and 25 Christmas gift guide

Christmas Gift Guide

Christmas is coming and there are some terrific gifts to be had locally! There are some great ideas here from independent businesses that friends and family will adore, all close to home. St Ives Local is all about supporting local traders — give them your support, too!

Snuggle up: The essential winter wardrobe staple — mohair mix and a warm and cosy! Available in a rainbow of colours. Team up with a scarf, gloves, and boots for your perfect winter outfit. Fabulous, 10 St Andrew’s Street, St Ives fabulousstives.co.uk Feeding time: Feathered friends will flock to this traditional, locally-made, pine bird table. Hayle Plants, Wheal Alfred Road, Hayle | 01736 752888

Chocolate for Christmas:

Award-winning vegan ‘free from’ chocolate, wrapped in luxury boxes, from £3.50 to £60. Visit the shop or cornwallschocolatecove.com and use the code StIvesLocal10 for discount! The Drill Hall, Chapel Street, St Ives TR26 2LR Artistic theme: Inspired by artist Joan Miró, this stunning blue and gold pendant necklace is handcrafted in Barcelona. Made from 24 carat gold-plating and blue enamel, the necklace comes with a card detailing the artwork inspiration behind the piece. Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, St Ives | Available on the Tate website at tinyurl.com/ mw5u5r9c

Heads up: These Feisty Females ceramic heads are a great way to display and store earrings. £25 Wicked Imp, 8A Tregenna Hill, St Ives | 07860 111616 wickedimpdesigns.co.uk

That’s handy: This storage pot is useful and beautifully festive. £12.95. Visit Poppy Treffry for quirky, locally hand-made homewares and accessories perfect as gifts all year round. Bring this page to the shop for 10% off. Poppy Treffry, 42 Fore Street, St Ives | poppytreffry.co.uk

Ale ’n’ hearty: Beers from

Penzance Brewing Co, available in gift packs of three bottles for £8.50 from the brewery’s pub, the Star Inn, Crowlas. Main A30, Crowlas TR20 8DX | 01736 740375 | penzancebrewing company.co.uk

Back in time: The Book Of St Ives, available at the Library, tells the story of the community and its surrounding district with insight, affection, and precision. Here are the fighting Fencibles, the rioting tinners, hurling, feasts, and ‘crying the neck’, along with the luggers, seine boats and miners. With more than 200 images. Special price — £5! St Ives Library, Gabriel Street, St Ives | 0300 123 4111 From the sea: Melanie

Digner at St Ives Seaglass Co makes a huge range of one-off jewellery items, such as this gorgeous pendant! stivesseaglass.co.uk Spice of Life: Johns off-licence now has its own spiced rum. Crusty Juggler is born in the Caribbean then spiced and aged in former bourbon barrels by Johns, just outside of St Ives. Buy it in store, or try it at Beer & Bird. Johns, 75 Fore Street, St Ives johnswines.co.uk

Plan ahead: Where would we be without the annual John Chard calendar? Friend of St Ives Local and daily videographer, his calendar is packed with great shots from around town and is always in demand. Order early! john-chard-images.co.uk

Food for thought:

Scrumptious St Ives is a cookbook to guide you through the season by Dr Deborah Phillips. Deborah works with Paul Connor on his fruit and vegetable stall at St Ives Farmers Market. See her recipe for a delicious winter veg risotto on page 12!

Johanna Hillebrand sings on the harbourside

September Festival: The spectacular return of a special event

After 18 months like no other, the 2021 St Ives September Festival brought something approaching normality back to the town’s music and arts scene.

The Guildhall re-opened as a live music venue for the first time since New Year’s Eve 2019, St Ia Parish Church embraced the community with 22 events over 15 days, the circus came to town — and the Festival had its own pasties!

Fittingly, local girl Molly Hocking, who brought fame to the town as 2019 winner of ITV’s The Voice, was the first performer on the Guildhall stage since Sandy Acre 7 more than 21 months earlier. “Thank you @stivesseptemberfest for 2 fab gigs!! And an even bigger thanks to every lovely one of you that came!!” messaged Molly, who fitted in a second show at the Arts Club. Twelve days later, as the Festival’s momentum built, the Sold Out signs went up at the Guildhall, and Fleetwood Mac Songbook had the venue rocking!

To get to that stage, the Festival overcame many hurdles. Several of the organisers had moved on since 2020’s cancellation, the remaining committee members couldn’t even hold an outdoor committee meeting until

Fleetwood Mac Songbook on stage

March, and then came the threat of Cornwall’s summer Covid spike, and most venues operated at a safety-first 75 per cent capacity. The problems didn’t end when 11th September

The Festival Pasties

Molly Hocking and her Bubble Band bring music back to The Guildhall

arrived with the opening Saturday afternoon street entertainment, as Eliza Carthy, suffering a chest infection and a fractured foot, reluctantly withdrew from the Guildhall show with her folk legend father Martin Carthy. Martin — who this year celebrated his 80th birthday the same week as Bob Dylan — ensured the show went on, arriving at St Erth Station with a guitar and one bag to appear solo.

The Festival had overcome all the odds, and it happened all over town. Outdoors, on a beautiful evening, there was a circus at St

Martin Carthy goes solo John’s in the Fields, which also staged a Tinners Session of folk music, face-painting and food, and there were 15 Norway Square lunchtimes of music and poetry with Festival icon Bob Devereux.

Indoor highlights included a special showing of Cornish film Bait by Bafta award-winning director Mark Jenkin, who revealed he has another film on the way, with the Arts Club also twice screening another locally-made, award-winner No Holds Barred — The Life and Art Of Matthew Lanyon.

St Ia Church organiser Jo Grant presented some memorable nights, from Company B’s jump jive band via Cornish choir Femmes De La Mer’s Songs by Candlelight, Winter Mountain, Will Keating, Cornish Roots Big Band, rousing shantymen Bryher’s Boys and Helston Town Band’s Last Night of the Proms. St Ives Rotary’s annual art sale, which saw keen buyers camp out overnight in Back Road West for first pick of the donated paintings, again raised more than £10,000 for charity and 40 artists welcomed visitors during Open Studios.

Oh, and the pasties? Tregenna Pasties displayed the giant offerings in their High Street window throughout a very tasty Festival!