A Year of Late Cornish

Dew Cansves Dedh Dew Ügens ha Dew De Gwener, üdnegves warn ügens mis Est.       Friday, 31 st August. Thew an diwettha dedh a’n mis hedhyw, ha thew an diwettha dedh a hav ewedh, bes na wrüga vy gwil traveth dhe les. Etho, pandra dhe scrifa? Me a gavas bardhonek coth (ha nebes fotos). Otta anjei! It’s the last day of the week today, and it’s the last day of summer too, but I didn’t do anything interesting. So, what to write?  I found an old poem (and some photos). Here they are!  Colours of the Sea    When you stand right on the coast you get wrap-around vistas of the sea. If you live a mile inland, as I do, you must be content with glimpses of the sea between the hills. Every day I walk my dog on the hills over-looking the sea in Perran Bay. I can see an inverted triangle of water, framed between the sky above, the slopes of Bolingey on the left and the Perranporth sand dunes on the right; a few miles of horizon and...

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Dew Cansves Dedh Dogans (Dew Ügens) hag Onan De Yow, degves warn ügens mis Est. Thursday, 30 th August.   Nag ew an powdir teller dison. Hedhyw me alja clowes kerry havyjy war an vorr(vor’) veur, an jynn mejy tiek en ogas, ha myjer glesin o gour. An son a jynnweythow. Adhves lowr dhe voas trehys ew an ys e'n prasow, keth ew behatna  an trevajow e’n vledhen-ma ha berr ew an cala. Nag ew an gwels et agan lowarth hir saw an whenn ew pur hir solabres. Ma pedry pronter, dans lew, pawbran ha “brath hok” (my translation) . The countryside is not a quiet place. Today I could hear cars of summer visitors on the highway, the harvester of a nearby farmer, and my husband’s lawn mower. The sound of machinery. The corn in the fields is mature enough to be cut, though the yields this year are smaller and the straw is short. The grass in our garden is not long but the weeds are already very tall. There is knapweed, dandelion, buttercup and hawkbit.  

Dew Cansves Dedh ha Dew Ügens De Merher, nawhes warn ügens mis Est.     Wednesday, 29 th August. Ma whath lies havyas e’n morrebow a-hes oll adro dhe’n als a Gernow. Nag ew hav dewethys whath. Na wrüg scolyow dalleth aga tremmîs kidnyadh whath. Bettegens, ma nebes shoppas o parüjy dhe geas rag an gwav. Mowns o qwertha aga warow rag hanter pris dhe glerya aga stylednow. Nessa mis a vedh deffrans. Lies shoppas a vedh alwhedhys. There are still lots of summer visitors along the seafronts all around the coast of Cornwall. Summer is not finished yet. Schools have not begun their autumn term yet. However, some shops are preparing to close for the winter. They are selling their wares for half price to clear their shelves. Next month will be different. Many shops will be locked.

Dew Cansves Dedh Nownjek warn Ügens De Meurth, ethves warn ügens mis Est.      Tuesday, 28 th August. Ma gwers gen Eleanor Farjeon adro dhe cathas. Cathas a gusk (gosk), en neb le, neb bord, neb chayr, topp piano, astel veister, e’n cres, war an min, neyth egor, eskis gwag, hag erel. Nag üjy hei o compla losow o tevy en sethow. Nag  üjy hei o compla olow troos plos naneyl! There is a verse written by Eleanor Farjeon about cats. Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair, top of piano, window ledge, in the middle, on the edge, open drawer, empty shoe, etc. She doesn’t mention plants growing in pots. She doesn't mention dirty footprints either!

Dew Cansves Dedh Etek warn Ügens De Lün, seythves warn ügens mis Est.       Monday, 27 th August. “Gwra delinya genam, a Vamm Wynn,” emedh o mergh wydn. “Me vedn cawas comparyans.” Pub pres ma whans dhedhy gwil comparyans dhort keniver activita. Thera vy longya dhe fyllel! Nag eus dhedhy bes whegh bloodh. “Me a venja delinya ewedh,” emedh o mab wydn. Nag eus dhodho bes pajer bloodh. An dhew a gar “kemeres lin rag kerr (kerdh)”. Etho, nei a dednas flourys ha cabmdhavasow. Hei a dednas mos gen blew hir saw heb diwvregh. Hei a liwyas hy bejeth “ton a gedn” kigliw teg. “Draw with me, Nana,” said my granddaughter. “I want to have a competition.” She always wants to make a competition of every activity. I usually lose! She is only six years old. “I’d like to draw too,” said my grandson. He is only four years old. The pair love to “take a line for a walk”. So, we drew flowers and rainbows. She drew a girl with long hair but no arms. She coloured her face a...

