I decided to just drive around Truro on Saturday morning. My plan was to find a car park and then walk around the town and see where that took me. It proved to be a challenging journey with the small streets within Truro as well as the busy streets/roundabouts that linked major roads like the A30 (I think that's the one, or maybe the A38…). I ended up at the end of a road near a tennis club where a one man coffee shop was set-up. A good cappuccino set me up for my next drive back into the city centre, but again, I got lost as well as sidetracked by trying to find Truro City Football Club. It was described as a 'stadium' on a map I saw, however Subiaco Oval is my general definition of a 'stadium', so using the Truro definition, Burra Footy Club's shed could class them as a 'stadium' too! The Chuack Pavillion at Aquinas should then also be renamed as part of Memorial Stadium! I found the club was actually out of Truro and on the way back out to Threemilestone - I'd obviously passed it a few times already - which again illustrates the sheer magnitude of the 'stadium'. The car park was adorned with two massive logos and the brick wall had all kinds of sponsors plastered on it. One car was there and a guy was walking to one end of the carpark no doubt concerned about what this Hyundai run-about was doing trespassing on club land. I stepped out and took a couple of photos and the guy came over to my, without smiling and said "That's not a Watford club shirt is it?" It was at that point that I freaked and thought that my Perth Demons polo shirt may land me in hospital from a hooligan attack. Pleasingly. I was wrong and Ray, as he introduced himself, was most excited that I had come to check out the place. He was planning on doing some painting, but the weather made it difficult - having some extra time he invited me in and showed me the clubrooms, players' area and allowed me on to the hallowed turf of Truro FC! It was very much grassroots stuff, however Truro had won the lower leagues' equivalent of the FA Cup as they played in front of 30,000 people at Webley Stadium, no less! He let me know if I was to come back during the season he'd fix me up with some tickets to a match! What a bloke. As described in an earlier post, after I left and went into Truro, he contacted the club chairman and then tracked me down at the pub where he frequented some years ago and gave me a club shirt - I was stoked (excuse the reference to the premier league side… or what might now be described as my second favourite club!).
The centre of Truro is easy to find due to the 3 spire cathedral dominating the skyline. The cathedral is old, dark and needs a bit of wash in my opinion, but you can't rush hundreds of years of decay, mould, mildew and soot etc. I drove for about 20-30mins trying to find where to park, or locating a spot and then trying to get back there. A nightmare. Truly. Once I found a multi-storey pay-parking spot I stepped out onto the semi-cobbled streets to take in the atmosphere of the biggest local centre my ancestors would have been near during the 1500-1700s. I'm guessing.
A Cornish pasty was in order and hit the spot nicely for a bit of lunch. Inspired after my tour of the football club, I thought I'd check out a local sports store and see if anything Truro FC-ish was available. I wasn't holding my breath, but after asking an assistant, he tracked down some shirts in back corridor of the store. I know. Prominent positioning. I bought a home shirt and saw a mug at the counter so got one of those too. A Cornish Pirate rugby team mug was there also, so I decided to grab one too. The bloke started to wrap up the order at the till and then turned around to rummage through some bags/stock etc. and he threw onto the bench a blue 'away' strip for Truro. He said only 12 were ever made and the club is suing the Thai manufacturers for not giving them more! The chairman of the club found them in a back cupboard and passed them on to the store for sale. Pretty sure it will be the only one in Australia, so he offered me a deal for both and I took it. Awesome. I went to the local Family history centre, and although 30mins before closing punched in a few details and got mixed results - essentially only things I already had from Dad's research or my own dodgy Google searches that seemed potentially correct. Another couple was also there from England checking out their family's move to the South Australian mine of Wollaroo… unbelievable!
I toured the cathedral, walked through the library and checked out a few other areas and snapped away with my camera. Incidentally I love it too! I waltzed back to the Vic Inn and wrote up a blog entry and watched the Wimbledon Women's final. Staff and a bloke at the bar were a bit chattier than last night, so I felt much more comfortable. The cavern meal was absolutely outstanding tonight! Beef, pork and turkey with roast veges, potato bake and cauliflower bake - yummo! A good home cooked meal like Mum used to make… ok maybe it wasn't as good as mum used to make, but closer than previous pub meals in London! I went to my room and had the worst sleep of the trip - the bed creaked and I could not get comfortable. I survived though and lived to fight another day!
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