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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

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LIZ THE MATCHMAKER

November 18, 1949

“Liz The Matchmaker” (aka “Katie and Mr. Negley”) is episode #63 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on November 18, 1949.

Synopsis ~ After dating Mr. Negley the postman for three years, Katie feels that their relationship is not going anywhere, so she enlists Liz's help!

This was the 12th episode of the second season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 43 new episodes, with the season ending on June 25, 1950.

Although similarly titled and themed, this radio episode is not the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15), “Lucy is a Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27), “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4), or “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12) in 1968. Safe to say that meddling in the romantic affairs of others was a trait of all of the Lucy characters!

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) do not appear in this episode.

GUEST CAST

Jay Novello (Mr. Negley, Postman) appeared on “I Love Lucy” as superstitious Mr. Merriweather in “The Seance" (ILL S1;E7), Mario the gondolier in “The Visitor from Italy” (ILL S6;E5), and nervous Mr. Beecher in “The Sublease” (ILL S3;E31). He also appeared on two episodes of “The Lucy Show,” but Novello is probably best remembered for playing Mayor Lugatto on “McHale’s Navy” in 1965.

Frank Nelson (Police Officer) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs. His trademark was playing clerks and other working stiffs, suddenly turning to Benny with a drawn out “Yeeeeeeeeees?” Nelson appeared in 11 episodes of “I Love Lucy”, including three as quiz master Freddy Fillmore, and two as Ralph Ramsey, plus appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” - making him the only actor to play two different recurring roles on “I Love Lucy.” Nelson returned to the role of the frazzled Train Conductor for an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1963. This marked his final appearance on a Lucille Ball sitcom.

Rolfe Sedan (Malt Shop Waiter) first worked with Lucille Ball in the 1934 film Kid Millions. When Lucy Ricardo ate snails in “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18), Sedan played the Chef who was outraged that Lucy wants to put ketchup on his food. He is probably best remembered as Mr. Beasley the mailman on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.”

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers it’s morning and Liz and George are at the breakfast table.”

George spits out his eggs and wonders why his breakfast is so badly cooked. Liz says that Katie’s romance with Mr. Negley the mailman is not going well, so she’s distracted. Even the toast is burned!

Liz tells says she wants to help bring the maid and the mailman together but George warns her to stay out of it! Instead, George wants to warn Mr. Negley that Katie is trying to get a “wedlock headlock” on him! George makes Liz promise not to meddle, no matter how difficult it is.

In the kitchen, Katie is crying and singing: “I gotta right to sing the blues. I got a right to moan and cry.”

"I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Ted Koehler, published in 1932 for the Broadway show Earl Carroll's Vanities (1932) starring Milton Berle. The song became a jazz and blues standard. Popular recordings were by Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holliday.

Liz comes up with a loophole about her promise to not get involved in Katie’s romance: she will just listen, while Katie talks. Katie says that she and Mr. Negley go on several dates a week to the drive-in movie. Unfortunately, he drives a motorcycle. They also go to the park, where Mr. Negley plays canasta with the cop on the beat. Mr. Negley lives at the YMCA so she has no hopes of being invited over to dinner. Liz comes up with the idea to take George out to a movie that night, so that Katie and Mr. Negley will have the Cooper living room all to themselves.

Mr. Negley arrives to deliver the morning mail. Katie is too nervous to ask him to come over that evening, so Liz agrees to do it for her.

LIZ: “I thought I was Mr. Anthony, now I’m John Alden.”

Mr. Anthony (aka John J. Anthony) was the pseudonym of Lester Kroll, who from 1937 to 1953 dispensed marital advice on the radio through “The Good Will Hour”, later renamed “The John J. Anthony Hour.”

In "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow John Alden was asked by his friend, Miles Standish, to act as matchmaker for him with Priscilla Mullins. Priscilla made the classic response "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"

Mr. Negley finally agrees to the date and merrily goes off singing “Some enchanted evening, you will see a stranger...”

"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Billboard Chart Records for “Some Enchanted Evening” in 1949 alone included Ezio Pinza (#7), Perry Como (#1), Frank Sinatra (#6), and Bing Crosby (#3).

That evening, Liz and George are at the movies. George wants to leave, but she must keep George out till 11:30 and it is only 9:30! Liz pretends to lose a shoe, which George dutifully searches for in the darkened theatre to no avail.

