Wednesday 21 April 2010

Sweet Potato and Jam: a trip to Falmouth

Yesterday, The Old Man and I went into Falmouth.

Falmouth is not a favourite of mine. I can't help it. My formative teen years were spent at school in Penzance and in and around the bald, bony "toe" of Cornwall - aka West Penwith. And therefore I am naturally distrustful of the lush, riverine bits of Cornwall. Just as the Old Man's family had a very crude term for Penzance, cos they were from nearer Truro. And tis all very local.

I digress. Here we were visiting Falmouth. And, first up, the Tuesday morning market on The Moor. We bought greens and sweet potato from the lady from Twelveheads on the TOP stall, and local-grown and milled flour from the Cornish Mill & Bakehouse stall. Then it's the treat of a mooch around Jam Records in High St, where there's a stock of indie, folk, jazz and world music; some cinema DVDs; and some books. All in a laid-back little place with armchairs and cups of coffee. Browsing the CDs, I found The Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Genuine Negro Jig" (very nice). And on a table in the basement I picked up "The Best American Comics 2006" by Anne Elizabeth Moore & Harvey Pekar. Then I ordered a CD: "The Living Road" by Lhasa.

Because, unless you like to stick to the Top 20 at Tesco or WH Smith, I think you've only got Jam Records as an independent record shop in West Cornwall, or - West Penwith Music, in Penzance. This last shop particularly for classical music - unless you're content with Kathryn Jenkins and Priest - in which case you're probably OK at Tesco and Smiths. And yes, if you want to visit Truro, you've got an HMV.
But I do like to shop as local as possible and to support the small independent shops. And hey - yes - I'll use the Internet as well.
( Crotchet.co.uk is good for classical recordings.)

Anyway, a happy doll, I left Jam Records clutching my music and my comic book. And thinking Comicky thoughts.

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