The Constant Times The Constant Times Volume 2, Issue 5 October/November 2013

JuMPing Forward Daro Montag The Jubilee Memorial Park (JuMP) team has had a very busy couple of months. Throughout August the team ran eight creative workshops. These were at- tended by a broad sector of the community aged three and above. In addition to providing some free creative activities, the purpose of the workshops was to canvas opinion and generate ideas which could be incorporated into the new playground. The sessions were focused on different aspects of the park and the final report has now been presented to the Parish Council, who would like to thank all those involved.

JuMP have also started using the funds awarded by SITA Trust for the Young Persons’ Volunteer- ing Scheme. Brian Jorey and I helped a group of teenagers and young adults repair the gazebo on the recreation ground and build a new bench. The next stage of this project will see the team working with Reverend Stewart Turner to restore the old cricket pavilion from the Trengilly and install it as a youth clubhouse.

Finally, the team were very pleased to learn that their funding bid to Cory Environmental had been successful. Cory have awarded the group nearly £6,000 for a new piece of play equipment, which will be purchased in the next few months.

The team meet on the first Thursday of the month at 8.00pm in the Social Club and welcome new members.

Inside this issue

Movie Special Offer , Page 2 Calendar , Pages 8-9

Village Tool Library? Page 5 Bal maidens, Page 11 Page 2 Volume 2, Issue 5

Tolmen Movies Special Offer! Charlie Pugh

Not everyone knows that Constantine has its own cinema. At The Tolmen Centre we show popular movie titles on a big screen every second Wednesday starting at 7.30. Details of the Autumn season titles and dates are in the Tolmen Centre leaf- let which is enclosed with this issue of The Constant Times.

As an special incentive to readers we are offering one FREE ticket to any of the autumn films. Just present this page and you’ll get in absolutely free.

By the way, to make an evening of it, you can have a delicious pre-movie meal at Café Tolmen – which opens at 6pm before every film (and for most of our Theatre performances too). But you’ll need to reserve in advance for the Café by phoning the Tolmen Centre on 01326 341353 as it tends to get booked up.

There’s an upstairs licensed bar too, so you can enjoy a beer or glass of wine while you watch the film. Full details are also available on our website: www.tolmencentre.co.uk or www.tolmenmovies.org

The next Tolmen Movies date is Wednesday October 9th, when the film is Silver Linings Playbook.

SPECIAL OFFER

TOLMEN MOVIE FREE TICKET!

Present this coupon at the door to receive free admission for one at any Tolmen Movie in October or November 2013. The Constant Times Page 3

September Parish Council Report Liz D’Alton Concern was expressed about the proposed new house to be built at Well Lane as car access and parking, water run-off and sewage capacity could all be affected.

In the two months since his last report PCSO Gardiner said that there had been eleven crimes in the Parish including theft, criminal damage, offences concerning dogs, harassment, public order, assault and damage to wildlife. If you are worried about possible illegal activities, please telephone the non-emergency number 101 for the police.

Councillor Hatton reported on the following: a reduction over the next two years of the Community Grant for his three parishes to £2,150; Council Tax will probably be increased by 1.97% in the new Financial Year; he (Cllr Hatton) will act as Chair- man of the Falmouth and Penryn Community Network Area and hopes to improve representation of rural areas in this forum; a proposal to increase the number of new houses to be built throughout from 42,000 to 47,000 has been made, but a substantial number of those have already been built or have planning per- mission; and central government has published revised planning guidance for on- shore wind farms and a new solar "farm" is proposed at Kessell Quarry, but not yet agreed.

A Dog Control Order under Part 6 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 was proposed and agreed. The effect of this will be to exclude all dogs (except Support Dogs) from the Recreation Ground.

Constantine Silver Band, which does good work with young people, has been granted permission to put a small storage container for equipment on the unused part of the Car Park, near the Bowling Club, where it will inconvenience no-one. It will be shielded by fencing and bushes.

Grass cutting in the closed Churchyard will from now on be the responsibility of the Parish Council. Corn- wall Council will make a grant towards this work. The question of a contract for the work, which must be carried out throughout the year, will be discussed and agreed at a later date.

We still need two more Parish Councillors. Please speak to anyone on the Parish Council if you are inter- ested. Page 4 Volume 2, Issue 5

Upcoming Events at St Constantine Parish Church Liz Moore

Sunday 20th October and 17th November 4.30pm. Gathering for the very young to the somewhat older for a short time of Fun and Praise, juice and biscuits, choruses, stories and dancing maybe. Come along and join us.