At 10:15, Liz and George are at the malt shop and Liz keeps ordering to kill time, despite getting gradually sick to her stomach. The Malt Shop waiter (Rolfe Sedan) tempts her with an “Eagles Nest”.

WAITER: “It has a base of pound cake and macaroon. On top of that, a scoop of mocha, black walnut, pistachio, peppermint, burnt almond, and tutti-frutti. And then a layer of whipped cream. A layer of chopped nuts. A layer of marshmallows. A layer of cherries. And then you flood the whole thing with hot fudge!”

Liz’s stomach churns!

They drive home. It is a quarter to eleven. Liz blurts out that they can’t go in until 11:30. She makes George promise not to mad, and tells him the truth. He breaks his promise. Liz reminds him that in their courtship, it would be blissful to stay in the car an extra half hour with Liz, but that was a long time ago. He tries to kiss her, but logistics interfere.

GEORGE: “That’s funny. I can’t turn around. The steering wheel’s in the way. In the old days the cars were built different.” LIZ: “In the old days, the stomach was built different.”

Liz and George manage a smooch - one that lasts until 12:30!

Liz wants to be sure Mr. Negley is gone, so she peers through the living room window. A policeman (Frank Nelson) is watching them and wants to know what they are doing. He doesn’t believe they are the homeowners or that they were in the car smooching, not staking out the place! He hauls them down to the police station!

At 4:30 in the morning, George and Liz finally get home, exhausted from their ordeal. A worried Katie greets them. It turns out something came up and Mr. Negley didn’t come over after all!

LIZ: “Oh, no!!!”

End of Episode

#My Favorite Husband #Matchmaker #Lucille Ball #Richard Denning #Frank Nelson #Ruth Perrott #John Alden #South Pacific #Mr. Anthony #Some Enchanted Evening #I Gotta Right to Sing The Blues #1949 #Radio #Rolfe Sedan #Jay Novello #I Love Lucy #Bob LeMond #Desi Arnaz #Lucy

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krystangreen-blog · 5 years

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Looking for original things to do in Saigon? After several months exploring this city, we have some unique ideas to round out your itinerary.

Some suggestions are hidden gems, known only to locals and expats. Others involve popular attractions but in novel and entertaining ways. Maybe you’re on a package tour and seeking to fill a “free day” in Saigon.

Maybe you’re an independent traveler and seeking the offbeat. Either way, we hope these tips help you have a better, richer, more individualized experience in Saigon.

What About the Classic Things to Do in Saigon?

You can read our list of standard highlights in another post.

This is a supplementary list of lesser-known things to do in Saigon.

Have a better, richer, more individualized experience in Saigon.Click To Tweet

1. Adventure Eating

Vietnamese food is absolutely delicious 99.9% of the time, but it can also be extreme and exotic. If you want to push your culinary limits, try adventure eating at Bo Cap Lua Restaurant.

They serve tarantulas, scorpions, lizards, live worms, fried worms, and other “unspeakable” items. You can see more of the disgusting things we ate at Bo Cap Lua.

Bo Cap Lua 17B 11th Street Go Vap District Ho Chi Minh City

2. Jade Emperor Pagoda “Secret” Canal Walk

The Jade Emperor Pagoda is one of the popular things to do in Saigon. But few know about the lovely canal, only a few hundred feet away.

After you visit the Jade Emperor Pagoda, take a stroll along the canal. It can turn this common attraction into an uncommon experience.

You’ll glimpse an unseen side of Saigon. Quiet streets, quaint neighborhoods, and several other temples line the canal.

You can simply enjoy the peaceful beauty of the canal or use it to structure a “temple crawl.” There are many temples on the canal to explore, but we recommend visiting Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (Mahayana Buddhism) and Wat Chantaransay (Theravada Buddhism).

Combined with the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which is Taoist, you’ll see 3 radically different styles of spirituality (that exist in the same small community). AND you’ll enjoy a scenic walk, away from the chaotic streets of Saigon.

You can see more photos and read the full details of this canal walk here. It includes directions to the canal and info on why this canal is the biggest environmental accomplishment in Saigon.

