Island on the Edge: A Life on Soay by Anne Cholawo - first published in the UK by Birlinn in 2016
I read this book geographically out of sequence because hadn't been published when I started this blog and I only became aware of it through a chance conversation with someone while out on a walk.
In 1989, on the last day of her first visit to the Hebrides, Anne Pacey from Bedfordshire saw an advertisement for a house for sale on the island of Soay, which is located off the south coast of Skye. A few weeks later she returned to look at Glenfield House and fell in love with Soay's peace and beauty. She bought the house without really thinking through the practicalities of living on a small island with no shop or regular ferry service. She moved to Soay in May 1990. At this time the population of the island was 17.
Glenfield House was damp and had no electricity. The other islanders were a great practical help to Anne in her first few weeks and months on Soay and with their help she managed to overcome lots of practical obstacles, which might have prevented her from staying on the island.
Gavin Maxwell bought Soay in 1946 and set up a short lived (until 1948) basking shark fishing business on the island. One of his assistants, Tex Geddes, was still living on Soay with his wife Jeanne when Anne arrived and they became friends and helped each other out in various ways.
Anne lived very frugally and made a living by selling paintings and winkle pickings. She grew her own vegetables and collected driftwood to burn in her Rayburn. She bought a small dinghy and later she had the use of another islander's motorboat. In 1998 she bought her own boat, Sally B.
A month after her arrival on Soay Anne met Robert Cholawo, who was working for the Royal Marines who visited Soay for training exercises. The became friends and years later they married. One by one over the years the inhabitants of Soay moved off the island for various reasons or died. A few people moved in to replace them but by 2004 the population was just three, including Anne and her husband Robert.
Most of the book is about Anne's life on Soay from 1990-2002. This book demonstrates that you need stamina, adaptability and resourcefulness to live on a small island.
Islands covered: Soay and Skye
Thursday, 11 October 2018
Thursday, 5 April 2018
Book 75 - The Chapel at the Edge of the World
The Chapel at the Edge of the World by Kirsten McKenzie - first published in the UK in 2009
This novel is based on some real life events but with fictitious characters. This is the true story:
This novel is based on some real life events but with fictitious characters. This is the true story:
In January 1942 1,200 Italian prisoners of war, who had been captured in North Africa, were sent to camps on the uninhabited Orkney island of Lamb Holm (500 of them) and the larger inhabited island of Burray. Their task was to assist the contractor Balfour Beatty in the building of what later became known as the Churchill Barriers. These are 5 causeways linking Orkney Mainland and the four islands lying in a chain to the south: Lamb Holm, Glimps Holm (uninhabited), Burray and South Ronaldsay. The 5th and lesser known Churchill Barrier links Burray to the small island of Hunda. The purpose of the causeways was to protect the eastern side of the deep water anchorage of Scapa Flow, which was used as a base by the Royal Navy, from attack by the Germans. In October 1939 HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a U-boat in Scapa Flow and 833 men lost their lives.
Initially the Italians refused to work on the barriers and went on strike because the Geneva Convention forbade the use of prisoners of war in "war work". However they were eventually persuaded that the barriers were needed to link the islands together to improve communications for the islanders of Burray and South Ronaldsay. Today the Churchill Barriers are used to carry the A961 road from St Mary's on Orkney Mainland to South Ronaldsay
The Italians at Camp 60 on Lamb Holm persuaded the camp commandant Major T.P. Buckland to allow them to build a chapel on Lamb Holm. Domenico Chiocchetti, an artist and sculptor, recruited craftsmen such as plasterers, blacksmiths and electricians from amongst his fellow prisoners. Together they transformed 2 Nissen huts into a wonderful chapel using readily available materials and trompe l'oeil. The corrugated iron walls were covered with plasterboard, an altar was constructed and ornate ironwork was used to create the sanctuary screen. A concrete façade with a small belfry was built in front of the entrance. The inside was painted to resemble brickwork and Domenico Chiocchetti painted a Madonna and Child mural as the altarpiece.
The Italians left Orkney in 1944. In 1960 Chiocchetti returned to Lamb Holm for 3 weeks to help restore the chapel, which has been looked after by the local people ever since. The Italian Chapel as it is now known is one of the main tourist attractions on Orkney.
