APRIL/ MAY 2009

Hi folks.

I haven’t recorded much material for the website recently. In fact I have been preparing for my trip to China. Just to backtrack I must tell you about a few things that have happened recently.

Just before the start of May I travelled with Christopher to London. It was to be a three day jaunt delivering and collecting recycled material. We began by loading an articulated lorry with recycled plastic and cardboard and headed off to a warehouse situated near the Thames, on the Essex side, from where our load would be shipped over to China (just by way of coincidence). We had a great trip down but decided to sleep in the cab of the lorry overnight. I took the top berth and Christopher took the lower. Unfortunately because the lorry was parked pointing downhill it was a struggle not to fall out of my berth. Christopher had to secure me in with a piece of netting. I was bursting to spend a penny all night but just had to stay put till morning. I found the overnight experience a bit tough going, it had been so uncomfortable. I desperately wanted to get on the next train home and leave Chris to the rest of the job but he talked me into staying and I just had to soldier on. Anyway, the next morning we drove on to Newcross and reloaded the lorry with wood chip. From there we headed back toward the southwest with further stops to make. We were heading for Bristol and knew one of our other drivers would be in the area at the same time as us. His name is Phil Johns and Christopher arranged with him to meet up at Avonmouth truck stop for lunch. We arrived and headed immediately for the café. Once inside we all three ordered steak and kidney pie. It was delicious and all the other drivers on hearing my comments about it ordered it as well. Sadly for some of them there wasn’t enough to go round. Shame. After lunch I decided to freshen up as we had no facilities to do that earlier that morning. There was a communal shower room at the truck stop but being a shy soul I decided to use the disabled facility instead which had just a basin and loo but no shower. Our next stop was to be Taunton. This time I travelled with Phil and the two lorries following one another. We settled up for the night at Taunton again sleeping in the cabs. Phil bless him knowing of my discomfort the previous night gave up his comfortable lower berth and his lovely warm duvet to me. The following morning we headed for Barnstaple to unload the wood chip. Then off we set to Torquay where we reloaded with wooden pallets and then headed for St Eval and home. It’s a hard job being a long distance lorry driver. Those who do it have great endurance just like soldiers and I have the greatest admiration for them.

My friend Esther from Sheffield came to visit for the Padstow May Day celebration. She travelled down by train and I met her at Bodmin Parkway station. We took a taxi home to the stones and I gave up my bedroom for her and took the couch for sleeping. The next morning another friend arrived to take Esther and myself into Padstow. We made our way to the local community club from where the celebration was to start. The accordion players came out first followed by the drummers. It was a special occasion for me because my grandson Matthew was playing for the first time. He had bought himself a drum for £150 was wearing his blue sash and white clothes and I felt so proud. We followed them down to the town square which was heaving with people. A short speech was made by a local dignitary and the ‘obby oss’ came out dancing. It’s always a special day to hear our May Day song and see the folk dancing. Esther and I followed the parade through the town shaking hands with friends old and new. The sun shone down on us it was a wonderful day. At midday the celebration stopped to allow time for refreshments. Esther and I headed for the local chapel where we knew we could get cakes and tea. At 2.00pm we set out to rejoin the throng but didn’t get very far. The heavens opened on us and it poured with rain. So with a change of plan we embarked back to the community club house for refreshment of a different kind. The bar would be open. There we met up with Christopher, Stevie, Morris Murt and Colin Simpson and others we refer to as ‘the clan’. At 4.00pm the rain was still falling and I was expecting more guests back at home. I phoned my dear friend Susan Bray who kindly offered to collect us and take us home from the club house. The guests came and went, we had fish and chips for tea and reflected on the day. The weather had been a disappointment but I had seen the ‘obby oss’ and that was truly special. That was May Day over for another year.

