|
Newsletter Archive
Newsletter No 9 Winter 2010/11 Newsletter No 7 Winter 2009/10
Federation
of Old Cornwall Societies We are now coming to the end of July, in what has not been (so
far - writing this early July) the best of Summers. The May festivals of ‘Hobby ‘Oss,’ at Padstow and
‘Flora Day’ at Helston were, as always, wonderful occasions as
were the Mid Summer Bonfires. To those of you who have taken
holidays, I hope you all enjoyed a good and restful break and to
those who return to their meetings in the Autumn, I hope you have a
successful season of meetings. Lets hope Cornwall has a successful
Summer season where visitors are concerned, despite the financial
climate facing the country. Can I please make a plea to societies to
send me some articles about what you are up to. I did
read in my ‘local’ that Gerrans and Portscatho Old Cornwall
Society met and had a history day at Altarnun. I am sure many
societies have something to tell other branches, so please
do contact me (email) b.roberts@thepost.uk.com
or write to me at 6, Western Terrace, Launceston, PL15 7BP (tel 01566
774227). Hope you enjoy the rest of your Summer and don’t forget
the Winter festival at Liskeard. Last year’s festival at Wadebridge
was a great success. WR. Summer
Festival
— What a wonderful day everyone had at Bude for the Summer
Festival and what a great welcome. About 400 people gathered from
all over the county. Following the welcome, the roll call and the
parade of banners, numbering about 25, welcomes came from the Bude
President and Chairman and also from the Federation President. The
Bude Mayor was also in attendance as was the Grand Bard. Federation
President, Terry Knight presented awards to Societies for the
2011 competition ‘Life in the 50’s,’ to
Wadebridge. Highly commended, Camborne, commended, Helston and St
Austell. Following the pasty lunch (excellent pasties) coaches
were ready to take members on the various organised trips:
to Hawker country (Kilkhampton and Morwenstow); Launcells and Stratton;
Poundstock and the Guildhouse and to Week St Mary and the college
(the second oldest in the country). Others were able to visit
the Museum and the new tourist information centre and generally
stroll to the front or walk the canal. For those who did not wish
to go far there, were videos of the Bude and Stratton area and an
exhibition on ‘old Bude.’ The guides were all
excellent and must be congratulated. When everyone returned, the
customary saffron buns and tea were served and there was an
excellent raffle. All Bude members wore a rosette, so they could easily
be identified and following the tea a local group of singers
‘Friggin Riggin’ and the ‘Boy from Bood’ gave some
entertainment before a rousing rendition of ‘Trelawny’
finished off the proceedings. The Federation stall was
filled with books and small Cornish items and there was also other
stalls selling cards, including Gorsedd Kernow. The Federation
extends their heartfelt thanks to all Bude and Stratton
OCS members and in particular Lucille Opie. The the weather, too
played its part. The festival was part of Bude and Stratton OCS 50th
celebrations. Congratulations all round.
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies Newsletter No 9 Winter 2010/ 11
Happy New Year! — This is probably the first time that the Federation has been able to wish everyone a "Happy New Year" — and let's hope it's not too late, as the first month of the year is now nearly over — mind you, I am writing this on January 6, which I believe is known as "Old Christmas Day." I trust everyone had a pleasant Christmas, when despite the frozen conditions you were able to spend the time with relatives and friends. I understand too, that some of the Societies held their own Christmas festivities, so hopefully they were enjoyable occasions. We now look to a New Year, when, hopefully, each Society will do well and see an increase in their membership and that your planned events go well. In writing, can I ask if some of the Societies in the West of the County, could send in some reports, for it is good to know what other Societies are doing. I can be contacted on 01566-774227 or email b.roberts@thepost.uk.com Miss
Joan Rendell, MBE — A preliminary date and time has been fixed for
the funeral service of Miss Joan Rendell MBE, who for 30 years
was secretary of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. It is planned
to take place at St Martin of Tours Church, Werrington, on
Tuesday, February 15 at 2pm. It is understood there will be no flowers
and donations for a charity of Joan's choice. The Federation committee
are very pleased to know that at last her mortal remains will now be
laid to rest, since her tragic death, due to the fire, in May of
last year. It is hoped that as many societies as possible will be
represented. AGM
— The Federation held their AGM in October at County Hall. There was a
much smaller attendance than usual. Mr Terry Knight welcomed everyone.
The treasurer Dr Libby Joyce gave the treasurer's report which was
extremely healthy. She has decided to retire as treasurer,
and as no one was willing to take on the job, Libby said she would
continue until a new treasurer is appointed. Officers elected
were: President, Mr Terry Knight (St Agnes; vice president, Mr Bob Evans
(Pentewan); treasurer Mr Ivor Corkill (Camborne); meeting
secretary, Mrs Pauline Hope (Penzance). Recorders: Mr Andrew Langdon
(Wadebridge), for Archaeology; Mr Mac Waters (St Austell), place names;
Mr Brian Stevens (St Ives), dialect and Mr Merv Davey (Withiel), music.
Publications officer, Mrs Anne Knight (St Agnes). Website, Mr George Pritchard (Redruth). Committee: Messrs L Parsons
(Torpoint), D P Matthews (Liskeard), W Roberts (Launceston), K
Shaw (Callington), D Start (Pentewan and St Austell). Mesdames R Prigg
(Penzance), C Parnell (Truro),
Winter
Festival 2010 — This proved a tremendous success. The Executive
Council took the decision to have an
afternoon with a
difference and to
have a Cornish afternoon. Mr Terry Knight welcomed about 200
representatives from various branches and 18 banners took part
in the parade, led by Merv
Davey
(Withiel) playing the Cornish bagpipes and the roll call was held, when
sadly many branches from the west of the county were not present.
`Proper Job' a group of men sang Cornish songs and gave dialect
readings. Mr John Benallack of
St Wenn contributed Cornish humour and six young ladies, calling
themselves `Tan Ha Dowr' — `Fire and Water' did some scoot dances,
much to the delight of everyone present. Musical accompaniment was
provided by Merv
Davey
and the dancers were trained by his wife, Alison. Following tea and
saffron buns `Proper Job' again entertained and before the singing of
Trelawny, sang some Cornish carols
from the Redruth and Camborne area. A raffle was run and thanks go to
everyone who brought prizes. This was indeed a successful
afternoon, enjoyed by everyone. The vote of thanks at the close was
given by the new vice president, Mr Bob Evans of Pentewan.
Summer Festival 2011— 2011 sees Bude Stratton and District OCS celebrate their 50th anniversary and as part of their celebrations they will be holding the Summer Festival on Saturday, July 2, 2011. The venue is the Parkhouse Centre, Eugeric Way, practically opposite the Crescent car park, near the canal and Summerleaze car park. Both have spaces for coaches. The hall will be open from 10am, when tea, coffee etc will be served and at 10.50am members are asked to assemble in the Ivor Potter Hall. followed at 11 am by the parade of banners and the roll call of societies and an address by the President. Admission is £5 (to cover the cost of refreshments, hire of the premises, afternoon trips and coach hire. This does not include the cost of pasties — ie an additional charge.
At 1.20pm coaches will leave for various visits, when it is hoped to visit
For those wishing to stay in the Parkhouse Centre, there will be entertainment during the afternoon.
Pasties will need to be ordered and organisers ask for the approx number attending by June 1, 2011, the same date for pasty orders.
There will be the usual raffle and prizes are asked for from each
society. Tea will be at 4pm and Trelawny will be sung at 4.30p.m.
Congratulations
— Members of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies extend their
congratulations to Andrew Langdon who was the recipient
of the Cornwall Heritage Trust's 2010 Heritage Champion Award, an annual
presentation of £500 to honour the work of a person nominated as having
given exceptional service to some aspect of Cornwall's heritage, in this
case Cornish stone crosses. The presentation was made at the
November meeting of the Cornish Archaeological Society, as Andrew was
unable to attend the CHT's annual meeting
in October. The award itself is to celebrate the life and work of Sir
Richard Trant and all that he did for Cornwall's heritage. Congratulations
also go to our President, Mr Terry Knight of St Agnes who received the
Gorsedd's Rosmergy Trophy for a dialect story. This is the second
year that he was awarded the trophy.
Crying the Neck — This was held on three occasions within the county.
Royal
Cornwall Show — Just a reminder to visit the Old Cornwall Society
stall at the Royal Cornwall Show on the 9th, 10th and 11th June. If
anyone can give some time to help man the stall, please contact Mrs
Glanville at St Columb. Spring
Meeting — This will be held at County Hall, Truro, on Saturday,
February 26, at 2pm, when all members are welcome. Winter
Festival 2011— This will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at
the Public Rooms, Liskeard town centre. It is hoped to expand the
festival to a fuller day and in the morning there should be displays,
hopefully the chance to learn a few basic words and phrases, the
opportunity for secretaries and recorders to get together to talk of
mutual interest, and of course stalls. In the afternoon a programme with
the content, like 2010's relevant to the traditions, music, dialect, etc
collected over the decades. As the venue is in the town, there are shops
and cafes near by. More details will be announced later. Thanks
— A card of thanks was received back in September from the Prime
Minister, Mr David Cameron and his wife, Samantha to a congratulatory
message sent to them on the birth of their daughter, Florence, from the
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. It read "Thank you very much
for writing and for your kind message following the birth of our new
daughter Florence. We both really appreciate your kind thoughts and good
wishes. David and Samantha," 10 Downing Street, London. SW1A 2AA. Website
— The last few months have been busy with more books being added to
the E-book page. We now have over 400 free to download titles all of
which carry links to the latest IT equipment. I have a Kindle, a
lightweight device that you can hold in one hand. It takes seconds to
download a book and once it's on your Kindle it stays until you choose
to dispense with it. At the moment I am reading "The adventures of
Thomas Pellow of Penryn.", a true story of a boy who was captured
by slavers and who spent 23 years in captivity. A truly amazing story
and well worth a read. If you have a computer then you can read it on
your PC or laptop. Another job I have been doing is adding all the
Society banners to their web pages. The photos came from David Stark's
excellent little book which you can still purchase from the on-line
shop. Just click on any society banner to go to the link. Once again
Christmas crept up with speed and is over for another year. I added a
few things to the Christmas web site including five new versions of the
Wassail song from the following places: Redruth, Lostwithiel, Grampound,
Fowey, Malpas, Bodmin and West Cornwall. Also added the Carol for the
Twelfth Day. You can see the words and hear the tunes by going on-line
to http://christmas.oldcornwall.org/card_9.htm.
If you have a different version in your area both Merv Davey and I would
be interested in hearing from you. Look forward to seeing you all at the
February meeting.
GP Health
of Societies — The Executive Committee wish to make contact with
all OCS's to ascertain if they are experiencing problems and to share
ideas of things that are working well. The purpose is to ascertain if
the Executive can render assistance and to disseminate useful ideas to
other Societies. All Societies will soon receive a letter and
questionnaire through the Hon Meetings Sec. and it is hoped that
committees, or their elected representative, will make an early return. St
Ladoca's Holy Well — The Executive agreed to make a donation
towards the estimated cost of £1,200 to restore the Holy Well at Ladock
Glebe. Whilst the Society will pay some of the cost support from other
Societies would be most welcome. Crowan
Cross — Camborne OCS has been granted a Faculty by the Diocese for
the re-erection of a wheel head Cornish cross at Crowan Church. A base
stone has been supplied and it is hoped that the work will go ahead once
weather permits. Passmore
Edwards — The Federation wishes to mark the centenary of the great
Cornish philanthropist Passmore Edwards by making a compendium and
display of the effects of his contributions to Cornish life as seen by
OCS members. It is hoped that all OCS's will submit something about
Passmore Edwards and/or the buildings he sponsored even if there isn't a
building within the immediate area of their Society. A working party has
been set up to inform Societies of the scope of the compilation and this
will be forwarded to all Societies in the near future. Dean Evans has
been working hard on a commemoration and details may be seen on the
website www.passmoreedwards100.co.uk
SOCIETY NEWS Camelford
— At the annual meeting of the Camelford Society, Mr Peter Ascott
stood down as chairman after 25 years of stirling work and was thanked
for his commitment and enthusiasm and was duly elected as President. The
new chairman is Mr Rod Keat. Newquay
— Newquay OCS have been busy with various projects over the summer and
autumn. In June their Society, with Newquay Society of Artists and with
support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, held an Art and Heritage
exhibition "Newquay and the Sea" at various venues throughout
the town. Newquay residents and NOCS members loaned pictures and
artefacts and Ben Maile loaned three original works for display. A new
presentation is being prepared which will list all the 19th and early
20th century ships which sailed from Newquay together with their owners
and captains. The speaker at the Society's November meeting was Sheila
Harper, our Recorder of Ancient Monuments who gave a fascinating talk on
"Local Archaeology." She recently discovered a standing stone
(actually lying down) at Carnewas, Bedruthan Steps, incorporated in a
hedge (SW84816 68988). Sheila has been in touch with Andrew Langdon and
others, and the stone is now confirmed as a new find. Sheila showed us
photos taken on Newquay cliffs and Newlyn Down of flints fashioned for
use as scrapers, blades, harpoons, saws, rubbers and even a neolithic
version of a Swiss army knife! She encouraged members to look carefully
in our gardens — where there have been important finds of pottery,
metalwork, and of course the Pentire Ring (now in the RCM) — and above
all, to record our finds. In April Jacky Nowakowski of the Cornwall
Archaeology Unit will launch her book on the 1939 excavations at
Trevelgue Head (Porth Island), Weather permitting NOCS members will be
on hand to lead a guided walk of the area. Par
— Par OCS currently have a project underway regarding a Fingerpost
which had sustained damaged to its fmgers. The fingers have been removed
to enable Iron Bros Foundry at Wadebridge to use as templates to cast
new ones. Probably by the time the next newsletter is published we hope
the replacements fingers will be in position. The cost has been covered
by funds raised by the Par OCS. Launceston
— The treasurer of Launceston Old Cornwall Society, Mr Bill Roberts,
visited Cedar Grange Retirement Home and presented Mrs Maude Mary
Chapman, a former long standing member of the Society with a card and
basket of polyanthus on the occasion of 105th birthday. Mrs Chapman, who
is in fine fettle, recalled the many trips she went on and how she made
saffron buns for Launceston OCS's special occasions. Another former
Launceston member, Mrs Doris Baker, of Coads Green will be 100 in the
summer. She regularly attended meetings until she was 98.
