The other day my wife and I were returning from our annual trip to London. It was my wife's idea to go there; she's okay about living in Cornwall but does get a bit bored after having to endure a winter here. Come March or April she gets cabin fever and says: "I need to see proper shops and proper people!" "Proper Job!" I reply, like a proper Cornishman, and off we go!! I needed to go up there as I have recently bought a couple of properties and wanted to give their details to my Estate Agent; I have to use a London Agent because I have found that when I advertise locally it attracts the wrong sort of person and people who are too tightfisted to offer a realistic price for the houses.
Anyhoo, we were driving back across Bodmin Moor and the traffic was getting busy on that bit where the road turns into a bridleway for a while. We were crawling along behind one of those nuisance tractors (bloody pointless things...if you are going to live in a farmhouse drive a RangeRover like most farmhouse/barn dwellers do these days.) when the silliness of the situation struck me. People here in Cornwall moan a lot about villages and coastal towns being empty and deserted in the winter months yet, when the weather improves and the holidaymakers and homeowners start coming back to claim what is rightfully theirs, the roads are so chockablock that it takes people an age to get to their destination. They arrive all hot and bothered and with a poor impression of Cornwall; the risk then is that it might put them off from buying more property in the County, that would be bad for the economy and no one wants that to happen do they? So, we need to make these people feel welcome and their journeys here easier.
It would be wrong to build more roads or to widen the ones we have already got because that would use up valuable land on which houses could be built, so here is my suggestion; during the summer months and especially at Bank Holidays and in the High Season the Cornish should stop using the roads as much as possible and free up the space for holidaymakers. I mean, it makes sense; their need is greater than the people who live here isn't it? I know some people will say 'but my job is important and I need to drive' but let's be honest...if your job really was important then you wouldn't be doing it so far away from Civilisation would you?...I believe that if Cornish folk were a little less selfish about the roads then more holidaymakers would be attracted to the place and we'd all be happier. So, in the interests of fairness I think that we should make this gesture towards our friends from up country. If you can suggest any other gestures you would like to make to holidaymakers then let me know at charlton.musgrave@gmail.com .
Friday, 6 April 2012
Sunday, 4 March 2012
What's the Fuss all about?
On Saturday morning I was in Redruth. I am fascinated by that place. How the High Street doesn't smell of mothballs and mould I am surprised, what with all the charity shops it has! You know that the newest shop to open there was a pawnbrokers...is it that the people there use a pawn shop and charity shop more than any other type and then go to that store at the top of town, you know, the one that sells all the stuff that is too tacky for Trago Mills to stock!
I hear that there is some sort of plan to open up the High Street to traffic again; I think that that is quite a good idea...the place is usually so deserted that it's not as if there is much danger of a car knocking someone down!
Anyway, I was there on Saturday morning and the place was busier than usual with loads of people hanging around, a rough looking lot I could see...even the Mayor was worried, he had an armed guard from the local militia to protect him! (I was worried myself, they were the type of gangs that if you saw them hanging around your house at night you would call the police)(Well, I would..and do!). I was told that it was a festival to honour St Piran who came to Cornwall on a teacake and invented tin. Apparently he is the patron saint of Cornwall. What is the point of that? We have a perfectly good national patron saint in St George, surely we don't need someone else muscling in on the act. Come on, I say, let's get behind St George; there is too much erosion of our national identity to warrant us wasting our time on this St Piran frippery. We should be proud of who we are and wave the flag for our Anglo Saxon identity!
This is a short report this week. I have been very busy over the last couple of weeks viewing old barns and coastal cottages. I'm trying to boost the local economy by buying them up and getting them let out for the summer. I am sure that I am not the only one working like this for the benefit of the place I love, I would appreciate hearing from others out there and maybe we could get together and bring more prosperity to this place. You can e-mail me on charlton.musgrave@gmail.com. I would love to know what you think and I can guarantee you a reply.
I hear that there is some sort of plan to open up the High Street to traffic again; I think that that is quite a good idea...the place is usually so deserted that it's not as if there is much danger of a car knocking someone down!
Anyway, I was there on Saturday morning and the place was busier than usual with loads of people hanging around, a rough looking lot I could see...even the Mayor was worried, he had an armed guard from the local militia to protect him! (I was worried myself, they were the type of gangs that if you saw them hanging around your house at night you would call the police)(Well, I would..and do!). I was told that it was a festival to honour St Piran who came to Cornwall on a teacake and invented tin. Apparently he is the patron saint of Cornwall. What is the point of that? We have a perfectly good national patron saint in St George, surely we don't need someone else muscling in on the act. Come on, I say, let's get behind St George; there is too much erosion of our national identity to warrant us wasting our time on this St Piran frippery. We should be proud of who we are and wave the flag for our Anglo Saxon identity!
