An Indian summer, the weather men said and certainly it was hard to leave Cornwall one Saturday morning, with the courtyards and gardens bathed in sunlight and the promise of new growth in the air.

But we slunk away for a couple of weeks to revive our souls after a busy Summer, guiltily watching the traffic stream towards Cornwall on the newly upgraded roads, as we joined the air port queues, only to be fined for over weight luggage. The tiny Island of Formenterra is so like West Penwith in many ways with an ancient language, traditions of agriculture and fishing all wrapped around by the sea with an active tourism edict. We’d spotted this bar/restaurant many times but had been unable to squeeze into the tiny car park but this year we were lucky and spent a wonderful evening eating freshly caught local fish and drinking the local wine with our wonderful host -just a blur in the photo I’m afraid, so should you stray, do visit Sa Parada just beyond San Fernado.

We returned to Cornwall through fingers of milky sunlight casting longer shadows than when we left - across the roof of Bodmin moor, with it’s broad horizon and Cornish flags bravely fluttering in lay-by cafes. Ednovean was just as we left her, a fine old lady gathering her herbs and palms around her like a good duchess adjusting her skirts and busy once more about the business of Autumn holidays.

Olley did not approve of the thing known as a “cattery” although returning at twice his body weight to receive guests on their way to Breakfast

Some things have not gone so smoothly…..the chickens, alas proved too tempting a morsel for our local fox, which started to use our hen run as his own private Kentucky unfried (sorry couldn’t resist) chicken. So sadly, we took the decision to find them a better home until we could improve the defences.

Sooty our lovely old horse has been poorly too and a series of tests revealed Cushings disease (A tumour on the pituitary gland in the brain) at the heart of his problem. Modern medicine has the answer though and he now takes a daily pill at breakfast time - he’s is a bit suspicious as to why Charles keeps giving him titbits!

As this balmy Autumn draws on the Olive trees on the terrace outside of the Blue room have begun to ripen—should we start an Olive grove perhaps! Charles is adamant about the vineyard in the front field below the house…………. NO