St Ives Local, February / March 2019

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FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019 | ISSUE 23

INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

St Ives in Stitches Jack Stein’s recipe Plastic Free St Ives

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Welcome... e’re excited to bring you the second issue of St Ives Local magazine under our editorship. It’s been a fun two months putting this issue together, familiarising ourselves with contributors and advertisers, and getting out and meeting some fabulous St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant people, while dropping off extra copies of the magazine.

In this issue, we’re delighted to feature the important work of the Plastic Free St Ives campaign, and salute the talents of the St Ives in Stitches team, whose amazing tapestry of Wharf Road is now on show at the library. And we hope you’ll be inspired to try the recipe for Proper Job Mussels supplied by top chef Jack Stein.

As ever, we also have a mix of other interesting articles, on beer, gardening, books and much more, as well as our puzzle page and What’s On guide, plus advertisements from trusted local businesses. Please tell our advertisers where you saw them when contacting them, and help us to make St Ives Local bigger and better.

We have a new website – stiveslocal.uk – which has additional content and information to the magazine, and which will be updated regularly. There’s a new email address, too – hello@stiveslocal.uk.

If you’re a community organisation, why not drop us a few words about what your group gets up to?

We might expand it into an editorial feature in our next issue. We’re already starting to work on the April and May issue – and looking forward to some fine spring weather!

Liz and Darren Norbury Editors Contact us on: 07444 199081 hello@stiveslocal.uk Visit our website at www.stiveslocal.uk

Advertise with us: Some 8,000 magazines printed and distributed every two months, to homes and businesses in St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant, by Royal Mail. St Ives Local is the best way to ensure your advert is seen by local people who need your services. For more information, call 07444 199081 or email hello@stiveslocal.uk While we aim to provide a quality publication for local reference, we cannot be held responsible for the services or reputation of any of the advertisers or for any content or advertisements or editorial herein. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the publishers. The magazines are produced on paper sourced from FSC approved paper mills and printed using vegetable-based inks. They are happy to be recycled, but please pass to a friend first!

St. Ives Local: supporting local businesses in your community 2

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St Ives in Stitches: A moment in time captured by crafters Currently on show in St Ives Library is a tapestry which depicts every building in Wharf Road. This amazing work is not just a testament to the talents of members of the St Ives in Stitches group, but also reflects their love for their town.

St Ives in Stitches is a community project set up in 2017 by textile artist Jo McIntosh, who has several years’ experience of running workshops in weaving, fabric dyeing, felt-making and other crafts.

Twenty keen crafters came to the first meeting of the group at the Salvation Army hall to hear Jo outline her vision for a hand-stitched collage of all the buildings from the lifeboat house to Smeaton’s Pier. “I was so thrilled with the reaction I got.

People didn’t think it was a mad idea, and really wanted to take part.”

Jo invited everyone to take a photo of the building they wanted to make and gave them each a 10-inch square of calico. “I said: ‘You can represent the building however you see it, in whatever medium.’

Some chose a building that had a family connection; others chose one just because they liked it. We met once a month, so people could bring in squares they had finished, collect more materials, and start a new one. There was no cherry-picking – every piece handed in was used.”

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The squares were then hand-stitched together, which was a challenge in itself: when laid out in the library, each of the two sections – from the lifeboat house to the bottom of Fore Street, and from Moomaid of Zennor to Smeaton’s Pier – turned out to be around 20ft long.

The finished work was first exhibited last year at the Salvation Army hall where it was created.

“We put it out on tables, so people could literally walk along it,” says Jo. “It was interesting to hear visitors saying: ‘That’s the place where we stay’ or ‘That’s the shop I like’. Some of the buildings have already changed, so this project has been a way of capturing a moment in time.

“I regard it as a real community project. I had the idea, but everyone involved was very hands-on, and the end product was brilliant. It was also about bringing people from different generations and backgrounds together, improving their health and wellbeing and reducing isolation.”

So far, St Ives in Stitches has been entirely self-funding, but Jo is hoping to use this evidence of its beneficial effects to apply for grant aid. And Cornwall councillor Andrew Mitchell has allocated money from his community grant fund for the cost of hiring the hall.

