Manonabeach

trewince 20th June 2012 No comments

Anyone who loves Cornwall and enjoys a trip to the beach will find this blog delightful reading.

About manonabeach

“On a beach…welcome to manonabeach.com, where you can see my beach visits and enjoy a flavour of the beach, even when you’re not there, including interviews asking

“What does the beach mean to you…?”

The project celebrates the elemental power of the beach and its profound effect on the people who enjoy being where the air, land and sea meet. The beach means different things to different people, whether it’s enhancing creativity, decisiveness and energy, being restorative and settling, part of a routine, a reference point through generations, freedom or just fun.

In the narratives here, you’ll see and hear people re-present their emotions, perceptions and recollections, all drawn out by the enhancing effect of the beach. manonabeach is a construct, a passive Everyman, whose role is to bring these qualitative findings directly to you, for you to draw whatever conclusions you want from them.

With manonabeach, you can enjoy a regular glimpse of beaches and beachgoers, wherever you are, nearly in real time, as the films are almost always uploaded on the same day as the visit.”

Heartlands open – now for the Minack

trewince 23rd April 2012 No comments

We were at the Heartlands opening at the weekend, with Duchy Opera (Peter was singing in the chorus, and I was gallantly trying to hold onto the music for the accompanist as it threatened to blow away). Should be renamed Trewince (house of the winds!). We were all given little heart-shaped bookmarks (based on the new Heartlands logo) but sadly our promised heart-shaped Cornish pasties failed to materialise, having sold out completely the previous day. We saw the Bal Maidens dancing and heard the Falmouth Shout singing and generally enjoyed the ambiance of the opening event. We didn’t manage to spot the heart-shaped blimp in the sky – I hope it hasn’t blown away.

In two week’s time we shall be heading down to the Minack (the open-air theatre on the cliffs at Porthcurno, not far from Lands End). Time for Baron Herzog to strut his stuff and open up a world of opera. Let’s hope the wind has dropped by then and the rain stays away. Now the Minack in a storm is an entirely different story!

Heartlands opens and Duchy Opera sings

trewince 12th April 2012 No comments

Duchy Opera is honoured to have been invited to sing at the launch of the prestigious new Heartlands attraction and World Heritage site. We shall be there on Sunday April 22nd at 11.30–12 & 1-1.30. Everyone is invited to this free event which lasts all weekend. Watch out for the specially commissioned 4m² heart-shaped blimp which will rise into the sky over the 19 acre site.

“Special guest, Newton Faulkner joins line-up for three-day opening celebrations at the UK’s first free cultural playground”

BRIT nominated, acoustic guitar virtuoso Newton Faulkner was today announced as the special guest of honour at the launch of Heartlands, the new free visitor attraction and World Heritage site in Cornwall, which will open to the public on Friday 20 April 2012.

The musician, who will be playing two concerts in nearby Falmouth on Sunday 22 and Monday 23 April, will perform a small live acoustic set on the Saturday afternoon as part of the three-day party to celebrate the opening of this inspirational new 19 acre site, which has been created to help regenerate one of the poorest areas of Cornwall.

As well as performing, Newton will also leave his mark on the Totem Circle within Heartlands, a new events space dedicated to buskers and new talent. Twelve totems surround the circle; each with two sides left blank for performers to graffiti their initials. On carving his initials, Newton will kick-start this ritual and begin the Totem Circle’s story.

Newton joins a large and eclectic line-up for the Heartlands Magic Myth and Mayhem Launch Party, which includes music performances from (amongst others) Dalla, John Dowling, The Viewers, Hedluv and Passman, and Duchy Opera; theatre from Rogue, Bish Bash Bosh and Squash Box; dance from The Big Dance Company, CScape and TR14ERs. The event will also include special lantern, flag making and dance workshops, storytelling, face painting, aerial performances, acrobatics, skateboarding, BMX, fire show and fireworks.

The weekend will begin with a Hearty Party Parade on Friday 20 April as over 800 schoolchildren, local community groups, businesses and colleges formally open the site. Once open, a specially commissioned 4m² heart-shaped blimp will rise into the sky and fly over this, the former mining heart of Cornwall for the remainder of the weekend.

Vicky Martin, Chief Executive of Heartlands said:

“We are honoured that Newton was able to take time out of his busy tour schedule to pop in to see us at Heartlands and we can’t wait to see him perform. Our three-day extravaganza brings together an eclectic and exciting mix of music, dance, theatre and spectacle and we are looking forward to opening Heartlands in style.”

Heartlands is based on former derelict mine land at Robinson’s Shaft in the village of Pool. It is hoped the £35 million Cornwall Council-led development, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Cornwall Council, the Homes and Communities Agency and the European Union will support the regeneration of Pool, Redruth and Camborne – an area containing over 10% of the Cornish population which has struggled to recover from the closure of the tin and copper mines (and related industries).

