Hello Janice

[Kath Mulligan]

Welcome to the world of Minack enthusiasts. Look forward to hearing from you about your interest in the Chronicles.

Please don't be shy about posting on this forum. We are a very friendly bunch who love to natter about Derek, Jeannie, their animals, Cornwall and life in general.

Kath

[janice]

Thankyou so much for such a kind welcome - and so quick too!
I read A Donkey in the Meadow as a child and then gradually acquired the rest of the set later on - all well read and battered!
I have visited Cornwall but always on organised coach trips so with no opportunity to visit Minack and as a non-driver (a rareity these days) I have never followed the beaten track to Derek's door! So pleased to find there are so many fans still out there!
Regards
Janice

[gloria townsin]

Hi Janice
Good to 'hear' your voice here in Minack cyberspace. We are always thrilled to have new Chronicle fans join the forum and hope to hear from each and every one, so it's great that you have posted so soon after joining. Not all have made it to Minack but some of us have been fortunate enough to make the journey several times. FOMS Memorial Weekends are a great way to make the pilgrimage and lots of fun as well. This year we had various activities as well as the walk to Oliver Land to keep us occupied and what a great treat it all was. Love to see you there in 2009. In the meantime join us in Minack conversations - you will also find lots of other headings under which you can post all kinds of things about yourself and your interests, or just chit chat away it's all good. :D

[Janet Swan]

Hi Janice

Can I join the welcomes! It was, and is still, possible to get close to Minack without a car. I've always taken the train to Penzance and, while Derek was living there, found my way using a local bus service to Lamorna, then on foot. If you are able to join us next Memorial Weekend, it will be possible! Should you go to West Cornwall at another time, let us know, and we can advise you how to get to Oliver Land by bus and then on foot.

Janet

[Brenda]

Hello, Janice,

Welcome from me, too, in northern Ontario. I've had the loveliest year and a bit as a member of this forum. So many friendly people and such interesting discussions, not to mention the shared love of Derek's books and pretty well all things Cornish. Be prepared to enjoy yourself whenever you visit the FOMS site!

Brenda

[Mili]

Welcome Janice! I am pretty new myself but already feel like I have been here forever. Lovely group of people! And I will just start reading the Chronicles this weekend so I will be discovering something new and exciting each day.

[janice]

How lovely to have all the pleasure of the chronicles to come, mili! I feel quite envious of you although re-reads are always enjoyable!

[gloria townsin]

We have all found re-reading them is like starting Derek and Jeannie's life all over again, especially if you begin with 'A Gull on the Roof' - I often wonder if Derek ever realised this when he wrote them? But it's kind of magical the way it all begins again, the first sighting of the cottage, moving down in the old land-rover, Monty leaping the tiny stream, getting Penny from the publican and Fred being born, all lovely beginnings to read and experience again. Every word is a treasure to be savoured. :D You could say I'm a BIG FAN!! :lol:

[Kath Mulligan]

Do you know, I never would have guessed that, Gloria!! :wink: :lol: :lol:

Janice, hope you are going to become a regular member of the chatty gang on here. I promise you it is great fun, I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't log on at least once a day.

Kath

[Linda]

...thats putting it mildly...:):):)...just look at how many posts ...I was trying to work out the other day how many posts per day people had made since they joined....no-one can beat Gloria!

We should have a trophy...so I am off to find one.....see you in a bit!

:wink: :wink:

[gloria townsin]

Having a GREAT bunch of people to chat to about a favourite subject is trophy enough for me - I too have to log on at least twice a day and with every new member I get really excited to think how much the Chronicles are still appreciated and enjoyed. Long may they and the Forum continue...... :D

[Mili]

I know I will turn into a big fan myself, with just the beginning of Somewhere a Cat is Waiting I am hooked! It happened to my husband the same that happened to Derek, he was not a dog person until Sarah turned up in our house. He is as crazy now about cats as I always was. One thing in common with Derek and Jeannie!

[janice]

It's great to hear there's so many fans out there - I have been regularly re-reading my set of chronicles for the last 20 years and never grow tired of them. I never realised that so many years on they still have such a following and are still so appreciated!

[Kath Mulligan]

To me the books are timeless Janice. Even though modern day life is vastly different from when Derek and Jeannie first made the move from London to Minack, Derek's philosophies on life and nature are still as relevant today as they were then. I think it would do a lot people good to take a step back from the frantic pace of today's life and take time out to "listen to the sound of silence". So often when I am reading the books I find myself saying "yes that is exactly how I feel too".

