Well, I never thought in a million years that when I arrived in the UK from South Africa on the 1st June 2023 that the forthcoming weeks would become a successful milestone in my life.
Having written a book “St Ives Unframed” about my years living in St Ives, Cornwall during the 60s and 70s. It turns out that the book has become very popular especially in the beautiful Cornish seaside town. It appears that nobody to date has recorded or written about this very special period of beatniks, hippies, flower power, bohemians, artists, and musicians – nothing archived (and trust me St Ives has a spectacular archive museum) other than what is recorded in my book. My friend Suzanne, who I had met through the tennis club the previous year became the great instrumentalist in recognising the importance of the book and felt that it should be put out there within the town for the locals and visitors to appreciate.
Suzanne suggested to her colleagues on the committee of the St Ives Arts Club about me doing a Saturday evening talk at the Arts Club Theatre. I was then invited to meet the group one morning over coffee. We all got on like a house on fire and a date was fixed for me to do a talk exactly ten days later – I was a bit shell shocked. This gave me and the Arts Club very little time to prepare this BIG event, but it was the only evening the theatre was free. Advertising, and other logistics had to be put in place by the committee as well as selling enough tickets to fill the charming 60 seater theatre. I had to read the book again which I wrote in 2018-19. During the COVID pandemic I had written another book. As a reminder a quick read of St Ives Unframed again was on the cards.
During the meeting with the Arts Club Committee, Suzanne mentioned that a film producer she was in contact with was interested in meeting me having read St Ives Unframed and wondered if a film could be made of it. Phew! That was like a punch in the stomach. A film, a film about my time in St Ives. I was blown away. No sooner had this been mentioned when Suzanne, Louise and the rest of the committee said we had all been invited to Bob Osborne’s house at Tregerthen, Zennor. We all piled into three cars and made our way out on the Lands’ End coast road giving a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean on our right and the rugged West Penwith Moors on the left – this was familiar territory to me as I once lived in the early 80s in a beautiful old cottage in Zennor, one of the most romantic place names in England. I also knew Tregerthen, a farm about a mile away towards Eagles Nest. I was excited as we reached the turn-off to Tregerthen and the cars made their way down the narrow lane towards Higher Tregerthen and came upon a row of three cottages, one of which D.H. Lawrence had lived with his German wife Frieda during the first world war.
Further down the lane we came upon Tregerthen Farm where we made a narrow turn around the farmhouse and came to the home of our host Bob Osborne at Lower Tregerthen whose farmhouse led across rugged green fields to the blue Atlantic Ocean beyond. It was truly wild and beautiful. Bob had recently finished his book ‘Spirit Of Place’ so we were having lunch with him and the film maker Diana Taylor who had made a film of Bob’s book which was now out on general release. Diana had wanted to meet me to discuss making a film about ‘St Ives Unframed’ which she had read. I soon found myself chatting happily to the charming and friendly film maker, flattered beyond belief that someone would be interested to put my book on celluloid. Diana asked if she could do some filming there and then, more interviewing about my thoughts on Cornwall now and what had inspired me all those years ago – so without preamble and no time for preparation we got to it. Probably the best way as I had no time at all to be nervous. I felt at ease with Diana and one hour later she called it a wrap. My first step into the world of film.
We sat outside at a large table decked with all sorts of delicious looking food, cheeses, salads, breads, lots of fruit and wine, it was an idyllic picnic lunch surrounded by interesting and talented people all chatting away together – these were people I hardly knew but deep down I felt that new friendships were being forged. Tregerthen is a very spiritual place. It resonates in deep history of the Cornish moors where farmers, mines and smuggling were its rugged landscape, dark, haunting, but ultimately beautiful. Bob Osborne’s book ‘ ZENNOR SPIRIT OF PLACE’ has felt it all. Having had the best of afternoons at Lower Tregerthen we piled into the cars to take us back to St Ives. As I looked upon those wild rugged moors with deep longing, a reminder to me of a life many, many years ago when Susan and I rode our beloved horses Melba and Charmaine over those moors without a care in the world.
