Things have changed a lot at The Star Inn in Porkellis since the arrival of new owners Anthony Richards and Andrew Denton last July.

They have worked hard with the local community to make the pub central to life in the village, where Anthony was born and raised. Now pub hosts not only regular music events and pub quizzes, but also a euchre night and Cornish language classes.

The classes are run by teachers from Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek, the Cornish Language Fellowship, and focus on everyday Cornish and simple phrasesk however, Anthony and Andrew wanted more.

“We want The Star Inn to be somewhere really inclusive,” said Andrew. “It wasn't enough to just have a learners' group and occasionally host a language night, we want to be able to welcome customers in Cornish and serve them at the bar in Cornish.”

This has been welcomed by the fellowship. “It's really great to hear the language normalised,” said Dee Hunt, Kowethas support officer. “Not everyone wants to study and become fluent, so this is a great way to bring the Cornish language back into everyday village life as well as celebrate the uniqueness of our heritage and culture.”

Has it been hard work? “Yes,” said Anthony, who is also fluent in French, “but it's been great fun, too. Of course, it's certainly not compulsory to speak Cornish at The Star Inn, but for customers that want to give it a try, we're always willing to practise our new language skills on them.”

What's more, it seems as though this has been embraced by not only the Porkelllis language class but also by other pub regulars too, who routinely now say “gorthugher da” and “nos dha” (good evening and good night), as well as sometimes having a go at ordering drinks and snacks in Cornish themselves, using the signs around the pub as a guide.

This initiative been so successful that The Star Inn hosted its first “Yeth an Werin” - a Cornish language gathering for fluent speakers and beginners alike on Monday, May 11.

The attached photo is of Anthony Richards and Andrew Denton at the bar of The Star Inn.