IOS Birds.

Finally, puffins! For 2 years we had looked for them in vain on Lundy but at last we got to see some when we went out on a boat to Annet. They only come ashore between May and August and once on shore they are hidden in their burrows so even when they are there it is hard to see them.

The special thing about the birds in the IOS was not so much the variety of species but the numbers of birds and their tameness.

The camp followers tended to be blackbirds, thrushes and sparrows while in the evenings we heard cuckoos, wood pigeons and collared doves. The dawn chorus was pretty loud too!

Only a common sparrow but I like the way he is posing on this impressive flower spike.

Again just another sparrow but look at the flowers around him.

This golden pheasant in the gardens on Tresco positively glowed in the sunlight.

And this was the bold chap who shared my lunch and even jumped on my knee.

I had a very good teaching day in school but it was just my luck that our visitor and his entourage came into the classroom late in the morning. All the children had worked hard on information writing as the outcome for a literacy teaching sequence but we had just put all their work away and were about to call some children for individual reading. It must have looked as if I wasn't doing anything with the children. I couldn't even go over and say hello because I had to deal with a crying child who had sore eyes. I expect that will all add to my boss' views on my lack of ability. At least the weather has been lovely today. Everyone was feeling tense today so at lunchtime I walked up to the High Street to buy some seeds and peanuts for my bird feeders. I haven't been to the High Street for a little while and a friend found me looking very bemused trying to work out where Evans had gone (I sometimes buy wide fitting shoes there). I'll have to look in the branch in Exeter when I go up on Monday.

Tresco.

I can't say, Now for the rest of Tresco, because we only walked a small portion of the coast but what we saw was utterly beautiful. No wonder it is the sea side getaway for the rich. The one shop is known for its excessively high prices, even by island standards. There is a smart hotel and many expensive holiday homes for rent and of course its own heliport. We arrived on the boat from St Mary's just over a mile away in the background.
Yes, the sea really was that colour. It's very shallow over the drowned lands and at low tide you can walk between some of the islands. There are good, wide concrete paths around Tresco used by tractors pulling big trailers with seats in to transport the helicopter passengers to and from their holiday accommodation. The signposts had, not distances but walking times marked on them.

Looking across the water we could see the island of Bryher. While we were in the gardens I overheard a guide talking about the local schools. There is a primary school on Tresco with about 25 children (4-10yrs) from Tresco and Bryher. When they are 11 they move to the secondary school on St Mary's and although it is only a short distance away they have to stay as boarders on St Mary's during the week. For college they then go over to the mainland.

As we walked round the rain kept threatening and not long after we had a full blown thunderstorm. We sheltered from the storm and then went to the local pub for a coffee.

Half an hour later the storm had blown over and the sun was out in full force.

We had landed at a jetty close to the gardens but our return trip was from New Grimsby. The pub we called in at was the building in the middle with the white walls. Nearly all of the other houses were holiday cottages. I would love to return and fully explore all the beaches of this remote island.

I have been at school for the whole day again. I took one class swimming in the morning and in the afternoon I moved to a Year 2 class. I stayed very late in school putting up a display as we have some big wig coming to have a look around. He'll probably only stick his head in the door for 5 mins and be gone again.

The Abbey Gardens, Tresco.

When Peter first suggested going to The Scilly Isles I immediately said that I must visit the gardens on Tresco. The IOS have a unique climate in that although they are lashed by Atlantic storms, (one of our group spoke of watching storm waves breaking over the harbour wall and the 2 storey Mermaid pub to knock the police landrover over), they rarely have frosts due to sitting in the Gulf Stream. Goodness knows what will happen with global warming because the Gulf Stream is already beginning to make its predicted move and if it leaves altogether the IOS and the UK will be very much colder. Peter and I had both taken extra time off work so we were able to spend the whole of Monday on Tresco. We had thought about doing a 3 islands in one day trip but I think I would have cried if I had got there and only had an hour to explore these wonderful gardens.
The gardens were full of enormous succulents and many tender plants in flower including different varieties of proteus.


At almost every step I was oohing and aahing and finally went into total burble overload with the camera in constant use. (Expect plenty of individual flowers to appear at the bottom of future blogs.)

A lot of the garden was on a slope so there were frequent views across the sea to the neighbouring islands.

There was also a good collection of different kinds of palms and tree ferns. There were quite a number of modern sculptures scattered around the gardens but my eye was mainly drawn to the plants.