3. Suoi Tien Buddhist Amusement Park

Suoi Tien is the craziest amusement park in Vietnam (maybe all of Asia). It’s actually a combination culture park/amusement park.

Suoi Tien has a sprawling waterpark, the longest roller coaster in Vietnam, and all the fun stuff you’d expect. But the massive Buddhist monuments and active temples (next to the rides!) make Suoi Tien a unique travel experience.

It’s a surreal mash-up of deep Buddhist culture AND superficial amusements. Even if you’re not interested in the rides, the gargantuan sculptures and monuments are worth the price of admission (which is only $5USD).

Suoi Tien offers some of the most spectacular sights and is one of the most unusual things to do in Saigon.

Check out more photos of the amazing park here.

Hours: 8am – 530pm

Address: 120 Hanoi Highway Tan Phu Ward District 9, HCMC

4. The Amazing Viet Show

The Amazing Viet Show is a fun way to unwind after a day of sightseeing. Saigon has many entertaining shows, but this is the wackiest. It features “extraordinary people” with “unusual talents.” Or you could call it a Vietnamese freak show – with a difference.

The headline acts are contortionists, sword swallowers, and the like, but between those acts are song and dance performances featuring Vietnamese music and costumes.

Vanessa had her first cyclo ride at the Amazing Viet Show. A man put these contraptions in his eyes and pulled a cyclo full of people across the stage! You can read more about that crazy story here.

Tickets start at 640,000VND ($28US). The best place to buy tickets is at the theater because they often offer in person discounts.

The Amazing Viet Show is performed at the V Show Theater. 147 Cach Mạng Thang Tam Street District 3, HCMC

5. Binh Quoi Tourist Village

Binh Quoi Tourist Village is a rural oasis in the heart of the city. It looks like a Traditional Village on the Mekong Delta. It’s a staged reproduction, but it’s beautiful, peaceful, and entrance is free.

Binh Quoi Village feels like entering a different world and different era. You can relax in bamboo huts that line the many waterways. You can paddle a boat on the lake. You can scramble across monkey bridges. And more.

There are even restaurants and a hotel if you desire. The best time for a peaceful visit is on weekday mornings. There’s a large, traditional buffet on weekend evenings, but it’s more crowded (and you can’t see the scenery in the dark).

Find out more about Binh Quoi Tourist Village in this post.

Binh Quoi Tourist Village 147 Binh Quoi Street Binh Thanh District, HCMC

6. AO Show at the Saigon Opera House

The Saigon Opera House is one of the most historic landmarks of the city. Every Saigon visitor comes to the Opera House for sightseeing, but few actually watch a performance.

Take your Opera House experience to the next level by catching the AO Show. Often called “Bamboo Cirque,” it’s like a Cirque du Soleil show about contemporary Vietnamese culture. The AO Show combines acrobatics, dance, and dazzling choreography.

It’s not only a great show that’s fun and amazing. It’s also a great travel experience that meaningful and gives insight into the culture. The central theme is how rapid modernization and urbanization is changing Vietnam (for better and worse).

Tickets start at 630,000VND ($27US). It’s best to buy tickets at the Opera House. Check for package deals that include dinner at a local restaurant too. These are often a bargain.

Saigon Opera House 7 Lam Son Square District 1, HCMC

7. Live it Up in Phu My Hung

Speaking of rapid modernization and urbanization, visit Phu My Hung to see a different (wealthier) side of Saigon. Located just 15 minutes from downtown, Phu My Hung is an upscale neighborhood that offers high-end dining, shopping, and entertainment.

An evening here can be both fun and enlightening. You’ll have a high-end experience, and you’ll see how Vietnam’s growing middle-class lives.

There are many easy options here. We recommend visiting the Crescent Mall, but not really for the shopping. There’s a pretty lake behind the mall and a picturesque walkway around the lake. Several fine restaurants line the walkway. And at the end, there’s the Starlight Bridge.

At night, this bridge doubles as a water fountain and puts on a lovely light show. For dinner, we recommend Cham Charm Restaurant. It’s a rather expensive seafood buffet, but the décor is beautiful. The theme is the ancient Cham civilization of Vietnam.

Much of Saigon (and Vietnam) is rather poor, but that’s not the whole story. The temptation is to make the poor rural farmer the symbol of Vietnam. That’s still partially true, but a complete picture must also include Vietnam’s growing middle class.

