Sometimes I like a reading break away from fiction and this book presented itself.
I may have mentioned before that Petroc is my favourite Radio 3 presenter! His breakfast show is my choice of a gentle way into the day. He is of course Cornish and I was interested as to how he would approach this book and what exactly he wanted to say.
I enjoyed reading it but I’m not sure he is a natural writer. The chapters are a little disparate and the attempt to meld history and memoir is rather clunky. That being said, I definitely ended the book with a better unde rstanding of why Cornwall is as it is today.
I learnt how the Church of England virtually ignored Cornwall for centuries, thus allowing John Wesley a freehand in growing Methodism throughout the county. Also, Petroc is obviously a railway buff (from an early age it seems) and the cuts and policy changes throughout the 20th century have had significant effects on many Cornish communities. Transport links are vital to the economy of any area, in this case tourism. You may remember when a storm undermined the Dawlish railway track some years ago and the link with London was broken. It was understood how very important this was to the Cornish economy with the summer season imminent. The track was repaired and up and running in a matter of weeks.
There is no motorway in Cornwall, regular visitors becoming familiar with the A30 stretching down through the county. There is no Marks and Spencer! Can that still be true? Oh my goodness. There is no university but thankfully Plymouth and Exeter now have outposts in the county and Falmouth School of art has reached out to the rest of Cornwall.
I loved the chapters on John Betjeman and on the Launceston poet Charles Causley Both writers have a great sense of place and a devotion to Cornwall. Petroc showed great empathy for each of them.
The Cornish language is discussed, quite realistically I thought. Although all road signage is in both Cornish and English, there is not a strong revival in the speaking of this Celtic tongue. It remains very, very niche, not being taught as a regular curriculum subject in schools (unlike Wales.)
However, the Cornish word ‘hireth’ was recognised by Petroc as a term that did not easily translate into English but could certainly be understood by all. It is a feeling of melancholic nostalgia for a place that feels like home. Living, as he has for years, in London, Petroc feels ‘hireth’ for the Lizard peninsula in the south of Cornwall. The word seems to have a better association within Welsh and Breton.
The Tamar River forms the natural border between Devon and Cornwall. Walking along its banks the author looks towards Devon and sees a landscape of sophisticated English countryside. Turning towards Cornwall he sees, in his words, a rather ramshackle terrain. An interesting observation I thought.
Somerset and Devon, when I visit, feel very much just a particular part of England. When going to Cornwall after many years I was surprised by the strong sense of ‘otherness.’ It is a different land.