THE TRESCO TIMES

Summer 2012 “Our Views Are Clear.”
VOLUME 6.4
THE TRESCO TIMES
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Sea Garden
Cottages Open
May 2012 saw the completion and opening of the Sea Garden
Cottages, providing Tresco’s guests with sixteen stylish new
rental cottages and nine timeshare properties. It was also the
opening month for the island’s new beachside restaurant, Ruin
Beach Cafe.
After a two year project, the Sea Garden Cottages opened their doors to
Tresco’s visitors, while the Ruin Beach Cafe fired up its wood-burning oven
for its first customers. Take a look around inside…page 5.
Page 4 Page 2 Page 17
Food Glorious Food on
Tresco & Bryher
Bill Pritchard Clocks Off
After 50 Years’ Service
www.facebook.com/TrescoIsland
www.twitter.com/Tresco_Times
Uncovering an Explorer’s
Past on Tresco
Bringing the Last Piece
of England to to the World

Insular Things
Crowds gathered
at Gallery
Tresco on 2nd
May for a momentous
event
... the retirement
of Bill
Pritchard, after
50 years service
to the Estate.
Bill was one of the Estate carpenters for much
of his career and for the past 14 years he was
maintenance guru for the Cottage Department.
Bill started working on Tresco at the
age of 15, with a special dispensation from
school and has remained an Estate employee
ever since.
As well as commending Bill for his great contribution
to the Estate, Robert Dorrien Smith
reminded guests of Bill’s prowess as a rower
in the Czar and as Tresco’s wicket-keeper, as
well as reminiscing about their time together
as boys in Tresco’s Scout Troop.
Bill was presented with a painting and a
mounted clock and barometer set, from
Tresco Estate and islanders.
Bill took the opportunity to thank the assembled
company. “Tresco is a wonderful place
to live but its not just the island, it’s the people
that make it special. People have been very
important in my life, both locals and visitors,
residents and holiday makers. Thank you all.”
Wise words indeed.
Testament to Bill’s great popularity was not
only the number but the variety of people who
attended the party, from some of the more
senior islanders to many of the young seasonal
staff - all came to wish him well.
The Tresco Times would like to join the rest
of the island and congratulate Bill on his “retirement”
and hope he enjoys a bit of extra
time for fishing and tending his highly-productive
vegetable garden.
Below: Bill at his party with island girls, Teona
Dorrien Smith and Michelle Oyler.
Page 2 Tresco Times
Not since the
time of Augustus
Smith himself
has Tresco
had its own resident
MP but
since the beginning
of this year
Tresco’s political
profile has been
given something of a boost.
Alice Chuter (aged 13) has been elected to
represent the Isles of Scilly as a member of
the UK Youth Parliament. Elections are held
every year. Elections were held in February
this year and at the heart of Alice’s campaign
was the issue of boating costs for local children,
creativity in the classroom and the provision
of evening activities on St Mary’s.
“Being an off-islander, the cost of boat fares
can make it difficult to see friends on other
islands. From talking to friends throughout
Scilly I knew that this was an important issue
for all of us growing up here. Beyond the social
side, transport is an important educational
issue whatever stage you’re at.”
Alice’s points struck home at the Five Island
School and she was duly elected MYP in
March. Equally persuasive were the cupcakes
that Alice handed out before voting.
The snappy message “Vote for Alice!” had
been iced on to every one.
Already her official duties have included
opening the new Prothcressa playpark on St
Mary’s and a residential MYP conference in
Dorset.
The Editor looks forward to Alice becoming
the Tresco Times’ Westminster correspondent.
2012 World Pilot Gig Championships
Scilly’s 23rd gig championships proved
to be as popular and exciting as always.
This year 120 men’s crews and 125 ladies’
crews took part in a rowing extravaganza,
which brings an estimated 3000 people to
the islands. St Mary’s is the event’s epicentre,
with no beds available and one pub ordering
an extra 1000 gallons of beer to keep
up with demand.
The off-islands remain as tranquil as always
but there is no lack of enthusiasm from the
inhabitants. This year Tresco and Bryher
Rowing Club put out four crews, all of which
did us proud.
The Men’s A crew is a new ensemble featuring
both youth and experience. After a brilliant
and vigorous first race from St Agnes,
they held on to finish 23rd overall in the Alfie
Jenkins. (Pictured top from left are cox Steve
Parkes, Alex Christopher, Will Ash, Jamie
Parkes, Jake Newton, David Reiss and Andrew
Hulands).
The Men’s Novice crew were equally impressive
- they finished 65th overall which is
quite exceptional considering they are a genuinely
novice crew. A great effort by the lads
but also by their steely cox Susanna Gates,
who has coached them superbly. Pictured
below right, are from left Alex Prain, Peter
Kiss, Tomas Chytra, John McMurray, Zoltan
Gal, Jonny Fisher and Susanna Gates.
The Ladies’ A crew had a storming first race
coming in 32nd out of 125. Competition was
fierce and though their final position slipped
to 48th was a valiant effort, not least by the
crew’s youngest paddle, Connie Lawson
aged 16. Rowing in the Alfie Jenkins at the
foot of the page are, from the bow, Connie
Lawson, Edit Toth, Michelle Oyler, Kairen
Carter, Alison Douglas, Lisa Roberts and the
cox, Jack Carter.
