Prawn to be Wild!

A HUGE thank you to Library volunteer, Lynne Vosper, who has hand-knitted three wonderful prawn finger puppets for the Education Department. Percy, Prunella and Priscilla Prawn will be enjoyed by children visiting the Museum for our magical 'Under the Sea' workshop.

Debbie Rogers - Education Officer

Museum Birthday Time

The Museum will soon have a Birthday –
Ten candles alight on the Tower
(Maybe electric twinkling ones
That wouldn't blow out in a shower)

It isn't just exhibits
That weather through the years –
As time goes by, it’s just the same
For many Volunteers!!

They’ll fall in slowly on the Square
In a pattern showing  “1 0” -
Standing rigidly, with discipline,
Our ladies and our men

Some pre-date the Museum
(Their Provenance in doubt)
Ponsharden is the place for them -
Escorted when they’re out

Some Office Staff have changed as well –
And Volunteers too;
You come on shift a different day
And some folks think you’re new!

Let’s recognise the stalwarts
Who've been here since the start –
A “Prezzie” in their pigeon hole
- Reward them for their part ?

* * *
I regret I’ll miss the party –
I've a black-tie Lifeboat “Do”;
But at the Bar in Dorset –
I'll drink a toast to you.

Mike Pennell

The Cornish three kick rule

OK, it has nothing to do with the Museum or boats but we all feel like this sometimes (don't even ask me for a list ...)


An English lawyer went duck hunting near Constantine. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence.

As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing. The litigator responded, 'I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it.'

The old farmer Peter replied, 'This is my property, and you are not coming over here.

The indignant lawyer said, 'I am one of the best trial lawyers in England and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own.'

The old farmer smiled and said, 'Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in Cornwall. We settle small disagreements like this with the 'Three Kick Rule.'

The lawyer asked, 'What is the "Three Kick Rule"?'

The Farmer replied, 'Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.'

The lawyer quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer's last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear end, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.

Summoning every bit of his will and remaining strength the lawyer very slowly managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, 'Okay. Now it's my turn.'

I love this part

The old farmer smiled and said, 'Nah, I give up. You can have the duck.'

Ahoy Cruise Ships & Others

by Clive Mathison

Seen from the Lookout Tower, is an interesting vessel alongside County Wharf which has attracted questions from our visitors. It is a support vessel for seabed to surface diving and construction operations.

It has a deck area of 1,080m sq and accommodation for 102 persons. It was built in 1984.

A unique feature is that it has an 18 man twin bell saturation diving system which enables continuous diving for safety purposes (i.e. rescue of one diving bell by the other). It flies the Liberia flag.

NMMC visit to Marine Building, Plymouth University

We woke up on Monday 21 January 2013 to snow on the ground, but this did not deter a group of us to get up early and meet up in the museum car park at 7.30am to board a minibus to take us on a trip to Plymouth to visit the new Marine Building at Plymouth University. As we were boarding the minibus our illustrious leader JG parked up and walked past enquiring where we were off too. He asked the driver to bring us back safely as he ‘needed us’!  By the time we reached Truro there was no snow on the ground and our journey to Plymouth uneventful.

We arrived in Plymouth with time to spare. Geoff had some books to return to the Plymouth University Library, which the Bartlett Library had had on loan. So off he duly went and for the rest of us we went in search of a cup of coffee and for some a slice of cake! We ended up in the students union Costa coffee shop, which was good for Phil as he likes Costa coffee and a piece of cake. Feeling refreshed we made our way to the Marine Building where we were welcomed by our host the Marine Commercial Director Adam Corney.

The Marine Building, a £19 million project, aims to provide world class research and training facilities to understand marine and coastal systems in order to assess and predict change and to look at the sustainable use and protection of seas and coasts. The building was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 31 October 2012. It houses everything to do with maritime that is based at Plymouth University, including the School of Navigation which was founded in 1862. Our main purpose of the visit was to see the tidal wave tank.

The wave machine, Ocean Basin is situated on the ground floor and is housed in The Coastal Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) laboratory. The COAST laboratory can combine wave, current and wind power to create environments for testing coastal engineering. The Ocean Basin is 35 metres long, 15.5 metres wide and 3 metres deep; it has a floor that can be raised up and down so is operable at different depths. Operating on a scale of 1/20^th there are 24 electronic panels controlled by a computer which can create waves of up to 0.9 metres high and also multi-directional, recirculating current generation, both in-line and across the path of the waves and also has a wind generation facility. The Marine Institute team work on several commercial projects and partnerships such as the Wave Hub project at Hayle. Also, in the laboratory is the Coastal Basin, 15.5 metres long, 10 metres wide and 0.5 metres deep. This is used for research using various natural resources such as sand and rocks. Breakwaters and harbours can be built to create an environment for researching coastal erosion. The Coastal Basin is built to a scale of 1/50^th. The last thing to view in the laboratory was the Sediment Wave Flume, also 35 metres long. Waves can be controlled to break at a certain point and the movement of sediment monitored.

After this we were shown the first floor where the School of Navigation was situated. Along the corridor walls there were little phrases such as ‘Navigation is more than a dot on the ocean’. Classrooms are available for students to learn about electronic chart technology; the University also teaches navigational skills with paper charts. UK and international students were on the courses. There was a comment passed about maybe more Italians might be taking up the course! There are 9 ship simulators – 8 of which are computer screens and can be programmed for one of many harbours such as New York, Hong Kong, Rotterdam with monitors and a TV screen. At the heart of the Marine Navigation Centre is Ship 9, a state-of-the-art full sized Ship Simulator. The software used recreates the environment of a vessel navigating the oceans. When we arrived it was in use by students but we were lucky enough that they were just finishing so we were able to enter and have a go. With a 270-degree screen and advanced computer imagining and with Plymouth Sound as our approach several of us took the helm. Many hazards, such as a burning ship and different weather systems were thrown at us. Survivors in the water and a life raft were mowed down by Phil and ably assisted John Fortey! The weather got really rough and it really felt like the floor was moving as on a ship.

Our final port of call on the tour was the Marine Innovation Centre, an area dedicated to bringing together knowledge and expertise in the maritime environment between the University, Business and Industry. The centre has accommodation for Boardroom-style meetings, space for informal meetings and facilities for students, staff and visitors who wish to use the Marine Building.

A fun time was had by all and off course the highlight of the visit to the Marine Building, Plymouth was the Ship Simulator.Anne Pond

Grumpy Volunteers Corner

by Keith Evans

The Christmas festivities are but a distant memory but I must just mention the volunteer's Christmas lunch and give a belated vote of thanks to all those who made it such an enjoyable occasion. For the first time in a decade we were allowed to join our female colleagues and very pleasant it was too. We were outnumbered and couldn't get a word in edge ways but that's not unusual.

I was recently up to my waist in excited kids on Waterfront when through the haze I saw Jonathan passing by and, knowing how much I enjoy kids en masse, he was grinning from ear to ear. Kids are tolerable on their own, especially when they're asleep, but this lot were a cross between a pop concert and a rugby scrum.

Jonathan said something I couldn't quite hear. I wasn't sure whether it was encouragement, sympathy or blessing me for being a martyr. Anyway he made a quick exit leaving me to my fate.