Saturday November 30th, 10-12. The Christmas Market, in the Church Hall. Lots of stalls, refreshments and games. On sale at the market and beforehand, for those who like to get their Christmas Cards organised early, will be packs of special Christmas Cards of the Church, with the proceeds for WaterAid and the Church.

David Paton cuts the lettering onto Constantine’s Diamond Jubilee Stone. (Photo: Russell Johnston) The Constant Times Page 5

A Village Tool Library? Robin Curtis So here's a question, "If the village had a 'tool library', what would you like it to con- tain?" Transition Constantine are starting to think about this as a real option. Obviously, there's no point specifying things everyone has, but what job would you like to do once or twice per year if only you had the kit?

We are exploring the ways that this might function. One idea is to operate initially in the same way as our Community Book Lending Library (http:// www.blueskyeye.co.uk/openbiblio/opac/). This provides an online list of books that people are prepared to lend, on a straight-forward one-to-one basis. There is no central book repository. This could also be done with tools. Folk who are look- ing for items to borrow can be put in touch with those who have tools that they are prepared to lend. The transaction occurs on a trust only, one-to-one basis.

We are focussing particularly on those robust tools/items that are only needed occasionally and that do not require extensive maintenance. Examples are lad- ders, trailer, drain rods, logging saw, sledge hammer, crow bar, post driver, log splitter and cement mixer. There is already a small scheme in operation at the allotments, where there are communally available gardening tools.

Far better that a wider range of tools can be picked up and returned locally rather than having to haul off to tool hire centres in Penryn/Falmouth or beyond. We are beginning to establish a longer list of items that might be of possible interest and are exploring other examples of how this might be operated.

We are keen to receive views on this, positive or negative, and links to possible lenders. There is no compunction; the lender is free to decide on who to lend to. If you can see the community benefit of making wider use of rarely used tools/ equipment in a safe and trustworthy environment, then please get in touch: email [email protected], call Robin Curtis (340375) or Chris Hussey (340007) or nobble us at the Farmers' Market. http://constantinecornwall.com/transition/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Transition-Constantine/520422917968856 Page 6 Volume 2, Issue 5

News From the Front Nichola Butland Every September the Roman city of Bath finds itself over-run with bonnets and lace, for the Jane Austen Festival. The week-long programme of events attracts men and women from all over the world, with large numbers of enthusiasts flood- ing in from America, Japan, Australia, Taiwan & Germany to name but a few. The festival begins with a costumed promenade, which parades through and around the centre of Bath, and is led by our faithful 32nd Cornish Regiment of the foot, along with the 1st Royal Cold-stream Guards (Saluting Sir!).

After safely escorting this colourful column of several hundred Ladies and Gentle- men to the Parade gardens, we were next charged with the guarding of the Guild- hall Steps, this being a very bustling spot due to the Regency Fayre held that af- ternoon. Our men (one with highly suspicious stick-on sideburns) cut a fine dash, with muskets and brasses twinkling in the sun, not to mention camera-flashes.

Our dashing Private Danning found fame further still, when accosted by several young ladies to appear in a Fashion parade that evening as their rogueish Mr Wick- ham. This he duly did, causing swooning applause, a sudden fluttering of fans, and a marriage proposal in the changing rooms. It was thought best to leave before a duel ensued, and thus beer was sought and found.

The next day was a far more civilised affair, with not one but two trips to our fa- voured patisserie, a perusal of the famous abbey, and the 'taking of the waters' at the pump rooms. The hot sulphuric water (thankfully not still occupied by several dozen unclothed Romans) is poured straight from the spring and into your glass. Our marvelous Miss Edwards declared it most refreshing (and not half as bad as you might think). Suitably refreshed after a season of chilly nights, patrol tents and gun oil we now look forward to our upcoming Regimental feast, and a ball or two.

Returning, as always, to my post behind my sewing machine. Signing off (Saluting!)

FLU VACCINATION CLINICS

The Constantine Surgery will be holding their annual vaccination clinics for those patients who are in an “at risk group” on Saturday, 5th October and Saturday 19th October at the surgery.

These will take place between 9am and 11am on both mornings. There are no appointments, just come and form an orderly queue. The Constant Times Page 7

Farmers Market Profile: Chyvarloe Farm Mandy Milano

I know that many of you have really appreci- ated the arrival of Charlotte from Chyvarloe Farm this year, as well as the more recent ar- rival of Quayside Fish from . (In fact, it was Charlotte who persuaded Mike to come to Constantine Farmers Market whilst they chatted at stalls next door to each other at Farmers Market. I think it was the copious cups of tea we provide that swung it!)

