Object of the Year
Support for Ukraine Cornwall residents have shown their solidarity with the people of wartorn Ukraine. On Sunday, February 27, the Bishop of Truro conducted a service in Mylor Bridge at a cross built by Ukranian refugees escaping persecution after the Second World War (see page 38). A scratch orchestra gathered on Truro’s Lemon Quay on Sunday, March 6 to play The Great Gate Of Kiev by Mussorgsky to massed crowds, and individuals and removal firms travelled to the Ukrainian border to offer skills and donations of warm clothing. Companies created special collections to raise funds to help refugees: Cornishware released a range of yellow and blue crockery, while Flotsam Flo created badges in Ukrainian colours from paddling pools destined for landfill.
The Cornwall Heritage Awards took place on February 9, hosted by Cornwall Museums Partnership. The Object of the Year, decided by public vote, was a rare 19th century dip needle from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society – otherwise known as The Poly in Falmouth. Designed by Cornish Quaker Robert Were Fox, this compass enabled ships to traverse the seas safely. Its four worthy co-finalists were a pair of Cornish fishwife’s pattens from the National Maritime Museum Cornwall; an 1868 telegraphy cable from PK Porthcurno; a half-hull model of the schooner “Doris” from Wadebridge and District Museum; and the Dancing Girl of Naukratis from the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston. Other winners included Isles of Scilly Museum, Leach Pottery St Ives, and the Old Guildhall and Gaol Museum in Looe. l
Truro Cathedral Choir has recorded and filmed Ave Maria by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov in support of their Crowdfunder appeal for UNICEF’s Protect Children in Ukraine - you can hear it now on the choir's YouTube channel. l
The Spring Story Spring in Cornwall was officially announced on February 22, marked by six champion Magnolia Campbellii trees having over 50 blooms. Founded by The Nare Hotel in conjunction with The Great Gardens of Cornwall, the Spring Story saw Cornwall’s most westerly magnolia tree at Trewidden Garden achieve its target first, with Trebah, Tregothnan, Trewithen, Caerhays and the Lost Gardens of Heligan not far behind. James Stephens at Heligan said: “Even though Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin tried to scupper the early arrival of spring, this really is proof that the milder winter we experience in Cornwall means we get to enjoy an extra month of spring.” l Gardens: see page 32
n 6 |
My
| Volume 2 Issue 71 | April - May 2022
Port Isaac crowdfunder
Fishermen have warned that the picturesque village of Port Isaac will be at risk of regular flooding if its harbour is not repaired. A large chunk of concrete has come off the outside of the eastern breakwater, with the cost of repair estimated by the harbour commission to be “eye-watering”. The responsibility for repair traditionally rests upon local fishermen, of which there remain just two, who cannot afford the extensive work. The village has been made famous around the world by the TV series Doc Martin and the performances of the Fisherman’s Friends on The Platt. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise £60,000 towards these repairs, as well as work on the 16th century fish cellars. l www.gofundme.com/f/port-isaac-harbour-repairs
