The three Bird brothers remembered in Penzance

A good turn-out this Remembrance Day (11/11/21) at the Memorial Gardens at Penlee in Penzance.

The ceremony was led by the British Legion and a bugler played the Last Post and Reveille.

We laid a wreath in memory of the three Bird brothers in Penzance who tragically lost their lives in World War One.

A fourth brother, Hubert, survived more than a year of active service at the Front. After the war he returned to Canada (where he had emigrated as a very young man) and founded Bird Construction, one of the biggest construction firms in Canada.

I PACKED THIS MYSELF in Herefordshire

So glad to hear from Tessa Wilkinson at St Mary's Church in Almeley, Herefordshire, who asked if we might send her materials after she saw a tweet by Bishop Hugh Nelson about our work in Cornwall on migration. 

The package arrived safely and - we are delighted to hear - proved very useful.

"The suitcases were brilliant," writes Tessa, "we had a service in church called Home sweet Home and during it reflected on what it must be like to have to flee from the safety of ones home and we asked people to reflect on what 6 things they thought they would grab if they had to leave home in a hurry.  We gave them each a suitcase with 6 pieces of paper in it and we asked them to write down their 6 items.  It worked really well, and they loved the suitcases!"

We are very happy to send out materials to other groups interested in exploring these very important themes.

This is part of I PACKED THIS MYSELF, work on migration aimed at breaking down prejudice against the people from overseas who play a vital role in the Cornish - and national - economy.  It is funded by Cornwall Council. 

An assembly at St John's Catholic Primary School

It was so great to be back in school delivering an assembly - for the first time for two years as the pandemic stopped 'in person' work. Mirabela Robatzchi joined me to talk to 110 children about journeys and migration.  We were here exactly two years ago, delivering workshops on World War One.

Not for the first time in this school, we were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and interest of the children in the ideas behind I PACKED THIS MYSELF.

Mirabela talked about her journey from Romania to this country: she now lives in Helston and runs a taxi firm with her husband. She was a lawyer back home in Bucharest.

We also showed our exhibition suitcase painted with items brought by workers from eastern Europe who came to this country to pick daffodils.  Mirabela explained the cultural background behind each item. We asked children to think about what they would take if they had to set off on a long journey. 

We left behind a cut-out cardboard suitcase for each student to fill with words and drawings, and will return in a couple of weeks to see the results.

And finally - questions - so many questions! How did you feel when you were travelling- did you feel sad?

You do feel sad, said Mirabela, because you leave behind people and things that you know well. But it's also exciting and on a journey like this, you're always finding something new.

Someone asked how old she was when she left Romania. The answer: 40.

Did Mirabela know any English when she came? Yes - she studied in Primary School and at High School.

The most difficult thing? Hard to say - perhaps learning to work in a completely different area.

And finally, a charming question from an eight-year-old Romanian boy in the class. He'd arrived only recently in Cornwall but already spoke good English.

"Will you come to my house?" he asked.

"Of course!" said Mirabela. "That's very  Romanian."

World War One centenary poetry from Hayle

As Remembrance Day approaches, just discovering poetry written in autumn 2018 in Hayle, Cornwall, a century after the guns finally fell silent on the Western Front. Click here to download a leaflet. 

This was part of our project Heroes of Hayle, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Keen writers – some experienced, some trying their hand for the first time - gathered at three workshops led by respected local writer Jenny Alexander. The poems marked the centenary of the end of World War One, looking at Hayle’s extraordinary social and industrial history.
The result is a moving and powerful anthology - poems reflecting the courage, stoicism and heartbreak of those terrible years.

Homelessness on our doorsteps

Very good to have a long chat with Rev. Neil Potter of Camborne Church who does impressive work with the growing numbers of homeless in Camborne. He and his team have been providing an evening meal two nights a week for the past five to six years.

We met up because it occurred to me that the experience of homelessness had resonances with the experience of 'leaving home' (and all related issues) that we're exploring in our work on migration - I PACKED THIS MYSELF.  There's so much to talk about - so we plan a second meeting in a couple of weeks.

Neil told me about the growing problem of homelessness locally as the months pass and ever more tenants in Cornwall are being evicted by landlords, keen to either to sell properties in the booming real estate market or convert them into Air B and Bs.

Cornwall Council is envisaging a crisis and providing pods (containers) to house an anticipated surge in homelessness this winter. After the meeting I drove round to Rosewarne Car Park in Camborne to see work in progress for myself.

It's a sobering - and shocking - sight. Eighteen of these pods are under construction. They have beds, a shower, TV and microwave.  

Pods for families are planned for a site near Tesco Extra in Pool.

Packing up postcards

 ... to send off to Herefordshire where St Mary's Church in Almeley has expressed interest in using them for a service this coming Sunday.

Great to think that our I PACKED THIS MYSELF language postcards will travel 'up country' for further use!

This service - on 'leaving home'  - looks likely to be particularly relevant to the themes of our project, funded by Cornwall Council.

It's about migration and asks the question: 'What would you take with you if you had to leave home for a long time?'
 

Anti-Slavery Day

 Good to meet Jane Yeomans of Transformation Cornwall today in Truro. It's Anti-Slavery Day and Jane tells me about the work that her organisation is planning in Cornwall.  

Here's a link to the Devon and Cornwall Police web page about Modern Slavery which sets out terms and definitions well.

Driving up, I just miss a really good piece on Women's Hour, highlighting the work of the Salvation Army in this area. Link to the programme here - the item is 29 minutes in.

Costa at Treliske Retail Park is very convenient for a meeting. Not as pretty as Helston Boating lake - but ideal for a chat.