The Cornish Wedding of King Arthur to Guenever

Restormel Castle, Cornwall

As I was unable to get out and about this week todays post is the the story of King Arthur's marriage to Guenever (sometimes written as Guenevere).

This is a very old version from the early 1800s and is in a poetry format. I have been fascinated by King Arthur since childhood - anyway, here we go ...

King Arthur Marries Guenever

"When Restormel Castle he alights

With worship hood in hand the knights,

Arthur, conduct to castle bower.

On verdant deis sat Guenever:

Like tendrils of vine, her hair

In golden ringlets falls:

The diamond-comb her hand dismissed,

When she sees  mail and nodding crest

Approach the massive walls;

And rose respectful -: coats of dust,

The armour of the chiefs encrust;

The steeds wet, foaming, pranced;

As o'er her cheek, fresh beauties dawn;

Her King to meet, across the lawn;

She in form divine,  advanced.

Great was the contrast :- beat with rains;

And scorched with suns, on bloody plains,

The warrior King, her lily hands,

Pressed his lips - her countenance bland,

Where opening roses, modest, blushed,

With spotless innocence was flushed.

A Christian Priest with beard of snow, 

The first whom Cornwall's converts know,

Whose words still, Druid forms repeal

With purer faith and holier zeal,

unites their hands - admist the nite,

He prays heaven's grace on them alight.

King Arthur and Queen Guenever

To famed Tintagel now repair.

The skies are clothed in livelier blue,

As onward they their course pursue;

More glorious beams the golden day

On Cornwall's royal-ranged array."

Tintagel Castle, Cornwall

Thanks for visiting my blog. I realise this post isn't everyone's cup of tea!

You might prefer my post A Walk With Stunning Views At Tintagel, Cornwall: King Arthur Country - 20 Photos

A Short Walk in Cornwall - the Cure When Feeling 'Under the Weather'

I was feeling a little 'under the weather' as I looked out of our upstairs bedroom window - photo below. I decided the answer was fresh air and a walk. Oh, and yes, there are lots of trees on the opposite side of the road.

I have since discovered that feeling 'under the weather' is a nautical saying from the early sailing ships.

It appears that a sailor feeling sickly or unwell would be sent below deck to protect him from the weather. Being below deck he would literally be 'under the weather'.

Anyway, off I went on a short walk from home. The flowers above and below are from our front garden. Needless to say I had my small camera with me as I walked.

I met up with the local stream, the vegetation nearly covering the water. Always uplifting to hear the sounds of a river or stream.

The stream gurgled through a small tunnel.

The grass and small wild flowers seemed to be dancing with delight. Everything felt so fresh and green - quite uplifting.

I wonder how the 'red hot pokers' ended up running wild on the bank?

Further along my walk the gunnera were starting to spread their leaves.

An old cottage, built in 1834, was almost hidden away

Leaves seemed to have been freshly polished and ...

... the hydrangea were preparing to flower.

Green shoots on the willow tree.

I always find that fresh air, nature and a walk are the remedy for feeling 'under the weather'.

Of course a walk along a Cornish beach is also good medicine ...

... especially if you have the beach to yourself. It's all about timing!

That's all for today, thanks for visiting my blog.

A Walk Around the Old Harbour at Charlestown, Cornwall - 20+ Photos

We are in Charlestown again for a stroll, but mainly to see the repaired harbour wall - see my post: A Glimpse of Charlestown, Cornwall While the Harbour Walls are Being Repaired.

All is now quite neat and tidy once more - though a few marks remain on the sea wall as can be seen above.

The only problem for walkers is that the gate, which is also a bridge, as seen in the above photo, was closed to pedestrians. This will no doubt be sorted soon.

Otherwise all looked as it should.

There had also been some work on the slipway, the new, neat stones contrasting with the old stone walls.

Looking at the photo below shows the whiter cement where the harbour wall has been repaired.

A few canoes were in the harbour.

We always like to walk along the high harbour wall where a man was fishing, though hadn't caught anything. A man asked him what he was hoping to catch. He replied, "Anything edible!"

Walking along the wall we could see the ship below with the sun suddenly sparkling on the sea.

It's an interesting view though, even if there aren't any boats to be seen.

From the main harbour we walked to the far end of what I always call the port. Not many boats or tall ships on display because of the gate I mentioned earlier which had been closed.

There is an old boat on display and ... 

...  a large anchor.