I think that is also another reason why so many strong friendships have sprung up on this forum too, because we all feel the same way and cherish the values that Derek and Jeannie had. As Derek would have said "we are all on the same wavelength".

Kath

[janice]

I think you're right, Kath. I find it fascinating that they both lived two extremes of life - the bustle of London (which I couldn't cope with) and the isolation of Minack (which I'm sure I could manage!). Having said that, I find Time was Mine equally compelling and often re-read it as well as the rest. Has anyone read One King? think I would find that a bit over my head, even if I could get hold of a copy!

[Brenda]

I, too, find myself nodding my head at things Derek wrote, and being especially glad to know that I share some of his feelings about nature and life in general. But, oddly enough (or maybe I'm just two souls living in one body...), I could see myself really relishing those two extremes that Derek and Jeannie had. Life at Skinner's Pond is in many ways like the life they had at Dorminack, and I treasure it. But then...having those weeks during the last three years in London...I could see myself spending a year or two right in the heart of the city. It's such an exciting place to be and there is so much I want to explore. It is an incredibly busy place, but there are so many quiet little parks and squares that it's easy to create a bubble of solitude around yourself. Unlike them, once I reached 'my Minack,' I didn't feel that I never needed to go anywhere else. My Gypsy gene keeps me thinking about all the other enticing places to try out. Maybe I have the luxury of feeling that way because I know I have my sanctuary to come back to.

Brenda

[Linda]

Brenda, couldn't agree with you more especially

My Gypsy gene keeps me thinking about all the other enticing places to try out. Maybe I have the luxury of feeling that way because I know I have my sanctuary to come back to.

although since we have been at Blairvoyach we have never been anywhere else...like today its a gloriously sunny day and the sea is turquoise with a hazy backdrop of the mainland. The swallows are diving all around in pairs, its a bit like watching your own private airshow.
But I am always thinking of places to go to like Greece, France, northern Spain, America, Canada.....(no I havent forgotten Cornwall) but these are the places to explore and see amazing places and people.....

off into teh sunshine now to go for a walk with the cats....

:)

[Sybille Weber]

...... Has anyone read One King? think I would find that a bit over my head, even if I could get hold of a copy!

I have a copy of "My King", Janice, but haven't read it either. :oops:
Would indeed be interesting to know if anybody on the forum has read it and what they think of it.

[Kath Mulligan]

I haven't read One King either, nor have I got a copy. I have got Time Is Mine and enjoyed that, although I much prefer the Chronicles if I am honest since I can relate much more easily to that lifestyle than to Derek's wanderings around the globe in his youth. Still it is an interesting read.

Kath

[janice]

I suppose I find time was mine interesting because it's such a different lifestyle than mine - I wouldn't be brave enough to leave the country on my own, never mind wander around in a pre war europe! But then, I'm not a journalist and I suppose that thirst for the next great story would drive you on! I must admit, when Time was Mine was referred to in the Chronicles it was always treated as something slightly shocking and I wasn't really sure what to expect, but as time has moved on, I thought it was quite tame! - maybe that's because sadly we are all more broad minded and with the world we live in, it takes a lot to shock us now!

[gloria townsin]

I think Janice that 'Time was Mine' was the thing that shocked Jeannie's parents and perhaps made them wary of Derek, well that is the way I have interpreted a couple of things, maybe I'm wrong. If you want to read 'One King' Kath remind me to bring it to next year's AGM and I will lend it to you.......it's a bit of a tome and it would seem Derek was going to quote heavily from it if he had written 'Shadows' - this did make me read through the last chapter - It brought home to me even more that Derek was very English and I can never see that either of them would ever have had anything to do with spying against the country. 'Went the Day Well' although written by other people was put together by Derek and it is so full of sentiment I just don't see how there could have been anything untoward going on.
I do agree Kath that a common bond is that we can identify with Derek's sentiments in many ways he was ahead of his time - we have said before I think that the times they lived in gave them an added value to life and that certainly coloured their thinking.
When we make our trips to London to see the shows, for those who don't know I only live about 40 mins outside of the centre of London, and we pass the Savoy I think of Jeannie going in and out of the entrance and crossing the road or even standing on the pavement seeing the bus go by with Derek Tangye's name on it before she had met him.........life is full of surprises.

[janice]

Was there ever any question of either of them spying? I find that slightly shocking, remembering how wary Derek was of Philby and Blunt etc and thinking of how he conducted his life - and indeed as you mention the sentiment of went the day well and his reasons for writing it! I would find it impossible to entertain such suspicions and I didn't even meet either of them!