Charlotte and husband Paul (not forgetting daughter Hettie) are first generation farmers. They started with a small starter council farm in Devon and moved to Cornwall in October 2010 to run Chyvarloe. Chyvarloe Farm is a 300-acre, 58-field National Trust farm on coast near . The farm is in a Higher Level Stew- ardship agreement with Natural and adjoins the SSSI (Site of Special Sci- entific Interest) of Loe Pool, Cornwall’s largest natural freshwater lake.

Charlotte says: “At Chyvarloe, we keep all our livestock in as natural an environ- ment as possible – with mothers raising their progeny in family groups. Cattle and sheep graze the coastal pastures and pigs and chickens live close to the farm in specially fenced paddocks. Our beef herd, sheep, prize-winning pigs (meet Boris, arguably the biggest boar in Britain), barn reared and free-range chickens are joined on the farm by a pet turkey, ducks, dogs, cat, and an emu!”

If you are a Facebook user it is well worth searching for and ‘liking’ Chyvarloe Farm for all the news and stories, from rescuing a racing pigeon to the emu’s ‘walkabouts’ and the arrival of a tame stray lamb. Paul and Charlotte have a thriving food box scheme – meat, fruit and veg and dairy are all delivered weekly. Ordering is through their Facebook page (deadline Mondays 9pm) and now also by phone on Mondays. So it is even easier to ‘buy local’ in between our own Constan- tine Farmers Markets. Go to www.facebook.com/chyvarloe.farm.

If anyone is interested in other aspects of local food produce from the ‘Incredible Edible’ type schemes to keeping chickens, bee-keeping, sharing skills, etc. then please do contact me at [email protected]. The Constant Times Mon 14 – One and All Club. UKE Band. 2.15pm. Sally 340050. CONSTANTINE CALENDAR Tues 15 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen.

Wed 16 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. October 2013 Thurs 17 – Constantine Parish Council Meeting. 7pm. Vestry. Tues 1 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Fri 18 – Constantine History Group. Wed 2 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. Helston and the Plantagenets, Marion Sat 5 – Wurlitza presents 'Sunrise'. Smith. 7.15pm. W.I. Hall. 7.30pm. Tolmen Centre. £9, £8. Sat 19 – cube essential theatre pre- 341353. Caf é Tolmen open. Booking sents 'Aubade'. 15+. 7.30pm. Tolmen essential. Centre. £8, £7. 341353. Caf é Tolmen Mon 7 – Constantine Community Choir. open. Booking esential. 6.45pm. Tolmen Centre. Mon 21 - Constantine Community Choir. 6.45pm. Tolmen Centre. Tues 8 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Wed 9 – Tolmen Movies. Silver Linings Tues 22 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Playbook. 7.30pm. £3. 341353. Caf é Wed 23 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. Tolmen open. Booking essential. Wed 23 – Tolmen Movies. Argo. Wed 9 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. 7.30pm. £3. 341353. Caf é Tolmen Thurs 10 – Cottage Garden Society. open. Booking essential. The Story of Hydrangeas, John Price. Fri 25 – Republic of Ireland themed 7.30pm, W.I. Hall. £1. evening. 6-8pm. The Waymarker. 2 Thurs 10 – Transition Constantine Courses £19.95, 3 Courses £25.95. Meeting. 7.00pm. Queens Arms. Sat 26 – Skillywidden Nos Lowen. Fri 11 – Constantine Literary Pod. 7.30pm. Tolmen Centre. £10, £6 includ- 7.30pm. Tolmen Centre. £5. 341353. ing pasty. 341353. Wine and refreshments from 6.45pm Tues 29 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Sat 12 – Farmers Market. 9.30am- Tues 29 – Ladies Circle. Cober Valley 12noon. Constantine Village Hall Accordian Band. 2.30pm. W.I.Hall. Sat 12 – Helford Marine Conservation Jean 340388 Pirates and Privateers of Cornwall. Wed 30 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. 7.30pm. Gweek Village Hall. £2. Rhian- non 07710956734. Sue 07772323502. Mon 14 – W.I. Meeting. 7.15pm. W.I. Hall November 2013 Mon 18 – Constantine Community Choir. 6.45pm. Tolmen Centre. Mon 4 - Constantine Community Choir. Tues 19 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. 6.45pm. Tolmen Centre. Wed 20 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. Tues 5 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Thurs 21 – The Paper Cinema. Wed 6 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen . 7.30pm. Tolmen Centre. £9, £8. 341353. Caf Tolmen open. Booking Fri 8 – Goan region of India Bonfire é Night menu with mulled cider/apple essential. juice and fireworks to follow meal. The Sat 23 – Helford Marine Conservation. Waymarker. 6.30pm. £20. As if it were yesterday? Changes in Sat 9 – Farmers Market. 9.30am- marine species and habitats. 7.30pm. Gweek Village Hall. £2. Abby 12noon. Constantine Village Hall. 07973400183 or Sue 07772323502. . Mon 11 – W.I . Meeting. 7.15pm. W.I. Hall Sun 24 – Helford Marine Conservation Winter Bird Watch. 2-4pm. Gillan Mon 11 – One and All Club. Godrevy Creek. Martin 07854123877, Sue Singers. 2.15pm. Sally 340050 07772323502.

