a picture my son drew of a wave on a beach

Not about the ­Coronation

Tagged with: #cornwall #family
A Harold Knight (Newlyn School) painting of Robert Morson Hughes, sat at a table with a pint of beer in his hand, has coat and cane over his arm
A chap called Bob with a pint (seen at Penlee House Gallery)

I wrote and deleted a long post about an argument I had with my Dad. Instead I’ll summarise with a tidied up extract from an email I sent to MJD.

I did not even last 48 hours at my Dad’s house. He was quite upset that I was not as keen on the Coronation as him. I felt it safer to leave. At the time we thought our argument was about the actual Coronation. I repeatedly told him I was not too fussed about it and found the extreme wealth in the face of austerity offensive. I felt he was insistent that I hold the same views as him. He would not rest until I agreed with him. I did not and so my tenancy became untenable.
kludgy zoomed view of the boats in Falmouth
Falmouth docks through the mizzle

Daisy took me in after the argument. Falmouth was cold and I was miserable. Under the care of my nieces (Rosie & Daisy) and their beautiful kind friends the sun came out, Gyllyngvase Beach turned into paradise. I swam every day and went for walks and visited dear old friends. I also drove up to Blisland and visited my brother. We bicycled in the pouring rain with my lovely niece, Rosie, to Snails Pace Cafe the next day Dan and I walked up Brown Willy (Bron Ewhella) together.

I visited my Dad a week later to see if I could patch things up. After a cup of tea and some saffron cake he resumed his complaint at my disinterest in the Coronation. His new angle was that I had been rude, as a guest, not to indulge him in a little Coronation love. I had hurt his feelings. I apologised for hurting his feelings. He reciprocated by demanding I admit that my stance on the Coronation was wrong.

I suppose, living on the other side of the planet, I do not see my Dad with enough frequency to remember how to cope with his obstinancy. The argument escalated and we both said some mean things to each other.

A younger me may have capitulated but I was sick of his bullying. I told him again that I still did not care about the Coronation. He refused to shake my hand and turned his back on me. It was heart-breaking and sad.

I stayed a while with Daisy before taking off to Treen Campsite. This was definitely one of the best places in the world back in the day. It is better with friends but I was alone. I made the most of it and took myself on a long day hike.

A map of a loop walk from Treen to Carn Euny, Sennen and back again via Nanjizel
Treen to Carn Euny, Sennen and back again via Nanjizel

I walked like Jan Tregeagle that day although my knee’s began to complain as I walked up and around the cliffs of Nanjizel and Ardensaweth. It was just beautiful though and worth every drop of sweat. After two nights camping I headed to my sisters house.

Staying with Georgie for the first time since we were children has been good for my soul. My sister is such an amazing woman and I am so proud of her. Georgie took me out for a day to Porthleven where we sat in the sunshine with a beer and food at the MusselShoal. Crikey, Porthleven has come on since I used to live here.

My sister and I having a brew
My sis (looking cool) and me (looking like an old lady)

I have really been packing it all in these last few weeks. This post doesn’t even cover it… Rosie and Daisy’s birthdays; idylic evenings on Gyllyngvase; Jessie and Daisy being awesome on Rosie’s birthday; missing Re and Harly; a couple of walks with my long lost mate Simon Wilson and Jan Trathen; a couple of nights with Will Beattie and his family and friends in Port Navas; Rachael and her daughters’ birthday party in St Ives; An afternoon with Amanda, Denzil and Joe at the Penlee House Gallery and the Farmers Arms; visiting Kresen Kernow with ChrisJack to watch the Future Pub performance I could go on and there is still more to come. I am loving having this time off.

My Dad finds a butterfly
A video still, My Dad finds a butterfly

Today I went to meet, for a third time, with my Dad. We met at Gunwalloe and walked to Poldhu. We had both settled down since our earlier angry words and made peace. I hate falling out with my Dad, he’s not a bad chap.

Other articles
<- Ionian Sailing   |   Goodbye Cornwall ->

Comments

Add a comment?

There are no comments yet.