[Mili]

I do not like the bustle of the city anymore and do enjoy slow pace and silence but surrounded by some houses. I live in a small community roughly 100 houses in a circle, an inner circle where I live and the outer circle and houses ARE too close but it is quiet here. I just wished we had more trees to welcome birds.

Gloria I think that to have the good of both worlds is fascinating. When I lived in a suburb of New York City I did enjoy my trips to the city with my daughters and the theatre and the city in Christmas time is magical, BUT once I got used to live in a much settled area it was hard to adjust when I went back to NYC to visit. I am convinced that the older I get the more I enjoy the peace and quiet and no bustle.

[gloria townsin]

Yes Janice there was a suggestion in the Cornish press a few years ago now, after Derek passed away, that they had been spies. Quite rightly several people that knew them were upset that it was said after they were gone and couldn't defend themselves. Derek always seems to me to be very patriotic so unless this was a complete sham, which I don't think it was, I can't see any truth in the suggestion. Cuttings from the newspapers that carried the story are kept with Chronicles Memorabilia in Morrab Library

[Janet Swan]

I second Gloria's thoughts - where the stories about Derek and/or Jeannie being spies came from we will never know. I think at the time we all thought it was malicious gossip. Derek may well have been aware of spies through his work with MI5 during the war, but anything else seems so improbable. He was close friends with David Cornwall aka John Le Carre (not sure if I've spelt it right) and perhaps they had discussions about spies and the plots of his books!!!!

Janet

[Janet Swan]

How I agree with Mili about needing to live with peace, quiet and trees now. Fortunately, I do, albeit in a terrace house on a 30 year old housing estate, but my house overlooks the school playing field and my own little garden is a wonderful (but deliberately untidy) jungle of perennials, bulbs, shrubs and pots + frogs! In 30 years, the small trees in the street have matured into giants, higher than the houses, so the birds and I are happy!

But last night, I went into London on a coach trip (to see 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' starring the gorgeous Lee Mead - have you seen it Gloria?) and as we drove into London, waves of nostalgia hit me and I felt 21 again, which was when I first left home to live in London. Driving along Finchley Road past the end of the road in which I'd shared a home with 4 other girls, then through Holborn where I'd worked, then into the West End - wow! - it all came back to me - and the young girls are all in miniskirts again - as I was then (NOT now, I hasten to add)!

Just for a moment, I wanted to be that young girl again, but later on arriving home and walking the short distance from my garage to front door, listening to the leaves rustling and gazing up at an incredibly full moon, opening the door and Tia (my cat) racing down the stairs to greet me - well, I was glad I was home.

Janet

[Mili]

Janet,
I surely relate to your feelings! What a coincidence my doctor’s name is Tia. Perhaps you know but this is the word for aunt in Spanish.

[Janet Swan]

I was chosen by Tia, when she ran away from an uncaring home nearby to live in my hedgehog house. Her previous owners named her Tia after the drink - Tia Maria. Her poor brother (who I had to hand over to the RSPCA as he was very sick and neglected) was called Bailey, again from the (Irish) drink - Baileys, I think. "Aunt", as in Spanish, sounds much more appropriate for my lovely, very affectionate, cat, so thank you Mili.

Janet

[Mili]

Janet,
I do not know what a Tia Maria is but it surely sounds Mexican and I do love Baileys though it has gotten so expensive I never buy it anymore.
Funny did they come from a family of bartenders or drinkers? :( So glad they found you! Even Bailey because you gave him a chance to live.

[Linda]

...to add to the story about spying...I always wondered why it was that the Daily Mail was the first to publish the 'spying' articles about Derek and Jeannie and someone else whose name i forget now...

...on another front...I too worked in Holborn ...my first job was with The Prudential Assurance Company......a big grand building...very traditional in everyway....but I worked on the opposite corner of the main building in a more modern affair (still for the Pru as it was affectionately known) above a shoe shop...I used to buy shoes quite frequently..and I notice that one of the current styles is the same as that if my teens!