Next day Esther and I went to Truro by bus. It was a lovely day and we shopped and visited my favourite place for lunch. It is a traditional English tearoom and I had another favourite, two poached eggs, toast, lashings of butter and a pot of tea.  The following day Sunday we went to chapel. I don’t recall much about the sermon but it moved Esther to tears. The following day Bank Holiday Monday we went to Plymouth. There was a band playing when we arrived and we followed it through to the Barbican. There were easily 2000 others all following too. I saw a friend from Padstow in the crowd and we both commented how it was just like May Day again with a band playing and drummers drumming. Then I saw another familiar face. It was Gypsy Acora. I asked if he was busy with clients, he said not and offered to give me a reading in his consulting room. We settled down and as usual asked me to hold the crystal ball and make a wish. So I wished for a little more travelling for the years I have left. As we get older we don’t really expect too much to happen in our lives. He told me he could see me with a lot of money but couldn’t foretell where it would come from. But if it allows me a bit more holidaying I don’t mind where it comes from. He told me a few things about St Eval Recycling and I have passed that information on to Karen and Christopher. He told me a young woman would enter my life but he always tells me that. I parted with my £20 and we went on our way. The following morning it was time for Esther to return home to Sheffield. Geoff a friend drove us to the railway station and I saw Esther onto the train and away. I think she had a reasonable holiday.

I was exhausted following those last few days and Kathy another friend staying in Falmouth invited me to stay with her to rest up and recover for a while. Kathy had taken a house right at the waters edge close to the harbour. Rest and recover is exactly what I did. I slept well, we took leisurely strolls each day and ate well. We would spend precious time at Harvey’s Wharf by the marina and watch the boats and the world go by.  I always thought of the great Cutty Sark anchored up out there.  Our last day in Falmouth was quite special. We took a boat journey from the harbour to see the River Fal and surrounding creeks. On the way across the river there was quite alot of white water.  It was a big boat and she made nothing of the journey.  Kathy got up in the bows and alot of white water was breaking over the bows and landing over her! I think her ancestors were sailors in days of old and most probably sailed on the big tea clipper’s to India.  I particularly wanted to see the freighters and transporter ships that had been laid up because of the recession. They were enormous and the bridge on each at least 150ft above us. They looked like giant dinosaurs and sadly some would be going to scrap. We also saw the mussel beds, Trellisick House and gardens. They were once owned by the Copeland family better known for their porcelain and china but now owned by the National Trust. Worth a visit. Another gem was Smugglers Cottage, Tolverne. This is where Allied troops embarked from on the lead up to the D-Day landings. General McCarthur also stayed there during this time. What a way to see Cornwall. Breathtaking. We finished our last day at Harvey’s and went back to pack in readiness to go home. It was all over too soon. The following morning we took a train from Pendeen railway station to Truro. The trains run every 15 minutes. From there we caught the Penzance to Dundee train and I disembarked at Bodmin Parkway and Kathy continued her journey to Chesterfield.

On my way home from the station I called at my bank which was organizing the currency for my trip to China. Within two days I would be on my way and all that was left to do was pack a suitcase.

Photo Gallery

Apologies for not posting any stories recently. I have just been so busy keeping the household warm. It has been the coldest spell we have had in the last twenty years and it’s a full time job just keeping my fires burning. In fact I have massive great fires in the grate so much so that I even managed to burn the granite mantle by accident. It has just been too cold to keep going outside for fuel that I have had to resort to keeping it in the sitting room. The girls don’t seem to mind so that okay.

I have managed to do a bit of painting. I don’t paint like a professional, but I do love the brushes and paints and looking at the work of those artistically accomplished, be it in painting, weaving, sculpting, anything. Anyhow, I did a painting I have called The Virgin Mary. It is for Karen’s daughter Emma Kate. It represents my trip to Lourdes. Because of my limited sight I don’t paint in detail and use symbols to represent the subjects in my paintings. I kept the focal point around the two churches of Lourdes in an attempt to capture the mystique of the place and considered adding some ley lines but decided not to in the end. The squares in the picture represent hotels and the circle represents an underground auditorium, a must to see if you ever visit Lourdes.

