Cornish stone crosses to be microchipped - The Pasty sells saffron cakes from Cornwall and Cornish pasties

One hundred of Cornwall’s most vulnerable celtic crosses have recently been identified and fitted with microchips. Grants from a range of organizations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage are aiding in making the project possible.

The process uses electronic tags and causes no damage to the crosses. A number of crosses have been stolen over the past 20 years in order to feed a growing market for granite artifacts. The microchips are meant to deter criminals from these medieval boundary makers which established a path to the parish church.

“It is sad that protection of this sort should be needed,” said Ann Preston-Jones, senior archaeologist with Cornwall County Council. “As the crosses are monuments of great importance to Cornish identify and often well-loved and cherished by local communities.”

Average house prices in Cornwall are up to 14 times the average salary, according to a survey by The Western Morning News.

The findings revealed that the average person in Penwith only earns a quarter of what they would need to earn in order to afford a mortgage on an average home, with average earnings at £14,716 a year - one 14th of the average house price of £207,103.

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, said: “The way in which the housing market operates in places like ours in completely unacceptable.

“The biggest impediment to taking action of the kind I would like to see taken in respect of second homes is that, in law, a second home is notoriously difficult to define - especially if one of a couple claims they reside permanently in it whilst the other claims they reside permanently in the other home.

Tim Jones, of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: “This is very much a crisis situation and we need to stop talking about it and take some very urgent action. This problem is not going to go away. It is gradually getting worse.”

Nearly 30,000 people marched though Hayle on Sunday, to protest at hospital cuts in Cornwall.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust is threatening to close St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle to make up for a £31m overspend in its budget.

About 27,000 people joined the one-and-a-half mile march, according to event organizers.

Other services which could be affected include the emergency department at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance, which could be lost, and the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro which could see cuts to wards and services.

Campaigners want an independent review of Cornwall’s hospital services.

The West Country’s beaches have excelled in a summer survey carried out by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

97 per cent of Cornwall and Devon’s beaches were rated as “excellent” after tests revealed a high standard of water cleanliness.

Of the 139 West Country beaches tested, only four failed to reach the highest standards and were awarded “basic” passes. These were at Ilfracombe in North Devon, Rock, near Padstow on the North Cornwall coast, Torre Abbey, in Torbay, and Teignmouth, East Devon.

Thomas Bell, the society’s coastal pollution officer, says: “It’s a repeat of last year. MCS has again concluded that about nine out of 10 UK beaches had excellent water quality up to the beginning of August. The risk to bathers’ health from sewage contamination was therefore generally low, and we see this as great news for both the marine environment and the huge numbers of UK beach visitors.

“As usual, we would urge swimmers to be aware of possible pollution after severe rain or flooding, and where pollution occurs to wait at least 24 hours after the rain stops before entering the sea.”

Earlier this summer, four more West Country beaches were awarded prestigious Blue Flag beaches for their top-class facilities, safety and cleanliness.

The Eden Project has the healthiest food of any tourist attraction in the UK, according to a new report by the Soil Association.

But most tourist attractions were failing to provide healthy food for visitors, opting for junk food instead.

The Soil Association sent a “secret mum” to 14 top attractions to test their food and drink choices.

Only the Eden Project and the Tower of London scored well, with both serving fresh fruit and drinking water.

Peter Melchett, of the the Soil Association, said venues had a responsibility to offer alternatives to junk food.

“Not to provide kids with the option of free water on a day out is scandalous,” he said.

“It is crazy not even bothering to offer fresh fruit or the choice of a healthy meal for children.”

Regular Cornwall vistor and world-famous actress Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted taking surfing lessons on a Cornish beach.

During an hour long lesson, she learnt how to stand up on a yellow beginner’s board. Onlookers were surprised to see how quickly Gwyneth has regained her shape since giving birth to second son Moses, four months ago.

One spectator commented: “She looks great. Good on her for doing something cool like that. She has an image of being quite prissy and proper, so it’s marvellous to see her being a bit more active.”