There were a number of fancy gold and silver pheasants roaming around. We didn't see the hen with a number of fluffy chicks that someone told us about but when we sat to eat our sandwiches, (the cafe was rather pricey), we were visited by a silver cock pheasant who had no qualms about taking food from my hand. Indeed he even jumped up on my knee at which point I hid my sandwich inside my jacket. There was also a group of sparrows, thrushes and blackbirds around our feet waiting for food. The funniest thing was that when a member of staff strode across the lawn the pheasant ran off into the bushes like a naughty boy caught doing something he shouldn't and then reappeared when she had gone. In general we found all the 'wild' birds very tame and at the camp site they would soon appear if we sat at the tables to eat. There were surprisingly few seagulls about, perhaps it is too far from the mainland. I recall the constant cry of gulls when I lived in St Ives and they are notorious for stealing ice creams and pasties from unsuspecting tourists. Maybe they have shot them all on IOS.

For me the gardens on Tresco were definitely the highlight of the trip. I was very good and refrained from 'pruning' mainly because they were mostly tender plants which would not survive here. I did buy some blue & white agapanthus on St Mary's which I have put in pots. It was too early for them to be flowering but you could see great clumps of them in every body's gardens.

I have been at work all day today. It was pouring with rain in the morning but brightened up in the afternoon and now I am looking at the sparkling lime green leaves of the beech trees dancing in the wind.

The Beautiful Coast.

After filling the blog with photos of gigs I thought it was time to show the beautiful coast and some of the paths I walked along. The campsite was situated above the town in the centre of the 18th C garrison. Sturdy granite walls run right around the coast which is left wild and at this time of year is full of bluebells and other wild flowers.

I walked along this track accompanied by 2 dogs (their owners were behind me), one of which kept dropping a plastic bottle at my feet for me to kick along for him to retrieve.

Every so often there were points in the wall where cannon would have been placed to defend the waterways.

Which ever direction you looked there were small islands rising from the sea.

On Saturday morning I was out walking round the coast at 6.00 as it was far too lovely to stay in the tent. As I rounded the corner of the headland the garrison walls were bathed in a golden light.

Today we have been lucky enough to have more sunny weather. We thought about going for a walk but in the end decided to enjoy sitting in the garden at home. Later on I did a little weeding but for most of the time we simply relaxed.

PS Barnstaple gig club has only been going for 2 years not 4 as I had thought so we did very well indeed.

A Meeting Of Rowers.

Apart from the amazing setting for the race weekend the thing that made the event special was the chance for a large number of gig rowers to get together and spend 3 days socialising as well as competing against each other. Most of the time you would be with people from your own club but it was also fairly easy to strike up a conversation with other gig rowers. Most of the clubs were from the West Country but there were also rowers from further afield including a contingent from Holland. One evening we got chatting to a chap who had sailed over. He lived in Cornwall, close to where I spent summers as a teenager and his partner also used to help in the small riding stables where we would spend several days a week helping so that we got to ride the ponies bareback to and from the fields. Small world but as she is 10 years younger than me our paths would not have actually crossed. While I am not a drinker myself I still enjoyed the convivial atmosphere in the 3 pubs. We did also socialise up at the campsite but many of our club members, particularly those who had been before (and could afford it) stayed in B&B or self-catering accommodation all over the island so we would meet up in the town.
When we arrived on Thursday it was interesting to walk up to the green and see the gigs that have been arriving over the last few weeks. The Scillonian could take 6 (I think) gigs on their special trailers, at a time.


During the race days the gigs were moored on 2 beaches. We had brought Lady Freida which was kept on the town beach and a second gig, Leach C borrowed from Clovelly which was kept on the next beach along so there was a lot of walking between the 2 beaches.



There were loudspeakers blaring with music and race reports from Radio Scilly which gave the town a festival atmosphere. On the town green there was a big tent set up which provided hearty meals at a reasonable price. Prices for everything get hiked up for the gig weekend and the 2000 visitors are said to bring in 2-3 million pounds to the islands' economy. I preferred to shop at the Co-Op which was the only shop with normal prices. There was one chandlers shop, a chemist & a newsagent but all the other shops were high end shops selling sailing/fashion clothes and expensive jewellery & accessories or cafes & restaurants.

