End of Summer snaps around East Looe.

A lot of photo's with few words but many memories of summer 2014.

Thank you for giving Looe back to us!

At the end of last summer somebody from Looe made the comment "thank you tourists for giving us our town back!" It is now the last days of school holidays and Looe is a very different place to what it was last week. There are still a good number of visitors but it is fair to say that they are very different to those who have been here for the last 6 weeks or so. As I walk around the Banjo Pier and quay at night the average age of holiday maker has gone up dramatically. There are less sandcastles on the beach and certainly far fewer brave souls swimming in the sea. 

The holiday makers are in the process of giving our town back to us!

It has gone from this to this:

Solitude and peace at last some might say but it is worth our while at this moment to assess the reality. Looe is largely a fishing town but fishing provides a living for a small proportion of the population. It is the holiday makers that bring the most money into our community. It is with that in mind that we really ought to take stock at times and appreciate the good that they do for our community. Without them there would be great poverty in the town which in turn would cause people to move away. Therefore as we are inconvenienced by pedestrians and noise etc. we should thank those who chose to come here for relaxation  instead of complaining, criticizing and carping about them. We really all need to live together for this most important time of the year. I never hear of a farmer complaining about the harvest all coming at the same time, it is the fruit of his years labour. Holiday makers are to some extent the fruit of what Looe is and as such should I believe be appreciated. 

Looe is a beautiful place for which I am beginning to appreciate more as each season changes, it is a place for me to reflect on the important things of life and as such people from far and wide choose to come here to get away from the busyness of life and take time out to relax and enjoy themselves. The problem with that is that some people choose to enjoy themselves in ways that are alien to my ideal relaxation and as such we need to learn to live together. Patience with each other is necessary especially as we try to drive into the town in our daily routine amongst the hoards of pedestrians who would like to think that we have no right to drive down "their street!" Patience with them is a small price to pay for all of the good that they bring into the town. I have to admit to losing patience at 2:30am when the rowdy "Boscarners" turn out to ritually bellow and fight outside of my bedroom window and as such am not sure how they can learn to respect our needs above their demands but I suppose we need to say that it is not every night and so ................................



A  quote from Winston Churchill here seems to be appropriate:

As we re-enter normality (whatever that might mean) it is good to remember that we have had a fantastic summer and have entertained many guests, given them great memories. We have affected the lives of young and old simply by being the people that happen to live in the place that they have chosen to holiday in 2014. We ought to be proud of both that and them and as we look forward to regaining control of our town let us keep a right perspective. Holiday makers:

Past times.

We recently went along to the annual Morval Vintage Rally and saw the two cars displayed. they immediately brought many memories flooding into our minds. The top car is an Austin A30 which was my first car. It was a 1953 model for which I paid the grand sum of five pounds. It needed the engine to be re-furbished and so after removing it and stripping it down we set about a re-bore of the block, new piston rings and shell bearings along with new valves etc. All of this achieved before my 17th birthday upon which I learned to drive in this little 800cc car. It was a great experience but it caused me to remember the inspiration behind the project. My dad wanted me to know all about cars and this was a good grounding. as I looked at this little car my mind was filled with so many things, happiness and sadness mixed together, it reminded me of dad who I have missed so much for the last 38 years.

The second car is a mark 2 Singer Vogue, just like the one that I inherited from my father when he died in 1976.The colour is the same and as I looked at it I remember all of the great times we had with that car, it was in mint condition and an absolute beauty. but again I was plagued by mixed emotions, I have such great memories of him who made my ownership and understanding of these great cars possible. the Singer was something of a sacrifice in that it became mine because he died. 

There were many other blasts from the past in the rally, old steam engines which of course I do not remember but there were also road rollers which I do remember, Ford Zodiacs, Green Goddesses, mini's, Triumph heralds and e-type Jags etc, etc. It was a great day out and we enjoyed it with the family. It was good to see Riley with a Riley car, Nathaniel on the slide and Olivia as always enjoying her food. It was equally good to see Jo & Jim together along with Marie but of course Elaine and Niklas were missing. We had a precious day that was made even better by Donna (my niece) John and Issy being there. 

But the memories would not go away but I also could see that because my father lived then there is a whole family of great individuals that are his legacy and I am proud of them all. One day I will "pop off" myself and will leave behind a legacy for the future. I can only pray that for whatever reason my input might be seen to be helpful as my father's certainly is.

Of course human fathers are simply an echo of our Heavenly Father who has given so much more than we can ever imagine. All that we have and are and ever will be is due to His grace and favour! I certainly praise Him and thank Him for that. Do you????