St. Piran's Day and Other Events....

 

 

 

 

Hello there and Happy St. Piran's Day.....

 

 

Flag of Cornwall and St. Piran, one of Cornwall's Patron Saints. March 5th is a National Day here in Cornwall in Honour of St. Piran

 

 

I know it's been a while, January in fact, since I last posted here...tut tut...but February was a busy month for us here at the Hovel. I am still busy with de-cluttering and selling on ebay. Plus there were a few celebrations for the family...

 

 

 

 

My husband celebrated his 55th birthday on the 5th February (don't tell him I've told you..lol..). Followed by my 58th birthday on the 14th February (ok, when did that creep up on me!!!)...Then on the 26th February it was my grandson Dylan's 4th birthday and my brother Michael's 66th birthday....

 

 

 

 

And of course lets not forget Valentine's Day. Not only was it my birthday but also my wedding anniversary....17 years. Doesn't seem that long...

 

 

Korenza & Dylan

 

And naturally my grandees have been staying with us as usual. They went back home Sunday after the weekend with us. I do love my grandees to the moon and back, but I think you already know that..lol...

 

 

The Boston Massacre...

 

But back to March and not only is today St. Piran's Day but it is also the anniversay of the Boston Massacre in Boston USA.....On March 5 1770 the Incident on King Street, as called by the British, occurred...

British troops had been stationed in Boston since 1768 in order to protect and support crown-appointed Colonial officials. There were tense relations between the population and soldiers and on this day in 1770 a mob formed around a lone British sentry. After being subject to abuse and harasment  he was eventually supported by an additional eight soldiers. Following  verbal abuse and thrown objects the soldiers opened fire without orders into the crowd.  Three people were killed instantly and many wounded. Two more people were to die later from their wounds...

An inquiry followed and eight soldiers, one officer and four civilians were arrested. Of the thirteen arrested only two soldiers were convicted of manslaughter and their sentence was a branding on the hand....The remaining troops withdrew to Castle Island.....

 

 

Rex Harrison 1970

 

Today also marks the birthday of Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 - 2 June 1990), known in the acting world as Rex Harrison.....

 

Harrison as Julius Caesar in the film Cleopatra, with Elizabeth Taylor.

 

 

My Fair Lady Poster

 

But my all time favourite films starring Rex Harrison are.....

The Ghost & Mrs Muir

 

Blithe Spirit

 

 

Now will March live up to it's rhyme..

 

'March Winds Will Blow

And We Will Have Snow'

 

For now it is calm and dry here in Cornwall, so until next time take care....Hugs Chrissy xx

 

 

 

 



In Memory Of A Friend & The Loss Of A Teenage Heart-throb...

Hello from the Hovel...I apologise now if this post seems a bit sad but then again it is also a celebration of someone's life and the mark they made on my life....

Today marks the anniversary of the loss of a dear friend and neighbour, Rob Gray. Technically it is March 1st but with it being a Leap Year Rob's first anniversary of his passing falls on today....

Rob seen here with his wife Jen...

Rob was only 47 when he died following a long illness. He was an amazing, funny and genuine guy and he and Jen were a fantastic couple. I so admired Jen's strength and grace. Thinking of you both today.....

One of the floral tributes at Rob's funeral...

Another floral tribute...yes he loved his bikes...

I often wondered why funeral has the word fun at the begining!!!!!

R.I.P. dear Rob.....

Davy Jones as I remember him...

And today also brought some news that was a shock....Davy Jones died following a heart attack aged 66....
I was merrily writing about Leap Year on my other blog Away With The Faerys when my husband calmly proclaimed 'Oh yes, I forgot to tell you Davy Jones has died today'....I was shocked, he was my heart-throbe from when I was a wee lass, well a young 12 year old. The Monkees, especially Davy Jones, are part of my memories when growing up. I can remember my friend Linda and I sitting in the park talking about The Monkees. I liked Davy Jones and she liked Peter Tork, and as young girls do, we talked about saving our money to travel to America to meet them...lol..Oh to have that innocence and faith again....

I watched each episode of The Monkees religiously and bought albums of their music, which I still have. One of my all time favourites was, and still is, Daydream Believer....Whenever I hear a track from The Monkees I am that young girl again and smile at the dreams my friend and I had...

He never lost his youthful charm and it is so sad that another talent has left us too soon. R.I.P. Davy Jones, you were part of my youth and always will be...

The Monkees...Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz...

