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Puzzled from St Mawes, ecstatic from Veryan? Whatever you are, please Email Us and we'll gladly publish your letter here.
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Dear Roseland-Online
Ladies Day - Veryan Players... I hope everyone knows about the Veryan Players latest production! Ladies day is an exuberant and up the minute comedy set at Royal Ascot when it was held at York Race Course a few years ago.
If you have holidaymakers with you, then they are sure to be entertained by this great evening out. Some tickets are still available for this Thursday, and next Wednesday. There are still a few available for the last night which is next Thursday. Have a look at the Roseland On Line Calendar for Wednesday 19th August for details of how to get your tickets - You won’t regret it! By the way - the last night is also Big Hat Night - Ladies, join in the fun by wearing your biggest and best bonnet! ( I guess men in "Toppers" would also be welcome! - (Roseland Online review coming Friday! MDH)
Ian Bennett
Loft Ladder Missing... It is with great sadness that I write this letter. We are renovating a house in Parc an Dillon and the builders removed a loft ladder and left it by the side of the skip for us to collect. Unfortunately, before we could get over to collect it, it disappeared. Now our son has to buy a loft ladder as he was going to use it in his home in Truro! If someone has taken it thinking it was scrap, perhaps it could be returned. Please call 01209 210521.
Cynthia Calton Porthscatho
What is the Roseland? - Just to add a little to Chris Pollard's letter [below]. Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall (1870) includes Revd John Whitaker’s, rector of Ruan (1780s - 1810-ish) discussion of the Roseland when dealing with Philleigh parish. He notes that the villages of Veryan and Ruanlanihorne each has its church in a valley, the area which would have been inhabited first as the valleys were more sheltered and benefited from soil washed down from the hillsides. At the top of the hills lay an extensive heath (or rhos/rôs).
Whitaker believed that the area was first named 'Roseland' when the English came to settle in 936. The parish of Philleigh was carved out of the parish of Ruanlanihorne and was originally called Eglos-rôs. Two fields were tithable in common between Ruanlanihorne and Philleigh (Higher and Lower Congier) which he claims proves the two parishes were once one. According to Hals (in Lake’s) St Just in Roseland was rated under the jurisdiction of Eglos- rôs (Philleigh) in the Domesday Book.
From this it seems reasonable to assume that the first people to use the term ‘Roseland’ understood it to cover the parishes which contained the ‘rhos/rôs ’, so the parishes of Veryan, Ruanlanihorne and Philleigh have a good claim to be part of the Roseland.
So it seems to make sense to regard the Roseland as starting at Daddiport Bridge at the foot of Reskivers Hill, (not Dabs Hill as that leads to Cornelly). The stream which comes down the hillside to Daddiport Bridge is the boundary between Veryan and Tregony parishes, thus continuing the water boundary of the peninsula.
Father Douglas Robbins, Veryan.
What is the Roseland? - The Roseland peninsula, where does it begin and where does it end? Well I think we can all agree that it ends on the coast at St. Anthony and St. Mawes but where it begins has always been a bit of a discussion point. The village of Tregony is not in my view in the Roseland.
If travelling by road you enter the Roseland at the bottom of Tregony hill when you either drive up Dabs hill to take the road to St. Mawes and Gerrans or take the lower road to Ruan Lanihorne. That is the way we now see the Roseland Peninsula.
Back in 1978 however in his excellent book, 'The Roseland between River and Sea', Laurence O'Toole described it rather differently. He only included the parishes of St. Anthony, St Gerrans, St Just and St Mawes and so only taking the Parishes that protrude on that thin arm of the land.
In 1584 map maker, John Norden, wrote, 'The peninsula is called by the pretty name of Roseland, being derived from Rhos, the Celtic word for heath or gorse.' He goes on to say that, `Roseland is a circuit of land lying between the creek of Falmouth haven and the sea.'
I have always assumed that the parishes Portloe and Veryan are included in the peninsula and of course Philleigh. In short there is no easy answer. The Oxford dictionary states that a, `peninsula is a piece of land almost surrounded by water or projecting far into the sea.' And from this one could go back as far as the river which enters the sea below Caerhayes Castle however I feel that this maybe a boundary too far.
Chris Pollard, Gerrans.
Bio-degradable waste bags - I used to buy the smaller version of the sacks from Sainsbury thinking they would be a good idea i.e. Put the veg/fruit peelings tea bags etc. and transport them from Parc an Dillon to the allotment but I found that the bottoms used to fall out meaning I used a plastic bag to carry them in and then that was taken home and put in dustbin - rather defeating the object. Admittedly they initially came with a reusable container but that wasn't ideal as I couldn't carry that when I had a dog with me. I kept the hard plastic container alongside the other recycling bits and pieces so perhaps the council should think of providing something similar to that for each household or a bigger version of the yellow bag that could be used. Of course that wouldn't solve the issue if you wanted to put more than one bag out each fortnight. Perhaps extras could be requested. Of course not everyone has the room for extra containers either.
