broken wheelchair and a broken walking stick!!!

Hi all,

Been an eventful few days but first of all I have to say a huge THANK YOU to The Penzance Cycle Centre who dropped everything they were doing to mend Charlie's wheelchair. We've been tightening the screws on the castor wheels almost daily but we missed a loose one and lost it so Charlie was singing 'three wheels on my wagon' and going nowhere. All fixed now and better than ever.
The other near disaster was me as I walked into Sennen Cove - looked up to scrutinise the people walking towards me (nosey as ever), got my boot caught between two rocks and went down in a very undignified manner at the feet of those very people. Got a bruised knee but otherwise just a dented pride and a very bent walking stick. I had thought I'd push on that day to Land's End but wioth only one stick I cancelled that thought. Spare sticks at the campsite tho so all's well again.
Went past Land's End where I met Charlie and we had the required photo with the signpost - nice man, took some with my camera too! Then it was off round to Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre. The rocks and cliffs after Land's End are much more spectacular than the ones before, really stunning, but my favourite aspect of them is they're fluffy!!! They really do look fluffy, all covered in a pale green lichen with fronds about two inches long - wonderful effect and very beautiful. The rocks are all much more rounded too without the sharp jagged edges we've seen so far.
Yesterday was a horrible day - much longer than anticipated and exhausting. Everything went fine until I got to Penberth, where I discovered that the N.T. have imposed a no dog zone covering the whole of the centre of the village, even the carpark, with specific reference to coast path walkers who are walking with dogs. They had put up maps showing the alternative route but the path left the village , went off the map and came back in at the top of the map - not very helpful. So, I followed the signs, swearing about idiots demonising dogs because of irresponsible owners, and found a rather ambiguous sign about half a mile or so along, took the route I thought it meant and spent the next hour trying to extricate myself from a network of fields whose boundaries did not in any way resemble those on my map, and eventually got back to Penberth where Im met a lady and her son who sent me the right way. Then it was off to Lamorna with a path that never lets you get into a good stride, up and down, twisting, over rocks, thru gaps in rocks - all very hard on the old bones, especially after trapsing through fields for an hour! The one good thing about the detour is that now I know what makes Milo's feet sore, it's nettles. They actually sting his pads, so I'll know now how to keep his little tootsies comfy.
Met some great people the last few days, all listened to what I had to say, all agreed that my mission to improve the lot of poorly youngsters is a good one, all agreed that if a child says they're unwell then they should be believed first off and not after they've proved it, if indeed they can, and all put some money in the collection box strapped to my rucksack. It's great to know that so many people are behind what I'm doing, and understand why I'm doing it this way to start with.
Well, it's time to make tracks - bit of a late start this morning because I wanted to update the blog before we set off. I'm walking through Mousehole and Newlyn to Penzance today, lots of roadwork but after yesterday I don't think I'll mind, especially as I'll get to see so many boats!
Oh, forgot to say - has anyone read Derek Tangye books about his and his wife's life in Cornwall? I went past their place today, its now a sanctuary for solitude for anyone to go into and feel at peace, as well as a wildlife sanctuary too.
Take care everyone and I'll blog again soon.
Love Susan x
PS Do you know how odd it is to write a blog? Not like keeping a diary because other people read it, but more like talking to yourself without being written off as bonkers!