The Ladies’ Novice crew also performed well
and came a creditable 108th. Pictured above
- from the front - Sam Reed, Jana Chytra,
Kate Clement, Katalin Kurko, Helen Wilson,
Stephanie Williams. The cox and photographer
of all the gig images is George Kershaw.

All the Bells...
July sees the opening of the 2012 Olympics.
The Editor is still bristling with indignation at
the exclusion of Scilly from the Olympic Torch
route (Isle of Man and Jersey? I mean really...)
but his mood has been lifted by timesharer
Peter Gibbon, who introduced him to
Work No.1197. As part of London 2012 Cultural
Olympiad, Turner prize-winning artist
and musician Martin Creed has created this
musical piece to celebrate the first day of London
2012.
Work No. 1197 is described as “All the bells in
a country rung as quickly and as loudly as
possible for three minutes.” At 8am on 27th
July this work will be performed by you, me
and anyone in Britain who has a bell and rings
it. Doorbell, bicycle bell, hand bell - it doesn’t
matter just ring it like crazy for 3 minutes!
Peter has already engaged the support of Eve
Cooper and Canon Peter Walker, so St
Nicholas’ church with its bell will be the rallying
point. There are already ten Tresco bell
ringers signed up, as well as the Scilly Bells
Dummy Run For Tresco’s Coastguards
The Tresco Times’
Search and Rescue
Correspondent reports
on the rigorous
training undergone by
Tresco’s crack Coastguard
unit…
Looking for all the world
like a refugee from Guy
Fawkes’ Night, this impressive
specimen was
found at the very back of Piper’s Hole in April.
The dummy had been deposited there as a
“prank” and its presence was duly reported by
a visitor to the Island Office. Tresco’s wily
Coastguard supremo, Nick Shiles was informed.
Not being one to miss an opportunity
to test the mettle of his team, Station Officer
Page 3 Tresco Times
With some rather grand events
taking place this summer, not least the
celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee, we look back 25 years.
By the time this Tresco Times is hitting the doormats, the
island will already have enjoyed its Jubilee celebrations.
In anticipation of events, the Editor has been sifting
through the archives in the Tresco vaults.
Royal Jubilees are popular events on Tresco and the Island
Fancy Dress Procession is something of a tradition.
The photographs are from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in
1977 and were taken by the late Roy Cooper. The Editor
was particularly pleased to find this photo of a young
horsewoman...familiar to anyone?
on St Mary’s. Peter said: “It's a matter of getting
as many folk as possible involved and
joining in with whatever bell they can find.
We’ll collect around the church at the allotted
time and then go to the pub for coffee and
bacon sandwiches. Graham the Bikeman has
been warned to have the bells in tip-top condition!”
Peter will welcome other ringers on 27th
July and for further information visit:
allthebells.co.uk
Campanologists Bob Nelson and
Philippa Gibbon.
Shiles paged Tresco’s Coastguards. Once assembled,
he informed them that there was a
suspected body in Piper’s Hole. Unaware of
SO. Shiles’ subterfuge, the unwitting team
made their way to the north of Tresco to investigate,
on a rather blustery, rather wet and
very miserable day. Entering the dank and
dismal cave, the team scrambled down its
dark granite passageway to the underground
pool at its rear. The pool is about thirty feet
long and ends at a small gravel beach. It was
here, across the chill waters, that the jaunty
form of the dummy was illuminated by the
Coastguard torches. Everyone was greatly relieved
that there was no human casualty. S.O.
Shiles insisted that the exercise must be completed,
as the dummy needed to be removed.
What had begun as potential tragedy now
Eddie’s Tours
Not content with
literary fame as
the Tresco Times’
Transport and
Heritage Correspondent,
Eddie
Birch has
branched out as a
local tour guide to raise money for the
RNLI. The Tresco Times sent along young
journalist Amber Rees to investigate:
On one of the most breathtaking and idyllic
islands of the UK, Tresco is known for its subtropical
features, warm breezes and beautiful
beaches. However, I imagine that not many
people know what Tresco looked like over 70
years ago. Well currently, Eddie Birch, who
has been living on the island since his childhood
days, is leading insightful tours of the Island,
to widen visitors’ (and some locals’)
knowledge on the history of Tresco.
He takes his guests on a magical tour that
lasts for approximately two hours, offering a
journey back in time and an insight as to how
everything was. From famous historical characters
that walked the paths to in-depth facts
of which no-one would have ever thought,
Eddie Birch gives people a different way to
view Tresco. He displays his wide knowledge
of the subject in a friendly and down-to-earth
way.
The tours themselves only take two hours of
your life and will give you so much in return.
They are completely free but Eddie will be
taking any donations for the RNLI – a charity
that is very close to him and to which he’s
been raising money for over 10 years. Last
year alone, he collected over £1600 for the
lifeboats.
As well as getting new information pumped
into your brain, you will relish the friendly atmosphere
that Eddie creates, allowing you to
ask any questions you wish, which he answers
without fail. Another attraction of coming
on these highly-informative tours, is the
chance to mingle with other people and make
friends within the island.
