Despite

Despite having to drive sensibly 

despite the chattering of the wiper blades

despite the blurry view

distorting everything through the cars windows

despite the grey skies and heavy clouds 

despite the splash of the wheels through the many puddles

despite the endless miles of heavily soaked gorse

despite the little streams running down the primrose clad lanes

and the dark skies hiding the wonderful vistas which you can't quite see

despite the moss covered trees; soaked in it

despite the droplets on the surface of puddles distorting reflections

despite the need for a coat at the beach

despite the need to eat your picnic sat inside your car and not on a soft warm rug on the sand

despite the days activities being cancelled 

and the swim in the sea being postponed - for today at least...

Never mind

for this is Cornwall - and a drop of rain is what makes it so beautiful!

Cornwall - Take Her Home

A place far from every other

the only noise

that of the wind blowing in the wires

and a distant tractor 

drawing lines across it's surface.

Here 

where the land tumbles into the sea

where the sea and sky merge

sat with her - once a maiden of this land

a soul who's draw to this place is stronger than mine!

Let the clouds draw pictures 

and the waves serenade 

and between us 

we shall take her home.

Click here to hear me read this piece 

Speeding Through Cornwall

Speeding through Cornwall

on the G-W-R

warm and comfortable

and quite near the bar!

Stations we stop at

some we fly through

wind turbines spinning

powering the view

Woods, estuaries 

a church with a steple

the back garden views

and roads full of people

Ponies in paddocks

sheltering in hedges

sheep in the fields

with trees 'round the edges

Viaducts and bridges

branchlines that go

to seaside destinations

with names that you know

Passengers baggage

cases on wheels

dogs in their harnesses

and women in their heels

Staring at mobile screens

tapping away

checking connections 

for the rest of the day

Speeding - no wait!

this stop wasn't planned

an announcement about something

I don't understand 

Dam and blast!

now this just won't do!

...so pour me another 

I'm getting sick of this view!

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Cornwall A Land Which Haunts Your Very Soul

Cornwall

a rugged peninsula 

a fiercely independent people

its language 

its myths and legends 

its industries and religions

...Cornwall

a land of its people

Cornwall 

a misty land of gales and wind-farms 

twisted hedgerows and contorted trees

weekend sailors and professional surfers

...Cornwall

a land of sea and sky

Cornwall

an ancient land

of grey slate hung farmhouses 

monuments and stone built churches

structures built to last

...Cornwall

a land of resilience 

Cornwall

a land to fire up your creativity 

poets and artists

betjeman and langley

trebetherick and the newlyn school

...Cornwall

a land of inspiration 

and a land of verdant beauty

moorland peaks and sandy beaches

open vistas and heather verges

fishing ports and river inlets 

of craggy cliffs rising from the sea

...Cornwall

a land which haunts your very soul

Cornwall

A jutting peninsula; wild and free,

a land of sun and sky and sea.

The sea its bounty plundered deep,

the land its crops its cattle, sheep.

The sea that shaped this Celtic land,

its weather lent a helping hand.

Its rain makes trees and crops to grow,

makes fields of green

and rivers flow.

Wind; the trees and shrubs to bend,

the giant wind farms power to send,

and endless waves to rocky shore,

crashing so with mighty roar!

For its sun the tourists throng,

to beaches golden, wide and long.

The fruit to ripen; buds to burst,

the harvest gathered; slake a thirst.

Come the winter months be found

its snow and ice piercing the ground,

tops its moors and strips the land,

Cornwall slumbers in its hand...

...till spring through winters darkness cheers,

and Cornwall wakes and reappears!

(Haiku)

The land falls into
the sea añd is devoured
by the waves - Cornwall