Penzance promenade in winter weather.

 With the winter weather making its mark, Penzance promenade is awash at high water as gale force winds sweep across the South Western Approaches......

 under the shelter of Newlyn market where things are a little quieter, ray wings from the Sapphire.........

 and red mullet......

 and Dover soles and as she's the only decent size trip of trawl fish up for auction as gales keep the boats in port all sure to make good money this morning.......

 with a handful of bass thrown in for good measure.......

at the other end of the market, literally, there's a ton and a half of quality hake from the gill netter Govenek of Ladram, good to see some of her fish back on the auction floor..........

at present, the only Newlyn boat at sea is the flagship of the Stevenson fleet, the Cornishman, seen here recorded on the VesselTracker AIS tacking software some 70 miles SSW of Newlyn in the 'deep water' on Sunday.

Chine New Year - Crackling Roast Pork Ken Hom style.

With it being Chinese New Year on Thursday it seems only fitting to indulge in a non-fish dish and go for roast pork of some sort (rather than bush conger - it being the year of) - so it's off to Ken Hom's most excellent , Foolproof Chinese Cookery the book that accompanied the BBC series of the same name in 2000 has become something of a collectors item (keep an eye in your local charity shop cookbook section)........

Pierce the belly pork all over (a carving fork is good fork this) and mind what is underneath........

hang the meat above a large pan of boiling water and use a ladle to scald the skin.......

prepare a rub of 2 tbsp coarse sea salt, 1 tbsp of  ground roasted Sichuan peppercorns, 2 tsp of five spice powder, 1 tsp of ground black pepper and 2 teaspoons sugar - these need heating in a wok for around 3 minutes being careful not to burn! - rub the seasoning into the flesh side of the belly.........

Cornish pasties for a Chinese New Year? - not so! -these are Ken Hom's party specials, pork potsticker dumplings, easy to make for any self-respecting Cornish kitchen........

the belly pork (skin side up) sits on a wire rack in a roasting tray with half an inch of water into the oven at 200° for 30 minutes then for a couple of hours at 180° - some ovens work better using a lower rather than higher shelf to prevent the skin burning rather than going crisp.......

cracking crackling cooked to perfection the Ken Hom way......

a couple of dips to accompany the 'pasties'.........

and then all that remains is to settle the arguement over who gets the last piece of pork!

Shapeshifter.

 The sea has its own way of leaving a mark.......

 and keeping these little chaps fed.......

 bet the makers of reinforced tubing never envisaged what use it might be put to........

 from the top of the gear down to the deck, one set of gear being put back in order........

 while over on the port side there's a big space, let's hope Charlie D and the boys don't have to spend from ten in the morning till seven at night creeping for that side too!....... 

 or he won't have quite the same smile..........

 the current gales have pushed pretty much all the fleet back in through the gaps......

 with the biggest of the netters in to land alongside the market.......

 which means a few days enforced leave for vintage Kawasaki K900 owner.........

 put the word about, there's a need for some of those deep Newlyn voices needed to accompany the boys from Port Isaac.......

 not forgetting the open meeting at the Centre on Monday evening.......

 says it all........

 pots downstairs and pots of........

 coffee upstairs at the Newlyn Orion Gallery on the Green........

 all action with the giggers........

 let's hope they don't run into this piece of flotsam.......

 the strong winds keep those tiles on the move.

Fancy Fish and Chips in Newlyn? - buy the lot as Jewell's is up for auction!

Brill news! Newlyn's sole remaining Fish and Chip shop, the iconic Jewells, is up for auction later this month.  Ideally plaiced in the heart of town, Dave Jewell has haddock enough and decided to put the shop on the market. Herring the news, many will be whiting to see that a new owner is a dab hand with the batter and will continue to keep the fat fryers hot and the fish fresh!

Jewells Fish & Chips, The Strand, Newlyn, Penzance, TR18 5HJ 

So, net yourself a bargain if you've a spare 100,000 squid in your pocket and skate on over to the Penventon Park Hotel, Redruth on the 23rd of February, rays your hand to put on a bid when Miller's will auction the business to the highest bidder. 

Falmouth Coastguard SOS - sign the petition!

Add your signature to the online petition in support of Falmouth Coastguard and keep the station a major operational and training centre of excellence operating 24/7. 

Signing the petition will help ensure the future of the station - visit the web page here - further information and comments from others can be found onthe campaign's Facebook page here.

Cornish Pirates seek stadium improvements on their home ground.

 Mennaye Field, home of the Cornish Pirates Rugby Club is in the middle of a big decision making process with regard to increasing the seating capacity, at present served with the aid of a local scaffolding company.......

 151 years old this year, St Just bakers Warrens with their new pasty logo in their Newlyn shop front........

 scourge of the red mullet aboard a beamer, stained by the ink from a cuttlefish........

 an 11.2 kilo turbot from the ChloeT.........

 one of those soles not too sure which side up to be.......

 while the CEFAS sole queen searches for the otoliths.........

bright looking megrim soles from the William Sampson making good money with the buyers this morning.

Herbert Victor - Mousehole artist.

There is an interesting story on the Newlyn.info web site about a watercolour painting by TH Victor, a Mousehole artist whose painting of the North Pier with a steamer alongside has been spotted on the walls of houses in many TV programmes over the years.

According to the article, the house in the middle of the picture is 34 Fore Street - if the story is referring to the house with the granite steps running up the side then this property is, in fact, 68 Fore Street, to the west is 72 and sharing the same entrance as 68 is 64 Fore Street. One explanation for the missing number could be that the side entrance to 68, which gives access to what was the net loft, may have been used as accommodation at the time.

The building that is 64/68 has a single, wide entrance, protected heavy wooden doors at either end of a shared passage allowing access to the front doors of both houses. Inside, there is an open courtyard with one of the best preserved pilchard cellars in Newlyn with many original features including the blue elvin granite pebble floor. The net loft section at the rear of 68 is supported by a number of tall granite stone pillars.

For much of the 1900s both properties were one and lived in by a Miss Jacka - a well known seamstress who provided many Newlyn girls (well off ones!) with wedding dresses copied from latest fashions from the cover of Vogue (from Freda Hichens). She had a less than tolerant view of any tourists who parked in front of the downstairs kitchen with its huge fireplace so restricting her view and would appear at the door brandishing her broom demanding that they move on!

The house, originally thought to be thatched, was built around 1700, but the inside walls suggest that this may have been based on an earlier cob walled dwelling.

In the painting, the window just to the right of the stone steps (originally to the pantry) may possibly be a candidate for the smallest glass window in the UK!