Tom Bawcock's Eve
This article appears in the December issue of Cornwall Today magazine if you want to see it in its full technicolour design glory. Tom Bawcock’s Eve A merry place you may believe, Was Mouzel 'pon Tom Bawcock's Eve It's December 23 rd , very nearly Christmas, ‘Just two more sleeps, s o exciting!’ as my four year old informs me, at half past three in the morning . Later that day, in the warmth of the Ship Inn, Mousehole, glasses chink and holiday conversations flow. Outside, families stroll around the picturesque harbour, absorbing the village's famous lights as they twinkle in the gathering winter darkness. It’s a picture perfect portrait of a Cornish seaside village at Christmas. But there’s something more in the pub today, a subtle undercurrent of expectation, a buzz in the air, a reason the pub is so densely packed. Oddly, the pub bell rings out quite soon after sunset, and a hush quickly spreads through the pub’s warren of nooks an