One of your letter writers talks about a "bag" that is emptied directly into the lorry that seems a far better option to me.
On another subject but in the same category we were given some biodegradable poo bags from the tourist office in the isles of scilly - great idea I thought for back here until we came to use them and they split!!!!!!! They seem to be of the same type of material used for the white sacks only in black.
Hope this helps your campaign. Like the website.
Elaine Dennett - Portscatho
Bio-degradable waste bags - I've never understood why Carrick wanted to collect garden waste in plastic sacks. Why not have re-usable ones like other authorities provide?
When I lived in Hampshire the garden waste was collected out of large re-usable bags that were emptied into the back of large trucks, and the bags returned to the house for re-filling (like, for example, the red paper-collecting bags we get here in Carrick). Each household was entitled to up to 3 such garden waste bags free and I certainly managed to fill all three of mine regularly, although not all households created that much garden waste. The garden waste material was then taken to the local council's composting facility, where it was composted and eventually bagged as cheap compost for sale from the local recycling site. Great! Everyone wins.
This method of dealing with garden waste seems by far the most sensible one and I don't see why it could not be practised here. The plastic sacks currently in use are taken only a short distance from here by Howard Emmett's recycling facility, so why not take un-bagged material there instead? Residents would not need to keep re-purchasing expensive sacks, instead using long-life re-usable ones. Even if sacks are not issued free, I'm sure people would rather use tough, re-usable sacks instead of these over-priced, useless potato-starch things that puncture and break down so quickly.
I store my white sacks in the shed, even when full, so they don't break down too quickly. However, they do puncture even more easily than the blue sacks did and they take up precious room in the shed. People should of course be encouraged to compost as much of their own garden waste as possible but these white sacks are proving to be a stick rather than a carrot. I think we should campaign strongly for re-usable waste sacks. Otherwise, resorting to the bonfire might become a more popular option.
Finally, did you know that it's probably cheaper to take your own trailer load of garden waste to Howard Emmett's place than buying lots of sacks (he charges a fiver per trailer). Maybe people could organize trailer-share groups?
There! that's my bit for the campaign. Hope you can use it.
Sarah Vandome - Gerrans
Bio-degradable waste bags - I agree with you that these 'experimental' bags are totally unfit for the purpose, as they start to degrade too quickly, especially when collected fortnightly. They burst as soon as they are lifted - and the resulting mess left on the pavement!
Mine are kept at the side of the bungalow - not in the sun - and protected as much as possible by polythene sheeting. When I complained to Cornwall Council I was told to keep them in my garage. I was under the impression that garages were for cars not garden waste!!
I hope you will be successful in getting this problem solved.
Yours sincerely
Sue Jeremy - Gerrans
Bio-degradable waste bags - I'm glad that someone is taking up the case of the hopelessly inadequate biodegradable garden bags.
Although we have 3 compost bins there is still a need for garden bags and our plan is to have 3 bags fitted with plastic liners at strategic places around the garden for use as required. With is method the bags can be in position for several weeks before they are full. In the past the blue bags worked perfectly well but now of course after a few days the white bags degrade. I estimate that in the vast majority of cases we have needed to use 2 bags where one should have been sufficient. Very expensive.
We have now resorted to using black/green bags and decanting into the white ones the day before collection. I understand that some householders are placing the white bag into coloured ones in the hope that this will enable them last up to 2 weeks.
I am fully in favour of biodegradable bags - but not these ones. I hope you are successful in persuading the powers that be that the current system is most unsatisfactory.
Thanks
Arthur Coomb
Bio-degradable waste bags - Cory kindly delivered 2 new biodegradable bags yesterday to replace the 2 that biodegraded before collection. The man gave me a lecture on how to store them etc and told me that they had a bad batch.
This morning my husband goes to use these and the bottom falls out of both!!!
I have phographed this and shall be phoning Cory on monday morning to complain yet again!! It's obviously one hell of a bad batch!!!!!
Marianna Day, Portscatho
Bio-degradable waste bags - yet another dissatisfied customer of the White Bags. I look after several gardens on the Roseland each month. All tasks need to be completed a couple of days prior to collection (which is not possible) or the rubbish needs to be stored by alternative means to avoid double costs due to the white bags collapsing. I have tried and tested all the advice given regarding the use of these bags i.e storage, keeping them out of sun etc.