Dew Cansves Dedh Seytek warn Ügens De Sül, whefes warn ügens mis Est.    Sunday, 26 th August. Na ellama gweles an loor leun hanath, drefen re gomolek ew. Ma’n loor dres an cloudys. Nag ew hei nos deg. Nag o an jorna teg hedhyw naneyl – thera gwens ha glaw dhen. Esel an bagas art a dhros dre oll an mergh scrifa ha’n clojyow exposicyon. E veu re leb dh’aga degy oll dhe’n crow, etho nei a’s gorras e’n losowjy. I can’t see the full moon tonight, because it is too cloudy. The moon is above/beyond the clouds. It is not a lovely night. The day was not lovely today either – we had wind and rain. An art group member brought back all the little easels and display racks. It was too wet to carry them all to the shed, so we put them in the conservatory.

Dew Cansves Dedh Whetek warn Ügens De Sadorn, pempes warn ügens mis Est.   Saturday, 25 th August. Ma loor spladn hanath. Ogas ha loor leun ew hei. Avorow e vedh loor leun. Ma’n loor o kemeres seyth dedh warn ügens ogasty rag treylva war hy ahel. Ha ma hei o kemeres pecar termyn rag hy resegva adro dhe’n Norves. Rag hedna, gwelys ew genen pub pres keth enep an loor dhort an nor.   Ha nag üjy an loor leun o wharvos war an keth dedh pub mis. There is a splendid moon tonight. It is almost a full moon. There will be a full moon tomorrow. The moon takes approximately twenty-seven days for a revolution on its axis.   And it takes a similar time for its orbit around the Earth. Therefore, the same face of the moon is always seen by us from the earth. And the full moon does not occur on the same day every month.

Dew Cansves Dedh Pemdhek warn Ügens De Gwener ew, an pajwora dedh warn ügens a vis Est.     It’s Friday, the 24 th day of August. O whei euvergryjyk (hegol)? Eus hegoledhow dhe whei? Ero whei sewya agas sinyow stergelgh? Dallath an Werhes (an Werthyes) a veu de. An Lew a dhiwedhas degensete. Thew an Werhes an whefas arwòdh, sin dor hag ell boas chanjys. Tüs an Werhes caradow ew towloryon da ha ell kestava etta. Ero whei crejy/cryjy hedna? Are you superstitious? Do you have any superstitions? Do you follow your zodiac signs? The start of Virgo was yesterday. Leo finished the day before yesterday. Virgo is the sixth sign, an earth sign and mutable. Friendly Virgo people are good planners and can communicate well. Do you believe that?

Dew Cansves Dedh Pajwardhek warn Ügens De Yow ew, an tryja dedh warn ügens a vis Est.        It’s Thursday, the 23 nd day of August. Thera vy orth gwil lever-dedhyow rag nessa bledhen. Ma whans dhebm ûsya arwòdh an Zodiak rag pub mis. Hedhyw me a sayas delinya Sagittarius, an Sether.  Gwelys ew hedna lies gweyth pecar’a “centaur” – hanter margh ha hanter den. Calish ew dhe dhelinya hedna! Res ew porres delinya an dhew etta. Ha martesen me a wra dewis benyn in le a dhen. Ma odhom dhebm a whel moy warnodho. I am producing a calendar for next year. I want to use a sign of the Zodiac for each month. Today I tried to draw Sagittarius, the Archer. That is frequently see like a “centaur” – half horse and half man. It’s difficult to draw that! It’s essential to draw both well. And perhaps I’ll choose a woman instead of a man. I need more work on it.  

Dew Cansves Dedh Terdhek warn Ügens De Merher ew, an nessa dedh warn ügens a vis Est.         It’s Wednesday, the 22 nd day of August. En Sowsnek, gelwys ew an mis-ma warlergh Augustus, emprowr a Rôm. Hedna nag ew an cas en Kernôwek, keth ero nei whath tochys gen an Romans. An ger Laten rag hav ew “aestas” ha’n ger Laten rag tòbmder ew “aestus”. Rag hedna, “mis Est” alja menya an mis a hav po an mis tòbm. Ma nebes bestas o còsca en hav dhe woheles tòbmder ûhel ha ayredh segh marow. Mowns “aestivate” en Sowsnek. Pecar ha gwavy ew, leb ew còsca dres an gwav dhe woheles an yender. In English, this month is named after Augustus, a Roman emperor. That is not the case in Cornish, though we are still affected by the Romans. The Latin word for summer is “aestas” and the Latin word for heat is “aestus”. Therefore, “mis Est” could mean the month of summer or the hot month. Some animals sleep in summer to avoid high temperature and an arid climate. T...

