The Lower Treave Caravan and Camping Park Blog

"Bugler! ....news coming soon on 2017 .....Sound the Advance!

Scroll down for all the latest information, news and views from Lower Treave.

Sunday 31 January 2010

MUM! THE MAN'S HERE TO CHECK THE BINS AGAIN!

Nobody move...or the eleven hundred litre roll-top skip gets it!

(see below)

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Tuesday 26 January 2010

BIN LADEN WITH PLASTIC AND CARDBOARD

The rather contrived title to the post just ensures I get a few hits on the blog from the CIA. And that first sentence ensures I get a few more!

But the real reason for writing is to give you the good news that this year we will also be recycling plastic and cardboard on site. The boys and girls from the Biffa have agreed to give us a plastic and cardboard recycling skip to add to our bins for glass, cans and paper. Now...here's the really brilliant thing...Biffa is going to charge us less for the bins that go to recycling than the bins which go to landfill...Win!Win!Win!

Well done Biffa, well done Cornwall County Council, and well done you lot for showing that there is a demand for a responsible and sustainable holiday which works for all of us.



PS...will let you know how many blog hits I get from Langley tomorrow.

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Sunday 24 January 2010

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

When crisis and disaster, man-made and natural, are at every turn, it is good to know that old friends will always return from beneath the snows to lift our spirits.



The humble dandelion surfaces through the grass sward. The name comes from the French 'dent de lion' because the pointed leaves resemble a lion's tooth.



"When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion".




In Buddhism, a willow branch is one of the chief attributes of Kwan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion.




The Assyrians crushed daisies and mixed them with oil to turn hair dark.



Celandine comes from the Latin chelidonia, meaning swallow: it was said that the flowers bloomed when the swallows returned and faded when they left.

These photographs were taken by Paul around Lower Treave yesterday and as spring blossoms, he will continue to update us on the plants, birds and animals which arrive to make our year.
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Wednesday 20 January 2010

WASHED UP BEAKER




A white-beaked dolphin was found stranded on a beach in St Mawes on Saturday 16th January. The 2.4 metre long dolphin was initially reported to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network as a porpoise. However, when Jan Loveridge, the Network's Co-ordinator, received photos of the animal she discovered it was a dolphin that is very rarely seen in Cornwall.


Dawn Andrews, a member of the public who reported the rare dolphin to the Network’s Hotline, says "Although it is sad to see a dead dolphin, it did give our children an opportunity to examine this beautiful creature close up. They were fascinated by the blow hole and its small, blunt teeth, and particularly by the smoothness of its skin." Twelve year old Josh Croft was another youngster who witnessed the stranded dolphin and was able to take some excellent photos, which he has given to the Marine Strandings Network for their archives.

"This is one of only nine stranded, white-beaked dolphins ever reported in Cornwall" says Jan Loveridge, "We're very pleased that so many people in St Mawes took the trouble to report it to us and it was great that the children took such an interest. There's nothing quite the same as seeing a dolphin close-up, although if a dead marine animal is found, it is advisable not to touch it as it could be carrying diseases that humans can catch.” The hope is that, although witnessing such a scene can be distressing, may also inspire the public’s interest to help conserve marine wildlife.

The male dolphin was examined by James Barnett, a member of the Marine Strandings Network's team, who is also a veterinary pathologist and advisor to the Network. By the time help arrived to retrieve the dolphin, it had refloated on the incoming tide. The volunteers had to rely on the help of boatman Bill Whitton, and a local fisherman, who towed it back to the slipway where James and two other volunteers, Debs Wallis and Jeff Loveridge, were waiting to help lift the heavy dolphin into a trailer. It was then taken to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Truro where a post-mortem examination was performed. Sadly, this revealed that the dolphin was probably caught accidentally in fishing nets. Two common dolphins, which were found on the same day, one on the Lizard and the other near Penzance, were also examined.

In the UK, white-beaked dolphins are mostly found off northern Scotland and along parts of the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Sadly, they have been hunted and killed for food and oil in the seas off Canada, in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and in Norway. They are fast, powerful swimmers and have a varied diet consisting of small schooling fish like herring; larger fish such as cod, whiting and haddock; and other prey such as squid and octopus. They often hunt in groups and communicate with each other by whistles, tail slaps and leaps. Occasionally they may associate with large, feeding whales, such as humpback and minke whales, and have been known to form mixed groups with some other dolphin species, including bottlenose and Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

The public are urged to report stranded marine wildlife to the Network on their Hotline number, 0845 201 2626, which is monitored every day of the year.

More info at http://www.cwtstrandings.org/
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Tuesday 19 January 2010

LATEST NEWS FROM SHELTERBOX CORNWALL ON HAITI DISASTER



Watch out here for details of where the Blogwall Bugle Shelterbox goes.

Monday 18 January 2010

LOVE CORNWALL? YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS!

Nice little website entitled 'Cornwall in Focus'...which is more than my screenshot of the website!



Also don't forget the great sites of the FTI group


and


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SO YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM PACKING THE TENT?

Helston based ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide.

They instantly respond to earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami or conflict by delivering boxes of aid.


Each box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored depending on the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value.




The cost of a box is £490, including delivery direct to those who need it. Each box bears its own unique number so as a donor you can track your box all the way to its recipient country via the website.

ShelterBox is sending emergency aid to Port au Prince, Haiti after an 7.0 magnitude earthquake.


The ShelterBox Response Team on the ground have described the situation in Port au Prince as desperate. ShelterBoxes were immediately dispatched and tents and equipment are currently being packed night and day in Helston to meet the ongoing need.

