St Piran's Day

Subject: St Piran's Day
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 08:55 AM

5th March is St Piran's Day, the patron saint of Cornwall so, firstly, Greetings from Cornwall to all Cousin Jack and Jenny's wherever you are in the world. If you are in Cornwall this weekend there are a whole load of events that 'Catters might like to join in with.
Friday 2 March
St Piran's Day Celebration with Dalla. Taking place at the Norway Inn, Perranarworthal at 7.30pm. Brilliant band, definitley worth catching.

Saturday 3 March
St Piran's Celebration at Roche Victory Hall at 6pm. A full evening of Cornish entertainment, including a pasty.

St Piran's Welcome at 6pm. This starts at the Promenade in Perranporth. Follow a statue of St Piran as it is paraded from the beach and through the village, finishing at the Memorial Hall with music and food.

Sunday 4 March
A St Piran's Day service will be held at Kilkhampton Parish Church at 11am on Sunday. All are welcome

The St Piran Play at 2pm, Perran Sands, Perranporth. The famous play as mentioned above. This year's newly commissioned play depicts the legend of St Piran and his influence on Cornwall today. This has been rewritten this year and is worth seeing. The music is always good too.

Monday 5 March
Bodmin Procession at 10.30am through the streets of Bodmin. Procession will be led by the Cornish Pipers to celebrate St Piran's Day. It starts at 10.30am from the Town Wall and ends at Mount Folly.

St Piran's Day Procession in Truro. This begins at 1pm in St George's Road, Truro, processing to High Cross.

Sense Of Place - 10-3pm at The Core Building, Eden Project. 300 school pupils from all over Cornwall will be performing drama, music, singing and dancing.

St Piran's Day Walk, from Bude Surf Life Saving Club. It will be lead by an Irish Piper over the cliffs, with refreshments afterwards at the Bude SLSC. A Cornish folk band will end the event at the Tree Inn, Stratton in the evening.

(TBC) Flag Raising and Processions from 6pm at Launceston Castle. There will be a Bagpipe salutation of the flag followed by a procession of dancers and musicians through the town to Harvey's Pub for pasties, beers and a music session.

Friday 9 March
Cornish Troyl - 8pm at Lanhydrock Memorial Hall. This will be a Troyl/Ceilidh with Tan Ha Dowr, Pyba and 'Come all ye Band' No entrance tickets, collection on the door to cover the hall costs. Bring your own refreshments.

I don't really understand why [because I'm so innocent] but loads of these events seem to feature, music, singing, food and drink! Loads of places to join in with bands or song sessions as well.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 09:01 AM

Interesting that an Irish piper is to lead the walkers over a cliff at Bude. I hope the local TV are there with cameras, should produce a shot which will become a classic on the "100 greatest cockups" scene.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Cats
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 12:50 PM

I think they are having yto resort to an Irish piper as all the Cornish ones are leading processions around the county. Anyway, St Piran did come from Ireland so it has a tenuous link.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Hawker
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 01:35 PM

Hi Cats,
We will be at Launceston, there, Rob Strike will pipe down the Flag at the Castle at 6 pm then we all process to the pub for a night of great music song and dance.
Be there or be somewhere else!
Cheers, Lucy

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 02:05 PM

Perhaps all the Cornish pipers know that walking over cliffs is inadvisable.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Hawker
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 02:19 PM

LOL Greg,
There is a serious note to this, a friend of ours was BOOKED to play the ENGLISH pipes on St Georges Day in Launceston, Cornwall, he received publicity from the local press and radio before the event, by way of advertising and subsequently received several threatening e-mails, suggesting he took his English pipes back to England, to play them and to KEEP OUT of Cornwall! The threats were so unpleasant he did just that!
I hope this Irish Guy has better luck, imposing on a CORNISH festival could lead to him being THROWN off the cliff, if my friends e-mails were anything to go by!
Perhaps next year I could persuade the chaps at Bude to organise that all those bad bodhran players lead the parade over the cliffs!