Work starts again at the beginning of February.

This time, the talented team are keen to try and create Fore Street in stitches!

The St Ives in Stitches tapestry can be seen in the Greta Williams Room at St Ives Library until the end of February.

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Plastic Free St Ives: A campaign for the whole community The crisis of plastic in our environment has been highly publicised for several years now. We’re more aware of the issue in Cornwall, where residents, businesses and organisations are at the forefront of highlighting and finding solutions to this problem.

The Plastic Free St Ives campaign was set up in early 2018. It is part of the wider Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) Plastic-Free Communities initiative, and is an accreditation scheme whereby we hope to earn St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant ‘Plastic Free’ status, by minimising our plastic footprint.

Getting this status is not about eradicating all plastic from our lives: it is the avoidable and single-use plastic items (eg straws, bags, sauce sachets etc.) that the campaign aims to reduce and ideally eliminate.

To gain Plastic-Free status we have to meet five objectives: 1. Organise a Plastic Free St Ives steering group • We have a steering group committee consisting of local business operators 2. Gain the support of local business • To date, more than 30 local businesses, including St Ives BID, have joined our campaign. To support our campaign a business has to eliminate at least three avoidable, single-use plastics.

3. Gain the support of local community organisations and groups

5. Gain the official support of the local town council • St Ives Town Council is supporting the campaign, with a local councillor having joined our steering committee.

To date we have met three of the five objectives, and hope to meet the others and gain accreditation this summer.

We want this to be a community campaign, involving as many people as possible, and for St Ives to become a leader in sustainable tourism.

Everyone who takes part in this campaign should get the recognition they deserve, from the resident who picked up a plastic bottle on the way to work, to the business which eradicated all plastic from its operations.

We will be reporting regularly in St Ives Local magazine, giving updates on our progress. If you would like to find out more about our campaign, have a business, or are part of a local organisation that would like to support the campaign, then please contact us via our Facebook page facebook.com/plasticfreestives

4. Organise local events • You may have already seen us at our campaign stand at local events, plus we’ll be organising regular beach cleans over the next year.

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Sloop Studios: Preparing to celebrate 50th anniversary Sloop Studios’ artisans are very excited as a special anniversary approaches. June 2019 will mark the Craft Market’s 50th anniversary.

Back in 1969, Leonard Williams had the visionary idea of creating a covered market in which craftspeople could rent stalls and sell their hand-made products.

Traditional, local materials were used to transform the pilchard packing cellars, net lofts and blacksmith shops into a unique courtyard, with new workshops and selling areas. Fifty years on, Sloop Studios are as proud as ever to still showcase a range of beautiful, high-quality goods made by the artists and creatives themselves.

They are planning a special way to celebrate the anniversary and would love to include past and present memorabilia, if possible.

So here’s a callout to to St Ives locals who may have treasure they’d like to temporarily contribute, such as photos (copies), memories, stories and/or artifacts. Call 01736 796051, or visit sloopstudios.com Sloop Studios form a unique and historic artist quarter in the heart of St Ives. Independent, boutique workshops offer a range of art, crafts and locally made, high-quality gifts. They are open to the public to buy original work direct from the maker seven days a week.

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Recipe Jack Stein’s Proper Job mussels with cabbage and bacon Celebrity chef Jack Stein has teamed up with St Austell Brewery to create dishes using its famous Proper Job IPA. Jack, who released his debut cook book, World on a Plate, last year, has developed a collection of recipes and food pairings to complement the beer’s bold and hoppy flavour profile.

Jack says: “Having grown up in Cornwall it’s really exciting to be working with one of the most successful and well-known Cornish brewers in the country — especially one that shares my passion for sourcing its ingredients locally, wherever possible.

“Proper Job is a real treat of an IPA and perfect for foodies as it’s big, bold and powerfully hopped. It’s a proper match for those looking for a beer to pair with a flavourful dish or incorporate into their cooking.”

Of this month’s recipe, he says: “We came up with this dish for our annual beer and mussel festival at the Cornish Arms, in St Merryn. The

Ingredients 1.8kg washed mussels For the base 1 diced shallot 1 clove chopped garlic 600ml chicken stock

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proper job works perfectly with the sweetness of the mussels and the savouriness of the bacon.