You can glimpse their changing lifestyle and values in Phu My Hung.

Crescent Mall 101 Ton Dat Tien Street District 7, HCMC

8. Mix with Locals at Tao Dan Park

Tao Dan Park is a big, beautiful park in Saigon. It’s one of the few green spaces in Saigon, and it’s a great place to mix with locals. Early morning is the best time to visit. The whole community comes out to enjoy the cool morning air. Locals of all ages and from all walks of life meet here to socialize and exercise.

The whole community comes out to enjoy the cool morning air. Locals of all ages and from all walks of life meet here to socialize and exercise.

You’ll see people practice a wide variety of martial arts, including Tai Chi. Dancing is another popular activity at Tao Dan. You’ll see everything from Asian Fan Dancing to Waltzing to group Line Dancing.

Most of these are open and communal. So it’s your chance to conquer the language barrier through physical activity and play. Know a little Tai Chi or a bit of line dancing, join in. Why not?

It may be one of your most memorable moments in Saigon. Read more about Tao Dan Park here.

Tao Dan Park lies along Truong Dinh Street, between Nguyen Du Street and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street.

9. Traditional Culture Show at the Golden Lotus Theater

If you want to taste classic Vietnamese culture, check out the Golden Lotus Theater. It’s the most enjoyable “traditional” dance and music show in Saigon.

This is a fun show with all the elaborate costumes, vibrant dances, and soulful music you’d expect and few things you wouldn’t. Like a 1000-year-old water puppet show that ends with fireworks.

We stress enjoyable and fun because authentic performances of ancient culture can drag on. Let’s be honest, as interesting as they may be culturally and historically, they tend to get boring for the average visitor.

At the Golden Lotus Theatre, the show maintains a quick, entertaining pace. You can read more about this show here.

The Golden Lotus Theatre is inside the Rex Hotel. 141 Nguyen Hue Street District 1, HCMC

10. La Fênetre Soleil– For a Quirky and Cross-Cultural Evening

By day, it’s a mild-mannered café. By night, La Fênetre Soleil is quirky hub for cross-cultural encounters. This Vietnamese club has a French name, serves Indonesian food, specializes in live Jazz music, but has weekly Salsa dancing on Wednesdays and weekly Swing dancing on Sundays. And that’s not all.

They also host a variety of special events too. One of our favorites was a presentation by the “Saigon Storytellers” group – where some locals and expats told true but well-crafted stories from their lives (kinda like The Moth podcast).

So if you’re looking for a different kind of nightclub in Saigon, try La Fênetre Soleil. Contact the club for what’s happening during your visit.

Phone: 08 3824 5994

Address: 44 Ly Tu Trọng District 1, HCMC

There are many other unique things to do in Saigon. Of course, the best will be the ones you create. Hopefully, this list helps with both specific tips and ideas to spark your own imaginative itinerary.

Enjoy Saigon!

Which things to do in Saigon interest you? If you’ve been to Saigon, we’d love to hear your unique tips?

Saigon is Very Affordable!

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matt-and-ems-adventures · 7 years

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Matt and Ems First Holiday - Cornwall 2017

By Matt.

The wait for our first holiday seemed to last forever. The fact we booked our first holiday just 2 weeks into knowing each other would (understandably) seem completely and utterly bonkers to most other people, but what most wouldn’t understand so well is that from the moment we met we both felt like we had known each other for our whole lives. It just seemed to be the most normal thing to do.

By the time the holiday came around we were both very much in need of a break and were excited about getting to our dream Cornish cottage in Liskeard. At this point, we had not had an extended period of quality time together and so we were both really looking forward to it.

I was so excited the night before that I barely slept - Ems was tired as it was, but had also seemed to have summoned some energy from somewhere as she was very perky given that she left around 6am to pick me up. All without the aid of coffee! (this is unheard of!)

Ems arrived at my dads, and after a brief goodbye we somehow packed my suitcase and bags into Rufus the Fiat 500 without squashing Phoebe who was neatly packed onto the back seat between shoes, bags and holiday items! I was very impressed that we got everything in!

