Wednesday 31 January 2024

2024 Day 31

2024 Dedh Udnek warn Ugens



De Marher, udnegves warn ugens mis Genver

Wednesday, 31st January













My a gar plansow. Pur larj ew anjei! Gen lavür lyha ahana vy, mons ow trei rag plansow baby nowydh. Udn plans ew henwys "dama a vilyow". My ell usya an plansow bian dhe wil lowarthow munys gen ow flehes wydn. Ma dhebm nebes tollyers bas coth. Vas ens rag agan lowarthow bian. Thera nei ow usya modelys ewedh. Reb kei bras ma'n plansow ow hevely bian, bes thens pecar'a gwedh ha bushys reb cawrvargh bian! Ha thens hujes reb gwywer munys.


   

I love plants. They are very generous! With minimum effort from me, they produce new baby plants. One plant is called "mother of thousands". I can use the little plants to make miniature gardens with my grandchildren. I have several old shallow baking dishes. They are good for our little gardens. We use models too. Beside a big dog the plants seem small, but they are like trees and bushes by a small camel! And they are huge by a tiny squirrel.












Tuesday 30 January 2024

2024 Day 30

2024 Dedh Deg warn Ugens



De Meurth, degves warn ügens mis Genver

Tuesday, 30th January 


Hedhyw, e veu ostyas dhe nei. Agan mab a dheuth hag ev a dhros ganjo nebes cofednow kig. Ow gour, y das, ew anyagh ha whansek nag ew dhe dra vyth. Na alja ev debry oll a'n tos, radn bras an griben. Etho e veu neppeth gerys rag an edhyn. Mola dhû a dheuth, ha rüdhek, bes my a veu sowdhanys dhe weles gwywer ow tebry radn an pasty. Ew hogednow da gen gwyweres? Na wöya (wodhya) vy! E veu colobmen coos ow cortos gen perthyans wordhy rag an gwywer dhe vos. An colobmen ew bras, bes ew an gwywer scrüthüs?

Today, we had a visitor (a guest). Our son came and he brought with him some pasties. My husband, his father, is unwell and has no appetite for anything. He couldn't eat all of the pastry, a big bit of the crimp. So there was something left for the birds. A blackbird came, and a robin, but I was surprised to see a squirrel eating a bit of the pasty. Do squirrels like pastries? I didn't know! There was a wood pigeon waiting with admirable patience for the squirrel to go. The pigeon is big, but is the squirrel scary?

Monday 29 January 2024

2024 Day 29

2024 Dedh Naw warn Ügens  


De Lün, nawes warn ügens mis Genver 

Monday, 29th January 














My a drovyas nebes fotos coth. A ello whei ajon an venyn yong, gorm hy blew? Vyctym facyon! E’n gwelha pres, na ellowgh gweles hy bejeth. Warlergh an vaner ha’n gis e’n eur-na o hei (hei a brederas)! An pres a veu mariach cosin hy gour. Côta gwydn ha manegow gwydn, hei a bernas an hott en Truru. (Nag üjy an gwerthjy ena na velha (na fella)). An skichow ûhel o gòcky - gòlesow skichow soler tew oldhawor – kerdhes o calish. Saw e veu hott brâssa dhe’n venyn bries.  




I found some old photos. Can you recognise the young woman with brown hair? Fasion victim! Fortunately, you can’t see her face. She was trendy (she thought)! The occasion was the wedding of her husband’s cousin. White coat and white gloves, she bought the hat in Truro. (The shop is no longer there.) The high-heeled shoes were ridiculous – fashionable thick platform soles – walking was difficult. But the bride had a bigger hat. 

Sunday 28 January 2024

2024 Day 28

2024 Dedh Eth warn Ugens

De Sül, ethves warn ügens mis Genver

Sunday, 28th January









Da ew genam cawas visytoryon rag clapp. Ow theylu ew marthys. Mons ow tos ha kescowsel genam ha gwil whel ewedh. Ow mebyon a balas grow nowydh war an arres. Ma gohydh vy ow trei boos Polek delicyous, pecar'a cowl bettys rüdh ha tesen po crampes gwres gen avalow. Avalow (Jabłka) ew frut moyha kerys Poloyn, ow trei rag pajar milyon ton en üdn vledhen. 

I like having visitors for a chat. My family is wonderful. They come and have a conversation with me and do work as well. My sons shovel new gravel on the drive. My daughter-in-law brings delicious Polish food, like red beetroot soup and cake or pie made with apples. Apples (Jabłka) are Poland's favourite fruit, producing four million tons in one year.