Gwyneth often takes holidays in Cornwall, the home of husband Chris Martin’s parents. She is joined in her love of the area by a growing host of other stars. They include Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan and Princes William and Harry.

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet and husband Sam Mendes also have a holiday home in Cornwall.

The minimum size of lobsters that can be landed by fisherman could be increased under new measures being considered by the Government.

Fisherman would be banned from landing lobsters smaller than 90mm if proposals by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are put into action.

The department is now consulting the fishing industry, conservationists and other parties on the plans, which are aimed at conserving England’s stock of European clawed common lobster.

Lobster stocks are currently sustainable but there are concerns that any increase in exploitation could significantly decrease numbers.

“The European clawed common lobster is one of the most valuable commercial species on the UK market,” Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw says.

“They take around six years to reach sexual maturity, and five to seven years to reach the current minimum catch size of 87mm. I believe that increasing the minimum landing size would result in a significant boost in egg production and would be relatively easy to enforce.”

The plans come after the Government decided against a ban on the landing of egg-bearing or “berried” lobsters.

A rare species of butterfly and other wildlife is being protected while a massive £93m construction project in Cornwall is being undertaken.

During construction of the A30 Bodmin to Indian Queens dual carriageway great care is being taken to protect wildlife on the nature reserve which adjoins the road. Over 360 adders, grass snakes and slow worms have been moved from the site and crossing underpasses are being built for badgers and otters.

The new road will skirt around the edge of Goss Moor, a Special Area of Conservation and home to the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly, and part of the old road will be converted into a cycleway and footpath, encouraging butteries and other wildlife.

The care taken to protect the butterflies during the construction of the road will be used as a case study in a new guide to inform road designers how to incorporate features like habitat design and planting, which attract and protect butterflies, into future road schemes.

Dr Martin Warren, chief executive of the Butterfly Conservation charity which co-funded the Butterfly Handbook, said: “Butterflies have probably never been as endangered as they are today following decades of loss of key semi-natural habitats such as flower-rich grasslands.

“With a little planning, road verges can be made even better places to conserve butterflies and other wildlife as they can provide suitable breeding habitats for many species and provide crucial links between the patches of habitat that remain.”

The handbook includes examples of how habitats can be created, managed and monitored along the road network.

The Western Morning News, the south west’s leading daily newspaper, has featured The Pasty.com in its Business News section.

The paper highlights the site’s ambition to become an online marketplace, selling all kinds of Cornish products and produce, like “Amazon.com for Cornwall”.

The Western Morning News has a daily circulation of over 46,000 copies throughout the south west.

Read the full story here: Western Morning News story on The Pasty.com

Organisers of this year’s Newlyn Fish Festival are hoping to educate a wider audience on the versatility of pollack, a little known fish for which Newlyn is the UK’s main port. Seafood Cornwall are putting together a program of fish-related events to include talks and cooking demonstrations by top chefs. Along with pollack, they are also hoping to raise awareness of mackerel and monkfish. These fish are heavily used by the food-loving French, but Seafood Cornwall feel that the British public don’t know what they’re missing.

Project director, Nathan de Rozarieux said: “We believe that pollack is one of our best kept secrets and our expert chefs will be cooking over 12 different recipes with pollack and other local fish to show people how quick and easy it is to cook.”

With an amazing annual pollack haul of over 1000 tonnes, worth approx £2m in 2005, Seafood Cornwall hope to repeat the success they saw at last year’s Fish Festival at which they promoted megrim, sardine and spider crab.

Top chefs have been drafted from all over Cornwall for the planned masterclass sessions. They include Keir Meikle, Head Chef of the Navy Inn in Penzance and Des Turland, Head Chef from the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth.

Mr de Rozarieux said: “People are often afraid of dealing with fish so our aim is to show that preparing fish or shellfish couldn’t be simpler.”

Visitors will be treated to a range of events including fish tasting, talks and presentations explaining how to prepare and cook fish and shellfish. Seafood Cornwall hope that when visiting tourists return home, they will ask for lesser known fish such as pollack at their local supermarkets. Newlyn Fish Festival is scheduled for Monday 28 August.