Jennie
3rd October 2007, 11:45 PM
I have had a couple of emails from Linda, inviting me to introduce myself, and I apologise for my tardiness Linda! :oops: Linda asked how I came across Derek's books, what appealed etc, and I started to reply to her at length, but thought: Well, I have to introduce myself anyway, I'll tell everyone.
I found the Chronicles when I started researching my Dad's side of the family. Dad always said when asked 'Where did we come from?' that 'the Harveys are Cornish, and they were smugglers!'. Very romantic, and Dad had a well developed sense of humour, so for years we took it all with a grain of salt - he had no other info to back up his claims, so I decided when I retired that it was time to find out the truth.
Well, the Harveys did indeed come from Cornwall, that much I established, so I went to the local library for some background info on Cornwall, and of course up came the Minack Chronicles. I loved them right from the start, as they struck a real chord with me - my ex-husband & two children & a friend called Julie had done something similar to Derek & Jeannie's lifestyle change back in 1975, when we bought 113 acres of bush in Tasmania, with a one room cabin on it and no electricity or running water. We built Julie a cabin for herself and we tried to be self sufficient (not very successfully) but it was a wonderful experience, one I will never forget and try in small ways to re-create in a modified way in my life today (growing our own vegies etc).
One day I happened to google Minack on the internet and came up with the original Minack Chronicles website, and from that made contact with Mary Owen. Mary & I became very good friends, and that led to my making a visit to England in 2003 - all by myself, my first trip overseas! Mary had written to Jane at Minack & gained permission to visit, so we walked the clifftop path one glorious September day and 'put our feet onto magic ground' as the song says, will never forget my first sight of Minack from Carn Barges - very, very, special. Sadly, Mary's husband's father died the very next day, & we had to make a hurried return to Basildon where they lived, but we did have that one special day together.
Just last year, I returned to England and Cornwall with my husband Max, daughter Victoria & her husband Alan, and together we walked the clifftop path once more with Mary and John. This time we didn't visit the cottage, just stayed on Oliver Land, spending time sitting on the Ambrose Rock gazing out to sea ........
The bonus this time was that after more family history research, I discovered that the Harveys had been longtime (200 years plus) occupants of an ancient stone house called Trewoofe, situated at the head of the Lamorna Valley. So not only did I have a spiritual affinity with Derek & Jeannie, there was a very real tangible physical link. The funny thing is, all my life I have been drawn to the coastal landscape of Cornwall, maybe because I was an avid Enid Blyton reader of the Famous Five and their exciting exploits on Kirrin Island etc, but I like to think there is more to it than that .... I'm a romantic sentimentalist at heart, something I feel comfortable admitting on this forum, as I believe that is one of the things that draws us all together. Derek's frank confession to his own sentimentality was a breath of fresh air to me :D !
I'm attempting to upload a pic of me with Jane on that wonderful day - do I look happy? :lol:
OK, so that's me - hope I haven't overdone it and bored you all to tears - looking forward to contact with all of you, and may the spirit of Minack always be with you. Cheers, Jennie
http://upload3.postimage.org/407063/JennieleftJaneright.jpg (http://upload3.postimage.org/407063/photo_hosting.html)
I found the Chronicles when I started researching my Dad's side of the family. Dad always said when asked 'Where did we come from?' that 'the Harveys are Cornish, and they were smugglers!'. Very romantic, and Dad had a well developed sense of humour, so for years we took it all with a grain of salt - he had no other info to back up his claims, so I decided when I retired that it was time to find out the truth.
Well, the Harveys did indeed come from Cornwall, that much I established, so I went to the local library for some background info on Cornwall, and of course up came the Minack Chronicles. I loved them right from the start, as they struck a real chord with me - my ex-husband & two children & a friend called Julie had done something similar to Derek & Jeannie's lifestyle change back in 1975, when we bought 113 acres of bush in Tasmania, with a one room cabin on it and no electricity or running water. We built Julie a cabin for herself and we tried to be self sufficient (not very successfully) but it was a wonderful experience, one I will never forget and try in small ways to re-create in a modified way in my life today (growing our own vegies etc).
One day I happened to google Minack on the internet and came up with the original Minack Chronicles website, and from that made contact with Mary Owen. Mary & I became very good friends, and that led to my making a visit to England in 2003 - all by myself, my first trip overseas! Mary had written to Jane at Minack & gained permission to visit, so we walked the clifftop path one glorious September day and 'put our feet onto magic ground' as the song says, will never forget my first sight of Minack from Carn Barges - very, very, special. Sadly, Mary's husband's father died the very next day, & we had to make a hurried return to Basildon where they lived, but we did have that one special day together.
Just last year, I returned to England and Cornwall with my husband Max, daughter Victoria & her husband Alan, and together we walked the clifftop path once more with Mary and John. This time we didn't visit the cottage, just stayed on Oliver Land, spending time sitting on the Ambrose Rock gazing out to sea ........
The bonus this time was that after more family history research, I discovered that the Harveys had been longtime (200 years plus) occupants of an ancient stone house called Trewoofe, situated at the head of the Lamorna Valley. So not only did I have a spiritual affinity with Derek & Jeannie, there was a very real tangible physical link. The funny thing is, all my life I have been drawn to the coastal landscape of Cornwall, maybe because I was an avid Enid Blyton reader of the Famous Five and their exciting exploits on Kirrin Island etc, but I like to think there is more to it than that .... I'm a romantic sentimentalist at heart, something I feel comfortable admitting on this forum, as I believe that is one of the things that draws us all together. Derek's frank confession to his own sentimentality was a breath of fresh air to me :D !
I'm attempting to upload a pic of me with Jane on that wonderful day - do I look happy? :lol:
OK, so that's me - hope I haven't overdone it and bored you all to tears - looking forward to contact with all of you, and may the spirit of Minack always be with you. Cheers, Jennie
http://upload3.postimage.org/407063/JennieleftJaneright.jpg (http://upload3.postimage.org/407063/photo_hosting.html)