Blogs

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

Although it did not make many headlines, last week the recommendations of the Council of Europe's Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) was published.

The Cornish people were included in this Convention back in the spring of 2014 and the report has given us all an insight into what the Council of Europe makes of the Westminster’s treatment of the Cornish National Minority.

Cwlwm Celtaidd is a celebration of the culture, music, song and dance of the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Cornwall, Brittany & Wales. The festival continues this weekend 9 - 12 March 2017 with a full programme of concerts, dances, workshops, street dance displays in the Town Centre and on the Esplanade today (Saturday), ongoing sessions in the bar and Beach Ceilidh planned for Sunday.  Hosted at the Grand Pavilion on the Porthcawl seafront, this family friendly festival continues at full swing.

The demand for Gaelic education is growing in Scotland's largest city Glasgow. The number of pupils in Gaelic Medium Education, where lessons are mainly taught in Gaelic, stands at 900 and the two existing primary schools are full. As reported recently in The Scotsman newspaper the growing demand for Gaelic education has led to the need for a third primary school in Glasgow. Rolls are predicted to increase to 1150 within three years and a report presented to the council’s education committee points out that a “sharp increase” in demand for places had been recorded in August 2016.

John Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) has died in hospital at the age of 83. John Surtees will always hold a special place in the history of the Isle of Man TT. Seen as the greatest motorcyle race in the world, the Isle of Man TT provides the ultimate test for competitors and machines alike. The International Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Race was first held on the Island in 1907.

News from Association of Bretons in New York:

Interceltic Festival in New York 

A Fest Noz in the Big Apple

Tuesday, March 14, 2017 

Doors open 6:30pm, Show starts 7:30pm

The Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th St, NYC)

Join us for an unforgettable St. Patrick's day party brought to you by BZH NY and the Lorient Interceltic Festival.

Featuring performances from:

A new opinion poll carried out by Ipsos MORI for Scottish Television's STV News, shows that independence for Scotland is now backed by half of voters. Support for autonomy is now five points higher than in the September 2014 referendum. This will give added impetus to those calling for a ballot on Scottish independence to be held in the Autumn of 2018. It also provides a boost for the Scottish National Party ahead of their spring conference in Aberdeen next week.

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES

COUNCIL OF EUROPE*

Fourth Opinion on the United Kingdom - Strasbourg, 27 February 2017

International opinion on the UK Government's policies towards National Minorities including the Cornish.

With daffodils raising their heads well above the parapet, in a seasonal surge of expectation and solidarity, it's a sure sign that the festival season is about to spring into life.

Manx performers will be entertaining audiences both at home and abroad, including the Welsh inter-Celtic festival Cwlwm Celtaidd, headlined by Jamie Smith's Mabon, which includes talented locally based musicians Jamie Smith and Paul Rogers, along with Welsh band Calan who performed in Peel last year.

Despite its title, this book has little to do with Norse mythology, but one of its meanings, 'fearful destruction', is a perfect epitaph of the life-changing consequences of what was termed the Great War.

The effect of war is, by its very nature, manifold, but in her new book Patricia Skillicorn reveals the true picture of how the Island fared during World War I and what became of it at the cessation of conflict; including some valuable first-hand accounts.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to formally open a new museum and archive on Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas). Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris (Leòdhas agus na Hearadh), the largest island of the Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar), an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are rich in history and were once part of the Norse kingdom of the Suðreyjar, known as The Kingdom of Mann and the Isles.