St Piran's Day

Officially today is St Piran's Day, not being truly Cornish (as in not being born here or descended from Cornish stock) means that I could choose to ignore it.. but I chose to live in Cornwall, and if you can't adopt a county and its ways and not see yourself as Cornish then I don't know what would make one.

So I am declaring myself Cornish (other than on St David's Day and when Wales are playing Rugby) and therefore will be celebrating St Piran's Day today.

Saturday was Redruth's day of celebrating, which ended up with a good game of rugby and a parade en-route. The picture on the right shows the Cornish Tartan (and I wore my Cornish tartan scarf along with my rugby top for Redruth) and I was toasty warm until half way through the match when I got colder and colder.

The 32nd Regiment of Foot paraded along with a Rifleman from Sharpe's regiment 95th Rifles and not only paraded but gave a demonstration and I was lucky enough with this picture which shows the discharge. They were using Brown Bess muskets and the bangs were very loud in the stand.

♥ Lowen dydh sen Pyran ♥

Thinking Back

Over the last month of April, I have blogged every day, with either an A-Z Challenge post or a Saturday Satire and while I have found it a fun thing to do, I have felt contstrained by the need to have a post and not to be free to choose when to blog and when to have a break.

Having said that, the A-Z challenge was fun and interesting as my background being Welsh but my new home country being Cornwall it was entertaining to look at the Cornish language and compare it to the more established Welsh and Breton forms. I learnt a lot at the same time, that there are no words in Cornish (that I could find) that started with Q, X or Z but that swear words have been converted into Celtic from the Anglo Saxon forms, and thanks to Hogday I was inspired to find this out :-)

On another plus point, the other participants in the A-Z challenge were very supportive and I gained a number of new followers and people to follow as part of the process.

Most of all, I would like to thank my good friend, and blogging colleague, Dickiebo who awarded me a rare and very valuable dickiebouquet which I have proudly put on my sidebar. I can't tell you how much I treasure this award, as Dickiebo would be highly embarrassed but believe me when I tell you that it was a great honour and experience.

Z is for

Zennor is both a village and a Parish, located on the rugged north Cornish coast, 14 miles from Land's End and 4 miles west of St. Ives. Cornish granite hedges cover the land, and support an abundance of wildlife. These field systems date back to the Bronze Age  and are the oldest living artefacts in the world.

At the height of the tin mining industry over 1000 people lived and worked in Zennor. Today, the Parish has a population of around 200. Most of the land is owned by traditional Cornish farming families, who have farmed in Zennor for generations.

Zennor is designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and some of the land is owned and managed by the National Trust.

Zennor is steeped in myth, legend and history. 

The name Zennor is Cornish and is thought to derive from St. Senara, the Breton Princess Azenor who was falsely accused by her husband, and thrown into the sea in a barrel. She is said to have floated to Ireland founding Zennor along the way. 

Zennor is one of the last bastions of the Cornish language - the native speaker John Davey of Boswednack died in 1891. Many of the settlements and houses have Cornish names: Treveglos, Trewey, Porthmeor, Pennance, Boswednack, Bosporthennis, Foage, Treen, Tremedda, Tregerthen, Treveal, and Chy Kembro. 

This is the last day of the A-Z challenge, and I hope you have enjoyed the journey through Cornwall and Cornish along the way.

Y is for

endings of letters, yours sincerely is dhiso yn lel in Cornish, and in Welsh yn ddiffuant 

How to end a letter, was something I learnt quickly when I started writing letters; not surprising as my Mum used to teach typewriting and office skills to a Malayan School and occasionally I was allowed to go if I behaved myself.

I don't have any photos of the school, I have vague memories of a corrugated tin roof which when it rained sounded so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think. The walls were open but there was a large veranda surrounding the building so it was very much an outside building which benefitted from the air flow (when it flowed). The typewriters were old fashioned, 6 years later I was doing Business studies at school on an Imperial 66 which seemed similar but I am not sure.