If you are interested in joining one of Eddie’s
Tours, then you will need to go to the Tresco
Stores at 10am on either a Wednesday or Friday.
Eddie will be there to give you a charismatic
welcome and a chance to become
better acquainted with the island’s history.
slipped quietly into potential farce. A child’s
plastic inflatable boat (pictured beneath the
dummy) had been left by the “merry
pranksters” but quickly proved to be an untrustworthy
craft. The nearest alternative boat
was back at wet and windy New Grimsby and
would have to be manhandled into Piper’s
Hole. A general groan echoed around the
cave. It was then that one of this happy band
volunteered to swim across the murky waters
to fetch the dummy. Clad only in his regulation
Coastguard underpants and appropriate safety
equipment, he gingerly edged into the chilly
waters and swam across to the beach, with all
the speed and grace of an arthritic sloth. Returning
with the sodden dummy, the shivering
Coastguard emerged from the subterranean
pool to be rewarded by the warm tones of Station
Officer Shiles : “Well, at least you won’t be
needing a bath tonight.”

September and October this year have
a distinctly foodie flavour on Tresco
and Bryher. To kick things off we have
something altogether new … The
Tresco & Bryher Food and Drink Festival!
On the weekend of 15th-16th September
2012, the Tresco & Bryher Food and Drink
Festival will be celebrating the fantastic produce,
chefs and suppliers on Tresco and
Bryher. It's aimed at encouraging visitors
and islanders to eat and buy local food from
the two islands which are separated by a
channel, have very different landscapes but
share so much.
How will it work?
The food festival will be fun, relaxed and inspiring.
As well as promoting the fabulous
chefs and small producers on both islands,
it will also promote some of the Cornish suppliers
that help to make Tresco and Bryher
foodie destinations. It will give visitors the
chance to meet some of the chefs who produce
their favourite holiday meals and learn
about cooking with island produce. The festival
will take place on Tresco on Saturday
and Bryher on Sunday.
What will be happening?
Sat 15th September: Eat, drink and be
merry on Tresco with tastings, demonstrations,
music, walks and workshops.
With local experts, learn how to dress a crab
or how to make traditional Scillonian delicacies
like Tatie Cake, find out about Tresco
Beef, roll up your sleeves for some artisan
bread-making or design and cook your own
Tresco pizza in a traditional wood-burning
oven at the Ruin Beach Café. There’ll be
wine-tasting with the island’s knowledgeable
vintners and the opportunity to sample the
very finest South-West cheeses. There will
also be the chance to develop your creative
skills with workshops on the art of cupcake
decoration.
In the evening there will be a special gourmand
dinner at the Flying Boat Club with a
tasting menu prepared by a Tresco and Bryher
culinary dream team – each of the seven
courses cooked by a different island chef.
On Sunday 16th September there will be a
festival at the community centre on Bryher
for Bryher and Tresco Food Producers
(much like a good quality farmer's market).
With demonstrations from local chefs, there
will be a series of work shops and talks for
visitors.
Page 4 Tresco Times
An Autumn of Food, Glorious Food!
For those unable to attend the festival itself
– do not fear. We have some other
foodie treats in store – we have tempted
some West Cornwall local food heroes to
come over to Tresco and share their expertise
and knowledge:
28th-30th September - Baker
Tom will be providing guests
with the chance to learn breadmaking
skills in the new Sea
Garden Cottage, Sunfish. Baker
Tom (Tom Hazzledine) now has
a bakery in Pool and shops in
Falmouth and Truro. Tom’s
bread and pastries are also available through
Riverford Organic Farm boxes and Cornwall
Food Market, delis, restaurants and hotels
across the South West.
www.bakertom.co.uk
5th – 7th October- Mathew
Stevens has given demonstrations
of fish filleting and preparation
for years, most recently to
chefs at Rick Stein’s. He is a
master of his craft, as you might
expect from Cornwall’s Mr Fish. His family business,
Mathew Stevens & Son is one of the
most respected in the UK and one of Tresco’s
longest-standing suppliers, dealing in fish from
Newlyn, St Ives, Mevagissey and Looe, as well
as a number of other ports in the South West.
Mathew will be delivering his entertaining,
hands-on demonstrations of fish preparation
in Sunfish between the 5th-7th October, any
Tresco guests will be welcome but booking is
essential. There will be no charge.
www.mstevensandsons.co.uk
12th-14th October
Charlie Choak (the
pasty bloke) has been
making pasties in Falmouth
for over 50
years. As they say at
the Choaks’ bakery:
“We’ll tell you something for free, a Choak’s
pasty ain’t like no other. Made to the same
Cornish recipe for nearly 65 years, a Choak’s
pasty is about as traditionally Cornish as a traditional
Cornish pasty gets.”
Charlie runs his own pasty school and will be
offering tuition. Each session will be for a maximum
of four - £10 for the workshop, pastymaking
certificate and a pasty of course!
www.choakspasties.co.uk
For further information please call The
Island Office 01720 422849
Heavenly Dining
at Hell Bay
Due to demand special evening boating between
Tresco and Bryher is on offer every
Monday and Thursday this summer to allow
Tresco’s guests to enjoy a dinner at Hell Bay.
