Sunday, March 11, 1923
Camborne was acclaimed ‘centre of the Cornish musical world’ with people travelling from 50 miles away to hear singer Lucy Nuttall with the full Cornwall Symphony Orchestra.
She had come straight from the Royal Albert Hall, travelling overnight to Camborne.
Her first song, ‘Sea Wrack’, was described in a press report of the event as ‘weird’ – but the audience may have relaxed a bit more during the second item, which the journalist had found ‘delightful’, and the third, which brought them into the safer waters of Edward Elgar.
The ‘winsome, smiling eyes’ of the artiste also appealed – and for those who had missed the show, been reluctant to face the long journey from West Cornwall or felt disinclined to brave the streets of Camborne, Lucy Nuttall was already booked for Penzance in November.
Readers who would like to judge Sea Wrack for themselves can listen to it on Youtube https://youtu.be/msRXzn9bwVE
Monday, March 12, 1923
A little pub tucked away at the lower end of Morrab Gardens, Penzance, was refused renewal of its licence.
The decision was reached not because the locals had been running riot, or the landlord encouraging the wrong kind of customer, but because it was judged to be one pub too many in the area.
The pub, St Mary’s Inn, had been there for as long as anyone could remember – although it had barely any customers during the day, and the few people in the habit of enjoying a pint in their evening ‘local’ were said to use it almost as a club. In future, they would have to walk another 100 yards or so to the Navy Inn.
On the same day, Hayle Old Cornwall Society held its first ever meeting. Founder and president Henry Jenner spoke, appropriately enough, on the ‘Landing of the First Saint in Hayle’ – although whether he accorded this honour to St Petroc, Samson or some other saint entirely is not recorded.
Hayle Old Cornwall Society does, of course, survive to this day – with a banner depicting ‘The Landing of the Saints’ - and celebrated its centenary in February.
Thursday, March 15, 1923
Fans of classical music in general, and Chopin in particular, could enjoy their second treat of the week, in the form of an evening recital in St John’s Hall Penzance by Mark Hombourg.
A world class pianist, Hombourg had been making records since 1909 and was at the height of career. Ticket prices ranged from 7/6d for the best seats, down to 2/4d.
Hombourg, who frequently toured Britain, had not visited Penzance since 1908.
During WWI, he had been forced to disprove press rumours that he was German: Hombourg was in fact of Russian origin and had been a naturalised British citizen for since the 1890s, and successfully sued the Daily Mail for the damage the rumours had caused to his reputation.