SueBeth

[gloria townsin]

Hi SueBeth and welcome to this super forum - we love to chat to those with an interest and love of Minack and all things Cornwall so this is the place to be. Take a look through the album pages and you will see some lovely photos of Cornwall and different countries as we are all over the World so distance is no object to the enjoyment of this forum. We have just spent time in Cornwall for Memorial Weekend so there is chat-a-plenty right now about meeting up. We are a friendly bunch so don't be shy. :D

[Kath Mulligan]

Hello Sue-Beth, welcome to the forum. As Gloria says we are a very friendly crowd on here and love to welcome new friends, so do feel free to join in with any topic that interests you, or start your own new topic. If you have any questions about anything to do with Minack, just ask - usually one of us will be able to provide an answer.

Look forward to hearing from you about yourself and your interests too.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Forgot to mention you would be most welcome to become a member of FOMS if you wish. Just fill out the membership form which is downloadable from this web-site. :D

[Kath Mulligan]

Linda says that you would love to see photos of Minack, SueBeth. No doubt you have already seen the ones posted by John Nash, but Gloria and I will be posting some of ours that were taken at last weekend's Get Together soon, and no doubt several of the others will be posting theirs too, so you will have plenty to browse through.

Have you ever visited Cornwall? To many of us we feel it is our spiritual home even if we don't actually live in the Duchy. Do post soon and tell us a bit about yourself.

Kath

[suebeth]

thank you for making me feel so welcome. :D
I look forward to meeting with you all online. I looked at the photos and saw some amazing pictures both of Minack and your own animals and places around your own homes.- I posted a comment on some.
It was amazing to see Olivers Place in photos - thanks to those of you who put the names of the fields on too so I could see them and remember some of the stories. I went onto google earth to try and find out where the cottage was - and your photos helped me see exactly where it was and so I could 'meander' up the winding lane ...
the cottage looks even more idyllic than I'd imagined it - isn't it fine when that happens lol
I am not sure if I will be able to travel so far south - hope thats okay with you all. I shall see the place through your photos. Im looking forward to rereading the books about Minack again so I can talk with you about the parts I love. And there is so much to enjoy in these stories.
I've cats and a darling big choc lab, I used to have hens and budgies. I love reading happy books, and sewing, knitting and gardening too. There are so many wonderful things to do its hard finding the time and energy to do it all! Maybe that why I love the Minack stories - Derek and Jeannie found the time to enjoy their animals and their lifestyle.. and what a gorgous place they had to live in !
I've typed an awful lot! Hello to you all :D

[Kath Mulligan]

Hi SueBeth

Lovely to hear from you. Maybe you could post some photos of your cats and labrador some time. There are lots of cat lovers on here just waiting to go "aaaahh, how cute"!

It's a shame if it is too far for you to travel to Penzance, mind you we have just been in the company of Judy Castree, who came over from Chicago, and Colleen who has just made the momentous move over to Newlyn from Vancouver Island - now that is a long way to travel! It was great to meet up with them both. However, if you can't make it, it will still be lovely getting to know you better on the forum, meeting in person is just the icing on the cake.

Whereabouts on the Northern Isles do you live? It would be lovely to see some photos.

Kath

[suebeth]

As soon as I can figure out how to send photos I shall do that - I have a wonderful view across fields to the voe and sea... Is there a note somewhere how to send in things?
I've recently got a digital camera so thats maybe half the steps needed :lol:
Tomorrow I go South for a few days.. but as soon as get back I'll give it a try. :D

[suebeth]

just had to post my great luck when I went to the library today :D - they had 'the world of minack' a great compilation with photos , 'a donkey in the meadow' and 'lama' to read and also 'jeannie' adn 'the ambrose rock' on tape - great for long nights and sewing or resting afternoons... Ive already got 'the evening gull' out - listening to it for the 2nd time coz some gets missed if you fall asleep during the listening :lol: .
My next dilemna was which to take south for the week.. guess it will have to be the compilation with photos... what luck to find them all there today. I shall have the others to look forward to on my return. :)
So soon I shall be refreshed with names and stories and will be able to chat with you all about my favourite parts. It's funny how the stories do come back to you and it must be 10 years since I first read them.
Hope you all have a good week.
I was listening to the radio and heard this about the 'take care' that we often say to each other..and the person speaking said we should be saying 'take risks' ...

so take risks folks.. :)
suex

[gloria townsin]

How wonderful that your library has so many 'Tangye / Minack' goodies. My library has one book 'The Cherry Tree' and that is it!! They sold off the story tapes a while ago and I bought what they had. I am always on the look out for more tapes that might be for sale even if they duplicate mine I will try and buy them as they can go to Jennie Murrish. I have just purchased, though haven't yet received, one of Jeannie's books in tape form - I feel quite fortunate to have got that. Have a good trip and enjoy whatever you decide to take with you. Great to hear from you.