Tables either in the bar or the restaurant are
available. Reservations are essential and
7pm is the recommended time to ensure a relaxed
meal.
To make a booking please call Hell Bay
01720 422947.
Gourmets Go Wild!
After the success of previous holidays and
featuring in the Independent on Sunday and
The Lady, the Hell Bay Gourmet Foraging
Break begins once more on Bryher 21st-24th
September with wild food expert Rachel Lambert.
which includes four half day guided wild
food walks across four different islands, afternoon
tea and evening meals incorporating
the day's wild foraged finds.
For more information please call Hell Bay
01720 422947.

Page 5 Tresco Times
The Sea Garden Cottages
The Sea Garden Cottages are a collection of twenty five stylish new-builds and renovations, situated
in landscaped gardens, only yards from the sea. Elegantly furnished, decorated with original
artwork, the Sea Garden Cottages are idyllic island retreats.
Complementing Tresco’s new cottages
is the informal-chic restaurant, Ruin
Beach Café. Set within the grounds of
the Sea Garden Cottages, just above
the sandy curve of Raven’s Porth, Ruin
Beach Café has a Mediterraneaninspired
menu with a range of dishes
and pizzas cooked in its wood-fired
oven.
The Sea Garden Cottages are built on
the footprint of Tresco’s renowned
Island Hotel. The Island Hotel first
opened its doors to guests in 1961.
The man behind the hotel was Tresco’s
owner, Commander Tom Dorrien
Smith.
At the time, his decision to convert
cottages into a luxury hotel on one of
Scilly’s “off-islands” was seen as bold
to the point of foolhardy.
The Commander’s forward-thinking
and imaginative response to economic
challenges proved to be a huge
success.
Over the following decades, the Island
Hotel flourished and grew to become
Tresco’s flagship. Tourism on the Isles
of Scilly became mainstay of the
Scillonian economy and the Island
Hotel was its yardstick for quality.
In recent years, visitor trends have
changed and the attraction of
traditional hotel holidays has waned.
Many of today’s visitors to Tresco look
to enjoy far greater flexibility, in
particular wishing to have the option of
self-catering.
With this in mind, the Commander’s
son, Robert Dorrien Smith, has
transformed his father’s hotel into
holiday accommodation for today’s
discerning visitor. The hotel has been
turned back into cottages.
Fifty years on from the Island Hotel’s
inception, an investment of £10 million
and the reshaping of an icon of island
tourism have proved just as bold and
imaginative. The project took two years
and at times employed sixty builders
working 12 hour days; now it is
complete.
The old Island Hotel has gone but the
Sea Garden Cottages usher in a new
chapter for Tresco. Founded on
quality, choice and continuity, The Sea
Garden Cottages provide a new
benchmark for the great British holiday.
The Sea Garden Cottages

The Sea Garden Cottages
Special introductory rates available on
selected dates for 4 night breaks, dinner
bed & breakfast, return helicopter flights
from £700pp. For further information please
call the Island Office on 01720 422849
Page 6 Tresco Times
Sea Garden Cottages
Rental by the night
The nine one-bedroom Sea Garden Cottages can be rented on
a nightly basis.
The nine one-bedroom Sea Garden
Cottages can be rented on a nightly
basis and are named Compass,
Gimble, Cockle, Cowrie, Spindrift,
Shrimp, Scallop, Clam and Crab.
Each cottage has an open-plan
sitting room and kitchen which look
out on a garden terrace. Upstairs is
the bedroom and ensuite bathroom.
The bedrooms all enjoy magnificent
sea views and their own balconies.
There is a sofa bed downstairs
suitable for children and some of
the cottages have interconnecting
doors for families.
A wish to provide our guests a more
flexible style of holiday was one of
the key elements in the creation of
the Sea Garden Cottages and the
nine one-bedroom cottages are all
about style and choice.
Self-catering tariffs start from £150 pppn.
With the Ruin Beach Cafe a
minute’s stroll away, guests can
book one of these cottages by the
night on a bed and breakfast or
dinner, bed and breakfast rate.
As each one has its own fully-fitted
kitchen and open-plan sitting
room,guests can also choose to
cook for themselves on a selfcatering
rate.
The photographs are all of
Compass. The seascape below
was taken from the bedroom
balcony.
Dinner, bed and breakfast tariffs
start from £185 per person per
night.

Seven of the Sea Garden Cottages are available to rent by the
week. Six cottages, Lobster, Oyster, Samphire, Seapink, Starfish,
and Seahorse, sleep six to eight guests. Sunfish can
accommodate up to ten guests.
All the cottages are beautifully appointed
with wonderful sea views.
Light and airy interiors are complemented
by specially commissioned
fabrics and original artwork.
The design of the properties has not
been focussed solely on comfort and
style. All heating for the cottages is
Rental tariffs start from £1,615 per week.
Page 7 Tresco Times
Sea Garden Cottages
Rental by the week
from air-source heat pumps which,
along with the high degree of insulation,
dramatically reduces the Sea
Garden Cottages’ carbon footprint.
Guests have use of the on-site indoor
swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and
gym.
