Just want to say what brilliant treatment we had from our surgery today. My lovely Mr S was not fit to go to see a Dr so the surgery arranged for a paramedic to come to check him out. S spent 30 mins with us and made sure all was well and left a prescription with us. Hoping now that a corner will be turned.
It was a Victorian Market Day today with lots of stall holders – and some shoppers – dressed up and there was a special blast from the past in the shape of Gracie Briney, portrayed by Sue Hill, a Redruth resident born in 1773 about whom you can read more here.,
We had our first mince pies of the season today and they were the best! They were home baked at HomeGround, our favourite coffee shop in town. 
Last week, you may have seen, I made a birthday cake for a friend and today, a beautiful bunch of thank you flowers was brought round, much appreciated. 
I’ve been making a special cake today for the 40th birthday of a good friend’s daughter. This one had to be dairy free which gave me a few challenges but I think it has turned out well.
Here it is!
I went out this evening, after a lovely blue sky and sunshine day, to see the turning on of Redruth’s Christmas lights and the lantern parade. The heavens opened and I got drenched to the skin in moments despite wearing a padded coat and I’m afraid I missed all the fun. What a disappointment for all the school children with their paper lanterns. I did take a couple of photos looking up the street and was interested in the effects that came, all with the camera on the same setting.
I baked a cake for the Christmas Lights Switch-on market and put white stars and gold spray on to make it Christmassy.
My choir had our first Christmas gig this evening at the opening night of Krowji Christmas Open Studios in Redruth. We were collecting for our charities, Penhaligon’s Friends and ShelterBox. There is some wonderful work in the studios. If you are local, it’s a brilliant place to find presents and lovely cards.
I gave my new Christmas tree earrings an outing.
Crocheted earrings
In Redruth today we had such a good time (and did the shopping!) We met a young DJ, Redruth Ben, whose programme on local radio we listened to this afternoon, went into gallery 89 and saw some delightful art work and our favourite busker, Sam, was in town and sang ‘Streets of London.’ All in all, a brilliant morning. 
And, last night’s not quite full moon, first night without clouds since the Beaver Moon on November 5th.
Redruth market was very busy today and I discovered a new stall full of deliciousness, hand-made Turkish Delight and chocolates. I treated myself to two pieces of Turkish delight and got two coffee chocolates for my lovely Mr S.
From Red Robin Pantry
Our old library was falling into disrepair some years ago but along came two young men with a vision and now it is a thriving hub of creativity having been restored in the most sympathetic and beautiful way. Sadly we missed the Grand Opening of The Ladder yesterday but we have been involved in volunteering there in a small way over the last few years and have seen some of the transformation.
Here is another of the creative road signs, one of which I showed you a week or two ago.
Looking up at one of Redruth’s other lovely (if somewhat neglected) buildings while shopping today, I noticed the engravings on the glass – in one window Dresses and in the other, Mantles.
Technically these are not ponies but I liked the alliteration. It’s only height that determines pony or horse so maybe the smaller one that you can hardly see here does qualify. These two are in the field at the bottom of our garden and always come close when I call ‘Hello!’
We visited friends for an afternoon of chat and laughter and took a small garden posy with us. 
We drove by a splendid plaque that is on the wall by the station and stopped long enough at the lights for me to get a photo. I love the red section with the words, ‘Love, Kindness, Community, Friendship, Respect ‘ to sum up our town. I’m sorry I don’t know the artist. .
A friend of our son’s. Deasy Bamford, shared a poem she wrote yesterday and she has given me permission to share it with you. It touched me deeply.
by Deasy Bamford
We have volunteered a few times at The Ladder in town, painting the inside, helping with the planting of the garden at the back and today the volunteer force were called in again. There has been scaffolding up for a long, long time as the roof has been being repaired and weeds have had a field day! A whole bunch of people turned up and tidied everything up. I did one small patch and here are the before and after photos.
We picked the last raspberries from our allotment this afternoon.
Collecting our bread order from our local bakery, I noticed that they are ready for Redruth’s International Mining and Pasty Festival this weekend, daffodils wrapped in the Cornish flag..
As we left the car park, I noticed a bit of architectural detail I haven’t noticed before. It looks like two little houses up on the edge of the building. 
The Irish poet Derek Mahon, once described as ‘a source of optimism and replenishment’, wrote this poem which I like very much. I tell myself, “Everything is going to be alright.”
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