It is on every year, and I am very proud to use such a great ale in it.”

Method For the base, add the shallot, garlic and chicken stock into a pan and reduce by half, then add the beer and reduce on a gentle simmer for a further ten minutes; reserve.

Slowly cook the cabbage and bacon in a large pan in butter until soft, then increase the heat and add the mussels. Pour in the base, cover the pan and steam the mussels for four to five minutes until open.

Garnish with the chives and parsley and serve.

100ml Proper Job 300g very thinly sliced savoy cabbage 100g Slice cooked streaky bacon 100g chopped butter 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons chopped chives

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Whats Brewing Sharp’s Doom Bar. Instantly, with those three words, I may have alienated a degree of readership. It’s a beer as much, seemingly, loathed as adored, and disliked perhaps not on grounds of taste but just ubiquity. Walk into any bar around the UK and you stand a good chance of finding it.

Dull? Forgettable? Well surely, if it was, it wouldn’t be the best selling cask ale in the UK. What’s not in dispute is that Doom is a well-made beer, as are all Sharp’s brews. But much as I enjoy a good well-kept example, I’d rather be seated in the bar of St Ives’ Castle Inn, on Fore Street, with a pint of Sea Fury or Sharp’s Own. Sea Fury is a relatively new name for the 5% ABV brew, better known in the past as Sharp’s Special (and still served in some Falmouth pubs under that name).

Deep amber/red, this really hits the spot as a best bitter or special ale. Bready malt, with some light caramel notes, is married with spicy hops, offering

warming dried fruit, too. There’s a gentle, bittersweet finish.

I can’t think of a better spot than the Castle to drink it. The woodpanelled, lively, yet comfortable pub, seems well suited to this traditional style beer. Get engaged in a conversation at the bar, or take one of the newspapers on offer into a quiet corner.

Perhaps, once a week, bring friends and take part in Liz’s regular quizzes (search for St Ives Liz’s Quizzes on Facebook for details). Remember, we need to use our pubs outside of the tourist season to make sure they stay part of our communities.

Darren Norbury writes about beer weekly in the Western Morning News, monthly in Cornwall Today magazine, and daily at beertoday.co.uk

Porthminster Beach, St Ives, TR26 2EA

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Shoji Hamada exhibition: A celebration of a great potter Shoji Hamada: 40 Years On, is a significant touring exhibition which continues at The Leach Pottery, St Ives, until 24th February.

The show marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Hamada, generally regarded as one of the greatest potters of the 20th century, and one of the figures who initiated Britain’s modern studio pottery movement.

Bernard Leach himself said, in 1974: “Of all the men I have known, nobody has achieved such a balance between the faculties of heart, head and hand as Hamada.”

Comprising 40 pots, from superb resist and brush decorated bottles, and generously glazed jugs, to Hamada’s incomparable tea

bowls, yunomi and crisply cut boxes, this show is a retrospective of his best work from the early 1920s to the 1970s. The pots are drawn from important private collections, including a tea bowl that was in the possession of Leach.

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k: Image courtesy Shoji Hamada att wor eral of Japan Gen

the Consulate

The exhibition has travelled to St Ives after showing at Oxford Ceramics Gallery, and it is a fitting tribute for Hamada’s pots to show at the Leach Pottery — the place established by Hamada and Leach in 1920, almost 100 years ago.

Libby Buckley, Leach Pottery director, said: “Having just returned from Japan, where I got to sit and drink tea in Hamada’s historic house, this exhibition is a timely marker of nearly a century of shared friendships and deep-reaching pottery roots. Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach were pioneers who established the Leach Pottery yet remain influential today.

“Shoji Hamada’s pots still carry great presence and garner respect — it is amazing that we have this opportunity to view and handle such a unique collection. There is even one bowl returning home that was made here at the Leach Pottery in the early 1920s.”

Shoji Hamada: 40 Years On is running in the Leach Pottery entrance gallery. All works are for sale, and are priced from £950 to £6,500.