Cottage interiors pictured above are, from
the top, Samphire, Seapink and Lobster.
The cottages pictured below are from left:
Seapink, Samphire, Starfish, Sea Horse &
Sunfish.
The Sea Garden Cottages

The Sea Garden Cottages
Page 8 Tresco Times
Sea Garden Cottages
Timeshare
The completion of the Sea Garden Cottages sees Abalone and
Nautilus become the newest additions to Tresco’s timeshare
portfolio.
With four bedrooms and a sofa bed,
Abalone can sleep up to ten guests.
The cottage has two sun terraces
and a balcony off the main bedroom
to make the most of the handsome
sea views. (Abalone’s sitting room
is pictured below.)
Nautilus can accommodate up to
eight guests and has already received
acclaim for its extraordinary
balcony with a panoramic view from
Men-a-vaur to the Eastern Isles,
pictured above.
For further information please call Dean Whillis on
01720 424111.

Serving breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
the Ruin Beach Cafe has already
proved to be hugely popular with both
visitors and locals alike.
The culinary centrepiece is the hearty
wood-burning oven that is producing
succulent steaks and roasted asparagus,
as well as delicious pizzas.
For those who might want to breakfast
at home, the oven is also being
used to bake special Ruin Beach
Cafe bread to take away.
The Ruin Beach Cafe also has wellstocked
bar and serves coffees, teas
and even cakes in the afternoon.
Inside there is room for 60 diners,
while outside there is seating for 80
available.
Page 9 Tresco Times
The Ruin Beach Cafe
Open from eight o’clock in the morning until 10pm in the evening,
Ruin Beach Cafe is the Sea Garden Cottages’ new restaurant.
The decor is cool, beach-chic with
original paintings like the huge James
Dodds’ boat that hangs above the
bar, as well as shell mosaics and
hand-made toys.
The Sea Garden Cottages

Island Design
Inside the Ruin Beach Cafe
Artistic Graffiti
Shells, mosaics and
the Ruin Beach Cafe
by Amber Rees
Thousands of beads, hundreds of pieces of
glass, sackloads of shells and days of devotion
have all led to the creation of some
of the most unique and inspired pieces of
artwork to be seen on the island of Tresco.
Although she has had no professional training,
Lucy Dorrien Smith has managed to express
the philosophy of Tresco through her beautiful
mosaics, which are not only a true representation
of the island and extremely eco-friendly but
also raise money for charity through the sale of
cards in the gallery and shop.
Lucy started creating her mosaics, or ‘artistic
graffiti’ as she now refers to them, when she
first came to the island as the wife of Robert
Dorrien Smith. She would collect bags and
bags of shells; however she had no apparent
need for them until she discovered an old shed
in the Abbey Gardens, which, like her shells
Page 10 Tresco Times
had no obvious use. So, being an avid recycler,
Lucy began work on her first creation, the ‘shell
house’, which now proudly stands in the middle
of one of the best horticultural sites in the world.
As Lucy developed her skills, she moved on
from the ‘shell house’ and started work on the
three mosaics that would end up at Smith
Square, which, up until then, was crying out for
some sort of decoration. It was here that Lucy’s
family of ‘artistic graffiti’ was born. Peace, Love
and Happiness were the mosaics that bore and
still resemble the motto of Tresco. Little did
Lucy know how much they’d be appreciated,
and how successful they would be, in the form
of merchandise, at raising money for the Precious
Lives Appeal for a children’s hospice in
the South West). As well as creating money for
those who need it most, Lucy’s mosaics are
fully made out of recycled materials; the shells
were all handpicked from Tresco’s secluded
beaches, or were brought in as discards from
seafood restaurants. The small glass chips
were all recycled from old swimming pools and
Jacuzzi tiles, and the large, polished pieces of
stained glass were all off- cuts from the work of
Joan Bose – who coincidently was using the
glass to decorate the mirrors that are inside the
In addition to the general coastal-chic of the
Ruin Beach Café, there are some ornamental
touches of a decidedly local and playful nature…Dick
Bird’s handmade toys take on a new
lease of life.
Born in 1929, Dick Bird first came to Scilly from
Yorkshire in 1955.
“I saw an advert in Farmer’s Weekly. An assistant
was required on a St Martin’s flower farm,
no experience necessary. I wrote to them in October
and received a reply in December. Over
one hundred people had sent in applications
and I had been chosen. I was told that I’d got
the job because I was the only one who hadn’t
asked what the wages were!”
Dick worked for Rodney Ashford at Middle
Town Farm for a few seasons before moving to
Tresco to help lay out the gardens for the brand
new Island Hotel. Once the landscaping was
completed, Bryher was Dick’s next Scillonian
home, where he lived for ten years, working for
Arthur Jenkins.
In the early 1970s, Dick returned to Tresco,
where he has remained ever since. Until his retirement,
Dick worked in the Abbey Gardens,
looking after the fruit and vegetable garden.
Horticulture was not Dick’s only talent.
“I have always enjoyed working with wood. My
father made all our toys when we were kids and
Tresco cottages.
