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Part 1 in which Rod recounts the experiences of his journey to an Eden other than that described in Genesis 2, and infers a connexion between the Biblical description of an idyllic garden plot and parts of our own ancient land... I am writing this article on St George's Day (23rd April) and have proudly flown the flag from the mast in my garden in celebration of the saint and this beautiful island, of which John of Gaunt spoke: The royal throne of Kings, this sceptre'd isle, (Shakespeare's Richard II Act 2, Sc. 1) The connexion was most appropriate as I had recently returned from a visit to an awesome china-clay pit in Cornwall, called "The Eden Project". The opportunity arose for me to take a break of a few days and to drive westwards into the sunset. As is my habit I endeavoured to make the journey as pleasant and eventful as possible and so digressed en route: to the jewel-like and painterly town of Lyme Regis, where I walked along the Cob in the sunshine, pondering on the novelletish life of The French Lieutenant's Woman, as depicted by John Fowles. to the sedate town of Sidmouth, where a walk in the Connaught Gardens lifts the spirits, one sees the wonderful displays of cacti and succulents and can empathise with the bathers in the icy waters. to have lunch with my brother-in-law, a structural engineer at Exeter, who was most hospitable and impressed upon me the requirement, when at the Eden Project, to examine the New Bamboo House in which he had a hand in the design, and where his firm was among the principal sponsors. This house was constructed within the humid tropical zone.
spending the night with friends at St Germans - where I admired the ox-bow sweep of the river, very prone to flooding, which separates here and flows below the wonderful Victorian Viaduct - those forbears of ours certainly knew how to build monumental structures which could last! I was also informed that one of the claims to fame of this part was that over a thousand years ago the Bishop of St Germans decided that the western diocese would follow the Roman rites (bringing it into line with the decisions of the Synod of Whitby) instead of the prevalent Celtic ones. I wondered why there had been so many local saints, unknown elsewhere, giving their identities to the place-names. The period 450AD till 600AD is known in these parts as "The Age of the Saints". a visit to Buckfast Abbey, sampling and purchasing some of its strong tonic wines and being rather disappointed that the honey on sale was imported, whilst the local bees produced a product more suitable for beeswax candles. The abbey itself was reverentially peaceful and I greatly admired the incredible wall of modern stained glass in the chapel reserved only for prayer and not for tourist viewing. inspection at Dartington of its famous glass and whilst visiting the Cider Press Complex there to walk around traditional rural buildings to see where skilful craftsmen did their work. until I arrived at Fowey, the base at which I had decided to stay. The name in the Celtic tongue means 'Beech Tree River.' After settling in at the historic town of Fowey, whose inhabitants daily endure strenuous exercise going up and down the steep slopes, I went down to investigate the harbour and the sights of Polruan opposite. To my dismay the pleasure boat advertising this trip had just left the jetty. Nothing daunted, I hired a motor boat and witnessed some marvellous scenes: the novelist Daphne du Maurier's house and Readymoney Cove the places where Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (usually operating under the pseudonym 'Q') did his writings St Catherine's Point and the Blockhouses where a chain was put across the harbour in days gone by to thwart French and Spanish invaders the mainland end of the Saints Way - an ancient path, probably also a trade route linking Padstow with this area, and whilst admiring this the Russian ship Valentine (another saint!), called at the docks for a cargo of china-clay. Nearby Golant is the site of the church of St Sampsons where King Mark took the beautiful Iseult to wife. It will be recalled that on the journey from Brittany to Cornwall, the young guardian knight Tristam fell in love with her, leading to the tragedy of Tristan and Isolda (Iseult). I later explored the town, finding the church of St Finn Barr (St Fimbarrus) particularly fascinating. This 6th Century saint (the name means 'shining-hair') arrived here from Ireland, set up the church in Fowey and later became Bishop of Cork. The church is entered through a porch open at both ends and I was curious to find the room above it, entered by a stone spiral staircase. With permission I entered this 'Muniments' room. A skilled workman was rendering the inside with a mixture of lime and sand. In complimenting him on his competence I asked about the usage of this room, separated from the church and entered over a stone step which had been part of a Norman font. He said that it was usable now for meetings and that formerly it had been a storage for deeds of title and other official documents. In earlier times it had been used as a Scriptorium (a place for the Calligraphy and Illumination of manuscripts). I was extremely gratified by the reception of this information, it being one of my major interests, and let my imagination take over as I conjectured what it would be like to work in such a holy place.
The memorial cross outside in the churchyard was sculpted on all sides with intricate knots - and I was delighted to find, even in this, the most carefully carved of monuments, that it contained an error in interlacing. Such mistakes (human errors) are also found in unbelievably intricate manuscripts - even the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Items of note were inside this lovely church with its stained glass and wagon-vaulted roof: an inscription of a letter from Charles I praising the loyalty of the people of Cornwall during the Civil War. It was unusual in that the text was 39 lines long with an average of 7 words per line and contained only one full stop! Information in verse on the prowess of the bell ringers, it being boldly proclaimed that 'Yorkshire Surprise Major' had been pealed on a certain date, being accomplished in 2 hours 59 minutes - even I was surprised! There were events in the Town Hall advertised for the evenings. On the first occasion a band of three players rendered tunes of the 1950's and 60's. Ah, perhaps nostalgia isn't what it used to be! - but it was an excellent recall, enabling those of riper years to relive music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Dave Clark Five... on the second evening the event was even more appealing, for the group 'the Gumbo Flyers' gave their frenetic renderings of Cajun and Zydeco music. Of course, I took the occasion to learn to dance in the Cajun style and a good time was had by all! The next day I set out in the direction of St Austell in order to investigate the delights of the Eden Project. ROD DAWSON in part II, to be published next month, Rod details his experiences in the celebrated tourist attraction and recounts further experiences on the return journey. |
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page last updated 4 JUNE 2002 |
