The Grand Bard of Cornwall has been looking ahead to St Piran’s Day as the county prepares to celebrate its patron saint.

Elizabeth Carne, or Melennek to give her Cornish bard name, said she was delighted to see how far events had spread.

Mrs Carne, for whom the celebrations will be her first since becoming Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow last September, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many people planning St Piran events, taking place soon all over Cornwall and beyond.

“Cornwall is unique with a culture and heritage to be proud of. Our precious language is a special part of that culture and was spoken on these islands long before English.”

Mrs Carne also spoke of her gratitude to the language revivalists and to those people who over time had helped gather the remembered words from the living language of Cornwall.

“When Piran landed in Cornwall it is the language he would have heard. It is all around us still in Cornwall in our place names and in many of our family names.

“It is spoken now by more and more people and we should all embrace the language to ensure it has a bright future,” she added.

To mark St Piran 2019 the Grand Bard announced the launch of “Viaj an Delow”, a short film about the journey of a specially commissioned granite statue of St Piran from Mabe Quarry in Penryn to the Vallée des Saints in Brittany.

It was filmed by Cornish bard Stephen Gainey, Mab Hirnans, senior partner of Truro accountancy firm Robinson Reed Layton and a fervent Cornish speaker who died recently, and in whose honour the film is being launched.

It is now available to view online on the Gorsedh Kernow website, at gorsedhkernow.org.uk/videos.html “Let’s go forward and celebrate St Piran and the Cornish language Kernewek and I wish everyone Gool Peran Lowen!”said Mrs Carne.

St Piran’s events taking place in Cornwall over the next few days include the St Piran’s Festival in Redruth today from 10am to 3pm, with a procession at noon; the St Piran’s Parade across the dunes of Perranporth to the oratory and old church, 1.30pm for 2pm; a St Piran Furry on Tuesday starting at 10.15am on Causewayhead in Penzance; 160 schoolchildren in Falmouth dancing from The Moor, through the streets and back to The Moor, from 10am on Tuesday; and the St Piran's Day march in Truro leaving St George's Road at 1pm on Tuesday and process through the city along the usual route to High Cross.