Dew Cansves Dedh Dewdhek warn Ügens De Meurth, kensa warn ügens mis Est.       Tuesday, 21 st August. Ma lies havyas en Kernow e’n eur-ma. Nebes anodhans a gar marhoga en mettin. Otta anjei war ladn reb dowr bian. Na aljama kerres (kerdhes) war trolergh-na an jorna-ma. An trolergh aral reb an vorr (fordh) ew overdevys gen cors. (Ma cleudh reb an trolergh.)    Na aljama kerres war hedna naneyl. Res veu dhebm kerres war an vorr. Calish ew hedna pub pres drefen boas re a gerry parkyes. Na vedn nagonan parkya en parkow kerry (costek ens!) There are many summer visitors in Cornwall at this moment. Some of them like to go horse riding in the morning. Here they are on a bank by a little river. I couldn’t walk on that footpath today. The other footpath beside the road is overgrown with reeds. (There is a ditch by the footpath.) I couldn’t walk on that either. I had to walk on the road. That is always difficult because there are so many pa...

Dew Cansves Dedh Üdnek warn Ügens De Lün, ügensves mis Est.           Monday, 20 th August. Da ew gen marhogyon ha marhogesow marhoga aga mergh war an treth en gordhûherweyth. Nag eus routh veur reb an mor – drefen ma pub onan en tavernyow ha bostiow o cona ha eva. Diwethys ew an marhogeth rag an düs ma. Ma anjei o moas tre dhe aga marghti (stabel) en Ros.   Mons o causya tag bian. Male and female riders like to ride their horses on the beach at evening time. There is not a crowd by the sea - because everyone is in pubs and restaurants having supper and drinking. The ride is finished for these people. They are going home to their stable in Rose (roughland). They are causing a little traffic jam.

Dew Cansves Dedh Deg warn Ügens De Sül, nawnjegves mis Est.        Sunday, 19 th August. Na alja vy gweles an mor hedhyw saw me a’n clowas. Pur loos o an jedh drefen boas an ayr leun a dhowr. Nag era glaw bes thera niwl po cobmol isel war an tewednow. Nag o an gewer yeyn ha na veu odhom a gotys stanch ha nei o kerdhes gans an keun. I couldn’t see the sea today but I heard it. The day was very grey because the air was full of water. There wasn’t any rain but there was mist or low cloud on the dunes. The weather was not cold and there was no need of raincoats as we walked the dogs.

Dew Cansves Dedh Naw warn Ügens De Sadorn, ethdegves mis Est.    Saturday, 18 th August. Skith o vy lebmyn. Ma whans dhebm a gosca bes thew an flehes wydn dhebm whath pur dhifün. Na vedn anjei moas tre terebo avorow. Nei a wrüg fittya boos warbarth. Nei a wrüg debry haunsel, kidnyow ha coon warbarth. Nei a wrüg kerdhes gen kei warbarth. Nei a wrüg gwary e’n lowarth, mires ort TV, marhasna ha kemeres fotos   warbarth. Lebmyn me venja boas heb company! I am tired now. I want to sleep but my grandchildren are still wide awake. They won’t go home till tomorrow. We cooked together. We ate breakfast, lunch and supper together. We walked with dogs together. We played in the garden together, watched TV, shopped and took photos together. Now I would like to be without company!

Dew Cansves Dedh Eth warn Ügens De Gwener, seythdegves mis Est.       Friday, 17 th August. Ma disqwedhyans art en Ty war’n Heyl. Ma lies pyctur etto ha nebes cartednow. Me a welas bolla gwres a bredn ewedh. An auctor a’n levrow adro dhe Poldark a wrüg triga e’n treveglos. Eus ober Poldark? Ma’n bagas art o cawas esperans endella. Ma havalder da a Ross Poldark e’n disqwedhyans. A wra nebonan y berna? There is an art exhibition in Perranporth. There are many pictures in it and several cards. I saw a bowl made of wood as well. The author of the books about Poldark lived in the village. Is there a Poldark effect? The art group hopes so. There is a good portrait of Ross Poldark in the exhibition. Will someone buy it?