It does not work. This is not acceptable to me or my clients, who, after-all pay for my time which could be used more effectively with-out all this hassle.
I phoned the Council about 5 weeks ago to complain about this situation. This was followed up with an email to me saying - 'Thank -you' for taking the time in contacting us and that the complaint had been 'logged'.
So, to say they have had no complaints is absolute nonsense and untrue!
Sharon - Veryan
Bio-degradable waste bags - awaiting a delivery of 2 biodegradable bags from Cory as the 2 bags put out for collection fell apart this morning.
I do store my bags correctly and they have only been awaiting collection for a week, so you can imagine my annoyance this morning when the bottom fell out of both, leaving me with having to use yet another 2 bags of this rather expensive experiment.
They were not overfilled, as nowadays the Health & Safety man rears his head regarding such matters. Pretty soon we will all be unable to lift anything heavier than a mug. God forbid!!
No doubt you have a long list of similar complaints about these bags. I don't mind using them, although I wish they were a little cheaper. I am composting as much as possible and I don't like to have a bonfire to burn this waste, unlike alot of people in the village. I have noticed an increase of people having bonfires since these bags were introduced.
That's my whinge for the day.
Marianna Day, Portscatho
Bio-degradable waste bags - this our first experience of having to buybin bags at all as we had wheelie bins in Bedford. The new bags have been stored in a dry area with a variety of contents from general weeds to grass cuttings, the latter collapse within 5 days and the weed bags in under the 2 weeks, not very practical. So now I store everything in biodegradable black bags and then transfer the contents the day before collection, messy and time consuming.
Incidentally the black bio-degradeable bags will last about 4 weeks before they collapse so it can be done.
Cynthia Calton, Porthscatho
Bio-degradable waste bags - firstly, may I congratulate you on your great website. Something like this is long overdue and you've put it together very nicely.
Thanks, too for bringing this problem of the new 'blue' bags to light. I've been struggling with these, too. On Tuesday this week, I put one out that was half full. I especially put it out of the sunlight as I heard this was the best way to store them (?) and I put a plant pot bottom on top to stop it from blowing the contents away in the winds we've been having.
When I went to put it out on Friday, the bag underneath the plant pot bottom had rotted away, leaving it impossible to pick up. In the end I had to use another bag to put it in... this cost me £1.40 (2 x 70p bags) as opposed to 50p for the old blue ones.
I think it's right that we use biodegradable bags, but surely they should be fit for the job they are being used for?!
Sue, St. Just
Bio-degradable waste bags - we’ve been using these bags for over a month now and have continual problems with the rotting through in well under two weeks – usually about 7 days. We initially stored them in the garden, then in a weatherproof shed, then in my workshop (under the house and climate controlled for cabinetmaking) – it makes no difference as the bags rot from the inside with the moisture from the contents). I telephoned and spoke to somebody at the Council 4 weeks ago and was told they had received NO complaints from anybody else. I have just spoken with my neighbour who says she telephoned the Council last week and was told that they’ve sold 40,000 bags so far and, guess what, the haven’t received a single complaint!! I used to object to paying 50p for the old blue bags. I object strongly to this 40% increase for something that’s not fit for purpose. I further object to being told lies by council employees.
Phil Wallace, Veryan
Bio-degradable waste bags - another dissatisfied customer here!
We did the weeding (like you have to) and left several these bags full to be collected. How stupid we were leaving them for over two days!
For when the collectors came and lifted the bags up, they just disintegrated and not one leaf or weed was collected. They just left the rubbish and what was left of the bags in the road!!
Now, we put the rubbish in a refuse bin and then decant the rubbish the day before collection. And it costs £2.00 more for the privilege.
We keep the bags in the garage. If it was up to me we'd have a green wheelie bin for garden waste like they do elsewhere. I'd even pay for it!!
Speaking to Karen, the gardener for the rest of the houses in the road, she told me that she'd had to rearrange her schedule so that it fell in line with the collections, i.e. she made sure full rubbish bags did not wait around for more than 3 days. What a waste of her precious time!
Julie Pope, Portscatho
Other Letters______________________________________________
 Our Roseland wildlife - the coast tends to dominate our thinking when we consider our Roseland wildlife, but there is so much going on in the fields and hedgerows at the moment.
Over the last few days we have been delighted to see the large numbers of painted lady butterflies that have made it down to the Roseland. I have noticed them congregating in large numbers over on Messack Point, down the coast path towards St Mawes and along the Bowling Green in St Just. The common denominator appears to be large banks of flowers heavy with nectar.