Now onto a lighter note. Memories may take you back to your youth, and for a moment in time you may be a young girl again, but today I am a proud nana.....I love this photo of my two oldest grandees Dylan and Korenza. Taken when they were staying with recently, adorable...

Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx

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'You can shed tears that he is gone. Or you can smile because he lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,

Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left'
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More Car Trouble............

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What is it with cars and The Hovel?....Oh, hello there, thanks for dropping by. Yes, car trouble visits us again...It's my hubby's birthday tomorrow and having recieved the money from his insurance company he chose to spend his day driving to Kettering, Northamptonshire....Why so far? Well, he was successful with bidding for a Chrysler Voyager on ebay, which happened to be there. He had just paid for the hire of a car when he recieved a text message from the seller to say the car had broken down so was no longer available!!!!!!!!! Needless to say hubby wasn't a happy chap. Having just paid £124.00 pounds for the hire car you can imagine....but the upside is at least he wasn't driving it home when it broke down...So a quick look around on the web was called for and we are off to Barnstaple, Devon, tomorrow to look at another one. Why waste the half tank of fuel and the use of a car that we have paid for....Lets hope the weather is ok so we can at least enjoy the day out. Although it's warmer here it is raining....

At least we are alive to tell the tale....February 4 is also the anniversary of the passing of some celebrities (my, it feels like a Obitury Blog sometimes..lol..)...

Karen Anne Carpenter ~ March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983 ~ was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters

Wladziu Valentino Liberace ~ May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987 ~
best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist

Ossie Davis (Raiford Chatman Davis) ~ December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005 ~

was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.
Ossie Davis at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

February 4 and December 1 is also known as Rosa Parks Day.....

Rosa Parks with Dr. Martin Luther King jr. 1955

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913 and died on October 24, 2005...

It was on December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, that she refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. It was not the first time that others had done similar but it was Rosa's actions that sparked Montgomery Bus Boycott...

This act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and Rosa became an international icon....

Rosa Parks Day was created by the California State Legislature and first celebrated February 4, 2000....

What an amazing, brave woman with a gentle presence who made a difference....

Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx

Hello From The Hovel....

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Hello folks....I have been trying to post here since last week but with one thing or another I have not managed to do so until now. The main thing has been my having flu and being very poorly with it, which has left me with hardly any hearing, so say what you like about me, I won't hear it..lol..

It may be because I have been ill that I feel very cold at the moment but according to The Wildlife Trust spring as come early because flowers are already begining to bloom due to our mild winter. I personally can't wait for the warmer weather.....

How did your New Year go? Well ours at the Hovel went with a bang, literally....Over the last three years we have had a sting of bad luck and I was hoping 2012 would be the start of good luck for us or at least an improvement...Wrong!!!

2012 was not quite five hours old when bad luck visited The Hovel in the quise of a drunk driver who decided to 'park' next to our car......

Ours is the Pajero on the right!!!

Fortunately that is brake fluid on the road not blood


My husband works for a taxi company in St. Ives, which is a busy place on New Year's Eve. Due to this he thought it would be safer to leave it at home.......

I decided to stay up and wait for hubby, so there I was with my feet up, mug of coffee and watching a film. At about 4.50 am I suddenly heard a sound of a car which appeared to be going very fast and then an almighty bang.....The result you can see in the photos. For legal reasons I cannot say much about the incident (I seem to say that a lot on here..lol..) but surfice to say police officiers, recovery vehicles and a clean-up crew later we were still up and wide-awake when daylight came (hubby having left work earlier than he intended due to this).....


Thankfully the diver appeared to be wearing a seatbelt

The force of the impact pushed our car onto the pavement...all I could think of when looking at this was that my house need painting..lol..

Damaged the right wheel, etc.....

These are strong, sturdy cars..

The offending car's bumper flew some distance....

Hubby Andy talking to his insurance recovery driver....

As you can imagine my husband was very upset. It was a beautiful car in great condition. These things come to try us I know but I think we would like a break now...lol...

I would like to say at this time a big Thank You to the Cornish police, both drivers of the two recovery vehicles and the clean-up crew from Cormac. All were amazing....

A lighter moment in all this however was when one of the police officers noticed my neighbour's door across the road was open....so as any good police officer would do he went to investigate. I had to laugh when all I could see was him walking up the stairs with his flashlight. They didn't wake up until he identified himself in their bedroom...lol...

BMW X5, Curtsey of the insurance company

Andy was pleased when his insurance company provided a car until is claim is successful. He is so lost without one. So we have been able to get out and about. So today, Monday, we went into Penzance to look at some cars, we are keen on either a Galaxy or Chrysler voyager, we'll see....but before we went I opened my Facebook page and was shocked to see a photo of me...lol....