............Ducks out quick!
Cheers Lucy

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 02:26 PM

Since Cornish bagpipes(and their repertoire) have been extinct for some considerable time, all reconstructions are tentative at best, Like the pronunciation used in current attempts to revive the language. I speak as a good old Cornish boy who is a teensy bit sceptical of some of the wilder fringes of kilt-wearing Cornish Celticdom.
   Possibly the total extinction of the pipes and their music was something to do with this St Piran's Day recntly revived custom of piping walkers over a cliff?

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Cats
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 07:08 AM

Which pub, Lucy?

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: bubblyrat
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 07:23 AM

Is this festival organised by the same Wackos who go around painting out the rose on "English Heritage" signs & putting things like "You are not in England " on road & railway bridges ?? God help us if it is !!

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: alanabit
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 08:17 AM

I take exception to it being called "English Heritage" when it is in Cornwall too. What bloody arrogance! Can you imagine Welsh, Scot or Irishman putting up with that?

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: greg stephens
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 08:29 AM

Well, if we are wackos to feel that Cornwall is not part of England then I am proud to be a wacko. But I must admit I've never gone round painting stuff on bridges.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: alanabit
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 12:51 PM

That's about the way I feel about it too. It's not an antipathy to anyone. It's more about the way I value the place I come from. The "sod everyone else" form of nationalism is the curse of our planet.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 01:06 PM

Some Cornish music for St. Piran

DALLA

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: alanabit
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 02:08 PM

Some more noise from Kernow.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: alanabit
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 02:11 PM

Whoops! Will a Joe clone please remove my previous post and put up this instead.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Hawker
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 03:34 PM

Harveys, Launceston, just on the street near Smiths, Cats.
Cheers, Lucy
The St Piran Piss up at our house is going really well at the moment lots of music song and hilarity!

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 04:48 PM

It was Irish men who threw St Piran over the cliffs into the sea. He floated over to Cornwall. The piper should be Irish if this is a re-enactment.
Hope they all have their mill-stone floaties ready.
Cheers, Joy (nee Semmens -- a good Cornish name that.)

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: bubblyrat
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 07:13 PM

I can"t see anything wrong with "English Heritage " being applicable to Cornwall. If Cornwall isn"t part of England, than precisely what country is it part of ?? Explain please ( sensibly ).

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: paddymac
Date: 04 Mar 07 - 10:29 PM

I'm not real big on assorted "Saints Days" in any religious sense, but I think we should cherish all of them as cultural events. Many Brits are sensitive toward cultural aspirations of people they share that island with, but, then, there are others who seem to be less enlightened. The same is true the world over.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:17 AM

Happy St Pirans day then:-)

Dave

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:19 AM

Happy St Piran's! You are right Paddymac - St Piran's is far more about culture than religion. Bubblyrat - I think the argument against the English Rose is that we do have our own cultural identity in Cornwall which is very strong. Having a St Piran's Flag instead of an English Rose depicts the place as being part of the Cornish cultural identity as opposed to the generic English one. It's nothing to do with being a separate country, akthough we still have the right to hold our own Parliament! :-)

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:25 AM

Happy St Piran's Day to all Cornish folkies from me too.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: Hawker
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 05:38 PM

Happy St Piran's Day One and All!
Had a great night at Harveys in Launceston, gave up with trying to pipe down the flag at the castle, it was decided to give a prize to the person who found it if it blows off, it was hanging on by one end and the wind was horrendous! we did process (quickly) to the pub though and had a great sesh, which was still going well when we left!
Cheers, Lucy

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: greg stephens
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 05:45 PM

The English used to call Monmouth part of England, too. They don't any more. Bubblyrat asks if Cornwall isn't part of England, what country is it part of? Silly question. Why should anywhere be part of a country? The Channel Islands aren't part of England. the Isle of Man isn't part of England. And as far as I am concerned, Cornwall isn't part of England either. We are all entitled to our opinions.

Subject: RE: St Piran's Day
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 06:20 AM

Some lovely stories about Saint Piran were written by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch:

How Saint Piran came to Cornwall.

Saint Piran's Church and a Miracle.

Enjoy!