Mangle Houses were once a common feature of most towns and villages where customers could have their laundry pressed for a penny or two. Tony Mansell brings us their story and of the equipment used in them, its construction and usage. A mangle keeper or mangle woman was someone who offered a laundry pressing service…Continue Reading “The Mangle House”
This short piece by Tony Mansell first appeared in the Western Morning News series “My Favourite Place”. Looe features in Tony’s early life and his memories of it will long remain. Happiness is transient, fleeting, ephemeral, but was it always so? Weren’t we once able to trap it in the palm of our hand;…Continue Reading “The Looe Fisherman”
Tony Mansell tells the story of one man’s dream of owning a fairground organ and wonders how many fully understood the effort and skill that went into creating this amazing musical instrument. Bernard True Bernard True was unsure if he was a Kentish Man or Man of Kent but whichever it was, we are grateful…Continue Reading “The St Agnes Fairground Organ”
Once again, Tony Mansell leads us into his world of folklore, myth and legend involving an iconic bridge which really has left a lasting impression on him. This bitter-sweet love story was the winner of the Gorsedh Kernow 2010 – Short Story set in Cornwall. My heart beats faster as I spot a column…Continue Reading “Black Bridge”
Tony Mansell brings you another slice of brass band history garnished with an amusing account of the event in Cornish Dialect. Nine bands attended the fifth brass band contest at Four Lanes in 1913, two in the first section and seven in the second. Those in the lower section: St Ives Town, Bugle Silver,…Continue Reading “The Extraordinary Band Contest”
Tony Mansell shares his mining experiences as he takes us underground to four Cornish mines but in particular to Cligga Mine in Perranzabuloe. I had already been down three Cornish tin mines so the thought of a few hundred feet of granite above me was not of great concern, but those previous trips had…Continue Reading “A Trip to the Underworld”