Blogs

The repercussions continue in regard to British Conservative MP Priti Patel's suggestion that potential food shortages in Ireland could be used as leverage in Brexit negotiations. Despite her claims that her comments were taken out of context the criticism shows no sign of abating. Priti Patel's comments were viewed as particularly insensitive in light of the Great Famine, which was exacerbated by British trade policy at the time and resulted in the deaths of millions.

A Manx silver ring found by a man who was metal detecting is thought to date from between 1400 and 1500 AD. It was found by Gordon Graham from Edinburgh, in a field in the north of the Isle of Man (Mannin). The ring is engraved with geometric shapes and when he found it in May of this year Gordon Graham reported his find to the landowner and the Manx Museum (Manx: Thie Tashtee Vannin). Finds of archaeological interest on the island must be reported to Manx National Heritage within two weeks.

Curiosity is the name of a space exploration vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011. It landed on the planet Mars on August 6, 2012. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.  The goals of Curiosity include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology and data on Martian minerals has been beamed back to Earth. The Aberdeen-based James Hutton Institute studied this data and researchers compared the information against the institute's Scottish soil dataset.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth and today, 10 December, the 90th anniversary of his death. To mark this a statue of Charles Rennie Mackintosh has been unveiled in Glasgow, the city of his birth, by Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.  The bronze statue, which is 2.8m tall and weighs three tons, was created by sculptor Andy Scott.

Craig Weatherhill's book (photographed below with its author), already proving to be a best seller, was launched during a packed occasion at the Red River Cafe, Heartlands, Pool, Redruth.

Francis Boutle Publishers informed that literally dozens of copies had been purchased by Cornish folks around the globe, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in North America.

Christmas is coming fast and what could be better than singing carols in Cornish? There will be Christmas services entirely in Cornish at St Ive (near Liskeard) on the 16th December and at St Euny (Redruth) on the 30th December. It’s great for fluent Cornish speakers to sing and hear a service in Cornish, but also for beginners and those who don’t speak Cornish, it’s a good opportunity to experience the beauty of our language! For further details, see Kalender Kernewek

Christmas in Liskeard

The first of December was the proper start of Christmas in Liskeard.

On the Friday, Golden Tree, Liskeard Town Council and Devon and Cornwall Railway Partnership organised

‘Christmas trains’.

The first train was for children and was completely full.

Father Christmas was there teaching the children a few words of Cornish and giving away sprouts! In the other train afterwards, everyone sang Cornish carols all the way to Looe and back to Liskeard.

The Welsh tradition of the the Mari Lwyd is a custom performed during winter celebrations around the dates of Christmas and New Year. Although performed over the Christmas period, the Mari Lwyd is thought to be a pre-Christian tradition believed to bring good luck. The strange and frightening horse-figure, that in the past was often made from a horses skull, but now mostly artificial, was mounted upon a pole. Which was carried by a person hidden under a cloth, which had ribbons attached, from door to door.

Dating back beyond written records, the ancient Tradition of "Hunt the Wren" (Manx: Shelg yn Drean) takes place on December 26th, Saint Stephen's Day. One of the Isle of Man's oldest Christmas traditions has now being celebrated with the issue of an Isle of Man £2 coin. It is said that the tradition goes back to pre-Christian times, the origins of which are now not clear. However, it is seen as a way to ward off evil and to bring good luck in the year ahead. The tradition of 'Hunt the Wren', is celebrated particularly in the Celtic nations of Ireland (Éire) and Isle of Man (Mannin).