Recently, Lucy has been working on a range
of mosaics for the Ruin Beach Cafe, with three
walls to cover and the next member of the
‘artistic graffiti’ family to be created. With the
wall mosaics completed (all of which owe their
inspiration to Tresco), the last big project she
now has to do is the ‘Friendship’ montage. It will
hang at 150cm (long) x 100cm (wide), mounted
on a piece of marine plywood that has already
been recycled from the building project. It will
sit comfortably in the Ruin Beach Cafe; a place
designed for friends to meet and bond. As well
as using the materials that she had to hand in
her other pieces of artwork, Lucy has also
asked her friends and family to give her something
glass or metal that is meaningful to them,
so that she can attach the pieces to her mosaic
to show the gift of ‘friendship’.
Who knows what else is to come, however one
thing is for sure, Lucy Dorrien Smith has managed
to create some of the most eco-friendly
and emotive artwork on Tresco, designed not
only to captivate those who look at it but to also
raise money for a very special charity!
Island Toymaker’s Work Goes on Show
when my own children were growing up I made
toys for them too.”
Since then toy making has become something
of a hobby for Dick, most particularly for charity
auctions such as Children in Need. At each
event, Dick would donate a wooden lorry or
train to help raise money and it soon became
clear that one particular island family took a
special interest in the toys.
“The Dorrien Smiths would always bid for whatever
it was that I had made. So over the years
they ended up with quite a collection at the
Abbey!”
The Ruin Beach Café has now become a
showcase for this handsome collection, bringing
a very local flavour to the décor.
Amongst the assorted vehicles are a few
Tresco classics, such as the Heliport fireengine,
while the superb replica of the
Abbey carriage will be less familiar.

2012 Yoga
and Spa Holiday
Gallery Tresco’s manager Anna
Parkes and assistant Lisa Roberts
(pictured above) have been busy
unveiling the Sea Garden Show, the
final part of a two year creative
process.
“ Once more our artists have been
invited by Lucy Dorrien Smith to
use the names such as Lobster,
Samphire, Cockle, Sea Pink,
Cowrie, Gimble and Sunfish as their
muse, and have done so to their
usual exacting standard. Our
brochure showcases some of the
West Country’s finest makers and
painters in a celebration of all things
maritime.”
Works by a variety of artists such as
Paul Jackson, Rosemary Trestini,
Chris Hankey, Wendy McBride, Will
Shakspeare, Alice Mumford, Tom
Leaper, Adrian Brough, Harriet
Barber, Geoffrey Bickley and Rosie
Jackson are on display.
SUMMER SHOWS
2nd JULY Ellen Watson, Paul
Lewin and Amanda Hoskin
12th JULY Neil Pinkett, Anthony
Garratt and Maggie O’Brien
23rd JULY David Rust, Imogen
Bone and Rosemary Trestini
Sea Garden Artists Their paintings and their words.
MIXED SHOWS
2nd, 13th, 23rd AUGUST
Victoria Hilliard, Gary
Long, Sue Lewington,
Amy Albright, Andrew
Tozer, Nicky Walker and
Chris Hankey
Page 11 Tresco Times
After the success of our previous yoga
holidays we are once again delighted to
host our resident instructor Lucy
Aldridge but this time at our beautiful new
Sea Garden cottages.
We are offering 5 nights starting Friday 21st
September departing on Wednesday 26th
September 2012
Prices start from £860 per person, flying from
Penzance to Tresco.
All rates are per person and based on two sharing a
double or twin bedded cottage. The package
includes return helicopter flights*, continental
breakfast and a two course evening meal daily in the
Ruin Beach Café, welcome reception, services of
yoga instructor, ila Kundalini back massage at the
Flying Boat Club Spa, use of the Sea Garden
gallery TRESCO
Chris Hankey
These paintings are somewhat quieter than my usual work .... They are
about those quiet moments of reflection .... sometimes thinking of the
past, but also just responding to nature during its quiet moments .... at
dusk ....or twilight in stillness and calm. A time to just quietly exist with
ones mind in free association. They remind me of how it feels when I
am cycling .... when hours and hours have passed and I have been
thinking of nothing at all.
Wendy McBride
I wanted to do a picture of sea pinks, and spent several happy hours
searching round the coast just in case. I found hundreds of mounds of
little brush like seeds stiff against the November sky, and eventually, a
solitary pink flower behind a rock. I had more luck with samphire; in the
dunes the greeny-yellow flowers were blooming again amongst their
black seed heads. Then it struck me that probably Lucy had been
thinking of that other samphire, those delicious salty shoots that go so
well with fish. Does anyone know where they might be? As for seahorse,
I would like to think he is wound around his eel grass somewhere very
close. A magic fish for these magic islands.
Rosemary Trestini
I was delighted once again to be invited to take part in Lucy's Sea
Garden exhibition. I've concentrated on sea pinks and Gimble Porth,
two subjects which are close to my heart and which have inspired me
yet again as does the whole of Tresco and its’ infinite variety.
AUTUMN SHOW 9th
OCTOBER
Sue Lewington, Marie
Mills, Tom Rickman,
Teresa Pemberton, Chris
Rigby, Richard Tuff and
Geoffrey Bickley
facilities, indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and gym,
Tresco Abbey Garden entrance, holiday insurance
and VAT at the current rate. Yoga mat and other
equipment can be hired for a small charge.