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies Newsletter No 8 Summer 2010
Since
the first newsletter, I have had
many good comments about it, saying how it kept the Societies in
closer contact with each other. For
this I thank you and trust you will find things of interest in this
one. I plan to do them twice a year — February and August. Sorry to
the lady from St Ives who hoped the Federation would produce one every
month. To enable these newsletters to continue, I need to have newsy
bits from societies and some snippets about their branch and what they
have been up to. We have now past Mid Summer Eve and the evening of
bonfires and I am very grateful to Keith and Barbara Shaw of
Callington and Bill Glanville of St Columb for reports of their
bonfires. It will not be long before the Harvest season will be upon
us and the ceremony of `Crying the Neck,' will be held
— so if your branch is organising a ceremony, perhaps afterwards you
can let me have some details for the February issue. My address
is 6, Western Terrace, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 7BP. Tel 01566
-774227 or email b.roberts@thepost.uk.com
Sadly since the last newsletter, the Federation had some very sad news
with the tragic death of Miss Joan Rendell.
Miss
Joan Rendell MBE - With the tragic passing of Miss Joan Rendell
MBE, the Federation has lost a very dear friend who, until her resignation
a couple of years ago, was
the Federation's secretary — a position she had held for 30 years. Joan
had a great love for Cornwall and was an authority on many, if not all
Cornish aspects. She was the President of the Federation of Old Cornwall
Societies in 1991, when she had the honour of hosting the Summer
Federation to Launceston — her home town — when more that 800 members
attended. Many tributes have been paid to her since her death, many of
which were printed in the local newspaper "The Cornish and
Devon Post," for whom she was a correspondent for more that 60 years.
This spoke of the many Societies, with which she had been
associated. Joan played a major part in the affairs of her home town and
was until her death the secretary of the Launceston
Old Cornwall Society. Many
members
who have travelled on Old Cornwall holidays will
have
fond :memories of
her and of the many places we visited. Not many (if any) knew about the
Pingos in Norfolk, the granite pineapple near Stirling,
the Chillingham cattle and having to walk a mile or so across fields to
find them. A fond memory of Joan, is donning riding
gear and mounting a Bucking Bronco in Newmarket Racing Museum. On another
trip the "party went and viewed the Summer
Isles in Scotland, when in a bitter cold wind, Joan made everyone get out
of the coach and breathe the air which was one hundred per cent
pure. On every holiday she organised, everyone came back learning about
something or other they never knew
about or existed. Joan had many other hobbies and interests throughout her
life. One of which was her collection of match
box labels, numbering about 250,000. Another was her skill as a flower
arranger. She was a past member of the Launceston Floral Art Group
and a founder member of the Dunheved Flower and Garden Group, of which she
had been secretary since its formation. She was known as an author and had
written over 30 books on various subjects many about Cornwall, three on
matchboxes and others about floral art, pressed flowers and corn dollies.
Not many will know that she was one of the first eight women
to go behind the Iron Curtain, when in 1950's she visited Albania, then a
little known country. She had also been actively
involved with the National Savings Movement and for this she was awarded
the MBE. Joan had been clerk to Werrington Parish Council for 62 years,
secretary for over 25 years for the Church of St Martin of Tours,
Werrington and was a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd. A lady who always
described herself as an eccentric, had lived a very remarkable life and
would have celebrated her 90th birthday in September. May she rest in
peace. At the time of writing, no date has yet been fixed for her funeral.
-----------------------‑
Royal
Cornwall Show — The Federation had a very successful stall at
the Royal Cornwall Show. There were lots of enquiries and many books
were sold. One comment that stood out was "How old do you have to be
to join," with the reference being on the word "OLD."
Summer
Festival —The Summer Festival was this year held at Penrice
School, St Austell, hosted by the Par Old Cornwall, as part of their 60th
anniversary. Di Starr, their President welcomed everyone and asked for a
minutes silence in memory of Miss Joan Rendell. She
welcomed the County President, Mr Terry Knight and the Grand Bard, Mr Mick
Paynter of St Ives. Nearly 30 banners took part in the
parade and Andrew Langdon spoke about the success of the Post Box
competition and congratulated Mrs Hooppell of Liskeard on recording and
photographing 88 post boxes. Mr Knight said there were 46 Old Cornwall
Societies, with 2,700 paid up members. He emphasised
to all present the name of "Old Cornwall" referred to the old
and historical aspects of the county, which needed recording and
preserving and it was not the age of the membership and that people of all
ages are welcome. After a pasty lunch trips were held to various parts of
Par which included a tour of the China Clay Country and a guided tour of
the de Maurier Country. Entertainment was provided by Roger and Vivien
Bennett and poems were
given by Pol Hodge
and
Bert
Biscoe. The
afternoon
ended with a cup of
tea and
a saffron bun and the singing of Trelawny.
Executive
Meeting — This was held at County Hall on July 17, with an
excellent attendance and three apologies. Mr Terry Knight took the chair
and a minutes silence was held in memory of Joan Rendell, a past President
and Secretary. Many items were discussed and Dr Libby Joyce gave the
treasurer's report, which showed a healthy balance. The stall at the Royal
Cornwall Show had seen over £600 on book
sales and enquiries about the Old Cornwall Society and how `Old' do you
have to be to join it. It was felt that all enquirers went away
with a different view point about the work of Societies in general. Thanks
were given to all who helped on the three days. The secretary, Mr Ivor
Corkill read the final items of the constitution and amendments made
before they are to be sent out. Thoughts were given to the Winter Festival
in November at Wadebridge and Merv Davey agreed to pipe in the banners.
Treasurer
— At the July meeting of the Executive Committee at Truro, the
Federation received with regret the resignation of the treasurer,
Dr Libby Joyce. Libby has been treasurer of the Federation for the past
four years and has done a tremendous job. She was thanked
for everything she has done for the Federation by the President, Terry
Knight and echoed by everyone present. Libby's resignation takes effect
from the annual general meeting in October. The Federation now need a new
treasurer to take her place. They really need someone with some
book keeping experience to take this on and an appeal goes out to all
Societies to see if there is anyone within their membership who can help.
If so, would they please contact the President, Terry Knight on 01872 -
552921.
Competition
— The closing date
for the competition "Cornwall in the Fifties," is March 31,
2011. David Stark asks societies who wish to submit an entry to let him
know by the AGM in October or at the Winter Festival in November, so he
will know what entries to expect and also about the work load for the
judges. His email address is david.stark@tiscali.co.uk.
Winter
Festival — The
Winter Festival will be held on Saturday, November 13, at 2pm in
Wadebridge Town Hall. It was discussed at the Federation Committee Meeting
that perhaps the afternoon take on a new format. So make sure you come
along and see what happens. There was no plans to do away with the cup of
tea or saffron bun!
Annual
Meeting — The
annual general meeting of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies will be
held at the New County Hall on Saturday, October 2, at 2pm. You will be
able to hear reports from the Federation Recorders and from the officers
concerned.
Web
Site — The
Federation web sites continue to spread the Old Cornwall message around
the World. This month has seen two spin offs from the web sites with the
publication of two new books The first is "Angletwich and Poppydock"
a book of dialect stories, rhymes, sayings and words and the second is a
book of Cornish carol music with words from the Redruth / St Agnes
District. Both retail at £5 and you can view them on line at http://shop.oldcornwall.org/
On the main Federation site our Cornwallcast page is proving very popular
and in July we are joining in the celebration of the 175th anniversary of
the Great Western Railway since it was incorporated through Parliament in
1835. Chris Blount has provided extracts from a programme he made to
celebrate the 150th in 1985. The site can be found at http://oldcomwall.org/
Federation
Survey on Post Boxes — Andrew
Langdon thanks everyone who took part in the Federation Post Box Survey.
He received contributions from 40 individual members representing 17
societies in total. The material was received in a number of different
formats and came via the post, email, on CD disc and published on the
World Wide Web. The total surveyed to date is 584. Mrs Hooppell and Jackie
Jenkins of the Liskeard Old Cornwall Society recorded 88. Recorded were 53
Victorian boxes, 21 Edward VII, 104 George V, 45, George VI and 353,
Elizabeth II The breakdown was 108 pillar boxes, 176 pedestal, 253 wall
mounted and 40 fixed to electricity or telegraph poles. The survey identified
20 different manufactures names, the majority of which were Scottish based
companies. Mrs Hooppell recoded a wide range of boxes covering all the
main types and included one foreign box in private use. John Neale of
Launceston identified one box that did not have a royal cipher or crown
displayed. These were manufactured between 1879 and 1887. Two further
examples can be seen in Truro.
Callington
Old Cornwall Society again
organised the Mid Summer Eve Bonfire on Kit Hill and received help and
support from the Portreeve of Callington, Callington OCS members,
Callington Rotary, Callington Amateur Radio, the Tamar Valley AONB, the
wardens of Kit Hill and councillors. The evening saw the President of
Callington OCS, Keith Shaw welcome nearly 400 people and led everyone
through the ceremony in Cornish and English. The programme commenced with
a procession of lanterns, made by Callington Guides and Brownies to the
fire. Music was by a local group "Rubber Band." Anthems were
sung in both languages and there was a demonstration of "Fire
Twirling." The Prayer of Benediction of the Midsummer Bonfire was
given by Rev Marilyn Elliott of Stoke Climsland whilst the Lady of the
Flowers, Charly LeMarchant, whose bunch of flowers was cast into the fire
with the words "wicked weeds, fast withering, let this fire
kill" and later "thousand fold to let good seed spring" The
guest of honour was the newly installed Portreeve and Mayor of Callington,
Mrs Karen Gold, together with Presidents from neighbouring societies.
The
midsummer bonfire at Castle-an-Dinas, was again held and organised
by St Columb Old Cornwall Society. The evening saw a lovely sunset
and the rising moon lit the way back to the cars.
Congratulations
go to Camelford Old Cornwall Society on the occasion of
their 25th birthday in June. They celebrated the occasion with a gathering
of about 50 people in a garden at St Teath. Founded in 1985 by a group of
local history enthusiasts, they met above the Methodist Chapel in Fore
Street. Their President, Mrs Ethel Broad welcomed the guests who were
treated to a very adequate supply of Cornish fare, including pasties,
saffron buns and Cornish cheeses. Peter Ascott, their longstanding
chairman, neatly summarised his experiences of the society in poetical
form and members were pleased to welcome Mr Terry Knight, President of the
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies and Mr Andrew Lgggggangdon, vice
president, both of whom address the guests. The TrePollPen bellringers
were congratulated for providing appropriate musical entertainment,
including a rendering of Trelawny, probably not heard by many in bells
before.
Pentewan
Old Cornwall Society held
a celebration, combined with an exhibition in June to commemorate the
exact day — 70 years — since the first wartime evacuees arrived at
Pentewan village. Evacuees and local children who were their playmates at
the time were invited to a reunion and a tea in Pentewan Village Hall. The
exhibition from Pentewan OCS's extensive archives were on show to the
public for two days when visitors included holidaymakers attended, some of
whom came back a second time.
American
Student Visit A small group of mature students with the Professor
from the State University of Michigan visited St Columb at the end of June
where they were taken to see the Holy Well at Ruthvose, Devils Quoit,
Castle-an-Dinas before going on to Lanherne and St Mawgan. Tintagel Castle
was the next stop via Mawgan Porth and Wadebridge. The day ended at
Launceston Castle before returning to Plymouth. The group were very
interested in the Cornish heritage, making mention of the clay works,
engine houses, and narrow roads. The were accompanied by Mrs Bill
Glanville of St Columb.
