Garden of Cornish delights

IT’S AN ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good. Even the volcanic ash has benefited some people – the mâitre d’hotel at Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Padstow was beaming from ear to ear when I was there recently.

Although they are virtually always full anyway, they have experienced a definite increase in business over the past few weeks as many British people decided to holiday at home rather than risk the hassle of cancelled flights. Let’s hope for the sake of the beleaguered Irish tourism industry the same sentiment prevails here.

We were in Cornwall for a few days to trace some ancient ancestors. Like Ireland, Cornwall is utterly beautiful at this time of the year with gorse, wild garlic, Queen Anne’s lace, forget-me-nots, buttercups, and bluebells lighting up the countryside.