Keeping it in the family.

Today, instead of whittering on about tweed and yarn I am going to talk about an entirely different subject........

...Tartan!
This is a metre of 100% Pure Wool Tartan in the colours of the National Tartan of Cornwall! I was surprised to learn from my sister Anne-Marie that such a thing existed but it does, and here it is! Although it is wool it has a strange sheen unlike the hairy tweed I am used to - must be something they do in the finishing process (it is meant for making kilts) This is destined to become cushion covers and assorted giftware.
I have mentioned before that my sister has moved to Cornwall with her partner Steve to take possession of the Fishermans Arms pub in Golant, Cornwall (if you look in the sidebar to the left on the Golant site there is more about the pub. You can also read about the origins of the the street names i.e.Cowshit Lane and see pictures of the latest egg rolling competition held in the village!) My sister is refurbishing the pub to make it more traditional (at the moment it is more like an "Essex wine bar") and put some of the original character back into the place, so some Cornish Tartan cushions are the start (hope they don't compromise the colour scheme too much - it is rather bright!) She has also suggested selling some fieldyware, made of Cornish Tartan, to visitors to the village.
The Cornish people are very proud of their heritage and are a one of the Celtic nations so I don't know why I was surprised to find that they had a tartan of their own. The Cornish consider themselves to be a nation - apart from the rest of England - there is even a Cornish Association for native Cornishmen living in London where they aim to preserve Cornish traditions. You can read more about Cornwall and its heritage and the origins of Cornish Tartan at Cornovi where I purchased my metre of tartan.
The title of this post refers more to the fact that there is a history of pub landlordship (can you say that?) in my family. For several years my maternal Grandparents ran a pub in Caterham in Surrey and later on, when my Uncle John (Mums brother, also known as 'Steve') semi-retired, he bought a pub in East Sussex. I found some old photos during my recent clear out, of my Grandparents and their pub and thought I would like to post them. Pubs traditionally, especially in smaller communities, take on a pivotal role in the life of a place. Not because everyone wants to go out drinking but because it is a place to meet and talk with your neighbours. My sister is well aware of this and is hoping to bring her pub back into the heart of the village catering for locals and visitors alike. My Grandparents pub, The King and Queen, was very much a local pub and central to the activities of the community. I remember seeing photos of the pub with Morris Dancers outside but sadly I can't find them anywhere so all I have are rather cloudy B&W of the pub exterior....

This is my grandad George Findlay Stevens known as 'Steve'.

He was born in Glasgow and his father was a Tailor (see this previous post) As far as I know he was the eldest of 4 and left home when he was 14 to go and work in Smithfield meatmarket in London (he later became a Master Butcher and had his own butchers shop before running the pub) so he lost all trace of any scottish accent. I love these photos of him as they really capture the essence of him - very gentlemanly and soft spoken - a man of few words......

..he was also very dapper - I never saw him without a shirt and tie! Maybe that was a generational thing?
This is a photo of my parents with my grandparents and my great-grandmother known as 'little granny' (for obvious reasons) behind the bar.

It is Christmas - possibly 1964 - and the star decoration in the top left of the picture was made by my older brother David (not bad considering he was only about 9 at the time) a fact that my Granny mentioned whenever we looked at this picture (she was obviously very proud his ability)
So, by moving to Cornwall and becoming a publican my sister is really following a family tradition - something that had not even dawned on us until we were speaking about it the other day! And she has her own Steve - although that really is his name!

Comments

[caireen]

Great post and fabulous pictures! What an interesting life you lead, you galavanter! Cx

[Diana]

We cornish definitely think we live in our own land, separate from the rest of the country....although I am not really cornish, I just live here! Strangely, you don't see that much of the cornish tartan around, either. On another note....I was born not far from Purley. Did you write this post for me?!!! Dx

[Diana]

Woops!! I meant to say: born in Purley, next door to Caterham! Dx

[Kthy]

Oh, that Cornish Tartan is gorgeous! I love the mustardy color. Do you know who wove it?

I just got a hold of 3m of Antarctic Tartan woven by Dalgleish that I will be making into a kilt for my son.

Nice family pictures as well, what a cool connection.