Magic Cove Touring Park

MAGIC COVE NEWS 2009

Another busy season at Magic Cove comes to a close, which naturally means another Newsletter.
Following my baptism with last year's edition, I received nice comments from a few customers. Last year I promised to be not quite so blunt with my comments as Stan used to be, however certain regulars felt that I was a bit too nice….. So I will take that on board, which will no doubt make Lesley's editing job more difficult, to prevent me getting sued!!!

Price Freeze I will start with some good news!! Next season the pitch fees at Magic Cove will remain the same as they were this season. My wife must have had a weak moment when we decided on this one, but the men in white coats have assured me that all is ok….. I bet that gets edited!!!

SAE In another act of generosity, we have also decided that we are not going to ask you for a stamped addressed envelope with your confirmations next year. This was again Lesley's idea and no doubt Stan will be cursing from up above, it was the one thing he always felt was necessary. With regards to confirmations, as always could you please return them by 7th January, or else Lesley will be on the warpath!!

Rebooking There was a lot of confusion this season with regards to provisional bookings. It was caused by something we put on the website, stating that we would not be taking new customer bookings until September. To clarify the situation, the important words in that statement were new customer. We will always give priority to existing customers, who have the option to book the same dates and pitch for the following season, before they leave.

Provisional's for 2011 Yes I know this is very premature, but we had a lot of requests this season from people who wished to change dates for 2010. Whilst Lesley has worked really hard (and had several headaches!!) in order to try and accommodate everyone, some of you may have been disappointed either having to stick with the same dates as this year, or even cancelling. We fully appreciate that this problem is caused by the movement in School and Bank Holidays which means that every few year's things jump forward. It would therefore be helpful if everyone concerned could be a little more flexible.
Right I think this is as good a place as any to have my bit of a Stan moment and have a moan about a few things, for those who said I was not blunt enough….

Flower Theft Very early in the season, happening during the Easter week, the ornamental flowers were taken from the ladies washroom. This obviously narrows it down to a certain amount of names and if you are reading this and are to blame, I hope they look very nice in their new home. To date we have not received any postcards from the flowers, like when a certain rabbit went walkabout many years ago…

Washing Up Bowl Thank you to the person who decided they did not like their bowl, or was it because it had a hole in it? Deciding to pinch ours wasn't nice but to leave the one with the hole in its place was just plain stupid perhaps you thought we wouldn't notice.

Shower Meters On two occasions we found shower gel had been deliberately poured into the coin slot. We are not sure if this was for amusement or to try to stop them working. Whoever it was, do you not feel that the cost of showers represent excellent value??

Doggy Doings We are REALLY fed up with having to keep saying this…CLEAN IT UP!!!!!!!! When using our dog run PLEASE be responsible dog owners and take a bag with you. When picked up don't hang the bag in the trees, but bring it down and put it in the bin. The week beginning 1st August was a particularly bad one for this, were you here then and do you own a dog? We will consider banning dogs (and their owners) who fail to comply!!

Tennis Court For those who book the area above the site please be reminded that no open fires are allowed up there. Despite being told, a few groups insist on having them. Also when coming down to use the facilities, unless you require water barrels filling etc please walk down rather than drive, it's not that far and will keep you fit :
Enough moaning I think, now a look at what we have been doing for you and a lighter look at the 2009 season at Magic Cove.

Improvements Once again this season there were a few enhancements made to the site and its facilities, a few of which appeared during the season itself and one that appeared very late indeed. We installed new……………..
UPVC Windows And Door to the main building to brighten the place up a bit. The old ones had become very tired and the handles were becoming unserviceable.
Notice Boards At the same time the two information boards each side of the office door were replaced.
Showers This was by far the most important improvement we carried out this year and it was certainly the most stressful!!!! Despite looking into things quite early, we went through three different plumbers and a few raised emotions. The old controls were well past their sell by date and the heads, we know, were not the most popular with you all. At the same time we also installed grab rails in the showers. This was on request of twice yearly site warden Norman Marsh and what Norman wants, Norman gets…..
Shelf Installed in the large ladies cubicle. What I actually mean is the large cubicle in the ladies, before I am lynched!!! This was again a request by a few of the fairer sex. So remember, if you want something doing just ask. We will endeavour to do our best, providing it's practical.
Phone Line This was installed in August. Following the demise of Stan's brick (the only mobile that would ever get a signal on site) we had a few years with Walkie Talkie's. Although they served a purpose, they were very frustrating at times so we decided to go for it……:
Recycling Unit Arrived mid August but could not be used until early September. I made the mistake of dealing with a company that would kick start my grey hair or perhaps that happened when I got married..… I am in trouble now!!! Despite being promised a delivery in mid July, it was a catalogue of errors from start to finish. A big thank you to those of you who helped unload it when it arrived. Despite all the cock ups, when it was finally up and running, it was a vast improvement on the old small bins which used to overflow regularly. It must be all the alcoholics that come to Magic Cove!!!!
Next year we again propose to carry out more enhancements at Magic Cove, including some new notices, new bins and something major in the gents toilet.

