KING EDWARD MINE, TROON, CAMBORNE, TR14 6BW FRIDAY EVENING TALKS

Subject to alteration if necessary. All talks expected on Zoom where possible, a link will be sent prior to talks to all members where we hold an email address

June 5th

Joel Griffet and Ben Sumpter

‘On the Avocado Mountain: Richard Trevithick in Costa Rica 1824-1827’  From importing weapons to prospecting for gold, this talk covers Richard Trevithick’s three and a half years in Costa Rica as a merchant and a miner, as well as the small Cornish legacy in the country that endured well into the nineteenth century.

July 10th

Martin Brockman

The Torrey Canyon disaster off the tip of Lands End in March 1967 left a legacy that remains to this day. Martin Brockman, An RNLI education volunteer, takes you through an audio visual journey of the Torrey Canyon’s life, her sad demise and the environmental devastation caused by the widespread pollution.  Martin comes from an RNLI family, his dad, Nigel, was one of the crew of the ill-fated ‘Solomon Browne’ Lifeboat lost in December 1981 when Martin was just 10 years old. Martin’s Brother Neil was a crew member of the ‘Solomon Browne’ and was turned away on that night, only to remain as crew for the RNLI for over 30 years, 16 as a decorated Coxswain at Penlee.  Martin’s dad was one of the crew of the Penlee lifeboat that was called to assist the Isles of Scilly lifeboat standing by the rescue and salvage attempt of the Torrey Canyon.

September 11th

Tony Langford

‘Walking with John Harris: Landscape of a Poet.’ Exploring the landscape of John Harris, his childhood inspiration of Treslothan Moors and Woods. The impact of 19th century Cornish mining and the Cornish Miners walks to Dolcoath Mine. Comparisons with the Enclosures poet John Clare and the legacy of John Harris’s Poetry to revive the Cornish Spirit in the face of the new wave of 21st century technology.

ZOOM-ONLY TALKS ON MONDAYS at 19.30, MEMBERS ONLY

June 8th

Olaf Sculpin (Germany)

A theoretical and methodological section with initial research findings, for example, from original track sections that we have in the German Museum of Technology. These were used in Merthyr-Tydfil in 1804.

July 13th

David Dundas

Anaerobic digesters which process organic waste to release fossil-free methane that can be burnt to provide heat to drive a power station.

September 7th

Tim Smith

An Irish immigrant to USA who was sent to South Wales by his employers in 1828 to learn the secrets of the industry. While there is no direct reference to Cornwall, the tin used in South Wales would have been Cornish Tin and of course there was active trade between Cornwall and S Wales in coal, tin and copper ore. Also, Richard Trevithick ran his first rail locomotive at Penydarrren (near Merthyr Tidfil) in 1804 – just 24 years before Patterson’s visit who incidentally refers to the switch of waggon wheels from unflanged to flanged as they moved from cast iron plate rails (which Trevithick’s loco broke) to wrought iron bull head rails more typical of today.