Blogs

As the anti-Christ of road racing you would think I would be jubilant that the Motor Rally has been cancelled but no! In one of those traits of the human character I like the rally season. Let's face it you may have the odd diversion or can be delayed an hour or so but basically they get on with it quietly and a great bonus is none of the competitors seem to kill themselves.

The great debate is now engaged as to whose fault it is that Rally IOM has been cancelled organisers blaming the DOI and the DOI saying ‘it wasn’t us what done it’.

The Welsh language is under assualt from the effects of English speaking immigrants into the Welsh language heartlands.  Over the past several years attempts have been made to counter the pernicious effect of Engish speakers taking up residence in Welsh speaking areas. The focus of these efforts has been the use of planning permision to deny approval to property development which is seen to damage Welsh.

We’ve enjoyed a record summer in these Islands so is it global warming? Who knows the jury is out. What is not in doubt is that winter sea ice in the Arctic has seen record lows for the last several years.

The changed environment brings greater pressures for wildlife like the emaciated polar bear illustrated.

I had always understood that the British Army destroyed almost 800 pet dogs on the Chagos Islands AFTER the Islanders had been deported. However this eyewitness reports that the events unfolded before their eyes and to use her words the Islanders thought “they are doing this to the dogs next they will do it to our children”.

The long standing grievance of the Chagossian Islanders about their forced expulsion from their home by the United Kingdom fifty years ago is to be considered by the International Court of Justice. The case is being brought by Mauritius to which the Islanders were deported.

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable and rare historical artefact from Dunyvaig Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Naomhaig) in Scotland. The seal of Sir John Campbell of Cawdor (c. 1576-1642), who had taken ownership of Islay in 1615, was discovered by an undergraduate working on an excavation on the site. The seal would have once been used to sign and seal charters and legal documents. It had lain hidden within the castle for more than 400 years, buried under rubble from the collapsed defensive wall.

The Cornish people were acknowledged by the UK Government as a national minority under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2014. National minority status is based on many things including culture, history, language and sport.

Recognition under the Framework Convention empowers our people to better identify with their own cultural identity and encourage conditions in which young Cornish people can feel respected and valued in social, working and formal settings.  - Cornwall Council

Kernow

31 Mys Est 2018

Albert Bock - cusk yn ta (RIP)

Linguist, academic, human rights campaigner, husband and father

Albert Bock (1974-2018) – passing of a key figure in the revitalisation of the Cornish language

The Cornish language community is deeply saddened at the news of the passing of Albert Bock, a brilliant linguist who helped standardise the Cornish language.

I’ve been enjoying myself keeping out of the sun by doing the nearest equivalent to watching paint dry reading the first and second quarter reports of the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation on various plants around the Irish Sea,

I generally confine myself to Heysham. Wylfa, Sellafield with a cursory glance at Chapelcross which is effectively a dead site (hope the pun is not apposite)! However I suppose the entire UK nuclear complex poses a threat.

The annual Largs Viking Festival gets underway on 1st of September and lasts until 9th September. This is the 38th year of the event which has grown in popularity and received international acclaim. As well as a Viking Village providing a glimpse of life in the 13th century for Norse warriors, there are a range of activities taking place throughout the nine days. The Festival starts with a parade and opening cermony. Aerial displays, music and dancing will take place during the week. There is also the regular Hakon Hakkonsson Lecture at the Vallhalladarome at the Vikingar.