2009 was quite a season at Magic Cove. It was a season that was supposed to include some fine weather. According to Met Office forecasters, the UK was odds on for a barbecue summer, with no repeat of the washouts of the previous two years. July and August were once again however not that good. In fact July was the wettest since 1914. Apparently it was the Jet Stream's fault for deciding to move south. My advice to the Met Office for next year is to keep their mouths shut. In my opinion, it is better to say nothing than to give false promises.

Bird Man of Magic Cove The Spring Bank Holiday week, saw many of the same faces returning to Magic Cove. This has been the case for the last few years and is a bit like an annual reunion. Pitch 20 residents were as usual Reg and Sylvia Whitmore. Reg seemed to have a new talent this season, he appeared to be attracting the birds quite a bit.: Before you have words with him Sylvia, I do mean the feathered variety. They seemed to be attracted to pitch 20 for some strange reason and lots of breeds would spend time with Reg, even going into his awning to feed. Once Reg left, so did the birds, apart from two amorous pigeons that flirted in the trees and stayed all season. Must have been the Reg effect…..

LEJOG Walkers We were amazed at the number of one night hikers walking from Lands End to John O'Groats, who visited us this year. We lost count in the end, but something appeared to be attracting them to Magic Cove. A lot were doing it just for personal achievement, but some were doing it for good causes. We like to do our bit and are happy to provide a free night's stay to those who do such wonderful things for Charity. It was also nice to see some of our campers making cups of tea and offering assistance to hikers when they arrived.

Best Customers Without wishing to offend regulars this award goes to somebody new again. When I say best, I am actually taking into account the length of time spent at Magic Cove during one season. The Rhind Tutt's who held the title for many years have now been relegated to third place, behind Norman & Jean Marsh and now Mick and Maureen Burton who spent a total of 12 ½ weeks on different occasions. So the challenge is on if anybody thinks they can top the Burton's!!!!!!!

Eggheads Just like last year Magic Cove kept up its record of providing winners for the Merrymoor's quiz nights in the summer. On the 30th July we managed first and second prize. Congratulations go to the team made up of Dave & Debbie Yarde with Phil & Harry Whiting. Runners up were Andy & Liza Carr with Debby Whiting and Fiona Rhind-Tutt. Keep exercising the brain cells everyone and maintain the Magic Cove winning streak!!

Wedding Bells Congratulations from Magic Cove go to the Bennett family at the Merrymoor whose son Nick married Jennifer on the 19th September. They had a wonderful day and for once the sun decided to shine.

For One Night Only September 23rd saw the arrival of Drew. He was touring the country in his Camper van and booked in for a night, planning to continue his journey the next day. But the magnetism of Magic Cove caught hold, having made many friends he just could not leave. Drew finally said his goodbyes on the day we closed. I think if we opened until Christmas, Drew would still be here…
Oops, I don't think I should have mentioned that word. Calm down Alan and Pete, before you pack the tinsel and turkey it is not going to happen, not in December anyway!!

Christmas Party We have been nagged by a few for several years about opening for Christmas. The main culprits being September regulars Alan and Sue Wickens. It was because of our continued resistance that the Wickens and others who were staying in late September brought Christmas to Magic Cove. It took lots of secrecy and organisation, but the result was a wonderful surprise party on 2nd October. Complete with decorated tree, plenty of food and drink and even Christmas music. A good time was had by all and we would like to say a big thank you to all involved in the planning. Lesley will put some photos on the website when she has got some time to spare. (Now done - follow link from Magic Cove Pictures)

Good News With the Phone Line now up and running, we have decided that next season we will provide wireless internet access to all pitches on Magic Cove. This will be provided free of charge to our customers. Lesley took a bit of persuading to provide it for free but I talked her around in the end…….See I wear the trousers really!!!

Planning Application For those of you unaware, we are in the process of seeking planning permission to build a bungalow on land above the site. We feel that we need to be closer on hand for the day to day running of the site. This is at an early stage, and we have had to withdraw our initial application to address certain issues. However we will be resubmitting the application as soon as we are able.

Thank You's To everybody who wrote in support of our original planning application. To Mum, as always for everything that you do. For looking after Katie while we are at the site and for your lovely roast dinners, I would never last the season without them. We would also like to say a special thank you to Norman and Jean Marsh our resident site wardens during June and September.

Rainfall Stats from Newquay Weather Station (in mm).

We look forward to seeing you at Magic Cove in 2010
All the best,
Lesley & Brian