In the novel Emilio Sforza, who lives on Lake Como is sent to fight for the Italian army in North Africa. He is captured in June 1941 and he and his friend Bertoldo are sent to Orkney to work on the Churchill Barriers. They are later involved in the creation of the chapel on Lamb Holm.
Meanwhile Emilio's girlfriend Rosa remains at home on Lake Como, where she assists her mother in the running of a small hotel. After the surrender of Italy to the British in September 1943, Rosa joins the Italian resistance movement and assists in the fight against the Nazis. She has a brief affair with a childhood friend Pietro before he is killed by the Nazis This is actually the more interesting of the two parallel stories.
After the war Rosa and Emilio marry and many years later they are invited back to Orkney. However by this time Emilio is suffering from dementia
The book title is a bit overdramatic - Orkney is not the edge of the world, although it might have seemed like it to the Italian prisoners of war.
Islands covered: Lamb Holm, Orkney Mainland
Italian Chapel, Lamb Holm
Inside the Italian Chapel - a masterpiece of trompe l'oeil
Statue of St George slaying a dragon outside the Italian Chapel
Memorial to the men who died while working on the construction of the Churchill Barriers
Burray from Glimps Holm showing Churchhill Barrier No 2 and Blockship
Thursday, 11 January 2018
Book 74 - The Magic of the Scottish Islands
The Magic of the Scottish Islands by Terry Marsh (author) and Jon Sparks (photographer) - first published in the UK in 2002
This is a lovely book with more photographs than text. The photographs are stunning and showcase the Scottish islands in a wonderful way. Although there are a huge number of islands to cover and not that much space for text, the author has achieved a good balance between providing information about the human and natural history and geography of the islands and summing up what makes each island special. The title of the book is The Magic of the Scottish Islands and Terry Marsh has managed to convey this. I met him by chance while I was geocaching on Shetland Mainland in June 2017 and he told me about this book, which had escaped my notice until then.
These quotations about 3 of my favourite islands explain beautifully what makes them magical places:
"Fair Isle is magically fair: a resilient place with resilient people. The weather comes and the weather goes but the subtle magic of Fair Isle remains."
With regard to the seabird colonies at Hermaness, Unst, Shetland:
"The impact is awesome, breathtaking, lasting and humbling. You sit. You watch. You listen. You feel privileged. Because that's how to behave in this kind of company. You don't ever want to leave,"
"There is an aura of calm and friendliness about North Ronaldsay, a small island beneath a huge sky."
This is a lovely book with more photographs than text. The photographs are stunning and showcase the Scottish islands in a wonderful way. Although there are a huge number of islands to cover and not that much space for text, the author has achieved a good balance between providing information about the human and natural history and geography of the islands and summing up what makes each island special. The title of the book is The Magic of the Scottish Islands and Terry Marsh has managed to convey this. I met him by chance while I was geocaching on Shetland Mainland in June 2017 and he told me about this book, which had escaped my notice until then.
These quotations about 3 of my favourite islands explain beautifully what makes them magical places:
"Fair Isle is magically fair: a resilient place with resilient people. The weather comes and the weather goes but the subtle magic of Fair Isle remains."
With regard to the seabird colonies at Hermaness, Unst, Shetland:
"The impact is awesome, breathtaking, lasting and humbling. You sit. You watch. You listen. You feel privileged. Because that's how to behave in this kind of company. You don't ever want to leave,"
"There is an aura of calm and friendliness about North Ronaldsay, a small island beneath a huge sky."
North Ronaldsay Lighthouse, Orkney
Puffins on Fair Isle
North Lighthouse, Fair Isle
Muckle Flugga and Out Stack from Hermaness, Unst
Monday, 8 January 2018
Book 73 - Canvey Island
Canvey Island by James Runcie - first published in the UK in 2006
The book opens on the night of 31st January 1953 when there was a huge tidal storm surge in the North Sea, which led to extensive flooding of coastal areas on the eastern side of England from Lincolnshire to Kent and also in the Netherlands. Much of Canvey Island off the south east coast of Essex lies below sea level and large parts of the island were inundated by seawater on that night and 58 people died there.
