Wednesday 30 September 2009

St Ives Jazz Club


Amina Figarova - Tuesday 10th November 2009


St Ives Jazz Club have just announced their programme for October to December 2009.

They'll be meeting every Tuesday night at The Western Hotel.
Doors open 8.00pm music starts 9.00pm with two sets until around 11.30pm.
Entry on the door is £9.00 or £6.00 for members.

As ever they've booked top class jazz musicians from Cornwall, around the UK and Europe.
  • Kit Downes Trio
  • Roger Beaujolais
  • Kris Gayle
  • Steve Waterman
  • McCormack Yarde Duo
  • Amina Figarova and Bart Platteau
  • Will Collier 7
  • D'Agostino & Oxley
  • Jazz Degree Tutors Ensemble (Truro College)
  • Tommaso Starace
  • Jimmy Cannon
The season ends with a Christmas Party Gala Night on 22nd December.
The club then closes until 19th January.

I've just updated their website with full details of the new programme:

Tuesday 29 September 2009

Woolworths - St Ives Cornwall

Woolworths - Fore Street - St Ives Cornwall


An update on what is happening to poor old Woollies in St Ives.

I know from my Google Analytics that a lot of people are interested.

The answer is - absolutely nothing.

It still stands sadly derelict on Fore Street - a scene that I guess is repeated on many small town High Streets.

Rumours over the past months have included occupation by:
  • Stringfellows Lap Dancing Club.
  • Tesco Metro.
  • Anns Cottage Surf Shop.
  • Gordon Ramsay.
  • Rick Stein
My hope is that one of my favourite shops - Tins and Things - embarks on a massive expansion drive and takes on the lease.

Or maybe turn over the whole place to the local kids as a brilliant indoor skateboard park.

For now the place remains sadly empty.

Thursday 24 September 2009

St Ives September Festival


St Ives September Festival 2009


I've not blogged as much or as well for the last few days as I've been so occupied with festival events.

I've put a summary of what I've been doing on the:
St Ives September Festival Blog

I've also been pulling together a few videos - hope you enjoy the one above.
More to come.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

St Ives Cornwall - Social Network


St Ives Cornwall - Social Network

Update - October 2013
The network that I set up has now been replaced by my popular St Ives Community page on Facebook - click below to visit and please "Like" - 
OneStives - St Ives Cornwall



I've just set up a new Social Networking site for St Ives:

St Ives Cornwall Network

Our own little version of FaceBook.

Its still in the early stages and I'm not sure how it will work out.
I'm still playing around with some of the features.

But if you'd like to give it a go please do sign up.
Its free and quick to do so.

You can add events, set up groups, upload pictures and lots more.

So why not give it a go.

As ever any feedback welcome.


Saturday 19 September 2009

St Ives - September Festival


Anna Chen - Anna May Wong Must Die! - Yellowface


A selection of festival events coming up over the next few days.

Tonight (19th) and Sunday (20th)- A Festival of New Playwriting - Hydrae.
Four new one act plays never seen on stage before.
St Ives Theatre. 8.00pm. £7.00.

Sunday (20th) - Anna May Wong Must Die!
A multimedia illustrated talk about Hollywood's first Chinese movie star by Anna Chen.
St Ives Arts Club. 7.00pm. £6.00.

Monday (21st) - Poetry Marathon.
Individuals and groups are welcome to come and read their favourite poems throughout the day.
St Ives Church. 8.00am to 8.00pm. £2.00.

Tuesday (22nd) - Everything I Know About Rock and Roll Part Four.
A talk by legendary rock journalist and author Charles Shaar Murray.
St Ives Arts Club. 7.00pm. £6.00.

Wednesday (23rd) - Back to Back.
An evening of comedy and music with Rod Bullimore and Martyn Barker.
St Ives Arts Club. 8.00pm. £6.00.

Obviously much more going on. Some details on:

Thursday 17 September 2009

Moving To St Ives Cornwall


Porthmeor Beach - St Ives Cornwall


I've had quite a few emails and forum postings recently from people wanting to move down here - as we did 10 years ago.

They often ask advice about jobs, schools and where to live, so I thought I'd repeat some of it here.