Dew Cansves Dedh Seyth warn Ügens De Yow, whetegves mis Est.        Thursday, 16 th August. Pandr’ew an frooth ma? Me a’s cuntellas dhort gwedhen en ke reb o lowarth. Nag eus spernen veth war an wedhen, etho nag ew an wedhen spernen dhû. Ploumbren ew. Saw re vian ew an frutys dhe voas ploumys wheg ha re vroas ens dhe voas eyrin. Thew an frooth moy trenk vel ploumys. bes le wherow vel eyrin. Bettegens, pur dha ens gen avalow en keffeth.  (Me a wrüg trehy mes an prevas bian en kensa!) What is this fruit? I picked them from a tree in a hedge by my garden. There is not a single thorn on the tree, so the tree is not a blackthorn. It’s a plum tree. But the fruits are too small to be sweet plums and too big to be sloes. The fruit is more sour than plums but less bitter than sloes. Nevertheless, they are very good with apples in jam. (I did cut out the little worms first!)

Dew Cansves Dedh Whegh warn Ügens De Merher, pemdhegves mis Est. Wednesday, 15 th August. Pandra dhe dhebry? Hedna ew an qwestyon. Na vadna vy debry kig na moy. Nag eus whans dhebm a gawas tra veth dhort bestas – na kig, na pesk, na cregyn, na keus, na leth, na oyow naneyl. Eus nekevys genam neb tra? Manen! Na wra vy debry manen war o bara scrawys na fella. Rag haunsel me a dhabras is gen “leth” amenut. Rag kidnyow me a gawas ejan fav gen lies losowen. Ha pandra warbydn coon? Me a drias füg-hos. (En Alys en Pow an Anethow ma Füg-Grobman.) Lebmyn ma bèrlosken dhebm. Na wrama tria hedna arta. What to eat? That is the question. I will not eat meat any more. I don’t want to have anything from animals – neither meat, nor fish, nor shellfish, nor cheese, nor milk, nor eggs. Have I forgotten anything? I am no longer going to eat butter on my toast. For breakfast I ate cereal with almond “milk”. For lunch I had a bean burger with lots of vegetables. And what for supper? I tried mo...

De Meurth, pajerdegves mis Est. Tuesday, 14 th August. Me a gar nosow cosel heb gwens. Me ell kerdhes mes a chei vy ha clowes son an mor. Nag eus tros kerry ha ma son o moas etta dres ayr an nos. Me a gar nosow heb loor ha heb commol magata. Nena me ell sevel et o lowarth ha mires orth rûth veur a ster. Nag eus bes üdn launter stret en ogas. I love quiet, windless nights. I can walk out of my house and hear the sound of the sea. There is no traffic noise and sound travels well through the night air. I love moonless, cloudless nights as well. Then I can stand in my garden and look at a multitude of stars. There is only one street lamp nearby.

Dew Cansves Dedh Pajer warn Ügens De Lün, terdhegves mis Est. Monday, 13 th August. Dew flogh wydn bian a dhabras ly gena nei. Nena, “A Vamm Wynn, gwra gwary shoppas genen!”   Me a faynyas dhe berna o livrow ha liwyow o honan. Òja ly agan mergh a dhros an sygednow keun. Hei a’s cavas et hy sagh. Hei a gemeras hy fleghes hag hy kei bian dhe ves. Hedna a ros dhebm termyn lowr dhe argrafa ügens dasscrif a’n lether nowodhow vy. Me a scrifas trigvaow, tackyas stompys ha postyas anjei dhe esely o bagas art. Two small grandchildren ate lunch with us. Then, “Nanny, play shops with us!” I pretended to buy my own books and paints. After lunch our daughter brought the dogs’ leads. She found them in her bag. She took her children and her little dog away. That gave me enough time to print twenty copies of my newsletter. I addressed envelopes, stuck on stamps and posted them to members of my art group.

