Falmouth harbour

The arrival of the Shieldhall, the 2009 flagship of the National Historic Ship and the last large steam-powered ship, onto County Wharf inspires some thoughts about how lucky we are this week.

The Matthew, a replica 16th century ship, is sitting on our pontoon making a wonderful attraction. Such ships must have been common visitors to these waters in their day. A number no doubt popped in to take shelter in the waters in front of Arwenack House but got a surprise when they were plundered by the Killigrews (allegedly).

On the main pontoon we can look out at four sleek superyachts: Velsheda, Unfurled, the lovely Adela and William Tai. Each is steeped in history but Velsheda, the J class, stands out as a relic of the glorious days of sailing when rich magnates raced great gaff-rigged yachts for the America's Cup so beautifully captured in Beken of Cowes pictures.

Which brings me back to Shieldhall which was a sewage dumping ship on the Clyde. She would collect sewage and head out to sea to dump it in deep water. The poor of Glasgow were taken as deck cargo to give them fresh (?) air and a trip on a ship. Run by volunteers, her engines are immaculate: the engine room hot and faintly oily in just the way enthusiasts enjoy. Her current colour scheme is a homage to the Titanic.

And finally, we have been enjoying the sight of the Finns from many nations heading out to race from the Watersports Centre. FRA, GER, NED, GBR declare their sails, going off to do peaceful battle in the bay. Fantastically well sailed they have had their attendant fleet of small colourful ribs.

The Finns are a reminder how the world has changed over the years. At the end of the 19th century, ships of many of the same nations would have been calling in to Falmouth 'for orders'. Now their descendants come to compete in leisure pursuits.

So, from the 16th century to the cutting edge of modern competition. All we are missing is something from Nelson's navy or a tall ship. Hang on: what is that coming around Trefusis Point ... ?

Bretons who knew their onions!

Regular annual visitors to our Cornish shores between the two World Wars & for sometime afterwards were the Johnnie Onion Sellers from Brittany. In fact according to an historical trade record from Brittany it first started as early as 1300s.

The hardy Bretons would make the hazardous trips across in open sail boats (many lost their lives on these journeys) with their onions to several centres along the south coast of England.

My beau-père (Father in law) Jean Le Jeune (pictured circ. 1950, standing about where Trago Mills is now) was born just outside Roscoff in Brittany in 1926. He was a Johnnie Onion Seller in the Penryn, Falmouth Helston, Penzance & Mousehole areas on his trusty bike with the onions hanging off the handle bars each string would weigh about 1 kilo.

He made his first trip to the UK as an Onion Seller in 1950 sailing for 16 hours in a 50-ton sail boat from Roscoff to Penryn (other vessels made for Plymouth or Portsmouth). The return trip to Brittany was made by ferry from Newhaven to St Malo.

On Dales Farm on Eastwood Road, Penryn there was a big store in which the onions were kept, there was also a storage point in Penzance. They used to sleep in the old sail lofts at the bottom of St Thomas street in Penryn, but not until they had strung their onions ready for the next day. There were 3 or 4 sellers in each group, the leader had a car & the others English bicycles although the last year that Jean worked selling he used his own French bike (see photo). The car driver would travel to Padstow, Newquay & Mevagissey leaving the others to cover the local area on their bikes. I once asked why we no longer see the Johnnies here anymore & he said “It’s because the youngsters didn’t want to come.”

Jean said “It was easy to sell the onions because of their high quality and longevity ”They would be able to be kept for up to 6 months if stored correctly." The rose coloured Roscoff onion is favoured by top chefs because of its mild sweet taste. French sailors would eat the pink Roscoff onions raw for weeks if not months on end.

The sellers had permits allowing them to stay in the UK for 3months only. Jean came every year & in 1953 married a Penryn girl which allowed him to stay for 12 months without renewing his permit. In 1954 he applied for a residential permit & returned to his original trade as a Mason, taught to him by German soldiers during WWII where he was conscripted to build bunkers & gun emplacements in Brest. He was working in Brest during the raid on St Nazaire when he said the Germans panicked & moved them to another camp till the next day. He worked for several local builders & Falmouth Docks working on the wall that’s in front of the dry docks.

After he retired he made several trips back to Roscoff with his wife for holidays & sometimes returned with some onions, but not to sell!

Michael Hill, not so new Gallery Volunteer


Relaxing holiday

We have just returned from the most relaxing holiday I have ever had, and if anyone wants to be totally idle for two weeks, I recommend the river trip from Amsterdam to Budapest. The scenery is spectacular along the rivers Rhine, Main and Danube with many castles, acres of vineyards and forests; there is also the addition of 64 locks to negotiate – varying in height from 10 feet to Eighty-nine feet!!

The ship was 150 metres long and barely had enough room to enter the narrow locks.
Accommodation was excellent, with a balcony for the glorious weather, and mouth-watering menus to suit the area we were in each day – plus free dinner wines.

With only 150 passengers (a mixture of US, Canadian, NZ & UK) and 51 crew, the atmosphere aboard was very friendly. The crew were extremely efficient.

Apart from the free excursions at various towns, local entertainment came aboard on some evenings.

Mike Pennell


Grumpy Volunteers Corner

by Keith Evans

Foreign visitors are often interesting. A German couple from Bremen thought the museum 'very impressive'. They were particularly intrigued by the boats on Waterfront. "We have sailboats at our museum, but you have wind. Very clever. We have no wind." Must be very boring, I thought, to have sailboats with no vind, I mean wind. All we want now is the tide, which would impress them even more.

I remember meeting an American from the midwest crossing the causeway to St Michael's Mount. He had never seen the sea. As the tide was coming in rapidly I felt I ought to warn him. "Don't get cut off by the tide" I said. " The tide?" he said "How often does it come in?" "Twice a day" I said. "Twice a day. I thought it only came in once a fortnight." He turned on his heels and beat us back to Marazion.

Then there was a French man teaching his 'Oo La La' girlfriend the finer points of sailing on the Waterfront. I was very impressed, by his sailing expertise I mean. Come to think of it, his dark haired damsel with mini-skirt and ... don't let me get started on that, you know it's not good for me. I was impressed until he looked up to the roof and asked "Where is ze wind coming from?" Well, we all have our blind spots.

A burly Scot jabbered away at me in, I think, a cross between Gaelic, Chinese Mandarin and the odd word of English. I wasn't quite sure whether he wanted a pint, a pasty or a pee. I thought it was the last one so I directed him to the loo. I think I got it wrong because he gave me a funny look. Well, you can't get them all right.

Welcome baby Noah

Congratulations to Katie and Charlie!

Katie gave birth to a son yesterday, 14 May, at 9.10 pm. He weighed 6 lb 3 oz and they have named him Noah.

Mother and baby are doing well.

Derryth's Acting Debut

Derryth is seen here in costume and make-up for her first ‘Under the Sea’ workshop yesterday and she made a most enchanting Seasprite. 14 children dressed in magic cloaks were captivated by her Oceana performance and it will be a day they will remember for years to come. Now Derryth is gearing up to play to 60 children (three, one hour workshops) and is looking forward to her new challenging role.