On Feb. 28, I was up early to a wet and windy English morning.
First call of business was an interview with David White at BBC Radio Cornwall. There were three other interviewees, Stephen Lay, district governor 1290, Nan McCreadie, president of Rotary International, Britain and Ireland, and Frank Devlyn, representing the president of Rotary International. We were there to talk about the Rotary District 1290 Conference, being held that weekend at the Falmouth Hotel in Cornwall. The conference brought together 250 Rotarians from the 41 clubs in Cornwall and West Devon.
There were a number of excellent sessions over the three days, but my favourite was “Youth Speaks”. Children from nine primary schools presented on topics ranging from “should parents attend parenting classes” to “how can I mark the 100 years since the First World War started”.
The winning team of three, Toby, Josh and Megan, were from Nancledra School, which has only 100 pupils, and their topic was very close to my heart; “give it your best shot”. They talked about the importance of taking part in sport for enjoyment, personal challenges and giving it a go. I think I’ll use this as my motto for the Rotary Coastal Quest 630 — “give it your best shot.”
On Sunday, my wife Sue and I had our first look at the South West Coast Path. Our friends Stephen and Carol live 50m from the path at Duporth Bay, Cornwall. The rain has caused huge issues on the path and the half kilometre to Charlestown Harbour was more like a mud luge.
As we made our way along and Stephen explained the history of the harbour. It was built in the late 1700s to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines, but its main function became the export of china clay from the region’s quarries.
In recent years it has been the site for a number of movies including Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and much of the Curse of the Black Spot an episode of a Dr. Who series. It was filmed at night on the sailing ship Phoenix of Dell Quay while it was moored in the harbour.
It’s March 3 and I’m heading up to Minehead, the starting place of the South West Coast Path. At exactly 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning the whistle will be blown and I’ll be on my way, the start of my 9th and penultimate quest. I just have to remember to keep the sea on my right.
To follow my progress along the path and help me hit the Ł100,000 donation target for Right To Play, please go to righttoplay.com/rcq630.