There is a £250 supplement for single occupancy
and a package excluding the yoga and spa treatment
at £760 per person for non-participating partners.
Please call 01720 422849 for
availability and booking information.
Should you have any questions about the yoga
please do not hesitate to contact Lucy directly via
email at lucy@lucyaldridge.com or by phone 07817
968 936
*Where travel and insurance are included we arrange and pay
for flights and/or insurance on your behalf. Your contract for
these services is with the Travel Company or insurance provider,
not Tresco Estate.
For a brochure or for
further information:
gallery TRESCO
01720 424925

EDITORIAL
THE TRESCO TIMES
OUR VIEWS ARE CLEAR
While on a recent foray to the mainland, I
was invited to a lunch party. One of the
other guests was a confirmed metropolitan,
who, when told where I lived, was quite perplexed.
“Tresco? The Isles of Scilly? What
can there possibly be to do? I mean, why
would you choose to live there?” In reply I
rattled off, with evangelical zeal, a long list of
activities, hobbies and assorted benefits of
an island lifestyle but I don’t think he was really
interested. None of it seemed of much
use to him.
I thought of him a day or two later. I had
started reading “To The Mountains of The
Moon”; its intriguing connection with Tresco
is discussed below. The book recounts an
exploratory expedition in Africa around
1900. Its first chapter begins “There is a
wearisome kind of person who, when anybody
has been anywhere or done anything,
is always ready to ask what useful end such
work subserves; and lest any such worthy
should have the misfortune to be tempted to
peruse these pages further, I hasten to tell
him at once that he will find no sort of answer
to his queries from the beginning to the
end of this book.”
Sometimes perceived “usefulness” is much
over-rated. On this theme and with Her
Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this
year, it was with particular interest that I read
this 1846 account from the Daily Telegraph
of Queen Victoria’s visit to St Michael’s
Mount: “The men of St Martin’s island, one
of the Scilly group, were so anxious to see
their Sovereign that they left their houses in
two of their large gigs and rowed all the way
across to the Mount. The Queen, hearing of
their remarkable performance, sent for them
and they were presented to Her Majesty
who was so struck with their loyalty that she
desired the Prince to shake hands with each
one of them. They were lavishly regaled and
before they started on the long row back to
Scilly their boats were well stocked with
beef, bread and other vegetables and the
Queen herself saw then off and gave then
her heartiest wishes.” (My thanks to The
Scillonian Magazine No. 274 for this royal
gem.)
Editor: Alasdair Moore
Tresco Times, Tresco,
Isles of Scilly. TR24 0QQ
t:01720 422849
f:01720 422807
editor@tresco.co.uk
www.tresco.co.uk
Page 12 Tresco Times
Denise Jeffrey’s shares her maternal
memories of Tresco and an island baby
with The Tresco Times.
Dear Editor,
Having a baby is always an adventure and living
on the small but perfect island of Tresco
certainly was for me in 1963. My two previous
babies were home births with no complications
but here the local doctor insisted all babies
should be born in the hospital on St
Mary’s. A thrust from a fist or foot, a stirring
within my womb and my own restlessness
were reminders that I was two weeks overdue,
so high time for action!
Prior arrangements had already been discussed
and made with Peter Bastion, the Assistant
Farm manager. Commander Tom
Dorrien Smith had very kindly offered the use
of his sleek launch Soleil d’Or and his boatman,
Laurie Terry, for my transport across to
St Mary’s when the time came.
The concern and kindness of the islanders
was quite moving, especially from Ann and
Roger Oyler. Ann had offered to give my family,
husband Jack, daughter Andrea and son
Anthony, a main cooked meal each day, as
well as any help that was needed. A very kind
offer when Ann already had a job as a teacher
at the island school!
Many women have a surge of energy prior to
giving birth and I was no exception, so on the
morning of 10th March, after getting our
seven year old daughter off to school, I calmly
set to clean the house, bake a cake and cook
lunch. Jack, meanwhile, had cycled to the
farm (we had no telephone) to notify Peter
Bastion and Laurie terry that transport would
be needed at about 4pm.
Early afternoon I took our blond-haired three
and a half year old son down to Pentle Bay
for a stroll along the silver-white sandy shoreline
to look for soft pink cowrie shells with
spots on top. We did find some, to the delight
of us both.
I had already talked to our son, explaining that
I would be going away for a few days and
would bring back a baby brother or sister for
him. He took it all calmly and he had been told
that he would be helping his dad at work in
the greenhouses. Important work for this serious,
small boy.
My bag was packed and quite soon my transport
arrived – a well-scrubbed pig cart and
LETTERS
Vice Admiral The Hon Sir Nicholas Hill-Norton KCB responds to our Transport and
Heritage correspondent’s article in the last issue...
Dear Editor,
I was interested to read (Spring 2012 page10) that my father had
caused some amphibious support to be made available in the 1970s.
Both he and my father in law Vice Admiral Dennis Mason were Naval
contemporaries of Tom Dorrien Smith and my parents had stayed with
the family at the Abbey.
Our generation also love Tresco and we have stayed at the Island
Hotel, rented Dolphin House and also spent time on Bryher.
