2021 Newletter:
Dydh da (Hello). I just came across something which all visitors have learned for themselves when they arrive in the late evening or at night - which is that West Penwith is a very dark place. Apparently, this is a Good Thing (except when we fall down for the third time whilst treading carefully down the path from the car park carrying our entire week's luggage in one hand and our torch-with-dead-battery in the other).
I saw the headline 'West Penwith recognised with Dark Sky Park designation' and I read the following: 'An area of Cornwall scattered with ancient monuments has been officially recognised as one of the best places in the world to see the stars at night. West Penwith is now an International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) with minimal traces of light pollution. Cornwall Council encouraged a partnership between residents, businesses and councillors to achieve the nomination. It is now the second area in Cornwall to become an IDSP, after Bodmin Moor.'
They say that 'Cornwall Council encouraged a partnership between residents, businesses and councillors ...', although I don't remember being consulted. Perhaps they knew that if they'd asked, we would have designated the Rosvean path as an area not within the IDSP (see, I've got the jargon already) so that we can put up solar battery-powered streetlamps leading down from the car park. Or at least a ground-level trail of 7.5 volt LEDs similar to Christmas tree lights.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Rosvean would be visible from the International Space Station, only that visitors would no longer plunge headfirst into the brambles or pick a fight with the stone stile - or catch our knuckles on the new fencing around the washing line lawn.
Which brings me to the other news item - the new fencing around the washing line lawn. Designed to prevent us from falling off the lawn whilst chasing a fly ball from our game of Rounders - or running after a stray sock from the pile of washing we just put up on the line, this was erected - no, installed, assembled, fabricated, constructed (I'm just searching for the right word here) by Richard and Lamorna. This will make things easier and safer for everyone. Thank you to R and L.
As ever, enjoy your stay at Rosvean. Dha weles skon (see you soon)!
Richard, Stephen and Jonathan.
2018 Newletter:
Hello again. Nothing much to report except for this - and it's a big one - as from October 2018 all winter lets will have a cleaner to follow. No more do-it-yourself cleaning!
What else need we say? Book now!
In addition, there's the small matter of where else to take your holidays if you can no longer fly to Europe - if, indeed, 'Europe' still exists after March 2019. As a concept, Europe as an entity has always seemed somewhat nebulous, what with England's Plantagent kings, Napolean and Hitler seeking to 'liberate' it in various ways.
Can't fly to Tuscany, Toledo or Tenerife? Never mind, there's always Rosvean. As ever, enjoy your stay. Dha weles skon (see you soon)!
Richard, Stephen and Jonathan.
2015 Newletter:
'Dynnargh dhis'?? What's this, has the internet done something to my spelling? Or are we sending hidden messages to the fish and chip shop in St Just? No, neither of those (although the fish and chips idea is good - must go up there one evening). 'Dynnargh dhis' is Cornish for 'welcome'. We could have said 'Dydh da' ('hello') or 'Lowena dhis' (general greeting - such as 'good morning/afternoon/evening' or 'hi!'). Then the other person in the conversation (you, in this instance) would reply with the same followed by 'Fatla genes'? Not a disparaging remark about my DNA sample, this means 'How are you?' I'd reply 'Yn poynt da, meur ras. Ha ty?' ('Fine thanks. And you?')
Then the conversation might then progress to other matters, such as the weather, shopping and eating out - which leads me to my favourite phrase in Cornish - 'An venyn ma a be oll' ('this lady will pay for everything'). No, not just in Cornish. It's my favourite phrase in any language!
So why I am prattling on about saying things in Cornish? It's a dead language, right? Wrong. In a move to stop the Cornish dialect dying out, Cornwall Council has created the Cornish Language Plan in a bid to teach and use it in everyday life. The aim is to see the Celtic language used in documents and ultimately spoken "in pubs and on street corners". The plan will "encourage use of Cornish greetings" by reception staff, call centre staff and officers and the creation of bilingual signs. So naturally, Rosvean will be at the leading edge of this drive to confuse everybody by dividing the world into miniscule sub-ethnic areas each with its own impenetrable language, er, sorry, making this website inclusive and relevant to every visitor and resident.
Ahem.
Some while ago I mentioned that Rosvean's outside woodwork would receive a new colour-coating of wood preservative in a colour slightly less orange than before. This was in the 2011 newsletter (see below) so it's hot off the press, almost. Now the colour is mahogany, which (and I quote) risks verging on the tasteful. Thanks to Richard and Lamorna for that.
There are some new photos in the gallery, at the top this time, including one of a polecat as seen through the kitchen window. More photos are always welcome - please email them to j.trahair@foreversoftware.co.uk.
As ever, enjoy your stay at Rosvean. Dha weles skon (see you soon)!
Richard, Stephen and Jonathan.