This is a short report this week. I have been very busy over the last couple of weeks viewing old barns and coastal cottages. I'm trying to boost the local economy by buying them up and getting them let out for the summer. I am sure that I am not the only one working like this for the benefit of the place I love, I would appreciate hearing from others out there and maybe we could get together and bring more prosperity to this place. You can e-mail me on charlton.musgrave@gmail.com. I would love to know what you think and I can guarantee you a reply.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Chuffed to be Cornish
Some time ago I was walking along the cliffs at Lizard; I noticed there were a load of people looking at something, I followed their pointing fingers and saw what they were excited about...a bunch of crows. 'The National Bird of Cornwall' someone said proudly. America has the Bald Eagle, Scotland the Golden Eagle, for crying out loud, even Belgium has got the Kestrel, but what have we got...a crow. And they're trying to encourage them to breed! Doesn't show a lot of imagination does it, choosing a crow? Doesn't make people want to buy second homes here does it. Wouldn't it be terrible if people go to all that expense of paying for a good house here if all they have to look at is crows; they may just as well have stayed 'up the line', and that would be tragic wouldn't it, be honest, no-one wants that do they?
After looking at the Crows I felt peckish and went to the village, I asked someone where I could get some food and they pointed up the road and said I should get 'an pasty' (as they call them down that way). I went to this place and a little old dear tried to sell me a pie that she had cooked in her garage! Sometimes I think that the sooner Greggs bakeries opens shops here the better it will be. Wherever you go and whenever you buy a pasty in our beloved County it tastes different. (and as a personal preference I think that they don't put enough carrot or sweetcorn in some of them, and in others they don't mince up the sausagemeat enough, the meat is still in lumps in the pie). If I buy a bar of chocolate I know what it is going to taste like...chocolate...not marmite or jam, surely it is not too much to expect for a pasty to taste proper. Heavens Above, if Ginsters can make perfect pasties every time, then the Cornish womenfolk could take a lesson from their Devon compatriots and learn how to do it properly. Get some standardisation in so that if you buy a pasty at Crantock, St Kew Highway or Hayle they will taste the same as one from Callington.
I hear that another village shop is closing down, and it's closure is surrounded by the usual bleating and moaning, but these shops should move with the times. With the influx of money and raised standards that comes with the 'new people' moving into the villages the shops need to cater for that market. Next time you are in a village shop just note how many different varieties of cheese, pate or olives they sell. Not many I'll be bound, but that's what brings the punters in. Old Mrs Braund popping in once a week to cash her pension isn't going to pay the mortgage is it, and anyway, now you can get your pension paid monthly surely the old dear can afford to get a taxi into town once a month? Expecting a shop to stay open just for your own convenience is taking things too far I say.
After looking at the Crows I felt peckish and went to the village, I asked someone where I could get some food and they pointed up the road and said I should get 'an pasty' (as they call them down that way). I went to this place and a little old dear tried to sell me a pie that she had cooked in her garage! Sometimes I think that the sooner Greggs bakeries opens shops here the better it will be. Wherever you go and whenever you buy a pasty in our beloved County it tastes different. (and as a personal preference I think that they don't put enough carrot or sweetcorn in some of them, and in others they don't mince up the sausagemeat enough, the meat is still in lumps in the pie). If I buy a bar of chocolate I know what it is going to taste like...chocolate...not marmite or jam, surely it is not too much to expect for a pasty to taste proper. Heavens Above, if Ginsters can make perfect pasties every time, then the Cornish womenfolk could take a lesson from their Devon compatriots and learn how to do it properly. Get some standardisation in so that if you buy a pasty at Crantock, St Kew Highway or Hayle they will taste the same as one from Callington.
