Monsters

About 2 weeks ago my friend scallop came down to visit with me. One evening, we got talking about a programme she had watched some weeks back all about monsters of the deep, this programme told of all the mythical and weird monsters that have been spotted around our shores and the coasts of other countries, monsters like the Loch Ness monster.

Everyone has heard of the Loch Ness monster, we have all seen photos and film of it, but we still don’t know if it real, or is it a spirit or shade of an old creature that lived a long time ago, she also went on to say that there was such a creatures that lives in the seas around Falmouth and the Helford river, she asked if I had heard of them, I told her that I have known of this creature since I was a young boy of nine and that around the Cornwall area it is known as the Morgawr. I have heard fishermen tell stories of strange things in the water, large shadowy forms swimming close to the boats, strange shapes on the echo sounder. I have myself heard mysterious noises, while fishing in my little boat off Harlyn bay, when I was a young man.

The subject got us so interested that we decided to go down to Falmouth and the Helford River and go monster hunting.

We rented a cottage for a couple of days near Swanpool overlooking all the large ships in Falmouth bay. It was a beautiful cottage and although I was only forty miles away from the stones it felt like I was in another country, somewhere on the continent.

On the Monday we went to the Helford creek and hired a boat for the day. It was a nice little 16 footer with an outboard engine, and all the safety equipment. I must admit I struggled to get into the lifejacket. I dread to think what it would be like on an aeroplane in a dead panic situation, I would have to carry my life preserver out with me and put it on in the water.

Well we finally got out to sea, I was on the tiller, and scallop was giving me directions, there were boats everywhere. She wanted to know all about boating as she fancied taking it up as a hobby. I told her that if you wanted to get anywhere in a boat, you had to take a bearing and steer to that point and then when you come about, take another bearing, then steer to that point, she soon got the hang of it.

A large boat came across us and I turned our little boat around into its wake, why did you do that she said. I didn’t want that large boats waves hitting us on the broad side, it could have capsized us.

I gave her a go at steering the boat with the tiller, she enjoyed that, but she said that she would rather give the orders on where to go. And give the orders she did, I thought I was at sea with a chief petty officer from the royal navy, she would shout out commands like hard to port, hard to starboard, bring her about, keep your bows into the wind, at one stage I thought she might throw me into the brig.

Well we had a lovely day, we got away with the weather it wasn’t to bad just a little showery, but we never seen any monsters I didn’t think we would as it didn’t feel right for monster hunting.

Over the next couple of day we were always around the water, up on the cliffs, down by the docks. Scallop kept an eye open for the creature, I took my telescope and she used that a lot but there wasn’t anything to see, it wasn’t our time.

In the evenings we went to Swanpool to feed the ducks, everyone fed the ducks under the trees as the seagulls didn’t like to fly under them. There were two beautiful white ducks there; they looked like to Aylesbury ducks and they looked at me, as if to say I hope you are not feeding me up for Christmas. I almost won them over in the end as they almost got the bread out of my hands.

We went to Falmouth museum, I wasn’t that impressed, but I did meet a man there who was on a round Britain cruise with the Freddy Olsen line, he told me all about it, he made it sound so attractive, so much so that I am going on one next year in September if I’m still alive.

I liked the shops in Falmouth and as it wasn’t that good of weather it was also a good place to shelter. My favourite place in Falmouth though is Harvey’s, down on the wharf. They serve wonderful food.

We went other places to eat and generally for the two of us it was usually £20 and the portions are not that big, it seems to me that modern day restaurants seem to give small portion these days, some places you go for fish and chips and it comes out with a tiddler on your plate and it is always between £5 - £10. I was talking to a chap in Padstow, who has just come back from Scotland, he told me that they had fish and chips there one evening and it came out with a whale balanced on the plate, you couldn’t see the chips underneath it was so big, and it only cost £3.50 it was so big he said that he couldn’t eat it all. How is it some places can do it and some places can't.

Well the week went quick and scallop went home on the Friday morning.

Other News

I came home as we were having new windows fitted at the stones, Emma also took the day off work to oversee the project and make sure it all ran smoothly, we had a couple of quotes one man came and told me it would cost about £10,000, I almost jumped out my skin, another guy came and put in a quote of £2,500, can you manage that, he said and that night I paid him a £500 deposit, before he changed his mind. He wasn’t from any old company this was a rep from a big company, one that advertises on TV.

Well the windows went in fine without any problems.

I had a call from Yvonne Cherry; she said that on Sunday it was going to be the last service at the chapel. I didn’t think I was going to make it, but something told me that I had to make it.

When I arrived there on the Sunday morning it was like I was going to a funeral. It was also harvest festival and today it was a full house I was in my normal seat up the front.

The preacher gave a lovely service, he said that in life things don’t always end up the way they start, you usually find that different things in life, take us in different directions. Look at me he said when I was a young man in my hippy days I had hair down past my shoulders, we all laughed as now the preacher is as bold as a coot. He is right his hair won’t be coming back. We have had good times here he said, but those time are coming to an end, like everything the times change. Just before the end he said the for sale signs aren’t going up right away, we will still pay the rent and keep the place clean, something still might happen.

You never know someone out there might buy it and keep it as a chapel, well like I always say that is another story for another day.

My knees haven’t been too good lately I have been using Lourdes water and my healing stone.

I had several people come to see the stones lately. Two lovely ladies from Germany, one called Nicole and the other was Olga. Nicole was a yoga teacher, she was also a very mystical lady, I have a sense about these things and I could tell. Well she had trouble with her legs and she came to use the healing stone.

I have laid 4 slabs by the well so that you can kneel down and fill a bottle of Tresallyn water home with you, if you don’t use it for anything else use it to water your garden. Another lady came to see me and said that I taught her husband to dowse, could I teach her, not today I said and I explained that I had a talk with some others that were due any minute, why don’t you come back tomorrow. Well she did come back and again I was busy so I said that I was sorry and that for her persistence I would make her a member of the St Merryn druids, she was delighted with her certificate and left with a smile on her face.

I’m looking forward to Sunday when Pixie Jean is coming to see me with a few others it will be a good day. Well that’s it for now God Bless everyone.

Ed