Bouillabaisse, Sashimi and the hottest pea puree in the world!

This past week has been all about gastronomic and photographic delights, with a couple of curve balls thrown in for good measure. Carol, Neville and I had four days down in our beloved Porthcothan Bay and I had no intention of cooking any meals other than perhaps breakfast, so the local restaurants and pubs were in for our company whether they liked it or not.

Regular readers of this blog will know by now that I’ve been visiting Porthcothan for pushing 50 years now. The journey is about four hours with a stop for Nev to stretch his legs, and by the time we get to Wadebridge it really feels like we’re coming home. This visit was extra special as I’d booked a guided photography walk with a local photographer I’d been following for a while on Facebook. Kate offers various walks in the area of Padstow to photograph the stunning scenery and get advice at the same time. Landscape photography is a genre that had largely passed me by over the past 40 years or so, and I was keen to gain some knowledge on the subject. I was not to be disappointed. We met Kate at the ferry in Padstow to cross over to Rock and begin our three hour walk along the beach to Daymer Bay, and back to Rock along the dunes. Carol and Neville were along for the ride too, this would be Nev’s longest walk to date and I was a bit concerned that it might have been too much for him. Oh silly me, he was in his element! What followed was a very pleasant three hour stroll, chat and lesson in photography. Kate is a patient teacher. The tips and tricks she gave me have enthused my love of photography even more. I’ve already planned out some shoots in and around the Berkshire area to hone my new found skills.

Kates work can be found on her FB page Kate Whis Photography which also links to her main webpage. I can’t recommend her enough if you happen to be in the area and enjoy photography. The remainder of the break was spent practising what I’d been taught and trying to get Neville to stop running in front of the lens every time I’d set a shot up. He loved his time on the beaches, chasing after his ball, digging holes and generally acting as a dog should.

Each day we walked around 10km on the beaches, probably as far as I’ve managed since becoming a Lary. Each night we were ready for bed by 9pm, a tired but happy triumvirate.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I had no intention of cooking whilst we were away. Our first port of call was the pub nearest to where we were staying, the Tredrea Inn overlooking Porthcothan Bay. This pub has some of the most spectacular views imaginable, it had also gained an unenviable reputation for poor food over a number of years. I’m so pleased to say that down to the hard work of the staff and owners it now has a 5* Food Hygiene rating and serves wonderful home cooked food. It also serves a rather good pint of Doombar! We were greeted by Steph like old friends when we showed up for lunch on our first day, I do suspect however that she was more pleased about getting Kromis kisses from Neville.

Our next venture out to eat wasn’t quite so satisfactory. The Cornish Arms in St Merryn is owned by Rick Stein, more of whom will be mentioned later. We’d eaten there on previous visits and loved the food and atmosphere. I’m afraid this time the same can’t be said. Both visits this year produced lovely food, however the second time it took the best part of an hour to be served two plates of hake and chips, the restaurant wasn’t busy, it just seemed from the faces of the waiting staff when we questioned the delay that they’d forgotten the order. This happens and is not a major issue. What is a major issue however is staff moaning about each other when paying customers are within ear shot. This happened on our first visit of the week. We were sat in a corner booth with Neville. The table next to us was occupied by two members of staff who seemed to be off duty but who were holding court with staff who were serving customers. They were moaning about other members of staff and generally behaving in a very unprofessional manner, certainly not something I’d expect from a Stein run business. I felt quite sorry for the waiter who was looking after us as he’d explained it was his first night in the job. He was fine, but some of his colleagues I suspect will be looking for new jobs in the not too distant future if they continue to act in such a manner.

Now for the other side of the PadStein empire. One of our guilty pleasures when we’re down in Porthcothan is to visit the world famous Sea Food Restaurant in Padstow. We’d booked a fairly early table for dinner on the same day we’d done the walk with Kate, figuring we’d both be fairly well knackered. Here’s where the reference to Derek William Dick AKA Fish comes in. It was only after we’d ordered that we realised we’d gone for two albums by the big man, Sashimi and Bouillabaisse (guess you had to have been there!). My sashimi was sublime, served with picked ginger, pickled bean sprouts and the hottest pea puree in the world, it very nearly blew my head off J As always the food was to die for, the service just perfect and the ambience lovely. I can only suggest the Rick passes on some tips to his staff at the Cornish Arms.

It was with a heavy heart that we had our final walk on the beach at Harlyn Bay on Thursday before starting the long journey back to Berkshire. We’ll be back, soon!

Finally, a couple of housekeeping points to bore you with. I’ve had my appointment with the Plastic Surgeon who confirmed that the lumps on my face are indeed skin cancer, but dead easy to cut away with no lasting effects. Carol had asked me to mention a few other bits and pieces she’d like looking at whilst I was under the knife, but the poor surgeon was running late and it didn’t seem right. Hopefully I’ll be under the knife in the next few weeks.

It wouldn’t be a blog unless I mentioned rugby at some point. Last weekend saw the Rams Sirens finish their season on a high with a victory over Hackney Ladies RFC

This weekend sees the Rams travel to Worthing RFC. Five more games to go, twelve points clear at the top of the league, can we dare to dream?

As always, thanks for reading.

To be continued…….

#Shoulder2Shoulder