Today we have had sunny and windy weather so I have been able to get several loads washed and dried and to air out our sleeping bags before putting them away. Peter went in to row and went out twice as it was just social rowing not full on training. While he was out I cut all the grass and then sat in the sun and read a book. Peter cooked up a barbecue but we ended up eating indoors because the wind was making it quite chilly.

Race Watching.

Before we went out to the Scilly Isles I did wonder how I was going to be able to watch the long sea races but once we got there I found that there were a number of equally enjoyable ways to watch the races. As the Friday races were quite late in the evening, 7.00 & 8.00pm, I decided to pay to go out in a spectator boat. I went in the red one (closer to the quay), which was identical to the blue boat. The only difference was that we had an eccentric french crewman who played the accordion and sometimes a bugle.
The Veteran Ladies race was first and our boat went right along the start line so we could all cheer on our crews. Our A crew were in Lady Freida (the red gig) and I think they were a little surprised to see a lone figure yelling encouragement at them. Once the race started (by our boat captain waving a flag) we motored along beside the gigs though as they spread out we followed the leaders with lots of yelling from rival supporters. Both of our ladies' crews had a poor start because each cox was given a walkie-talkie to receive instructions and the countdown but theirs' and about 20 others' radios went silent and they didn't get the start signal so they were still waiting when everyone had shot off.


An hour later I was back out on the same boat watching the Veteran Men's race. This time the boat didn't go along the line up so I didn't get a chance to shout to Peter in the Lady Freida but I did see them in the middle of the pack (the furthest away red gig in the photo above). Then we went ahead alongside the lead gigs so I didn't get a good view of them again but it was great fun being out in the spectator boats. I did notice they were all leaning over quite markedly but you don't worry in the excitement of the moment.



View from the cliffs of the men's crews rowing out.


On the Saturday I chose to watch the long races from the cliff to get a good overhead view. I went right along to where I could see the 127 ladies' crews line up for their start. Once they set off I went off for a cliff walk in the opposite direction keeping an eye open for the first of the men's crew coming up for their race. I then walked back towards town to about the half-way point so that I had a great view of the main part of the race.

On Saturday afternoon they had the first of their sprints. I went down to the beach to wave Peter and the rest of the men's B crew off. Then I decided to have a rest from watching and just relaxed on the sand and waited for their return.

Sunday they had 2 more sprints and this time I went out to the quay and stood just behind the officials at the finish line. I got a good view by standing on a metal block about 2 ft high. I took off my sandals to get a better grip and after being the only person yelling for Barnstaple when the men's B crew came in, I leapt off the block, abandoned my sandals, backpack, money etc and ran to the far side of the quay to get a few photos of men's B in Leah C. The men and ladies alternated races so for the final race I stood in almost the same place with more of our club members but I let the club 'photographer' (a rather loud character whose Nikon + telephoto lens need a small suitcase), stand on the metal block.

The B crew were in the first group so I walked round to the town beach to congratulate my tired hero. It was an extremely low tide and the crews were having to get out and walk the boats through the harbour. If you look carefully at the photo above you can see another group of gigs racing to the finish line just behind the yellow boat.

And now ..... GOOD NEWS! I got a letter today asking me to come for a hospital appointment in a weeks' time. Because I have been waiting nearly 36 weeks for my operation (the government limit is 18 weeks), the hospitals are transferring some of their patients to private hospitals. I will still be with the same surgeon and the hospital is adjacent to the NHS hospital in Exeter but is more like a hotel than a hospital. So I may be having my operation soon ....... at last. I've been teaching all day but the whole day has been quite relaxed. And the sun has finally come out again.

The Races.

As our reason for going to the Scilly Isles was the World Pilot Gig Championships I thought that today I would focus on the gig racing. Peter and the rest of the Men Veterans A Crew going out for a practice row in Lady Frieda.

Gig racing originated on the Scilly Isles in the days when bigger ships needed local pilots to guide them through the treacherous waters. The gigs would race against each other as the first pilot to arrive at the ship got the job.

The main pack of the Ladies' Race.

For the 'long' race course the crews rowed 2 miles out to the start line by the island of St Agnes and then raced the 2 miles back to the finish line at St Mary's harbour wall. The first races were on Friday evening on the long course, first the Veteran Ladies followed by the Veteran Men. To be a veteran you need to be 40+ and some crews were racing as super-veterans at 50+. Peter is 61 but some of the crew were under 50 so they had to be veterans.

Part of the starting line up of the Mens 1st race about 1.5 miles away.

