Category Archives: Cornwall

Living in Cornwall

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Over the last few years I have moved about quite a lot. I’ve lived in Salisbury, London, Swansea, and have moved yet again. I have moved back to my homeland, to Cornwall. And this time I hope it’s the last move for a very long time!

I now live in West Cornwall, an area called West Penwith, and the town of Penzance is my new home. I have been visiting this part of the Duchy with Tehmina every year for the last twelve years, and we have completely fallen in love with it. I didn’t often visit this part of the world whilst I was growing up in Cornwall, so we’ve discovered it together. Penzance began to feel like home some years ago, and it seemed after moving around so much, that it was the only place we could settle down in. And a few weeks in, we’re really glad that we’ve finally made it.

I’ll undoubtedly post more in the coming weeks, once we get our phone and broadband installed, on the amazing place that I can now call home. For now, here are a few photographs that I have taken whilst out and about.

Cornish Choughs in West Cornwall

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Two weeks ago I was in the St Just area for a week back in Cornwall, recharging my batteries – a much needed holiday. It’s such a beautiful area; moors, tors, megaliths, wooded valleys, azure seas, granite houses, amazing wildlife, and of course, Cornish choughs.

On our first day there Tehmina and I went for a walk down through the beautiful Cot Valley to Porth Nanven. The beauty of this place is breathtaking, especially when the sea appears between the valley walls

The Brisons, viewed down the Cot Valley

When we arrived at Porth Nanven, we experienced our first sighting of a pair of Cornish choughs in the wild. I managed to take a photo as one landed on the cliff, but without my zoom lens, the photo isn’t up to much. We were just in awe at having seen them. The following day we decided to follow the cliff path from St Just to Geevor. When we got to Botallack, we spotted another chough!

Cornish chough at Botallack

I still didn’t have my zoom lens with me, but you should be able to spot him in the photo above (click to see a larger version). How do I know he’s a he? There’s a yellow tag on his right leg. That evening we were chatting to a member of staff in a local pub and mentioned our sighting. As it happens, she happened to also be a volunteer who monitors choughs in the area – what luck!

A couple of days later, we went back to Porth Nanven. This time I had my zoom lens with me.

Cornish choughs in flight

A pair flew across the valley above us. It was a truly unforgettable sight, and I’m glad to have this photo as a reminder.

I am only used to seeing the Cornish chough as a heraldic device, so seeing them in real life, in Cornwall was unforgettable. I have four on my coat of arms (three ‘in the field’ and one on the crest). We are very lucky to have them once again in Cornwall, may they thrive once more!

Goskar coat of Arms

Goskar coat of Arms

Cornish pasties receive Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status

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Tuesday 22nd February 2011 was a great day for the humble Cornish pasty. As reported by the Cornish Pasty Association:

The Cornish Pasty Association (CPA) is celebrating after receiving Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for its world famous pasty. The decision from the European Commission means that from now only Cornish pasties made in Cornwall and following the traditional recipe can be called ‘Cornish pasties’.
From http://www.cornishpastyassociation.co.uk/news11.html

A pasty can still be baked elsewhere in the country, so long as it was prepared in Cornwall. The West Cornwall Pasty Company, Pasty Presto, and The Pasty Shop to name but a few will be glad of that. With a bit of luck this could be good news for the Cornish economy, as it is hoped that demand for the real thing will grow.

I’d like to think that this will be an end to the word “Cornish” being used to describe the pale imitation pasty that is prevalent across the UK, made with flaky pastry, crimped on top and filled with grey slush, corned beef, or worse. Let’s hope so. From the middle of March purveyors of imposters will need to change those signs.

Sadly, a friend reminded me that Ginsters pasties are made in Launceston, and can legally be called a Cornish Pasty under the new rules. For the uninitiated, the word ‘Ginsters’ is a bit of a swear word amongst Cornish pasty appreciators across the land, a blight on our pasty landscape. They did once upon a time make a nice proper pasty with short pastry called the “Beast of Bodmin” which came in a cardboard box, but this didn’t take off and we’re now left with those horrible tasteless flaky ‘pressed’ pies sold in motorway service stations and overpriced railway station cafes. But this is a rant for another time, the world isn’t perfect, and people do need jobs, I suppose.

Ginsters. A swear word amongst Cornish pasty appreciators. Here is a Ginsters sponsored train heading off to Cardiff in Salisbury.

Head over to the Cornish Pasty Association to find out more about the PGI status, and download a fine recipe. But what happens if you cook some pasties at home outside of Cornwall, can you call them Cornish? Or will it be a ‘pasty made to a traditional Cornish recipe’? Maybe PGI status is only applicable if you try to sell it. That’s a debate to be had!

So here’s to the Cornish pasty, the humble hoggan, made in Cornwall!

Wikipedia in Cornish

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A while back I stumbled ‘pon a curious URL – http://kw.wikipedia.org/

That’s right – there’s a Kernewek Wikipedia! It currently has 1,288 articles, and will hopefully grow.

A lot of people might be thinking “what’s the point”, but it’s very important for the Cornish language. It gives Cornish speakers a place to compile articles in the language, and it’s a perfect place for people who want to learn to go and have a read of a good body of material.

It gives Cornish/Kernewek/Kernowek (call it what you will) exposure on the web. The language nearly died out, and it’s wonderful to see a resurgence of interest that’s making this a truly living language once again. A Cornish Wikipedia is a truly noble project in my (admittedly Cornish) eye..