Christmas in Falmouth, Cornwall

“In the South remains a burning fire, in the East a void, in the West a world of raging waters.” William Blake 

 I spent Christmas in Falmouth with my beloved friend Sarah and her family.

Falmouth Palette

We stayed at a wonderful pub inn called Jacob's Ladder

It's a lovely old town with a lot of texture and soft pastel color.

Sometimes a bit of red shows up.

Being half Jewish I was taken a back by the name "Market Jew Street" in Penzance which I later learned was a bastardization of old Cornish Marghas Yow and was really Thursday Market and had nothing to do with Jews.  Yow is derived from Jove like Jovedi in French. While doing that research I learned a bit about the history of Jews in Cornwall.  At the very beginning of my Christmas morning walk through Falmouth I came across this old synagogue.  I will have to do some research on why it closed in 1880.

This is the front door to the same building.

The light is so different than California.  It's almost as if there is no light.  The color blue is gone.

The textures are fascinating.

I hope one day to spend more time in Falmouth.  I'd love to sketch in the Maritime Museum and visit some of the many galleries.  But I had to get back to Brisons Veor and my artist's residency.