If anybody has anything to add please do comment below.

The first thing I will say is that we have never regretted moving here from Frome Somerset for one single moment. We absolutely love it here in St Ives. Its a great place to live and a great community.

Like many others - we used to take regular holidays here and it felt more like home than home did (hope that makes sense!). Before we moved we asked many people how it was to live here and they pretty much all answered as above - no regrets.



Jobs In St Ives and Cornwall

There is absolutely no shortage of work - at least here in St Ives - even outside the holiday season. The problem is that most are low paid minimum wage jobs, mostly in the tourist industry. No problem with that in itself of course, but if you've got mortgage / rent to pay then it does become a practical problem. Many people I know in St Ives solve this by having two or more jobs. If you happen to have a "transferable" profession like teaching you might find it easier, but good jobs advertised in Cornwall do tend to have a lot of applicants.

Another solution - which we and many others here have chosen - is to be self employed. Not easy, risky but hugely rewarding. I could write a whole separate article on that. I know several people who have built successful businesses from scratch here.

I spent a lot of time working upcountry when we first moved here - tough but worth it. If you do the same you won't be the only one - you'll soon start recognising familiar faces on the Friday night Air Southwest flight into Newquay.

None of this is meant to be negative - just realistic. What it comes down to is how determined you are. We both agreed that if necessary we'd take jobs cleaning toilets if it came down to it - in fact in one tough spell Jo actually did!



Schools

Generally pretty good here and across Cornwall, not perfect but probably better than average for the UK. I've only heard good things about St Ives Infants and Junior schools. As far as I know St Ives Secondary School is ok, although I've had mixed reports. I think it depends whether your children are arts or science / technology focussed. St Ives is a technology college, my daughter went to Cape Cornwall which is an arts college.





Housing In St Ives Cornwall

I spoke to a local estate agent this morning who described the property market here as "buoyant" with plenty of property available. As far as I can see prices have dropped a bit here, but St Ives is still not cheap compared to other local towns.


There does seem to be a fair bit of property to rent if that's an option for you. Any local agent will be happy to advise you.

Some local estate agents:



There is more information on my OneStIves website:

So if you're thinking of moving here - good luck !

Monday 14 September 2009

Caption Competition - Anna May Wong


Anna May Wong Must Die!


Following the success of the Romeo and Juliet competition here is another.

Win two tickets for Anna May Wong Must Die!
Anna Chen's personal journey through the life and crimes of Hollywood's first Chinese movie star.
Sunday 20th September at 7.00pm.
St Ives Arts Club.
Early start time means that you can get to Guildhall or other gigs afterwards.

What is Anna saying ?

Post your answer below as a Comment or email to:

If you post anonymously please also email so I know who you are if you win!

Closing date is Friday 18th September.
We will then post the winning entry here.

If you want to buy tickets they are on sale at:
St Ives Tourist Information - The Guildhall
£6.00

Romeo and Juliet Competition - Winner


Romeo and Juliet - The Nurse


The winner is Brian Stanley of St Ives:

'Woman begs for mercy after stealing Mondrian painting and extracting coloured bits to make necklace.'

Thanks for all your entries - they were great.

Romeo and Juliet is back on stage this week.

Wednesday 16th September - Saturday 19th September 2009.

If you want to buy tickets they are available from St Ives Tourist Information and from St Ives Theatre Box Office.
£6.00 - under 7s free.


Saturday 12 September 2009

St Ives September Festival - Day 1


St Ives September Festival - Flags on the Harbour


Today sees the start of St Ives September Festival.

Its a beautiful warm sunny day and I've just returned from the harbour.

I'll be posting news and reviews as things happen both here and on my:

I've just filmed an interview by Denis Nightingale for BBC Radio Cornwall - featuring Sarah Lincoln (Director) and Nicola Wilkes (Juliet) about Romeo and Juliet. I'll be posting that soon.

I'm now off to Poetry In The Square then probably The Sloop.

Hopefully I'll return more or less sober to post more later !

Thursday 10 September 2009

Sunny Day in St Ives !!


St Ives Cornwall - Thursday 10th September 2009


At last ..... the sunshine has returned to St Ives.

