I think are Australian friends are a little out of touch with what is happening in Cornwall and I am out of analogies simple enough to get the point over to them. Just for the record before I get accused of whinging (Australian favourite) I have enough money to buy a house and earn more than a lot of the 'posh folk' I refer to so it isn't jealousy that makes me post here it's more a question of justice and protecting the only part of the UK I care about.
I actually thought the Aborigine alanalogy wasn't that far off. Wasn't that a case of money, power and capitalist values forcing the locals out and destroying their culture?!
Oh well, let's try one more example:
Imagine you live in a fishing village in Cornwall, maybe your parents did aswell. Anyway, over the years you have seen local jobs go first in mining, then fishing and then to the supermarkets and high street stores. During the 1980s (whilst many in the South East were enjoying the Thatcher years) half the population was unemployed. Anyway, a good percentage of those people just gave up and moved away to look fopr work, there houses were sold and many went to people from the South East as second homes.
Sooner or later the village has lost half its original population and is a ghost town in winter and becomes full of tourists in the summer. Soon, your local pub is taken over and all the local shops have closed only to be re-opened as expensive gift shops.
Your children don't have a chance of owning a house here as they would have to work in London for 5 years to even save the deposit.
Meanwhile you start to feel like a stranger in your own town and don't recognise it as it is now full of capuccino bars, art galleries, fancy sandwich shops and people wearing Gortex jackets talking loudly about how quaint the place is. If you're lucky they might regard you as salt of the earth rustic folk, if not an unattractive blot on the otherwise idyllic surroundings. The very lucky few are those milking the tourists and selling tat to them or those doing odd jobs on the holiday homes.
Slight exaggeration maybe but this is what I see happening.
If you are a pure capitalist then fine supply and demand blah, blah...
It's alll very well talking about recognition and independence for Cornwall but I think is a little academic and too many people are missing the more important issues of what is actually happening to Cornwall
Amen to that. Trying to save Kernow's uniqueness will ultimately prove futile if there isn't a critical mass of Cornishness (culturally, ethnically, environmentally, whatever) remaining in Cornwall to maintain it. Once you go past a certain point of dilution, it will be very difficult if not impossible to go back.
This is rather circular don't you think? Trying to save Kernow's uniqueness will only be possible if there is enough of Kernow's uniqueness.
Fight for all forms of this uniqueness: the language, our history, the integrity of our land and constitution, our arts / sports just simply our power.
I wouldn't call it circular zackly, but you're right. Fighting to save our language, dances, customs etc is pointless if the Cornish are driven out of Cornwall (or dwindle into a small, looked-down-on, 'humorous', rustic minority with no influence in their homeland) by house prices, lack of jobs, second homes, unsustainable immigration or whatever.
We need to ask ourselves: Who are we trying to preserve Cornwall's identity for? For the second-home owners who are only here 4 weeks a year and don't spend in our local shops when they come? The incomers who want Cornwall to be exactly like where they came from and try their hardest to make it indistinguishable from England? For the people who see Cornwall as a big theme park? Or for the people who love Cornwall for what it is and don't simply want to milk it for all it's worth? If the latter, we need to make our voices heard and exert more pressure on the powers that be to change the way we're heading, or we run the very real risk of losing the Cornwall we know completely.
Not in the case raised. It was about an out of touch politician, think "Doris", making a sugestion about the storage of nuclear waste, one for which he has been roundly condemned in the Oz press, and introducing it into a thread on the development of housing in a Cornish quarry. A bit of a stretch for anyone's imagination.
Oh and by the way, Hawke has not proposed dumping waste on aboriginal land, but using the uranium mines that have long been in existence.
Some news reports on it for you, or type "Hawke" into "google news" and see for yourself.
Funny though isn't it, in threads in "Cornish questions," a couple of people have asked for advice on moving into Cornwall, and been given useful tips and friendly welcomes. So maybe there should be a "poor clause" in inward immigration into Cornwall. Obviously those with money are not welcome as they may "gentrify" the area, and we don't want those who have worked hard and earned their wealth moving in. It makes us feel shabby.
A big assumption there - not everyone with money has necessarily worked harder than anyone else for it. By implication stroppy is saying that those in Cornwall who have worked their fingers to the bone all their working life, but who've got very little reward are not deserving of even one half decent house, let alone a luxury one .... or two !!
