Author: Kate Wilson

Workouts in Cornwall

~ Kate Wilson ~ 5 Comments

I hate to leave it so long without writing but it’s been crazy here. We have been working hard all day and every day and there is little time or energy to do anything else at night but eat and drop into bed.  My new friends are Mr Bosch and Mrs Makita. I now know what an SDS drill is and why you would want one when you are drilling into concrete blocks.
Getting ready to leave my house here means clearing rooms, letting go of stuff, making decisions about what to take to Catalunya and what to leave in Cornwall. And leaving things in Cornwall means finding a place to store them.
So this is the current project, making a place dry and secure and suitable for putting my stuff while I am out of the country.
I have three drills on the go at the same time which feels tremendously energising – the baby one does the wood, the bigger Mr Bosch does the marking out and the indomitable Mrs Makita makes short work of the blocks, cutting through them as if they were Cornish clotted cream. What with that and the concrete mixing I have constant aches in my shoulders but at least I sleep well at night.

Duna’s news

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Here I am in Cornwall with two new half sisters that I didn’t know existed a month ago! I love being in the countryside with places to dig and get really dirty and it’s quite fun having a pack to run around with but something bad gets into me sometimes and I lose my temper and get into a fight with my new family. Usually it is when there is food around, or when we are getting ready for a walk and I want to be first out of the door. Suddenly I am snarling and snapping and I don’t know myself! 

Before we got to Cornwall we had a looooooong journey and one of the exciting parts was staying in London. Here are some of the places I visited – we were only there two days so I think I did quite well.
I got lots of attention in the streets as there aren’t so many dogs walking around the tourist parts! 
We walked all the way from Portobello Road to the South Bank and the Houses of Parliament. They designed London so dogs can do this by park hopping – Kensington Gardens to Hyde Park to St James Park to Green Park – and you hardly ever need to walk along a road.
Here we are at the Princess Diana memorial fountain (I wasn’t allowed to enter)

Then the ducks on the Serpentine. There were swans too but they tried to attack me

We had to cross the road here and I don’t know if you can see but the traffic light has a filter for HORSES to stop or go!

Buckingham Palace was busy and lots of people talked to me

Green Park and a bit of a rest because it’s quite a long way!

Arriving in Trafalgar Square – phew it was busy and noisy!

I felt a bit small and vulnerable when we arrived at the lions

Theatre land and more noise and traffic

I didn’t want to go to Picadilly Circus so we went back to the river and had something to eat at the South Bank with the London Eye in the background. (Thanks goodness there were long queues for that so we couldn’t go on it!)

It’s nice by the Thames with Big Ben striking the hours. Also….there are lots of lovely things to eat on the ground. I look a bit sheepish here don’t you think?

Too far to walk home so we took the underground – I didn’t really enjoy it

But it was lovely on the escalators

Baker Street is famous for something or someone isn’t it?

Next day we went to a lovely place called Hampstead Heath but it was like this

so I didn’t get to walk or run much.
London has some lovely countryside in it!
But although it was fun I was glad when we set off to drive west and we stopped places like this – it’s called Avebury and is one of Kate’s favourite places. And now mine!


Pictures of nice things today

~ Kate Wilson ~ 6 Comments

Less words today – just some images from my day.
At last I put together my broken head!

Very friendly cat outside the Newlyn Art Gallery

This is for me the best bit of a Jelberts ice-cream. the flake has disappeared inside the cone and is coated in wonderful home-made vanilla ice cream

The Newlyn Gallery cafe is new for me. It was closing at 4.30!!! But he let me have a coffee.

 Last time I was here we were putting up tango pictures drawn with dancing feet!

The memorial statue to fishermen lost at sea – Penzance looking dazzling in the distance.

bits and pieces from our Cornish life

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

The garage sale wins the prize for the best way to get rid of things you want to sell. In spite of not doing much publicity we had loads of visitors – some were friends and neighbours making it a social event as well as a business one, and some were strangers who it was lovely to meet. It is much easier than doing a car boot sale as there is no early start, you can pop home when you feel like it, have nice music playing in the background, offer tea and coffee, let people try on clothes in private……and have dogs milling around checking out the customers. Bonnie only let herself down once and I have to admit that man did look shifty and he didn’t buy anything!

Now we are getting busy with home improvements and thankfully the mist has cleared – physically and mentally!

There are four baby swallows in the little garage who are preparing to set off for Africa. It’s the first time in over ten years they have successfully nested at Dolphin Cottage so it is a great pleasure to see them trying out their wings. And also an inspiration to think of the great journey they have in front of them

Duna is still scratching as the British fleas continue to win the battle  against two major chemical attacks. It all started after she saw the vet in France before entering the UK.
Apart from that she is loving being here in the countryside, rolling in fox shit, burrowing through brambles, and going to birthday parties which include 6 dogs amongst the guests. Two bearded collies, three border collies and one excited springer spaniel!


There are brambles ripening along the lane and raspberries out in the field. the full moon was hanging low over the field this evening and we are hoping for the sunny days to return so we can have a swim!

A Short Update

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Everyone seems to be talking about decluttering these days. Making space. Clearing out the old to make room for the new.  And as I am moving more of my life to Catalunya it is a great opportunity to let go of some of my ‘stuff’. Using the word in the widest possible sense!
On a physical level I have been clearing out ‘stuff’ from my house in Cornwall and am still at the stage of trying to sell it rather than pay someone to take it away.
But it is harder than you would think. I have read lots of blogs which talk about selling all their extra possessions and moving into a more Zen lifestyle, making thousands of pounds/dollars along the way.
I however have discovered the Law of Joe Bloggs which states that for most ordinary people, whatever was bought at great expense is worth next to nothing when the time comes to sell.
Here are some of the avenues I have been trudging down
1. Car boot sale at Hayle – Sundays seem to be wet at the moment and people are watching their pennies.
2. Auction House – mmm, that’s not worth much!  Isn’t that Arts and Crafts oak table that you bought in London for over £500 actually a 1970’s botch job?
3. Second Hand Book shop – Ist Edition? No it’s the same year but is the reprint.
4. EBay – I did manage to sell something to a lovely woman in Scotland but then my account was mysteriously suspended and I await explanations.
5. Surely someone wants my MacBook?  Computer shop? No, you might sell it for £100 but not through us.
6. Newspaper – my fault this one – I keep missing the deadline.

Now all hangs on the Garage Sale – preliminary viewings have been positive and I’m now trawling the house for more things to sell. It’s addictive of course and the dream of a minimal Catalan life is beckoning me forward.
Will let you know how it goes tomorrow!