Martin Turner's mother Lily drowns as she is trying to escape from their bungalow with Martin while her husband Len and sister Violet are out at a dance together. Martin is swept to safety and reunited with his father and aunt. Violet's husband George is mentally fragile as a result of his experiences in the Second World War and after Lily's death Len and Violet become very close.
The novel follows Martin through his life as he goes to Cambridge University to study engineering in order to prevent events like the North Sea Floods from reoccurring, separates from his Canvey Island girlfriend Linda, marries fellow Cambridge student Claire, moves to Brighton and has a daughter Lucy. In 1983 Claire suddenly leaves her teaching job and takes Lucy to live at the Greenham Common Peace Camp. Martin temporarily gets back together with Linda. George's mental health continues to deteriorate and Len begins to age.
The novel has many short chapters, which are told from the perspectives of the main characters in turn - Martin, Len, Violet, George, Linda and Claire.
This is what James Runcie has to say about his own book "Canvey Island tells the story of changing times in post-war Britain through one family’s tragedy and loss. It is a novel about past wounds and past passions, about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation."
The book opens on the night of 31st January 1953 when there was a huge tidal storm surge in the North Sea, which led to extensive flooding of coastal areas on the eastern side of England from Lincolnshire to Kent and also in the Netherlands. Much of Canvey Island off the south east coast of Essex lies below sea level and large parts of the island were inundated by seawater on that night and 58 people died there.
Martin Turner's mother Lily drowns as she is trying to escape from their bungalow with Martin while her husband Len and sister Violet are out at a dance together. Martin is swept to safety and reunited with his father and aunt. Violet's husband George is mentally fragile as a result of his experiences in the Second World War and after Lily's death Len and Violet become very close.
The novel follows Martin through his life as he goes to Cambridge University to study engineering in order to prevent events like the North Sea Floods from reoccurring, separates from his Canvey Island girlfriend Linda, marries fellow Cambridge student Claire, moves to Brighton and has a daughter Lucy. In 1983 Claire suddenly leaves her teaching job and takes Lucy to live at the Greenham Common Peace Camp. Martin temporarily gets back together with Linda. George's mental health continues to deteriorate and Len begins to age.
The novel has many short chapters, which are told from the perspectives of the main characters in turn - Martin, Len, Violet, George, Linda and Claire.
This is what James Runcie has to say about his own book "Canvey Island tells the story of changing times in post-war Britain through one family’s tragedy and loss. It is a novel about past wounds and past passions, about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation."
St Katherine's Church - now Canvey Island's Heritage Centre
King Canute Pub - formerly called the Red Cow and used as a rescue centre in 1953, as it is located on slightly higher ground
Post 1953 Sea wall on the coast of Canvey Island
Friday, 6 January 2017
Book 72 - No Boat Required
No Boat Required: Exploring Tidal Islands by Peter Caton - first published in the UK in 2011
This isn't the best written book ever and it isn't really a reference work but I have found it invaluable in my quest to visit as many islands off the British coast as possible. I applaud anyone who manages to find a subject that no one else has already written about and I am pretty certain that there is no other book about all the tidal islands off the British mainland. Most books about islands ignore tidal islands, as they don't consider them to be true islands. I have found nothing else published about several of the islands visited in this book.
The premise of the book is that the author likes visiting island but suffers from sea sickness, so doesn't like going on ferries to islands. He succeeds in walking to 43 tidal islands off the coast of mainland Britain and this book is an account of his journeys. It is written in a conversational style and in places has overlong descriptions of his journey to get to the crossing points, including what he ate for breakfast and what the weather was like. However he also includes a great deal of historical information. I use the book as a practical travel guide and for this purpose it is a bit lacking in details e.g. about exactly where to cross from. However I would guess that the vast majority of people who read the book aren't likely to visit most of the less well known islands. The book is also lacking an index.
