May summary: sad news from South Africa, and the first heatwave of the year

None of the MEI team were at home on the first of the month. Amanda was in the Isles of Scilly, competing in the annual World Gig Championships.

Jon and family were camping in Nommerlayern, Luxembourg and Barbara and I were enjoying our last day at Plettenberg Bay, before the long taxi ride to George airport the next day, a short flight to Cape Town, the long flight to London and the long train journey to Cornwall.

A farewell to Plettenberg Bay

There was also sad news from South Africa early in the month. A memorial was held at the University of Cape Town on the 8th of the month, for Martin Harris, who died the previous month at the age of 66.

After completing his Masters degree at UCT, Martin joined the Centre for Minerals Research (CMR) in 1987. and made many contributions to the research carried out at the CMR. His initial involvement was in coal processing under the tutelage of his Master’s supervisor Professor JP Franzidis. Subsequently he specialised in the area of flotation circuit modelling, playing a key role in the development of flotation models under the AMIRA P9 project as one of the lead flotation researchers in that international flagship project. He attended few conferences, apart from some IMPCs and his last MEI Conference was fifteen years ago at Flotation '11, although Jon has good memories of socialising with him at the Centenary of Flotation in 2005. Tributes to Martin can be found on LinkedIn.

It is a while since I undertook a serious hike on the Cornish coastal path, part of the 630 miles (1014 km) South-West Way. The Cornish section is 300 miles (480 km) long and is notoriously rugged with many up and down sections. I can cope easily with the uphill sections, but struggle going downhill due to ancient knees!

Although the north coast, exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, has the most strenuous walks, there are some tough walks on the south-east path from St. Mawes to the Devon border and I have only done a few hikes along this stretch, a tough one being Carne Beach to Portloe, then on to Portholland, and especially Mevagissey to Charlestown, probably the most demanding hike on Cornwall's south coast. This month Amanda and her rowing friend Mo, walked the 77 miles from St. Mawes to Plymouth in six days. 

Amanda at Mevagissey harbour ready for the gruelling walk to Charlestown

Replica of the Nao Santa María in Charlestown harbour.
The ship is a full-scale replica of the 15th Century sailing ship used by
Christopher Columbus on his first expedition across the Atlantic in 1492.

Although the hike is generally considered moderate overall, Amanda and Mo welcomed their overnight stops, remarking that there are definitely some demanding sections as the path constantly goes down into coves and back up cliffs, so the cumulative ascent is substantial.

A welcome stop at Portloe

Mixing with the locals in Plymouth

Luckily the weather was perfect for hiking, unlike the following weekend where the UK was hit by a heatwave, with temperatures well over 30C recorded. Temperatures reached 27C here in Falmouth, and the beaches were packed during the Bank Holiday weekend, when Jon and family called in for a few days, giving us the opportunity for a family reunion on the beach.

Falmouth's Gyllyngvase beach, Bank Holiday Saturday

Family reunion on the beach

#MEIBlog