[Kath Mulligan]

It's so good to know that your library still has so many of Derek's books in stock, SueBeth, as it seems to be getting increasingly hard to find them in most libraries nowadays. One of the suggestions at the AGM was that we should all of us visit our local library and borrow, or request the Chronicles, even if we already have the books ourselves, just to keep them in circulation. As it was pointed out, if nobody borrows, or requests the books, the libraries will sell them off.

The World of Minack is a wonderful book to take away with you as you can just keep dipping in and out of it, and then as you say you will have all the others to look forward to on your return. Enjoy!

Kath

[suebeth]

Hi Kath,
you are right I was lucky to get so many of the Minack books and tapes - she did have to go down to the stores for them - lets hope they may go onto the shelves once I return them. :lol:
I found the compilation book wonderful for photos - but a bit frustrating coz I wanted to read beyond the little extracts! It s certainly whetted my appetite to continue :) .

[Kath Mulligan]

Yes I know what you mean about the World of Minack, I tend to dip into that more for the lovely photographs too. Sometimes a passage in it will send me to the bookcase to find the original book to re-read and enjoy again.

Which is your favourite book cover of the Chronicles? We were all having a discussion about this some time ago, and my own particular favourite, on the hardback version of Sun On The Lintel seemed to be a favourite with quite a few others too. I just love the view, looking out from the window of the cottage, over a jug of sweet peas, to Derek and Jeannie out in the garden.

Kath

[suebeth]

hi Kath - I just went to the pictures of the book covers - frustratingly I cant enlarge them - but it was impossible to pick an absolute favourite coz I liked 4 - same as yourself - the sun on the lintel... I loved that thinking how often they must have looked out the window and seen that view.. then the winding lane was another favourite coz I remember bits from stories where the winding lane was mentioned so often - goings and comings and meanderings- they look so relaxed in this cover. Then the cover somewhere a cat is waiting - the fun to be had playing hide and seek with a cat.. I loved this one plus lama - coz it reminds me of the cliff side walks I took with my old cat - her refusing to be left behind but calling out all the way and complaining if we went too far and fast!
But I agree that the view from the cottage to see them walking towards you is special... Have you sewn your sweet peas yet? Im behind this year - bit poorly - so Im going to wait for the co-op to provide me with plants... what about you?

[Kath Mulligan]

Same here, SueBeth. I have tried sowing my sweet peas in October and over-wintering them for the past two years but each time they have succumbed to powdery mildew and failed, so this time I shall just buy some ready-to-plant plants from the garden centre and cheat!!

Kath

[Kath Mulligan]

Hello SueBeth, not heard anything from you for a while, hope you are ok?

Did you enjoy re-reading all the Chronicles that you had managed to find in your local library?

I still haven't bought any sweet peas since I have yet to tackle the jungle in my garden, so it may be too late for this year. I do have a spectacular display of aquilegias in flower at present. The original plant just appeared one year - probably a present from a passing bird - and since then, since I keep forgetting to dead head the dying flowers until after they have set seed, they have spread themselves far and wide all around the garden. The original plant had deep blue flowers - I now have all manner of variations ranging from purple and white, dark blue, through to pink and an almost white version.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

M&S have some ready to plant - they aren't too expensive - mine are growing like Topsy at the moment so here's hoping they flower profusely......I really love a bunch of sweet peas.

[Janet Swan]

As Kath says, it really is Aquiligia time - I've loads. Saved the seeds last year and in the Autumn scattered them around and here they all are. Have also planted three sweet pea plants in a pot, with sticks to grow up, so hope they will do well. So far so good.

Janet

[gloria townsin]

Janet did you see the beautiful Aquiligia on show at Chelsea last night? Ours have sprung up and are looking really quite fantastic, makes me look like a good gardener when in fact I did nothing to deserve them.

[Kath Mulligan]

Yes, I saw the Aquilegia stand at Chelsea last night, Gloria. I have bought one or two hybrid ones over the years, as well as my self seeded takeover merchants. The hybrid ones are much smaller plants, very pretty with different colourings but nowhere near as rampant as the others.

I was interested to hear that the couple growing the aquilegias had previously concentrated on pinks. I would have loved to be in their greenhouse when they were in flower. I just adore the warm spicy scent of pinks - and I think you would go a long way to beat the smell of the old faithful variety, Doris. I am off to Wyevale Garden Centre tomorrow - may just have talked myself into buying another Doris to replace the one that got too old and woody.

