I would like to thank Mrs. B&B for making my birthday special. We had a fabulous meal at The Gurnards Head near Zennor down “the bottom end”. What a beautiful experience the staff, the meal and the company was wonderful. We had a few drinks in Penzance during the evening and went to Lands End the following day, the first time I have actually been there for over 35 years. On the way home we had to call into Philps at Hayle to pick up a special surprise. A 2.2lb Cornish Pasty with my name on it, wow! If you have seen the pictures Mrs. B&B posted you will know what I mean.
Still on the birthday topic Mrs.B&B has her own day coming up shortly and plans are in place to make it a memorable time. More of that another time but we are looking forward to seeing friends to celebrate with. We can’t wait to catch up with Sue and Phil at The Sardine Factory and then Sue and Pete will be staying with us and we are trying a new restaurant to Looe, with them, called 50. There is some sad news on the restaurant front and that is that Little Barn, damaged during the fire at The Coddy Shack will not re-open this year. We wish them all the best and will go back in the New Year.
We have managed another day out, just don’t know how we do it. This time The National Trust’s Buckland Abbey was our venue, near Yelverton. What a great place to visit, the tithe barn, house and gardens were really worth a look. However, the star of the show was the Rembrandt self-portrait, truly amazing. This day out is within easy reach of Looe.
The garden at Schooner Point Guest House was heard to sigh with relief when we finally had rain, nearly 5 weeks without took a toll on the new planting in the terraces. Hopefully most plants will recover.
Looe stages its Carnival week, starting on 31st. July and The Great Duck Race on the 20th. August, so why not come down and stay with us. Don’t forget to book direct for best price. While here why not try one of the many boat trips available from the quay side and get your fill of pasties and cream teas from the many eateries here.
This months t shirt is a an old Jimi Hendrix one and the answer to the last question was In The City being The Jams debut single and album. This time can you name the town where The Moody Blues Justin Hayward was born.
It is with great pride that I can say here, that Looe mens Pilot Gig Rowing team have again returned from The Scillies as world champions. I am amazed that there seems to be so little in the way of recognition from the town for this amazing feat. Well done guys. Looe will stage a Rowing Regatta on Saturday 17th. June, to be held in the bay.
Last weekend saw The Looe Raft Race, such a wonderful spectacle out on the water. All manner of craft left the beach, headed around The Bango Pier and along to the bridge, returning to The Life Boat Station. Personally, I think this is one of the highlights of the events calendar and the adults race was won by “The Pink Pirates”, well done guys. The Polperro Festival gets underway on 17th. June and runs until Sunday 25th. If you are in the area make sure to pop down.
Mrs. B&B and I have been out and about again. We visited Lostfest for a day of music and street food, such a wonderful, colourful day in the beautiful village of Lostwithiel. Then we recommenced our walking trips, firstly to Blisland, on the eastern edge of Bodmin Moor. Blisland is such a beautiful old style Cornish Village. The walk took us through the church yard and then on a circular walk through the woodland and back to the village. The church is unremarkable from the outside but an absolute gem inside. Our second walk was around Crantock and along The Gannel. The day was so warm and bright and it was like being in The Mediterranean. We had a close encounter with a dozen young weasels on the way, one of which actually ran over Mrs.B&B’s foot. Further along we had to cross a field with a fully grown bull in, this was a little bit concerning but to be fair he showed little interest in us. After we got back to the car we drove over to see the poppy fields at West Pentire. If you have not seen this it is well worth a visit.
The answer to the previous pop trivia question was of course Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a.k.a. The Glimmer Twins. This time round can you name The Jam’s debut single and album. The shirt this time is another Rolling Stones one, Sticky Fingers depicting a can of black treacle with dripping fingers.
Mrs. B&B has been in the kitchen again, this time making mango chutney. Now I know I have said it before, but, this is a real winner. Now just for the curry for it to accompany. Marmite on crumpets with poached eggs apparently is a “thing” tried it, liked it and will soon make an appearance on the breakfast specials board, so watch this space. Mrs. B&B did have a trial run making her own crumpets and they were delicious, however, couldn’t be made competitively time and price wise.
We have been out and about again, travelling down to The Pandora Inn, Restronguet. A beautiful thatched inn right on the river bank, in fact it is on The South West Coast Path. It has a floating pontoon right outside the door so you can dine on the water. We will be back during the summer, assuming we can get away. The food was great and the location even better. We were invited out to play by good friends Justine and Nigel and off we went to Tavistock. They must be a bad influence as they introduced us to Whiskey Sours at Christmas, which are currently our tipple of choice. They had never been to Tavi before. Mrs. B&B and I chose the venue for lunch and this was at The Annex. We all shared some hearty Tapas and very nice it was to. Mrs. B&B took the opportunity to visit the haberdashers there just across from The Pannier Market. She needed some extra wool for the Blood Bikes mascot dog she has been persuaded to knit for them, there is just no end to her talents, you know. We are also looking forward to having dear friends from Swindon come visit it us at the end of March and we have planned to re-visit Little Barn. This will be our second time there and if it’s as good as the first we will all be contented diners.
