One week ago our beloved van was loaded onto a tow truck. She just stopped in the road, stubbornly refused to move, much like her pigheaded owners who refuse to let her die. Whatever her issue is remains a mystery, buried deep in wires and mechanical parts.

⁣⁣"You should get a new van,“ everyone told us by this point, our third major breakdown and hundredth inconvenience.⁣

"You guys sure do love a challenge,” added the guy who came to tow our van back home, when we told him we’d driven this stubborn beast around 24 countries so far.

⁣⁣ But the thing is, while we relish a challenge, we’re not constantly seeking them out like some sort of adrenaline junkies- they just tend to have a way of finding us.⁣⁣

We’ve chosen the most difficult van to live in, a piece of British history, a stubborn mule who kicks out her legs and snorts with indignity. We are perpetually falling in and out of love with her, like a fractured relationship, each new problem she presents us with like a stab in the chest. 

Over the years she’s tested our patience, our optimism and our tenacity, and we’ve come so close to giving up sometimes. ⁣⁣But she takes on whatever dirt track or mountain pass we throw at her, never flinching, never missing a beat.⁣ She’s driven further than any minibus was made to go, and while this heap of mechanical parts and engine oil should dictate sense and reasoning, our hearts have thrown money at her time and time again, over ten times her original value.⁣⁣

Back in 2020 / 2021 I really fell back in love with Cornwall, before that I thought I was over living here, it felt too remote (it still does at times), and I was yearning for city life. Being unable to leave the county for so long made us appreciate what we have right on our doorstep. We made the most of Cornwall being quiet (again) by exploring the local area and getting out walking. I noticed…

The Sunshine Cafe is tucked away in the pretty Cornish coastal town of Penryn. I went just before the Summer holidays, as like much of Cornwall it can get a bit busy there, and with it being quite a small town there is very limited parking. I managed to go on an unusually quiet day and it was so peaceful and charming. The Sunshine Cafe has been on my radar for a couple of years now, I have had…

Having lived in Cornwall for almost 8 years now, you would have thought I’d explored quite a lot of it. I have been to so many beautiful places, but there is still so much to see. I have been making it a priority to get out more and be a tourist in my own backyard (or County). So a a few weeks ago, in what Cornwall would term “out of season”, I headed for the coastal village of Gorran…