Beach Ices at Praa Sands
Ice meeting the sand at the base of the low cliff behind Praa Sands Beach, West Cornwall. 6th January 2009....
Icicles at Trewellard Bottoms
Water seeping through a wall is turned to icicles, ate Trewellard Bottoms, where Geevor Mine meets the sea....
Winter Sunset at Levant
A late afternoon scene, at Levant Mine, West Cornwall. 7th January 2009....
Winter at Levant
The old electricity generator building, at Levant Mine, West Cornwall, during the recent cold snap. 7th Jnauary 2009....
I think what is needed to get the younger generation involved with the Gorseth is a newer and fresher approach with younger bards. This group of younger members would be more relevant to young people and may attracted new blood to the cause and guide them. They could be called Bard Stewards.
It's nice to have some really positive things said and mentioned in this thread as this is not really meant to be attacking... more giving a little boot up the backside... which every organisation needs.
It's good to see that C24 can be a place of good discussion too... and not just bitching and back-biting, as we often see when the language is discussed.
I hope some of the comment here is being noted by some bardic movers and shakers, and carried back to the 'inner circle'.
By the way, there is a really good article in the Living Cornwall section of the WMN today.
"Tonight on Street Bards, Map Trewander explains to a young builder in an open-top sports car that his constitutional status is being eroded while Myrgh Lannneves looks confused and says "Err...well, it...err..." when a group of youths asks her what the Gorseth actually does..."
Just kidding, I think that the Gorseth is an important institution for Cornwall.
Individual bards (and ex-bards) do a lot. The Gorsedd itself simply postures (and pushes people like "ArchDruid" forward to do their dirty work on these forums). And there has been dirty work. Never mind my spat with them - I remember with particular distaste, the internal coup that plotted and finally overthrew Hugh Miners as Grand Bard (the Londoner behind that always wanted to become Grand Bard - but never did, so a lot of good it did him [yeah, same Londoner who then went for me behind the scenes]. Yet another example of the Gorsedd ignoring its own conduct code. How do I know that? When still living at Carnyorth, Hugh and his late wife Joan showed me all the paperwork after the event, much of which had the Gorsedd letterhead. One of these fine days, I may publish that lot). I will never forget, or forgive, the effect that had on Hugh - a very fine Cornishman and true. Unlike the toad who nearly destroyed both him and the Gorsedd itself. It nearly broke Hugh in half. No fifth column in Cornish movements? Don't make me laugh.
A few minutes spent researching bardic organisation on the web will show that they are even more inclined to splits and infighting than even Cornish language organisations, so nothing new there really. Here's an interesting site about the history of the Welsh Gorsedd, it seems they've had a few low points in their history and their success is the result of them periodically re-inventing themselves, and revamping their image.
Since they claim to be the Gorsedd of the Island of Britain (not of Wales), where exactly does that leave Gorsedh Kernow -- is ours technically a local branch? If so it could do with some good advice from Head Office.
The Lyonesse Stone (followed by Seat of Storms - I'm trying to complete the third of the Trevelyan trilogy, The Tinners' Way, which involves modern-day people in the world of Cornish legend). They're for children of all ages from 9 to 90 (although I don't quite know how I got away with some racy scenes in Seat of Storms - one in particular where Azenor, the mermaid of Zennor, in human form, seductively strips off in front of the teenage boy before turning and diving into the sea, changing shape as she goes, so that John sees the waves close, not over a pair of feet, but the flukes of a dolphin's tail [a mammal should have a mammal's tail in my view]. Later she kills one of the co-villains, Ezekiel Grosse in a drawn-out and quite gruesome way. If you've ever read "The Mermaid's Vengeance" in Robert Hunt's collection, you'll know where that scene came from).
The third book, when I finish it, gets nasty. Serial suicides? With people apparently hanging themselves? People whose names and occupations are the same as those hung by Sir Anthony Kingston's death squads in 1549? Watch this space.
I think they're worth translating but I'll leave that for readers to judge. I only wrote them.
So basically the Gorsedh in its current format is basically a load of old 'uns making a spectacle of them selves. With any interest in the actuality of cornish life ignored for the closed interest (and aggrandisement) of 'cornish' culture to which the vast majority of cornish people do not buy in to.
Some in this thread said that cornish culture was the cornish language. In that case cornish culture is dead, shame that those of us in the social, gig, rugby, etc, clubs and associations full of proud cornish people don't know this. Kernewek is the appendix of modern cornish culture, an evolutionary throw back that might have some interesting use but is generally irrelevant to the body.
Cornwall needs one modern campaigning organisation, and unfortunately this is clearly not provide in any sense by the Gorsedh, or the CSP, and arguably not by MK.
But I'm starting to think that it won't for us cornish, no unity, no leadership, but lots of factions, backbiting and esoteric language drivel
The Bureaucracy needs to expand to meet the needs of the Bureaucracy
All these things do different things for different people. The Gorsedh recognises some pretty high level Cornish culture. Some perspective. Prevalent as they may be, social, gig and rugby clubs are not specific to Cornish culture. On the other hand the Kernewek language is and is officially recognised as such.
I don't think any one organisation can represent 'all of Cornwall'. Most places don't have any of our types of organisations.
The Gorsedd recognises significant contributions in the support of Cornish Culture. As making a significant contribution generally takes a long time, bards who are recognised in areas other than the language tend to be older. In the area of the language, it is no longer sufficient to simply pass Grade 4 to be invited to be a bard, one has to show commitment to the language during the following year in order to be invited.
Lovelorn suggests forming a group of younger "Bard Stewards", to work with young people and convince them of the value of Cornish culture (and of the Gorsedd itself). The current way of deciding on who to invite automatically biases the intake to older people. Perhaps Lovelorn could suggest a way to determine significant contributions from younger people (under 40 perhaps) so that a new intake of these Bard Stewards can be appointed.
Does this mean those who want to be bards now have to make an effort for three years rather than two to win their robes before they can give up the language? Is this really going on? I genuinely don't know!
And, again, what do the Cornish Gorseth ACTUALLY do?
Rise in county's road death toll
The number of people who have died on Cornwall's roads rises in the last year to 35, police say.
Film con man ordered to pay £100K
The man who swindled almost £2m in a film studio scam is ordered to forfeit £100,000 by a judge.
Triplets survive against the odds
A woman from Cornwall who gave birth to triplets 14 weeks early describes their survival as a "miracle".
Call for inquiry into fire centre
Fire chiefs demand a public inquiry into the delayed opening of the regional fire control centre.
Prison sentence for benefit cheat
A man who admitted swindling more than £51,000 in benefits over a six-year period is jailed for 18 months.
Divers face trial over shipwreck
Three Cornish divers accused of plundering a shipwreck off the coast of Spain are to be tried in a Spanish court.
‘NO’ TO NUCLEAR WASTE IN CORNWALL - MPs
Proposals to bring nuclear waste to Cornwall have been described as ‘absurd and irresponsible’ by Cornish MPs.
Route Partnership Plan for Penzance unnecessary
Their plan having been rejected by the public in the final exhibition in Septmber with 90% against the Route Partnership have decided to try again in mid January after a mailout and poster campaign.The Chamber of Commerce has been at the forefront of this campaign.