I hear that another village shop is closing down, and it's closure is surrounded by the usual bleating and moaning, but these shops should move with the times. With the influx of money and raised standards that comes with the 'new people' moving into the villages the shops need to cater for that market. Next time you are in a village shop just note how many different varieties of cheese, pate or olives they sell. Not many I'll be bound, but that's what brings the punters in. Old Mrs Braund popping in once a week to cash her pension isn't going to pay the mortgage is it, and anyway, now you can get your pension paid monthly surely the old dear can afford to get a taxi into town once a month? Expecting a shop to stay open just for your own convenience is taking things too far I say.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
A Word or Two of Interest
Have you ever stood at Lands End at Sunset and seen the the lights on the Scilly Isles out there twinkling in the evening light and thought to yourself "How much is it costing us to keep those bastards in their drunken debauchery?" A small fortune I'll be bound! Not just the cost of subsidising ferries and airplanes but also Services on the Islands and the cost of policing and looking after the buggers. Let's be honest, people on the Scillies are only interested in two things; they spend all night looking for a drink and all day looking for a shag...or a cormorant...but Enough is Enough! Here is an idea; Evacuate the islands, move the people to towns like Delabole or St Stephens, remote,windswept and, just like the Scillies, miles from any civilization. Lease all the land on the Scillies to a Solar Panel company and cover them in those bloody mirror things or even windmill gizmos, we could make a fortune from selling the electricity to England! Cornwall wins...Oggley Oggley Oggle as we say "doon 'ere"!!!
I chose to become Cornish 3 years ago and since I have made that decision I have the right to tell the council a thing or two about the way they run this County to which I belong. Now that we have an enlightened Government in London that is tackling the true causes of the money woes; those scroungers and Benefit cheats that are bleeding the country dry of the taxes paid by hard working people such as Bankers and Mobile Phone companies, we need to be making bold, hard nosed, but realistic choices about our priorities here in good old Kernel.
Is the Council really targetting it's resources on the right people? I think not! There are huge swathes of land that we Cornish are paying for that should actually belong to others. The Council is pouring literally tens of pounds into the East of the County, money that ends up in Atlantic Village, Drake's Circus or Holsworthy Farmer' s Market. All along the banks of the Tamer River are towns and villages that are linked to Devon, that have little to do with Cornwall and for which we real Cornishmen are paying for. Bude, Saltash and Launceston are all places that Cornwall could shed or give back to their rightful owners and not miss! Cornwall doesn't have any interest in these places and the people there aren't interested in Cornwall...hey, even the Councillors in some of these towns don't think it's worth paying Tax to Cornwall Council!...Sell these places to Devon, make a few quid and get rid of some dead wood. Cornwall wins again...Oggley Oggley Oggle!
I chose to become Cornish 3 years ago and since I have made that decision I have the right to tell the council a thing or two about the way they run this County to which I belong. Now that we have an enlightened Government in London that is tackling the true causes of the money woes; those scroungers and Benefit cheats that are bleeding the country dry of the taxes paid by hard working people such as Bankers and Mobile Phone companies, we need to be making bold, hard nosed, but realistic choices about our priorities here in good old Kernel.
Is the Council really targetting it's resources on the right people? I think not! There are huge swathes of land that we Cornish are paying for that should actually belong to others. The Council is pouring literally tens of pounds into the East of the County, money that ends up in Atlantic Village, Drake's Circus or Holsworthy Farmer' s Market. All along the banks of the Tamer River are towns and villages that are linked to Devon, that have little to do with Cornwall and for which we real Cornishmen are paying for. Bude, Saltash and Launceston are all places that Cornwall could shed or give back to their rightful owners and not miss! Cornwall doesn't have any interest in these places and the people there aren't interested in Cornwall...hey, even the Councillors in some of these towns don't think it's worth paying Tax to Cornwall Council!...Sell these places to Devon, make a few quid and get rid of some dead wood. Cornwall wins again...Oggley Oggley Oggle!
Monday, 2 January 2012
Easy PZ
Penzance has always fascinated me; the people there are so intriguing! If you think of Britain as roughly being the shape of a Christmas Stocking then, like in all Christmas Stockings the nuts collect at the toe. Penzance is like Glastonbury-on-Sea; I am sure that what attracts a lot of these people to move there is that Morrab Gardens is advertised as being full of 'Exotic Plants'...hard luck weirdos, wrong sort!!!
Penzance has a number of festivals where these yoghourt-knitters can parade up and down, making a nuisance of themselves and embarrassing the town; these travesties are well advertised and so are easy to avoid but what irks me is that it is possible to get 'ambushed' in the town by Morris Dancers and they can ruin a perfectly good evening for you without without any warning. Don't forget, you sell houses in these towns to people who travel 300 miles once a year to live in them for a couple of weeks and become part of the community, and so deserve a bit better entertainment than watching drunken, raggy arsed men hit each other with sticks! They can go and watch a hockey match to see that sort of nonsense.
Penzance Promenade is such a disappointment isn't it? It is a fine example of the town not making the most of itself. All that open space wasted. Why not have amusement arcades, cafes and gift shops? Give people a reason for visiting the place! If people want to just look at water they can go in their back gardens and look at their swimming pools; that's what I do! (They can emulate a stormy day by having their neighbours throw buckets of water and stones at them!...that's what mine do!) And talking of Swimming Pools, what is the point of the 'Jubilee Pool'? Another huge waste of space! If people can't afford to visit a heated pool let them use the sea...it's only next door for Christ's sake; then the site could be properly used on for holiday flats or a hotel and so attract a better, richer, class of person to the town!
