It’s a hard-knock life

Someone once said, “If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” Honestly, I don’t think we, as a society, know what hardship is. When I was a child we had little money, even though both my parents worked and had relatively good jobs. My father was an alcoholic and…Continue Reading “It’s a hard-knock life”

Christmas Pork

Tis another of they there dialect stories from the pen of Trevor Dalley! Mistletoe hung forlorn and naked of its berries from a blackened beam; an open door somewhere caused the log fire to emit an occasional puff of smoke. “Well, if thet wus Christmas we’ve ‘ad it.” Said Joey. The pub was empty except for Joey and…Continue Reading “Christmas Pork”

Paddy the Smuggler

   Although we are unable to establish a firm date in which the following event took place, we can be sure that it was at a time when most people lived religious lives and almost everything they did between birth and death involved the local church or chapel. If however, there was one thing which…Continue Reading “Paddy the Smuggler”

Shut that stable door! – A poem by Bert Biscoe

Shut that stable door!   Shut that Stable Door – ZOOM0158 Click the above link to listen as you read   O God! Why, when I carved estuaries And heaved-up headlands and tors, And set spriggans to manage the moors, And caused glaciers to slide From Bosvigo to Malpas, Why did I not think to…Continue Reading “Shut that stable door! – A poem by Bert Biscoe”

No Refuge – Just Refugees – A poem by Alan Murton

A Cornishman’s view of war We wring our hands at the horrors of war but surely history tells us that warfare is a part of mankind’s psyche – there is an ever-present inevitability of conflict.   As conscripts or volunteers, our Cornish “Tommies” took up their guns but sad to say their names joined those carved…Continue Reading “No Refuge – Just Refugees – A poem by Alan Murton”

The Grampound Potwallopers: Corruption in Georgian Cornwall

I do swear, that I have not received or had by myself, or any person whatsoever, in trust for me, or for my use or benefit, directly or indirectly, any sum or sums of money, office, place, or employment, gift, or reward, or any promise or security, for any money, office, employment, or gift, in…Continue Reading “The Grampound Potwallopers: Corruption in Georgian Cornwall”