8) :lol:

[gloria townsin]

Yes Janet we have seen 'Joseph' at the time they were choosing for the main role Lee Mead wasn't my choice but having seen him starring in it I think he was the right one. If the theatre trips weren't organised locally I doubt we would go but it is so easy to catch the coach a couple of roads away and the tickets are always cheaper than they would be if we went independently.
I know what you mean about London, there is a buzz about it and you can get quite caught up in the frenzy of lots of people on the streets. I can quite see why my parents harked back to their young years there. Croxley at the time my grandparents moved here was just a little hick village it must have seemed so quiet to my Mum who loved being 'up to date' which of course she could be in London. Then if you wanted anything even slightly out of the ordinary you had to 'go to Town' to find it, now every high street is the same, same shops, same things available. Almost no need to travel anywhere but to your nearest shopping mall.
Don't get me started on the mini skirts, 'Twiggy' eyes, pale lipstick and wow! sling backs, how did I run for the bus in them I wonder........ :D

[Linda]

..Gosh reading Gloria's post suddenly reminded me of pan stick...and painted on eyelashes....and white eyeshadow.....and pale pale lipstick....and trying to be as thin as a rake...and never getting as straight as Twiggy...tent dresses....my first one was a purple two layered thing , all floaty! with tiny tiny gold spots on it and I thought I was the bees knees as the Top Rank Suite in Croydon and The Orchid in Coulsdon, and finally the ??aaargh! cant remmebr its name but a dance hall in Streatham High Street...ah yes the Locarno!.....wow! all that becuase of Gloria mentioning Twiggy!

[Janet Swan]

I still wish I looked like Twiggy - she is absolutely stunning in the M&S adverts, isn't she?!

Janet

[Linda]

will that woman ever look anything but GOOD!!

:cry:
:roll:
:wink:

[gloria townsin]

Linda you didn't mention The Hammersmith Palais......... :roll: Great times...........(sigh)...... :)

[Kath Mulligan]

As well as mini skirts, the winkle-picker stilettos which you had to stuff with cotton wool or tissue paper at the ends to prevent them curling up! I'm so glad that these days I dress for comfort rather than for glamour - those shoes used to cripple me.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Ummm.....ohhhh.......I don't know - I have some very fond memories of those days and how I lived to shop and be in fashion. Shallow I guess but not such a sin when you're young I feel. :)

[Linda]

...aaah! yes!.....did you go to the Palais?...I was usually out dancing four nights a week, even tho' I was a school girl!....Thursday night was The Orchid or any night if Ben E King was singing!!...usually Saturday nights at Top Rank and Locarno was Sunday or was it Friday?...Top Rank again on Tuesday...I used to walk home from the Top Rank, barefoot....three miles on my own...how times have changed...was safe as houses....even when i was followed once I just turned and shouted at the guy and he walked away. Can't imagine it today. Those were teh days, my friend we thought they'd never end...da da da da de da da da!...who sang it...Mary ??

Fun times, happy times...high expectations and anticipation....
:roll: :lol: :lol: :wink:

[Kath Mulligan]

Mary Hopkin, Linda

Kath

[Linda]

...thats her! thanks Kath...that was bugging me as I heard this song in my head!

[Janet Swan]

....... and do you remember the dresses slit from knee to waist, to reveal cute little hotpants? Yes, I had some of those :oops: :lol: .

Janet

[Linda]

whoa! Janet!
:oops: :wink:

[gloria townsin]

We should all get together and have a 60's evening.........or maybe not, don't think I would look too great in minis now. Ho Hum!!

[Mili]

I will comment about this reminiscing in my impressions of A Gull on the Roof for today.

[Kath Mulligan]

Well, Gloria, Janet has still got the figure for hot pants and a mini, but I certainly haven't! The world is definitely not ready for that :roll: :lol: :lol: Much prefer to keep my pins covered up these days!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

I agree Kath but it is the impression I would give that worries me. :oops:

[gloria townsin]

Help.......just read that and what I meant to say is I agree Janet would be fine but it is the impression that I would give that.........sounded as though I was agreeing about your opinion of yourself Kath..........Oh heck.......think I'll stop while I'm ahead - your friend Gloria who is even more :oops: now!!

[Kath Mulligan]

:lol: :lol: :lol: don't worry Gloria, I know exactly what you meant, and I have never had any illusions about my physical appearance anyway, even when I was younger. Vin must have seen me through rose-tinted spectacles!

Kath

[Janet Swan]

I'm soooo flattered by Kath's complement :lol: but confess I would need to wear heavy duty tights (under the hotpants) and, if required to dance, elastic knee supports - so, please, no 60s reunion party, Gloria :roll: :wink: :lol: .

Janet

[gloria townsin]

:lol: :lol: :lol: don't worry Gloria, I know exactly what you meant, and I have never had any illusions about my physical appearance anyway, even when I was younger. Vin must have seen me through rose-tinted spectacles!

