Reciprocity Nexus

An upbeat love song to my wife Juliet's Cornish family, the Hawksworths.

(For those who don't know, Cornwall is a county in the south west of England).

A "Cornish Pasty" is a savoury delicacy from Cornwall comprising a parcel of short-crust pastry filled with minced beef, onions and swedes. Here, though, it's an affectionate metaphor for my Cornish relatives

(The "Good Time Charlies" in the song, are myself and my wife, Juliet, which is how we refer to ourselves).

The legendary King Arthur (of "Knights of the Round Table" fame) was a famous Cornish king who reputedly lived at Tintagel in the "dark ages" (circa the 6th or 7th century a.d.). My 27 year old Cornish nephew is also called "Arthur". Keith is my brother-in-law, who collects Northern Soul records (a favourite genre for both he and I).

Cornwall is strongly Celtic, much like the rest of the western part of the British Isles: Wales, Ireland and the west coast of Scotland. The cuisines in all places share delicacies: variations on the "Cornish Pasty" ("Oggie" in Wales; "mince-and-tatties" in Scotland); but also something called "Hog's pudding" in Cornwall ("mealy pudding" in Scotland; and "white pudding" in Ireland), a sausage made of oats and suet. The song refers to these culinary similarities even though the protagonist gets "his Celtic cuisines" mixed up.

One more note on a "quirk" in the song; the line: "Oggie? Oggie? Oggie? Oi! Oi! Oi!" which is a chant from the area. Apparently, historically, this was a call-and-response chant between the tin miners of Cornwall (back in the day) and their wives, who would bring them "Cornish Pasties" (also known as an "Oggie", especially in Wales) for lunch and basically translates as: "Who would like a Cornish Pasty?". Response: "Me! Me! Me!".