Mrs
Eileen Spry — News
has been received of the death of Mrs Eileen Spry of Port Quinn, who until
a few years ago was an active worker for the Federation and a member of
the Wadebridge OCS. She was for a number of years the Music Recorder for
the Federation and organised the raffles at the Summer and Winter
Festivals. A widow of only a few months, she was the organist at St Enodoc
Church and was a Bard of the Cornish Gorseth (Mynfre).
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Newsletter
No 7 Winter 2009
This Newsletter is for every member and anyone interested in Old Cornwall, what it is about and what it is doing. Please print or photocopy and circulate it as widely as possible. [black & white copy] I have been asked to take on the job on of providing the Society with a newsletter, since Terry became President. So I need some newsy items from Societies. These will be very welcome and I know other Societies would like to read what you are doing. It also gives other Societies some ideas and food for thought as to their own meetings. I can be contacted on 01566 -774227 (evenings) or email b.roberts@thepost.uk.com This month we have had news items mostly from the North of the County. I hope I will hear from Societies further down West. It has been good to hear about two old traditions, Crying the Neck and the Carols of Stratton Hundred. It would also be good to hear from Cornish Societies in this Country and from those Societies in various parts of the world. After all we all sing from the same hymn sheet! — Bill Roberts. IT IS hoped that everyone had a good Christmas and that you have all kept well during the recent wintry period of ice and snow and that you have had no broken bones. On behalf of the executive committee I wish you all a very Happy New Year — even if a bit belated! January was not a good month for meetings, as most were postponed because of the weather conditions.
Annual Meeting
2009 AGM. Election of Officers, L to R: Ivor Corkell (Hon Secretary, Terry Knight President, Ron Opie, Retiring President, Andrew Langdon, Vice President and Libby Joyce, Treasurer. — Federation held their annual meeting at County Hall back in October, with a smaller attendance than usual. Mr Ron Opie retired as President after three years and was thanked for all his work, having had some difficult tasks to deal with. Mr Terry Knight from St Agnes was appointed President, with Mr Andrew Langdon of Truro, as Deputy President. The Federation are pleased to welcome Mr Ivan Corkhill of Camborne as secretary, with Mrs Pauline Hope of Heamoor as minutes secretary. The treasurer is Dr Libby Joyce of St Columb. The Publications committee are very busy, under the chairmanship of Rev Barry Kinsmen of Padstow. One of the leaflets which they produced is one to try and encourage new members to join. As existing members know, you don't have to be Cornish to join.
Winter Festival —
This was held at Wadebridge was a successful afternoon. Despite the severe weather there was a good attendance and on behalf of Wadebridge Old Cornwall Society a welcome was given by Helen Richards.
The afternoon got off to a good start wirth a parade of the societies' colourful banners led by Gorsedd's piper, Mr Merv Davey of Withiel and Charles Skinner of Redruth bearing the Federation's banner.
A fascinating talk on the theme of witchcraft in Cornish folklore, was given by Jason Semmens who drew on the extensive resources compiled by the late Mr William (Bill) Paynter of Callington and emphasised the value of records created by the Old Cornwall Societies. This brought numerous questions.
After tea and a saffron bun, Merv Davey and his wife Alison brought to life many of the Cornish dances.
A vote of thanks was given by Mr Andrew Langdon and the afternoon closed with the raffle and the singing of "Trelawny." Thanks go to all who contributed raffle prizes.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The executive committee met in January at Murdoch House in Redruth. This was Terry Knight's first committee meeting as President. The treasurer, Dr Libby Joyce was delighted to tell us that the finances were healthy and she had particular thanks to all the Societies who have sent their Federation fees and insurance monies back so quickly. The shop which is run by Anne Knight is doing very well and is bringing in quite a bit of money. Because of this it is hoped to be able to give some financial assistance to any society who may need help with a restoration project. Publicising the Old Cornwall Societies and their work was something that was discussed and it was hoped that all societies were giving reports to their local newspapers and village newsletters. It was also hoped the Journal could be promoted within the Societies an that these newsletters are distributed or read at the monthly meetings.
Through the shop, Anne is going to order more Old Cornwall badges. The cost to each member will be £3 a badge. With new members joining, it was thought more should be obtained. More details can be obtained from her. Health and Safety seems to be to the forefront these days. This was raised because of equipment used by speakers and of safety of plugs etc.
Mrs `Bill' Glanville who sits on the Cornish Language Partnership — Maga — reported that Pol Hodge and Mike Tresidder have been appointed Education Officers. One of their aims is to get a dictionary produced.
The recent competition for War Memories was very successful and the new competition is about `Life in the 50's.' It was decided to extend the closing date for this to March 2011, to give all a chance to produce something. All entries Will be received by Mr David Stark, Orchard Lodge, London Apprentice, St Austell, PL26 7AR. Please do have ago.
Dates for your Diary to include : The Spring Meeting at County Hall, Truro, on Saturday March 6 at: 2pm.
The Royal Cornwall Show in June, when the Old Cornwall Society will have a promotional stall within the Cornish tent. So come along, make yourself known and please encourage others to pay a visit.
The Summer Festival is to be held in Par on Saturday, July 3, commencing at 10am. Details will be announced later and it is understood a good programme has been arranged.
Christmas Carol Web Site — The Old Cornwall Christmas web site has been on line for a couple of years and has been growing all the time. Now Terry, Merv, and I are hoping to really get the whole thing together this year with the aim of getting the Cornish carols sung more.
Year after year I am disappointed when I listen to the Radio Cornwall Carols from Truro Cathedral that not a single carol is sung to a Cornish tune not even one by Merritt. However, if we are going to change things we need the help of local Societies in carrying out research and it need not be painful because it may be as easy as visiting your local pubs to see if local carol tunes were sung at Christmas. The pubs seem to be the place that you can still find people gathering to sing local carols around Cornwall and many communities have tunes that were written by local people. Most of us have heard of Merritt and some have heard of the Redruth composers Heath, Eade and Broad. But what about Mrs Berry or Mr Moyle of Chacewater, or Richard Jones of Penzance and Cowling of Bolingey and even one of the founders of our movement Henry Jenner who took time out to write the words and music of a carol. Ralph Dunstan's Cornish Song Book part 2, which was published in 1929 has helped in keeping the music alive.
click to see a larger image
With the internet we have the advantage of being able to place the music score and words on line and have a musical rendition or even a group of singers performing it. This is how Terry, Merv and I believe we can really spread the singing of these wonderful Cornish Tunes. If you have not visited the site then please take time to - either on your own computer or by visiting your local library and asking the staff to put the web site on the screen for you - I know they will be happy to show you how it works so go along and enjoy. Write the following on a piece of paper and give it to the library staff member. They will do the rest: http://christmas.oldcornwall.org.
The Dialect Web Site — I wish to extend my thanks to Audrey and Zip from Madron who have taken time to write down local dialect words which have now been added to the site, also to Malc McCarthy for sending me Padstow words. Over the years many have taken the trouble to record their local dialect words and pass them to Brian Stevens or his predecessors. Our job now is to get them out into the world rather than having them sitting on shelves. Brian, Pauline and I have made a start on what will be a very long job but you can see the progress we make by going to http://cornishdialect.oldcomwall.org either at home or again by visiting the library. Finally, you can visit all our web sites from the main site at http://oldcornwall.org George Pritchard.
SOCIETY NEWS
St Ives — It's Mother calling again to say that our OCS had a wonderful 90th anniversary celebration on January 18th. Federation president, the cuddly Teddy, no sorry, Terry, cut the large cake, gave an amusing dialect story, and there was more than ample food donated for the Faith Supper. Members provided poems and readings and our usual quiz went surprisingly well considering that little grey cells were really strained to breaking point by the subject of ' Who, Where, When,' top marks were 25 1/2 out of 30, bottom 20, so great success. Well, chicks, many of you will be also celebrating your anniversaries soon, so here's hoping they all go as well as ours did. Best wishes from the Mother Society — MQ.
Bude-Stratton
—
A very enjoyable evening of carols of the Stratton Hundred took place
at the end of November in Bude. The music was under the direction of
Michael
Launceston — For December it was "members' evening" for their Christmas meeting at the Eagle House Hotel. Rob Tremain, chairman first of all asked his wife Pat to try and teach members `Happy Christmas' in Cornish, which brought a good response. Bill Roberts told of Christmas Eve visits of Father Christmas to his uncle and aunt's who lived in Dockacre Road (known to locals as Horse Lane) where after tea the radio would be switched on and everyone waited the announcement that the seven o'clock train had arrived at Launceston Station and that Father Christmas would be coming up Zig Zag (a very ancient path which runs from the Station to Dockacre Road). Everyone would be looking out of the windows to see him come up Zig Zag carrying a sack on his back and would call in at his uncle and aunts' and distribute gifts to everyone. Joan Rendell told about Newport as she remembered as a child of over 80 years ago, which she described as a small town in its own right, with a butchers, a baker, grocer and a pub, church and chapel. She also told about the many characters of those days, many of whom were drovers. After coffee and mince pies, Bill Cole told a tale about a local parson and his congregation and of the organisation of the village fete. Mr Cole must be congratulated on this wonderful tale, in which he brought to life many old sayings which included being Pixie Layed and a Dimpsy evening! — Bill Roberts.
Liskeard — We celebrated the ancient re-enactment of Crying the Neck back in September at Bolitho Farm, Liskeard by courtesy of Mr James Moon. Over 50 folk were in attendance and included Cllr Roger Holmes, Cllr Anne Purdon and Cllr Sandra Preston and representatives from Stuart House and the Liskeard Town Museum. The ceremony began with the opening prayers led by Mrs Hilda Gillbard (Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd) in the Cornish language, and repeated in English by Rev Keith Lanyon Jones, Vicar of St Cleer. Mr James Moon then sythed the last of the harvest and the Liskeard Old Cornwall President, Mr Duncan Paul Matthews, then held the last of the corn to the North, East and South (never to the West, for this signify darkness and death) to the winds and cried in Cornish "yamal genes (I have'n) Pen yar (A neck). Mr Mike Smith (St Cleer) then read from Deuteronomy Chapter 8 vs 7 - 10, in the Cornish language, giving thanks to God for our abundance of refreshing rain, spring water and copper found in the hills. He then read "The Lords Prayer" in Cornish.
Rev Keith, then gave a short address to assembled folk, speaking on the importance of belonging, of retaining our heritage and cultural links with the past to uphold our future. Mr John Enever, President of the Looe Old Cornwall Society then gave a Celtic Blessing. The ceremony then concluded with the singing of "Trelawny." The music was conducted by Mrs Jennifer Matthews (St Cleer) and played jointly by a band of youngsters consisting of The St Cleer Belles and The Dante Primary School, ringing both "Trelawny" and "We Plough the Fields and Scatter," on a two and a half octave set of American, Mayola Musical Handbells. Refreshments of saffron cake and tea was served by the Liskeard OCS Society by Mrs Sylvia Hooppell, Mrs Jackie Jenkins and others — Duncan Matthews
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Newsletter No 6
Summer 2009
This Newsletter is for every member and anyone interested in Old Cornwall, what it is about and what it is doing. Please print or photocopy and circulate it as widely as possible. [black & white copy]
Society News
Par OCS.
Barbara Seed reported in February 2009
–
Another project we are trying to undertake is to have a
plaque made to Reuben Chappell, Pierhead Painter and have it placed on a
cottage in Par where the artist lived from the early 1900's.
All the funding of these is already available due to an
exhibition we held in May 2008 to launch the book
Par Excellence - a history of Par.
St Denys & District OCS
Ginny Edwards reported in June 2009 –
Click to see larger photos
The St Denys Old Cornwall Society visited Trelawne
Barton, Looe recently. This is the home farm on the Trelawney
Estate, ancestral home of Bishop John Trelawney. We were the
guests of the present owner, Ms Carol Vivian, who has spoken to our
Society in the past about the Trelawneys and Bishop John in particular.
We had a tour around the farmstead and stables, followed by a tour of
the house and gardens which was very enjoyable. The gardens were
an absolute joy and we had tea in the old farmhouse kitchen. The
photographs attached show some views of the garden and Carol speaking to
us in the kitchen. Some of our more able members looked around the
farmstead in more detail, looking at the old barns and outhouses,
piggery and stables. This was once a working farm which has been
added to over the years and the beautiful old stone of the buildings has
mellowed and worn to a lovely soft grey. Carol's garden is formed
into many "rooms" each with something of a surprise. The gorgeous
white wysteria in full flower, the sunroom and swimming pool in the
courtyard, the duckpond in the main part of the garden. We were
allowed to wander at will in the garden and the house. The house
is a beautiful maze of lovely old rooms, each with a window seat and a
different view of the garden. The conservatory, built for Carol's
mother when she was ill, blends perfectly with the house and provides a
room with a view over the front garden. The kitchen attracted
everyone, as kitchens often do, but this one particularly because of the
warm range, the old scrub top table and many family photographs.