Penzance definitely doesn't have enough Supermarkets! There is a prime location for one on the site of the Hospital once that becomes vacant later this year. It would be within easy walking distance of the town centre, admittedly it is close to a council estate and so may attract the wrong sort of people but the positive side is that once the hospital is gone the town will have fewer ill people hanging around spreading their nasty germs!
Penzance is a fabulous town, or it could be, once it has acheived it's avowed aim of severing it's links with the Scilly Isles and so reduces its traffic and business income and becomes a quiet little haven for second home owners.
Penzance has a number of festivals where these yoghourt-knitters can parade up and down, making a nuisance of themselves and embarrassing the town; these travesties are well advertised and so are easy to avoid but what irks me is that it is possible to get 'ambushed' in the town by Morris Dancers and they can ruin a perfectly good evening for you without without any warning. Don't forget, you sell houses in these towns to people who travel 300 miles once a year to live in them for a couple of weeks and become part of the community, and so deserve a bit better entertainment than watching drunken, raggy arsed men hit each other with sticks! They can go and watch a hockey match to see that sort of nonsense.
Penzance Promenade is such a disappointment isn't it? It is a fine example of the town not making the most of itself. All that open space wasted. Why not have amusement arcades, cafes and gift shops? Give people a reason for visiting the place! If people want to just look at water they can go in their back gardens and look at their swimming pools; that's what I do! (They can emulate a stormy day by having their neighbours throw buckets of water and stones at them!...that's what mine do!) And talking of Swimming Pools, what is the point of the 'Jubilee Pool'? Another huge waste of space! If people can't afford to visit a heated pool let them use the sea...it's only next door for Christ's sake; then the site could be properly used on for holiday flats or a hotel and so attract a better, richer, class of person to the town!
Penzance definitely doesn't have enough Supermarkets! There is a prime location for one on the site of the Hospital once that becomes vacant later this year. It would be within easy walking distance of the town centre, admittedly it is close to a council estate and so may attract the wrong sort of people but the positive side is that once the hospital is gone the town will have fewer ill people hanging around spreading their nasty germs!
Penzance is a fabulous town, or it could be, once it has acheived it's avowed aim of severing it's links with the Scilly Isles and so reduces its traffic and business income and becomes a quiet little haven for second home owners.
Monday, 5 December 2011
The Danger of a Cornish Assembly
The idea of a Cornish Assembly troubles me. Don't get me wrong, I think that in principle it is a good thing but I wonder what would it look like in reality and what would it represent? The easy option would be for the government to give more responsibilities to Cornwall Council and that would be 'problem solved', but would that be enough? There is an expectation from Nationalists that an Assembly would represent the Cornish Nation, as happens in Wales and Scotland. And that is what troubles me; those countries have an identity that provides momentum? I'm not sure if Cornwall has that.
Does Cornwall's present political structure have the drive and leadership necessary to power an Assembly? I've watched Council webcasts and although there are some inspired Councillors, there are others that I don't think capable of running a whelk stall, some who run the county like it was their private fiefdom or run it according to Tory political philosophy circa 1870! How about our current MP's? Ignoring the carpetbaggers and those who have a hereditary link to the County but no actual interest in it and who would run a mile from localised politics, I can't see them choosing Truro over Westminster!
So, from where and whom would leadership come and what would it be leading? A Cornish nation with it's own identity and needs or would it be leading an 'Oggieland', an identity as a marketting concept for the county?
We hear all the time people saying they are proud to be Cornish but does a Cornish identity actually exist? Without that identity an Assembly would be little different than the Council that we have now.
Whilst travelling in Wales I found the Welsh language signs etc a powerful symbol of Welsh identity, unlike the piffling little road names in Cornish that we have hereI felt that I was no longer in England. A recent UN program about disappearing languages said that once a people lose their language they lose their identity; without a living Cornish language the county risks descending into the parody that is Somerset and Devon local culture with it's 'Yer Tiz me ansum, ave zum zyder' touristy image.
Would an Assembly in Cornwall have a mandate for declaring a bilingual state? Would it have the drive to push forward with such a thing against a significant proportion of Cornishfolk who don't see the point in reviving the language?
