Litfest planning gets serious, and a disappointing lunch in Tehidy

Thursday evening 10 people crammed into my tiny living room for our monthly Penzance Litfest planning meeting. We have a moveable feast of a team, and monthly get togethers range from 6 to 13 people when everyone is able to make it. A lot of work goes on in-between the sessions so it's a good chance  for everyone to get briefed on what's happening across the board. The programme is shaping up nicely with proposals coming in daily from people who generously give their time to run a Litfest session.
So at this early stage the main tasks are: Getting venues sorted out; structuring the schedule to get a good balance of interest for the audience; responding to proposals and inviting people we would like to see; refreshing the website and designing the programme. One of our big tasks for 2014 is to build a strong members and friends programme.
One of the main issues for any Literary Festival is the question of funding. As an independent community Festival we have little external funding, and we keep our ticket prices low with the aim of being inclusive for all, but it's an expensive business, and for it to be sustainable, we need a long term plan. Watch this space...
And on Friday friend Eve & I went for a lovely head-clearing, leaf-swishing walk through Tehidy Woods. The squirrels were out in force, the jays brushes of colour swooping through the trees, and the clouds cleared to a blue autumn sky. First we had lunch in the café at the Tehidy visitor centre. Unfortunately it really wasn't very good. A Mushroom and stilton tart that had a 'soggy bottom' to make Mary Berry cry, and stilton that looked very much like cheddar to me! I've been there before and it was okay, but won't be rushing back!

Radio Cornwall, Cannington Grange and serious planning

After a fabulous weekend away at Cannington Grange to celebrate my good friend Rod's 60th birthday, there's a busy week ahead.
I signed up to NaNoWriMo this year. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month and I'm a bit behind. 23,000 words on the page and only 5 days to go. I might not make it but I will have made good inroads into Book 2 of Tales of Ice-cream and Espionage, so even if I don't hit the magic 50,000 word count, I'm pleased I decided to do it..
I was on BBC Radio Cornwall yesterday talking about Book 1 'The Dangerous Truth bout Mad Catwomen' and about Penzance Litfest 2014.
We're getting down to serious planning now for the Penzance Litfest. We have put out a Call for Proposals and they are coming in thick and fast.
The Litfest is put on entirely by enthusiasts who work voluntarily. Last year we delivered a five day event with more than 110 separate sessions with subjects ranging from workshops on Cornish poetry to Radio plays performed live to Salley Vickers being interviewed by Patrick Gale.
2014 is the fifth Litfest and we have adopted a theme of 'Celebration' so we're looking forward to being even better than last year.
But there is a lot involved - and this week the planning gets serious as we tie up the Venue bookings, get a shoot organised for photos, revamp the website, start shaping the schedule, and sifting through the proposals that we have already received.
There will be time for cafes. I'm back at the Lost & Found this afternoon for the Writers' Café Open meeting where we will be discussing the Christmas Bash.
But this morning, it's back to the Writing, and Winciette Jenkins second outing in (working title) The Dangerous Lies of Blue Eyed Boys'

My novel, the Penzance Litfest, and Chapel St Cafes

I did say this blog was about walking, writing and sitting in cafes. I have been doing a lot of all of those things since I lasted posted a café review, but my writing activity has been diverted towards publishing my first book as an independent author: The Dangerous Truth about Mad Catwomen.

In the meantime, I have visited some very memorable cafés. Notably Mr Billy's in Chapel Street Penzance, where the food is delicious; the service friendly; and the coffee and tea superb. It deserves its own post




Rippley in her first modelling job



Another favourite is the Lost & Found, also in Chapel St, Penzance, I frequent it frequently, because we hold the Writers' Café Penzance there on a Tuesday afternoon. And there will also be more on that later.
The Lost & Found makes, in my opinion, the best cake. Last week's Courgette & Lime cake was a triumph. I have never been convinced by courgette cake before. It seemed like a vegetable too far in the cake stakes, but I am a convert. It was probably the lime flavoured cream cheese frosting that won me over, but the cake was delicious too - soft and moist and yummy.


And finally, in Penzance, The Exchange deserves an honourable mention. The Exchange is one of our favourite venues for the Penzance Litfest, of which I am the co-chair for 2013/2014.  It's become our default meeting place for impromptu planning sessions. Yesterday John Pestle & I sat talking about how brilliant our volunteers are, and what we need to do to make their volunteering an enjoyable rewarding experience; Peter Levin (Chair) & I sat and talked about the excellent session already lining up for next summer; and then conferred with Patrick Gale, our festival patron, about some of the people we might invite down.
So more on all of that later too.