We cannot thank Carol enough for allowing us into her home and giving us
a view of how life would have been many years ago when the home farm
would have been a hive of activity on the estate.
Do you love Cornwall?
David Stark, President of St Austell OCS and a member of
the Federation’s Publications Sub-Committee has prepared a new free
leaflet to encourage Old Cornwall membership.
Based upon the previous free booklet, but revamped into the more
commonplace pocket-able format, it was ready in time for the Royal
Cornwall Show in June. It
is not aimed primarily at existing members, but intended for
distribution in places where the public might pick it up.
If you know of locations where they will be displayed (and not
be deposited in the recycling bin immediately after you have left them),
then please ask the Publications Officer to let you have some.
Help Old Cornwall to grow! TK. Click on photo
Contributions
Remember that the deadline for contributions for the
Autumn 2009 journal is 31st
July. TK.
Competitions
Members’ “Cornwall in the Fifties” Competition for
2009-10
The success of the wartime competition has emboldened the
Federation to invite entries for a successor theme, taking the following
decade as the challenge.
Again we would like Societies to consider their own area in particular,
rather than Cornwall as a whole, as the accumulation of work will
provide a broad picture of what Cornish life was like back then.
The 1950s are now well over half a century ago and, for
some members will bring back memories of food rationing, and parcels
from overseas, the aftermath of stringent times during the war, and the
Coronation.
Some will recall life in pre-fabs, no doubt, perhaps the advent
of an indoor water supply, a bathroom if lucky, perhaps the purchase of
the first family motor car, maybe a holiday away, but also milk
deliveries with a horse and cart, and the acceptance that all the shops
would be locally owned.
Schooldays too were a world away from childhood today, the facilities,
the accommodation, how the lessons were taught, discipline, play-times,
games and pastimes, and so forth.
Probably mother was at home, perhaps achieving miracles with no
vacuum cleaner, no dishwasher, no washer-dryer machine, no central
heating, a Cornish range and still managing dinner on the table at noon
in time for father dashing in and out and back to work, as well as
mending clothes or creating new ones with hand-knitting and sewing
machine.
For members now living in a community other than the
Cornish one(s) they inhabited in the 1950s, your contribution will be
eligible.
After all, it all adds to the ‘fragments’ we are attempting to
‘gather… that none be lost’.
Likewise, if you were an occasional visitor to Cornwall in the
1950s, then consider your impressions, your lasting memories, any
notable differences, what the accommodation was like, where you stayed,
how you travelled, and how you passed the time.
There is plenty to re-discover and record for future
generations. The Competition will close on 31st January
2010 and the results be announced in March.
TK.
Photo of St Columb Football Team, Dec 1953, with thanks
the Cornwall Centre, Redruth.
Old Cornwall on tour
There have been a few enquiries about the possibility of
continuing the annual holidays for OC members formerly arranged by Miss
Rendell.
If there is a sufficient interest, what is needed is a volunteer
to undertake the necessary arrangements.
If you are interested in taking on the task, make this known to
one of the Executive Committee’s officers, perhaps before it meets again
in early July. TK.
Royal Cornwall Show
Anne and I spent a sweltering Wednesday delivering and
setting up the Federation’s stand.
Mrs ‘Bill’ Glanville, who, with a few regular helpers, takes charge of
it for the three days from Thursday to Saturday, advises that this
year’s event was again successful.
Several of the new “Do you love Cornwall?” publicity leaflet were
taken, many questions were answered on a wide variety of topics, and
almost £400 grossed from the sale of books and ancillary items.
The comfort in the marquee was varied from stiflingly hot on the
sunny Friday to decidedly chilly on the damp Saturday.
It was certainly cooler when we returned to collect the remnants
on Sunday! TK.
Inspire Cornwall
“Inspire Cornwall is a £4 million project designed to
inspire the community through nature, education, music & art and
heritage.”
Launched at Truro Cathedral on
Friday 15th
May by the Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick, Dean of Truro, the Vision,
as defined in the publicity material, is -
·
To preserve the iconic skyline of Truro by restoring the
spire of Cornwall’s Cathedral.
·
To create a green oasis at the heart of the city.
·
To establish a leading centre for education, music & art
at the core of the community.
The plan proposes that “Cornwall’s Cathedral and its grounds will be
redeveloped, providing a hub of nature, education, music and art, free
and accessible to everyone.
Footsteps from the bustle of the city, imagine a lush, landscaped garden
by the riverside. Space to breathe.
Space for outdoor theatre performances.
In the old Edwardian schoolhouse, imagine an exhibition space for
local art and photography.
Beneath the Chapter House coffee shop and restaurant, imagine an
education and resource facility housed in contemporary architecture.”
The name “Inspire Cornwall” refers to the central spire
of the Cathedral.
Having
“been eroded by the elements, its restoration is vital to its survival.
By restoring this architectural gem as the focal point of a
modern 21st Century community, Cornwall Cathedral will be
part of an innovative project that will witness the fusion of history,
the present day and the future.
A landmark of inspiration.”
If you wish to support the project you can do so –
By contributing financially to the
Appeal
·
By letting the Dean know if you have
connections with a Charitable Trust/Livery Company or Grant Making Body
to whom an application for funding might be made
·
By hosting or organizing a
fundraising event.
Contact the Dean of Truro at 14 St Mary’s Street, Truro
TR1 2AF (Tel 01872-276782).
TK.
Winter Newsletter 2009-10 Please send items for inclusion in the Newsletter to Bill Roberts, at b.robertsATthepost.co.uk or Terry Knight, email knightATwingfield5.fsnet.co.uk (substitute the symbol @ for AT in the addresses); or by post to Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, Kernow, TR5 0TX.
Federation of Old Cornwall
Societies
This Newsletter is for every member and anyone interested in Old Cornwall, what it is about and what it is doing. Please photocopy and circulate it as widely as possible.
Federation’s Executive Committee & Trusteeship
The
Executive Committee decided recently that membership of it would
necessitate becoming a Trustee of the Federation.
This meets requirements relevant to our charitable status. All existing members have agreed to this.
Contrary to some concerns expressed, this does not bring
burdensome financial liabilities upon honest members as the Federation
is not a property owner.
Provided that the business of the Federation is properly conducted
in line with its Constitutional objectives, and the finances are
sensibly managed, there is no substantial personal risk entailed.
In the event that its resources (funds, books, etc) were
misappropriated, it would be a matter for criminal proceedings against
any individual(s) concerned, rather than Committee liability, unless
those actions had been condoned or overlooked by the Executive’s
members.
To
quote from the Charity Commission guidance regarding ‘unincorporated
associations’, which is in effect what the Federation is –
The 'association' part of
this description means that it is an organisation consisting of a group
of people who have decided to co-operate in furthering what the
organisation is set up to do, and who have certain parts to play in its
administration.
The 'unincorporated' part
of the description tells you that the organisation is not a company
(which is incorporated). This means that the association will not:
Federation’s Management and Constitution
The
Executive has appointed a Working Party with the express aim of
reviewing the Federation’s structure, management, communication,
challenges, etc. to report back to a future meeting.
To date Terry Knight has produced a draft document with
suggestions for some amendments to the offices of the Executive and this
was presented at the January Committee meeting.
Some changes were proposed and agreed, and a revised draft is
being taken forward, which should facilitate progress on any
improvements to the Constitution.
Elections
Some concerns were expressed at the 2008 AGM about the difficulty of
circulating papers to all Society members prior to the Federation’s AGMs
which take place in October, quite soon after the first Autumn meetings
of Societies, and the consequent lack of fresh nominations for the
Executive. This has been taken
on board, and will form part of the considerations of the Working Party.
In
the meantime, Society Secretaries will be aware that the Federation’s
AGM takes place on the first Saturday of October annually.
If a Society wishes to nominate a candidate for election to the
Federation’s Executive, it will be as well to obtain their members’
approval if they wish to do so well before this, even as early as their
last Spring meeting, so that when the Society’s Secretary receives the
AGM papers, he or she will know if any nomination is to be made.
Each Society can send as many members as they wish to the AGM,
but only two are permitted to vote.
Federation Events
2009 Summer Festival at Redruth
Having had such a disappointing response from Societies regarding
hosting the Summer Festival despite repeated pleas, the Federation’s
President, Ron Opie, has persuaded the Redruth OCS to hold it again this
year.
Details will be circulated as usual, but please note the date –
Saturday 4th July 2009.
2009 Winter Festival at Wadebridge
This year we shall be returning to Wadebridge Town Hall on Saturday 14th
November at 2:00pm.
The speaker will be Jason Semmens MA, author of the Federation’s most
recent publication, The Cornish Witch-finder: William Henry Paynter and the witchery,
ghosts, charms and folklore of Cornwall. He will be addressing members on those aspects of
Cornwall’s folk traditions.
Summer Festivals and their preparation
Evidently a great many Societies have become shy of offering to stage
the Summer Festival in recent years, usually for the reason that the
membership is unwilling or unable to undertake it for ages of health,
age, or adequate numbers. Last year’s excellent event staged by the
modestly-sized Callington OCS rather emphasised that this does not have
to be so, given good leadership and the ability to enthuse members. So
the Executive Committee decided at its January meeting that it would be
helpful to itemise the basic essentials, so that Societies could more
accurately assess their capabilities. There is nothing to prevent two or three Societies
joining forces to arrange a Festival.
The
required components are:
‘Staff’
An
enthused membership can accomplish this by sharing the workload and
working as a team. It will
be essential for someone to act as a contact person for other Societies,
to accept lunch bookings, etc.
In addition to the Excursion ‘guides’ referred to below, perhaps most
important is the team of volunteers who sustain the supplies of liquid
refreshments. Also vital are a few members willing to be ‘on
the door’, to take payment, offer direction etc. and generally act as
stewards for the day.
Finance
Although the Society would be expected to pay for the facilities and to
receive any income from the day, the Federation would meet any deficit
arising through unforeseeable difficulties.
So a Society should never be out of pocket.
The usual day charge at present is around £4, with extra for the
provision of lunch (normally a pasty!) but including the availability of
tea and coffee throughout the day.
Accommodation
(i)
for the initial congregation of about 250-300 members, the Presidents’
welcomes, and the parade of banners.
There is usually a suitable chapel or church even where no other
facility exists (sufficiently early booking avoids clashes with
weddings);
(ii) for indoor attractions for those who are unable to go out on
excursions. This might be a church hall or Sunday School, a
school hall, community centre, and should have the facilities to offer a
simple tea. It
is easier if it is not too far from the accommodation for the initial
gathering, and easiest if it is the same place, of course.
Excursions and entertainment
In
the interests of fairness, it is vital that bookings for outings are not
taken before ALL attending members have arrived.
Otherwise, those travelling farthest can be disadvantaged in the
choices.
It
is usual to offer the choice of about 4 outings for the members, perhaps
3 by coach and one on foot, or 2 by coach and 2 on foot.
This may not be essential if one excursion can accommodate most
of those who come. For
example, a river trip has been offered in the past.
Some outings will require coaches, and it is worth investigating
if coaches used to bring members from afar might be used for excursions
too, saving on individual hire.
If
there are insufficient well-informed members to guide excursions, it is
not a criminal offence to ask a suitably qualified non-member for help. Often they will be very flattered to be asked.
It
is beneficial to offer something for those unable to join the
excursions, and this might be an illustrated talk or film show,
preferably something relevant to the area, and certainly to Cornwall.
It is also an opportunity to show off any interesting Society
artefacts, Recorder’s books, and other display items.
Guests
It
is up to the local Society if they wish to invite a local dignitary or
dignitaries to offer a welcome to the community, and to join members for
the day.
Footnote:
Although it is quite impractical for
every
Festival to coincide with a special occasion in a Society’s history, the
following Society anniversaries would appear to be in the offing. This does not preclude other Societies making an
offer to stage a Festival!
Federation’s Archaeological Recorders
Michael Tangye, who served the Federation in a truly exceptional way as
Archaeological Recorder for no less than 25 years decided to call it a
day and tendered his resignation at the July 2008 Executive Committee
meeting. At the
October AGM this was formally accepted with regret.
Fortunately a replacement has been found in Andrew Langdon, our
Cornish crosses ‘supremo’. Andrew is keen to make contact with Society Recorders, and
so they may wish to make themselves known to him. He can be reached at 34, Dobbs Lane, Truro or by
telephone on 01872-271382 (evenings); email:
aglangdonATbtinternet.com (replacing AT with @)
All
will wish both Michael (who continues as Redruth OCS’s Recorder) and
Andrew well.
Federation Publications
Old Cornwall
journal
Selling journals will not be a task which appeals to every OC member,
and some Societies seem not to have anyone willing to take on the role.
Please do try hard to identify someone for the task. The contrast between those Societies regularly
selling copies to over half their members and those selling none at all
is stark. Surely the
members cannot be so very different if they are sufficiently interested
in Cornwall’s culture and heritage to become members?
