Eight months ago, a neurosurgeon at Derriford Hospital whipped a disk out of my neck and replaced it with a titanium cage. I can’t say that this was much fun. But leaving aside the usual caboodle of woe that goes with major surgery, one thing plagued me terribly: would I ever be able to surf again?
The thing about living in Cornwall is that just about everyone here would have an idea of why not being able to surf tormented me. If you’re not a surfer, you’ll know someone who surfs – be they family, friends, colleagues or maybe just the couple at the end of the street who head off in search of waves every day. But, with surfing having played a massive role in Cornish culture – not to mention its economy, too – since the 1960s, there’s a fair chance that you, too, are a surfer.
This issue celebrates surfing in Cornwall. We applaud the sterling work of Surf Action, who are taking injured servicemen surfing by way of therapy, on page 60, and praise a Cornish success story, Surfers Against Sewage – 20 this year – on page 28. We cast an eye over the history of Cornwall’s biggest spectator event, the Relentless Boardmasters, back in Newquay from August 4, look at the interplay of surfing and art, and introduce a new regular feature, Surf Spot of the Month, on page 154. We also have a great competition to win £250 of Gul clothing, and, on page 22, you’ll meet some inspirational silver surfers and rising stars, not least Dot Long, 83, and still a passionate wave-rider.
Elsewhere, David Chapman captures the allure of Land’s End, we meet the man who eats more cheese than anyone else (for a living), and enjoy a walk at the spectacular Golitha Falls. Kirstie Newton, whose editor’s chair I’m keeping warm while she’s on maternity leave, found time to visit a dream home on St Mary’s (see page 108) before departing, and we discover the hidden story of the Minack Gardens on page 128.
I hope you enjoy this, my first issue of CT as editor. Oh and thanks to Lou Pobereskin, my neurosurgeon: I surfed my first waves in an age recently, at the same remote Cornish surf spot which appears on the cover. Bliss.