Tues 12 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen. Tues 26 – Zumba Class. 8pm. Tolmen.

Wed 13 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. Tues 26 – Ladies Circle. Alan Cox Films. 2.30pm. W.I.Hall. Jean 340388. Wed 13 – Tolmen Movies. Still Walking. 7.30pm. £3. 341353. Caf é Tolmen Wed 27 – Todlins. 9.30am. Tolmen. open. Booking essential. Wed 27 – Tolmen Movies. Barton Fink. Thurs 14 – Transition Constantine 7.30pm. £3. 341353. Caf é Tolmen Meeting. 7.00pm. Queens Arms. open. Booking essential.

Thurs 14 – Cottage Garden Society. Fri 29 – Little Soldier Presents 'You and Trenarth: Lucie’s Adventures in Gar- Me'. 7.30pm. Tolmen Centre. £10, £9. denland, Lucie Nottngham. 7.30pm, 341353. Caf é Tolmen open. Booking W.I. Hall. £1. essential.

Fri 15 – Constantine History Group Sat 30 – Christmas Market. Church AGM. 7 pm. Tolmen Centre. Hall. 10-12. Sat 16 – One and All Club. Christmas Fayre. 10-12noon. Sally 340050. Please send calendar items to Lottie at [email protected]. Remember to Sun 17 – John Etheridge. 7.30pm. Tol- include: date/event title/time/place/ men Centre. £10, £9. 341353. Caf é price(if any)/contact details. Thank you! Tolmen open. Booking essential.

Page 10 Volume 2, Issue 5

CLUBS, GROUPS AND GOINGS ON

Calendar entries and reports on group happenings (400 words maximum) are welcome. We’ll try to make space to print everything that comes in, though we may occasionally need to hold items over if we run out of space.

Literary Pod Welcomes Jane Johnson Anne Hussey Constantine Literary Pod invites you to join us for an infor- mal evening event with the author Jane Johnson.

Jane Johnson is from Cornwall and has worked in the book industry for 20 years, as a bookseller, publisher and writer, and is the author of The Tenth Gift , The Salt Road and The Sultan’s Wife .

She was responsible for publishing the works of J. R. R. Tolkien during the 1980s and 1990s and worked on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, spend- ing many months in New Zealand with cast and crew. Under the pseudonym of Jude Fisher she wrote three bestselling Visual Companions to the films. She has also written several books for children, including The Secret Country , Maskmaker and Goldseekers .

In 2005 she was in Morocco researching the story of a distant family member who was abducted from a Cornish church in 1625 by Barbary pirates and sold into slav- ery in North Africa. These events formed the basis for Crossed Bones and The Tenth Gift . While conducting the research a near-fatal climbing incident caused her to rethink her future.

She returned home, gave up her office job in London, sold her flat and shipped the contents to Morocco. In October she married her own ‘Berber pirate’ and now they split their time between Cornwall and a village in the Anti-Atlas Mountains.

Join us on Friday the 11th of October, downstairs at the Tolmen Centre to hear Jane talk about her life and writing followed by a question and answer session with the author. Wine and refreshments will be available from 6.45pm. The eve- ning will also include live music from Tirhatavas. There will be new and second- hand books on sale and lots of opportunity to talk books!

Tickets available from the Tolmen Centre on 01326 341353 – book early to avoid disappointment. Tickets £5.00 each (only 80 available). The Constant Times Page 11

Constantine History Group September Report Don Garman Early retirement and Cornish descendents from Perranzabuloe involved in mining led to Lynne Mayers’ interest in the employment of women and children in the industries of Cornwall and Devon. Lynne tailored her talk to the area of Constan- tine and the Kennel Valley. 150 years ago this area was highly industrialised with a huge demand for labour. Although the principle industry employing women and children was mining, a variety of associated activities such as tin streaming, lead smelting, paper and brick making and the manufacture of explosives also included this group in the workforce. Boys were also involved in the Perran Foundry and quarrying. In 1861 there were 20 boys and 7 women from Constantine employed in the mining industry.