Online Bookshop
This is an easy way to buy the Federation’s publications, and items such
as the Cornish serviettes, OC badges, St Piran pin & bead badges, etc. Go to
www.shop.oldcornwall.org
and pay using Paypal or a credit card.
Old Cornwall members’ publications
A
reminder that OC members can place their publications with us to sell
for a modest 20% fee.
[This must not conflict with any existing arrangement with a commercial
distributor]. More
are being added continually and so keep a watch on the shop.
Federation Website
Regular visitors to the website will have noticed that there are some
new features. Notably Andrew Langdon, our new Archaeological
Recorder, has been working with George Pritchard, the webmaster, to
create a splendid attractive and informative introduction to Cornish
crosses as a part of our website.
See
-
http://cornishcrosses.oldcornwall.org/index.html
.
George himself has been very busy establishing “Cornwall e-books”
offering a selection of 100 antiquarian Cornish books which have been
scanned and are now available for reading online.
A particularly good aspect is that they can be searched by
keywords. As most
lack indexes this is a great facility.
So even if you would prefer to use the books in paper form,
perhaps at the Cornwall Centre in Redruth or the Courtney Library in
Truro, you can save time by noting the sections you might want to look
at in particular.
Go
to
http://www.oldcornwall.org/symposium.htm
Look out soon for the new Dialect website which George has been creating
with the help and support of the Federation’s Dialect Recorder, Brian
Stevens of St Ives.
Keep checking www.oldcornwall.org
!
Society News
Bude Stratton OCS
Audrey Aylmer, retiring Recorder
reports:
A roomful of members and
visitors enjoyed an evening of readings and carols at the December
Christmas evening at the Parkhouse Centre. The evening was compèred by
popular society member, Ray Shaddick, and the singing was accompanied by
Michael Richardson, who has done so much to preserve and promote these
carols. Readings from Jenny Balsdon, Michael Heard and Raymond Bale gave
a flavour of Christmas as celebrated by local people in times past and
included extracts from the Cornish
and Devon Post (local newspaper) detailing events around
Christmastime 100 years ago. These revealed that the 44 inmates of the
Stratton Union were looking forward to their Christmas dinner in 1908
and that Miss Beatie Spry of Week St Mary picked a very fine strawberry
on Boxing Day. An extract from Ethel Jewell’s ‘Stratton Childhood’ spoke
of ‘the lovely setting’ which Thomas Faithful Ash of the Tree Inn
composed for R S Hawker’s carol ‘Welcome that Star.’ This old carol
was among the selection sung at the meeting, which also included
favourites such as ‘Flaming Seraphs” and ‘Whence those Sounds
Symphonious.’ Cornish language bard, Alan Murphy presented two carols
in Cornish and the singing of these was led by his group of
language students. Additional Christmas music was provided by the St
Marwenne Hand Bell Ringers led by Eileen Burnard. Ray Shaddick thanked
all those involved, including the society’s Recorder, Audrey Aylmer, who
he said had worked tirelessly. The evening ended with refreshments and,
as the Cornish and Devon of 100 years ago might have reported, many
lingered in the convivial atmosphere to partake of the cup that cheers.
Liskeard OCS
Duncan Paul Matthews, President,
reports:
80th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
On Saturday 11th Oct
2008, sixty members and guests of the Liskeard Old Cornwall Society,
gathered in the town's Public Hall, for their 80th
Anniversary Celebration, honoured at the top table by the Mayor of
Liskeard, Cllr Anne Purdon, and her Consort Kevin. Mr John Rapson,
(Recorder), had an illustrated display on the history of the Society in
Liskeard, supported by both the embroidered banners dating back to 1927.
Mrs Margaret Jackson had produced another display of the 128 yrs of the
Girl's Friendly Society/Girl Guides in Liskeard.
Their 1880 Banner had been recently decommissioned and placed in
the Liskeard Museum, as an emblem of importance in building the
character of so many young Ladies of the town. Other Guests included
Members of both the Callington OCS (also in their 80th year), and of the
Saltash OCS.
An excellent lunch was produced by
Barnett Fare, and in Mr John Rapson's informative address we learned
that the late Harold Wilson (Prime Minister) joined the Labour Party
here in Liskeard, by signing his Membership papers in the Liskeard
Railway Station Signal Box.
His Father at the time was both Manager and Senior Chemist at the
Burrowite Explosive Factories at Twowatersfoot and Herodsfood, just
outside the town on the road to Bodmin. Bouquets of flowers were
presented the Ladies who had worked so very hard on making the occasion
such a success, Miss Ruth Breen, Mrs Sylvia Hooppell and Mrs Barbara
Willcox.
CRYING THE NECK
On Sunday 12th October
the Liskeard Old Cornwall Society members, with the Mayor of Liskeard,
Cllr Anne Purdon, in attendance, were the guests of Mr James Moon, at
Bolitho's Farm, at Maudlin, Liskeard, for the annual re-enactment of
"Crying the Neck!” The last of the harvest was cut by the landowner with
a scythe, and the last of the corn held high to three of the compass
points with the cry, three times over:
The corn is not held to the
West as that signifies darkness and death. This corn containing the
"Spirit of the Harvest" is then held over for a year to guarantee a
good harvest for all in the next year, as is also the practice with
Corn Dollies. Prayers of Thanksgiving on the occasion were offered
by Rev Ruth Goodman, Superintending Minister of the Methodist
Church, Liskeard, in the Cornish Language, adapted from her native
Welsh, giving us the music of the language much feeling and
character. All then celebrated the last of the harvest in bright
sunshine with cups of tea and saffron cake.
Par OCS
Barbara
Seed, Secretary,
reports:
The Par OCS is looking into the purchase of
digital audio equipment so as to be able to record memories. As part of
this idea and to show how the recordings could be used I have used an
audio tape which was made in the 1990's and created a TV playable DVD of
memories of the village of Tywardreath, using old photographs in the
society records and taken new photos where necessary.
There is a useful website
"Oral History" especially on the point of copyright, our next step
is to purchase the appropriate equipment and learn how to use it!
Another project we are
trying to undertake is to have a plaque made to Reuben Chappell,
Pierhead Painter, and have it placed on a cottage in Par where the
artist lived from the early 1900's.
All the funding of these is already
available due to an exhibition we held in May 2008 to launch the book
"Par Excellence" - a history of Par.
Redruth OCS
Terry Knight, Vice President,
reports on the ‘People of the
British Isles’ project -
In February Redruth OCS was
pleased to assist, in a small way, a team from the University of Oxford
with the creation of a genetic map of Britain.
Its purpose is to provide data for an analysis of genetic
variations and the impact of peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings,
Normans, and the Ancient Britons upon our health today.
The project team, under the
world-renowned geneticist, Professor Sir Walter Bodmer, and funded by
the Wellcome Trust, has visited many parts of Britain.
It aimed to collect 3500 blood samples with accompanying basic family
history information, and has already identified that the Cornish are a
significant element of the surviving traces of the Ancient British.
Redruth OCS was able to help with
local knowledge of possible venues, media contacts, publicity, etc. A busy day at the Redruth Community Centre, preceded
by one in co-operation with the Morrab Library at Penzance, saw the team
collect an additional 140 samples, a total with which they were
extremely pleased, and which helped them to exceed their target.
At each venue, Sir Walter gave a
fascinating evening lecture, well-attended in both cases, outlining the
science behind the project, the work already undertaken, and his
ambitions for its future development. For more information on the People of the British Isles project see
www.peopleofthebritishisles.org
Gloucester and District
Cornish Association
A founder member of the Gloucester
Cornish Association, Mrs Joyce Hooper has died. She was a native of
Launceston, and was formerly Miss Joyce Body, who was born in July 1920,
into an old Launceston family. Her funeral was held at the Gloucester
Crematorium, conducted by Canon Tim Newcombe, Vicar of Longlevens and formerly of
St Mary Magdalene Parish Church, Launceston, where Joyce was married
in February 1944. Canon Newcombe, a Falmouth ‘boy’ is Chaplain of the
Gloucester and District Cornish Association.
Cornwall Heritage Trust website
Of
possible interest to many members is the Cornwall Heritage Trust which
owns four significant sites and manages seven others for English
Heritage. It is
working hard to engage schools in our heritage via a programme of work
with newly qualified teachers.
To see examples of the materials being prepared for use with
schoolchildren (re the Treffry Viaduct and Carn Euny), log on to their
website at
www.cornwallheritagetrust.org
and click on the ‘schools’ link at the foot of the page.
Cornwall Heritage Trust is
looking for a Champion
Cornwall Heritage Trust is
proud to announce The Sir Richard Trant Memorial Award
Annual Heritage Champion.
Returning to Cornwall from a
glittering career in the army, Sir Richard Trant dedicated the rest of
his life helping to secure and promote Cornwall's heritage both in
Cornwall and further afield. He provided inspirational leadership for
the Cornwall Heritage Trust. Using his immense talents he played a major
role in the production of Cornwall
Forever! - Kemow Bys Vyken! for all school children in the
millennium year and tirelessly guided the continuing work of the
Victoria County History of Cornwall. He was a 'Newquay boy' and
Cornwall, of which he was so proud, was his home. Sir Richard Trant,
Cornish Bard, was a true champion of Cornwall's heritage and this award
has been established to celebrate his life by honouring others working
in the same way.
The award will be a trophy and
£500. Organisations working in any sector of Cornwall's Heritage, from
grass roots to County level, are invited to recommend to The Cornwall
Heritage Trust suitable candidates to be considered for this award. Each
recommendation should be accompanied by a profile of the individual and
not more than 500 supporting words. The recommendation must be submitted
by a senior officer's signature ratifying endorsement by the
organisation. The award will be launched in January each year and
nominations will close on 31st July. The Cornwall Heritage Trust Sir
Richard Trant Memorial Committee will consider all applications and a
Heritage Champion will be announced at the Annual General Meeting.
All nominations for 2009 should be
sent to: The Administrative Officer, Cornwall Heritage Trust, 16
Trewithan Parc, Lostwithiel PL22 0BD. Tel No: 01208-873039.
Competitions
Members’ “The War in Our Area”
Competition, 2008-9
This has been a considerable success, attracting 16 entries.
The ‘winner’ is to be announced in March, but the Executive
Committee and the Publications Sub-Committee are extremely pleased that
so many Societies have taken up the challenge and taken considerable
pains to create such a valuable record for the future.
It shows what Old Cornwall can achieve when members work together
to meet the ambition of the movement to “gather up the fragments that
are left that nothing be lost.”
New!!
Members’ “Cornwall in the Fifties”
Competition for 2009-10
The
success of the wartime competition has emboldened the Federation to
invite entries for a successor theme, taking the following decade as the
challenge. Again we
would like Societies to consider their own area in particular, rather
than Cornwall as a whole, as the accumulation of work will provide a
broad picture of what Cornish life was like back then.
The
1950s are now well over half a century ago and, for some members will
bring back memories of food rationing, and parcels from overseas, the
aftermath of stringent times during the war, and the Coronation.
Some will recall life in pre-fabs, no doubt, perhaps the advent
of an indoor water supply, a bathroom if lucky, perhaps the purchase of
the first family motor car, maybe a holiday away, but also milk
deliveries with a horse and cart, and the acceptance that all the shops
would be locally owned.
Schooldays too were a world away from childhood today, the facilities,
the accommodation, how the lessons were taught, discipline, play-times,
games and pastimes, and so forth.
Probably mother was at home, perhaps achieving miracles with no
vacuum cleaner, no dishwasher, no washer-dryer machine, no central
heating, a Cornish range and still managing dinner on the table at noon
in time for father dashing in and out and back to work, as well as
mending clothes or creating new ones with hand-knitting and sewing
machine.
There is plenty to re-discover and record for future generations.
The Competition will close on 31st January 2010 and
the results be announced in March.
Troon Sunday Schools tea-treat, c1953 (with Terry Knight second from
left, front row)
Gorsedd Competition 2009
The
Gorsedd runs competitions annually which invite entries of dialect,
poetry, photography, and Cornish language, and more, all central to OC
members’ interests.
Obtain an entry form and details from Mrs Vanessa Moyle, 52 Raymond
Road, Redruth, TR15 2HF.
The closing date for all entries is Tuesday 31st March 2009
– so don’t dither!
Summer Newsletter 2009
Please send items for inclusion in the Newsletter to Bill Roberts, at
b.robertsATthepost.co.uk or Terry Knight, email knightATwingfield5.fsnet.co.uk
(substitute the symbol @ for AT in the addresses); or by post to
Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, Kernow, TR5 0TX.
Federation
of Old Cornwall Societies
This Newsletter is for every member and anyone interested in Old Cornwall, what it is
about and what it is doing. Please
photocopy and circulate it as widely as possible.
The
Good News!