On the Saturday morning it was the Ladies 1st race followed by the men. For this race all 120 gigs line up by St Agnes. It was impossible to see the whole of the start line but it was a magnificent sight.

The Men's race about halfway along with officials' boats and spectators' boats on either side.

After the long races in the morning the gigs were put into groups of 12 according to position. In the afternoon all the gigs rowed over to the island of Tresco for the 1 mile sprint back to St Mary's. We were lucky in that on all 3 race days the sea was very calm. The local Scilly teams were a little put out as they had been training in 9ft swells and the usual rough conditions would have given them even more of an advantage.

Peter is rowing in Leah C, middle of the picture above the crew with white t-shirts.

They set off in their groups with a gap between each group so that basically they were racing against 11 other crews. The slowest group went first and both our A & B crews were in this group. Our club has only been going for 4 years and while there are some experienced members there are also quite a few like Peter who have only been rowing for a year so there were no expectations of high placings. Just to complete the races was an achievement. There is no comparison with the top crews who were young, fit and experienced. One of the men from the winning crew was in our minibus on the journey home and he was a builder in his 20s, played rugby and his crew trained every night so they deserved to be the best in the world.

Our Mens' B crew worn out after their first sprint.
On the Sunday the men and women each rowed 2 more sprints. Each time the fastest 2 gigs in each group moved up a group and the slowest 2 gigs moved down a group. Men's B finished 2nd from last and were happy with that while the Men's A moved up 26 places from last year which was an achievement. (I wasn't keeping tabs on the ladies' results.)

As the crews finished the final sprints many of them rafted together in the harbour to celebrate, mainly with bottles of port or champagne. I can't say even when I am fit enough to go rowing again, that I will ever be tempted to race and as for going on the open sea that would only be with a life jacket and a motor.
Today, Thursday, the rain has continued. It hasn't stopped since we arrived. I have had a quiet day at home, finishing the unpacking and sorting through my photos.

We're Back.

Photo from the web.

We're finally back after an amazing 6 days on the Scilly Isles. Unlike the mainland we were fortunate enough to have good weather, breezy and sunny with hardly any rain apart from an hour one afternoon where the gentle rain turned into a brief but violent thunderstorm which cleared as suddenly as it started.

The highlights of the holiday were; seeing the islands rising gently from the sea almost floating on the sea mist so unlike Lundy with its majestic 400 ft cliffs, the gardens of Tresco, watching some of the gig races from a crowded and enthusiastic spectator boat, seeing puffins, coming across a 7 day old reindeer calf & its parents, sunbathing on an empty beach of sparkling white sand and the singing of sea shanties by all 40 club members at the club meal in The Bishop & Wolf pub.

The low points were, and I had to think hard about this, walking an increasingly treacherous coast path in the rain on Tresco, walking yet again with sore feet from one beach in the town to another to try and link up Peter during the races (he had no phone signal so we couldn't keep in touch that way) and trying to boil a kettle on a camping stove that kept setting fire to the gas canister!

As we did so much and I took 458 photos I plan to blog about one aspect of our trip at a time.

The Magical Islands.

We were stunned by the magical look of the islands sloping down into the sea fringed with beaches of almost white sand. 1500 years ago the 140 islands and islets were all one larger island with shallow valleys between them. The sea gradually covered the valleys and it is thought that this is the origin of the legend of the drowned land of Lyonesse.

On Saturday morning I was up at 6.00 walking around the coast path listening to the many birds and the sea lapping against the shore.

When the sun shone the sea took on shades of turquoise and emerald.

My eyes were always drawn to the many small islets that looked so mysterious. On Tuesday we took a boat trip around Annet, a group of islets that are home to many sea birds.

Would we go again? Definitely, but possibly not camping. Even with the good weather there were times when the prospect of a bed in a warm room seemed ever so appealing. If we do camp again we would need to get a tent that you can stand up in as Peter found crouching & kneeling very difficult. Also I would make sure we had a tent where the sides of the tent went right down to the ground. Most of the tents on the site had a gap all around the bottom of the outer cover which was not helpful when the wind was blowing in and shaking everything. I did note the names of some of the tents which had flaps all along the bottom which pegged right down and presumably stopped any wind from getting in.

We arrived back in Penzance at 7.30 yesterday getting home at 10.30 and already it all seems a world away. Today I have been back at school for a staff meeting and an afternoon of teaching so everything is back to normal with rain, rain and more rain.