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Out and About

What’s On February / March EXHIBITIONS Shoji Hamada: 40 Years On at The Leach Pottery, until 24th February A touring exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Hamada, generally regarded as one of the greatest potters of the 20th century — one of the figures who initiated Britain’s modern studio pottery movement.

The Leach Pottery, Higher Stennack, St Ives TR26 2HE

Iyengar Yoga A drop-in class, upstairs at St Ives Library, from 9.15am until 10.45am, suitable for all. Mats and equipment can be loaned. Bring a blanket and wear stretchy clothing. £8 (£7 concessions).

SUNDAYS

TUESDAYS

Towednack Parish Church Services every Sunday at 10.15am. Special Mothering Sunday service on 31st March. Find out more at www.towednackchurch.org.uk or facebook.com/TowednackParishChurch

Phoenix Singers St Ives Arts Club, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

A friendly and lively group singing mainly pop, rock and ballads. New members — especially tenors and basses — welcome.

If you would like to join or book Phoenix for an event, call 01736 797708. More details at www.phoenixstives.co.uk

MONDAYS Carbis Bay Contract Bridge Club Carbis Bay Memorial Hall, 7 Trencrom Lane, Carbis Bay, 2pm to 5pm. Come and play bridge with a friendly local group. Beginners welcome. £2 per session (includes tea and biscuits). For more information call Graham on 01736 761512. carbisbaybridge.co.uk

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St Ives Community Choir Rehearsals from 6.30pm until 8.30pm at Carbis Bay Methodist Church. The choir sing in four-part harmony and new members are always welcome. No auditions are required. For more information, e-mail sichoir@btinternet.com or visit stivescommunitychoir.org.uk

Carbis Bay Country Dance Club At the Memorial Hall, Carbis Bay, on the second Monday of the month, 7.30pm. Visitors welcome. £2.50 (includes refreshments). For more details, e-mail carbisbaydanceclub@gmail.com

WEDNESDAYS

St Ives Camera Club The club meets every Monday, from the beginning of September until the end of April, at St Anta Church Hall, Carbis Bay. Meetings begin at 7.30pm, New members welcome.

Iyengar Yoga A drop-in class, upstairs at St Ives Library, from 9.15am until 10.45am, suitable for all. Mats and equipment can be loaned. Bring a blanket and wear stretchy clothing. £8 (£7 concessions).

Knitting Group At Café Art, St Ives, 3.30pm to 5pm.

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Out and About

THURSDAYS St Ives and Carbis Bay Memory Café Meeting every first and third Thursday of the month, at 2pm, at the Memorial Hall, 7 Trecrom Lane, Carbis Bay TR26 9TA. For more information, please call 07851 111496.

Carbis Bay Country Dance Club At the Memorial Hall, Carbis Bay, on the fourth Thursday of the month, 2pm. Visitors welcome. £2.50 (includes refreshments). For more details, e-mail carbisbaydanceclub@gmail.com

Drawing Group At Café Art, St Ives, 3.30pm to 5pm.

February St Ives Old Cornwall Society Monday, 11th February, 7pm The Wheal Ayr Legacy, with Brian Stevens, at St Ives Infants School, The Burrows.

St Ives U3A Tuesday, 5th February, 2pm A talk on orchids, by Kit Lindsay, at The Island Centre, followed by tea or coffee and biscuits.

St Ives Film and Documentary Society Tuesday, 12th February, 8pm (doors open 7pm) The Mis-Education of Cameron Post. Join us on beanbags, deckchairs and sofas to watch great independent films. Second Tuesday of every month at Cohort Hostel — no advance booking necessary. £6 non-members (includes membership), £3 members. E-mail hello@stayatcohort.co.uk with queries or to join the mailing list.

St Ives U3A Tuesday, 19th February, 2pm A talk on Godolphin Through the Ages, by Ann Clegg, at The Island Centre, followed by tea or coffee and biscuits St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 19th February, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. Julian Siegel Quartet.

Tickets £5 to £13.

St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 26th February, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. Duncan Eagles Quartet.

Tickets £5 to £13.