The Pizzeria adjoins the Shipwreck Treasure Museum.

We meandered back to the main harbour ...

... passing Poldark's tall ship and some cottages on high. I clicked a few quick photos as we continued.

And that was the end of our stroll - always a pleasure to spend time in Charlestown.

Moving on. Nope, the photo below isn't Charlestown! This is part of our back garden and we were expecting our son and his family for tea and cakes. We had everything ready, six chairs round the table and then it decided to rain. We grabbed all the umbrellas we could find to stop the chairs and table getting too wet. Luckily it was only a brief shower.

The rain though, blew our twisted willow tree.

And some pretty flowers cascaded over from next doors fence.

To finish today's post a pot of flowers in our garden - I can't remember at the moment what they are called. 

Thanks for visiting my blog, hope you have an interesting week. Good wishes ~ Mike.

Following Your Nose in St. Austell to the Cemetery Park and Other Places

If you simply follow your nose through St. Austell you never know what you might find. Perhaps you'll come across one of the Buccawidden white clay piskies by Zenna Tagney* or perhaps Random Acts of Art**, as below - with a story to tell as well. Here's one of the stories ...

Mr Eddy was a regular visitor to Grace's house in Trevisoe, especially if her mother had made her fruit scones which you could smell all the way as far as Thethosa.

He had a glass eye, did Mr. Eddy which often fell out when he became animated. One day it rolled across the linoleum making a disturbing noise, which cut through the polite Sunday afternoon, after chapel conversation. It was Grace's job to retrieve it. A job she didn't relish. She saw it rolling in forgotten dust under a cupboard. As she was just about to grab it, it winked at her.

Walking through the town, towards the station and up the hill, there's the Quakers Meeting House built in 1829.

Quakers believe that there is something of God in everybody and that each human being is of unique worth. This is why Quakers value all people equally and oppose anything that may harm or threaten them. I can equate with that sentiment.

Across the road is the entrance to the Cemetery Park.

Once in the park there's lots of space with places to sit.

The name of the park becomes apparent once inside. Around the boundaries are 485 old grave stones or memorials.

This was once known as the High Cross Cemetery, opened way back in 1793 and finally closed in 1878.

The memorials are all very old and some are now difficult to read.

The park has many mature trees and while on my visit I only saw two other people - mind you, it wasn't one of the best days weather-wise.

The sundial arrived in 2008.

I must admit though, that it was the old memorials that interested me. I'm not sure why, but I have been fascinated by cemeteries ever since a child, though not in a morbid way.

There was one memorial in particular I was looking for: that of Charles Rashleigh.

I eventually found what I was seeking. You might just be able to make out the name, Charles Rashleigh, in the third row below.

For those who may not know Charles Rashleigh is the 'Charles' as in Charlestown, Cornwall.

In 1790, what is now known as Charlestown, was a small fishing village of Porthmear. It is often stated that just nine fishermen and their families were resident. Charles Rashleigh though, saw other possibilities

Copper (and later china clay) needed to be exported from the local area so Rashleigh decided to build a harbour, with the help of a few friends including John Smeaton who was well known for constructing lighthouses and harbours.

The harbour and port were constructed between 1791 and 1801. 

Eventually, under Rashleigh's guidance, a village was also developed around the harbour. The name was changed from Porthmear to Charlestown in honour of Rashleigh. There is also now a pub and hotel called the Rashleigh Arms, owned by St. Austell Brewery.

Above Charlestown in 1880

Rashleigh left the following request, regarding his death, in his will dated 1809:

"This is the last Will and Testament of me Charles Rashleigh of Duporth in the Parish of Saint Austell in the County of Cornwall made the eleventh day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine. I desire that my Funeral may be private and that no mourning be given of any sort but that the usual fees be increased equal to the cost of the Hatbands and so forth and that my remains may be placed in a plain Wooden Coffin. If I shall die at or within ten miles of Saint Austell parish I desire to be buried in the New Burying Ground belonging to that parish and to be carried to the Grave by twelve of my own Labourers."

Charles Rashleigh's Memorial

Having found what I had been looking for I left the Cemetery Park and followed my nose once more. This led me to spot the green man's face, which had been placed on the pedestrian crossing.

I also spotted a quizzical cat ...

... while the seagull was learning his lines. 

And to finish the post the window of a local Chinese restaurant with clouds reflected in the window.

** More info on Random Acts of Art on the Kneehigh web site and you'll find details of * Zena Tagney here.