Herbert Lean By David Oates (Dialect Story Men)
David Oates, himself a superb deliverer of Cornish dialect stories, brings us an article about Herbert Lean who he describes as the master storyteller. To
David Oates, himself a superb deliverer of Cornish dialect stories, brings us an article about Herbert Lean who he describes as the master storyteller. To
Nex ta we av just bin sawld New parties av moved in, They’m sumwhere frum uplong A pia-ace they da call Kings Lynn. They’m daicunt
Life wanders on, year in, year out, apaceAs melancholy haunts the backward gaze;But memory holds alive those years of graceOf Cornish childhood, golden bygone days.
‘Tes time to riddle out grate, mautherAn’ to maake us desh o’ tay,Fer be gwain up temberen ‘ill, mautherIn coose fer anawther day. ‘Twas ‘ansum,
Feythurr ubbum bin zackly since tha awld lecksuns, tha chap ee vawted fun dedun git in saw ee bin taisy uz a snaake ever since,
Now, Feythur dedun zackly blaw in tha village band, knaw, ee banged tha great drum. Uz you da knaw ee idden very big, ees like
Where be ‘ee goin’ to, me ‘ansome?Ted’n often I see ‘ee round ‘ere,Why ’tis more’n sennight I saw ‘eeOff down to the kiddley for beer.
Sadly both Joy and her wonderful dedicated husband Stan have passed on, but hopefully they are somewhere together. Knowing them both very well I would
John Polgreen were hardly a shammickAn’ a pattic would do ‘en bit shortBut drulgy he was an’ a drunkardAn’ oftimes he landed in court. Mazed
I bin Trurra day furr bit shoppun. Tha plaace wuz boilun with people yewd think twuz Cow day. Mind, I da reckon tha shops in
Launder – Guttering. Grushunns – The dregs especially tea leaves. Wisht uz a winnurd – Feeling and looking ill, miserable. Winnard is a bird like
Donkey shays were a means of transport for many Cornish years ago; miners, especially, used them to get to their work each day. It was
Twuz cauld und raw und dimmitty Tha night Jaw `Awke cum round. We wuz scriffun round tha awld slab Twuddun night fun `orse nor `ound.
I bin in sum shiack you, wuz goin down be tha splatt und went flyun auvurr a geat stawne thut cum abrawd frum tha kerb