Monday 3 November 2008

Written Friday
The weather this week has been mostly typically Cornish, and for those of you unfortunate enough never to have been able to experience it, the type of weather I am talking about is sunshine and shower. As I may have said before you can always find the sun somewhere in Cornwall, as the climate is so varied. However, the thing that thrills me about this type of weather is it creates rainbows; I had never seen the end of a rainbow until I came here. Twice now I have had the Disney moment of driving along with a complete rainbow from one side of the road to the other, on both occasions I was heading home, as if confirming the magical life we have here, I felt as if I was driving off into the sunset, as in the end of all the old ‘feel good’ movies. But today it was clear blue skies which enabled me to take some more pictures for the website. Arranging some items to photograph is very mechanical, but today I did have so much fun with the animalz, these wonderful wooden animals from Australia have such character, the camel even has a smile on his face. We are doing a special offer of a free fabric bag if you buy three animals. We have the farm animalz in the window and people are finding them irrisitable.

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Friday 24 October 2008

Tom tells me that the latest figures published regarding the population of Cornwall records more people died than were born. This is not really so surprising as the west country is somewhere people retire to. It is also one of the counties with the poorer incomes, little industry, (no motorways, and one of the highest water-rates), cheap houses are snapped up as second homes so even finding somewhere to live to raise a family is difficult for young couples. Some coastal towns have reached the tipping point that makes them ghost in the winter because more houses are holiday homes the real homes. I can see the attraction of coming on holiday to a place and falling in love with the life style and wanting to be part of it as a 'getaway' from real life. The problem occurs when too many folk have the same idea, and the the community that was so appealing can no longer survive.

Thankfully Lostwithiel is too far from the coast to have that sort of appeal (although there are holiday homes here) and it remains a real place. It does have a high number of incomers but they are people committed to the place where they live. But best of all it has babies, lots of babies. Tom thinks there must be something in the water, I know it is just because it is a magic place. (An awful lot of people who have moved here have a spooky story to tell as to how they have come to be here, I will tell you mine one day) Watching young people that shop with Watts Trading (www.wattstrading.co.uk) expand their families is one of my delights in life. Selling the nature babycare products means I have an opportunity to watch as their pregnancies develop, hearing of the safe deliveries, seeing babies become toddlers, hearing how they get on with their first day in school, and I love it!

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Wednesday 22 October 2008

Doom and gloom, from looking at the news first thing on morning television, in every news paper, on the radio, the worst recession since, what was it they said, the war, the turn of the last century? I can't remember what it was exactly, I just know I somehow can't feel low. I am not in pain, I have my lovely Tom, two grown up sons who stay in touch, my tiny grandson who lights up my life, the most gorgeous, clever, talented step granddaughter it is possible to have, a daughter-in-law in waiting who couldn't be more perfect if I had chosen her myself, a sister my dad and his wife within walking distance and I live in Lostwithiel. As my eldest son Lee would say, how perfect is that!

As I write this I realise what I have is a sense of community. I do not have to watch soap operas to get pretend second hand, I am absorbed by it, I am part of it and it is part of me. I am aware that some of the ridiculous optimism I feel is due to the place I am lucky enough to live in. I spend all day in my lovely shop, I am not the only one who thinks so as I am often told by visitors. If we just had a few more customers things would be perfect.

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just trying some thing

Bee Directory
Skoobe Link Directory
Free Link Directory Charolabap.com


lets see if it works. This is a link to a directory were in, it has to be here for us to be in it, which of course we don't mind, fairs fair.Add to Technorati Favorites

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Tuesday 21 October 2008

If the British have the most changeable weather on the planet, then Cornwall is one of the corners of the Isle that often gets it first at its most unpredictable. We have has really lovely sunshine this morning, warm and bright. We have a long dark corridor, long enough to run in, on the west side of the wing of the house. At the end of this corridor is the door to the room we currently use as a kitchen, very squatter fashion, which is double aspect with windows facing east and south. We have no idea how old this part of the building is, the modern ‘front extension’ is 1785, and the door bares the scars of the many alterations to accommodate the movement of the building over its many years and it is still ill fitting. This morning this room was lit with a shining golden yellow brightness by the low sun, and it leaked out through the gaps all around this door and formed a halo, making it look as if the Martians had landed. By early afternoon the change could not have been more dramatic. I was taking pictures of the lovely Kernow chocolate to put on the web site; I do this at the top of the house under the lantern window that is in the roof to light the stairs. The hail was so heavy and noisy I felt compelled to stop and listen, flicking through my mind the lay-out of the roof. The enclosed leaded valley that drains via the open covert that runs through the loft, and cascades down the mansard roof to the gutter outside. I needed to reassure myself I couldn’t hear running water anywhere I didn’t expect too. Having the new roof first was such a good idea.Add to Technorati Favorites