You can find out more and donate here: http://shelterbox.org/index.php




We are proud that a loyal follower of this blog is involved with Shelterbox. Well done mate, enjoy Oz!
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Saturday 16 January 2010

LIFE ON THE ROCKS

Had to call in on business at the National Maritime Museum, Falmouth yesterday and was reminded of what a great day out that venue is.

From 6 February 2010 they are shining a light on the world of lighthouses and their keepers.

From the massive scale of these triumphs of engineering to the tall tales of the lighthouse keepers themselves, Lighthouses: Life on the Rocks aims to illuminate these incredible stories before they slip out of living memory. The UK's last manned lighthouse was converted to automatic operation in November 1998, and this evocative exhibition explores the lives of the last of the lighthouse keepers.

Visitors also have the opportunity to step inside the world of the lighthouse keeper, with a reconstruction of a lighthouse’s living quarters, featuring original curved furniture from Godrevy Lighthouse and objects which reflect the life of a lighthouse keeper. Theirs was a life of strict routine and relative isolation and to fill their time, when not tending to the light, these men would write poetry, craft ships in light bulbs or come up with ingenious ways of supplementing their limited supplies, such as kite fishing!
 


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Friday 15 January 2010

WHAT A LOVELY PAIR!

Notice seen in a shop window in Falmouth today...

'Socks...buy one, get one free!'


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Wednesday 13 January 2010

LOVELY LONDON RUNNING MAD VIRGIN MARATHON WOMAN


You've seen her dripping about the campsite moaning about the weather...well now you can watch her run the London Marathon...better still, you can sponsor her to do it!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SumiGlass

Go on...giver her a quid and stop her moaning! Better still, give her a fiver and she might do it in 'Crocs'!

Wouldn't like to be the organisers if it rains on the day! Good luck Sumi!
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Sunday 10 January 2010

SOME CANCELLATIONS IN CORNWALL YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF!

The Carharrack Fancier Society bantam show at Mill Hall on Saturday is cancelled.

All cricket training sessions at the Cornwall Cricket Centre, Truro College on Saturday and Sunday are cancelled.

Cornish Tractor Club's road run on Sunday is cancelled until further notice.

The performance of Rum & Shrub at Devoran Village Hall has been postponed! Aaaargh!

Snowing again here ... but it doesn't seem to bother some members of the Lower Treave menagerie.





Stay safe, stay warm ... like Jake and the Scouts, Be Prepared!


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ON THE WING



A slightly warmer day and the snow begins to ease away from the fields around Lower Treave. The waters of Mounts Bay form a grey horizon, the buildings of Chycandra are in the foreground and Lower Treave nestles amongst the trees in the centre of the picture.



A Lapwing (also known as a Peewit or Green Plover) shelters against one of the Park walls. It is probably digging for leatherjackets, snails and slugs in the softer ground.



A Redwing (one of the thrush family) also looks for sustenance. This one is lucky...we threw the remains of the christmas pudding on to this piece of grass!



The Lapwings move on to pastures new.

(Photos Paul and Norman)
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Tuesday 5 January 2010

HATS, HAMPERS, SCARVES AND HAND-WARMERS!

Sometimes, Christmas presents just work out. Who could have foreseen the post-festivity cold snap and siege conditions when they wrapped these crackers up?



A hamper full of goodies to delight the tastebuds now the turkey has run out, a hat and scarf which have been constant companions since Christmas Day (it's not a great look in bed but who cares?) and a nifty little emergency pack for the car containing an ice scraper and a hand-warmer.....Perfick!

Thanks to all family and friends for some thoughtful and very useful gifts.

This year, the presents I gave were mostly pants!

Wear these; you'll keep warm, stay safe, and we'll see you in the summer!



To book on-line...but not to buy pants...go to


Remember, book early, don't be caught with your pants down!

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Sunday 3 January 2010

It just makes me laugh every time I play it!



Check out the steps...we'll be doing this at Lower Treave this year!
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SUMMER AVAILABILITY - STATIC HOLIDAY CARAVAN SENNEN LANDS END CORNWALL

Just had a cancellation come in on this one, so it is now available, first come, first served ...

One week, commencing 7 August 2010, 4 Berth Holiday Caravan, £440 fully inclusive.

See  http://www.lowertreave.co.uk/caravan-hire.html for full details and

http://www.lowertreave.co.uk/prices.html to book on-line.




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Saturday 2 January 2010

RAIN IN CORNWALL ... THE FACTS ... THE FIGURES ... THE FORECAST

Some of you will know that Paul (Director Estates, Wildlife and well known Bramble Maniac) is a keen amateur meteorologist. He has kindly provided the actual rainfall figures, as taken at his St Just weather station, for the last seven years.



We are all a bit guilty of allowing our weather memory to drift into myth and legend so it is interesting to see the actual figures and compare them with your perception of events. For instance, I was surprised to see that last July was wetter than July 08...but August was comparatively dry (less than half the rainfall of the preceeding month). If you were to choose a holiday on the strength of these numbers alone, then you would probably come in April, June or September. We have never had a completely dry month, but some of the readings include extreme weather events where perhaps a large amount of rain fell in just a few hours, but the rest of the month was reasonably dry.

And the forecast for 2010...well that is anybody's guess at the moment...but keep an eye on the Jetstream (the upper atmosphere wind that drives our weather systems). If it settles to the north of us, we are in for a good one. If it drifts to the south...its brollies and wellies time.

But in the final analysis, there are no guarantees. I am sitting here writing this in bright sunshine looking out at Paul (Director Estates, Wildlife and Bramble Maniac) wielding a scythe like a madman and working off the Christmas poundage with every swing of his arm. Mum has just phoned from the Midlands and it is -4c and snowing! The weather is the weather. Just get up in the morning, look out of the window and thank your deity of choice for it. Otherwise....what would we talk about!



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