The Allure of Islands

The allure of Islands affects us all. I was born on an island – the Isle of Thanet in Kent. I’ve explored others – the Isle of Sheppey, just a little further into the Thames estuary, the Channel Islands, Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel and the Isle of Portland, where I lived for several years, for example. They’re all fascinating in their way. It’s no surprise, then, that they frequently find their way into the stories I write.

Such a long journey – too far to bring your family. The Reverend Goodbody had long since acknowledged this truth, and now look where it had led them. Five days in an open boat since the ship sank, and now this appalling island, so cold so desolate.
How long could they survive here? The Reverend did not know. How long could they live on a diet of local shellfish and minced pickled herring, which was all they had managed to bring with them out of the wreck? The Reverend didn’t know that, either. He looked at his beleaguered wife and eight children. How long before the smallest ones began to ail? He shut the thought out. It was easier to wallow in regrets than to face the difficulties of the present.
The life of a missionary, spreading the word to the peoples of a new world had seemed a noble cause. But the Reverend had underestimated the dangers of sea travel.
“Perfectly safe,” the bishop had said. “The journey will seem a perfect holiday – healthy fresh air for your family.”
That healthy fresh air, the Reverend thought, bitterly, nearly killed the lot of us, it had blown so hard.
The ship had gone down so fast – and there they were, all alone in an open boat with none of the sailors to help. The boat had finally washed ashore in the dark and they had all slept gratefully. But what now?
The Reverend sent up a timely prayer: please, please let us be saved. To his astonishment, a figure appeared on the beach, approaching fast. Would he speak English?
“Tell me, sir,” said the Reverend, speaking as slowly and clearly as he could, “is this desolate place Greenland? Green – land?”
The man looked puzzled. Had he understood? “Greenland?” he said, in near-perfect English. “No. This is the Isle of Sheppey. And I’ll thank you not to go eating all our cockles, mate.”


For more adventure and gentle humour (and islands) see the Larus Trilogy – Isle of Larus myBook.to/MyAmazonLinks, Sea of Clouds myBook.to/MyAmazonBooks and All the Wild Weather http://amzn.to/29QyIqJ