24th October - 3rd November

 Here we go again...

Well, here we go again... another lockdown begins on Thursday... last day of 'freedom' tomorrow so I'm going to make the most of the last chance to play golf for a while.

I don't need to tell you how I feel about this government... Sage recommended a brief lockdown on 17th September as they could see what was coming... but Boris Johnson decided against... and now says we have no choice and it will be for a minimum of 4 weeks. The regard in which I hold him and his cronies is the lowest it could possibly be.

Anyway... we will all need to look out for each other again and hopefully together we will get through this.

Going back to where I left off... here's a closer look at my new curtains - warm and soft to the touch.

On Sunday mornings we have a family zoom... awful pic but we are all there!

Afterwards, if the weather is good I head out for a walk

We have had such windy weather there has been a good swell running.

Golf admin has taken up a bit of time as the new World Handicap System has been put in place. Each Handicap authority like the R&A in UK, USGA in America... etc (I think there were 6 versions round the world) have joined forces for this World System.

It has meant masses of behind the scenes work but it was finally launched yesterday.

A player's  handicap is now based on the best 8 rounds of their last twenty. As they play a new round the one 'at the bottom' drops off etc.

In theory it should be more accurate and it gives the great advantage of adjusting a handicap according to the difficulty of the course being played.

More gales meant no golf and the sea gradually got bigger!

High tide brought  waves of about 15' though they never look big in the photos!

On the Thursday it was still windy but also a bit grey and damp so I was the only one who played golf! Still it was good to be out in the fresh air.

This is why we are all concerned

Friday I had been looking forward to all week!

It was a Peter Gorton 7 course tasting menu... and it was absolutely fabulous!

Butternut squash soup with truffle oil

Slow roast Duck on apple salad and quince dressing

Sea Bass on a tomato and ginger sauce and crab croquette

Pea risotto 

Pineapple gazpacho and mint granita

Venison with a mushroom sauce

Ameretti tart and cappuccino  parfait

Chefs talking to us afterwards

It was a breathtakingly wonderful evening, delicate flavours perfectly balanced, absolutely amazing!

The wind in the night blew the chairs around and the top off my little shed on the patio!

A panorama view of Porth Nanven... this was Sunday morning, I'd woken feeling cross about the government cock-up... so quickly got up and walked fast down the Cot Valley.

It was beautiful! It was a bit damp and after I got home it began to rain.

Finally, on Sunday lunchtime I went to Trengwainton, it was extremely damp and the recent winds had stripped a lot of the autumn leaves away but it was still beautiful,

I loved these below, don't know their name... from this side they look green...

and from the other side they're red!

They also had a gingko!

And that brings us just about up to date, I went into Penzance for a couple of things from the supermarket and as brother Tim says there was a feeling of urgency around - he had gone in to Truro for the first time since early March!

Tomorrow is our final chance to play golf till who knows when, so several of us are going to play. I shall miss everything it brings, not just the golf itself but the lovely banter we have.

I'm sure we'll support each other on line instead - but it is not the same.