The journey took us 8 hours with a bit of traffic on the way down, but it seemed to take a lot less as we chatted non stop the whole way there and made our way through pringles, haribo, and fruit drinks - all whilst singing a number of songs from our Cornwall playlist on Spotify. Mainly Katy Perry and Taylor Swift though where Ems got to see my (admittedly camp) “shake it off” hands in action! Impressed her no end!

We did also make up our own version of Gina G’s eurovision classic “ooh ahh just a little bit” to be “OOH ARRR jus’ a little bit!” in a thick Cornish accent much to our own simple entertainment! It did develop into thoughts of making the video with various members in outfits (fisherman, farmer, Poldark, and pirate). Not sure if this will ever materialise but I wait in hope!

We arrived at the cottage to meet Mrs Dabs who gave us the guided tour and we were over the moon. A beautiful cottage set in the countryside with views of both Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor - and as a result we had an incredible view from the bedroom window. We had our own pond and the whole cottage had a perfect country feel to it. We both admitted we would love to own Campion cottage ourselves and would be returning to stay again in future.

We were both glad to be in our cottage and after unpacking we had a bite to eat and went to bed.

Sunday….

Like most days of the holiday we had a lazy morning followed by an afternoon of activity. Ems had a great idea of “bobbing” to Looe which was a lovely harbour town with a nice beach (unfortunately not dog friendly though).

Ems was forced to apply suncream as I was on suncream duty and she made a right mess. Cannot take her anywhere!

We had a mooch around the local shops and found ourselves wanting to grab some lunch. Ems found a really quaint cafe in between some shops and we had our first fish and chips of the holiday with a cider (orchard blush - LUSH!). We passed a pasty shop where we bought two pasty’s for our tea later that evening in true Cornwall style! Veggie friendly of course!

We made our way past the sandy beach before Phoe decided to “empty” herself on the pavement in front of two very disapproving pensioners who watched us slowly realise we had no dog poo bags - and then see us improvise with a pasty bag instead as we cleaned up after her! We laughed - the pensioners did not…

On the beach we sat down on the rocks, chatted and took our first photos of the holiday in front of “vagina cave”. As can be seen - Phoe looks very pleased with herself after the earlier poop incident! Ems by this point had started to feel a little more relaxed and it showed in her smiles :)

We sat for a little while before hunger took over and we took our pasty’s back home for tea. We had a relaxed evening chatting and chilling out with a bottle of rosè and jazz (check us out!) before dozing off. The bottle of wine went down far too easily!

Monday…

Again, we woke up slowly and in true holiday mode. I took Phoe out for her morning ritual wee and made her breakfast (including a pill hidden in a chunk of cheese!) before bringing Ems a cup of tea and some marmalade on toast (fancy Fortnum and Mason stuff!). We both had a morning brew in bed before deciding we should probably get dressed and do something.

Like the whole holiday, we didn’t have a set routine or “plan”. Ems suggested St. Michael’s Mount, but I unusually suggested we did that on the last day and that we visited Tintagel (”Tin-Tar-Gel”) instead. Ems agreed and so we packed up and made our way there.

We parked up after spotting several pubs, ice cream shops and food based establishments. It was a pretty little town with bunting out and a nice feel. We made our way to a hotel with a Camelot theme and found ourselves confused as to how to get to the ruins - we could see them but not walk down. By this point we got hungry (no surprise there!) and made our way back to the town for lunch. We decided on our own cornish buffet - fish finger baguette and a cheese ploughman’s with cider, before heading off to the ruins. Phoe was rather pleased to be out in the sunshine and to have had the remains of our lunch!

We made our way down the hill into the valley, watching as several land rovers passed us ferrying visitors up and down the hill. We both mocked them on the way down but both regretted this on the way back up as we panted desperately as we made our way back up the hill to the car!

There were ten trillion steps to climb which Phoe made look easy! The steps were worth it though with spectacular views from the ruins where we took lots of photos. The weather was fantastic but it was very gusty at the top!

We made our way down the steps and paid a visit to the beach so Phoe could run around which she absolutely loved. Ems took her into the dark cave and video’d her running around which was lovely to watch. We got some more photos before heading back to the car to go back home after what was quite a tiring day!

We got home opened up a bottle of red AND rosè wine which we polished off with scary ease before dozing off. Em’s legs got a case of the twitches after all the walking and so she was very pleased to see the bed!