The
Federation has gained another affiliate in the Mawnan Old Cornwall
Society. This splendid news was welcomed by the President Ron Opie /
Map
Carn Brea as “a great
pleasure” and the new Society as “a great asset”.
Mawnan OCS has had a former 10-year life as the Mawnan History
Group, which produced The Book of
Mawnan and we welcome enthusiastically all their members, old and
new, ‘into the fold’.
The
Not-So-Good News
It
seems that Landewednack OCS has been unable to sustain itself through a
lack of would-be officers, and so is no more.
Its funds have been wound up and passed to the Federation.
This is a sorry event, but we hope that its members will enrol in
neighbouring Societies to continue their support of Old Cornwall.
Miss
Rendell steps
down
Bill
Roberts /
Scryfer
Lanstefan
writes –
At
the Spring Council meeting, held in Truro, Miss Joan Rendell, Cornish
bard
Scryfer
Weryn,
who has been secretary of the Federation for almost 30 years resigned.
The Federation President, Mr Ron Opie thanked Miss Rendell for
her many years of service, which has included the organising of
Federation holidays throughout the United Kingdom over the last 15 to 20
years. He presented
her with a gift token for a garden seat and she was made a Life Member
of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. Miss Rendell, who is a past
President of the Federation, is still Honorary Secretary of the
Launceston Old Cornwall Society and is actively connected with many
societies and organisations within the Launceston and Werrington areas,
being Clerk to Werrington Parish Council for over 60 years and secretary
of St Martin of Tours Church, Werrington.
Miss
Rendell wrote to the President as follows -
The
garden seat so kindly presented to me on my retirement as Federation
honorary secretary has been delivered and is beautiful. My gardener is
going to position it next week when he comes to tidy up the garden after
the winter storms and we shall choose the sunniest spot!
Will
you please be so kind as to convey to all my friends in the Federation
who have contributed to this splendid gift my warmest thanks for the
present. I certainly never expected such a thing (or anything, for that
matter) as I had only done my job as secretary, have always found it
enjoyable and interesting and have made many dear friends through it. I
have recently received many lovely letters from a number of
Societies
and to all of them I am eternally grateful.
The
seat is just in time for the start of summer and I hope to spend many
happy hours enjoying it in my little garden.
My
very grateful thanks to everyone concerned; I will now have a constant
reminder of many happy friendships and shall be thinking of all those
friends every time I sit on the seat.
With
all good wishes to you and everyone concerned.
And
so does Mr Tangye …
Michael
Tangye /
Whythrer Meyn,
the Federation’s Archaeological Recorder for the past 25 years has
tendered his resignation. Michael’s
undying enthusiasm for archaeology and all local history is well-known,
and it is not a loss of interest that causes him to relinquish the
office, rather that he wishes to offer an opportunity for someone else
to take on a role from which he has gained so much enjoyment.
The Federation owes him an enormous debt of gratitude for a job
well done.
Success
- at last!
Revd.
Brian Coombes /
Cummow
writes -
Following
Handbook of the Cornish language
(1904) published by Henry Jenner /
Gwas
Myghal,
which enabled the learning of Cornish, in 1929 Robert Morton Nance /
Mordon
published Cornish for all
which ‘Unified’ the spelling and grammar on the basis of the Middle
Ages, the time of the Cornish plays, the Ordinalia. Although
it had its critics, this Unified Cornish provided the basis for teaching
and use of Cornish.
In
1984 Ken George /
Profus an Mortyd
proposed re-spelling on a phonetic (one letter, one sound) system and
this Common (“Kemmyn”) Cornish was adopted by the Cornish Language
Board (Kesva an Tavas Kernewek) although a minority continued with
Unified.
At
the same time Dick Gendall /
Gelvynak
lead a movement to revive the last-spoken Cornish from the 17th
century (“Late” or “Modern” Cornish) and this has its adherents.
Further Nicholas Williams of Dublin has suggested modifying
Unified on the basis of the later literature of the Middle Ages (Life
of Meriasek, Gwreans an Bys), now sometimes called “Tudor”.
However,
Cornish gained official recognition and there was a need to teach it in
schools. The County Council
appointed Jenefer Lowe /
Gwythvosen
as Language Development Officer
(later joined by Elizabeth Stewart /
Losowenn
an Hav as Administrator), with a
Cornish Language Partnership to represent all parties.
With the help of experienced linguists from other Celtic
countries and elsewhere a “Single Written Form” has been devised for
teaching in schools and official use such as street signs.
Although different forms will continue to be used, the SWF should
be welcomed and supported.
Tribute
must be paid to all concerned, especially to Jenefer Lowe and Elizabeth
Stewart but, for us, above all to Bill Glanville /
Wylmet
Maghteth Lanherne, the
Federation’s nominee on the steering group for all her hard work in a
difficult job.
Speaker
Phillip
Hunt /
Lef a Vrest
of Saltash, well-known in musical circles, is offering Societies the
opportunity to hear his new presentation entitled “An Audience with A
L Rowse”. It
consists of recordings made by Phillip and others in which Dr Rowse /
Lef
a Gernow talks about all aspects
of his life, in his typically forthright way, interspersed and linked
with Phillip’s own personal recollections.
Anyone interested can contact him on 01752-843919 or by email on brassmanpgh@uwclub.net
.
Speaking Tour
Two Australian Cornish cousins, Tom Luke /
Colon
hag Enef yn Bendigo and his wife Libby will be visiting Kernow from 4 September to 17 September staying in Redruth.
They
are happy to do talks for Old Cornwall Societies whilst they are here.
When asked if they charged a fee Tom wrote
“Definitely
not.
We are only trying to promote Kernow and its effect worldwide,
particularly Australia.” They have donated copies of all the CD's and
DVD's they have produced to the Cornish Studies Library, Redruth and
have run a Worldwide Cornish Mailing List for over 10 years with about
400 current members.
Here
are some samples of their multi-media presentations which you can choose
from:
1. The
Cornwall we love. "An Gernow a Geryn". A DVD is available from
the Gorseth on this.
7.
From Cornwall to the Mallee
If
you are interested in having them along for a session then please send
Tom an e-mail at the following address but don’t delay as it will be
on a first come basis:
tomluke@optusnet.com.au
Preservation
Work
Redruth
OCS has been fighting a planning application to build an agricultural
warehouse and various other structures on protected land below St Euny
Church, following on from unauthorised preparatory excavations being
undertaken. Some initial success has been achieved with the local
authority firstly taking enforcement action upon the excavation work,
and then refusing consent upon the buildings.
Inevitably the applicant has appealed and the results of a Public
Inquiry are awaited.
This
is very much in line with our declared objectives and it is regrettable
that more OCSs do not feel that they should take a firm line against inappropriate
development destroying valuable fragments of old Cornwall which are
still left to us.
Dialect
The
Honorary Dialect Recorder, Brian Stevens, observed in his Report to the
June Executive Committee - Sadly since the
Spring meeting contributions from our 46 societies have been nil, but I
can present a report drawn from a certain source and my own research. Last week my wife
came home to tell me that a St. Ives woman whom she had met said to her
that the weather was ‘a bit shimmy’ You see the lady had dressed for
being in the sun, but when she came into a windy area she had the
shivers, hence shimmy = 'shivery'. Over the past twelve
months I have had the opportunity to research at the Morrab Library at
Penzance, and in the course of looking at indexes to certain 19th
century Cornish-based Journals, noted that there was quite an interest
in dialect. Therefore I thought for my own personal contribution for the
Federation Dialect Archives I would transcribe some of these. This I
have found most profitable and trust that perhaps others might do
likewise when they come across a list of Dialect words especially with
some comments added to them. In faith I am
trusting that I shall have news from other Societies for the Autumn
Federation Meeting and will then be able to present a more county wide
selection of our dialect. In the meantime please take back to your own
Society members that Cornish Dialect, Cornish likes and Dialect stories
are always welcome to be received by your Federation Dialect Recorder. I
am no further away than my address and phone number as printed in the
Old Cornwall journal.
To
contribute to the dialect archive, Brian can be contacted at 20 Trenwith
Terrace, St Ives, TR26 1QE; Tel
01736-798017.
Is
anybody there?
As
a part of the Federation’s drive to improve communications with Old
Cornwall Societies, the President has been collecting and circulating
the postal addresses and telephone numbers of Societies’ officers.
At the last General Meeting in County Hall he also circulated a
request for email addresses for those willing to act on behalf of a
Society relaying communications and news items.
Many Society members responded but, at the time of writing, email
contacts are still needed for those listed below.
If you are willing to act in this for your Society, please email
your contact details to the President at ronopieathotmail.co.uk
(replacing
at
with @).
Bude,
Goonhavern, Hayle, Helston, Kea, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Luxulyan,
Newquay, Padstow, Penryn & Falmouth, Perranzabuloe, St Buryan, St
Columb, St Goran, St Just & Pendeen, Saltash, Tintagel, and Torpoint.
Enquiry
Former
Grand Bard Rod Lyon /
Tewennow
has requested knowledge from OC members regarding fishermen's landmarks
used to locate their fishing grounds.
Please contact him if you can help (tel 01209-831538).
Royal
Cornwall Show
Mrs
Bill Glanville and Mrs Val Bennallick of St Columb OCS with help from
Rev Barry Kinsmen /
Bugel
Petrok of Padstow
OCS manned the stand (set up by David Stark /
Tyskennor nans Vynnyk
and Terry Knight /
Tresulwythen)
providing their usual warm welcome to interested show visitors over the
three days – quite a commitment.
They responded to a substantial number of enquiries, and received
over £285 gross income from the bookstall which will further the
objectives of Old Cornwall. So
it was a most successful event.
Society
News
PAR
OLD CORNWALL SOCIETY – Barbara Seed writes: The Par Old Cornwall Society exhibition entitled “Celebrating Cornish Life” was held at St Mary’s Church, St Blazey Gate from 15th – 17th May 2008. The exhibition was staged to support the launch of the Par OCS Millennium project book “Par Excellence” which has been researched and written by the society’s chairman, Derek Reynolds, Cornish Bard Map Penwethers. The book is priced at £6 and is available at the Par Post Office on Par Green or by contacting the Hon Secretary, Barbara Seed, on 01726 814286. UK inland postage/packing is £2.00
The exhibition featured displays on :-
ST.
IVES OLD CORNWALL SOCIETY: Mary Quick /
Ow Melder
writes -
Recently,
members and friends enjoyed an outing by coach in beautiful weather.
Known to the Old Cornwall movement as a ‘pilgrimage’, the first stop
was at ShelterBox headquarters for an introductory talk in a small room
from where the organisation began operations. It was the brain-child of
Rotarian Tom Henderson, former Royal Navy search-and-rescue diver and
marine consultant, who at first used his own funds. Nowadays, ShelterBox
is a humanitarian aid charity, sending emergency aid to disaster victims
all around the world, affiliated to Rotary clubs in many countries.
Moving
into the large warehouse, we were given a guided tour of the
building’s various sections. Everywhere were stores of vital supplies
and the now famous green boxes waiting to be filled with life-saving
equipment. However, without the vital assistance of dedicated
volunteers, who often give up their annual leave to the project, it
could not function. Just one example was the large stock of
double-skinned plastic plates and bowls, six items of each wrapped in
film, time consuming work. Each box contains items selected to give a
family of 10 the basics of survival for a minimum of six months.
Although tailored to the different needs of recipient countries, tents
and water purifiers are always included. The organisers continually look
for ways to improve on the Box’s contents, and having recently fallen
foul of the USA’s insistence that water purifying tablets should be
classed as food, came up with an alternative; a self-sufficient
handy-sized unit providing clean drinking water that can even be hung on
a wall. Such innovations are continually sought.
Boxes
are filled by means of a kind of assembly line. On a long shelf, fitted
with sections, volunteers set out the various items to be included; pots
and pans, tools, blankets and specially adapted ground-sheets. Dignity
has been considered with the inclusion of wooden spoons, a snip at
twopence each, eliminating the need to use a stick for stirring.
Everything that can be contained is protected in canvas packs that are
easier to arrange in boxes. There are special small packs for children,
containing drawing materials, pencils, chalk and a small black-board.
Each box is numbered and costs £490, which includes all expenses;
patrons are able, if they wish, to follow a particular one to its
destination. Transport can be a difficult and expensive procedure,
especially in countries where victims of disaster are often distant from
distribution centres. ShelterBox’s own teams travel with the aid boxes
often working with larger agencies which have more facilities. These
volunteers have intensive training, and judging by some of the
difficulties they have to overcome, need to be inventive, diplomatic,
resourceful, patient, and quick-witted. ShelterBox now owns the building
from which it operates, so greatly relieving the pressure on funds. Our
visit ended with a 6 minute video of African families amongst their
ruined homes and environment. It is almost impossible to imagine the
difference ShelterBox has made to the lives of 500,000 people
world-wide, and is well worth supporting.
