Summer Of 1990

A Memory of St Merryn.

I was lucky enough to go abroad for our family holiday every year. Towards the end of the 1980s my second holiday around August time would be to go to Treyarnon Bay with my best friend Becci and her parents, and I fell in love with the place and the surrounding areas. I'm sure the pub/hotel was named the Beachcomer back then.
The owners of Treyarnon Bay Hotel were Anne and Clive, along with Anne's brother Chris and his wife Lorraine. Becci and I begged them to let us come and work a summer season for them.
1990 soon came around. Me and Becci were at the grand old age of 17, and our parents unwillingly let us go! Off we went to Treyarnon for the summer. I'm sure to this day Clive and Anne regret taking us on. We were pretty rubbish chambermaids and our waitressing skills weren't that great either! But we quickly became experts at enjoying ourselves. I remember waking up and looking out of our window to see the sea. The hotel had a magical feel to it. At this point Chris and Lorraine took over the cafe next door to the hotel. The people I remember really well iare Ed the fisherman who owned or rented the sheds at the back of the hotel (years later I saw him on Rick Stein's programme), the Wheatley family who Anne and Clive adored, too many people and staff to mention from all walks of life, the Aussy lifeguards, the pub regulars, and not forgetting the holiday makers. I loved it!
We had a few celebs to stay and once we had Terry Nutkins and Chris Packham from the kids' TV programme 'The Really Wild Show' to stay, along with all their animals! Bizarre!Craig Charles from 'Red Dwarf' and now 'Coronation Street'sat outside supping a pint one day, to my delight! The daily activity in that hotel was amazing, some stories I should never repeat!But I was privileged to watch ol' surfer reunions, the parties the bands at weekends! Such a wonderful atmosphere.
I was told to stay away from the lads from St Columb as they were trouble! So to be even more of a rebel I dated one of them for some time! And remained friends for years later, they were a great bunch.
So eventually and sadly it all had to come to an end. Anne and Clive took most of us staff away on holiday to Zante in Greece (the ones that never wanted to leave) and we all had a fabulous week away at the end of the season.
So long and farewell to treasured memories and people. OK, I'll name some: Chris and Ben Wheatley, Dan the barman, Billy sewage feet, Sticky, Rudi(and lifeguards), Aussies Jay and Rob, Lisa from York, Rupert (I saw you every day on your bike), the Mitchell brothers, the man who ran the beach shop for years, Quicksilver Greame ... so many of you !
I visited Treyarnon some years later &and it looked a little tatty round the edges and I felt disappointed. Perhaps I should just remember the way it once was!
Debbie Harvey (now Turner).