Crack open the champagne!

...Or a rambling personal note on the council election results.

First of all, if you lost your seat in the elections, regardless of your party label or lack of it, do remember that losing at an election is God's/Fate's (delete as applicable) way of telling you to live a little.

Stephen Tall gives a very balanced view of the LibDems' performance here.

Overall, the Liberal Democrats projected share of the vote is cause for opening up the champagne! Trebles all round!

It's at 28%, compared to the Tories' 38% - just a ten point gap between us and the Tories. Compare that to the opinion polls in July/August 2008 when we were regularly twenty seven points - yes - count them - twenty seven points behind the Tories. If you don't believe me then look at this graph, which shows the LibDems around 18% in July/August 2008, with the Tories on around 45%.

Also, after all the nonsense we have had over the last few years about leaders, we have at last got a leader who is performing brilliantly, particularly over the last few weeks. Nick Clegg was particularly good and omnipresent on the media yesterday. This is cause for great rejoicing.

Oh, and, by golly, by gosh, we have at last got something which might be loosely described as that precious, precious commodity which the Liberal Democrats have searched and searched and searched for, for many long years. Yes, you guessed it - a narrative!

And let's savour Bristol a little shall we? Barbara Janke and her team have been plugging away at Bristol for many years. This is not an overnight success story. If you go back to the 1995 elections, Labour held a staggering 53 seats on Bristol City Council, with the LibDems on 9 and Tories on 6. So, little by little, the Bristol LibDems have plugged away and gradually built up their representation on the city council to the current level: LibDems 36, Labour 16, Tories 17, Greens 1. Well done team Bristol!

By the way, before any LibDems get too depressed, or indeed any Tories get too elated, they should look at this excellent analysis from Duncan Stott on Split Horizons. It shows that the Tories have grabbed seats way above their vote share. For example, in Staffordshire they won 79% of the seats with only 43% of the votes. How can that be good for democracy? Indeed, I'd argue that it isn't even good for the Conservatives. In a few years time they will get over-complacent, knackered and out of touch from too many council cabals, and then the electorate will take their revenge on them. It's all rather pointless.

I'd like now to focus on Cornwall and congratulate my fellow countryfolk (from, admittedly, my airey-fairey vantage point of exile in in a county where the trees go straight up and round) on establishing Cornwall Council. Yay! At long last!

And many congratulations to the Liberal Democrats for establishing an excellent representation on the new council - 38 seats. That, for Cornwall, is actually very good, bearing in mind it is an area with a tradition of many Indpendent councillors. I am particularly cheered that the whole of the Bude and Stratton area is now represented by LibDem councillors! Hurrah! So, many congratulations to Nathan Bale in Bude North and Stratton, Nigel Pearce in Bude South and Paula Dolphin in Flexbury and Poughill. This is a marvellous full house, when you consider that the area has been represented by independents (as well as some Liberal Democrats more recently) for many many years.

It was also good to see Glenton Brown being elected in Tintagel, a LibDem hat-trick in Launceston and a very strong LibDem showing both in Newquay and Penzance.

Many congratulations to Robin (Lord) Teverson on being elected for St Mewan ward and congratulations to David Hughes for being elected for Tywardreath ward, or the Du Maurier ward, if you prefer it (which you probably don't).

Finally, I would note that no Labour candidates were elected to Cornwall council. This is remarkable when you consider that Labour has traditionally been strong in the Redruth-Cambourne-Falmouth area. They used to have the MP going back years when Dr John Dunwoody held it, then Cathy Atherton from 1997. Indeed Cathy Atherton tried to get elected to the council in Carn Brea North but come third. The nearest Labour came anywhere to winning a seat was in Redruth North where they came 2nd.

Pasty snatching St Ives seagulls

Michael White extolls the virtues of St Ives in the Guardian today. It has been voted best seaside town by a Guardian panel.

I am delighted that Michael White kept his sense of balance and mentioned the seagulls, which are an essential element in any objective analysis of St Ives:

In truth, the bigger danger is dive-bombing seagulls who snatch a child's pasty - but only once. Being mugged by a seagull is a childhood rite of passage on holiday in St Ives, but the judges, thankfully, did not hold that against it.

Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein threatened with fire-bombs by "Cornish National Liberation Army"

Something called "The Cornish National Liberation Army" has sent an email threatening to firebomb Jamie Oliver's and Rick Stein's restaurants:

The group has a history of extremist action, though it has not been heard of on a national level since a series of attacks in the 1980s which included a bomb at a courthouse in St Austell.

Its email, signed by the "CNLA Directing Council" and sent via an Arabic web-hosting service based in Egypt, says Stein is top of its "operational directives".

Of Oliver, the email states: "We have seen the effects of this arrogant English man in our Country, causing property prices to swell."

Matthew Taylor, Truro and St Austell MP, has summed up all this well:

"This is not helping Cornwall - it is not helping anybody. It is all the more desperately disappointing when Fifteen at Watergate Bay, which is a charity working to give young Cornish people their first chance on the career ladder, is threatened."

It really is bovine to accuse Jamie Oliver of forcing house prices up. There has been upward pressure on houses for many years in Cornwall. Jamie Oliver has only recently been involved with the county.

BBC Breakfast covered this story this morning, creating the feeling of a battle between Cornish people and "incomers". The ludicrous thing is that a high proportion of people living in Cornwall are "incomers". It really is very difficult separate "Cornish" people from "incomers", and an idiotic exercise to try. You only have to imagine Cornwall without "emmets" or "incomers". It would be deserted and most of the people left would be on the dole.