Porthmeor Beach Cafe

So today it's all about the food. And the view. And the company. The Porthmeor Beach Café sits on the beach at Porthmeor - the surfer's beach at St. Ives. Porthmeor beach is beautiful. Wide straight out to sea; the island to the right, Clodgy to the left and a long stretch of golden sand with crashing waves and rocks for rock-pooling. So whatever the café on the beach did, people would go to it. But the Porthmeor Beach Cafe has consistently good food; interesting but not ridiculous menu choices; friendly helpful service - its just a gem.

Today 6 of us and a tiny baby met for breakfast. Coffee was  hot and aromatic; we all had a cooked breakfast of some description. If I had a criticism, it would be that the  egg was more like omelette than the light fluffy buttery scramble I prefer, but it tasted good nevertheless.
Raindrops spattered the window, 

and we were glad to be inside looking out at the wild surfy sea, but on other similar weather occasions, I've sat in one of the covered outside booths, cozy under pink and green blankets, and warm from the radiators on the walls. Not ideal with a tiny tot, but perfect for anyone else.
We didn't have cake, but I did take a picture, because they looked fab - especially the lemon meringue. Now that's a fluffy egg triumph!

Porthmeor Beach Café; Porthmeor Beach, St Ives 01736 793366

Cafe Catch Up 2

Last Sunday, the day was capricious, but promised sun at The Lizard so we headed South to find it.
The walk from The Lizard to Kynance Cove is well-known and well-trodden and well-deserved. The sea sparkles under the sun like diamonds are being thrown through fairy dust, and the water is so clear that you can see right down to the seabed. Its a fabulous, eye-poppingly beautiful stretch of coast line with National Trust car parks at either end, so can be tackled in either direction. I like to start at The Lizard because its up-hill, which means its downhill coming back. We walked, and stopped, and stared and just drank in the gorgeousness. The tide was in so we clambered over the pebbles to the café. It's a fine café at Kynance Cove. It could be rubbish because its a completely captive audience, but it isn't. We had good coffee and a simple but delicious ham and salad sandwich, sitting  in the sun, looking out at the sparkly sea. Apart from Derek, who had a gi-normous Cornish pasty, which he said was the best ever. Size does matter see!

Cafe Catch Up

So all that baloney about writing every week turned out not to be true. In my defence, I have finished writing my book and moved house so blogging slipped a bit on the priority list. I have however been to one or two cafes in the last few weeks, to boot: The Penzance tennis club café (twice); The Lost and Found, also in Penzance, at least twice; Hellsmouth Café at Hellsmouth (go figure); the National Trust café at Kynance Cove. Surely the place that God (if he exists) would live if he lived down hereabouts. There may be others.
Summary verdict: the Penzance Tennis Club café is a little jewel, very reasonable, nice home cooked food, tucked on the edge of the lovely Penlee Park, and open to anyone who wants lunch. You don't even have to play tennis - which frankly, is a relief.
Hellsmouth Café: the best mid-point to one of the best walks in the world. From Godrevy to Hellsmouth. Which I did yesterday with my lovely cousin, Anne, and her lovely husband Stephen. I know, too many 'lovelys' but it is all a bit lovely, so I refuse to apologize. And the carrot cake is very fine too.

Searching out new Cafes on the Cornwall Coast Path

I love the far West, and in two week's time I'm going to be moving to Penzance. I'm going to make it my mission to try out every cafe I can find from Penzance, around the coast to St. Ives, and across the tip back to Penzance. This is quite a small area, but I think it has quite a dense concentration of cafes.

There will be times when I will venture further east; sometimes I might cross the Tamar or even go across the Channel. But most of my reviews will focus on this isthmus. Some of the best cafes to find are the ones you stumble across, like the Lamorna Cafe at Lamorna Cove or the Nosebag in Porthleven, or the little huts selling coffee and pasties like the one at Cape Cornwall (though sometimes I think that pasty tasted so good because we were starving; certainly the coffee wasn't very nice!)

But if stumbling fails to throw up a cafe opportunity, I shall turn to my trusty guide. 'The Cornwall Coast Path' published by Trailblazer just in 2012, so very up to date, and written by Joel Newton & Henry Stedman, based on an earlier book by Edith Schofield. www.trailblazer-guides.com

And for a taster of some of the places I shall be visiting see this short video produced for Visit Cornwall:

The Clubhouse Cafe, Gwinear

Sometimes, I feel like going on an adventure, discovering new walks, meeting new people, trying new cafes. And sometimes I just want to go somewhere I know the food will be great, and the people will be friendly, and where I won't have to walk any farther than from the car to the door.
Today was one of those days.