The second painting I did was of the ski slope at Lourdes. I am sure some great artist on the other side must have been guiding my hand. Maybe my old friend Robert Lenkovich. I felt good when I tackled that painting. Even my family thought I must have had some help with it but it really is all my own work.

I brought some holy water back with me from Lourdes. I gave it to a boy in the village who was suffering from a tumour on the brain. Astonishingly he seems to be making a recovery. Miracles do happen. I don’t think enough people know about Lourdes or even our local Madron Holy Well.

I have another two paintings to complete. They will be for Christopher and represent a couple of top stories, but more about them at a later date.

Here we are now in March. Paul and I are so excited about the forthcoming trip to China in May. I hope nothing happens before then to prevent us from going.

I still go to chapel in Padstow. I think I have only missed once when I visited Sarah in Manchester. We have some wonderful preachers at chapel. I am looking forward to Easter when Terry Grace returns. He is an American. I have told Christopher I want Terry to conduct my funeral when the time comes, even if he has to fly him all the way over from America.

I have spent quite a bit of time watching programmes about religious history on TV and I told one of our preachers that it doesn’t matter about Darwin, research into outer space or the big bang. In my heart there is a place for God and Jesus. Yes, I believe in the supernatural as well.

Today I have been to St Austell where I had my hair cut. From there I took the train to Plymouth. How I love Plymouth. I sat next to a young lady on the train. I think her name was Lynne, she is an estate agent from up country somewhere. She had a lovely great book with her that I couldn’t stop looking at and wondering what it could be about and so asked her. It was a novel given to her by her niece to read on the train. Then we started to chat, about our travels. She told me about San Fransisco and the Grand Canyon. I told her about Montezuma Well in Sedona, Lourdes and Ireland and the Blarney Stone. In fact we never stopped talking until we reached Plymouth.

When I got off the train it was bitterly cold. The wind was blowing in from the north. I was going to head for the sea front but it was just too cold and windy and I didn’t want to catch a chill. I headed instead for the main shopping centre. It’s nothing quite like the Trafford centre which I think is really impressive. Perhaps Sarah in Manchester will take me there one day. I wanted to buy a suit from M and S to wear on May Day. A lovely lady assistant, she was French, helped me pick out my suit size and a matching shirt. She told me her home was just ten miles from Lourdes. I told her the story of the Lourdes holy water and recovery of the boy in our village. She said she the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end as she listened. I made my purchase and then strolled over to the Barbican Centre in the hope of seeing Gypsy Acora for a psychic consultation. Unfortunately he was away on holiday. Shame I couldn’t have foreseen that.

Now I was hungry. My gut was rattling. I asked a passer by for directions to the nearest fish and chip shop. I do like my fish and chips. Being poorly sighted and in strange territory I am often dependant on the help of others and in the main people are very kind to me. I found the shop, placed my order and took a seat. The fish was being prepared fresh for me. As I sat and waited, my thoughts went back twenty years or so when I visited Plymouth with my friend Marion. Actually I have related this story in my third book Mystic Love. I haven’t sold many copies of this one. Can’t understand why as it is a good read, but there are still several hundred sitting under my bed. We had caught the train up to Plymouth and when we arrived asked a taxi driver to take us to a restaurant he could recommend for a good roast dinner. Well, Marion was horrified when we got there. It was grubby, needed a good clean but oh the aroma of roast food was fantastic. I was hungry and my gut was rattling (as always). Marion refused to stay. She, an ex bluebell, dancer was dressed to the nines and dripping in gold jewellery. The place was just too downmarket for her. She eventually found a restaurant more acceptable (because it had silver cutlery and nice china). We took a table and she perused the menu. ‘What are you having’ she asked. ‘Fish and chips’ said I. ‘They don’t do fish and chips here, this a Chinese restaurant’, she said. Anyway off she went to ask the chef if they would do them for me and he did. When the fish arrived it was no bigger than a goldfish. I was so disappointed. We finished our meal and left. As soon as we were out of the door I made my way to the nearest fish and chip shop. I was still hungry and my gut was still rattling. Appetite satisfied we made our way to the Mayflower Steps. It was at this time that Marian and I were going through a traumatic time in our relationship. She had met another man, a tinker, tall, dark and handsome. What’s more she was in love with him. As we stood at the steps I took her arm and said ‘people have sailed from this place and made something of their lives. Stay with me and make something of your life with me. Don’t leave me for the tinker’. ‘But you don’t really love me Edward’ she said. ‘You just don’t want anyone else to have me’. At that she took off to see Gypsy Ocora. She needed his advice. Whatever that advice was it could not have been good, she emerged from his room in tears. You can read the outcome in Mystic Love.