2014 Newletter:
Hello again. I see that the previous newsletter was written as recently as 3 years ago. This is just a nanosecond in the life of West Cornwall and Rosvean, and the issuing of this newsletter so soon after the last one shows that we try to keep up with the headlong rush through the 21st century as best we can.
Since we last spoke, as it were, some exciting things have happened, even more exciting than whether there's sand at Penanwell and Nanjizel, or the number of basking sharks off the Brisons. Over the winter, a small but intriguing hole appeared in a quillet (a very small field) between Rosvean and Furzeburrow (the bungalow above Rosvean, next to the car park). On investigating further, Furzeburrow's owners found that the hole was the top of a 4ft x 3ft mineshaft going down as far as the valley bottom, with a few nearly level adits branching out a metre or two below the surface. It had been uncovered by the incessant rain during last winter.
For a while there was some head-scratching at Furzeburrow and at Rosvean Head Office (Richard's study). However after a mining survey and two ready-mix loads of concrete, the situation has been satisfactorily resolved, even if the Car Park field looks like a minefield (which it was, at one point). By now, I suspect the gorse and the brambles will be as impenetrable as usual, so life will return to normal, except that the rabbits have taken out life insurance.
Rosvean itself, when re-built in 1979, was placed on a large concrete raft, making the whole building one contiguous unit (as opposed to several hundred individual granite stones and some roofing tiles). It will take more than a 4ft x 3ft mineshaft to worry Rosvean! However, if you are trying to find the tennis ball you accidently failed to catch whilst playing Rounders next to the washing line, and you're looking for it in the undergrowth, and you happen across a hole bigger than the local rabbits might be responsible for, I recommend that you abandon your tennis ball, in fact forget Rounders completely and go for a day at Sennen beach instead. On your way to the beach please ring Richard and let him know about the new hole, otherwise he'll miss all the fun.
In the meantime, enjoy your stay at Rosvean.
Richard, Stephen and Jonathan.
2011 Newletter:
We are tempted to say, 'Hello and welcome to the new Rosvean website', but we are sure you already know where you are - and that you know you are welcome.
A lot has been happening at Rosvean recently. Those of you who have been there in 2009 and 2010 have surely noticed that the paintwork has changed from white walls and yellow woodwork to yellow walls and white woodwork. OK, there is some beige paintwork and even some pale blue, so it's not as simple as that, but did we hear someone say that the colour scheme must have been chosen by a man? Surely not!
There is even talk of repainting the outside woodwork - the main door was done last year (February 2010), but we think the weatherboarding needs a new coat of paint, though we're sure it won't be done in February of this year (or any year), more like June, interspersed with visits to the beach and the Kings Arms. The colour scheme for the outside won't be a copy of Furzeburrow's Golden Orange cedarwood treatment either - perhaps we can find a 'retro-creosote' look, which will undoubtedly be the height of fashion in the world of holiday cottages.
There is another, less visible change to Rosvean. In the early 1980's, David Trahair left Rosvean to his children (us). We have, between us, raised 7 children of our own, who (in the normal course of events) would leave their share of Rosvean to (let's say) 16 or 17 children, who (in the normal course of events) would leave their share of Rosvean to (let's say) 38 children, who (in the normal course of events)... et cetera et cetera - you see the problem. Imagine organising the annual meeting of 'Rosvean Unlimited' in 40 years time - it would take three years just to agree a date.
So we decided to simplify things. In brief, we created a Discretionary Trust with 3 nominated trustees of Rosvean, one from each of our families. We have agreed, along with our children, that only one member of each family will in perpetuity (actually 120 years, but who's counting?) be a trustee. Of our 7 nephews and nieces, there will be only 3 trustees. Of the 16-17 in the next generation there will only be 3. And so on. This should make the management of Rosvean much easier from here on, and the date of the 2051 meeting will probably be arranged in less than a day, along with who brings the paint and who brings the pasties.
In addition, and because our policy is one of continuous improvement, we have engaged a cleaner to come each Friday in the Spring and Summer period. This marvellous news means you can have one last visit to the beach instead of doing The Big Clean Up. Check with Stephen whether your off-season week includes this.
And now, the new website. In an attempt to drag ourselves into the On-Line Age (or is it a doomed attempt at keeping up with our children), we have commissioned this website from Helen Trahair, aided and confused by Jonathan. It is a part of a new bookings and accounts system, currently being developed and tested. As far as the treasurer is concerned, gone are the days of envelope backs, pocket calculators and reams of bank statements, and hello to downloads from the bank website imported directly into the Rosvean Accounts database program. For the bookings secretary, it's out with the Lett's Diary and in with the Rosvean Bookings screen and the on-line vacancies display. Sadly, we can't do much for Richard.
So, from us and our descendants there will always be a welcome at Rosvean for you and yours.
Richard, Stephen and Jonathan.