The census shows that Bal maidens, females employed in the mines, were aged from 6 upwards, most being teenagers around 15 years old. Marriage would end such labour but remaining a spinster meant that you might spend your life in the role whilst widowhood often meant a return. There are records of up to 10 Bal maidens in Constantine whilst in nearby Madron, where there was a greater con- centration of mines, there were over 100. Bal maidens were involved in dressing the copper and tin ore. This involved breaking the ore down into increasingly small pieces (a series of processes later mechanised) before separation using wa- ter. Members were impressed by the weight of the bucking tool which ground the ore to a powder and required a very strong wrist.

Mary Reynolds, aged 13, living at Polwheveral, was a Constantine Bal maiden. However, later she seems to have been placed in service in Croydon and married George Kersey. Schemes were established to employ Bal maidens who were out of work because of the decline in mining. Mary may well have been a beneficiary. Following marriage she returned to Constantine and lived in Well Lane until her death in 1935. Known as “Old Mother Kersey”, she had a reputation for removing growths from the beaks of chicken. Mine captains and owners, often Quakers, were frequently sympathetic to miners widows or those that were injured, and roles in the Counthouse were often reserved for women in need. Boys in the mines worked alongside the women and girls until trusted and then went down the mine to operate pumps and trim wagons. Granite quarries in the area employed up to 200 boys whilst in Constantine the maximum was 25.

The Chairman Geoff Roberts thanked Lynne for sharing her in depth research and providing a fascinating and well illustrated talk. Lynne has a useful website for those interested in women in mining: www.balmaiden.co.uk. Page 12 Volume 2, Issue 5

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Night Sky October/November Robert Beeman

The peak of the Orionid meteor shower takes place on the 21st of October. Unfor- tunately this is only a few days after full moon, and yes, you have guessed it, the moon will be just above Orion after midnight which is the best time to view! All is not lost; if you can get yourself into the shadow of a wall or tree and look up at about 60 o with Orion to your left you should stand a good chance of seeing some meteors.

While you are waiting look for Perseus, an inverted Y which lies just above the Pleiades. The western end of the fork is marked by Algol which is a naked eye variable star with a period between maxima and minima of just under three days. The cause of this variability is a line of sight effect of a small dimmer star closely orbiting a larger brighter star. In ancient times this star was known as the "Demons head". Follow the western fork upwards to meet the eastern fork which is marked by Mirkak, a giant star 550lys away which is 4000 times as luminous as the Sun. This star is a part of an association of many recently formed stars lying within the confines of Perseus.

The peak of the Leonid meteor shower is in the early hours of 17/18th November with the radiant lying just above Regulus in Leo. As the peak activity is in 33 year cycles, and we are between peaks, the rates are in the order of 10/12 meteors per hour. These meteors have a high atmospheric entry velocity and can leave ionisation trails lasting a few seconds to over a minute, so you may get lucky!

From the end of October Jupiter should be in view to the east after midnight, the four largest moons easily seen with binoculars. By the middle of November Mars should be low down in the east an hour or two after midnight.

WANTED

CLEANER/CARETAKER FOR THE TOLMEN CENTRE

A COUPLE OF HOURS OR SO A WEEK, TIME TO SUIT, KEEPING THE TOLMEN CENTRE LOOKING CLEAN AND TIDY.

GOOD RATE OF PAY OFFERED.PHONE CHARLIE OR BARBARA ON 01326 340630 The Constant Times

Contact Details PC Urgently Needed for Email: [email protected] Village Newspaper! Post: Tolmen Centre or The Constant 47 Fore Street The computer that we print Phone: 01326 341129 Times on is currently unwell, and may be beyond repair. If you have a PC that you Editorial Team no longer need (not too ancient, fully Oversight and Advertising: functioning, ideally with Microsoft Pub- Benjamin Symes lisher installed) please consider donating Submissions: Lottie Bowser it to the Tolmen Centre so we can keep Layout and Copy-editing: delivering the news to your door. Caitlin DeSilvey Copy-editing and Distribution: Russell Johnston

The Constant Times is produced with support from the Constantine Enterprises Company and Transition Constantine. Volunteers distribute free copies to households in Constantine Parish every two months. Please let us know if you do not receive a copy, or if you would like to help with distribution.

Submission Deadlines: News items, calendar entries and other submissions are required by the second Saturday of each month prior to publication. Please send to [email protected] or post to the addresses above.

DEADLINE FOR DECEMBER 2013/ JANUARY 2014 ISSUE: 16 NOVEMBER