The Barn owls along by Trethem Mill appear to be very busy and can often be seen each evening along the main road at the top of Mill Hill. It really is a privilege to watch them glide by on silent wings. Of course the pickings should be good for them at the moment what with all those young, tender voles and field mice to be had. The hedges are also full of young fledglings; blue tits, great tits, wrens, finches of all persuasions.
Can anyone tell me where pied wagtails lived before we invented car parks? It seems like such places are the principal places to see them these days! The other thing I have noticed on these last few evenings are the bats that are out and about at dusk - maybe they were waiting for the warmer weather as well - just don't ask me to try and identify any of them!
Finally, a note of caution - The Black Rabbit of St Just is still very much alive and roaming the highways and byways of St Just. Please have a care when driving through the village - it has been known to savage anything less than a 4 by 4!
Ian Bennet, happy of St Just
A Canadian Goes To Cornwall - when, from early childhood, my grandmother told me of Cornwall, it was of a dear magic land, where cherries grew round and fat and black, with a girth at the base of the tree like " yon wash tub "; where the fields were not all square like ours, and there were poppies in the corn. And every field had a name; there was Upper Groggley and Lower Groggley, Gold Diggings and Little Danby. One could lean from the window and pick sweet pears from the cottage wall; it was a wonderful place where everybody ate five times a day. And when the colts came home from the downs, one could tell by the looped strand of its mane which one had a pixie for a rider.
Cornwall was a wonder, full and of primroses and cream and cider; and of folk who sang at their work. And not far off was a strange sea with its lifting tides and fishing boats and treacherous caves wheresmugglers met. And some day I must go there .....
Itwas my fortune, twenty years later, to go to Cornwall.And now I can tell you what we found:
Cornwall's a little place, but so full of things it is as if the Maker piled them in one on top of the other. In reading the adventures of Arthur's knights, one may have wondered how they ever encountered one adventure right after another in such incredibly short order. But that mystery vanishes when one sets out to walk a Cornish lane. For - why, one is always coming to something ! If it isn't a magic well, it's a hill, steep as the slant roof of a house and with a view of distantpyramids about a clay pit; or else it's a quick brown river with maybe an old grey mill and water-wheel. Or it's four stout horses - not abreast, like ours, but one after the other - hauling sheaves up the incredible steepness of another cornfield. If it isn't pink foxgloves against a grey wall, it's a pink sheep in a meadow. All English sheep are dipped, and the dip makes them a positive and luscious pink like early strawberries.
And from the slope of that same meadow one sees the little fields spread like a quilt; " not all square like ours, " but square, round, oblong, crooked - convenient for a laborer swinging a scythe. And each has its encircling hedge, which may be just a mound of earth where primroses grow, or stones splashed with lichen, or more probably a low mound of earth and stone on which grows a thick screen of green shrubbery. No doubt mice like Mrs. Tittlemouse live under these hedges; and I wouldn't put it past the pixies, either ! And every field has it's name; there is UpperGroggley and Lower Groggley, Gold Diggings and Little Danby. The little fields are still there - but I did see a tractor ploughing them.
Cornwall, we found, is just as dear and just as magic as granny said; but with earth as firm and real as in Ontario. We also learned that one may actually become tired while climbing up the pixie downs (for they go up as well as down), and really full from eating five times a day. We went to good hotels, at first; we wore our best cloths, we sat up straight in our chairs and were faultlessly served by a waiter. But then we found some friends; they took us in, and gave us hot pasties and black cherry jam with Cornish cream; they went with us to see the sea, with its strange lifting tides and fishing boats and fearsome caves where the smugglers met; they talked of their forbears and ours.
And though we had never seen their faces before, we felt we had always belonged. But only now found our way home..
Emma PennoPetch; sent in by Mary Alice Pollard, Portscatho.
* Emma moved from Canada to her beloved Cornwall in1970 and passed away in Falmouth, October 10th 1994. She always said "These years here have been the best years of my life!”.
 Boathouse celebrates 10 year anniversary – the Boathouse Restaurant and Tea Rooms in Portscatho held a party recently to celebrate having a successful business here on The Roseland for the last ten years.
Among the invitees were former members of staff, present staff, friends and of course my family - and we all had a great get-together and catch up. The success of the business would not have happened without them all, and I’d just like to thank them for their help over the years.
As many of you know, the Boathouse was built in the late 1920s, and has been run as a cafe or gift shop ever since. People remember it under various names, such as the Victoria Cafe, Polly Peachum's Teashop, The Wishing Well and Captain Cook's, and visitors always seem pleased to find it still up and running when they come back to Portscatho on holiday.
I’m always interested to hear about its history and I’d welcome any photos or information to add to my collection.
Kay Leigh, The Boathouse Restaurant - Portscatho
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