Today, lunch finished, and I must say they were fabulous fish and chips, I made my way back to the railway station. On the way, someone called out ‘hello Ed’. I have no idea who it was, perhaps someone who recognised me from my TV appearances. I was an hour early for my train and decided to kill some time and have a cup of tea at the station. I ordered my tea and the young assistant on seeing my white stick asked if I would like her to carry it to the table for me. I thanked her but said I could manage by myself. What a mistake. The tea was rolling around in the cup as if I were on the high seas. I made it to the table and settled down. Then another catastrophe. I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and with it all my loose change. It scattered everywhere over the floor. The other customers in the cafeteria kindly collected it all up for me. I finished my tea, made my way to platform 4 and the train home to Cornwall.

My one bugbear about travelling by train is about those people who deliberately take up two seats. They like to sit alone and will place luggage, a coat, anything on the adjoining seat making it unavailable to other passengers. They should be made to pay for two seats. I boarded my train and sat next to lovely young lady. We started to chat and I asked her about the book she was reading. She told me it was about imaginary people but that she wasn’t particularly enjoying it. I sensed immediately she was an intellectual, I can generally tell. I thought she might be a lawyer. She told me she was in fact a trainee doctor. She asked me how I lost my sight. I explained and also told her that I could have had an operation on my remaining eye but the outcome may have been worse than better and not worth the risk. She was interested to hear of the trip to China. I gave her one of my business cards and told her I would report all about it on my website.

Now I want to tell you about St Eval Recycling Centre. We have two new dogs at the site. Max and Freya two German shepherd dogs. Max is a big, big darlin’. When he barks outside the office the whole cabin shakes We still have Cobie the collie. He lost his mate Jenny a while ago. You will see Cobie in the photograph. One day about a month ago the postman called at the site. Because he wasn’t wearing a flash jacket which the dogs identify with staff members, Max and Freya took to his trousers and nearly pulled them off the poor chap. He was hanging on to the weighbridge for dear life. He now refuses to leave his vehicle when making a delivery. We have to collect the post from him.

To give Karen credit, she has created a fantastic canteen for us on site. It has every facility for food preparation and seats about 24. We even had a full turkey dinner at Christmas. It’s very homely with photographs and pictures all around the walls. I am thrilled with what has been achieved. It has been worth all the toil and hard work to create it. Christopher and I like to chat to the men when we all get together at crib (break) time. I don’t know how much longer I can do it though. I would like to spend more time at home, talking to my visitors to the house and garden. I want to be able to tell them my stories, talk about mysticism, anything they want to know. People have been kind to me and I would like to give something back to society.

We had a visit and lecture from a health and safety officer about three weeks ago. All the staff attended. It was a good opportunity to impress on the staff the importance of wearing goggles in the workplace. I am a prime example of how treacherous work can be if not wearing protective equipment. As you know I was partially blinded in one eye through an accident at work when not wearing goggles. I had already lost some of the sight of the other eye in a childhood accident. Karen employed a translator for the benefit of our three Polish workers. They do speak some English but not fluently. Jack, Andrew and Simmy are three Polish brothers who came to us about three years ago. They came at a time when we couldn’t find anyone to work out at St Eval. Believe me working in the recycling business is a filthy and hazardous job. But they came and crewed the ship for us through difficult times and Karen thinks the world of them. After the lecture, with all the staff still together Karen took the opportunity to praise our Polish boys. She told them they were held in high esteem for their hard work, excellent timekeeping and reliability. All the British boys clapped and cheered them. This is something I will always remember because we have made the boys part of our family.

