Penzance turns regeneration into a fine art

Once a small town on the way to nowhere, Penzance has reinvented itself in recent years as a haven for art lovers that is unrivalled in Cornwall... more>

How a lost painting found its way home

For a small specialised gallery such as Penlee House in Penzance, Cornwall, the experience of being recorded by the Public Catalogue Foundation has been especially useful.

"We specialise in Newlyn School and St Ives paintings from 1880-1930. It's very narrow," explains Penlee curator Alison Bevan. "We happened to be looking through the PCF catalogue for Southampton and came across a rare painting by Sydney Mortimer Lawrence, an American living in St Ives in the 1880s, called 'Setting Sun off the Cornish Coast'." The painting, a large landscape, was something that Penlee House had always hoped to obtain but it had been, effectively, considered missing for years. It had turned up in a dark corner of the storeroom at Southampton Art Gallery when the PCF came cataloguing. Now, thanks to its rediscovery, Penlee House is able to show this work in its summer exhibition Lyrical Light: St Ives 1889-1914... more>

Royal Cinema needs a coat of paint

The Royal Cinema, which dominates Royal Square in St Ives, has for a long time badly needed a coat of paint - and it now also has a boarded-up broken window to add to the general impression of neglect. Merlin Cinemas who own the Royal should address the problem and give the place a face-lift ( part of the interior of the cinema has been refurbished).

The square itself isn't the prettiest part of the town. Many years ago the St Ives Labour (does it still exist?) ran a competition to attract suggestions for improving the square. Perhaps it's something the Town Council could usefully take-up. Thousands of visitors pass the cinema and square on their way from the coach park and they have plenty of opportunity to view one of the town's less desirable architectural offerings as they wait for the bus to take them back to their coaches and cars.

St Ives favourite in holiday search

Search statistics have revealed that one British weekend of hot weather has triggered nearly 3/4 of a million searches for UK holidays from Brits, with St Ives in Cornwall leading the way and overseas holidays taking a back seat... more>

Death of John Barnes

It is with sadness that I have to report the death of John Barnes, film historian, collector, curator and filmmaker... more>

Norway Stores campaigners celebrate decision

Delighted campaigners who have nervously waited to learn the fate of their local shop are celebrating the refusal of planning permission to change Norway Stores, St Ives, into an art gallery.

The unanimous decision, made by Penwith district council's planning committee on Tuesday, was greeted by relieved and elated lease-holders, Janet and Roy Allen... more>

Diary of a St Ivean

I have just spent a week at a rain-drenched Hay Festival - hence the absence of posts. I travelled by train (on the St Ives Bay branch line a man with an out-of-date ticket locked himself in the toilet and, after a stern warning from the "train manager," was ejected at Lelant) and was as always amazed by the amount of luggage people seem to need to haul around with them. (I predict that one day train passengers will face the same restrictions on luggage as air passengers).

It's always gratifying to have an observation confirmed. On Saturday, Simon Hoggart made the same point in his Guardian column: :

"Have you noticed that while luggage racks get smaller, luggage gets bigger? It's astounding how much folk carry round these days. Getting to your station is only half the battle. You can wait for ages as people try to manhandle three or four vast suitcases, plus smaller bags, carrier bags, bags of food, bags of papers and magazines, off the train. I know we all own more clothes these days, but do we need to carry the whole wardrobe around with us?"

And often this mountain of luggage can end up stacked on top of your own modest bag.

Also this week, I discovered Hanif Kureishi in the Guardian (he was appearing at the Hay Festival) agreeing with my dislike of the inordinate amount of useless information we are subjected to regarding writers and their likes and dislikes:

"Perhaps taking a swipe at Guardian Review's weekly photographic series Writers' Rooms, he said: "People come and take pictures of writers' desks. They don't," he continued, gesturing around the tent to his audience, "come and take photographs of your desks, do they? It's as if the talent is in the desk."