Shame about Monty Don, isn't it? He has never been my favourite garden presenter, but he has grown on me over the past couple of years. Have thoroughly enjoyed Alan T and Joe Swift's presentation of Chelsea though. What a great team they make. Wish Alan would come back to Gardener's World.

Kath

[Mili]

I love Alan Titchmarsh! :wink: I must admit my friend mostly records Chelsea for me so I can enjoy him. I declined the offer this year and I am regretting it! She got me his latest book, The Nature of Britain, for Christmas – lovely! I have read some of his books and enjoy them immensely! Still have 3 more to read in my bookshelf.

[Linda]

Mili,
Where do you find all these very apt and beautiful proverbs etc...

[Kath Mulligan]

Have you read Alan T's novels as well, Mili? They are quite a good read, I think. I think he is brilliant. Lucky Janet is going to see him at the Gardener's World Live show in Birmingham on 13 June. Wish I was but it is the day before we go to Cornwall so will be very busy getting ready for that.

Kath

[Mili]

Linda,
I have been collecting quotes and proverbs for years. Not always the entire proverb/quote comes to mind, I would not dare say I have memorized them all, but I know my Quotes Journal pretty well so just have to look through its pages looking for one in particular, plus for the past couple years I have been putting them in a document in my computer and all I have to do to find one is to do a 'ctrl find' and voila! Plus I have a couple of secret weapons :wink: to find almost any quote by subject or author. Like this one http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html

Kath,
I loved The Last Lighthouse Keeper! I have Love & Dr. Devon, Only Dad and Rosie in my bookcase waiting to be read. Oh Lucky Janet!

[Janet Swan]

Oh dear, I may not see dear Alan Titchmarsh at the 'Gardeners' World' show afterall. Have booked a place on the coach + show ticket with a local company. Then one of my walking friends told me that you need theatre tickets to hear the talks. To cut a long story short, have found out that you can only get theatre tickets when you book show tickets, and, of course, the coach company hasn't done this. So I am prepared for disappointment but will enquire at the show as soon as I get there, just in case there are any left, but not hopeful. In that case, will just hang around and try to get a smile from the lovely man as he goes in :( :wink: :) .

Janet

P.S. Yes, Mili, I have 'Nature of Britain' and some of his gardening books and novels too.

[gloria townsin]

Will look out for 'Doris' Kath. Yes great shame about Monty Don although not my favourite presenter he seems to have had a bit of a difficult life and it is such a pity that he has had the latest bad luck. Hopefully he will recover well. Alan Titchmarsh is a hard act for anyone to follow. 'Trowel and Error' was so well written. :)

[Mili]

It is a combination of sweetness, charm and accent that makes Alan T so attractive!

[Linda]

I havent watched Chelsea Flower show and so have missed this about Monty Don...whats happened?? I remember him coming to Holker Hall and having dinner with Lord C.....and me entertaining teh producer of the show until Lord C was able to see her...and meeting him just before dinner...very nice man, earthy! (forgive the pun wasn't intended but thats how he struck me.

Mili, thank you ...have added that to my bookmarks. You are a very organised person...takes a lot of effort and commitment to do that...but I can see the benefit in the result!

[Brenda]

I havent watched Chelsea Flower show and so have missed this about Monty Don...whats happened?? I remember him coming to Holker Hall and having dinner with Lord C.....and me entertaining teh producer of the show until Lord C was able to see her...and meeting him just before dinner...very nice man, earthy! (forgive the pun wasn't intended but thats how he struck me.

So, Linda, I guess you could give us all the dirt on him then, eh?

Brenda

[janice]

Too much dirt dished on too many people these days, for my liking! I prefer to take people at face value and form my own opinions on what I see. Did you get any bargains at Wyevale, kath? Lots of boggof's at our local Wyevale at the moment but mostly full of bedding while I'm looking for perennials. Just going to a local privately owned centre and hoping to find some different plants there. Raining hard in Folkestone so will have to dodge the showers!

[Kath Mulligan]

Linda, Monty has suffered a slight stroke, and although he is recovering well, he has decided to pull out of Gardener's World and concentrate on his own garden, his health and his family - and who can blame him? He was never my favourite GW presenter, although I was growing to like him more in the past year or so, but no-one would wish ill health on him.