Tuesday…

Tuesday was a very good day for Ems in the sense that her obsession with fictional Poldark merged with reality when we visited Charlestown where part of the series is filmed. It was a very small harbour town with a handful of gift shops/galleries and two pubs.

We weren’t there for too long as we saw the tall ships in the harbour, looked in the gallery (testing Ems on what photos she thought I might like) and then had some lunch in a fairly standard pub which didn’t have much of a Cornish feel - but it filled a hole!

We then headed off to Fowey (Foy) on what was a little bit of a whim as I think we both expected to be in Charlestown a little longer than we were. Fowey was a good choice though as we spent most of the afternoon and evening there.

It was a little hilly in Fowey (hence me stalling the car as we parked…) but we made our way down into the harbour where it was fairly quiet and had coffee in a lovely little restaurant on the harbour. We chatted away before we made our way back up, stopping half way to give Ems her first camera lesson where she took some photos of the harbour. She did really well and seemed to love having the 70-200mm lens on as she weirdly liked feeling as if she was spying on people!

Once we got home we chilled out, and had a fairly late night before our day in St. Ives.

Wednesday…

By Wednesday we were both well and truly in holiday mode. Once again we had a late morning and so we decided to eat the cream tea we had been provided upon arrival at the cottage but not yet eaten.

This provided a source of entertainment for Ems as I proceeded to put jam and cream on my scones - to which Ems reminded me of the Cornish jam first, cream on top method.

I nodded in agreement only to jam one half, cream the other and then attempt to eat the scone like a burger before realising my mistake. Ems looked at me almost in disbelief (almost disgust) before bursting into laughter and mocking me!

After the “burger/scone gate” incident, we decided on a whim to visit St. Ives. Parking was oddly quite easy but once we got into town and by the harbour it was very busy.

The weather had been great up until this point, but it rained fairly heavily for a few hours, and when we got there we were both hungry - and the first “hangry” outburst from Ems came out! I stopped momentarily to look at a bakery which has some really tasty looking loaves - for Ems to turn to me and quite firmly bark “NOT NOW!”. At this point I feared for my life and so I proceeded to calmly lead us to the nearest pub with an empty table for food!

… only to sit down, get some bar snacks and drinks to keep the hanger monster at bay to find that they didn’t serve food for another 45 minutes! This was worst case scenario. I felt hot and unnerved. I felt the eyes in the side of my head and the pressure was on to keep Ems mind off food for long enough until the kitchen opened as she was already hangry!

We found a more comfortable table, the kitchen opened, and we both ordered a very tasty fish pie. Ems hanger subsided and Phoe even sneaked a piece of fish. The sun came back out and we headed over to the harbour for a walk with ice cream (avoiding seagulls), followed by a beach walk to get the first feel of sand and sea on our toes. It felt so good! Although we saw some crazy drunk people in the sea which must have been so cold! We attempted some selfies with varying success and a chinese (?!) couple took a very dark and badly taken photo of us on the shore!

We spotted a lovely framed image in Whistlefish galleries but were too late on our way back to the car to buy it and so we had to return later in the week to get it. We did however pick up a Poldark mug for Ems mum Denise as a joke which she later appreciated! On our way back to the car I spotted a cute silver starfish necklace which I bought for her as I thought it would look really pretty on her.

We had a lovely time and once the sun had started to go down we left St. Ives to get some shopping from Aldi where I cooked some fish cakes for dinner as we chilled out for the evening.

We had a bit of a running joke all week where we would check on our German neighbours who didn’t seem to go out as the car never left the drive - but today they went out! We were both in shock!

Thursday…

Thursday was arguably our favourite day in Cornwall. We decided to put our walking boots on and explore Cornwall a little on a coastal walk. Thursday was the day we packed our Thermos with coffee and fruit cake to share after our walk. Simple things but it is what we both love.

We drove to St Agnes first in the morning which was a very pretty little village. No parking charges - just an honesty box if we “wanted’ to pay to park (we did!).

We found a little pub which was quite cutesy and very “villagey” which we both liked. Ems had a really nice Lemon sole with crushed potatoes and I had hake goujons which was nice - but nowhere near as nice as the lemon sole. Food envy!