The Cornish Nation lags behind other Celtic nations in that the corrosive effect of English Imperialism has made inroads practically unchecked. A Cornish Assembly representing the Cornish Nation would need strong and wise leadership to imprint on the County an identity so that Cornwall becomes unique, vibrant and sustainable. I fear that it has a long way to go yet.
Another reason for needing a strong Assembly is because of an awesome task it could undertake in the interests of the people of Cornwall. The Duchy of Cornwall has an income of some £17m per annum, little of which is invested in the county, the Duchy also wields powers beyond those of a private estate. Indeed in a recent court hearing it was judged to be tantamount to a Public Body. So should it's powers and money not be administered by the Assembly, if the Duchy is declared a Public Body it should come under Public ownership?
Would an Assembly be strong and independent enough to challenge the authority of the Duchy!
Does Cornwall's present political structure have the drive and leadership necessary to power an Assembly? I've watched Council webcasts and although there are some inspired Councillors, there are others that I don't think capable of running a whelk stall, some who run the county like it was their private fiefdom or run it according to Tory political philosophy circa 1870! How about our current MP's? Ignoring the carpetbaggers and those who have a hereditary link to the County but no actual interest in it and who would run a mile from localised politics, I can't see them choosing Truro over Westminster!
So, from where and whom would leadership come and what would it be leading? A Cornish nation with it's own identity and needs or would it be leading an 'Oggieland', an identity as a marketting concept for the county?
We hear all the time people saying they are proud to be Cornish but does a Cornish identity actually exist? Without that identity an Assembly would be little different than the Council that we have now.
Whilst travelling in Wales I found the Welsh language signs etc a powerful symbol of Welsh identity, unlike the piffling little road names in Cornish that we have hereI felt that I was no longer in England. A recent UN program about disappearing languages said that once a people lose their language they lose their identity; without a living Cornish language the county risks descending into the parody that is Somerset and Devon local culture with it's 'Yer Tiz me ansum, ave zum zyder' touristy image.
Would an Assembly in Cornwall have a mandate for declaring a bilingual state? Would it have the drive to push forward with such a thing against a significant proportion of Cornishfolk who don't see the point in reviving the language?
The Cornish Nation lags behind other Celtic nations in that the corrosive effect of English Imperialism has made inroads practically unchecked. A Cornish Assembly representing the Cornish Nation would need strong and wise leadership to imprint on the County an identity so that Cornwall becomes unique, vibrant and sustainable. I fear that it has a long way to go yet.
Another reason for needing a strong Assembly is because of an awesome task it could undertake in the interests of the people of Cornwall. The Duchy of Cornwall has an income of some £17m per annum, little of which is invested in the county, the Duchy also wields powers beyond those of a private estate. Indeed in a recent court hearing it was judged to be tantamount to a Public Body. So should it's powers and money not be administered by the Assembly, if the Duchy is declared a Public Body it should come under Public ownership?
Would an Assembly be strong and independent enough to challenge the authority of the Duchy!
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Sunday, 4 December 2011
Bard Humbug
The evenings are getting darker earlier now and I was driving through one of the coastal villages when it struck me that all the houses were in darkness, in fact all over Cornwall there are sections of towns that are deserted. I think that it is ourageous! These holiday houses and second homes are left empty all through the winter and yet the owners are expected to pay Council Tax at the full rate. This is patently unfair! The cost to the Council is less as there is reduced call for services such as bin collections and less wear and tear on tarmac on the roads. Has anyone considered that the owners have the extra expense of having to fit security systems; that should be tax deductible as well. And another thing! These empty properties have a beneficial effect on the local economy as minders are employed to look after the cottages in the winter. My God, if you want jobs and for us to own these places you will have to cut us some slack!
I was chatting to the old boy who comes to tend my garden and he was telling me about the days gone by when his grandfather used to live in the cottage I now own. The old boy had a tear in his eye as he told me about the times he used to visit his granpa and help mend pots and the such. I said that his granpa would not recognise the place now I've had the ground floor knocked through, double glazing put in and the front of the cottage pebble-dashed. Anyway, the chap went on talking for so long that I had to dock him an hour's pay! I have to admit that I will miss him when I have to sack him next year, I have found a young lad who will do the garden so I'd be daft to pay adult minimum wage when I can get someone on teenage rate.
The exciting news is that I am going to become a Bard! In my local pub there is this chap who says he is a Bard, he is definitely true Cornish because he sounds like Eddy Grundy and can speak that Cornish gibberish stuff! I said that I would like to buy a Bardship so that I can be more Cornish. He said that I will become a Bard and be accepted as Cornish when the Gorse is not in bloom, I'm not sure when that will be but it can't be too long!
I'll keep you informed of progress.
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