Our
party then moved on to Trevarno House and gardens, one-time home of the
Bickford-Smith family, whose fortune came from the invention of the
miners’ safety fuse. The estate was offered for sale in 1994 in 300
lots, but was purchased wholesale by two businessmen, who have pledged
that it will remain as a country house estate, and have plans for
further improvements such as walled gardens. Tea was taken in a very
large conservatory filled with exotic plants, where a water-fountain
completed the pleasant scene. Outside were green lawns and ancient trees
that have stood for many years, where peacocks and other fowl strutted
around freely. The contrast to the scenes revealed at ShelterBox was
inescapable, bringing realisation of how fortunate we are to live in a
land rarely visited by such tragedies. ShelterBox is to be congratulated
upon its heroic efforts to alleviate the sufferings of those not so
fortunate, which greatly impressed members of our party. May it continue
to attract loyal volunteers and donations, so enabling it to carry on
successfully.
Cornish Bards in Australia
Bill Roberts /
Scryfer
Lanstefan
writes –
Four Bards of the Cornish
Gorseth - Old Cornwall members - attended the 21st Cornish Assembly held
at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia in March.
They joined 27 Australian Bards in the re-enactment of the
Cornish Gorseth, which was held as part of a weekend in which 163
delegates from various parts of Australia had gathered.
The four, who were given a special welcome, with each bringing
greetings from their respective areas of Cornwall, were Keith Shaw /
Kaswydth
and his wife Barbara /
Menetor
a’n Ertach
of Callington OCS, Bill Roberts of Launceston OCS and Howard Curnow /
Kernow
of St Hilary. Mrs Shaw also
brought greetings from the Grand Bard, Mrs Vanessa Beeman /
Gwenenen.
The ceremony, held at 10am on
Brown’s Hill saw a welcome by the deputy mayor of Ballarat. During the proceedings, the lady of Victoria presented a
bouquet of dried flowers etc to the celebrant, following a dance by the
flower girls. This was only
part of a host of events held over a very hot weekend, which included a
“Meet the Cornish,” an Aussie breakfast, lectures, trips, concerts,
Cornish dancing, picnics and much more.
The whole ceremony was a very moving occasion.
On the Friday evening during
“Meet the Cornish” there was a book launch — Our
Heritage, our Treasure by Joy Menhennet /
Benneth
Lowen.
In it she gives a brief history of the Ballarat Cornish
Association and several historical facts of families who left Cornwall
during the early 1800’s in search of gold and from which the towns of
Ballarat and Bendigo grew. Howard Curnow gave a tale of the Cornish
pasty and in song told of
one made by a well known national supermarket —
which included peas, carrots and ..... a tin of kitty-cat?
Pure Cornish humour which delighted everyone.
For anyone interested in Joy
Menhennet’s book, details came be obtained from:
joymenheatvic.chariot.net.au (substitute the
symbol @ for
at
in the address). It will
make for an interesting read.
David Stark’s The Banners of the Old Cornwall Societies was given to Bill
Phillips /
Mapwyn Whel Ros
from
Bendigo, one of the main organisers of the weekend, who with his wife
Gwen /
Ertach
Penwyth
are both Bards. “It
was a book I was going to send for,” he said.
He was overjoyed to find out that the book had been signed by the
author.
The Federation of Old Cornwall
Societies’ website has been overwhelmingly received by the Australian
Cornish. One of the things
they enjoy reading is the Federation’s Newsletters.
Perhaps in future they will send
some short articles to appear in this newsletter, so as to inform
people home hear of what they get up to! Many of the delegates present
had never been able to come to ‘their homeland’ to see exactly where
their families originated.
Relatives Sought
Betty Johns has asked the
Federation if they could help by seeing if she still has relatives by
the name of Phillips from Mount Hawke and Moyle from Redruth.
If anyone can help her, she would love to hear from them.
Her address is Box 155, Casterton, Victoria, Australia 3311.
Where Betty
is concerned the
Australian Cornish Associations
are extremely proud
of her, as she has recently, at the age of 73, gained some
extremely high marks in learning the Cornish language, both
orally and written, and during the
Friday evening proceedings, she was awarded
a plaque for her
achievements.
The Cornish contingent were
overwhelmed by the fact that the delegates who attended from various
Cornish Societies in Australia have a tremendous love for Cornwall, each
one hailing from families who had emigrated all those years ago and in
fact they were found to be more loyal to Cornwall than many of the Cornish themselves!
Forthcoming
Events
September:
Gorseth
One
of the spectacles of the event is the display of Old Cornwall Society
banners in the parade to and from the bardic circle.
The Federation’s Banners
book reveals their splendour and it is an excellent way to advertise our
existence as an organisation.
It would be wonderful indeed if every one of our Societies could
be represented at the Gorseth ‘flying the flag’.
How about it?
October: AGM
The
Federation’s AGM, which will be at County Hall on Saturday 4th
October at 2:00pm, is open to all members (although only two from any
Society are entitled to vote).
This is another chance to meet friends, make new ones, ands to
learn what the organisation has been and will be doing.
November: Winter Festival
After our spell of holding the Winter Festivals at
Wadebridge we have been invited by the Bodmin OCS to hold this year’s
celebrations at Bodmin Community College, Lostwithiel Road, Bodmin. It
will take place on Saturday 1st November starting at 2:00pm.
There will be lots of space to park free of charge. The speaker will be Mr Peter Davies.
Incidentally,
the remarks about the banners in the Gorseth paragraph above apply
equally here, and it is so disappointing in the role call of Societies
when a Society is called and no one is present.
Remember, all members are welcome.
Note.
In the Old Cornwall Journal
No.5 (April 1927) A report on the 1927 Winter Festival held in January
says: “The most notable feature of this was perhaps the performance of
some dialect plays that were specially written for the occasion.” In
Journal No.9 there is an article on a Cornish Three Men’s Song, which says that it was performed in
Cornish by members of the St Ives OCS at the Winter Festival, which had
been held in Penzance.
Publications
Honorary
Publications Officer
Contact
details: Mrs Anne Knight,
Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, TR5 0TX;
tel. 01872-552921; email:
knightatwingfield5.fsnet.co.uk (substitute the
symbol @ for
at in
the address).
New
Publications
Published
in time for the Summer Festival and particularly aptly timed in view of
its location this year is Jason Semmens’s fine tribute to William
Henry Paynter /
Whyler Pystry, writer, broadcaster, founding member of
Callington OCS, Cornish bard, creator of the Cornish Museum at Looe, and
researcher into Cornwall’s folk traditions.
The 256-page book -
The
Cornish Witch finder: William
Henry Paynter and the Witchery, Ghosts, Charms and Folklore of Cornwall
- and will be available from the Hon. Publications Officer direct, from
our online shop www.shop.oldcornwall.org,
at a very reasonable £11.95 (plus p & p where required).
David
Stark’s The Banners of the Old Cornwall Societies continues to
sell, and it is a book which every OC member should have, and which
everyone can afford at just £3.00.
Once ‘Twas Serpentine
and Fish: Cadgwith by Michael Tangye has sold very well indeed
but copies are still obtainable. Other publications, such as the fine
series on the Stone Crosses of Cornwall by Andrew Langdon /
Dyffresyas
Crowsow can also
be supplied.
All
the Federation’s books (with the exception of the Banners
title) are obtainable from any decent bookshop. However, we have noticed
that local bookshops may have to order them in.
If you don’t see our books on their shelves, ask them why –
they may not know they exist – and tell them of our website for
contacts – “oldcornwall.org” is easy to remember.
Old
Cornwall
journal
It
seems likely that not every Old Cornwall member has the chance to see
every issue of Old Cornwall. If
in your Society the journal is handed directly only to those who
regularly ‘subscribe’ and you never get the chance to buy one, why
not ask? It is a
bargain at a mere £1.50 to Societies containing as it does 64 pages
minimum of writing about a wide variety of Cornish topics (see the FOCS
website for indexes of past contents). Postal subscriptions are also available to anyone
reading this Newsletter wherever you may be.
Online
Bookshop
This
is an easy way to buy the Federation’s publications, and items such as
the Cornish serviettes, OC badges, St Piran pin & bead badges, etc. Go to www.shop.oldcornwall.org
and pay via Paypal or credit card.
Old
Cornwall members and their publications
A
reminder that OC members can place their publications with us to sell
for a modest 20% fee. [This
must not conflict with any existing arrangement with a commercial
distributor].
Society
requests for additional books, journals, etc
If
you wish to have extra copies to sell at an event, please can you let
Anne know in good time.
Our stock is kept in a store and needs to be fetched – I keep
just a few copies at home for immediate despatch.
Website
Society
Secretaries are reminded that the new season’s programmes will be
needed by our Webmaster, George Pritchard (2 Penhalvean Cottages,
Redruth, Kernow) if your meetings and other events are to be listed on
your web pages. It
also keeps the information about any changes of officers are made
following elections.
Members’
Competition
Members
will recall that the Federation used to hold an annual Essays
Competition. Enthusiasm
for this waned and it ceased a few years ago.
We wish to try an alternative idea of a competitive project.
This is directed at Societies more than individuals (although no
one would be excluded) and we are hoping that, in line with our stated
objective to ‘gather the fragments’, this year teams of members will
work together to amass research and reminiscences on the theme of “The
War in Our Area” and produce a Project File which can be added to the
Federation’s collection at the Courtney Library.
The winning Society would hold the trophy for one year.
If suitable, publication of the results in part or whole would be
a possibility. More
information can be obtained from the website.
The
Competition will run until Saturday 31st January 2009 and
entries should be submitted to: Mr
David Stark, Orchard Lodge, London Apprentice, St Austell, Kernow, PL26
7AR: Tel 01726-75423.
It would be interesting for the Executive to be aware if your
Society is already working towards an entry, and so perhaps you can let
Mr Stark know?
Winter
Newsletter Please send any items for inclusion in the next Newsletter to Bill Roberts, at b.robertsatthepost.co.uk or Terry Knight, email knightatwingfield5.fsnet.co.uk (substitute the symbol @ for at in the addresses); or by post to Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, Kernow, TR5 0TX.
Federation
of Old Cornwall Societies Newsletter No 3 Winter 2008
Firstly,
we wish you all a very happy and successful 2008.
This, the third Federation Newsletter, contains news of a number of
important matters, and so we ask Secretaries to try to make sure that as
many members as possible have a chance to read it.
The
Newsletter is produced in print in modest numbers, but Societies can
photocopy it produce as many copies as they wish, and those with access to
a computer with an internet connection can print it off from the
Federation’s website – www.oldcornwall.org .
For those who do not have a computer at home, remember that the
local Library Service offers a half-hour’s free use of its PCs and, if
you don’t happen to possess a handy child to help (!) there are ‘Study
Support Officers’ at some branches who can help you to get you started.
This
newsletter is where your Old Cornwall Society can let others in the
movement know what you are doing. So let us have your news for publication
in the next Newsletter, which will be published in the Summer. It is also
for keeping you informed about what the Federation is doing and planning
for the future. Our
thanks to those who have provided copy for this issue.
Records and Recording
Stratton
Carols Exciting Find.
Audrey
Aylmer, Recorder of Bude, Stratton & District O.C.S.
tells us that as a result of a Cornish Christmas Evening, which included
carols and readings from the Societies, records two ladies have came
forward with two old Stratton carols which were unknown to her and others
in the Society. The Society were so pleased with the response to the
evening that they are planning to make it a regular event and hope to
include the two newly discovered carols in their next Christmas Evening.
Folk
Songs and Music Recorder
Mrs
Eileen Spry, who has worked so hard on the Federation’s behalf trying to
persuade members to ‘gather the fragments’ of our musical heritage,
decided not to seek re-election at the AGM.
Our sincere thanks and good wishes go to her.
Once
again we have been fortunate in that Mrs Barbara Baldock of the St Austell
OCS has offered to take on this office for the Federation, and we are
pleased to welcome her.
Preservation
Work
St Austell OCS members have recently completed work on the
restoration of Roche Well in co-operation with Cornwall Council’s
Historic Environment Service. A
full account of this will appear in the Spring 2008 Old
Cornwall.
Events
February: Hurling
Bill
Glanville of St Columb Old Cornwall has asked us to
remind you that this year’s Hurling will take place on Shrove Tuesday,
February
5th from about 4:00pm and again on Saturday 16th
February.
St
Ives Hurling will take place the day before on Feast Monday, February 4th
commencing at 10:30am
March:
The Federation Spring Meeting Our
President, Ron
Opie invites you all to come
along to the Spring meeting. This will take place at County Hall Truro, on
Saturday 1st March commencing at 2:00pm. Free parking is
available.
March:
St Piran Celebrations
Each
year the events to celebrate Cornwall’s patron Saint get better and
better and Ray
Helson, Secretary of Bodmin Old
Cornwall Society has sent a copy of their programme for the day.
This can be found on the St Piran page of the Federation web site.
If
your Society is planning, or helping at an event please send details to
George Pritchard at 2, Penhalvean Cottages, Penhalvean, TR16 6TQ or by
e-mail to george(at)penhalvean.freeserve.co.uk
(replace (at) with @ in email address.) so that we can advertise it on the website.
