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Penseythen Gernewek Porthya 2010 |
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It was my own fault really. I wanted to know why we didn't have our own language weekend and was told that, at the moment, there was no-one with the time to organise it. The challenge was on! We decided to try St 
Ives, ridiculously overcrowded in summer but, hey, it was February, so St Ives it was. The date coincided happily with St Ives Feast which created a great focus for us and we picked the Western Hotel as our venue, right in the heart of the town and, as it turned out, just the right size and location for us. As always, parking was a bit of a problem, but generally that minus point was outweighed by the convenience and atmosphere of the Western and we were able to move downstairs in the evenings to the Kettle 'n Wink bar for our entertainment.
We had a good mix of abilities which allowed for absolute beginners to spend most of their time together with Denise Chubb and then Clive Baker 
grappling with the basics while everyone else shared their knowledge in one group with Ray Chubb. For future occasions we might wish to create a third group for more fluent speakers, although no-one expressed any dissatisfaction with the group mix. For those of us at intermediate level it was a great opportunity to stretch our knowledge and hear the language spoken as a fluid, dynamic tongue.
We were aiming for a relaxed atmosphere where we could have fun while learning and participating in the various activities. The programme included a bit of grammar, word games, newspaper reviews, talks by Craig Weatherhill and Grand Bard Mick Paynter, a humorous re-enactment, with hats, of Jowan Chy an Horth and a visit to the Tate Gallery. We were using vocabulary and phrases ranging from mediaeval texts through to modern contemporary expressions including the all-important "juxtapose" - an essential word for describing some modern art exhibits!
Craig Weatherhill's novel "Jowal Lethosow" (The Lyonesse Stone), recently translated into Cornish by Nicholas Williams, has received critical acclaim from Prof. Alan M Kent and it was fitting that Craig came along to talk us, in Kernewek (Cornish) and English, about his work. Grand Bard Mick Paynter, a son of St Ives, spoke of his childhood in the town and of the many changes that have taken place over the years, again in both Kernewek and English.
Our visit to the Tate was stimulating and aroused a range of comments as one might expect from such an encounter. Thankfully, for those of us with limited vocabulary, the works were not overly abstract and, armed with a very handy list of appropriate words from Ray Chubb, we were soon well into the swing of "the 
critique". Not to everyone's taste, the exhibition at least got us talking about contemporary issues in Kernewek!
Evening entertainment centred mostly around Cornish culture with renditions of tunes, songs, prose and poetry. Those who were still around on Sunday late evening joined the St Ives Guisers as they celebrated Feast Eve round the town, receiving a particularly warm welcome at the Castle Inn and the Kettle 'n Wink bar which was beginning to feel like a second home - but perhaps we shouldn't get on to that subject!
We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors St Austell Brewery, Harding Laity Estate Agents, The Harbour Bookshop and the St Ives Archive Study Centre.
We're already talking about next year, so make a note in your diary - Friday 4th to Sunday 6th/Monday 7th February 2011.
Oll an gwella,
Dee Brotherton
Listen to some of the participants in the weekend. Click a name. Apologies for the background noise - we were enjoying ourselves! The sound file should open in a new browser window. Close the window to return to this page once you've listened to the clip. N.B. this works in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Opera. You may experience problems if you're using the AOL media player.
John Jan Penny Madeleine John Harriet
Photograph of the Guisers on Sunday night: Jonathon Kereve-Clarke
Other photos: Gareth Parry