Janice, I was very shocked by the appalling quality of the plants at Wyevale yesterday so came away empty handed. Usually I am spoilt for choice there and spend a fortune, and generally their quality is excellent, but I don't know if it is under new management or what, but I saw lots of half-dead plants on offer, badly diseased plants and bushes at ridiculous prices etc. There was a laurel bush in a pot, priced at £59.99 which had black mottled leaves, coupled with lots of yellow curled leaves which suggested not only disease, but also bug infestation. We have several other really good garden centres nearby so shall be patronising them in future.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

I have recently bought, on two separate occasions, neglected plants from Homebase. The first is a half standard bay laurel reduced because it's pot was broken, repotted it is going well next to the back door by the pots of herbs. And then a couple of weeks ago a lemon tree, already about 3 foot high - again neglected in that it needed a good watering, wish I had bought the other one there at the same time, that one had a full size lemon already but was a bit more weedy looking, anyway both these trees were half price and the lemon has sprouted new leaves and the scent from the blossom has been beautiful, more jasminey (sp) than anything. So here's hoping for a lemon or two in the future. Fell in love with them when I visited my friend in Spain, every garden there has at least one, also Bottle Brush plants which B & Q had the last time I was there. Our Wyvale seems o.k. re plants but I get a bit used to the same old layout and ring the changes every now and then. Oh also purchased at the same time as the lemon tree, two French Lavender plants which were keeled right over - good watering and they are going a bomb. :D

[Kath Mulligan]

We had a lemon tree on our window sill for several years, and it produced several fruits each year, along with very sweetly scented blossom. I have tried a slice of the fruit with a dry Martini and lemonade, and very nice it was too. Sadly it succumbed to some sort of bug around the time Vin was ill, got neglected by me and it died. I may try again in a few weeks.

For many years we also had a miniature orange tree too, but its fruits were far too bitter to eat. It looked very pretty though.

Kath

[Brenda]

Too much dirt dished on too many people these days, for my liking!

Janice, you did realize that was a pun, right? Yuk, yuk, you know... earthy humour...? :wink:

Brenda

[Sybille Weber]

......... Raining hard in Folkestone so will have to dodge the showers!

How lovely - not the hard rain of course but that you seem to live in Folkestone, Janice.
Have only just despatched an e-mail to my dear friend Winifred who lives at Folkestone on the cliffs overlooking the harbour (and who loves the Minack Chronicles, too. She has all the books and has read them all.)
I can't count the times we've been to Folkestone. It's almost like a second home to me.
Would be interesting to know where abouts in Folkestone you live. If you don't want to disclose it on the internet perhaps you can send me a private message - if that's ok with you?
Haven't been to Folkestone for quite some time now due to my poor health, but hope to go again. At least it's quicker to reach from here than Cornwall.

I remember going to a garden centre with Winifred years ago but can't think of the name. I seem to remember it was near Kingsnorth Gardens.
Is the Butterfly Centre (at Swingfield I think it was) still there? They had a garden centre there, too, and I remember my mother bought a collection of seeds there during one of our holidays so we could have some English flowers on our balcony at home.

[Janet Swan]

I was brought up on a small independent flower nursery, so I know what a struggle it is and would urge everyone to buy plants from local nurseries if at all possible. My Dad eventually had to sell his (due to old age and the land was worn out) and it is now a housing estate. Wyvale etc. have bought up so many nurseries and garden centres in Hertfordshire but we do still have a few small independent growers including, of course, Harkness Roses (who won another gold medal at Chelsea this year). Although I do like big garden centres - for their tea rooms, gifts, wellies etc. - I buy plants from "my" lovely man in the local market or plant tables at fundraising events.

Janet

[janice]

Our local Wyevale doesn't have much to offer at the moment either but has a craft shop attached so I spend any money left in there, indulging my hobbies of cardmaking and scrapbooking. Just got back from my garden centre trip and bought lots of basket trailing plants as they had the more unusual varieties and not just surfinias and geraniums like Wyevale. Had a nice lunch there too, so a good afternoon out! Still no delphiniums though, looks like I'm out of luck for this year!

[Mili]

I am not sure if nurseries and or garden centers are regional there but I know there is one in Worcester area that I understand is fantastic, called Webbs and here is their website.
http://www.webbsdirect.co.uk/
Janet since reading A Gull on the Roof I have a lot more admiration for those that grow at a larger scale than the common home-garden gardener. Though Derek and Jeannie started without much knowledge and were very naïve about the entire process but even when gathering information on how to do things they would get a different opinion from everyone they asked to. I was totally surprised by that! I think they would have done better reading gardening books for the area rather than listening to so many opinions. In all not an easy task at all. Very creditable that they eventually succeeded against all odds!

“Every flower about a house certifies to the refinement of somebody. Every vine climbing and blossoming tells of love and joy.” – Robert Ingersoll