The Tin Man

First of all a huge thank you for all your kind comments stars and hearts which you have given me for my 4000th Blip yesterday.
No. 3 on the popular page!

Today started with rain which had cleared by the time we reached Penzance.
First stop Newlyn where we bought some Megram. In short supply today.

Then parked up in Wherrytown, Penzance, and walked along the promenade into Newlyn.
Dull but warm.
Coffee in the Art Gallery with a lovely view of the bay, followed by a wander round the narrow streets and alleyways of old town.

Passed the Newlyn Tinning Company, and as the door was open I had a nosey round the back, where I found Steve working.
Waited a couple of minutes until he stopped and then knocked.
He was only too pleased to have a chat and tell us about his business and the retinning of copper pans.
Originally he trained as a boat builder, but after many years working on boats he fancied a change and taught himself tinning.
He is now only one of three people in the UK that specialise in re-tinning copper pans. The only one in Cornwall.

Not far from his workshop we came across the Newlyn Copper Works.
Established in 1890 to help the fishermen learn a craft, to help them through the winter, when they couldn’t go to sea.
It closed in 1950, but in 2004 Michael Johnson re-established the workshop, and is now recognised as the leading artisan coppersmith in the U.K.
Again we were welcomed with a smile and they downed tools to talk to us and show us round.
They were working on a copper water feature, but we also saw plans of three huge oak doors which were to have a very ornate copper sculpture placed on the inside of each door.
( Commissioned by a multi millionaire who lives in the Cotswolds)
The workshop was absolutely fascinating. So many different tools of all shapes and sizes.
It was a real privilege to be able to see it all, and many thanks to the young gentleman who described it all to us.
I would have loved to have spent much more time there, but didn’t want to hold him up from doing his work.

Difficult to decide which picture to chose for my main blip, but decided on the ‘ Tin man’ and have put a couple of photos of the copper workshop as extras.

Finished off with a Cornish pasty from Aunty Mays which we ate sat on the front overlooking Mounts Bay.
( not as good as the one we had in Charlestown harbour)