Oh my gosh @Lyn and @Bluejayway I met Derek Tangye at his cottage about 26 years ago! No one else I know has ever heard of him.
I read all his books and absolutely loved them so when I was on holiday in Cornwall I thought I’d try and find him … he never publicised his address but gave enough pointers that you could find it if you really wanted to. I can remember walking over Monty’s Leap and down to his cottage. I sort of hung around by the gate as I was worried about intruding but he came out and was absolutely charming and invited me into his cottage, he said I reminded him of Jeannie, his late wife. We chatted for ages and he gave me his latest book which he signed with a beautiful message for me. Really lovely memories so thanks @Lyn for reminding me, I think I’ll go back and re-read his books again.
I’m so pleased you have your memories jogged again, what a remarkable man he was, hard to believe he left his very important job with MI5 after the war, and his Jeannie leaving the Savoy to come to Cornwall and live in a derelict cottage for the rest of their lives, they wouldn’t have a phone or television, dug a well for water. They left their land to the people, it will never be built on or spoilt. His father and grandfather were great men, they did a lot for industry and factory reform. The old saying is true ‘you can take the man out of Cornwall but you’ll never take Cornwall out of the man’
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
The Minack books are very special @CatDouch and @Lyn aren't they! The first one for me was Monty's Leap which I picked up at random in the library nearly 30 years ago. Needless to say I quickly sourced all the others and now have all of them on my bookshelves. Usually re-read them every few years or so. Wonderful.
Yes, I have read the Tangye books, all very good reads. I grew up in Guernsey so have moved from one idyllic location to another, very similar in climate and scenery. Cornwall certainly seems to attract characters, but there also seems to be an influx of artisans and self-employed businesses. The Channel Islands are known for early flowering daffs, usually the first for the supermarkets to sell. When I lived there the flower market was a primary industry but no longer. I remember going to freesia growers to buy flowers, the perfume when I went into the greenhouses, or vineries as they were called, was overpowering.
My snowdrop patch is not very big, under a maple in a north-facing corner bed. My daughter has them growing wild all over her lawn which looks lovely. I do not have a camera or mobile phone so cannot post pics. Sorry. I see no point in paying extortionate fees for a phone I would never use, most of my friends are no longer with us and I would be paranoid about having everything on a phone only to lose it. My memory is getting worse and even the car keys are a nightmare, I have to leave them in the same place every time I come home or I spend hours trying to find the damned things. I leave it to your imagination to envisage acres of snowdrops drifting in a gentle breeze, not the hurricanes we are getting down here.
No mobile phones here either Joyce, no signal and as you say, why pay for that, all but a couple of cousins are left of my family, we use the tablet for keeping in touch. I take photos on the tablet, don’t have a camera, like you, live a very simple life in the country.
My daughter is near you I think, she’s about 5 minutes drive from Eden, her husband is a clay mine captain.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
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I read all his books and absolutely loved them so when I was on holiday in Cornwall I thought I’d try and find him … he never publicised his address but gave enough pointers that you could find it if you really wanted to. I can remember walking over Monty’s Leap and down to his cottage. I sort of hung around by the gate as I was worried about intruding but he came out and was absolutely charming and invited me into his cottage, he said I reminded him of Jeannie, his late wife. We chatted for ages and he gave me his latest book which he signed with a beautiful message for me. Really lovely memories so thanks @Lyn for reminding me, I think I’ll go back and re-read his books again.
His father and grandfather were great men, they did a lot for industry and factory reform. The old saying is true ‘you can take the man out of Cornwall but you’ll never take Cornwall out of the man’
I read them years ago.
I grew up in Guernsey so have moved from one idyllic location to another, very similar in climate and scenery. Cornwall certainly seems to attract characters, but there also seems to be an influx of artisans and self-employed businesses.
The Channel Islands are known for early flowering daffs, usually the first for the supermarkets to sell. When I lived there the flower market was a primary industry but no longer. I remember going to freesia growers to buy flowers, the perfume when I went into the greenhouses, or vineries as they were called, was overpowering.
My snowdrop patch is not very big, under a maple in a north-facing corner bed. My daughter has them growing wild all over her lawn which looks lovely. I do not have a camera or mobile phone so cannot post pics. Sorry. I see no point in paying extortionate fees for a phone I would never use, most of my friends are no longer with us and I would be paranoid about having everything on a phone only to lose it. My memory is getting worse and even the car keys are a nightmare, I have to leave them in the same place every time I come home or I spend hours trying to find the damned things.
I leave it to your imagination to envisage acres of snowdrops drifting in a gentle breeze, not the hurricanes we are getting down here.