Summing up

Despite poor weather we all enjoyed the du Maurier piligrimage. Our perception that Cornwall was doing well was confirmed by a friend of mine, a local travel guide. He said that on wet Wednesday 12,000 people visited the Eden Project. His view was that a weak pound made travel to mainland Europe less attractive whilst the success of Poldark filmed in Cornish locations was the best form of advertising promotion. Cornwall’s problems may come if the government is not in a position financially to match EU funding as they have promised to do.

The satnav took us through Devon, Dorset, Hampshire to Sussex. The A roads were not that great but the scenery was and with various pit stops the journey accomplished in 7 hours. There is always a relief to get home matched only by the tediousness of unpacking.

To start a new Rust debate I prefer self-catering to a hotel: cheaper, more space, but I can see the counter arguments too of nor wanting to do household stuff on holiday.

Back home, I did not feel going out again and as we watched the World Athletic Championships my mind went back 5 years to the same place where I am now on that Golden Saturday when the UK won more medals than in most Olympiads previously.

I am no athletic expert but I know vast resources had been poured into cycling and rowing. Running will always be the blue riband event. To see Mo Farah is to go back to the vintage years of Coe and Ovett. As he slid through the gears to take and hold the lead there was a tear in my eye. I know he was born in Somalia and trains in the States but he’s one of ours and indubitably one of the greatest runners ever. This is not just my amateur opinion but confirmed by his position, second only to Usain Bolt in the number of medals won in Olympics and Championships.