Flag waving.

The Union Inn, in Saltash, is on the Cornish bank of the River Tamar, 

which many Cornish people see as marking the Duchy's frontier with England.

 

In the main street of Saltash virtually every building flies the Black and white Flag of St Piran,

the Patron saint of Cornwall, a mark of the perceived separateness of this Celtic land.

So it is strange to see the Union Inn, on the river bank, "flying"  the flag of Union.

The Cornish flag

The black and white flag of St Piran flies vitually everywhere in Cornwall.

It is often alongside the Union Jack and the Cross of St George.

But today I spotted this composite flag for the first time. The shield, in the bottom right, is the Cornish coat of arms, which usually bears the motto "One and All" or " Onen hag Oll" in Cornish.







The other flag in this picture is that of the RNLI, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, certainly one of the most respected organisations in the Duchy where there are 14 lifeboat stations and 57 of the busiest beaches are patrolled by professional RNLI lifeguards.

St Piran's Day

Today is St Piran’s Day, the patron Saint of miners and generally considered to be the Patron Saint of Cornwall.  His flag is a white cross on a black ground and it will be seen everywhere, flying on nearly all public buildings throughout Cornwall, flying in streets, adorning pubs and private houses. This shop in Saltash doesn’t need a flag. Many people will be wearing the Cornish tartan.

It won’t only be flying in Cornwall. For generations of Cornish people have had little choice but to emigrate to find work. Today, “Cousin Jacks” all over the world will wonder about of their ancestral home.

 This song is fast becoming Cornwall's second anthem.

Discover the Cornish Diaspora.