We have welcomed our first guests who have come to Looe to discover Shipton Abbott. Hopefully more will follow and local entrepreneurs have started to offer Shipton Abbott tours, that didn’t take long. We were pleased to see that Schooner Point Guest House does appear in the third episode of Beyond Paradise, all be it, briefly.
Todays t shirt is of the legend and founding member of Fleetwood Mac, Mr. Peter Green. A large multi coloured image of the main mans face. This guy really is right up there as far as I’m concerned. I am thinking of adding a pop trivia question to the blogs just for a bit of fun, no prizes though. So just to see how it goes try this – In The Sound Of Silence what were my eyes stabbed by ?
I would just like to offer our best wishes to all the Looe Pilot Gig Boat teams going out to the World Championships in The Isles of Scilly this weekend. Hopefully our teams will come back World Champions, as the men’s first boat did last year. All the best guys and go well.
May see’s the return of The Looe Lugger Regatta. The weekend of 18th. – 21st. will see a flotilla of Luggers, a local working boat of yester year, come into the quay side and compete in competition in the bay. This is a real site to behold and no doubt there will be music and singing on the quayside and in all the local bars. Why not come down and see the spectacle.
The last in the first series of Beyond Paradise has now aired and during this episode Schooner Point Guest House could be seen again. It has now been confirmed that a second series has been agreed and a Christmas Special is also being planned. The town will take it all in it’s stride when the film crews descend. Watch this space.
Looe is looking forward to a number of new restaurants opening in the town. A gourmet burger bar is due to occupy what used to be Dave’s Diner, I believe it will be called Smashed. A Greek style restaurant is due to take over the Plough On The Quay building and Dunk is preparing to open and the building, on the edge of The Rose Garden, is currently being given a lick of paint in preparation for opening. The Looe Land Train is now in operation. This offers a service to transport people to and from Mill Point Car Park, the town, beach and up to Hannafore.
Mrs. B&B’s specials are now available to order. We have the usual salmon, avocado, eggs and baby tomatoes but we now also offer salmon, muffins and hollandaise sauce, Marmite crumpets with poached eggs and last, but not least, pancakes with streaky bacon and maple syrup. Why not book in and try some but don’t forget to book direct for best price.
Mrs. B&B has now taken up her knitting needles after 25 or more years. She was asked to knit a mascot for our friends at the Somerset Blood Bikes Charity. “Bear” is currently wending his way to them and should soon be attending all their charity events, keep an eye out for him if you see them.
On a more personal note, Mrs. B&B and I celebrated 21 years together since our last blog post. Thank you, sweetheart and here’s to the next chapter. As is our way Schooner Point Guest House will be celebrating The Kings Coronation and we will be bedecking the house with flags and bunting inside and out. We will also be celebrating with friends by having an alfresco paella and drinks. God Save The King.
Todays t shirt is one from The Jam. White image of the guys with each signature showing on a blue background. Which leads me into the pop trivia question. Who are “The Glimmer Twins” better known as? The answer to the previous question, what were my eyes stabbed by, is “by the flash of a neon light”. Such a great song by a great duo.
Well, it’s come round again we are open from Friday 3rd. March and Schooner point is ready and waiting for our lovely guests. We are looking forward to the new season and all that it brings. A special treat is due this year as we see The Lugger Regatta return to our quayside from 18th. - 21st. of May. If you haven’t seen it the spectacle is amazing, come and have a look for yourself.
I have had my second partial knee replacement and recovery is going very well. I have been ably supported and looked after by Mrs. B&B, where would I be without her. I would like to thank everybody for their best wishes and also a special thank you to all the staff involved in my operation at Practice Plus Group in Plymouth for their care and professionalism.
I feel I must mention the tv programme Beyond Paradise, partially filmed on location in our beautiful town of Looe, masquerading as Shipton Abbott. Mrs. B&B and I did see the crew in and around town back in the autumn. It was great to see many familiar haunts and we look forward to seeing more of the town in future episodes, as we will be watching. Schooner Point could be seen on some of the promotional clips but, unfortunately, not during the title scenes, shame. There has been a bit of consternation though, a Cornish Town being portrayed as Devon, heavens! Keep your eyes peeled for cream teas being shown, as Devon puts the jam on after the cream not the proper way of jam first. Book a stay at Schooner Point Guest House and use it as your base to see if you can recognise the filming locations. Hopefully, Looe can be the new Port Wenn, a.k.a. Port Isaac from the fabulous Doc Martin series.
Just to finish up, the t shirt of the day is the last of the Creedence Clearwater Revival ones I have. A black shirt with a red disc on the chest with CCR emblazoned across it.
1 Trelawney Terrace, Polperro Rd, Looe PL13 2AG
01503 262670
enquiries@schoonerpointlooe.co.uk