I can still remember being amazed at the sheer speed of typing that Mum managed to demonstrate and the local ladies would smile politely when she announced that with practice they would also be able to attain such speeds.

As a child, we would always write thank you letters to relatives for presents, or in the case of grandparents just keeping in touch and it is nice to receive a handwritten letter but this days it happens less and less. 

Even with the modern equivalent of e-mail's it is important to recognise they can be seen as official  business communication and therefore some rules need to apply such as formal endings but regretfully it seems that even this is being eroded and the standard of some e-mails leave a lot to be desired.

So today, if you email someone or write to someone in an official capacity think about the content and format as it might make someone's day.

X is for

Of course there are no Cornish words beginning with X, however I had a clever plan and Baldrick fans will be pleased it doesn't involve a Wurzel (Turnips to non-South Westers).

Many illiterate people who could not read or write, were able to sign for wages, employment etc by writing an X on the paper and historic papers exist including some of my grandparents on Marriage certificates.

So today, back to basics and counting

Number	Cornish	Pronunciation
One	Onan, Un	Onan, Oon
Two	Dew	Dhew
Three	Tri	Tree
Four	Peswar	Pez-warr
Five	Pymp	Pimp
Six	Hwegh	Hwhech
Seven	Seyth	Sayth
Eight	Eth	Eth
Nine	Naw	Nor
Ten	Deg	Deg
Eleven	Unnek	Oon-neck
Twelve	Dewdhek	Dhow-deck
Thirteen	Trydhek	Trid-deck
Fourteen	Peswardhek	Pez-warr-deck
Fifteen	Pymthek	Pim-tek
Sixteen	Hwetek	Hwet-ek
Seventeen	Seytek	Say-tek
Eighteen	Etek	Ettek
Nineteen	Nownsek	Noun-sek
Twenty	Ugens	Oo-Genz

Now I also found a website where you can learn to swear in Cornish, though other than Hogday, I haven't found any takers.. but please check it out. I won't put it here as it could be considered offensive. Still if you swore in Cornish, who would know?

W is for

The weather, dominating our thoughts and no.. not for the wedding


The hot sunny weather we have experienced, has been brilliantly gorgeous... long may it continue although the gardens need watering, the reservoir stocks are running low it was just weeks of lovely sunny weather that makes the world seem a little brighter and cheerier than normal.

So the cornish for weather is An gewer while the welsh equivalent is tywydd

Some more Cornish words for you relating to the weather are

Howl - Sun
Yrgh - Snow
An dhargan - The forecast
Gwynek - Windy
Glaw - Rain

An dhargan Y fydh Howl = The forecast will be Sun

V is for

plen an varghas which is Cornish for Market Place, Lle'r Farchnad is the welsh equivalent.

Down here in Redruth, the plen an varghas  is at Pool, as Redruth doesn't really have one of its own, instead it does street markets on special occasions like Murdoch Day in September and of course getting close to Christmas attracts plenty of street traders. It does have an indoor market but it is on the small side.

Pool is not a huge market, comprises of an indoor market which has the usual tat you find, cheap bags, dvds, books, furniture etc. Outside is an open space that in summer can be crowded with traders or people having a clearout. Past purchases have included two black and gold goblets with ERII on the front, they cost a total of £5 for the pair and as black and gold are cornish colours it wasn't a hard decision. The other purchase was a saddleback pig which cost £3 but I have seen similar for sale for three or four times the price.

There are other market places, but these are the ones I frequent, and enjoy doing so.

U is for

U is for uskis or fast, which in Welsh is ympryd.

This month is going by so quickly, and soon it will be over like the A-Z challenge. The weather has been glorious, but the water supplies need replenishing, still the holiday makers have enjoyed a nice dry settled Easter and that has to be a good thing.

Jasper enjoyed a run off the lead this morning, over the farm and boy is he fast compared to Murphy.. who had to resort to mugging Jasper for the ball. Sorry I didn't have the camera with me to take photo's of the boys in action, but you will have to trust me about the speed of the youngster.

