Elm Cottage

A Memory of Mullion.

My family used to stay at Elm Cottage on Trewoon Road in Mullion for many of our summer holidays during the 1970's. The cottage belonged to a Mrs Kent, known to us affectionately as Aunty Ellie, who at that time lived in Caerleon in Wales with her Son and daughter in law Ted and Jean. We spent our summers at old Elm Cottage in the days before it was modernised. It had for example all it's original windows, fireplaces (but no central heating), picture rails and deep windowsills and lots of nooks and crannies, the old staircase with it's painted spindles, the old pantry, and the kitchen with the old Range (and a sink in the tiny lean-to) overlooking an enormous garden complete with outdoor privy). It was such a wonderful old cottage and they were wonderful days. I cannot tell you how much everyone and everything meant to us. Her son and daughter in law (our Uncle Ted and Aunty Jean) who were -and still are - dearly loved family friends (and Godparents to my sister) so close that they are like real family, all moved back to Mullion permanently in 1980's to Aunty Ellie 's cottage. This is where she remained until her passing at a very great age (still with her very long plaited silver grey hair, which she always wore pinned up in a 'bun'). Aunty Ellie was from a different era. She was a real Cornish lady born and bred (who of course knew how to make the loveliest traditional Cornish pasties). She naturally had many friends in Mullion who came to see her in her cottage whenever she "came 'ome " to Cornwall, where I believe she had lived most of her life. During our visits Aunty Ellie would sit quietly in her rocking chair in the sitting room, watching us young girls, wondering at the ways of us modern things, and occasionally imparting some memory or story of her life in old Cornwall. Having been brought up in a different era meant that sometimes she would tell us off for some perceived childish impudence on our part. We loved her and tried very hard to behave 'quite properly' in her presence. When Aunty Ellie was very very old indeed, she told us about her sister and how they played together when they were young. We had no idea that she had a sibling up til then and could not image such an old lady being our age with long plaits in her hair, wearing stockings and boots and a white frilled smock over her clothes, skipping about in the lane outside.
In the 1970's her neighbours were Milly and Johnny who lived in the adjoining property -Rowan Chy. We knew them well. Millie's brother Ronnie who lived in the thatched Boulogne Cottage on Trewoon Road came to visit often, in his little yellow Robin Reliant. We knew Christine and Oscar and their children - they were neighbours on the other side of Elm Cottage. My sister and I played with the children (and sometimes their cousins) in the garden and in the lane and the fields surrounding the cottages every summer we were there. We have such glorious and precious memories of those times.
I remember we always shopped in Mullion when we were there on holiday (sometimes walking up through the high sided, flower filled lanes rather than driving). I can remember the very old interior of Mullion Church and the peace of the Churchyard and the flower festivals we were occasionally there in time for. I remember The Forge where we bought so many trinkets and presents and shells, the Toy shop (the Shell Shack ?) in the village for buckets and spades and shells and flip flops and everything young girls could want on holiday,. I remember the Hardware Shop, the Bakers -(that shared a doorway with the electrical shop) -for delicious bread and the pasties!! the Post office for sending our precious postcards, the little Newspaper shack for dads daily newspaper, the Butchers and the Grocery store, The Gallery, the lovely Fish and Chip shop (round the corner near The Gallery) for the occasional supper treat and many more little shops in the village. Last but not least, I remember the wonderful Colroger Dairy, where we stopped in at often, for our ice creams and fudge and of course to buy the most wonderful clotted cream.
When we came down towards Mullion on our first approach to our holiday, our first sight was always Poldhu beach. We had longed for that view for the rest of the year. Every year while we were on holiday we went to Poldhu beach, no matter the weather or the tide. We parked on the beach and put up our windbreak before running off to swim in the sea and make sandcastles and paddle in the rockpools and beachcomb for hours and hours. We ate picnics and bought lollipops from the little shop at the top of the beach and just had such a wonderful carefree time. Sometimes my sister and I would go off playing for so long we thought our parents would forget they had us.
We visited Mullion so many times that it felt like home. Precious Memories....

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