After lunch we headed through the village towards St Agnes head to see Wheale Mine from the Poldark Series. We made our way through some gorgeous headland with purple heather, skies as blue as I have ever seen them and a nice breeze. We walked and walked but could not find a route down to the Mine, but we did get a good view of it.

We decided to turn back and head to Perranporth in the car where the proper start of our coastal walk would begin.

When we arrived in Perranporth there were plenty of surfers on the beach but the weather turned and it became windy and wet. We were undeterred. We put our boots on, kept the thermos and cake ready, and set off.

We passed a creepy looking youth hostel and onto the coastal path which offered some truly breath taking views. It was gusty and wet but it cleared some cobwebs and was well worth it. We walked for 3 hours passing the remains of a dynamite factory, mining ruins and an old Spitfire RAF base. Despite it being wet, there was lots of colour on the walk with some pretty flowers dotted along the path. Phoe did extremely well and kept up with us the whole way - I was very impressed!

We got back to the car and were pretty bedraggled, so we sat and drank our coffee quietly but contentedly with a very welcome slice of fruit cake. We sat watching the waves crashing onto the shore as we dried off before a beautiful beam of light appeared from the sky shining over the water. I didn’t tell Ems this at the time but I quietly thought to myself that this was a little sign from her dad as we sat together looking our over the sea.

Once the weather improved and we finished our coffee and cake, we realised it was almost dinner time and Ems suggested a chippy tea. It was like she read my mind! I love this woman!

We walked down and got our chips - mine with a copious amount of melted cheese on top and went back to the car. We laughed as a seagull loitered by the bin and decided I was brave enough to throw away our rubbish and face it (it was huge!).

The seagull then took our rubbish out of the bin and decided to throw it on the floor. I didn’t feel brave enough to have a second face off with it and so we stayed in the car. Shortly followed by us both laughing at a small child that tripped and fell over his own laces. Harsh - but it was funny!

Full of chips, coffee and cake we made our way home where inappropriate (and slightly odd) talk of “tickling my elbow bean” came up as she ran her fingers lovingly on my arm whilst I drove us back to the cottage where we slept like two logs!

Friday…

Friday was decided very early on to be our pilgrimage to St. Michael’s Mount in Marazion (”Marrah-Zi-On”). We packed our cool bag with home made egg mayo sandwiches (hailed by Ems as the best egg mayo ever), cheese and tomato sandwiches and some coffee in our thermos.

We drove for 20 minutes only to realise we had left our coats behind so had to swing the car around and head back to get them before driving back off again! Doh!

We eventually pulled up and set up on the beach first with our pen-pineapple beach blanket and relaxed for a bit. We had some coffee and our sandwiches before making our way toward the boat landing area to get across the causeway to St. Michael’s Mount.

Em’s then popped into some gift shops and bought a cute shell for me as a gift in one of the shops which I absolutely loved as it had a funny limerick on it :)

We got on the boat (not without Phoe having a wobble and needing to be carried on!) and got to the other side where there is a small harbour. I took a couple of photos and we went to get a cream team before Ems walked up to the Mount and spend some time exploring and sitting in the chapel as she had never been to the top before.

After Ems had seen the top and made her way back down (explaining that she had been nattering with strangers again!), we met at the bottom where she was looking a little pink… there was a little stern conversation between us as Ems almost refused to put on more suncream despite having a burnt head and shins… I persisted - and won.

I eventually managed to sit with her and put more on her head and legs as she quietly moaned at me for “forcing her” to put more on (despite her knowing she needed it but the (cute) stubbornness came out!).

When we both met on Tinder, the first photo I ever saw of her (and the one that made me chose to swipe for her) was one of her looking really pretty with Phoe by the harbour at St. Michael’s Mount. Before we left, I really wanted to recreate that photo but this time with all 3 of us as a little family unit in it. We lined ourselves up and did a pretty good job! Even Phoe looked in the right direction!

We got back on the boat, Phoe having another wobble before being carried on - and we made our way back to shore to do some shell collecting on the beach. We took another cheeky selfie with the Mount behind us and I took a quick shot of St. Michael’s Mount from the beach before driving back to the cottage, all 3 of us tuckered out.

A weird thing happened on the way back from St. Michaels Mount however… we discussed the use of “Waze” which is a free sat nav app that I use, and I persuaded Em to use it as hers kept cutting out. As the icon was a “baby wazer” Ems decided to give it a voice which sounded weirdly creepy yet cute at the same time.

