To accommodate the 6m high sculpture of a Vixen (no longer a Fox,) next door, a couple of branches had to be removed from their tree. This has had a most serendipitous result for us which we discovered yesterday. From our little front bedroom, we can now see the setting sun slipping into the sea and disappearing – such joy!
What a joyful day we have had along with everyone else who turned up for the official opening of the Big Shed at Community Roots. There was cake, there was music, there were plant sales, there was a garden tour and a barefoot seed-bomb making session. There was an amazing plant based lunch and then of course, the Ceremony of the Cutting of the Ribbon. Only it wasn’t a ribbon, the bow and ‘ribbon’ had been braided during the day out of reeds and daffodil leaves and it was very beautiful. There were speeches, the most moving of all, one based on the daily thanksgiving of the Onondaga Nation. And, the sun shone all day! Please enjoy the gallery and click on any for a bigger version and the caption.
The Big Shed
About to cut the ribbon
The ribbon is cut
Jaclarabag, the band
For all the joy, times are hard. Along with the invitation came this ‘ask.’ I thought you might like to know the bigger story.
The Ask
Looks can be deceptive, and behind our beautiful new building, we find ourselves in a very precarious financial position. Growing food and community in planet positive ways just isn’t financially sustainable, and with the Hungry Gap this year (when we have very few crops ready to sell) we are struggling to make ends meet. Also, while the new building will eventually help us diversify our income, before it does that it is costing us money, and we don’t have the time to organise all the great things we know could be happening in it. To help us through this tricky period we really need an injection of money, so we’ve launched a Crowdfunder and we’ve secured match funding, so that every pound donated is doubled by Aviva, with an additional £5,000 of match funding being added from Cornwall Council’s Climate and Nature fund. If you’re able to support us at all, we would be incredibly grateful, and if you aren’t able to donate, sharing our Crowdfunder with others is also incredibly helpful. If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, liking, commenting and sharing posts makes a huge difference to how visible things are.
To see the Crowdfunder, to donate or to share it, please click here.
The colours of the sea were just glorious when we went to the Blue Bar for brunch this morning. Walking on the beach afterwards we were in awe of a couple of swimmers enjoying the cold water and of the extremely well behaved dog who sat and watched for ages. It turned out that these two were friends from Roots and we had big wet hugs and lots of laughs together.
Loaded banana bread with vanilla mascarpone and fruit compote with crispy bacon – absolutely delicious!
The Fox next door is to go to the Lost Gardens when it is complete as it is one of the creatures being honoured by being written about by our Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. I was lucky enough to be invited by Sue-next-door to go to the book launch this evening of his new poetry collection, Dwell. It has been a fabulous evening, meeting lots of lovely people, hearing Simon Armitage talk about the project and reading his poems and then meeting him as he signed the two copies I had bought.
This lovely little knitted sheep was on the table in our local bakery as we picked up our ordered loaves this morning.
In our Fore Street are some amazing planters put there by Redruth’s Incredible Edibles group. Everything planted is available for people to help themselves to a bit of edible greenery.
I knitted up the lovely bright yarn I showed you on April 9th. It’s a baby cardigan that will be going to Ukraine on the next lorry going. When I bought the new yarn on Monday and was chatting to the owner of our lovely local wool shop, she said I was not alone in wanting to start knitting the next project before sewing up the one I now have all the pieces for! Like many others, sewing up the piece is our least favourite part of knitting any garment. I love the pattern being created by the new yarn. 
More wood has been added to the sculpture next door. The Fox’s brush is looking good…..
I read a new recipe last weekend for Brazilian Carrot Cake and decided to make one for Community Roots for their special day next Saturday, The Opening of the Big Shed. I left a section un-iced for those few who would like a slice without chocolate ganache topping. It’s in the freezer, ready for the weekend. 
We love a good pie and this evening had a delicious Chicken and Leek pie. With the spare bits of pastry, I made some little cheesy curls, very tasty!
Coming out of the cinema this evening after seeing the film, Mr Burton, which I would highly recommend, there was a beautiful, gently coloured sunset that pleased me. 
We have several Clematis around the garden and they are coming into flower.
Our family apple tree, the one with three different apples grafted onto one stem has blossom on one branch, the Lord Lambourne apples.
Lord Lambourne
A good friend lent us a book last Thursday saying it was a ‘must read.’ My goodness, he was right! I started reading on Friday evening and have done little else since. It is the most compelling read that both made me laugh and hold my breath in fear for the characters. As one of the comments on the back says, everyone should read this novel.
We love our town.
Charming map at the entrance to the car park
I planted this tulip – and many more – in my Suffragette garden expecting them to be purple. I do love their frilliness but not really the colour. 
The Aquilegias or Granny’s Bonnets, however are perfect in this small border.
In the GrowBox café this afternoon where I met a good friend for a catch-up, there were troughs of bright marigolds.
We took our drinks outside and a young woman came by and offered us cakes. We asked why and happily accepted after hearing they were part of a photo shoot for a local bakery. They were delicious!
Millionaire’s Shortbread and Rolo Brownie
Here are the flowers for Kath, the dear friend lost too soon for whom I write this blog. . Kath loved France and we spent some happy times there with her and C. If we were together on May 1st she would give me a little bunch of Lily-of-the-Valley. If we weren’t, she would send me a card to celebrate La Fête du Muguet. You can read about its significance here.
Bird’s eye viw of Lily of the Valley
Commentator Award