Kath

Vin would have seen you for what we know you are a lovely lady and who the heck is perfect at any time in their life? What we need to remember when we look at pics in magazines or of "celebrities" (usually undeservedly called) is that they are heavily airbrushed. Bet we could all look like movie stars if our photos were given the same treatment. So here's to looking normal. In fact, just like ourselves. :D

[Kath Mulligan]

awwww, you've made me blush :oops: :oops: . Thanks Gloria, that is lovely of you.

Speaking of celebrities and airbrushing - did anyone see Felicity Kendall on TV the other evening? I can't remember what programme it was (may have been Chelsea show) but there is a lady who hasn't gone under the surgeon's knife. I was quite surprised to see just how much she has aged since I last saw her on TV. It quite gave me heart to see her wrinkles, so much nicer than blank expressionless faces that have been stretched to within an inch of exploding! I love Judi Dench for the same reason; apart from the fact that she is absolutely my favourite actress. She could read the Phone Book and hold my attention :wink: :lol:

Kath

[Linda]

Janet :
wear heavy duty tights (under the hotpants) and, if required to dance, elastic knee supports


what a thought! :lol: :lol: :lol: I laughed so much...BUT not at you Janet! honest it was the thought of all of us wearing such...a bit like the AB FAB when the two of them age and they walk round to the house thats their place and Patsy's (Joanna Lumley)knickers fall down!
Now there's a woman who still looks good!

I agree no reunion of that kind! unless we are doing it for a comedy programme making vast amounts of money!...perhaps! :)

[gloria townsin]

AB Fab............wonderful...........Judi Dench .....fantastic. Have you ever seen 'Ladies in Lavender?' Filmed just around the corner from the Lizard at Cadgewith.......certainly added to the appeal for me. But such a romantic, gentle story - so unlike the 'beat em up and bury them' type films they make so many of. Or the 'how many ways can we film two people in bed together' ones. Not to my taste either of them.
o.k. then no 60's get together........let's just keep chatting here for now, one day though we might have a FOMS do. If I win the lottery I'll treat you all. Where did I put the numbers? :)

[Kath Mulligan]

Hope your numbers do better than mine have just done, Gloria.

Yes I did see Ladies in Lavender - the girls took me to see it a couple of years ago in Stockport. I very rarely venture to the cinema these days, partly because there are very few films which appeal to me, and partly because I always want to reach out and turn the sound down!!!

I agree, Gloria about the gratuitous violence and sex in so many films nowadays, to say nothing of the horrible language. I remember years ago, Vin and I walking out of the cinema at the first interval during One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest because it was just one f.... word after another. I know people rave about what a great film it was, but I just couldn't concentrate on the story because of the unnecessary swearing.

Going back to Judi Dench, did any of you see her in Mrs Henderson Presents? What a superb actress she is. Also loved her performance on TV as Queen Victoria with Billy Connolly. In fact, I can't think of anything she has starred in that I haven't enjoyed.

Kath

[Janet Swan]

Yes, I saw 'Mrs Henderson Presents'- and Judi was great in that too. Also in that film set in Italy around the outbreak of the last War - just remembered (it takes a while!) 'Tea with Mussolini' with Maggie Smith and other greats. Thank goodness there have been a few good films over the years that we all enjoy. Oh, er, um - I'm planning to see 'Sex In The City' this coming week, but only because I enjoyed the TV ones in the past - and my local cinema will let me in for just £3.75!!!!! :oops: :wink: :lol: Oh, and the lovely 'Inspector Linley' is on TV tonight, 1 or 2 and the very last ones ever. Might help me get over the sadness of Monty Don having to leave 'Gardeners' World', bless him.

Janet

[gloria townsin]

All good films Janet and Kath. Cant say I have ever watched SITC so really don't know what the film will be like but it seems to be causing quite a stir so I hope it lives up to it for all the fans sake. We are weeding out (how appropriate in the flow of conversation) Bank Holiday programmes to watch, bit thin on the ground but what's new? Just watched 'Doctor at Large' with the oh so handsome Dirk Bogarde........very dated but at the time I loved the doctor films. At the time they seemed so slick and funny. This is the one where it ends with him saying he will marry Muriel Pavlow without so much as ever giving her more than a chummy hug all the way through............oh them's were the days of innocence all right. :roll:

[Kath Mulligan]

So glad I am not the only one who hasn't watched SITC. It has never appealed to me, so will not be going to see the film either.

Kath

[Janet Swan]

I think SITC appealed/appeals to recycled spinsters like me :wink: who have been single again for many years. We can identify with some of the characters and happenings, although I do assure you I was never quite so naughty - or else I've forgotten all about it if I was :wink: :roll: :oops: :lol: .

Janet