I moved the red bush yesterday afternoon, it was being blown around in its original location at the front of the house and didn't seem to like it. So we have put it in a corner of the garden, which was not being used for anything and being near the wall meant it was a slightly rocky area.

T is for

Today's word is time which the cornish is termyn, while the welsh equivalent is gwaith

Time is precious, no more than in Cornwall, everyone wants to get to a place in plenty of time. Especially the holiday makers, and we have a fair amount of accidents on the narrow lanes (which believe me get quite narrow at times, even have grass growing up the centre line).

Time becomes important when there is none left, but better to arrive late than not to arrive at all. Ask yourself whether it is important to rush everywhere and see everything quickly, or to take your time and enjoy the views.

Today is Easter Sunday, time to spend with family, time to watch the plants grow, time to just be you..

For me it is time to partake of chocolate again.. yes I succeeded in my task of giving it up and whilst I have been tempted to eat it, I have managed to resist. Something I never though I would be able to do in a month of Sundays although at times I could have done with a hot chocolate of a cold evening but I do feel that I have gained from my experience and that is all that I asked of myself.

S is for

Today's word is to write or skrifa in Cornish, while the Welsh equivalent is sgrifennu

I enjoy writing, hence the blog, I also keep a paper journal which is completely private and allows me the freedom to say and write anything which I couldn't necessarily do on the blog. I rarely go anywhere without a notebook and pen, to make notes although these days it is less about writing stories, more about academic ideas for teaching or for lesson plans and assignments.

I used to write with a small group of people, from Canada, USA, Australia and the UK, sadly we disbanded as our original idea came from a tv series that ended and eventually we simply ran out of road as our ideas started to go in different directions. During our busiest period of posting it was no problem to write 3-4000 words for a story line that left a cliff hanger for the next writer to take on.

When I proposed that writers should be allowed to do a solo storyline, seeing it through from beginning to end. Others had tried but had given up half way; I was pleased to finish but I also knew that as we changed the format of the group, we also changed the dynamics and it was then that the dynamics of the group had changed as had our real lives and from that point onwards there was more solo writing rather than group writing.

I am still in contact with members of the group, and have such happy memories of our time together. I sometimes read the stories we came up with and am amazed at the detail that people came up with.

R is for

R is for Redruth or Resrudh in Cornish

The name Redruth (pronounced 'Re-drooth') derives from its Cornish name, Rhyd-ruth. Rhyd an older form of 'Res', which is a Cornish equivalent to a ford (across a river). It is the 'ruth' (and not the 'Red' part of the name) which means the colour red.

The town has developed away from the original settlement, which was near where the present Churchtown (around St. Euny church) district of Redruth stands today. This location is a steeply wooded valley, with Carn Brea on one side and the now-called Bullers Hill on the other. The presence of shallow lodes of tin and copper lying east to west made it an advantageous site for extracting metals, including, tin, lead and copper. The first settlers stayed by a crossing in the river and started extracting metal ores, and this process turned the colour of the river red.

Historically, Redruth was a small market town overshadowed by its neighbours until a boom in the demand for copper ore during the 18th century. Copper ore had mostly been discarded by the Cornish tin-mining industry but was now needed to make brass, an essential metal in the Industrial Revolution. Surrounded by copper ore deposits, Redruth quickly became one of the largest and richest mining areas in Britain and the town's population grew markedly, although most miners' families remained poor.

In the 1880s and 1890s the town end of Clinton Road gained a number of institutions, notably a School of Mines and Art School in 1882–83, St. Andrews Church (replacing the chapel in Chapel Street) in 1883 and, opposite, the Free Library, built in 1895. The Mining Exchange was built in 1880 as a place for the trading of mineral stock. By the turn of the century, Victoria Park had been laid out to commemorate the Golden Jubilee and this part of town had taken on its present appearance — a far cry from the jumble of mining activity that had taken place there in the early 19th century. Redruth was making its transition from a market town dominated by mines and industry to a residential centre.