Dew Cansves Dedh Trei warn Ügens De Sül, dewdhegves mis Est. Sunday, 12 th August. Jorna da o. Nag era odhom dhebm a fittya boos. Nei eth dhe chei o hôr wheg ha hy gour dhe gawas li. Nei a dhabras lies losôwen wheg ha yar rostys (ken nag era vy o tebry kig). Òja hedna nei a dhabras sevy ha dehen (saw na wrüga vy cawas an dehen). Nag era odhom dhen dhe gerdhes gen an keun naneyl. Agan mergh a dheuth dhe gan chei ha hei a gerdhas ganjans et agan le. E’n gwettha pres, nag ew an sygednow dhe voas kevys lebmyn en teller veth! It was a good day. I didn’t need to cook. We went to the house of my sister-in-law and her husband to have lunch. We ate lots of nice vegetables and roast chicken (though I don’t eat meat). After that we ate strawberries and cream (but I didn’t have the cream). We didn’t need to walk the dogs either. Our daughter came to our house and she walked them instead of us. Unfortunately, the leads are now nowhere to be found!

Dew Cansves Dedh Dew warn Ügens De Sadorn, üdnegves mis Est. Saturday, 11 th August. Me a veras orth o gwedhen aval vian hedhyw. Pe le ma’n avalow? Nag eus bes üdn aval rüdh dhedhy. Codhys ew oll an re erel po debrys gen edhnow. Ma semblant teg dhe’n aval rüdh dhort pelder, saw gowek ew hedna. Debrys ew magata. Me a welas gohien (qwilkiores) etto. (An kensa gohien ma gwelys genam e’n vledhen ma.) I looked at my little apple tree today. Where are the apples? It only has one red apple. All the others are fallen or eaten by birds. The red apple looks beautiful from a distance, but that is deceptive. It is eaten as well. I saw a wasp in it. (The first wasp I have seen this year.)

Dew Cansves Dedh Onan warn Ügens De Gwener, degves mis Est. Friday, 10 th August. Üdn jedh moy o scrifa an lether nowodhow – ma odhom dhebm cowldowethy an dra ken avorow. Esely an bagas art a vedn doas dhe gerhes mergh scrifa dhort an crow. E vedh whans dhodhans a dhasscrifow dhe gemeres dhe ves. One more day writing the newsletter – I need to finish the thing before tomorrow. Members of the art group will come to fetch easels from the shed. They will want copies to take away.

Dew Cansves Dedh hag Ügens De Yow, nawves mis Est. Thursday, 9 th August. E veu hager tros en cres a’n nos. “Piw an Jowl eus warfedhys?” me a vednas orth o honan. O hath a welas cath aral anketh der beister an gegin. Nena an kei a venja moas mes e’n lowarth – ha whath o tewal. Òja hedna na aljama còsca arta. Lebmyn skith o vy. There was a horrible noise in the middle of the night. “What the Devil has happened?” I asked myself. My cat saw another strange cat through the kitchen window. Then the dog wanted to go out into the garden – while it was still dark. After that I couldn’t sleep again. Now I’m tired.

Dew Cansves Dedh ha Nownjek De Merher, ethves mis Est. Wednesday, 8 th August. Dedh heb wharvedhyans o. Nei a wrüg gwaytyas omweloryon, saw na alja anjei moas. Et y le, me a scrifas lether nowodhow rag o bagas art (òja kerdhes gans an keun) . It was an uneventful day. We did expect visitors, but they couldn’t come. Instead, I wrote a newsletter for my art group (after walking with the dogs).

Dew Cansves Dedh hag Etek De Meurth, seythves mis Est. Tuesday, 7 th August. Dedh pur vesy o va hedhyw, bes thera plesour broas dhebm. An gewer e’n mettin o nebes loos ha niwlek, rag hedna me a dhogas cota scav ha me o moas dhe’n savla buss. E’n buss me a redyas “Alys in Pow an Anethow” trailys gans Nicholas Williams.” Me a vetyas gen cowethes en chei coffy ha nei a evas coffy warbarth ha cowsel en Kernôwek. Òja ly (cowl sawrek gwres a fav hag erbys) me a gemeras an buss tre. En Ty war’n Heyl ma a dhabras dehen rew ha mires adro dhe’n gwithty ken moas dhe’n vedhegva rag examnyanjow gans an vedhyores.   O holon, o gwask gooj ha’m anellans ew pur dha. It was a very busy day today, but I had a lot of pleasure. The weather in the morning was rather grey and misty, so I wore a light coat as I was going to the bus stop. On the bus I read “Alice in Wonderland” translated by Nicholas Williams. I met a friend in a café and we drank coffee together and chatted in Cornish. After ...