In theory with tidal islands all you need to do is to wait for the tide to go out and then walk to them, although it isn't always that simple, as the author finds out - precipitous cliffs, unwelcoming land owners, overgrown footpaths and soft mud can sometimes be a problem and some islands can only be walked to on a very low spring tide. Mr Caton made it harder for himself by using public transport where possible. Personally I find a car an invaluable asset for an island bagger. I have so far managed to visit 28 out of the 43 islands. Dangers or problems he encountered on the way to a few of the islands have put me off visiting them e.g. Ynys Lochtyn (cliffs) and Horsey & Osea (unwelcoming owners).
The book also includes information about a few islands the author rejected because they weren't big enough or have bridges/causeways to them. However I am not such a purist, so found this information very useful and am glad he included it.
9/10
Islands covered: too many to list.
This isn't the best written book ever and it isn't really a reference work but I have found it invaluable in my quest to visit as many islands off the British coast as possible. I applaud anyone who manages to find a subject that no one else has already written about and I am pretty certain that there is no other book about all the tidal islands off the British mainland. Most books about islands ignore tidal islands, as they don't consider them to be true islands. I have found nothing else published about several of the islands visited in this book.
The premise of the book is that the author likes visiting island but suffers from sea sickness, so doesn't like going on ferries to islands. He succeeds in walking to 43 tidal islands off the coast of mainland Britain and this book is an account of his journeys. It is written in a conversational style and in places has overlong descriptions of his journey to get to the crossing points, including what he ate for breakfast and what the weather was like. However he also includes a great deal of historical information. I use the book as a practical travel guide and for this purpose it is a bit lacking in details e.g. about exactly where to cross from. However I would guess that the vast majority of people who read the book aren't likely to visit most of the less well known islands. The book is also lacking an index.
In theory with tidal islands all you need to do is to wait for the tide to go out and then walk to them, although it isn't always that simple, as the author finds out - precipitous cliffs, unwelcoming land owners, overgrown footpaths and soft mud can sometimes be a problem and some islands can only be walked to on a very low spring tide. Mr Caton made it harder for himself by using public transport where possible. Personally I find a car an invaluable asset for an island bagger. I have so far managed to visit 28 out of the 43 islands. Dangers or problems he encountered on the way to a few of the islands have put me off visiting them e.g. Ynys Lochtyn (cliffs) and Horsey & Osea (unwelcoming owners).
The book also includes information about a few islands the author rejected because they weren't big enough or have bridges/causeways to them. However I am not such a purist, so found this information very useful and am glad he included it.
9/10
Islands covered: too many to list.
Ardwall Island from Knockbrex
 |
Trig Point on the summit of Davaar Castle, Piel Island  Causeway to Sully Island  Worms Head 3 hours before low tide  Hilbre, Dee Estuary |
Thursday, 5 January 2017
Book 71 - Some Lovely Islands
Some Lovely Islands by Leslie Thomas - first published in the UK in 1968
Leslie Thomas is best known as a fiction author. I have never read any of his novels but I really like his gentle and meandering style of writing in this book. The version I read was the 2nd edition, which was published in 1982. In it Leslie Thomas took the opportunity to revisit some of the islands he had first visited 14 years earlier and also to visit some e.g. Brownsea for the first time. The 2nd edition is also illustrated with photographs taken by Peter Cheze-Brown.
Leslie Thomas chose 17 islands scattered across the British Isles from St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly in the south to Fair Isle in the north and from Lindisfarne/Holy Island in the east to Clear Island in the far west of County Cork. I have visited all of the islands he chose except Great Blasket, Skellig Michael, Fair Isle and Auskerry. I doubt I will ever get to Auskerry, which is one of the Orkney Islands but I hope one day soon to visit Fair Isle, Great Blasket and Skellig Michael. Although my own island visits have all been much more recently than Leslie Thomas's, in many cases his perceptions about them were very similar to my own.
Leslie Thomas concentrates on describing his own explorations on the islands and the characters and lifestyles of the people who live on them, although he does also include some information about the history and wildlife on them. One review describes it as "a richly evocative account, alive with stories of sea and storm, happy with humour and humanity", which sums it up well and another describes it as "whimsical", which is also true.