By the end of the 19th century, the Cornish mining industry was in decline and Britain was importing most of its copper ore. To find employment, many miners emigrated to the newer mining industries in the Americas, Australasia and South Africa. Cornwall's last fully operational mine, South Crofty at Pool between Redruth and Camborne, closed in March 1998 but reopened a few years back when valuable minerals were found.. currently they employ a small number of men around about 30.

Q is for

Now despite my best efforts, I failed to find a word in Cornish starting with Q so instead today I am taking your on a tour of Cornwall to a little place near Liskeard.

Quethiock (Cornish: Gwydhek) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom, roughly five miles east of Liskeard. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 429.The ancient parish church of St Hugh is one of the most notable in Cornwall. The placename derives from the Old Cornish cuidoc meaning wooded place. In 1871 the population was 661 and the area 4,351 acres (17.61 km2).

Formerly part of the Pentillie Estate and owned by Squire Coryton most of the properties passed into owner occupation after a forced sale to meet Estate Duty in the early 1920s. The village hasn't had a public house since the closure of the Mason's Arms in the 1920s. There was a post office at Ivydene until the 1960s not long before the closure of the village General Supply Stores which not only sold everything from groceries to petrol and organs but also delivered weekly groceries to farms, mills and cottages throughout a radius of 15 miles (24 km). There was a village shop which closed in the 1980's.

Quethiock's economy is centred principally around nearby Liskeard and Plymouth. The vast majority of the village's population is either retired or in full-time work. It is estimated that 0.29% of the population is employed in the postal sector. There is a very good local Church of England primary school, which boasts an all-encompassing, family feel atmosphere, whilst striving for academic excellence.

Besides the church and school, three other public services are available in Quethiock: the post box, the phone box and the bus shelter. Internal village matters are communicated by means of the parish noticeboard, located at the centre of the village.

Parish Church of St Hugh (Church of England)

The original church was cruciform in plan but a tower was added (probably in the 13th century) and then the aisle. There are old wagon roofs and a funeral recess (14th century). The stained glass and some other ornamental work is the handiwork of the late 19th century vicar, William Willimott , and there are three brasses (1471 to Roger Kyngdon, and 1631 to Richard Chiverton, d. 1617, and his wife). The church was restored in the 1880s after becoming virtually ruinous in the 1870s. Willimott's predecessor as vicar was the Rev Dr John Rooke Fletcher (d. 1878) who was vicar for 61 years. There were Methodist chapels and almshouses (Directory for 1873).

P is for

Cornish Phrases.. for when you come here on holidays... lol not just about pasties and cream teas

• Hello                            Dydh da
• Good                            Morning Myttin da
  Please                          Mar Plek
  Thank You                    Meur Ras
  Cheers!                        Sowyn!
  Can you speak Cornish? A wre'ta kewsel Kernewek?
  A little                          Nebes
  Where do you come from?A bleth os ta devedhys?
  I come from Wales         Devedhys ov a Kembra
  I live in Redruth            Trigys ov yn Resrudh
  Why?                            Prog?
  Yes, I do                       Gwrav
  Why Not?                      Prog na?
  Good Night                    Nos dha
  Goodbye                        Dyw genes
  See you!                        Dha weles!
  I am pleased to see you  Da yu genef dha weles
  How are you?                 Fatla genes?
  OK, and you?                  Da lowr, ha ty?
  In good health                Yn poynt da
  Very Good!                     Pur Dha!
  Okay                              Da lowr
  My name is Sage            Ow hanow yw Sage
  He is my friend               Ev yw ow howeth
  What is this?                  Pyth yw hemma?
  What is that?                 Pyth yw henna?
  Lovely pint this, mate!    Pinta hweg yw hemma, Pard!

So when you are down here next time, please feel free to use one of the above phrases to help you integrate into our little Cornish Community and feel at home. Life can be a little slower down here, because we do things dreckly... similar to manana in Spanish... it will happen when it happens so while you are waiting enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

O is for

A different take on the O today ... I am .. in Cornish ov vy, while in Welsh it is rwyf i

ov vy ...

