it. It also meant I did not have to take the girls around last thing, so I took myself off to bed instead.