Taken at a friend's flat...me aged 28 and pregnant with my son and with my own natural hair colour....do not look like that now..lol..

I have recently got back in touch with a very dear friend and he decided to post this...payback time I think, I have some photos of him..lol..But back to our trip to Penzance and as you can see the sea was very calm today...

Taken late afternoon...



Retail Therapy at the Wharfside shopping centre...still some Christmas lights up.

Andy waiting patiently...this photo does not do the lights justice, they are really pretty

I was very good, I only purchased some clothes in the sale for my grandees...honest..

On our return home while having tea we watched the first episode of the UK Biggest Looser and I was shocked to discover that Angie Dowds, the trainer in the series, had died at Beachy Head, Eastborne, in November 2011. I really liked her, she was an amazing, inspirational woman. Very sad....

Angie Dowds

On to a lighter note, I did have my two oldest grandees stay a night or two before Christmas and I took them to see Santa at Pratts Market, Hayle. Poor Korenza was very poorly but she insisted on going (it was my granddaughter's gift to me...flu) and Dylan was not impressed at all about going to see Santa but he soon cheered up.....

Dylan wrapped up warm...

A very poorly Korenza...


Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx

St. Nicholas Day and Other Events....

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The wind is blowing, rain is falling and it's cold...brrrrrr...Hello there, yes it's me again. I'm sat here snug-as-a-bug in my lounge with the fire blazing, the only place to be when the weather is like this. It's definately winter woolies time...

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I bet it wasn't cold like this when St. Nicholas, an historic 4th-century saint and Greek bishop, was born. He is remembered each year on the 6th December, which is known as St. Nicholas Day. In many European countries a festival for children is held on this day. Now, I didn't know that until today...

What I did know however was that St. Nicholas is also known as Father Christmas or Santa Claus. Surving legends about St. Nicholas relate that, among many things, he was a bringer of gifts....

St. Nicholas ~ 270 AD - 6 Dec 343 AD ~

December 6th also marks the anniversary of the death of American singer and songwriter Roy Orbison. He performed many songs but the one that he is probably most remembered for is 'Oh Pretty Woman' released in 1964 and was forever immortalised in the 1990 film 'Pretty Woman' starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts....yes you've guessed it, another favourite film of mine...


Roy Orison ~ 1936-Dec 6 1988 ~

'Pretty Woman' ~ 1990 ~


St. Nicholas and Roy Orbison also share this day in history with a very important event that affected both Britain and Ireland....The Anglo-Irish Treaty..

The National Flag of Ireland (also known as the Irish Tricolour)

The flag was presented as a gift to Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848 by a small group of French women sympathetic to the Irish cause. It was not until the 1916 Easter Rising that it was regarded as the National flag. It was then adopted in 1919 by the Irish Republic. Although the flag's meaning is not covered by the Irish Constitution, the Irish Government has stated that the green colour represents the Gaelic tradition of Ireland, the orange represents the followers of William of Orange and the white representing peace or truce between them. I like to think so because my roots began in Ireland on my paternal side, my father being born in County Offally....

Anglo-Irish Treaty Signatures

But back to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland. It was in London on December 6 1921 that the treaty was signed by representatives of the British Government and envoys of the Irish Republic. This established the Irish Free State and also provided Northern Ireland an option to opt out, which it did...

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The Irish Free State created by this Treaty came into force on December 6 1922 by Royal proclamation....

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Some of the representatives at this historical event are seen below...

The Right Honourable Austen Chamberlain, Lord Privy Seal ~ 1863-1937 ~

Sir Winston S Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies ~ 1874-1965 ~

The Right Honourable David Lloyd George, Prime Minister ~ 1863-1945 ~

The Right Honourable Lord Birkenhead, Lord Chancellor ~ 1872-1930 ~

The Right Honourable Gordon Hewart, Attorney General ~ 1870-1943 ~

Arthur Griffith ( Art O Griobhtha), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ~ 1872-1922 ~

Michael Collins (Michael O Coileain), Secretary of State for Finance ~ 1890-1922 ~

Robert Childers Barton, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs ~ 1881-1975 ~

There were many clauses within the Treaty and one of the main clauses was that British forces would withdraw from most of Ireland......

British Cavalry Soldiers leaving Ireland 1922

History is made every day and we hope we learn by past mistakes. All I wish for everyone is that we can all live in peace together...Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx