North Cornwall News     Spring 2008

Let me start by thanking all of you who contacted us enquiring about the Spring newsletter... and the short answer is no-one has been removed from our mailing list, it's just we have been so inundated this April that we have only now found time to send you the latest edition.

And it appears that Spring is finally  shrugging off the chill of Winter. The trees are starting to bud, the primroses are well in flower and here at NCN we are already seeing a surge in online activity as folk start to think of the holiday season.

Do remember that we post all local activities on the main website, but in the left sidebar are a few things to look out for this year. You will be pleased to know that the Where Am I competition is at the foot of this newsletter and The Anonymous Diner as once again been out and about sampling North Cornwall's cuisine.

 

Anyway, have a super spring and we will see you in the summer.

 

From the NCN Team

 

Spring into healthy eating.

Spring - clean your eating habits.

At many different levels, springtime is a new beginning. In spring, all of Nature renews, rises and expands. Plants move upward, sprouting and blossoming, and a feeling of freshness flows through everything. Sunrise comes earlier and earlier in the day, and youthfulness burgeons in the plant world with lots of new shoots and sprouts. If we have gardens, we spend more time in them, cleaning up winter's debris, tending new growth, and freshening things up.  So why not extend spring's fresh start to the way we eat? Why not take this same approach to your meal plan? What a perfect time to do some spring cleaning in our kitchen, pantry, and menus, to take a fresh look at the food you consume and breathe new life into your way of eating. Spring is a time to rejuvenate yourself with the freshest foods of this life-renewing season.  feeling of airiness, the delight of being outside and in the fresh air once again.

 

A simple and delicious spring salad - serves 4.

Ingredients
4 large or 8 small artichokes
12 asparagus spears
400g of new potatoes
a handful of small radicchio leaves (or any bitter salad leaf)
4-5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Method
Prepare 4 large or 8 small artichokes as described above. Cut each one into bite-sized wedges and place in a large bowl. Blanch 12 asparagus spears in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes, refresh by plunging into ice water, then cut into 3-4cm pieces and add to the artichokes. Boil 400g of small new potatoes in their skins. Cool, peel and cut into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Add a handful of small radicchio leaves (or any bitter salad leaf) and toss with 4-5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 2-3 tbsp of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Serve immediately
 

Why ? Things to ponder...

Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?

Why don't you ever see the headline: "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why do Doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why do you have to click on "Start" to stop 'Windows'?

Why  isn't there mouse flavoured cat food?

Who tastes dog food when it has a "new & improved" flavour?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

How come we put a man on the moon before realising it would be a good idea to put wheels on suitcases?

Why does a round pizza gets delivered in a square box?

Why do people say they "slept like a baby", when babies normally wake up every two hours?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?

How do blind people know when they are done wiping?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

 

The Anonymous Diner

The Slipway Restaurant

The Slipway Hotel,
The Harbour Front,
Port Isaac, PL29 3RH.

Tel: 01208 880264

The Slipway 

The entrance to the Slipway Hotel and Restaurant is via a covered al fresco dining area which leads to a bar. From what I gather the bar and Kitchen area used to be a ships chandlers and the restaurant beyond was the old cellar and gallery. The Restaurant being on two levels. The gallery, with it's twisted wooden pillars and blackened beams, has recently been restored to its original form and occupies three sides of what was the old cellar. If you do happen to sit in the gallery you will see reliefs of figures displayed on the walls that are made by a local artist and you also get views of the village and the diners below.   

 

The Staff .

We were greeted by two courteous and friendly young waitresses, who showed us to our table in the gallery, and then went about their business with attentive efficiency. The restaurant manager was away the evening we dined and her position was being temporarily filled by the owner who made an excellent Maître'd.

 

The Food

For starters we chose the local scallops which were nicely presented but for both our tastes , slightly under cooked. We then had a main course of Sea Bass which was cooked to perfection and very filling, though I have to confess that the crayfish tails pancake was slightly soggy by the time I reached it, saying that, the crayfish itself was very edible. The vegetables served with the Bass were lovely new potatoes and carrots that were spot on. The broccoli however, looked a bit yellow in places and the slightly pickled?? red cabbage I thought an odd choice of veg. But I came for the fish and that was superb.  We also had a dessert, this time opting for different choices. I had the sticky  sponge pudding with currants or raisins or both?? and a lovely caramel sauce topped with just a splash of cream. However I did not have to ask for more cream has my companion had  chosen the Orange Cheesecake with Grand Marnier and a Blackcurrant couli which came with a whopping dollop of Cornish Clotted Cream on the side that I had to help consume. All in all a good deal at around £35 per head including wine, water and beer.

 

Recommendations.

The Slipway is mentioned in The Which Guide to Good Hotels, The Good Pub Guide and The Rough Guide to Cornwall.

 

Service: Excellent

Presentation:  Good

Value for money:  Good

Overall Rating:   8.5  out of 10 

 

See you next time.

T.A.D.

(THE ANONYMOUS DINER)

 

The Otterham and St Juliot Hall needs your help!!!

MARSHGATE'S HALL IS FALLING DOWN!
Marshgate, partly in the parish of Otterham and partly in the parish of St Juliot, is a small village in a sparsely populated area of North Cornwall. There is neither a Church nor a Pub, just a Village Store and Post Office, a few farms and a number of houses. However, the focal point of the village is the Village Hall - "The Otterham & St Juliot Hall" to give it its full title. Although Marshgate may be small, the Hall caters for people living in the surrounding areas, mainly (as the name suggests) in the parishes of Otterham and St Juliot but also from a wider area as far away as Bude, Camelford and Boscastle. Used by many local groups, the Hall also plays host to dinners for the local population, is used by a play group and the local school and regularly hosts auctions. To lose the use of it would be nothing short of a disaster.

However the fabric of the building is frail and the time has come when the building needs to be replaced. For this a large sum of money, approximately £250,000, needs to be raised, which is where you can help by giving us a donation or supporting one of the fund-raising events.

 

Please click here to visit the website and to make donations.
 

Just for fun.

 Old Mrs. Wilson awoke one spring morning to find that the river had flooded the entire first floor of her house. Looking out of her window, she saw that the water was still rising. Two men passing by in a rowboat shouted up an invitation to row to safety with them. "No, thank you," Mrs. Watkins replied. "The Lord will provide." The men shrugged and rowed on. By evening, the water level forced Mrs. Watkins to climb on top of the roof for safety. She was spotted by a man in a motorboat, who offered to pick her up. "Don't trouble yourself," she told him. "The Lord will provide." Pretty soon, Mrs. Watkins had to seek refuge atop the chimney. When a Red Cross cutter came by on patrol, she waved it on, shouting, "The Lord will provide." So the boat left, the water rose, and the old woman drowned. Dripping wet and thoroughly annoyed, she came through the pearly gates and demanded to speak to God. "What happened?" she cried.  "For crying out loud, lady," God said, "I sent three boats."

 

Q? What would you call a drunk who works at an upholstery shop?
A: Recovering alcoholic.

 

A colleague of mine who is involved in the emergency services, was in attendance at Polzeath the other day,  due to a lady from Essex having fallen and cut herself quite badly. When my colleague enquired where she was bleeding from, she promptly replied...ROMFORD.

 

Doh!

 

N.B. If you have any amusing anecdotes that are suitable for young and old please submit them to the website.. and we will publish the most amusing.

 

Website Design and Hosting

Kestrel Solutions are a North Cornwall based web design and hosting service that offer cost effective internet solutions.

We provide domain name registration and hosting packages that you will find hard to beat.

For more information visit our website.

E-mail:   info@kestrelsolutions.co.uk

Website : www.kestrelsolutions.co.uk     

 

If you have your own website then don't waste more money.

Go here for a cost effective advertising solution that beats pay per click hands down and will promote your website to the right audience.

 

Where Am I?

To the left is an image of a location that is somewhere in North Cornwall.

So !!  Where am I ??

The task  is to identify said location and then e-mail your answer to us using the e-mail link below:

E-mail your answer to:   iknow@thisisnorthcornwall.co.uk

 

If you are really stuck e-mail us at the above e-mail address and we will send you a clue!!!

 

Entries must be received by the 25th of June 2008.

The first correct entry  drawn out of the hat will win a cash prize.

N.B.  Please include your name and full postal address or we will be unable to enter you into the hat.

 

WINTER WINNER 2007/08

Again everybody in North Cornwall seemed to know this estuary location. 
It was, of course, none other than the waterfront at Rock.

The first name out of the hat with the correct answer for the Winter Where am I? competition was :-

 Sólveig Young  who is a actual resident of  Rock.  How Jammy is that.

Congratulations! !  Solveig You will receive your loot in the very near future.

Well done to everyone of you who tried.

Do have a go at this editions competition you never know!

 

Final Thought.

If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there to hear him, is he still wrong?

Have a good Spring and we will see you in the SUMMER.

All the best from the NCN Team.