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Out and About

March St Ives U3A Tuesday, 5th March, 2pm A talk on Cornwall Blook Bikes at The Island Centre, followed by tea or coffee and biscuits.

St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 5th March, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. John Turville Quintet.

Tickets £5 to £13.

St Ives Town Council — Free for All Saturday, 23rd March, 10am An opportunity to clear out any unwanted items and enable others to help themselves and make use of them. Electrical items cannot be accepted, and for larger items please bring down a photograph and contact details. Bring down items from 4pm to 6pm on the previous afternoon (Friday) and from 9am on the Saturday morning.

Note — on the day queues may form early.

St Ives Film and Documentary Society Tuesday, 12th March, 8pm (doors open 7pm) Film to be confirmed. Join us on beanbags, deckchairs and sofas to watch great independent films. Second Tuesday of every month at Cohort Hostel — no advance booking necessary. £6 non-members (includes membership), £3 members. E-mail hello@stayatcohort.co.uk with queries or to join the mailing list.

St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 12th March, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. Joe Hill’s North Ark. Tickets £5 to £13.

St Ives Old Cornwall Society Monday, 18th March, 7pm Proper Job, musical entertainment, at St Ives Infants School, The Burrows, 7pm.

St Ives U3A Tuesday, 19th March, 2pm A talk on Weather, The Navy and the BBC, by Kevin Thomas, at The Island Centre, followed by tea or coffee and biscuits.

St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 19th March, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. Wendy Kirkland. Tickets £5 to £13.

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St Ives Jazz Club Tuesday, 26th March, 7.30pm for 8.30pm At the Western Hotel. Sam Massey Ensemble.

Tickets £5 to £13.

Please email What’s On entries for April and May to hello@stiveslocal.uk by 15th February. Attach a photo relevant to your activity or event if you wish.

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Bags of Help for community groups Shoppers visiting Tesco in Carbis Bay have until 28th February to cast their votes for one of three St Ives and Carbis Bay community organisations competing for cash from the supermarket’s Bags of Help programme.

Under the scheme, funding of up to £4,000 is awarded to projects which bring benefits to their local area. A grand total of 45 groups from St Ives and the surrounding district have received grants since Bags of Help was launched in 2016.

The three organisations nominated by local residents to take part in the latest round of awards are St Ives School, St Ives Bowling Club and the Carbis Bay Coffee & Lunch Club.

The school is seeking funding for its Get Active St Ives School – Support for Sport! project. Its aim is to help the young people of St Ives enjoy all the benefits that school can bring. If awarded a Bags of Help grant, the school would buy new equipment for a range of sports that could be used in both lessons and clubs.

one and all”. The plan is to purchase new wooden benches and seats for use around the bowling green plus a sailcloth awning for players, supporters and visitors.

The coffee and lunch club aims to promote social networks in the local community to reduce loneliness and isolation. With a Bags of Help grant, it would be able to create a network of people who could call on each other in times of need.

Bags of Help is funded from the sale of Tesco’s Bags for Life, and grants are distributed by community charity Groundwork UK. Customers wishing to vote for one of the three local projects can collect a green disc at the Carbis Bay store, and drop it in the relevant slot at an information board and voting unit close to the supermarket entrance. The winning project will receive up to £4,000, the runner-up £2,000 and the third-placed scheme up to £1,000.

The bowling club is applying for money to for an outdoor seating and viewing area “to welcome

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Home and Garden

Garden Stories: Season of snow and sunshine There was a time, not many years ago, when it seemed that Cornish winters had become almost Mediterranean in their mildness, and gardeners were able to leave subtropical plants outside all year round, confident that they would come to no harm.

Then in 2009, Mother Nature reminded us that we’re not immune from freezing conditions after all. In some parts of the county, the temperature plunged to minus 7C in January, and gardeners faced the almost forgotten task of clearing snow from squashed shrubs. Many exotics like aeoniums, echiums and proteas failed to survive the frost. Some of the giant magnolias in grand Cornish gardens like Trewithen and Caerhays, renowned for early January flowering, failed to wake from their slumber until February, or even March.

Last year, a long, wet winter culminated in storms and snowfall.