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning.

According to the Met. Office its going to stay that way for a few days:

I'm looking forward to the weekend and the start of:

Hope you have a great weekend as well.

Wednesday 9 September 2009

Enjoying A Drink On The Beach


St Ives - Tregenna Place


Like many people here one of the things I enjoy is taking a bottle of wine down to the beach on a sunny evening and having a few glasses while enjoying the views.

I had a surprising conversation with somebody this week - they told me that their friends had been doing the same, just a quiet drink on Porthmeor Beach, when they were apprehended by the local police. They were warned that they were breaking the law and that their bottle of wine must not be visible. These were people in their forties by the way, not underage chavs.

St Ives has a street drinking ban in many areas. Not something I personally support, but I do believe it was designed to stop drunks causing a nuisance with their cans of Special Brew and Diamond White. Not to stop people enjoying a glass or two of wine on the beach.

I also wasn't aware that the ban extended to the beaches anyway.
Does anybody know the answer ?

Its also interesting that St Ives Finest have time to patrol the beaches to hunt down errant wine drinkers, while on many nights High Street, Tregenna Place and Chapel Street descend into a drunken circus. See picture above.

Finally - forgive me for getting a bit political - but its also symptomatic of the state we're in. Two simple words - "common sense" - have gone out of the window, to be replaced with targets, performance indicators and blind enforcement of the rules. But then it took them three days to even come round to check for evidence when our car was broken into. Remember - crime won't crack itself .

Tuesday 8 September 2009

Job Vacancy - St Ives Cornwall - Projectionist

St Ives Cinema - Newly Repainted


I haven't featured job vacancies before - but this is an unusual one.

The Royal Cinema St Ives has a notice in the window:

Vacancy - Projectionist.
Full training given.
Must be able to lift heavy weights.

Sounds interesting - might even apply myself !

You can contact them on:
01736 796 843

I also wanted to feature a photo of the newly repainted building - looks great.


Monday 7 September 2009

St Ives Cornwall - Picture Of The Week


St Ives Arts Club - Fart Show


This has to be picture of the week!

If you've got any more that I might feature let me know.


Sunday 6 September 2009

Romeo and Juliet - Caption Competition


Romeo and Juliet - The Nurse


Win yourself a pair of tickets for Romeo and Juliet on The Island in St Ives.

A fantastic open air performance by St Ives Community Play.

Your choice of date:
Wednesday 16th September - Saturday 19th September 2009.

Send in your caption for the picture above.
I will judge the best with director Sarah Lincoln.

Add it as a comment below or email to:

Closing date is Saturday 12th September 2009.
We will notify the winner and publish their caption here shortly after that.

If you want to buy tickets they are available from St Ives Tourist Information and from St Ives Theatre Box Office.
£6.00 - under 7s free.


Saturday 5 September 2009

What's On In St Ives Cornwall


The Castle Inn - Ceilidh - Friday 11th September


Things have now quietened down a bit as the main Summer season has ended.

Will soon be busy again though when the September Festival starts next week.

Today (5th) sees the first (to be an annual event) Greenaway Pro Surfing Competition. In memory of much missed Tom Greenway - who was a great friend to many in St Ives.
All day on Porthmeor Beach. After Party - St Ives Guildhall 7.30pm.
Tickets: £8.00. Profits to charity.

On Sunday (6th) you could check out the new exhibition at St Ives Arts Club. Joie de Vivre featuring the paintings of Archa Boase and the sculpture of Deryl Perucci.
Open daily 10.00am - 5.00pm plus some evenings.
Free entry.

On Monday (7th) night Freddy Zapp will be hosting the regular Karaoke night at The Sheaf of Wheat.
Starts at 8.00pm.
Free Entry

On Tuesday (8th) St Ives Jazz Club are staging Alex Garnett with Craig Milverton Trio at The Western Hotel. 'A fine altoist and tenor player, Alex's blistering playing has featured over fifty times at Ronnie Scott’s and has been exciting audiences all over Europe for the last few years.'
Doors: 8.00pm. Music: 9.00pm
Tickets: £9.00 / £6.00 (members) on the door.