It had us both in stitches the entire journey back and to be honest i actually find it hilarious and keep trying to make her do “the voice”! So funny!

We stopped off in St. Ives on the way home to pick up our framed photo that we didn’t manage to get earlier in the week. Parking was a nightmare so Ems got out as I waited in the car park and went to get it. She came back with it in hand and we left for the cottage.

Ems wanted to do a bit of driving on the way back and so we swapped over. We stopped off on the way home to get a Chinese takeaway (my first as a veggie) and Ems educated me on vegetarian Chinese dishes. Oddly I didn’t miss chicken balls and duck as much as I thought! Good job Peanut!

We got home, vegged out and ate Chinese and went to bed as Ems was feeling a bit unwell due to being a bit burnt. I kept her awake during the night by trying to be cuddly when she was uber hot (I am like a radiator!). This understandably did not go down well and I felt guilty in the morning for keeping her awake with my incessant need for a snuggle! Needless to say I got her breakfast the next morning with a brew to say sorry!

Saturday…

Sadly Saturday arrived and we both had mixed feelings about it. We were so happy and loved up, and were so relaxed after an amazing week away together - but felt a tinge of sadness about having to leave our beautiful cottage and say goodbye to”our place”. It was gutting to leave and we both wished we had another week.

Ems had a fantastic idea of trying to squeeze another day in by going to Padstow before making our way back home. I thought this was an amazing idea and so we packed the car (pretty well I would say!) and made our way there.

As we got down the lane we stopped to take some photos of the blue hydrangea bush that was at the cottage. Em’s dad Nigel had been trying to grow these, never quite managing to get the colour he wanted and so it was a little funny sign when we saw the bush and Ems told me the story behind it. it was only right that we stopped to take a photo of them and take one as a keepsake.

It was a lovely way to leave the cottage and we left in a pretty positive mood having stopped to do that. I felt quietly pleased that the cottage had provided a nice reminder of her dad and brought up a nice memory of him and the hydrangeas.

We got to Padstow and parked up before walking down to what was a pretty busy harbour front. It was really pretty with plenty of little shops and a small but lovely harbour. We decided that as we had a long journey back we should find a pub to have some lunch in. We spotted one the far side of the harbour and had some fish and chips. ‘Twas very good and our bellies were filled!

Em’s did however make comment that I am very camp when I get excited which made us laugh (and led to a jokey present for me), and due to her hanger issues I spotted a crab food van outside the pub which I had to get a photo of her by as a bit of a joke (and a present for her too). It is a good job we both have a sense of humour!

We had a quick walk around the shops where Ems found a top she liked, I bought it for her as she walked out without it and i thought she’d look great in it. We also found a crab and puffin mug which we got each other as a jokey gift (crab for Ems being crabby when hungry, puffin for me as being a bit “puffy” when I am excited ha!).

We got a cheeky final ice cream on the way back to the car (mine toffee and Ems vanilla - both with clotted cream on top!). I changed the car park sign to say there were spaces when there wasn’t (feeling a bit cheeky) and we made our way back home after getting back to the car.

Homeward bound…

Not much to say about the homeward journey other than Ems slept for a good while which she needed and we stopped for fuel.

This for me is where I say that I had the best holiday I have ever had. I have never been so happy or so relaxed - and I have never enjoyed spending time with someone so much. I have never felt so loved up or so close to somebody. We really are like two little peas in a pod and soulmates.

There were so many funny moments and a LOT of laughter. A whole lot of snuggles and kisses were had and I loved spending quality time with Ems which we just hadn’t been able to do until now. i will always look back on this holiday with big grin on my face,

I spent the whole week having the most fantastic time with my absolute best friend who I really am very lucky to also have as my girlfriend and future wife. I also felt really pleased that I managed to get to know Phoe a lot more and bond with her and we really felt like a little family which I loved.

For now we went home to separate houses, but I feel so much more in love with my peanut than I ever have and I am so much closer to her after this week. That I will always be grateful of despite missing her like crazy.

I now look forward to planning our next adventure together as peanut and pickle, pooh bear and piglet in the lakes :)

xxxx

#holiday cornwall mattandems

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