Kernow Matters message of thanks to the police

Kernow Matters (KMTU) has written to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall and to the Devon and Cornwall Diversity and Human Rights team as follows......

Kernow

13 Mis Metheven 2021

Dear Chief Constable, Police and Crime Commissioner, Ladies & Gentlemen

G7 Summit Cornwall

Well, it's over and the politicians have departed in their big cars and aircraft leaving the rest of us to clear up and to see if there is to be a legacy.

We were initially worried because we had protestors on many of the beaches raking environmental messages and patterns in the sand and at Chiverton Cross very visibly calling for better rights for the Cornish National Minority and thought there may have been issues.

We deliberately stayed away from over bridges and the other protest centres because we did not wish to cause any confrontation with the very police who worked so hard and against the odds to protect our community from Covid, something we shan't soon forget. We do appreciate that the politicians gave the police a quite unenviable task there and we're not sure that we are free from Covid yet with the news that it is back and affecting our communities, particularly in the G7 Summit 'hot spots'.

But our worries about taking part in peaceful protest were unnecessary because the police acted in the highest traditions of the service and we happily engaged with police officers during the summit period.

Our children, who joined us at many sites, were able to engage with officers and it was soon obvious that a huge influence from our police was passed on to mutual assistance police officers who seemed to calm down a little in our beautiful Kernow and take in our lifestyle and all we have to offer in our Duchy.

Our team members were even able to engage and sing 'Trelawny' to City of London officers who then photographed our beloved St Piran flags as souveniers.

We were sad to be given to understand that some protestors were rather too confrontational but also relieved that no one was injured. These are times of high emotions, not only here in Cornwall but further afield.

So we write as a Cornish campaign group to say thank you to our police and those who came here from afar - even the north of Scotland as we met with a Gaelic speaking officer and were able to discuss the similarities in our Brythonic Cornish and Scots Gaelic tongues!

In closing, we are all aware that tourists are inclined to do really strange things and so we enclose a photograph of a police van at Porth Beach. You can doubtless guess what happened but there, they were the Metropolitan Police and we believe there is very little sand in London!

Mur ras ha kemer wyth (Many thanks and take care)

John, Teresa, Craig, Tony, Matt, Mike, Clive, Ronan, Rob, Alex, & Maria

Elected Co-ordinators of Kernow Matters