This is the second week of our UK holiday and we’re in the lovely Cornish town of Penryn. Why Penryn, you ask? I thought it would be brilliant, in local parlance, to see a bit of the countryside, after a week spent roving London. As we planned the trip, I had mentioned Cornwall as a possibility to our daughter, Erica, who we came to visit, and she and her husband (Neil) agreed enthusiastically because there’s a brewery here with a fish restaurant attached that they had been wanting to check out. It’s their favourite brewery, Verdant, so it was decided. This trip has been one giant pub crawl, to be fair, with a bit of sightseeing thrown in.
Unfortunately, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (or “Platty Jubes”, as it’s starting to be called, since the British will abbreviate anything) is this week so the drive down took an astonishing 3 extra hours than what Google predicted. Living in Canada, where there is so much space, I’ve rarely seen such traffic outside of Toronto.
This area of the country is stunningly beautiful. We went down to the southern tip of the UK yesterday to Kynance Cove. The water was an incredible teal blue and the craggy rocks rose up around the cove in stark contrast. I decided not to descend all the way down to the shore, but instead I sat on the rocks and just gazed out, while the others went on. Naturally, we weren’t alone there, and I watched an intrepid (foolhardy?) family descend some steep rocks that looked impassible from where I sat. I kept picturing one of the small boys or the girl in flip flops(!) falling to their death, but they made it.
I’m constantly impressed and fascinated by the way drivers seem to be able to navigate roads that should be one-way streets (as they would be in Canada), by pausing and letting each other pass seemingly by some sort of mind meld. I’m sure it happens that one car has to back up and let the other go by because they’ve misjudged, but I’ve not seen it since we’ve been here, and I would argue that those drivers must not be local. I also love the way they acknowledge each other after one of these occurrences by casually raising a finger or two off the steering wheel in a wave as they pass. Extra polite individuals will do the “double wave”; one as they’re going forward and another as they are abreast of the other car. I had my first stab at driving on the left yesterday on the way down to the cove and it was an experience. All I can say is that we made it safely, but I bet my passengers were a bit nervous, and my own knuckles were whitish at the end. I’ll need much more practice to feel comfortable driving here.
We’re staying in a charming Airbnb cottage here, managed by a control freak who leaves little laminated notes absolutely everywhere, including one that explains the wonky bathtub/shower situation in excruciating detail, but somehow still ends up being confusing. These are the joys and sorrows of using Airbnb.
Taking holidays is a luxury that some take for granted. I’m lucky to have enough disposable income to afford to travel, and have often taken advantage of the Airbnb system, since it’s often cheaper than hotels and resembles home a bit more, with the advantage of having a kitchen to cook in if the thought of another restaurant meal can’t be faced or afforded. However, as has been noted by many before me, the creation of this widespread network has begun to erode local neighbourhoods to the point that for instance, here, in Penryn, almost every other door has a lockbox beside it, the telltale sign of its being used (possibly exclusively) as an Airbnb rental. I can’t help feeling partly responsible, as I’ve enjoyed the use of many of such places. In London, finding a whole flat close enough to our daughter’s flat that was remotely affordable was impossible, so we chose a bedroom in someone’s house in Acton. It was completely fine and comfortable and we barely saw the landlords, which was fine by us. That’s more like what the Airbnb system started out being, but has morphed into this giant money-making octopus that has put the average flat or house out of the price range of the average first-time home-buyer or renter, and has created neighbourhoods where the few residents don’t have a feeling of community, and local businesses can barely find workers from the local population to serve the scads of tourists who descend on their towns. Once you’re aware of the problem, it starts to feel creepy, like you’re in a weird ghost town where everything’s been preserved, but if you look closely there are no residents. This seems to be another example of how the world has taken a good idea and run way too far with it in order to make as much money as possible for the richest people. It’s disheartening, to say the least.
We’ll be making our way home on Sunday and I’m looking forward to it, as I don’t sleep well in strange beds (or in my own, to be fair, but it’s worse when away) and I find travelling harder as I grow older. I will miss Erica and Neil and really wish we lived closer, but such is life. It’ll be great to see Buster and get into the garden properly, see our friends and get back to our usual routine.
I have to mention the huge number of dogs here in the UK, which might be on par with Montreal, but seems like more because I’m missing my own Buster so much. The best part is they’re allowed in pubs and stores (not always, but frequently), so you see these furry companions calmly sleeping under tables all over the place. I can’t love it enough and wish we could have brought ours. Almost all the dogs I’ve seen seem to be well-behaved and calm. It’s rare to hear one bark at another dog inside, or even outside, and I’ve only seen one near-skirmish. It’s an advertisement for allowing dogs in more places at home, since they really do get socialised to the point where they’re comfortable under a variety of circumstances. The frontrunner for most popular dog in London has to be the Dachshund. They were everywhere there and I’ve seen quite a few here in the south too. They’re adorable, so I can see the appeal, but so far I’ve only seen one Boston Terrier. They’ll have their day eventually!
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