We are keen to get first hand experience of as many of the local attractions as possible, so we treated ourselves to the Helston Town Trail on Saturday evening. Fascinating! There is so much more to Helston than the justifiably famous Floral or Furry Dance.

The itinerary takes in the Blue Anchor, reputedly the oldest brewery in Cornwall and possibly in the country. Their 'Spingo' ales, which have been brewed here continuously for over 800 years, were a must for any dedicated tourist guide to have first hand experience of. Liz 'tested' the Jubilee Ale at a modest 4.5%, whilst I sacrificed myself on Medium at 5%.

There were two further offerings, Braggett at 6% and the so-called Special at an advertised "mind-blowing" 6.5%. We've heard it said that anyone that can drink two pints of Special gets free beer all-night. (We haven't had this confirmed by the Landlord!).

Talking of Landlords, the 'Blue' doesn't seem to be a safe place to be as landlord. The highly informative Town Walk leaflet records that several of the previous incumbents have met unpleasant ends on the premises.

Needless to say, the remainder of the Trail, past Henry Trengrouse's tomb (more of him another day), Bob Fitzsimmons' birthplace (and him) and many other sights, was a very relaxed affair.

Ian and Liz have become proud parents....of a family of newts. We found our family in a shallow granite basin which was overgrown with
weed and dead leaf matter. The granite basin was apparently used by one of the previous owners of Tregathenan to wash his face in every
morning!

Great crested newts are a protected species in the UK. Our family show no signs of crests, so we must assume they are common newts. They
mostly live on land and typically only go into the water to spawn. The youngsters are quite difficult to see, but the grown-ups seem to come
out more after dark.

It was great to see our old friends Jane and Micheal and the boys yesterday. We went over to St Mawes and walked the dog on Pendower
Beach, where Jane spotted a 7-legged jellyfish (?!) which had been stranded on the beach by the outgoing tide.

We don't rival Heligan or Trevarno yet, but given time !

Pretty spectacular, don't you think?

Lee was coerced into bringing his chain saw and we “did a job” on a sycamore tree in the back garden ready for the vegetable garden.

The sky is full of Hawks at the moment. No, not the feathered kind, the trainer kind, as RNAS Culdrose gets in some practice for it’s annual Air Day next Wednesday.