CORNWALL 3RD JULY 2020...

Cornwall, July 2020…

Friday 3rd July:

The journey south-west was surprisingly decent, although around Exeter, the weather deteriorated into blustery winds and squally rain, resulting in a ‘packed tea’ inside the car at a deserted Colliford Lake, where it seemed like all human life had been devastated. 

AH, THE CHEESE & BRANSTON PICKLE ROLL...

COLLIFORD LAKE...

DESOLATE COLLIFORD LAKE FOR A 'PACKED TEA'...

Earlier, a stop at Taunton Deane Services had seen the debut of my new Barcelona face-mask but upon entry, nobody else was wearing one, bar a member of staff directing ‘traffic’ into a McDonalds food outlet. The public seemed to have acquired a careless attitude to the current situation, even in the Gents’ loo, where every other urinal was covered by a white plastic sheet but no facial masks were evident.

The Costa coffee shop was closed and only the Costa Express counter was open within the W.H. Smith shop, wherein customers seemed oblivious to the idea of distancing themselves from each other…

Mousehole itself was grey, windy and wet, whilst a harbour notice suggested no bathing as sewage might have seeped into the area. Had it not been for the greenery of trees, this could indeed have been a particularly unpleasant November evening. 

There was simply no-one about, as a breezy drizzle rendered the harbour area eerie and abandoned, for the Ship Inn was closed of course, the deli too, although the owner of the 2 Fore Street restaurant was working late to get the premises fit for purpose with a smart new layout, ready for a new challenge with its fine menu during the following day, July 4th. 

The Old Coastguard Hotel was still not open, although there were few signs of scaffolding on the outside of the building, so more work must be needed inside the hotel before re-opening after the recent fire, perhaps in late July.

Snails raced, er, slowly across pavements on the shore road, others clung to the wooden fence, escaping the notice of any lurking thrushes and the rain then fell harshly, like percussion on vehicle roofs and once again, this summer break seemed more like a greener November holiday…