Thursday 13 September 2012

#One Week - Summer '12 - Mullion

Mullion Cove holds many untainted memories. Each year, on the annual family holiday to Southern Cornwall, my parents would bring my brothers and I here, to this secluded working harbour. Come gale force winds or torrential downpours, Mullion was a yearly pilgrimage; I didn't realise at the time, I wouldn't have been aware, that the cove meant a lot to my mother.

I can still recall the waves rolling, swirling, lashing against the harbour walls, ice creams with that extra dollop of clotted cream, fishing boats moored at low tide, pirates' glistening treasure - coins, goblets, crowns - piled waist high in the neighbouring coves ...


So this summer, after nearly thirty years, I returned to Mullion Cove with Younger Dad and Little A.

After parking the car, a short walk down a gentle slope, we arrived at the harbour.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, had changed. The present day Mullion looked an exact replica of the picture in my mind. Was the present imitating the past or vise versa? The enchanting harbour. The same. The moored boats. The same. The pirate's treasure? Well I still imagined a few golden coins caught by seaweed, trapped by pebbles, in the depths of the coves.


We walked along the harbour, to the very end, where the stone walls met choppier waters. Younger Dad carried Little A in the back pack carrier, at times walking perilously close (in my eyes) to the harbour's unprotected edge; my anxiety ignited like a small explosion - Little A's not safe!

"Please don't go so close, please," failing to disguise the fear in my voice.

"Don't worry," Younger Dad calmly reassured, "I'd never harm our little darling."

Relief.

I know there was no rational cause for my sudden panic, Little A was shielded, but the imagined scenario - Little A (and Younger Dad) falling down a sheer drop, Little A drowning under water - played into the type of intrusive thoughts that plagued my daily awareness when I was engulfed by post natal illness. And it would appear that they still do. I'm a neurotic mum...


My Mother has always had a special connection with the sea. She used to sail. She's never fully explained why she's so drawn to this harbour. I think a part of her soul is simply wrapped in the tranquility of Mullion Cove. It's a spiritual home, her favourite place on the planet.

She's requested that her ashes be scattered here when her time comes - a final pilgrimage to her resting place.

And when the offshore breeze carries her remains into the Atlantic, I too will be bound to Mullion.



This is the fourth day of the seasonal linky One Week. Until tomorrow, Friday, I'll be posting a photograph(s) and a few words that diarises and distills my experience of summer '12. Take a peep at the details here. You can join in for one, two ... or the full five days. And don't forget to add #oneweek on Twitter.


Badge Code ...

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22 comments:

  1. looks like u were lucky with the weather too!

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  2. That looks lovely did it feel strange to go back?

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    1. Yes it did a little, it was all EXACTLY the same - kinda weird. Time stops in some places ...

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  3. Mullion Cove looks lovely. The name of it makes me think of something out of the famous five (for some reason.) How lovely to be able to take little A to the place you holidayed yourself as a child.

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    1. It is, and defo sounds like a place from an Enid Blyton story! It was lovely going back there again ...

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  4. What a beautiful post. Thanks for giving it another airing on Oldies But Goodies!

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  5. It was lovely to read about the sea and the summer on such a cold, snowy day :) Cornwall is such a beautiful part of the world.

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  6. A lovely post and such a lovely place :-)

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  7. This is a lovely post. So great that you have been able to go back to a place from your childhood with your own child. Love that :)

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    1. Thank you - yes, the generational thing was pretty cool :o).

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  8. Beautiful post. Lovely photos and you really capture the experience of nostalgia at returning to a childhood haunt.

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    1. Thank you - it was a rather fab holiday....

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  9. Oh how I love Cornwall, it really is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Thank you for sharing today :)

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    1. Me too! It is very lovely, and very peaceful - my pleasure! :o).

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  10. Gorgeous post and beautiful pictures x

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  11. It looks such a peaceful place. I don't know Cornwall well but it's a part of the country I really like and would love to get to know better. Taking a trip down memory lane is so soothing for the soul I think...

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    1. It is - I can highly recommend the place - very peaceful and soothing - and the air is so clean...

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