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Thursday 16 October 2008

Wow, doesn't sunny weather make you feel better? Long may it last, anything that makes the winter feel shorter gets my vote. I feel in very good spirits today, getting my account to the accountant is one of these things that make me feel light-headed with relief, the preperations of which in past years has been accompanied by horrible allergic-to -stress manifestations, but not this year. Seeing Dillon can always lighten my day, and his mum popped by with him, and he had his tea here. However, my big news, and the news that has me feeling like I want to dance in the street, the news that has me grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat, the news that is making me feel as if any minute I will burst with pride; is my talented son Lee has been awarded 'Best Dining Pub of the Year' by the Good Pub Guide'. He is the head chef at The Inn @ West End. He is usually very laid back about the awards he wins, but this one matters to him, and that make me doubly pleased.

I have also been painting colour charts for the green paint we do in colours that are exclusive to us. We need to get them on wattstrading web site so they can be accessible to a wider customer base. We intend organising them in semi gloss also, as that is the type of paint that is wanted at the moment. We re-did the window, like a couple of children, Luke and I were very keen to see if the Wooden Warehouse was as lovely as it looked in the picture, and we were delighted with it, it was great fun to arrange the bails of fabric, boxes of tea and barrels of different sizes on the different floors. We also have Zappo driving his wooden horse and cart with his cargo of sacks. The holiday family stand together while father takes a picture with his camara. So altogether a lovely day, how did I get to be so lucky?

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Saturday 11 October 2008

Saturday morning

Lostwithiel is in a valley and Fore street, where the shop is situated, leads down to the river. So when I step outside the door I can see hills when I look both up and down the street. This morning was a bright, sunny October morning and when I went out to get the paper I could see the hills were hazy with mist and birds had been busy rooting in the moss on The Ivy leaf's roof as the pavement past their house was littered with blobs of the stuff. Even in these uncertain economic times it still feel good to be running a business in Lostwithiel.

The shop this morning looks as if someone has given it a good shake, the detritus of 5 deliveries in two days was evident. And behind the counter had been Dilloned, the new push along flappy footed toy in the shape of a crow, (stocked because of the crows that nest down by the river,) was parked by the fax machine with the calculator, minus the paper roll that was unwound in a heap.

Unpacking new deliveries is like Christmas, and I get very excited when we get new things in, I have to stop myself sneaking stuff upstairs. The latest 'must have' bits include gadgets for the kitchen; the most amazing straining ladle, the best apple corer I have ever seen and a very smart stainless steel compost collector, with filter! Time to close now, the only sign of the sun now is on the roofs across the road so I want to see the last of it before it is gone.Add to Technorati Favorites

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Monday 6 October 2008

It has been a wet grey day, but for a Monday, quite busy. My dad, who lives just up the hill popped in twice today, and both times the shop filled with customers. We decided we need to rent him to come and stand in the shop!

Watts trading sometimes seems more like a meeting place than a store. Often this involves pushchairs, as small children particularly love being in the shop. There is one small boy (three-ish), his parents do not shop here, who comes in when ever he can give whoever is with him the slip. People think it is the wooden toys that are the attraction, but children love the things like the texture and crinkly packageing of the organic seeds and nuts. The natural fibre brushes are also a hot favourite, Dillon's brush of choice is the soft goats hairdusting brush, in fact it is his first choice of all the things in the shop. Even the wooden JCB's and wooden push along animals come after.

We have some lovely wooden incense stick holders from Morocco, and to demonstrate their purpose we have an incense stick in one. Today we had a bit of a competition with some of the customers in the shop, to match the smell of the demonstration one with those on sale, as I couldn't remember what it was. The customer bought the two favourites, African musk and Frankincense and Myrrh as he said he had so much fun.

Lostwithiel is a magical place and running my shop is a joy, and not at all like work.Add to Technorati Favorites

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Thursday 2 October 2008

terrible advertising

As Watts trading is shop that that looks to the ethics of subjects like fair trade, organic, local, compostable and careing for the environment so can you imagine our horror when we saw on google statements like, "can you trust watts trading?". "Watts Trading ™ a Scam? The Truth Will Shock You!" "Watts Trading Protect Your Cash! Don't Purchase Before Reading This Info" This is not us!

We have complained to Google and the owner of the site that shares our name, so watch this space and see if anything happens. We are a small shop in Lostwithiel Cornwall, the credit crunch is scarry enough without negative publisity mistakenly assosiated with us.

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