The Real Cornish Online Magazine - Cornish Story

PeopleGwav Winter 2010Gwav Winter 2010PeopleFromLondonToCornwallby Lee Rotbartstarted with booking tickets to see a performance ofJames and the Giant Peach at the Minack, and hasso far involved selling my flat of 6 years (near theOlympic Park and before 2012, which I thought I’dnever do), battling with banks for finance, writingendless versions of the same business plan, takingadvantage of everybody we’ve ever met in orderto glean information about all sorts of things fromhouse buying through to website development, andensuring that we do all this without having somekind of breakdown.It’s been an up and down journey, there were timeswhen we thought we would never get the financestogether, and there were times when I wonderedwhy on earth I was leaving a stable, well paid job inLondon to cook breakfasts for unsuspecting tourists.However, every step of the way there’s been thedream of living somewhere where the sound ofView from the guesthousewaves crashing against the sand will lull you tosleep, where people smile at you in the street, andwhere there are numerous opportunities to getinvolved in all sorts of community fun, from thelocal arts centre through to volunteering at the RNLIshops.On a recent trip to St Ives Danny and I walked alongPorthmeor Beach and couldn’t quite believe thatthis will be our new home. Just six hours (it reallyisn’t that far) from London we found ourselves in adifferent world. Warm breezes, friendly people, andthe freshest fish I’ve ever tasted (not to mention thesticky toffee pudding at Hobblers, St Ives).Who wouldn’twant to moveto Cornwall? Acounty of suchoutstanding beautythat you feelinspired as soonas you cross theborder.That was how my boyfriend and I felt as we walkedalong the Coastal Path (St Agnes to St Ives) in Juneof this year. Little did we know that in a matter ofmonths we would have sold both our one-bedroomflats in the East End of London, had an offeraccepted on a guest house in St Ives, and wouldbe busy planning how fabulous our full Englishbreakfasts (with a Cornish twist) were going to be.Having lived in London all my life I was quitesurprised to find myself comparing the Undergroundto the friendly buses around Pendeen (theunderground coming off far worse), and comparingmy rather sedentary lifestyle, in an office in Soho,with being able to go for daily walks on Hayle beach.It was a spontaneous decision that felt longoverdue. We stayed at a guest house overlookingPorthminster Beach in St Ives and, after a longconversation with the proprietors, found out twoamazing things: (1) they told us about the MinackTheatre and (2) the guest house was on the market.This conversation triggered a chain of events thatDanny in the gardenWe can’t wait to do up the new place and open ourdoors to guests. We want them to see what we see,to experience what we experience, to see Cornwallin all its glory – come rain or shine, and to see anddo all that while knowing that they are coming backto a comfortable, warm house where there arehomemade biscuits in the bedrooms, and the hostsare always on hand to give away some well-keptCornwall secrets (once someone tells us)!Follow my blog for developments: http://porthminsterview.wordpress.comWe look forward to welcoming you.18 Cornish Story MagazineCornish Story Magazine 19