to see the lights at Mousehole.
As the train left the last stop before Penzance, I put my head out of the window, just for a look. I walked back to my seat. M said "Oh. Have you put your contact lenses in?". I said " No, I put my head out of the window, the window sprang back up at me, and sent my glasses flying out of the window".
Normally, as I am pretty short sighted and totally useless without specs (unless things are very close or big and bright), I would have thought this would have invoked some sympathy.
But no. M creased up and rolled around on her seat, giggling uncontrollably. S followed her example. Tears of laughter came from their eyes. B controlled himself but was obviously amused. I condemned myself to a weekend without vision unless I could sponge some contacts off Specsavers.
Eventually things calmed down and I found my sunglasses, which are prescription. I remembered seeing a flash of red go down between the train and the platform, so we arrived at PZ and tracked down the none-too-keen Passenger Assistance Team (I appreciate their lack of keenness: who would want to deal with a bloke in sunglasses on a dull January day, wearing a dead badger on his head?)
Nonetheless, they rang St Erth, but when we went back they hadn't found them, so B and I got on the next train back east to have a look ourselves, while our still giggling women went to the hotel.
As we pulled into St Erth, I chanced to look (in my sunglasses) at the end of the platform, and there the glasses were, on the ballast, so we nipped over the bridge, retrieved them from the track without being seen. Only slightly scratched. Five minutes later, we caught the train back and had a merry walk to Mousehole for the lights.
and beer (at the Fisherman's in Newlyn, at the Old Coastguard in Mousehole, and on our return, The Union, The Turks Head and the Admiral Benbow in PZ), before returning to our cosy hotel, stone cold sober (ahem).
Today, slightly over hung,while M and S saved Penzance (by spending a small fortune on clothes and jewellery at independent retailers) B and I visited 2 more pubs we had previously missed, to which neither are we likely to return to(err one had no ale, one had ale that was off, and drunks)
5 comments:
As the train left the last stop before Penzance, I put my head out of the window, just for a look........
I bet you yearn for the days when that would have got you spits of soot on your face from the steam engine?
Have a top ear A.
Mermy
Blame the fat controller for putting a stop that!
Lovely photos! I have got to be there for the Mousehole lights one year. I used to work in the Admiral Benbow - did you see "three men in lots of boats" the other day? They went there too!
What a great story!! I can't believe you got the glasses back intact! I used to live a few miles along the coast from Mousehole towards Land's End. In a converted pigsty cottage that had no electricity, piped gas lights and a solid fuel Raeburn so I had loads of hot water. It was fab until a gale blew my roof off!!
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