Enchanting life of Daphne DuMaurier

At last, I have watched the Rick Stein BBC 2 programme about the life of Daphne Du Maurier , marking her centenary. Well done, Ricky and well done BBC, say I! It was an enchanting programme. (Sadly my IT skills abandoned me in attempting to record the subsequent docu-drama about Du Maurier).

My mum comes from Fowey and we have spent many holidays down there based in Polruan. There are lots of family connections, but, then, everyone in Fowey and Polruan, quite rightly, proudly proclaims links to Du Maurier. So, I was very interested by the programme, because glimpses of Du Maurier or reflections about her life have always been few and far between.

It was fascinating to see inside Ferryside at Bodinnick, one of her homes, now owned by her son.

I was interested by DuMaurier's curiosity that she had been labelled in some places as a "romantic novelist". She said, in an interview from 1971 (which I think was with Hugh Scully of BBC 1's South-West regional "Spotlight" programme) that she only wrote one romantic novel, which was "Frenchman's Creek".

Her son also said that she got infuriated when people referred to "Hitchcock's The Birds". Not surprising that one! After all, she wrote it!

I have to say that reading more DuMaurier books is on my "to do" list. I have read "The Parasites" and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also read her memoir of her early life in Fowey, which was wonderful.

It was interesting from Stein's film to see her physical appearance over the years. When young, she was quite boyish and angular. In her later years, she had a captivating and iconic look about her, magnified by her partial seclusion. ...Just a personal view, but then that's what a blogs about, hopefully.

The role of the humble wetsuit in extending the tourist season

At the weekend I was ruminating with my brother, Marhamchurch Man, who returned to one of his favourite themes. In the old days (yes, I am getting on), you didn't see any wetsuits on Cornwall's surf beaches. Nowadays, virtually every one wears a wetsuit when they take a dip in the old briny.

Fair enough. We're a bunch of sissies or, alternatively, we've got some sense.

In the old days however, due to being frozen to death except when the water was warmish, people tended to shy away from surfing on all but sunny days.

As a result, the tourist season in the West Country, which used to last six weeks, has been extended. This is because people now know they can go swimming in the sea even if the weather is a bit dodgy.

It is an interesting theory. Because it comes from Marhamchurch Man, I tend to give it confident credence. And it is excellent news, because in the old days the very short season used to mean that there were some people sitting round doing nothing for all but six weeks of the year. But now, some seasonal employment lasts a little longer than it used to. And places like this can sell lots of wetsuits. Hurrah!

Isn't life wonderful?

There were several reasons to be cheerful this weekend:

a) I could have a brief family break from campaigning and still the team did all that is needed in my absence - thanks team!

b) Playing golf with my nephew at the idyllic Ivyleaf course near Kilkhampton, Cornwall.

c) Sailing (albeit as a passenger) on Tamar Lake

d) Swimming in the sea in early April. This was at Widemouth Bay - see photo.

e) Wonderful weather.

It's so easy to take this sort of stuff for granted, so I won't!

Cornish captain saves England!

It was with considerable excitement that I settled down to watch the rugby this afternoon. Strangely enough, it wasn't Jonny Wilkinson's return that was exciting me the most.

It was the sight of Cornishman Phil Vickery running on as England Captain. In fact, if I might wax lyrically for a little bit, Phil Vickery is not only a Cornishman, but it is not hugely inaccurate to call him a "Bude Boy", like me. However, purists might point out that he is in fact a "Kilkhampton Boy" but the distinction involves only a couple of miles and a rather large hill from which, incidentally you can see Brown Willy on a clear day (cut the ***p - Ed).

As I settled down, I couldn't help remembering another fine Cornishman, Derek Prout. He was a Rugby veteran and my cousin. He tragically passed away a couple of years ago. I am very proud to see that the British University Sports Association are holding their annual Rugby Sevens event in his honour this year. As you get older, you are conscious that you are enjoying things that those who have passed away would have enjoyed, if they were still here. This was one of those occasions. Derek would have certainly been brimming with pride to see a Cornishman captaining England!

The BBC turned into the Jonny Wilkinson appreciation society for a couple of hours. When the team were lining up for the national anthem, we got a minute of Jonnyboy staring ahead and a quick flash of the rest of the fellows in the team!

Incidentally, why do we sing "God Save the Queen" when Scotland sing "Flower of Scotland"? It seems very strangely lop-sided, like as if we are a loyal enclave and Scotland aren't. "God Save the Queen" is the national anthem of the whole UK, not just a bit of it. I would have thought it would be more appropriate for us to sing our own song in such circumstances.

Anyway, the BBC stopped short of having its own "Jonnycam" although I felt they might need a "CheckingJonnygetsupcam" to check that he was getting up OK after each ruck/maul.

He did have a bleeding mouth (he needed stitches at half time) and a bleeding ear.

But, what a heck of a match! Scotland put up a bold fight. But Jonny W's kicking was superb. Jason Robertson's two tries were brilliant. And Jonny's "try" and conversion were the icing on the cake.

They'll be dancing in the streets of Nuneaton tonight!

UKIP's hypocrisy on Polish workers

One of the pleasures of returning home to Cornwall is reading the "Cornish and Devon Post". It is always interesting to read the anti-European rants published by the Robertson family in their Trago Mills adverts, over the years.

The Westcountry Trago Mills stores even have signs decrying the woes of the European Union.

Bruce Robertson, owner of Trago Mills, is a donor to UKIP. He has just taken on 30 Poles to work for him. This is hard on the heels of Roger Knapman, UKIP MEP, who has also employed Polish labourers.

So they criticise the European Union, but then take advantage of its benefits.