Cornish Crossword Puzzle November 1931

A curious fundraiser for Devoran Village Hall,  a Cornish dialect crossword mentioned in a letter by Cornish Pasty from the West Briton 5th November, 1931 

Clues for the Cornish dialect crossword as printed in the West Briton November 12, 1931 

Cornish Crossword Puzzle

Dere Mister Editor

Would ee kindly tell they wot do read your ole paaper, that nex week there’s goin to be one of those ere ole crosswords? Tes thes way!

We down to Devoran ‘ave got a room wot they do call a Village ‘All, were we do ave our whish drives, dances, an such like trade. But, my dear life, it do taake sum parsel o’ money to kape it up.

 

So they as wot do call a committee meetin! Tes all bout ow to raake in the money. One says one thing an nuther says  tuther, an at laaast, me dears, we’ve decided pon this ere ole Crossword Puzzle.

You buys your paper, an cuts out the ole crossword, and sends en weth 6d, doant ee forgit that, me dear, to Mr. E. J. Turner, Devoran, Truro.

Ef ee do guess en right, there’ll be a turkey for ee, and ef nor one doant get et fitty, wy thicky one which as leastest mistakes will get en, as a plum pudden for ee wots nex best.

Et’ll be all in good Cornish, like our faathers did spake, an not like wot they do larn they young lems up to school. Furrin spache, I do call en!

Sem me I’ve said enuff, else I shall be like Thomas Enry wot was courtin a maid a brae spur. Wen ee axed er wud she marry en she said “Iss”. After that ee walked long side of er an never said nuther word. So laast she cud stand en no longer. “Aint ee got nuthin to say?” says she. “Sem me I’ve said too much a’ready,” ses ee!

So there tes, me dears, an doant ee forgit un – The West Briton, November 12, 1931. We want lashins o’ money.

Signed CORNISH PASTY, Devoran

*

Organiser and maybe Mr. ‘Cornish Pasty’ himself,  E.J. Turner was  the Headteacher at Devoran Council School throughout the 1930s, who sadly died aged only 48 in 1939.

His teacher role  makes the comments on “furren spache” the more amusing. This letter and crossword are part of the humorous Cornish dialect tales tradition still going into the 21st century with the late Mrs. Rosewarne and the late Jethro the comedian (“Trains don’t stop Camborne Wednesday”), still carried on by the ‘Kernow King’ Ed Rowe. 

No prizes for solving this crossword in 2024. 

Blog post by Mark Norris on 24 March 2024 as part of the Devoran Village Hall centenary April 2024