Eucalyptus trees were battered by strong winds, the lush green fronds of tree ferns turned brown, and agapanthus foliage collapsed in a mushy mess. The air stayed bitterly cold even after the spring equinox on 20th March. Snowy patches decorated hedgerows at a time when they are normally adorned by snowy-white blackthorn blooms, and when the flowers eventually appeared, they were soon obscured by an abundance of fresh green leaves. Spring came late and rushed to make up for lost time.

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We now recognise that tender and borderline hardy plants need a little help if they are to survive a harsh winter, perhaps by covering them with fleece. Plants in pots can be moved to a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or garden shed, or at least to the base of a south-facing wall. But after a winter like last year’s, there is always a risk of casualties. When you first venture out into the garden, and face a scene of devastation, it’s very tempting to cut back and tidy up. However, it’s always best to wait and see whether your plants show signs of recovery. The good news is that many of them will. Plenty of sad and seemingly defeated agapanthus specimens survived to stage a spectacular show at the height of last summer’s heatwave.

Not every winter is like 2018, of course.

Sometimes, spring comes early, and the February and March days are mild and bright, with the sun shining for several hours a day on fields of daffodils and woodland glades full of primroses. Cornwall’s Spring Story is a marketing initiative which declares that spring has sprung when six of Cornwall’s great gardens each have at least 50 flowers on their champion Magnolia campbellii trees. In 2016, the start of the Cornish spring was announced on 10th February.

Will the spring of 2019 be early or late? And what will it mean for our gardens? We’re about to find out.

Liz Norbury has been writing about Cornish gardens for more than 10 years in Cornwall Today magazine and now also at www.cornishgardenstories.co.uk

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Contact the Elderly: Time for a nice cup of tea Supported by a network of volunteers, Contact the Elderly organises monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups of older people, aged 75 and over, who live alone, offering a regular and vital friendship link.

The organisation is trying to create a tea party group in the St Ives area and needs a few more volunteers to help elderly isolated people in the community – a little time really can make a lasting difference.

Volunteer roles available are: Driver: once a month, on a Sunday afternoon.

Tea parties last two hours, plus travel time. The volunteer will need to be DBS checked, which the organisation can arrange.

Reserve driver: a few times a year on a Sunday afternoon. Again, will need to be DBS checked.

Host: once or twice a year, welcoming the group to your home for afternoon tea.

Downstairs toilet and no more than three steps access required.

There are usually eight older guests in a group, and Contact the Elderly is currently reaching out to find those older people who would benefit from the free monthly tea parties.

Do you know someone who is 75-plus, perhaps finds it more difficult to get out and about, and who would like something special to look forward to on a Sunday?

For more details, contact support officer Fiona Franklin on 01934 316578 or e-mail fiona.franklin@contact-the-elderly.org.uk

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Book Review

By Alice Harandon: manager of St. Ives Bookseller The Familiars – Stacey Bartlett Zaffre Publishing £12.99 Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter from her doctor she isn’t supposed to read f, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.

Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife who promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the north-west, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. Based around the notorious Pendle witch trials this is page-turning debut!

The Glovemaker – Ann Weisgarber Pan Macmillan £16.99 In the inhospitable lands of 19th century Utah Territory, glovemaker Deborah Tyler awaits her husband’s return home after months working across the state. But as his due date comes and goes without a word, Deborah starts to fear the worst. Facing a future alone, matters are only compounded when a desperate stranger

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arrives on her doorstep. And with him, trouble….A wonderfully written historical fiction novel which explores the conflict between ethics and logic.

The Case of the Missing Treasure – Robin Stevens Puffin £2.99 A brilliant and gripping mini-mystery from the bestselling author of A Murder Most Unladylike.

A daring thief has been robbing London’s most famous museums. When Daisy’s birthday treasure hunt leads them into the path of the culprit, Daisy and Hazel realise where they’ll strike next - the British Museum! With help from their friends (and rivals) the Junior Pinkertons, the girls must crack codes, unravel clues and race against time to solve the mystery.

Circle – Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett Orion £16.99 From the dynamic, dream team here comes the final instalment in the hilarious shape trilogy.