Book Talk
With very little notice I agreed to do a talk about my book ‘St Ives Unframed’ at the St Ives Arts Club Theatre on the 8th July 2023. The Arts Club is the oldest Arts Club in St Ives. Established in 1890, and in spite of the building being on the edge of the sea and constantly battered by wind and tides, it is still there and thriving 130 years later. It is truly is amazing building and I feel honoured to be asked to do a talk there.
There was little time for the Arts Club Committee to do much advertising about the talk, so they just had to do so by word of mouth to everyone they knew and put up a small notice on the Arts Club Gallery window advertising the event. There was little pre-booking so we were all on edge that the charming 60 seat theatre might well not get filled. Refreshments of cheese and wine would be served so the cost of that had to be accounted for. Suzanne and Louise just took it in their stride. From the beginning I had told the committee it was too short notice to do this talk, but Saturday 8th July was the only free night the theatre had for the next three months when I would be well and truly 6,120 miles away.
St Ives Unframed books were ordered from the publishers and arrived some days later with great relief. I re-read the book again to jog my memory as this was going to be a question and answers talk after the show. I provided many old photographs from the 60s and 70s to the expert of sound and vision as a back drop on the stage. It all takes an infinite amount of time collating everything. Four of us had dinner together at Suzanne’s to go through the on-stage itinerary, especially Suzanne who was going to introduce me – something she had never done before. She was quite nervous.
The talk day dawned and still no-one had any idea how many people would arrive at the door. I had my own guest list which 14 people had replied and were coming – other than that very little. I kept myself busy helping the race officer of St Ives Sailing Club atop the Old Pier lighthouse on Smeaton’s Pier in the afternoon. I do this on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons during the summer season when I am in St Ives. I left my flat in Market Place at 5.45pm for the 4 minute walk to the Arts Club as the talk was due to start at 6pm On arrival at the entrance door of the theatre where Suzanne and Louise were busy selling tickets but seemed in a flurry as lots of people were already in the theatre they told me excitedly. Phew I had to get my skates on and get my act together I told myself heading upstairs to the theatre.
Much to my surprise the seats seemed packed with people all ready and waiting. The stage was set with a round table where my books were nicely displayed, two chairs and in the background a large screen was showing pictures of the 60s and 70s in St Ives, the beatniks, the hippies, the flower-power love and light, The Beatles and the singer Donovan – these were personal photographs and I felt blessed that I had kept them all those years and to now be showing these 60 years later in St Ives was unbelievable.
The talk was a great success made up of the people in the audience who I knew during that heady time and the relatives of some of the characters I write about in the book. Much fun and laughter was had throughout. It quite took me by surprise when the son of the owner of The Garrack Hotel where I had washed up evenings and weekends to save for a car, had given me an unexpected bonus at the end of the season for staying (I was the only person on the seasonal staff that had), got up and introduced himself. That was quite an emotional moment for me, and I think it was for him as well. There were lots of questions and answers that could have gone on all night, but all good shows have to come to an end. We had cheese and wine to follow and plenty of people remained where we sat all together in party mode on the stage and around just talking about the past and reminiscing how wonderful St Ives had been in those fabulous days.
Diana and Bob were at the book talk and they asked if they could do some more filming of me in St Ives itself and particularly at the famous Sugar n Spice Coffee Bar where I was the manager and met Donovan the folk singer. And that’s what we did a few days before I left to return to South Africa. Being in St Andrews Street again and showing the film crew where I worked all those years ago, pulling the handles of the large GAGGIA coffee machine (8cups) the largest one in St Ives, felt great – we asked the present owners and under another name for access, they were bewildered to be told that this quiet cafe they owned was once the hub of St Ives and hugely successful six decades ago. It would have been hard to imagine Donovan and his manager Gypsy Dave sitting in the in the café now drinking coffee and strumming on guitars singing ‘Catch The Wind’.
My time in St Ives is over for this year – eventful would have to be an understatement. It was the best time. Meeting such wonderful people, Suzanne, Louise, and the rest of the fab crowd. Diana, Bob and most importantly, spending time in Zennor and Tregerthen bringing back such amazing memories. Doing the book talk show and being filmed was an unexpected bonus. I leave St Ives and Cornwall for my home and the wildlife of Africa where my heart belongs.