North Cornwall

The well-known 'Harbour Light' shop by the river in Boscastle was completely destroyed in the floods in August 2004. When we went on a short break to Cornwall recently we were delighted to see how well it has been rebuilt. It is now a cafe, and 'Harbour Light' has moved to a shop on the other side of the river.

The Camel estuary near Rock.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Isaac and Lubin

Isaac, not to be outdone by Leila having snakes, has his own snake, which appears to have given birth to several spaghetti babies!

Wendy with Lubin

Leila
Leila has passed her exams and is now a qualified electrician! She passed on 13th September, which happened to be her 28th birthday. Here she is relaxing with Charlie the pheasant earlier in the year.

A mini-break

Cousin Mary Thurlow lent us the use of her flat in Southsea whilst she was away. Much appreciated! Apart from our visit to Chichester (see previous blog entry), we went to Osborne House (above) on the Isle of Wight - this was once owned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; and to Portchester Castle (below). The walls in the distance date back to Roman times. This picture is taken from the top of the keep. Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Ebenezer Prior Ltd

We visited Chichester recently to do some research on the family business of "Ebenezer Prior Ltd, Woolstaplers and Fellmongers" which used to have its headquarters in Tower Street. Chichester Museum has a small display dedicated to the firm and in it we were pleased to see the following quotation:

 "No better firm could be found than Messrs Ebenezer Prior Ltd at Chichester. Their offices in Bradford give the manufacturers of the North access to supplies that are the best that can be bought in England." (British Industries Review, March 1924)

The premises have long since been demolished, but on the site are these two reminders of what was once there...

A thought for the day

(for my Christian readers). A phrase from the Lord’s prayer says “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” I have often thought of this as a prayer for God’s Kingdom to come at some stage in the future, and this is partly true. However, as we Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God, whenever we bring peace to the anxious, grace to the needy, company to the lonely or love to others, we act as agents of the Kingdom here and now. This is first and foremost the most likely way in which people will see the love of God at work in this world, and some may be impressed enough to follow suit and believe in God too. Thus our own actions can help to make this prayer self-fulfilling.

Grandchildren and grandsnakes, August 2007

Jacob enjoying his food

Above: Grace, Frankie the big grandsnake, Wendy and Eva

Below: Zippy, a new baby grandsnake. There is another one called George too.