Triangle and Square are visiting Circle, who lives at the waterfall. When they play hide-and-seek, Circle tells the friends the one rule: not to go behind the falling water.

But after she closes her eyes to count to ten, of course that’s exactly where Triangle goes. Will Circle find Triangle? And what OTHER shapes might be lurking back there?

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St. Ives Jazz Club Big names continue to be attracted to St Ives Jazz Club, the self-styled “last jazz club before New York”. Organisers have a strong line-up for the next two months, with doors opening at the Western Hotel at 7.30pm on Tuesday evenings, and music getting under way at 8.30pm.

On 19th February, the Julian Siegel Quartet are in town, led by an award-winning saxophonist and composer. “When this quartet performs live, it’s a fantastic ride,” says Radio 3’s Jez Nelson.

Another highlight looks like being Wendy Kirkland’s tribute to piano divas, on March 19.

Celebrating the sound of the self-accompanied female voice, expects to hear tunes made famous by the likes of Shirley Horn, Diana Krall, Elaine Elias, Blossom Dearie and Nina Simone.

Saxophonist Duncan Eagles, meanwhile, is described by JazzWise as “one of the most

exciting players emerging on the UK jazz scene”.

Also coming up over the next few weeks are: pianist John Turville with his quartet, featuring Julian Arguelles (5th March); original compositions and arrangements from Joe Hills North Ark (12th March); and trumpeter Sam Massey’s Ensemble (26th March), focusing on clever re-arrangements of well-known standards.

Tickets range from £5 to £13. Further details can be found at stivesjazzclub.com

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Out and About

St. Ives Archive: Our wonderful railway The train ride from St Erth to St Ives must surely be one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the country. This spectacular branch line dates from the 1870s, and was one of the last broad gauge (7ft or 2,134mm) passenger railway routes in Britain.

Construction of the line started in May 1874. The work was difficult and hazardous, with several accidents occurring, ranging from bad bruising to broken limbs, but there are no records of any deaths in the paperwork we have here at the Archive. It would appear that the most difficult part was blasting through the exceptionally hard rock at Hawke’s Point and Carrack Gladden; the debris from this blasting was used to build up the embankment across the Towans at Lelant.

After the completion of the viaduct at Carbis Valley, a terrace of picturesque cottages in Primrose Valley had to be demolished in order to erect the Porthminster viaduct. A substantial wall had to be built on the seaward side of the railway lines, curving up toward the Malakoff and The Terrace.

This wall is still there, and looking as sturdy as ever.

The line was finally opened on 1st June 1877, but by 1892 it had been converted to standard gauge (4ft 8½ins or 1,435mm).

As a result of the railway connection, the potential for St Ives to become a holiday resort was recognised by the Great Western Railway directors, who purchased Tregenna Castle Hotel from its owners, Bolitho Bank. For many years, passengers

for Tregenna were met at the station by a special bus to take them and their luggage to the castle.

Everyone else had to walk!

The railway line took young St Ives men off to war in 1914, and again in 1939, and many did not make the return journey. It also carried hundreds of evacuees to the safety of St Ives: many fell in love with the town, and would return to holiday here for years afterwards.

Swindon Week, or Trip Week, as it was sometimes known, started in the early 1900s, when the GWR works in Swindon closed for its annual holiday.

Trains full of employees and their families would come to St Ives year after year, as did other holidaymakers, often to stay with the same families for bed, breakfast and evening meal. Our photo shows passengers boarding the Cornish Riviera Express, circa 1948.

Luckily for St Ives, the branch line escaped the ‘Beeching Axe’. It was originally destined to be closed on 4th October 1965 but was spared after a spirited fight by the community. Unfortunately, it did suffer drastic economy measures, and ended up with just the single line track we see today.

Trip Week finally came to an end during the 1970s – but as we all know, the branch line still brings thousands of visitors to St Ives every summer.

Janet Harris

St Ives Archive’s Research Centre is based at Wesley Methodist Church, St Ives Road, Carbis Bay, St Ives, TR26 2SF. It is open on Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 2pm. For more information, phone 01736 796408, email admin@stivesarchive.org, or visit www.stivesarchive.org.