• over half way in the A-Z challenge,
• loving the sunshine today
• enjoying the time I have with the boy dogs
• enjoying being warm and dry
• enjoying visiting other blogs on my random wanderings on the web 
• avoiding doing my college work.. nag me please lol 
• busy watching items for sale on ebay.. mine not others lol

N is for

Today's word is Christmas which in Cornish is Nadelik while the Welsh equivalent is Nadolig.

Here we are in April, I am am talking about Christmas, which is probably way to early but sometimes it is worth doing.. to say Happy Christmas in Cornish is Nadelik Lowe.

Today is the 107th day of the year which leaves only another 251 days until Christmas... better get saving then :-)

M is for

Today's word (or words is) Isle of Man which in Cornish is Enys Manow while in Welsh it is Ynys Manaw.

I have long wanted to visit the Isle of Man, not just because of the motor cycling racing or TT week as that always looks as though it is heaving. I think it appeals for a number of reasons like the fact that it is part of the British Isles, yet separate. It also had a mine for mining zinc ore of which Laxey Mines is perhaps the most famous, and has the the largest water wheel in the world - The Lady Isabella - stood over the mine continually pumping out the water. You can now retrace the steps the miners once took into the mouth of the mine when you visit Laxey, whilst the most adventurous even go caving deep down within the mine.

Even my fear of confined spaces could get me down this mine, similar to the Copper Mines on Great Orme.. I am fascinated rather than fearful.

And of course, we have lots of engine houses down here in Cornwall. Poldark Mine is a tourist attraction near Helston and Geevor is open to visitors while South Crofty has just been found to contain rare elements used in electronic equipment. I can see Carn Brae from the upstairs and down to Portreath at the front of the house. So all three places have mining in common.

L is for

Today's word is happy, which in Cornish is Lowen and the welsh equivalent is dedwydd.


In usage this would be


    ass yw dydh lowen = what a happy day it is!


Today in Cornwall, it is a happy day despite the rain and inclement weather. We have had the first rain in over a week and the garden will appreciate it even if we do not.

Jasper is settling in well and appears to be happy here at Tre Agan. He is learning that wait means sit at the side of a road before crossing it, that taking food from our fingers is given with the nicely command or the treat is held back from him.

More importantly he is learning that digging in the garden is not going to make me lowen, nor is chewing anything which is hard and plastic looking.

He desparately wants to please, and competes with Murphy over bringing something to you but this leaves the paper wet and slighly chewed. Ah well, the joys of being a dog owner are outwitting your dogs before they do the damage.

K is for

Well this was an easy one to think of

K is for Cornwall, in Cornish  Kernow, in Welsh Cernyw

Kernewek is Cornish and it is clear just now closely the two languages merged at this juncture.

a little bit of Cornish history is printed below

Istori Kernow

Yth esa pobel ow pewa yn desedhans Kernow arnowydh a-dhia 10,000 vledhen kyns Krist. Leun a bobel o Kernow yn Oos Brons; i a wrug an niver meur a grugow, torrow ha donsow meyn y'n pow.

Kernow o an dallethvos chyf rag sten yn bys an Mor Kresdorel. Ena an yeth keltek o an taves unnik kewsys yn Breten Veur. Yth esa an looth "Dumnoniorum" ow triga yn Dewnans ha Kernow. Yn 43 a'n Oos Kemmyn, an Romanyon a dryghas Vreten Veur, mes ny varsons i vewnansow an Gernowyon nameur. Yn 410 OK y hasas an lyjyons an enys, ha wosa henna yth esa res dhe'n Geltyon rag ammok aga honan erbynn omsettyansow. Latin re gewsys gans an werin namoy, mes yeth vrythonek an dus a Vreten Veur a worta yn few. Lies Brython a asas an enys rag Breten nowyth a-dreus an Chanel, Breten Vyhan.