But I am resolved to write a Cafe Shot at least once a week, and I feel that it is very important that I continue to seek out cake, and other delights, even when I really feel like eating lettuce. I headed for the Clubhouse Cafe in Gwinear. Gwinear isn't a place that one stumbles upon very often but it's worth visiting for at least two reasons (there are probably more). One is the Hall for Gwinear, one of the best small venues for live theatre in West Cornwall, and the other is the Clubhouse Cafe.

I am biased, my very good friends Annette and Tim run it, but I'm not the only one. Just look it up on Trip advisor. Or just go there and have a Cumberland Stack: bubble and squeak patties; topped with a spicy cumberland ring made especially and exclusively for the cafe by Trevaskis Farm; topped with eggs bought from the local farmer. Or have homemade crab cakes made with crabs bought fresh from the lobster and crab huts down in Hayle; or American Pancakes served with bacon and maple syrup.   If you really want to push the boat out, with 24 hours notice, Annette will do fresh cornish lobster served with salad and cornish potatoes. I have tried them all at different times and they're all delicious.

Today I stuck to my core cake mission and had Guinness and Chocolate cake - a scrummy, rich dark cake topped with a very low calorie cream and cream cheese icing (I think tthe low calorie bit might not be true...) Very, very good indeed. It's clever cos it looks like a pint of Guinness, see?

Gwinear Pitch & Putt, Relistian Lane, Gwinear.  t: 01736 850938

The Nosebag Cafe Porthleven

Saturday 6th April 2013 was a warm sunny day in West Cornwall, which almost succeeded in lulling us into thinking it was Spring. But we had been warned it was to be a fleeting glimpse, so determined to go for a walk in the sunshine. Eve comes over from Lelant, Caitlin from Falmouth, Derek from Cabis Bay, and I'm currently in Porthtowan so obviously we met in Porthleven. After a few logistically challenging conversations about leaving cars at either end of the walk from Porthleven to Gunwalloe, we decided instead to park in the free car park in Helston and walk through the woods, along Loe Pool, and join up with the coast path to end up in Porthleven. It's a lovely, easy walk with a magnificent reveal as the woods give way to the ever sparkling sea.

Porthleven has several options for a definitely deserved lunch. I had a yen for SeaDrift's fishfinger sandwiches, but Seadrift, lovely though it is, stopped serving lunch at 2pm. Seems odd on a saturday when, we all agreed, it was often 10:30 before one had breakfast.

The Nosebag Cafe, however, which is just a couple of doors down, serves food all day. It was my third visit, and I like it. It's an unassuming little place where two very friendly women seem to do the cooking, serving and clearing. The food is always good, with a basic but well-cooked menu, and several specials.
Caitlin and Derek had Pork Cassoulet, which they said was delicious, served in a bowl with a choice from a big basket of fresh rolls; Eve & I had a courgette, walnut and cheese savoury crumble; great to see imaginative veggie options on offer. With drinks, the total bill for 4 of us came to less than £30.00.
I'd love to give a link to their website - but I don't think they have one, which kind of endears them to me even more.
The Nosebag Cafe, Fore Street Porthleven Cornwall TR13 9HJ

Cafe Shots 2013 Resolution

In theory, the 2013 season has started. Yesterday's glorious blue skies and warm air lifted our spirits and sent everybody out into the highways and byways. Today the biting wind and grey skies have tumbled us back into winter again. Nevertheless - the season has started and that means Cornwall's cafes are all open for business once again.
My friends and I love a cafe. We often meet for a walk and lunch, and a good cafe is an important part of the decision-making process when we're deciding where to meet, and where to walk.
We have our favourites: Johnny's Cafe Hayle, the Porthmeor Beach cafe in St. Ives, the Gylly Beach Cafe in Falmouth, Seadrift in Porthleven, the Blue Bar in Porthtowan; but these are all well-known and well-supported.
The aim of this blog is to talk about some of the less well-known cafes that serve delicious lunches at reasonable prices; good coffee and yummy home-made cakes; specials that change from day to day - all served with characteristic Cornish friendliness.
So this season, I'm determined to post at last once a week - which of course means I have to visit a new cafe at least once a week. It's tough, but I think I'm up to the challenge.
I welcome comments and suggestions, and look forward to eating a lot of cake!