Finding Cornwall

How did Cornwall do it? How did worm its way into the heart of a series mainly set an English village to the north of London? Depending on where you live or are from, you may ask, as someone enquired of me, ‘Where is Cornwall?
It’s in the south-west of mainland Britain, the bit under Wales that spikes out into the Atlantic pointing off towards the distant shores of The New World.

What’s So Special?

Cornwall and the Cornish were regarded as a separate place and people until the fourteenth century, by those on both sides of the border. Cornwall has its own language, it’s own flag, customs and heritage. In 2014 the UK government granted the Cornish minority status and the Cornish tongue given funding to encourage its spread and development.

Dead and Gone?

Neither. The traditional opinion is that the last native speaker Dolly Pentreath breathed her last in 1777. However, there is a body of evidence that suggests it never entirely died out at all. Cornwall is a land of remote nooks and crannies, plus families migrated to other parts of the world but took their language with them.

Today there are bilingual speakers and a stream of new learners. The presence of support groups and organisations for students, Cornish books in libraries and schools, events (most famously the Gorsedh), poetry, literature, and songs are all testimony to a living breathing and thriving language.

Mysterious?

Oh yes, tales of pixies, ghosts and giants, are coupled with romantic landscape from plummeting cliffs, crashing waves, soft sands, rolling hills and the bleak beauty of the moors. These have drawn artists and writers for hundreds of years. One, in particular, raised Cornwall in the public consciousness: Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Jamaica Inn – haunted, one case a man by his past and the other by strange lights and sounds in the dead of night!

Mist and mystery, the quintessential ‘country’ accent, the ‘oo arr, Jim lad’ of the stereotypical pirate, the crafty smugglers, the lone lighthouse, the golden light of the remote inn welcoming the weary traveller are an irresistible cocktail. All of these make it the perfect association for not just a cozy mystery but a cosy paranormal one.
So how did it entwine itself with the fictional English village of Sunken Madley?

Back to the Roots

For this, we must return to the very inception of the series. Once I had the name Amanda Cadabra, her character and history formed before my very eyes. She was an orphan, her family had gone over a cliff when she was an infant. What cliffs were at my disposal? Cornwall immediately came to mind. Suitably dramatic coastline.What were they doing there? They were Cornish. Therefore Amanda is Cornish and, therefore, so are her grandparents.

Next, we needed a police presence. He is investigating the cold case of the Cornish accident. Therefore he is Cornwall, and he is Cornish, like his boss, Chief Inspector Hogarth. A typical Cornish name for our hero? Thomas Trelawney, Detective Inspector.

Magical Language

As the plot began to form, I also realised I need the ingredient of a magical language. What alternatives were there? Latin as so skilfully used by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter Books, spells used in Disney films, the Elvish of Tolkein or just plain made-up. So it came to me that a melange would be a way of connecting Cornwall and England. I read that witches, wise women and men, from both sides of the border supported one another, especially during the decades of the infamous witch trials. What if that led to a mixture of Cornish and old English. Using online dictionaries, I cobbled together spells words and phrases. In doing so, I became curious about the structure of each tongue.

The Real Thing

On impulse I began to research. Discovering the Cornish revival, it seemed only respectful to honour it by learning how to speak and write it properly. The flame was of fascination burned higher. I found an online course with Kesva, the Cornish Language Board, and more resources at Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek, the Cornish Language Fellowship. The first email of enquiry was written, I was put in contact with a tutor, Kensa, now Dr Broadhurst I found my way to Cornish language books and the book shops that sell them. At Christmas, I came upon Keur Heb Hanow, a singing quartet, and corresponded with one of them. I dug for Facebook groups and found a home with We Love Kernewek, Our Cornish Language. Everywhere I went, I found kind and helpful people.

From One to One Of

I was content to learn by correspondence but then the Corona virus pandemic hit and with it the cessation of face-to-face classes that had been going on in Cornwall for years. With that came of the rise of Zoom, a computer application that made it possible for classes to gather remotely online. Of course, the video conference call had existed before that but now it became the province of everyday users, and brought new people to online technology. Suddenly, I went from being a lone student to being a member of a class, a commuity. I had fellow students. The pandemic receded but the use of Zoom and Teams remained and year after year, I went up through the Cornish Language grades, finally taking my final two Grade 4 exams the year before last. By then, teachers and fellow students had become friends, especially my study partner Linda Beskeen, way over in Redruth in Cornwall, while I was here in London.

Becoming a Teacher

Before I took my final exams, I was invited to join the ranks of the teachers of the Cornish Language. Together with Linda we began our beginners class online. I have had years of experience teaching one-to-one in the past but didn’t feel equal to helping an entire class. Fortunately, Linda’s background over many years as a geography teacher in school and college made her the ideal candidate. However an online group of adults in a language in which we were only just completing our student years was no something either of us felt equal to. Separately that was. But … together, we formed a an excellent team. Linda’s lesson planning and creation of learning materials is formidable, and I enjoy supporting the group and individuals throughout the session, in the chat and with chipping in, as well as acting as proof reader of the materials. We are now in our second year as teachers and have gone from teaching absolute beginners to beginners and Grade 1 candidates. Incidentally, you can find out more here. if you’d like to join, you would be more than welcome.

The Wish

And all the while, the dream of visiting grew stronger. Linda, last year, for her work as part of the Old Cornwall Society and the myriad things she does to promote and maintain Cornish culture ,was made a Bard of Cornish Gorsedh. Of which I will tell you much more in due course. Yet we had never met in person. The same applied to the two wonderful women who led the Cornish conversation class each Thursday, which had been so important to my progress, especially through the early grades. Kensa had gone from being my teacher to my mentor. Emma from the Kowethas an Yeth bookshop, supplying my text books and more had been there on my journey from the beginning. And yet, remotely.

My health did not permit me to drive the distance at that time, yet I retained the belief that some day, some how, I would get there, be on the soil I had come to love and get to hug those special friends.

I Become A Bard

And then, this year, I received the letter. I was to be made a Bard. Reading it was an emotional moment. It is the greatest honour I could have imagined. But how was I to get there? I hoped by this September, I would be well enough to make the drive. How I did get there is another story, which I shall tell in due course. Suffice it to say that on a flying visits, on 7th September, I become a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh and received my bardic name. It was the best day of my life so far. There have been some 1,000 bards over the last century, most of whom are still alive. The circle of bards seated at the ceremony was vast, the procession spectacular, the moment, transcendentally joyful.

The Future

Amanda Cadabra has thus brought me a new world, a whole new circle of friends, experiences, delights and opportunities. Next year, I plan to make a proper longer visit to Cornwall. When I come back, I’ll have new photos, videos and stories to share with you, dear readers, whom Amanda Cadabra has also brought to me.

Meanwhile, I have Amanda Cadabra Book 9 to continue to write, a novella or two quietly simmering, and something else you will like.

I hope you will enjoy discovering with me the history, the culture, the past and present, in short, the magic of one of the most beautiful parts of our land, Cornwall, and Cornish, here on amandacadabra.com and in the book series. May it enrich your life as it has mine.

Happy discovering,

Holly