I have been watching quite a bit of TV recently. I enjoy the Discovery and History channels. Emma kindly pays for them for me. I am sure the future of our planet lies with scientists and politicians. We need to stop fighting each other and fight to save our planet.

I am hoping to get the engraving machine working this summer.

Roly and Tilly the cat are both well.

I am looking forward to May Day when I shall wear my new suit. I shall have a photograph taken with me wearing it and post it on the website.

I think it is worth while telling you all my news as it seems so many of like to view the website. Thank you one and all for taking the time to do that.

All the best

Ed

24th May 2006

I have been very busy over the past few weeks, you may have seen me in the Western Morning News and the Sunday Independant.  I have been helping with the healing of Wayne Rooney's foot! 

8th May 2006

Hello all this is just a quick update to let you know what I have been up to ...

German TV came over to film me working on the sand in Padstow last week and then we came back to the stones and did some filming and great interviewing.  I told the director Nickel that I knew of an old smugglers hideout near the sea.  I took them upto Trevose Head and they were mesmerised by the scenery and the magic and mystique of the ocean.  The hideout is half a mile from Treovse Head and I do not suppose that there are more then ten people alive who know that it exists.  If you were wanted by the customs or the police then it was where the great smugglers of the olden days would hide away and no one would ever find them.  The piece will be shown on German TV on the 25th May so if you have any friends in Germany who would be interested in the piece then please tell them about it as it will be a super piece of television.

5th March 2006

Hello Everyone

Thank you for all your continued support over the years.  The stone circle is in it's 24th year now and i'd like to thank you all for visiting me.  Over the past few years I have been working on projects away from the stones and many people have thought that I had passed away as no one had seen me!!  Well I am alive and well and am planning on being at home throughout the summer months.  Please call ahead if you plan on visiting so I can be here to greet you.

You are all probably wandering what I have been upto so here is a run down ..

2005 was a good year for me and I did quite a bit of television work.  In April I did a small piece for French TV and we went up to Trevose Head and filmed the sea, cliff and marine life before heading back to the Stones. 

In August I had a visit from Discovery TV and they wanted to talk to me all about curses and how to lift them.  They filmed me lifting a curse but this wasn't no ordinary curse this was like a cull.  They told me it would be shown sometime in January this year but nobody has seen it yet, maybe they will never show it as they are to afraid of the curse!

In September I had a visit from German TV who wanted to make a film about ancient caves.  I knew of one in a secret location near by which I believed Merlin, Gwinervear and Arthur had stood in.  It is always nice if you know if someone famous has visited a place but even though nothing has been written in history books about them ever being there I felt spiritually that they had been.

In October I had a visit from an Australian TV company.  I felt very proud when they arrived as they said they had come especially to see me.  I told them how I had put a friendly spell on the Oz cricket team and that was how they lost the ashes.  For the filming I brought out my own Obby Oss because I knew that there would be alot of Cornish cousins in Oz and would think of Cornwall.  It was a wonderful piece, infact the presenter sent me a tape back from Oz when it was finished and that's more then what I get from European film makers!

In January 2006 I went to visit my cousins in Santa Cruz, USA.  After 4 days I got homesick so had to cut the trip short.  I shall be writing a full story all about the trip very soon.

In Februry 2006 I had another call from a film company who wanted to interview me about my childhood days.  Apparently it is going to be shown on the BBC in September 2006.  It went well and the producer liked me that much she said she was going to make another film which she told me all about and she would like me to be in that one as well so I told the story how I fell in love with a beautiful pagan witch a few years ago and I married her for a year and a day, I don't expect they will show that piece!

Anyway that is it for now and I shall try and keep you all updated as the year goes along.  We are not perfect here so please forgive us if the punctuation and spelling isn't always correct!!

Ed