On Wednesday (9th) you could try the Ghost Walk.
Take a guided walk to various spooky locations around St Ives, steeped in authentic and ghostly tales.
Meet at 8.30pm at The Guildhall.
Cost: £5.00 (adults), £3.00 (children under 14). Pay guide on arrival.

On Thursday (10th) Phil Bowen will be at St Ives Library reading from his new collection of poetry - Nowhere's Far.
Starts at 6.00pm.
Free entry.

On Friday (11th) there is a Ceilidh band at The Castle Inn on Fore Street.
Starts at 9.00.
Free entry and a great range of real ales.

Then Saturday (12th) sees the start of St Ives September Festival. More on that soon. Check my other blog for latest news:

Have a great week and let me know of anything else that's going on.

As ever more on my:

Friday 4 September 2009

Cash Machine Scam - St Ives Cornwall


Cash Machine Scam - St Ives Cornwall


According to This Is Cornwall:

Two skimming devices have been found on ATM machines in St Ives and Penzance.

Police in West Cornwall have issued a warning following the discovery of the devices - at a bank in St Ives and at Morrison’s petrol station in Long Rock.

The story does not say which bank was affected - but presumably this has now been sorted. The Barclays machine has a CCTV camera so probably not that one unless the Pikeys persons involved are particularly stupid.

Presumably St Ives Finest are now scanning footage from the town's extensive spy camera network to identify the culprits.

Not the first time this has happened in St Ives - so take care!

Thursday 3 September 2009

St Ives Archive Centre - Open Day


Fish Sale - St Ives Cornwall - 1956


St Ives Trust Archive Study Centre is dedicated to preserving the history of St Ives.

They hold information on every aspect of the town in newspaper articles, maps, legal documents, correspondence, catalogues and books.

They also have an extensive collection of photographs which have been taken over the past 140 years. Copies of some of these are available for sale.

A great resource for anybody researching St Ives or family history.

They are holding an Open Day focussing on St Ives in the 1940s and 1950s.

Tuesday 8th September 2009.
10.30am - 3.30pm.
Free admission and light refreshments.


Wednesday 2 September 2009

St Ives Cornwall Webcams


View Over St Ives Bay Towards Godrevy


A quick update on webcams in St Ives - as I know these are very popular.

St Ives Coastwatch have three cameras located on The Island with great views over St Ives Bay. These are the best to view if you want to see what the weather is doing or just enjoy the views.
St Ives Coastwatch Webcams

The Sloop Inn has good quality cameras overlooking St Ives Harbour and Porthmeor Beach. These seem to work well at night as well. The best to view if you want to see the state of the surf or what is going on around the harbour.

Chy-an-Albany Hotel has a camera offering a good view of St Ives Harbour.

The Regent Hotel also has a camera overlooking the harbour from slightly lower down.

The St Eia Hotel has a cam with a view of Porthminster Beach.

If you want to take a look at what's going on at Carbis Bay there is a camera overlooking the beach.

Headland House has a view of St Ives from Carbis Bay.

Enjoy the views !

Tuesday 1 September 2009

Steeple Woodland - Open Day


Steeple Woodland - Foxgloves and Knill Monument


The wonderful Steeple Woodland Nature Reserve has an Open Day this weekend.

Sunday 6th September. 1.30pm onwards.
Admission is free but donations would be appreciated.

There is a whole load of good stuff to enjoy:
  • Guided nature walks.
  • Interactive green woodworking workshop.
  • Den building.
  • Rope swings.
  • Cargo nets.
  • Refreshments.
  • Live music with young musicians.
There are also free refreshments including hot drinks, juice and cakes.

You're asked not to take the car. Normally I'd disagree with such PC restrictions but in this case I agree completely - there really is very little space for parking up there. The walk up the hill is quite a nice one (if challenging !) and the walk down is a lot easier. You can get a bus from The Malakoff - number 17B leaves at 25 minutes past the hour - get off at The Cornish Arms and walk up Steeple Lane. Or you could get a taxi from the rank next to the cinema or book one with DJ Cars.

So you're invited to go along and learn more about the reserve and the wildlife.
Also to have a great afternoon out.