St Piran's day.

Click on the Cornish flag above to see a selection of images in celebration of St Piran's day.

The Cornish tin mining industry had numerous days to celebrate throughout the year - most of which seemed to involve the imbibing of huge amounts of alcohol - so much so that in the 19th century the phrase, 'drunk as a Perraner' was used to describe someone who appeared to have had more than they should. Today, St Piran's day is often celebrated with the use of the colours found in the St Pirans' flag of black and white - also identical to the Bretons', 'gwen ar dhu'. Gold in the images represents the wealth and prosperity that tin brought to Cornwall - at one time the area around Camborne and Redruth was home to more millionaires per square mile than any other place in the world!

Anchovy taster

Work in the new dawn.......
as Dennis Pascoe lands a handful of anchovies from the Bay......
a double dose of patriotism on the flag pole.

Mission skipper names Govenek of Ladram

A crowd of family, friends and well wishers gathered on the quay alongside Phil Mitchell's new command, Govenek of Ladram ....
to here mission skipper Keith Dixon give a naming ceremony for the new boat.....
in time honoured tradition with new Bible safely in his hands, Phil thanked his shore based skipper.......
and then gave the naming honours to both of his daughters......
who duly obliged by showering the hull with bubbles......
the three of them then welcomed aboard all those keen to see over his new home.....
a proud Dad aboard the latest addition to the family......
meanwhile on another quay the harsh reality of the working lives of fishermen saw the Les Sable boat Black Pearl tow in his partner boat......

where Harbour master and French Consul, Andrew Munson took the dive master aboard the Les Bargees to supervise the divers about to try and remove the trawl from the boat's prop......
a job for local SMS from Falmouth......
as a couple of visiting Irish beamers prepared to leave after landing.

Drama on the high seas - the epic voyage as told by Pete Goss

This weekend the Rose-in-Vale Hotel is host to what promises to be a fascinating evening of daring-do as Pete Goss tells the story of the Spirit of Mystery's voyage from Newlyn to Australia last year - a voyage that so nearly ended in disaster when, at the tail end of a huge storm with the Australian coastline to the North, the boat was rolled over to almost 180° - in the near capsize crewman Mark Maidment suffered a broken leg and had to be put ashore - the rescue services could not risk an airlift from above a sailboat with so much rigging in the air!

Pete's talk will be amply illustrated with slides and dram tic images of the entire voyage - from heavy weather off the Azores to flying fish, flat calms and that oh, so near fatal capsize.

You can choose to attend the dinner, or take advantage of an evenings entertainment and room for the night. A four course meal will precede the talk courtesy of head chef, Colin Hankins. Proceeds will go to the Cornwall Playing for Success charity. Make sure you check the hotel's dress code before turning up in oilskins!

On top of the talk this weekend comes the news that the Spirit of Mystery is now on her way to Kembala port (in Australia) where she will be loaded on to a ship which will eventually see her arrival in Holland, after which she will sail back to Newlyn - around the end of April!

Breton sailing fishing boats site.

For anyone interested in days of yore, sail and Breton fishing vessels in particular here is a useful reference site. One of the boats featured is the Corbeau des Mers which will be visiting Newlyn this summer.

Take note of today's top IT technology tip - the site will provide another opportunity to improve your knowledge of the French language - if that eludes, then simply highlight the text needed, copy (or use the keys CTRL + C) and go to Google's translate page and paste (CTRL+V) in the text a la!

Beach seining for mullet at Sennen.

Apart from shelves stocked with almost anything you might ever want for anything (almost), Waghorn's Stores also trades in unusual models.......
some idea of just how high the Govenek of Ladram's stern deck is compared to the top of the crabber Intuition's wheelhouse.....
the Sennen boys managed a shot of mullet using the centuries old technique of a beach seine yesterday morning at high water.......


this short video is an example of beach seining, a technique used by fishermen the whole world over, the Sennen boys use a tractor to haul the net up the beach and close it - years ago, anyone available from the village would have turned to and lent a hand.....
pot skeletons awaiting the attention of the crabber's crew......
along with the rest of the parts on board the pickup.

Contemporary Cornish art and music go on show in London.

First up, a group exhibition includes some of Cornwall’s finest painters, whose work has been exhibited and collected throughout the UK and abroad. Their paintings encompass a broad spectrum of styles, from semi-abstract interpretations of the Penwith landscape to still-life works exploring structure and form.

Then, there's a bit of Cornish rock music on the to do list for those in London town on March 5th at ICA - ex Rialto man Louis Eliot (whose father is the 10th Earl of St Germans if you thought the name rang a bell) is headlining a show with his band The Embers and fellow Cornish musicians to celebrate St Piran's day.

A few of The Embers' tracks can be heard here.