Wosa gasa an Romanyon, an Sowson skon a omsettyas Vreten Veur. Y'n keth termyn, an Wodhyli a drevesigas yn Alban, Enys Manow, ha Dehowbarth Kembra. Yth esa myghternedh Kernow (po myghternedh an Dhumnonii) ow reynya dres Dewnans ha Kernow. Yn 577 OK, kas orth Deorham, ogas dhe Vristol, a dhiberthas an Vrythonyon a-gledhbarth (an Gembroyon) a Vrythonyon a-dheghowbarth (an Gernowyon po West-Kembroyon). Yth esa an Sowson ow pyghanhe tiredh Kernow tamm ha tamm, bys 936 OK, pan dhesedhas an myghtern sowsnek Æðelstán an amal kernowek orth an Tamer. Yn 1337, Edward III a fondyas Dugeth Kernow rag pe rentow dh'y vap, an Pryns Du.

Yth esa rebellyans yn 1497 gans Mighal an Gov ha Tommas Flamank avel hembrenkysi. Hanter kansbledhen wosa, yth esa Rebellyans an Lyver Pysadow yn 1549 erbynn an lyvrow pysadow a esa nowyth, protestant hag yn yeth sowsnek. Brassa rann an Gernowyon a skoodhya an kaws ryal erbynn Senedh Westminster y'n 17ves kansbledhen. Teyr kas a veu omledhys yn Kernow yn 1642 ha 1644.

Tamm ha tamm, eglos an Vethodysi a dheuth ha bos eglos an niver vrassa a'n werin gernowek. Y'n 18ves ha 19ves kansbledhenyow, termyn Humphry Davy ha Richard Trevithick, yth esa hwel balyow ow tevi ha diwysyans kernowek ow tisplegya. Mes an diwysyans sten a veu gwannhes y'n 19ves kansbledhen, ha lies den bal a Gernow a waya dreus an mor dhe'n Statys Unys, Ostrali (yn arbennek Konna-tir Yorke yn Soth Ostrali), Afrika Dehow, Meksiko ha gwlasow erel.

An dasserhyans Kernowek a dhallathas yn 1904. Gorsedh Kernow ha Kuntellesow Kernow Goth res avonsyas gnas keltek a Gernow y'n termyn ma. Hwel sten, pyskessa, ha gonisogeth an tir re nahas a-dhia Nessa Bresel an Norvys. Ytho, erbysieth an pow yw pupprys moy serhek war dornyaseth, awos an tirwelyow arvorek bryntin usi omma. An Unyans Europek a aswonnis esow erbysiethek Kernow ow ri dhedhi savla Amkan Onan.

J is for

The two boy dogs, black labradors 18 & 20 months old, are full of high jinks tonight and have the devil in them.. It may have to do with the fact that they both had a bath in the sunshine this morning and their coats are gleaming like glossy coal.

Jasper didn't seem to approve very much of his outdoor bath, but Murphy resigned himself to the process using a watering can to provide a shower effect before the shampoo was applied. I wish I could be in two places at once, because poor forlorn Jasper behaved as though his life was coming to an end.

Today's word then is the devil, which in Cornish is an jowl and the Welsh Equivalent is y diafol.

One cornish legend is that the devil hides in corners, so in Veryan which is a village on the Roseland peninsula, in a lush wooded hollow. Probably best known for its round houses , which were designed to keep the devil out as there were no corners for him to hide in. It is unclear as to why the devil was more likely to appear in Veryan than in other Cornish villages, but they were built in the 19th century, with the round houses topped with a conical thatched roof and a cross for extra protection.

I is for

One of my favourite things is having something nice to look forward to, a parcel arriving, an email from a friend (though not bills, can't think why lol).

Todays word (or two) is to open, in Cornish this is igeri while the Welsh equivalent is agor

One of my favourite joys at the moment, is to see what other people have been doing with their A-Z challenge and it is fun to see how creative other people are with their blogs.. I can really recommend having a wander around the blogosphere and meet new people and I know that I have some new followers through doing the challenge.