April 2015

The Memory Cafe took place one week later than usual this month to avoid Easter celebrations, and we were all keeping our fingers crossed for fine weather! Luckily, this paid off, as a Crantock Village Trail had been organised to get our members out and about exploring the centre of the village. To make things a little easier we met in the Memorial Hall and once again we were delighted to welcome some new members in addition to familiar friends.

After a cup of tea and a chat, a good number set off in the sunshine armed with a list of some of the many interesting objects, signs and buildings to be found around the village.

The trail took us around the green and up to the church, and gave everyone a chance to look more closely at places we so easily pass by.

Meanwhile, those who hadn't felt able to join us on our walk had the chance to complete their Village Wordsearch and undertake a ‘virtual trail’ with photos of the parts of Crantock the rest of the group had set out to explore.

Arriving back at the Memorial Hall for another ‘cuppa’ with delicious cakes and biscuits, we had a chance to compare findings and to look at an interesting selection of old photographs about the towns and villages of Cornwall. We were especially pleased to learn that one of our members had co-written books on St. Newlyn East which we had on display.  The beautifully painted mural of Crantock around the walls of the hall gave us a chance to see where we had been- luckily everyone had been on their best behaviour, so we hadn’t been obliged to put anyone in the village stocks behind the church!

As always, the friendly, relaxed atmosphere quickly put everyone at ease and next month we will be back in our usual venue of the Village Hall.  However, the cafe will once again take place one week later than normal to avoid the May Day holiday so we will be meeting on Monday 11^th May from 2pm to 4pm.

We are always pleased to welcome new members so should you need further information about our Memory Cafe  please contact Di on 01637 830544 or Joan on 01637 831347

March 2015

There was a very lively meeting of the Crantock Memory Cafe on Monday 2^nd March when we were delighted to welcome several new members, as well as meeting up with a number of old friends.

With St Piran's Day to look forward to later that week, we took ‘Saints’ as our theme, and alongside the chatter and laughter had the opportunity to puzzle over word searches based around St Patrick’s Day and St David’s Day before everyone settled down to a group quiz. We found we were quite knowledgeable on such varied subjects as the names of Cornish saints, placenames, saints associated with songs and films – we even included sport!

An added bonus of the afternoon was supplied by our good friend Brian. He is already known to us as a talented artist, but we weren't aware of another skill – the detailed construction and painting of miniature historical military figures. Brian brought several examples of his work to show us and we were all ‘wowed’ by the detail and accuracy of every model. The brushes used were so fine, they are virtually comprised of a single hair – amazing!  We were impressed, but not surprised, when he showed us a medal he had won at a national level for his work as a ‘model engineer’ – thanks Brian! We’re always pleased to share our members’ interests and hobbies.

As teatime approached we were delighted to welcome more visitors – members of ‘a cappella’ male voice group ‘Oll an Gwella’ who arrived to join us for a delicious Crantock Bakery pasty and a cup of tea before entertaining us for the remainder of the afternoon. Our ‘crib’ or ‘croust’ went down a treat, thanks to the bakery, delicious biscuits and shortbread from Brenda and Kerry, and the hard work of our ladies in the kitchen.

The boys from ‘Oll an Gwella’ did us proud with a very entertaining selection of songs old and new, interspersed with jokes and stories. The lovely mellow tone of their voices was a joy to listen to, and we were all delighted to have the opportunity to join in with a song or two!

All in all, another entertaining and enjoyable afternoon.

February 2015

Our February meeting was a lively and entertaining occasion. After our members settled in and we had a puzzle and word search, our guests and volunteers enjoyed a marvellous show put on by members of the Crantock Women’s Institute and were then treated to a fascinating talk about the Galapagos Islands by David Eyles. The WI members delivered a hilarious performance of Roald Dahl’s version of Cinderella. 

Several distinguished members of the Institute were unrecognisable in a variety of extraordinary wigs and other accoutrements. The plot concerned a search for the owner of a “smelly trainer” and for some reason involved quite a lot of sword play leading to a shower of plastic heads bouncing around the hall. It could be said that Veronica really was the Head Girl! It was a truly memorable performance, much enjoyed by all.

David Eyles then gave a slide show of a trip that he and Brenda made to the Galapagos Islands focussing particularly on the extraordinary wildlife. David’s photographs were superb and he demonstrated that he is not only a fantastic gardener but he is also a first rate photographer.   

This was a suitable preamble for a delicious tea provided by our wonderful kitchen helpers. As tea was being served we had the excitement of having a flurry of snow which, fortunately did not settle.  Hopefully the weather will be kinder when we next meet on Monday March 2^nd.