Raves & Rants . . from Penzance

The cover of the August issue of Cornwall Today , with this superb shot by  Greg Martin , is the first from new editor Alex Wade  , and shows Cornish surf at its absolute best. Unfortunately for any surfers reading this, surfing's code of ethics, and a desire not to have my legs broken, prevents me from naming the place it was taken.  It's not the only photo gem in the mag though, the contents spread improving this photo by the design. But the most noteworthy thing, personally speaking, is the new Surf Spot page, featuring a few words from your humble scribe. This month get the low down on the Sennen surf scene, with continued exploration of the best surfing beaches around the Cornish coast over the coming months. Oh, and just my little joke, saying 'I'm a wirter'. I do kno it shud hav bin 'wrighter'. Return to Ocean-Image.com

I like a cup of tea.  I like a cup of tea and a good read.  A good read with a cup of tea and a decent biscuit for preference, since you ask.  And since the latest edition of PitPilot magazine hit the doormat just before elevenses, planning for my immediate future became rather a pleasant task. Kettle boiled, teabag slightly stewed, add the perfect amount of milk and I'm set. The article about artist / surfer/ shaper  Jonty Henshall  provided the good read, with Alex Wade's words capturing the essence of the man himself.  But what really took the biscuit was the quality of the printing of the right hand side photo in the spread below . . . . . . . I must say,  it was exceptionally well printed, I would say Mint. And crisply presented. Mint. Crisp.  Coincidentally one of my favourite biscuits.  Nice. Return to Ocean-Image.com

Spent a lot of time yesterday driving around in a WNW wind trying to find somewhere to shoot some decent surf. Obviously an impossible task, since it that wind blows out everywhere in this neck of the woods. Trying to get some shots for Jess, who recently started riding with Pure Blue Water . After yo-yoing up and down the coast, and dragging serial blog artist Alex Wade along for company, we managed to turn up a pretty decent wave at a certain lesser known spot. Luckily the spot doesn't really have a name, so I can't give it away. They both managed to get a few waves, despite conditions detiorating dramatically as soon as they hit the water, as so often happens. It's the surf photographer's lament to stand on a freezing beach watching others have a whale of a time, sigh. But I was pleased with one or two waves that I snapped in between the surf shots.

Had a really decent wave at Porthmeor earlier in the week, with not too many people out. Still trialling the Surftech, I think it might be a pretty good board, as I managed to get covered up on my last wave. I wouldn't normally claim it, but the pleasure was doubled when a mate, who'd been watching from the car park, said ' Nice last wave, you were fully in there! '. Cheers, Lawrence, pint waiting for you! A memorable week with a Great Happening on Wednesday, including a mention in the Times online, courtesy of journalist and author Alex Wade, in his daily surf blog . Check out his latest book - Surf Nation - for intelligent insights and some of the best writing about the current state of surfing in Britain. Then, today, I had a couple of pictures in the Mirror, of Scrunch the bull, and his owner, mentioned in an earlier post, in the front room of his dilapidated, 15th century pub (aging it three hundred years in a few days). Under the groan inducing headline 'Unbel...