8/10
Islands covered: Lundy, Brownsea, St Agnes, Gugh, St Mary's, Tresco, Caldy, Fair Isle, Auskerry, Great Blasket, Skellig Michael, Clear Island, Herm, Sark, Alderney, Luing and Holy Island/Lindisfarne
Leslie Thomas is best known as a fiction author. I have never read any of his novels but I really like his gentle and meandering style of writing in this book. The version I read was the 2nd edition, which was published in 1982. In it Leslie Thomas took the opportunity to revisit some of the islands he had first visited 14 years earlier and also to visit some e.g. Brownsea for the first time. The 2nd edition is also illustrated with photographs taken by Peter Cheze-Brown.
Leslie Thomas chose 17 islands scattered across the British Isles from St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly in the south to Fair Isle in the north and from Lindisfarne/Holy Island in the east to Clear Island in the far west of County Cork. I have visited all of the islands he chose except Great Blasket, Skellig Michael, Fair Isle and Auskerry. I doubt I will ever get to Auskerry, which is one of the Orkney Islands but I hope one day soon to visit Fair Isle, Great Blasket and Skellig Michael. Although my own island visits have all been much more recently than Leslie Thomas's, in many cases his perceptions about them were very similar to my own.
Leslie Thomas concentrates on describing his own explorations on the islands and the characters and lifestyles of the people who live on them, although he does also include some information about the history and wildlife on them. One review describes it as "a richly evocative account, alive with stories of sea and storm, happy with humour and humanity", which sums it up well and another describes it as "whimsical", which is also true.
8/10
Islands covered: Lundy, Brownsea, St Agnes, Gugh, St Mary's, Tresco, Caldy, Fair Isle, Auskerry, Great Blasket, Skellig Michael, Clear Island, Herm, Sark, Alderney, Luing and Holy Island/Lindisfarne
Mannez Lighthouse, Alderney
Old Light, Lundy
Shrine, Clear Island
Quay, Brownsea Island
Thursday, 22 December 2016
Book 70 - Timebomb
Timebomb by James Barrington is the 4th novel to feature the maverick British agent Paul Richter. The action takes place in several locations including Geneva, Stuttgart, London and various locations in Kent, including the Isle of Sheppey.
Richter is sent to Geneva to participate in a routine arrest but this turns into a bloodbath and 4 terrorists and 4 policeman are killed. Then a tramp is murdered on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and a surveillance operation in Stuttgart fails when those being watched are tipped off that the police are watching them. These events all turn out to be connected and Richter finds himself in a race against time to stop a group of terrorists from blowing up a speedboat packed with explosives over the wreck of a ship lying in shallow water off the Isle of Sheppey. The ship's holds contain vast quantities of explosives, which if set off would cause an enormous explosion, which would send a tsunami up the River Thames to devastate the London and across the Thames Estuary to swamp low lying areas of the South Essex coast.
There are lots of twists and turns in this fast paced thriller, not all of which I followed but it was a compulsive read. Characterisation and a sense of place are sacrificed for the action.
The ship concerned is real: the SS Richard Montgomery ran aground on a sandbank and sank off Sheerness in 1944 with an enormous quantity of explosives in her holds. The ship is still there and much of her deadly cargo is still on board.
Islands covered: Isle of Sheppey
Richter is sent to Geneva to participate in a routine arrest but this turns into a bloodbath and 4 terrorists and 4 policeman are killed. Then a tramp is murdered on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and a surveillance operation in Stuttgart fails when those being watched are tipped off that the police are watching them. These events all turn out to be connected and Richter finds himself in a race against time to stop a group of terrorists from blowing up a speedboat packed with explosives over the wreck of a ship lying in shallow water off the Isle of Sheppey. The ship's holds contain vast quantities of explosives, which if set off would cause an enormous explosion, which would send a tsunami up the River Thames to devastate the London and across the Thames Estuary to swamp low lying areas of the South Essex coast.
There are lots of twists and turns in this fast paced thriller, not all of which I followed but it was a compulsive read. Characterisation and a sense of place are sacrificed for the action.
The ship concerned is real: the SS Richard Montgomery ran aground on a sandbank and sank off Sheerness in 1944 with an enormous quantity of explosives in her holds. The ship is still there and much of her deadly cargo is still on board.
Islands covered: Isle of Sheppey
Sheerness
Beach at Leysdown-on-Sea, Isle of Sheppey
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