No, complete opposite of what I am saying in fact. It's not me who has stated here that the Cornish are incapable, but several of the MK clan have suggested that Cornwall needs cheap housing for the Cornish. I have always advocated a free market approach. I do not want the Cornish to be second class citizens as portrayed by you lot.
I see what you mean about the changes, look at Lands End? Growing up in the 40s/50s in St Just, our families rarely talked of Cornish History, yes we had the local events that had been going on for generations but most of them died out, only to be ressurected by newcomers to Cornwall. So the locals would have let it all go. We have to thank the outsiders for saving many of our traditions. Now everyone is on the band wagon. My parents worked hard all their lives and still struggled so that hasn't changed.
Both points in many ways are quite correct, I do not think many begrudge those who wish to live here, take an active interest in Cornish culture and want to contribute to society. In fact to keep some of our towns and villages alive and schools open we need more young people. In my experience these people buy family homes without sea views, because although they may have a little more money behind them from better paid jobs up country in the past, they also cannot afford the £300,000 plus that a small family home costs in these exclusive developments as once they move here they will be in the lower paid Cornish labour market. Nor would they qualify for 'affordable housing' as they have no local connection. Second homes are different, in that the owners are not 'moving to Cornwall' and cannot contribute to society as they are simply not here for most of the year.
There is also a flaw in the UK planning system which makes it easier to get planning permission for holiday homes than it is for affordable housing. Despite it being recognised by local councils that affordable housing is a priority here, they have to follow national planning laws/guidance when making a decision.
Diane, I think you are actually right to some extent about outsiders re-instating some tradition and this is the kind of person who should be welcomed and as Stroppy pointed out we are quite welcoming. However, have you looked at property prices in St Just recently. If you had you would see 2 words you probably hadn't seen used before and they are 'luxury' and 'appartment'. You can't buy a house in st Just for less than £150K now.
This thread is about the selling off of Cornwall as investments or to become a playground for the wealthy and not about outsiders.
Another point some of you are missing is Cornish culture is not just about the language and wrestling. There is a definite way of life down here that is more relaxed and less monetaristic than the rest of the UK. And before somebody pipes up with 'yeah, you're all lazy' that's not the case
I've heard about this - a builder I know wanted to do a barn conversion near Sennen. The only way they could get permission was if it was a holiday let. :x
Too true - Cornwall has always been famous for its friendly laid back, hasta mañana, 'do it dreckly" way of life (and fantastic scenery). That is gradually changing what with the population (and traffic) doubling in the last 40 years and unfortunately some of its character has been lost. For those wishing to escape the rat race it is seen as an ideal retirement or property investment area. Let's hope it doesn't end up just as a playground for the wealthy retired, the property speculators, and summer tourists.
And another nail in the coffin - any of you nu-labour supporters want to defend this one?!
ThisisMoney: Sipps will 'hit first-time buyers'
A NEW tax break will allow Britons to spend billions on second homes as part of their pension. The change effectively gives investors 51% off the price of a property. But it could send the prices of holiday homes and buy-to-let properties soaring, making it even harder for first-time buyers to afford a home.
Tribute to shipwreck crew
A ceremony marks the anniversary of a shipwreck off Cornwall and the restoration of its figurehead.
Man drowns in swimming accident
A swimmer who got into difficulty off the Cornish coast is pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital.
Hotel gets "shocking" energy bill
A hotel owner gets a "shocking" £67,500 bill from an energy company which admits undercharging for years.
'Awkward' Navy staff aid trainees
Navy personnel teach charity workers how to deal with bureaucratic challenges by being as awkward as possible.
Poison coroner slams government
An inquest coroner adjourns the case of a woman who died following the Camelford water poisoning.
Fire crews rescue five from flood
Firefighters rescue five people trapped in a car in flood water as the region "mops up" after torrential rain.
TA troops ready for Afghanistan
Troops from the Territorial Army in Devon and Cornwall make final preparations before deploying to Afghanistan.
Drivers rescued from floods
Drivers across Devon and Cornwall have to be rescued from their vehicles after heavy storms cause flooding.