Saturday 27 January 2024

2024 Day 27

2024 Dedh Seyth warn Ugens






















De Sadorn, seythves warn Ugens mis Genver

Saturday, 27th January








Emesk ow levrow, my a drouvyas an volen ma. Ew hei cüdhlen dhelher coth? Pe le ma'n lever? Thewa argebmyn coth rag sebon Pears - ev na veu bes whedner coth rag caken. Eus kevren gen Kernow? Entei! Andrew Pears o mab tiek dhort Lanvorek, genys en seytek cans deg ha trei ugens. Barber o ev leb eth dhe Loundres. Ev a dhisplegyas sebon medhal, heb mostyon, rag bejethow. En termyn eus passyes, en Truru war Gay Lemon, e veu gweythva sebon ha cantollyow "Atlas". Hodna a usyas blonek best môwsek, söath. Nag o an sebon heb mostyon! 

Among my books I found this page. Is it an old back cover? Where is the book? It is an old advertisement for Pears soap - it was only an old sixpence for a cake. Is there a link with Cornwall? Certainly! Andrew Pears was a farmer's son from Mevagissey, born in 1770. He was a barber who went to London. He developed a gentle soap, without impurities, for sensitive faces. In the past, in Truro on Lemon Quay, there was "Atlas" soap and candle works. That used smelly animal fat, tallow. The soap was not without impurities!



 

Friday 26 January 2024

2024 Day 26

2024 Dedh Whegh warn Ugens

De Gwener, wheffes warn ugens mis Genver

Friday, 26th January

Ma edrek dhebm. Re skith o vy dhe scrifa lies ger hedhyw. My a vedn cosca, traveth moy.

I'm sorry. I am too tired to write a lot of words today. I want to sleep, nothing more.

Thursday 25 January 2024

2024 Day 25

2024 Dedh Pemp warn Ugens














De Yow, pempes warn ugens mis Genver

Thursday, 25th January













Hedhyw en class nei a glappyas a vis Genver. Eus dedh specyal en mis ma? Nena nei a brederas a eryow rag an dedhyow. Otta nebes. An pictour ew bleujyow Cala Me, lilys Helles. Nag ens flourys rag mis Genver. Flourys gwydn rag an mis ma ew bleujyow ergh.

In class today we talked of January. Is there a special day in this month? Then we thought of words for the days. Here are some. The picture is lilies of the valley, Helston lilies. They are not flowers for January. White flowers for this month are snowdrops.

A few words about days: Part One 

In Late Cornish the usual word for “day” is dedh. 

The plural is dedhyow (though not used with numbers). 

In Middle Cornish (SWFM) the spelling is dydh. 

This can also be used to mean “date”. 

For a day’s duration we can use jorna. 

e.g. every day keniver jorna 

For days of the week, the word is de or dy. This is a stand-alone word; it is not an abbreviation of dedh or dydh. So, an apostrophe in de’ Yow or dy’ Yow is unnecessary.  

A capital letter is not needed for ordinary days, only for special days, or if it is combined with its day name: 

e.g. Saturday de Sadorn 

e.g. Good Friday De Gwener an Grows (can lose the De) 

e.g. Maundy Thursday De Yow Hablys (can be contracted to Deow Hablys).  

e.g. Ash Wednesday De Merher Lüjiw  

(Alternative spellings Merher ~ Marher, SWFM Mergher) 

e.g. Tuesday can be de Meurth or Demeurth. 

Shrove Tuesday De Meurh Enes 

e.g. Monday can be de Lün or Delün 

e.g. Palm Sunday De Sül Bleujyow or Desül Bleujyow 

Remember the song that can be sung to the tune of ‘Clementine’: 

Ema seyth dedh, ema seyth dedh, 

ema seyth dedh en seythen; 

de Sül, de Lün, de Meurth, de Merher, 

de Yow, de Gwener, de Sadorn. 

Special days in the calendar have their own word, Du, (given a capital letter). 

e.g. Pentecost/Whitsun Du Pencast  

              or mutated p>f Du Fencast 

e.g. Christmas Day Du Nadelik 

e.g. Easter Day Du Pask 

 

The Romans called the first day of every month the “calends”, signifying the start of a new lunar phase (with a new moon) and it was the day to pay off debts. Debts were recorded in "kalendaria" (accounts books). 

This gives us a choice for English “calendar”: 

lever-dedhyow (daybook) or calander 

A "diary" or "journal" can be dedhlever or jornal. 

Latin “calends” gives us Cornish terms for the first day of something. 

e.g. Calan Gwav the first day of winter, November 1st (also called All Hallows, the day after Halloween) 

e.g. Nos Calan Gwav Halloween (night before November 1st 

e.g. Calan Ebrel April Fools Day, April 1 

Losing the final n we get 

e.g. Cala Me May Day 

The flower worn for the Helston Flora is  

the lily of the valley bleujen Cala Me 

The initial c may mutate c>h after Du 

e.g. Du Halan an Vledhen New Year’s Day 

e.g. Du Halan Gwav also for November 1st