St Ives

Sea at St Ives

Cornwall is a holiday destination I have never previously considered. I suppose this was due to other people’s preferences rather than my own. My family always holidayed in Wales or very rainy Scotland. Although they both have their plus points, my body can’t bear the freezing chill. Cornwall however appears to have its own rules when it comes to the weather. In November Mr Ball and I decided on St Ives for a very short honeymoon (weekend) immediately after the wedding. In fact during the wedding itself we told some of the guests where we were going and they regaled us with anecdotes of their happy holidays.

It being November, we didn’t really have any expectations weather wise and ended up pleasantly surprised when we were able to take our coats off as we watched the surfers traversing the waves.

This June (whilst most of the UK were enduring torrents of rain and flooding). The Balls (six of us) headed to Cornwall and beaming hot sunshine.

St Ives was my favourite part of the holiday because for me, it ticks all the boxes.

Shopping

Everyone needs a holiday treat and for me it’s usually a new dress or some shoes. St Ives is teaming with boutiques offering a wide variety of reasonably priced garments. I enjoy going home with something that no one else I know is likely to have.

Food

I am rather fond of Cornish Pasties! Always have been and probably always will be. As these aren’t particularly good for me, I now limit myself to only having them on holiday in Cornwall. As this is where they originate. Although numerous varieties are available, I tend to stick to the traditional flavour.

I have previously commented that I am in awe of Italian Ice Cream. I think I may have found a contender! Willy Waller’s Ice Cream in St Ives is an innovative shop that tempts you with its naughty variety of flavours. Personally I enjoyed Orange and Mascarpone, Rhubarb and Custard but my all time favourite had to be Lemon Meringue which actually tasted as though it was a slice of pie squeezed through and ice cream machine! 

Culture

View from shop window in St Ives

The Tate Gallery with a gorgeous view of the sea (as with many shops) is a definite must for art lovers. Mr Ball and I had been looking forward to this part of our holiday immensely. I was hoping to find some inspirational postcards to add to the walls of my writing room. Mr Ball was also hoping to find something with a splash of colour. The Tate Gallery in Cornwall is slightly different to the one in London in that it doesn’t have a permanent collection. Instead it hosts exhibitions for visiting artists and we were privileged to view the Alex Katz collection. A stunning series of brightly coloured paintings from the 1930’s onwards. As well as his own paintings, Katz had selected some from the Tate’s archives and these also went on show.  As a person, I need a lot of colour in my life (in fact my nails are bright purple at the moment as I type this!) and I’m hoping to find some Katz posters to display in our house. Unfortunately we were disappointed when we went to the gift shop because they had sold out of the Katz postcards but when we went back the next day they had some more which was lucky!

Bargains/Hidden shops

St Ives is a great place to get a Bargain and I recommend spending some time exploring the side streets and finding the hidden shops. We particularly enjoyed the vintage furniture shops (remarkable prices – if only we had a van to take it home in) and those selling antiques and second hand trinkets. St Ives also has good charity shops which is a must for the thrifty shopper!

It is a shame that it has taken me 26 years to find this place, but I am sure that it is going to be instrumental in my life for many years to come.

View from holiday home in Porthtowan

Me Before You – Jo Jo Moyes

Me Before You is the inspirational story of Lou who is thrown in at the deep end when she loses her safety net cafe job and is the only one able to support her family. She accepts a job as a carer even though she has no experience and immediately realises it isn’t for her when dealing with the irascible Will Traynor and his overbearing mother. The book explores what happens when you are trying to encourage someone to live their life to the full and it emerges you aren’t following your own advice. Me Before You is a tearjerker so beware.