Heartlands became a reality in 2007 when it was awarded a £22.3 million grant by the Big Lottery Fund, the biggest grant BIG has ever given to a single project in England. It was one of only three projects in the UK to receive the grant under BIG’s Living Landmarks scheme.
The free attraction will be run as a social enterprise by the charity, the Heartlands Trust and includes:
World Heritage Site state-of-the art exhibitions
Restored Engine House with 80” Beam Engine (the last Cornish engine to work on a Cornish mine)
Biggest Adventure Playground in Cornwall (themed on Cornish myth and history)
Diaspora Botanical Gardens (each relating to a country that the Cornish have emigrated to)
Red River Café and Bar
Art and Craft studios
Chi an Bobel (large community, conference and function hall)
Totem Circle (small amphitheatre for music, dance and theatre performances)
Market Square
Events Arena (for large scale outdoor festivals)
Interactive art installations including graffiti-me totem poles and Red River paddling stream
19 one and two-bedroomed sustainable homes
Biomass boiler, photo voltaics, rain-harvesting system and wind turbine
Year-round programme of events
Newton Faulkner first entered our world back in 2007, when his debut album Hand Built By Robots rocketed up the charts all the way to the number one spot. Since then, Newton has toured relentlessly around the world and 2009 saw the release of his second full-length album, Rebuilt By Humans. Currently Newton is working hard on material for the eagerly anticipated third album, due for release next year. For more information, visit www.newtonfaulkner.com

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG)

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
Big Lottery Fund Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030, Textphone: 08456 021 659. Full details of Big Lottery Fund projects and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Big Lottery Press Office: 020 7211 1888. Out of hours: 07867 500 572

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England. Its vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas. This is achieved by:

Understanding the needs and aspirations of people and communities through close working with local authorities on local investment planning
Enabling local delivery through the channelling of expertise and investment
Working effectively with the market, housebuilders, investors and other stakeholders

Minack Theatre on the cliffs wins Gold SW Tourism award

trewince 8th February 2012 No comments

The Minack Theatre won the Gold award at the SW Tourism Awards finals in Torquay, in the category “Tourism Activity, Sport & Experience of the Year”. The West Cornwall winners were Team Minack, Penlee Gallery (gold in small attraction), Boskerris Hotel (bronze in small hotel) and Visit Cornwall. Geevor Tin Mine won bronze in the small attraction category.

Who could think of a better ‘shelf’ on which to display their trophy? Quote from the Minack: “We were thinking about asking the builders to cement it in!!”.

Ice-skating at Eden

trewince 27th January 2012 No comments

Ice-skating at Eden until at least 26th February. Perfect for half-term holidays. Check it out!

“Our magical ice rink is back with a new stunning glacial theme. In addition to our general skating sessions, there are special sessions for all ages and abilities, so come on down and get your skates on!”

Ice skating on the ice rink at the Eden Project

Of course, there’s lots to see and do all the year round.

Top 10 things to do with kids:

Explore the largest indoor rainforest in the world.
Enjoy the imaginative children’s play areas.
Follow exciting trails around the site, with shortcuts, hideaways, stepping stones and sandpits.
Get involved in special events for kids, including den building in the summer, ice skating in the winter, and rock climbing at certain times during the year.
Marvel at the massive futuristic Biomes and sculptures.
Listen to fascinating stories about weird and wonderful plants
Interact with exhibits such as the Seed, Plant Engine & Nutcracker.
Learn about the amazing things plants do.
Feast on the delicious children’s food in the cafes.
Get some great toys, games, gadgets and books in the shop.

Cornwall Record Office

trewince 23rd January 2012 No comments

I had a tour of this archive recently and this is also where I did some of my research about Trewince history a few years ago. It is so special to actually handle some of these old documents, often written in Latin.

In this clip, David Thomas gives a brief ‘guided tour’ of the vaults at Cornwall Records Office. David knows every inch of this treasure trove of Cornish documents, letters, maps etc. and will track down archive material relevant to real-life characters and society portrayed in Edward Bosanketh’s 1888 novel ‘Tin’. Clip is courtesy of Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.

The local Heritage Centre

trewince 23rd January 2012 No comments

Gerrans Parish Heritage & Information Centre
The Old Forge, Tregassick Road, Gerrans, Cornwall.

The Heritage and Information Centre opened in 2004. In addition to the permanent exhibition, specific exhibits will be set-up on an annual basis.

The history of the parish is illustrated with displays depicting Farming through the Ages, the Fishing Industry, Education, Domesday Book entries, the Manors, World Wars, Coastguards, Churches, Chapels and much more. There are photographs, tithe maps, documents, parish records and other artefacts (including the Trewince Bottle fragment).

For those with an interest in family history there is a database containing the baptisms/christenings, marriages and deaths/burials of more than 11,500 parishioners. Indexes are also available for St Gerrans and St Anthony parishes covering, marriages, burials and a churchyard plan. The 1841 – 1901 census has also been indexed.

Cornish Mining World Heritage Site

trewince 23rd January 2012 No comments

In November Peter & Liz were invited by “Discover the Extraordinary” to visit many of the Cornish mining sites to see for themselves why these unspoilt mining landscapes throughout Cornwall have been given World Heritage status. In 2006 selected mining landscapes across Cornwall and west Devon were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, placing Cornish mining heritage on a par with international treasures like Machu Pichu, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

The largest World Heritage Site in the UK, with over 20,000 hectares spread across Cornwall and west Devon, it offers myriad experiences to explore our world-changing mining culture. The Site contains over 200 iconic Cornish engine houses (the largest concentration of such monuments anywhere in the world). But Cornish mining is about far more than mine sites – the mining industry impacted on all aspects of life. Many of our towns and villages were either transformed by a growing industrial population or newly built to house them. They reveal their history in the rows of distinctive terraced cottages, shops, chapels and substantial public buildings. Today you’ll find plenty of great cafés, pubs, restaurants, art galleries and museums.

Begin your journey to the soul of Cornwall via the ten unique, diverse areas that form the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.

Category: Places to visit

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