Friday 7 January 2022

The Seaweed Children.

 No not another name for a Prog Rock band.  I searched through British films on Netflix last night and I found one filmed in 1973: Malachi's Cove.  

Anthony Trollope also called his novel 'The Seaweed Children'.  Have you seen the film or read the book even?

It's set in Cornwall in the nineteenth century.  A poor young girl called Mally (Veronica Quilligan) lives with her elderly and infirm grandfather in a hovel overlooking the beach where she gathers seaweed to sell it for fertilizer with her donkey.

It's a beautiful film with great actors like Veronica Quilligan and I remember David Bradley in Kes.  The two giggling girls in the village shop went on to appear in Birds Of A Feather.  I really enjoyed the film.

We have a few oil paintings from Cornish holidays and we once visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan.  The walled vegetable garden is idyllic.

I often said I would like to live in Cornwall but it never was affordable to do so but at least we did manage live in the countryside next to the sea here in Ireland.

Would you like to live somewhere else? I still dream of moving to Portugal at least for the winter anyway.




19 comments:

  1. I have not heard of that film or book before. I must look it up. We visited Cornwall many years ago and walked around the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It was a very interesting place, still being uncovered when we were there. We also visited the Eden Project which was quite new then. We went out of season in February. Very cold wild and beautiful.
    I am not sure if I would want to live anywhere other than here. I have visited a few places that are wonderful for holidays but have a few drawbacks for long-term living.

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  2. The film is also on You Tube JayCee. I have always wanted to visit the Eden Project. Heligan is and incredible gardeners paradise. We once stayed in Cornwall for a week in February. There was plenty going on and the weather was very good. I am sure you miss Tenerife. I fell in love with the Algarve and I hope to either rent or buy somewhere over there in the next few years and escape the gale season.

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    1. Some warm sunshine is certainly very tempting right now. It is only 2 or 3 C at the moment.

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    2. I have been on sun holidays in winter and it's always been great weather and far from the madding crowds that you get in Summer. Cornwall is the same.

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  3. I am happy enough to live where I live, but there is an awful desire to see other places, meet other people, do other things. When I am tired, I have a place I will be glad to come home to.

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  4. I have a big bucket list of places and Rock band I would like to see. Being a Saggitarian doesn't help and we always want to be somewhere else. Thanks Debby.

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  5. I'll have at look at the film. Thanks for the tip Dave

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  6. It's on You Tube for free Rachel. I know you will like it. Thanks.

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  7. We used to collect seaweed for our allotment, you have no idea how heavy it is to carry. Couldn't do it now but we lugged it up the beach then easily.
    I'm going to give that film a go tonight, thanks for the heads up.
    Briony
    x

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  8. Yes Briony seaweed is very heavy especially when it's wet through. I have collected from the beaches near here. You can also buy dried seaweed in a powdered fertilizer product. I swear by organic chicken manure pellets which I buy in a bucket. Hope you enjoy the film tonight.

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  9. I live in Yorkshire. Why on earth would I wish to live anywhere else? I am already in paradise. The film sounds appealing.

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  10. Yorkshire is a great county with some wonderful scenery YP. The film highlights poor people struggling to make a living with the backdrop of some amazing Cornwall seascapes.

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  11. A neighbour of ours collects seaweed and puts it round his olive trees.
    I used to think i'd rather live somewhere else, like a city. No more. I can be happy anywhere. Love the sound of the rain, love warm sunshine. All I need is peace and quiet, some of the time, and something green to gaze on.
    Hmmmm would prefer somewhere without heatwaves though

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  12. Hi Linda. Seaweed is very good free fertilizer and weed free and the slugs and snails don't like the salt when it's fresh from the beach. I would love your sun especially during winter. Winter holidays help to break up the gale and rain season here in the Emerald isle. Thanks.

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  13. I would love to live in a town or large village by the sea, so somewhere to buy milk and be able to hear the sea at the same time. We have lots of lovely coastline and beaches within 10/20 miles, but I'd like to be able to just walk out of the door, without having to get in the car and worry about finding somewhere to park!

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  14. Sounds good veg artist. I can see the bay from our kitchen window. The nearest beach is half an hours walk or five minutes in a car. The walk on the road can be dangerous with there being no pavement or street lights. I would like to live near a shop or a pub and have some daily public transport on our Peninsula.

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  15. In land and south Cornwall is cheap. Dont bother looking on the north they are 3 times the price. We managed to find a bungalow with a garden that is so over grown we still dont know what is out there! it has rained constantly for 3 weeks, torrential rain for some and thunder and lightning. But I could not live far from the sea again or up north unless my house was very warm and insulated. I cant stand the cold any more

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  16. In land and south Cornwall is cheap. Dont bother looking on the north they are 3 times the price. We managed to find a bungalow with a garden that is so over grown we still dont know what is out there! it has rained constantly for 3 weeks, torrential rain for some and thunder and lightning. But I could not live far from the sea again or up north unless my house was very warm and insulated. I cant stand the cold any more

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  17. Cornwall winters sound like Irish ones Sol. I would love to fly away for the winter to somewhere warm. If I didn't have my polytunnel I wouldn't be able to garden in winter. Your bungalow sounds great.

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