Day 18 - Penzance again

Beer drunk: none, Distance walked: some, Time taken: all day

Spent the day puttering around Penzance taking in all the Mazey Day festivities.  Didn't get to see the three legged pirate race or the pasty and spoon race.  I think they are on tomorrow.  I did see a lot of pirates.  Mostly women with fake moustaches for some reason.  Saw several parades and listened to a few bands.  The best event was a parade of people dressed in togas, complete with imperial purple stripes, with wreaths in their hair, who were banging on drums and blowing whistles.  In front of them two women in flimsy white outfits samba-ed their way down the street.  I have absolutely no idea what it was all about (I suspect no-one did) but they clearly were having the time of their life.

I ended up buying an unintended (and rather impractical) souvenir.  As part of my wanderings I went into a local art gallery (prints, paintings, china, jewellery and the like).  There were a man and woman running the shop.  When the woman asked if she could help me, I replied I liked many of the things but had no way of getting them home safely.  This being my way of politely saying "I'm just browsing.  Don't expect me to buy anything."  To illustrate my point I waved at a framed print and said I loved it but it would be impossible to take home.  It turns out the man (the woman's husband) was the artist.  They immediately said they could sell me an unframed version of the print and rushed around looking for one.  The man ended up disappearing out the back and returning after a few minutes with a copy.  It was an artist's proof that he'd done that morning that he had hastily trimmed and signed.  He showed it to me, apologising for it not being the best quality as it wasn't meant to be for sale but they didn't have any other unframed versions at the moment.  He went on to say that if I didn't want to buy it he would of course understand.  They all looked so longingly and piteously at me (even their pet whippet got in on the act) so I naturally had to buy it.  I do love it though.  It is of a wet, bedraggled and thoroughly grumpy crow.  I know just how it feels.

I also bought a 2nd impractical souvenir.  At least this one is easy to transport.  It is the wool and the pattern for knitting a tea cosy in the shape of a sheep using wool from organically raised sheep which have been organically sheared and spun (how would you do it inorganically?).  I don't even own a teapot, let alone drink tea.  I don't know what came over me today.

I almost forgot to say we had some excitement in the early hours of this morning.  The fire alarm went off at 6:20am.  Luckily it turned out to be a false alarm but those things are loud and very alarming.  It was not pleasant being jolted out of a deep sleep straight into a fright.  We all popped out of our rooms trying to find out what was going on.  The male owner showed up, resplendent in a set of stripped pyjamas, looking for the source.  Turned out it was dust from someone's hair dryer though why anyone would have been blowdrying their hair at that hour was not explained.

Just after writing this the fire alarm went off again.  Again it was the same woman blowdrying her hair. I now know who she is and what room she is in. If she sets the thing off again tomorrow morning I will not be held accountable for my actions.

I searched all the second-hand bookshops and book stalls and all the op shops for any Clare Mallory books.  I thought I might be in with a chance given the Cornish connection (I've also come across a rather run down B&B called Dunedin) but had no luck.  According to Google, you can buy 2nd hand copies for only $50 (plus postage) of each of the books, up to $150 if you want one in mint condition.  Looks like there is an obvious market for reprints by whoever holds the copyright.  A bit more Googling shows that it isn't clear who does which might explain the lack of a new edition.


Didn't have a "lunch" to speak of.  Just grazed on various things from various stalls throughout the day.  I wasn't sure what to do for dinner.  I didn't expect any of the more upmarket places would be keen on a table for one on such a busy day.  All the pubs are full of 20-somethings drinking and have been so since they opened this morning.   I thought I might have to go early and try to find something cheap-and-cheerful that turns over their tables quickly so a solo diner won't be such a pariah.


In the end I went to quite a pleasant place called Sofia's just around the corner from the B&B.  I had looked at it before but the menu was a bit too "fishy" for my tastes.  However, it had started to rain and the place was deserted as it is a bit off the beaten track.  For the first 1/2 an hour I was the only person there so they were happy to serve me.   The next set of people to come in were a group of 4 60-something men.  Two couples I think.  They were camp as a row of tents and I had a very pleasant time eavesdropping on their conversation.

For food I started with a smoked mackerel pate followed by hake in a saffron sauce on a bed of mashed potatoes served with steamed carrots, peas (what is it with the English and peas?), zucchini and broccoli.  All very tasty except for the mashed potatoes.  They'd obviously been boiled earlier and stored in the fridge and had that slightly funky taste refridgerated potatoes get.  Would have been improved with more butter and cream in the mash.  Dessert was strawberries and (clotted) cream.  To drink I had a glass of Australian shiraz, again from a winery I'd never heard of.  Why do we export only crappy wine?  I mean you could drink it but it was only plonk.