The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Nurdling St Minver
The nurdlers dress up and are out to celebrate New Year’s Day.
From the collection of:
Overview
This game of nurdle is played out of The Four Ways Inn at St Minver near Rock in Cornwall on New Year’s Day. The pastime of nudging or nurdling an elliptical sphere of stone chippendale around the streets with a stick or nurdler is common to both Cornwall and Dorset. The winner is determined by the one who makes the fewest nurdle moves gaining maximum distance with each nurdle throw. Ridiculous costumes are part of the game which is occasionally revived.
Nurdle has come into use for the tiny plastic pellets found in the sea and along coastlines that are used in the plastics recycling industry. In cricket the term means to gently nudge the ball into vacant areas of the pitch and in conversation it means to waffle but in the US it also denotes the lump of toothpaste in the shape of a wave used on tubes and boxes. The game of nurdle is believed to date to the 1500s and tourneys would be played competitively among rival villages. As with all good games the winner receives a cup and celebrations take place in the pub. The Fourways Inn is an eighteenth century coaching inn which once provided a stage stop for coachmen, passengers and horses before the advent of the railways.