The Archive opened in 1996 and is staffed by volunteers. We are always looking for people to join our enthusiastic team – there are opportunities to learn new skills, carry out research, assist visitors and take part in fundraising events. We offer a valuable service for anyone wishing to obtain historic information about the town, free of charge. The Archive holds over 20,000 photographs and numerous documents covering fascinating subjects such as art, maritime heritage, tourism and traditional customs, and we also have extensive resources relating to the history of St Ives families. Why not come and visit us?

Registered charity number 1136882

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25

St Ives in Spring: So much to enjoy My two favourite seasons in Cornwall? Give me spring and autumn any day. Far from the madding crowds, yet with all the shops and amenities operational and even, if you’re lucky, beautiful blue skies and no need for a coat.

In another life I write about pubs, and what’s true for that industry is true for most which rely on public support. Our shops and traders — especially independent operators — need to be supported year round.

Fortunately, our modern world has provided Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday to help lift traders’ postChristmas lull, and on both of these occasions St Ives is a great place to start a gift hunt, whether for clothing, speciality food and drink, jewellery or flowers, for instance.

brands when there are local artisan chocolates to delight in?

Many of our art galleries remain open all year round, as does the cinema, so there’s always plenty to do, rather than stay in. And this time of year, we have the town almost to ourselves!

The artists, of course, loved St Ives — still do — for its quality of light, and in these days of high-quality camera phones it’s difficult to take a bad photo of such a picturesque area.

Spring light can be fantastic. How about taking a stroll along the coast path around to Lelant, or getting inland to the 40-acre Steeple Woodland Nature Reserve? And if we get some unseasonal snow, like we did last spring, and you find you do need a coat after all – not to mention gloves, hat and scarf – a bracing walk acts as a great tonic.

No shortage of options, either, when it comes to taking a partner or Mum for a meal out, or even a drink in one of the town’s bars.

Great venues, too, in Carbis Bay and Lelant, if the town centre is already starting to prove claustrophobic.

There should be good weather for Easter this year, with the festival at the latter end of the dates upon which it can fall — Sunday 21st April. There’ll be more about Easter in our next issue, but it’s never too early to start shopping, and why stock up with mass-market

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Let’s enjoy St Ives, Carbis Bay and Lelant during these quieter months. Perhaps I’ll see you out for a beer?

Darren Norbury

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Quick Crossword

Coffee Time Puzzles Across 7 Broad-brimmed straw hat (8) 8 Tiered shelves (4) 9 Forced high notes (8) 10 Helps (4) 11 Midday nap (6) 14 Polar top layer (3,3) 15 Chatter (3) 16 Third sign of the zodiac (6) 18 Flexible pipework (6) 20 Scheme (4) 21 Kind of soup (8) 24 Autocratic ruler (4) 25 Exceptionally tense (8) Down 1 Roster (4) 2 Mistreats (6) 3 Baby's bottle feature (4) 4 Driver (8) 5 Lubricant (6) 6 Polluted precipitation (4,4) 12 Put on a pedestal (8) 13 Excited (8) 17 Discount (6) 19 Explosions (6) 22 Secret look (4) 23 Way out (4)

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Local Directory Artists and designers Penn Cawardine 25 Builders’ merchants Ocean Supplies 32 Cleaning Clean Image 9 Funeral directors Saints Funerals 9 WJ Winn 29 Garden nurseries Hayle Plants 21 Health and Beauty Cornwall Chiropractic 5 MPS Fitness 27 Revitalise Dental Centre 10 & 11

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Interiors John Andrews Surface Rehab Leisure Country Skittles Pedn Olva Hotel Locksmiths MPB Locksmith Media West Cornwall Media Motor services St Ives Motor Co Pet services Animal Vets Doggy Day Care Love Your Paws

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Schools and nurseries Little Seahorses St Ives Infant School Nursery Shopping St Ives Bookseller St Ives Farmers’ Market Taxis A1 Cars Travel agents St Ives Travel Wedding venues St Ives Guildhall Wedding Wills and estate planning TP Wills and Probate Window fitting CTG Windows

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