In the last couple of years, I have met with visitors from USA, Australia and Canada, all interested in finding the grave of Pamela Colman Smith (tucked away in an unknown spot in St Michael’s; this is covered in the book). They have also been interested in her life. These […]

Who remembers this event? It was a lighthearted event for Mother’s Day but just imagine, for a minute, struggling to have your basic hygiene needs met; having no knickers to wear, for example, when you have a fistula, or are on your period or are just out living your womanly […]

Yesterday, I went to see Lucille Opie, who told me this rather charming tale relating to the late Margaret Frost. We both thought people in Bude would enjoy it: In 1953, when we first came to Bude, a man called Ed Rutherford, tall, 6ft 5, came over to Bude from […]

Ray Boyd was a lovely chap. I first came across him as ‘Old School” on the Bude People site I used to run for Northcliffe Digital, where he added some wonderfully-received collections of old photos of Bude. It took quite a search to uncover who ‘Old School’ was, as Ray […]

One good thing about November is that I receive a royalties statement and I’m pleased to say sales of my Bude books are holding up in a tough retail climate, so … A massive thank you to anyone who has bought one or plans to buy one, for anyone who […]

This info comes from a slender pamphlet called “Farthest From Railways: An Unknown Corner of Devon” by R. Pearse Chope, originally written in 1934. It seems Hartland Parish, despite being one of the largest in Devon, amounting to 17,000 acres in size, is too hilly for a cricket ground, is bounded by […]

Here is a wonderful poem celebrating Bude Sea Canal by Lucille Opie:   Our Canal, unique as it is locked to the sea Was opened in eighteen twenty-three. For two miles it meanders to the inclined plane, A feat of engineering the Victorians rightly claim. Navigable only to Marhamchurch today […]

By Helen Bartrop Hocking: The Bude, Stratton & District Old Cornwall Society gathered in The Parkhouse Centre on Lady Day evening to listen to the lecture ‘Grenville Estate and the development of Bude’ as researched by their newly elected President, Richard Michael Heard. Starting with a quick recap of Part […]

Keith White sent me a link to this wonderful article about the origins of Bude SLSC. In summary, it suggests that surf lifesaving was an Australian gift to Cornwall, testimony to our wonderful surfing beaches in Bude. The article tells the story far better than I could of how Bude’s […]

By Helen Hocking: Gathering as they always do on the last Monday of the month members of Bude, Stratton & District Old Cornwall Society welcomed their guest Speaker, Mr. Philip Rodda with warm applause. Having travelled the length of the Duchy to be with them, it was duly satisfying to see […]