The Rural Economy

The recent focus on Boscastle brought back a memory of nearby "Arthurian" Tintagel which doesn't show me in my best light. Some years ago during a holiday in Devon we found ourselves in the Tintagel Gifte Shoppe, full of Lancelot lampshades, Guinevere gubbins, Gawain gewgaws, and I'd had enough (maybe I was trying to give up smoking, I don't know). I made some remark, audible to all, along the lines of "how can they bear to sell all this crap? Everyone here knows its all just some nonsense got up to fleece the tourists, etc etc". The chap behind the counter replied almost mournfully, "we're just trying to make a bit of a living", and it came to me that this was just about the only employment in town. I felt so crass and boorish I almost bought a Sir Galahad mead goblet. Only almost.