June: Royal Cornwall Show
The
Federation will be ‘on show’ at the Show again in 2008.
Sharing a marquee with heritage and historical bodies like the
Cornwall Record Office, Cornwall Family History Society, and Cornwall
Heritage Trust, Old Cornwall will be doing its best to promote its aims
and objectives under the experienced eye of Bill Glanville.
July: Summer Festival
Callington
Old Cornwall Society has invited the Federation to hold its summer
gathering in the town on Saturday July 5th.
Secretary Barbara Shaw
tells us that the Society are looking forward to hosting the event and
that a programme will be provided on the Callington web page in due
course.
September:
Gorseth
One
of the spectacles of the event is the display of Old Cornwall Society
banners in the parade to and from the bardic circle.
The new “Banners” book reveals their splendour and it is an
excellent way to advertise our existence as an organisation.
It would be wonderful indeed if every one of our Societies could be
represented at the Gorseth ‘flying the flag’.
How about it?
October: AGM
The
Federation’s AGM, which will be at County Hall, is open to all members
(although only two from any Society are entitled to vote).
This is another chance to meet friends, make new ones, and to learn
what the organisation has been and will be doing.
November: Winter Festival
After our spell of holding the Winter Festivals at
Wadebridge we have been invited by the Bodmin OCS to hold this year’s
celebrations at Bodmin Community College, Lostwithiel Road, Bodmin. It
will take place on Saturday 1st November starting at 2-0pm.
There will be lots of space to park free of charge. Incidentally, the
remarks about the banners in the Gorseth paragraph above apply equally
here, and it is so disappointing in the role call of Societies when a
Society is called and no one is present.
Remember, all members are welcome.
Note.
In the Old Cornwall Journal No.5
(April 1927) A report on the 1927 Winter Festival held in January says:
“The most notable feature of this was perhaps the performance of some
dialect plays that were specially written for the occasion.” In Journal
No.9 there is an article on a Cornish Three Men’s Song, which says that it was performed in
Cornish by members of the St Ives OCS at the Winter Festival, which had
been held in Penzance.
Publications
Honorary
Publications Officer
The
last Newsletter reported the resignation of Robert Evans after 20 year’s
loyal service with our publications.
Fortunately Mrs Anne Knight, wife of the Federation’s Deputy
President, offered to take on the role and she was elected to that office
at the AGM in October. Mrs
Knight will be known to regular users of the Courtney Library at the Royal
Institution of Cornwall, where she works as a Cataloguer two days per
week.
Anne
can be contacted at Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, TR5 0TX; tel
01872-552921.
New
Publications
One
of the most significant events of late 2007 for Old Cornwall members was
the appearance of Banners of the Old
Cornwall Societies, researched and written by David Stark, the
Chairman of St Austell Old Cornwall Society, with ample assistance from
his wife Carol (who is Secretary of the Society) and published by the
Federation. This
wonderful record of our emblems has been nicely produced with good colour
illustrations of every banner. It sells for the ludicrously low price of
£3.00 so that every member can obtain a copy without undue financial
strain. It is
obtainable from the Hon. Publications Officer but NOT through shops (they
take 40% and the distributor 22.5%).
In
the Autumn Michael Tangye, Archaeological Recorder for the Federation and
Recorder of Redruth Old Cornwall Society produced his splendid new book
about Cadgwith and Poltesco, “Once ‘twas serpentine and fish”.
It was published by the Federation and is selling well.
It can be obtained through the local book trade, and is priced at
just £7.95 - another bargain price.
Like the Banners book, it can be obtained by members from Mrs
Knight.
Online
Bookshop
A
very recent innovation is the facility to buy the Federation’s
publications online with the establishment of our own ‘shop’ – www.shop.oldcornwall.org
(also linked from the main website, address above). So supporters and members, whether resident in
Cornwall or not, can purchase from us (with PayPal or credit card
payments). We
hope that it will generate income to support our publications programme,
an integral part of our objectives as a charitable organisation.
Old
Cornwall members and their publications
The
Federation is offering members who have published their own books but who
do not have an agreement with a commercial distributor the opportunity to
sell them via the Federation.
It usually runs a stall at its Summer and Winter Festivals, the
Royal Cornwall Show, and the Gorseth in September, and is hoping to do so
at other suitable events. More significantly perhaps, its online shop
offers an outlet not so easily available to individual member-publishers.
The Federation would expect to receive just 20% of the cover price
(which will be added to its publications fund), considerably less than the
trade requires.
The
online shop will offer books, journals, CDs of older FOCS publications,
leaflets, badges, and other items for sale as well as back issues of the
journal.
If
you are interested, please contact Mrs Knight.
NB.
For those wishing to display books on Federation bookstalls, please
make sure they are provided in advance, as only items received for sale
beforehand will be displayed.
Society
requests for additional books, journals, etc
Mrs
Knight asks Society Officers who wish to collect quantities of books,
journals, serviettes, badges etc from her at Festivals and other events to
contact her in good time before the event.
On the day, it can be too busy to be distracted writing invoices
which could have been prepared in advance and in any case extra stock may
have to be collected from storage.
Storage
and the Federation
Following
Mr Evans’s resignation, it became urgent to find storage for the books,
journals, laminator, sales gazebo and tables he had kindly stored during
his tenure. In
discussions it became clear that this was a matter for serious
consideration – Mr Andrew Langdon was also storing several hundred
books; and the Editor several hundred journals; and Mr Stark was storing
the Federation’s promotional A-frame. With the ambition of producing more books, the problem
looked likely to get worse.
It was also undesirable that Federation’s property should be held
by any one individual member without ready and free access to one or two
other named representatives. Additionally
the need for a secure and dry facility was paramount and a preferred
location in the Truro-Redruth area for the Hon. Publications Officer’s
convenience of regular access.
Nevertheless
the fact that the cost of storage has to be met from Federation’s
resources is a matter for constant review.
If any member is in a position to offer free (or cheap!) storage
meeting the criteria mentioned above, then do please contact Mrs Knight
who can bring it to the Publication’s Sub-committee for consideration.
Members’
Competition
Members
will recall that the Federation used to hold an annual Essays Competition.
Enthusiasm for this waned and it ceased a few years ago.
We wish to try an alternative idea of a competitive project.
This is directed at Societies more than individuals (although no
one would be excluded) and we are hoping that, in line with our stated
objective to ‘gather the fragments’, this year teams of members will
work together to amass research and reminiscences on the theme of “The
War in Our Area” and produce a Project File which can be added to the
Federation’s collection at the Courtney Library.
The winning Society would hold the trophy for one year.
If suitable, publication of the results in part or whole would be a
possibility. More
information can be obtained from the website.
The
Competition will run until Saturday 31st January 2009 and
entries should be submitted to: Mr
David Stark, Orchard Lodge, London Apprentice, St Austell, PL26 7AR:
Tel 01726-75423.
Harold Barriball
Many Old Cornwall members will be distressed to learn that
the Federation’s former Treasurer, Harold Barriball, passed away just
after New Year. All who
knew him thought warmly of him and his work for Cornwall was unstinting,
especially through Wadebridge Old Cornwall Society of which he was
Chairman. This was
recognised by the Cornish Gorseth in 2006 when he was made a Bard – Map
Egloskerry.
Summer
Newsletter Please send any items for inclusion in the next Newsletter to the FOCS Webmaster, George Pritchard, 2 Penhalvean Cottages, Penhalvean, Redruth, TR15 6TQ;
email
george(at)penhalvean.freeserve.co.uk,
or to the Editor Terry Knight, Wingfield, 5 British Road, St Agnes, TR5
0TX; email
knight(at)wingfield5.fsnet.co.uk
.
April: The Federation Spring Tour
The 2008 Tour is to North Wales, from
27th April to 2nd May, staying at the All Seasons
Hotel, Llandudno – 6 days, 5 nights at hotel (half-board).
Price £295.00 per person, plus £15.00 travel insurance – if
required. The price
includes travel by luxury coach and services of an experienced
driver/courier. There is no supplement for single rooms but at present all
have been booked; there are
twins and doubles available (supplement payable for single
occupation of same). There
is a waiting list for single rooms if a cancellation occurs.
Excursions
and visits include Beaumaris Castle (fee extra), National Slate Museum,
Llanberis, Plas Newydd (NT), day at leisure in Llandudno, The Marble
Church nr Rhyl, etc.
Pick-up
points: Penzance, Truro, St
Columb, Bodmin, Liskeard, Saltash, Launceston.
Please
contact Terry Knight at knight(at)wingfield5.fsnet.co.uk
.
replacing (at) with @f interested.
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies Newsletter No 2 Autumn 2007 Earlier
in the year, the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies decided to produce
an informal newsletter for members. This has been extremely well
received by the majority of branches, who have requested that it should
be continued. Hopefully this second Newsletter will be equally welcomed.
If so, then there will be an issue No 3 in the spring. Any
comments about Societies and their activities will be most welcome. Royal
Cornwall Show: The
Society had another successful three days at the Show. The stand was
situated in a tent at the west end of the showground and was located
among those of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, Cornwall Record
Office, Cornwall Heritage Trust, Victoria County History, Cornish
Gorsedd, Cornwall Association of Local Historians and Cornwall Family
History Society. Many enquiries were received from people interested in
the work of the Society, from young and the ‘not so young’. Next
year it is hoped to have a large sign outside the tent, which,
hopefully, will bring more people in. Summer
Festival: This
year’s Festival was held at St Columb was a great success and was
attended by many members from various parts of the county. After coffee
everyone gathered in St Columb Parish Church, where a welcome was given
by the Mayors of Restormel and St Columb, by the parish priest and by
the Federation President, Ron Opie. Miss Joan Rendell, the Federation
Secretary gave the roll call when sadly 13 branches from 46 were not
represented. The parade of banners, led by the new Federation Banner
bearer, Mr John O’Sullivan from Launceston, made a colourful display.
Thanks must go at this point to Mrs Joan Andrew from Redruth, who has
given up being the bearer of the Federation banner, due to indifferent
health. Following lunch, various trips to Newquay, Watergate Bay and St
Eval Church, Mawgan Porth, Lanherne or a walk around Padstow, were
enjoyed. A talk was also given in the church about the history of St
Columb and a visit made to the Town Hall. The Federation book stall did
a roaring trade, thanks to John Neale. Following tea everyone made their
way home having had a wonderful day. If you have never been to a summer
Federation gathering- you don’t know what you’ve missed! Thanks go to all who helped organise the day and to the WI
for doing the refreshments - and the pasties, they were ‘proper’!
Brittany
Trip:
Unfortunately
the trip to Brittany had to be cancelled due to the unexpected death of
the hotel owner, in consequence of which the executors closed the place
down. It was too late in the season to find somewhere else. Wicker’s
World tried extremely hard on our behalf to find alternative
accommodation but were unsuccessful. Apparently, some members have
expressed a wish to try for a ‘late’ summer holiday
next year but where and when? Your thoughts, please, to any member of
the Executive Committee, Trip to
Llandudno A
trip has been arranged to Llandudno next year from Sunday April 27th
until Friday May 2nd - six days & five nights. The cost
will be £295 and there is NO single room supplement. There are only 15
single rooms available, and so if that is your requirement then you had
better book soon. The Secretary will have the full itinerary at the
Federation Annual Meeting in Truro in October at the new venue of County
Hall, where, incidentally, there will be no parking charges! For
those who have never been on one of these trips you never know what you
will see. Usually a visit is planned to something or somewhere people
have never heard of but will probably never forget. How many remember
the Pongos, Rob Roy’s Grave, going down a coal mine and also down a
flint mine, visiting the Chillingham cattle, and learning
how to make paper? These are just a few of the expeditions we have been
taken on! Publications
Officer: Unfortunately,
our Publications Officer, Bob Evans, has decided to retire after many
years of valuable and sterling work. Bob has done much to increase the
sale and distribution of FOCS books etc. and for this the committee
thank him very much. Anyone interested in taking on this job, which is
not too onerous, as Tor Mark Press actually distribute the books to
retailers, is asked to contact the committee. This job is now very
different from the old days when Bob first took it on, so again we thank
you very much, Bob (and your wife, Shirley, who frequently assisted). New
Books; It
is hoped to have our latest publication on sale at the Federation AGM.
This is Michael Tangye’s recent book on Cadgwith and Poltesco. The
price is £7.95. It is also hoped that David Stark’s book about the
different OCS banners will also be on sale in time for the Winter
Festival at Wadebridge. Please don’t forget that the Federation AGM is
at County Hall in Truro at 2:00pm on Saturday October 6th and
remember there is FREE parking!!!! Website: The
Federation Website is proving to be a great success and George Pritchard
of Redruth OCS, the Webmaster, will be delighted to put any information
about your own Society on it. This is a wonderful way to get information
to members of the general public. The URL for the Website is http://www.oldcornwall.org
|