I was reading the Tresco Times as we arrived last week in the Maldives
– the only other place where the water is so magically coloured
and clear. If only the sea round Tresco was as warm.
Yours sincerely
Nicholas Hill-Norton
Hants.
tractor; placed on the cart was a comfortable
armchair, no less! This had been thoughtfully
provided by Peter Bastion. An increase in the
maternity allowance came into force the next
day, As I sat in the armchair, the last words
that I heard ringing in my ears was Jack calling
out “Hang on until after midnight, dear,
and we’ll be a few pounds better off!” So I
travelled in style from Rowesfield Cottage
past the small fields of daffodils, then alongside
the pool, past the farm with waves from
well-wishers on to New Grimsby quay, where
the Soleil d’Or was moored.
Laurie was anxiously looking at the sky.
“Storm coming…sooner I get you over there,
the better!” Poor man! I can recall the journey
over to St Mary’s, talking away to Laurie
but I cannot remember anything about how I
was transported from the quay up to the hospital!
Laurie’s predicted storm raged all
evening, which was no surprise to me as my
two previous babies were also born during
thunderstorms.
A few hours later, with the expertise of Matron,
two nurses and a mirror, I saw my baby
being born: a truly wonderful experience. It
was 12.12am when our son arrived, weighing
almost 10lbs. “Well, Jack,” I thought “I did
hang on long enough and a healthy son too!”
My stay in hospital was eleven days and for a
week I was the only person in the ward. Apart
from cuddling and feeding my baby, the highlight
of the day was watching the Scillonian
sailing by at about midday on her way to the
quay. I was joined by a pleasant woman, also
in for the birth of a baby. She was the wife of
a lighthouse keeper and she kept me entertained
with accounts of their lives.
About this time, I was able to go out for a walk
around Hugh Town to register our son’s birth.
I chose his name, Rory Jack. The local midwife,
who had visited me at home, put me in
touch with the manager of the Co-op and his
wife as they had a pram for sale. It was lovely,
just what I wanted.
I returned home to Tresco with baby Rory,
where he was greeted with delight – no sibling
jealousy here! Rory was christened at St
Nicholas’ Church. Laurie and Daphne Terry
were his godparents.
your sincerely
Mrs Denise Jeffrey
Cornwall

It is with great sadness that
the Tresco Times informs its
readers of the recent death of
Lesley Hopkins. Born in Cornwall
in 1948, Lesley first came
to the Isles of Scilly in the
1960s, staying at the Island
Hotel with her parents. It was
the memory of these holidays
that encouraged her and her
husband Chris to apply for the
job of managing The New Inn
in 1979. Lesley’s ulterior motive
was the opportunity of two
free helicopter flights to Tresco. Unfortunately, the interviews were
held in Bath. The Hopkins were offered the positions and moved
to Tresco, where they envisaged staying for around three years. In
1982 their eldest daughter Naomi was born. Chris and Lesley
could not imagine anywhere better to bring up children, so they
approached Robert Dorrien Smith for the lease of the New Inn,
where they were to stay for the next ten years. In 1987, their
daughter Kim was born and two years later, Chris and Lesley
began building Fraggle Rock on Bryher.
In 1992, the Hopkins moved over to Bryher full time. Lesley was
quickly to become a key member of the Bryher community, organizing
the highly successful Bryher Flower Festival and teaching
herself to play the keyboard in order to provide music for the
church services. Lesley was a keen mathematician and she soon
became an indispensible tutor to many Bryher children. Dispensing
her knowledge with typical enthusiasm, there are more than a
few on Bryher who have Lesley to thank for their Maths GCSE.
In 2000, Lesley’s natural educational verve led her to join the Isles
of Scilly Council in order to manage the islands’ Lifelong Learning
programme. She was to remain Manager of Lifelong Learning until
her retirement in April 2011.
Lesley passed away in April and her funeral reflected the high esteem
and affection in which she was held throughout Scilly. Bryher
church was full, with mourners spilling out onto the roadside. Every
island was represented and, as one would expect for such a joyous
spirit, there were tears for Lesley but smiles and laughter too.
Our thoughts are with Chris, Naomi and Kim.
Page 13 Tresco Times
LETTERS
The Sun’s Moonshadow Halo
Dear Editor,
I have attached a photo from my iPad (hence the less than perfect definition) taken from the
garden of Mincarlo on Sunday 6th May. We were sat in the garden enjoying the sun after having
had a super lunch at the pub and just happened to look up when I saw the 'halo' around
the sun. First thought was a hole in the ozone layer but having heard the news that morning
and how the full moon was at its closest to the earth rising in New Zealand, I realized that the
halo was actually a shadow of the earth on a very light haze of cloud. It was quite stunning
and we watched for about 15 minutes before heavier cloud came along and the image disappeared.
Did anyone else see this phenomenon? I forward the other two shots I took, so disappointed
that I didn't have my camera with me but as I have visited the island for the past 17 years I
thought that I had seen it all - how wrong can you be.
Regards, Jennifer Baldwin (Mincarlo week 18)
OBITUARIES
Great news just as the Tresco Times was going to press... The Revd.
Canon Paul Miller at present Vicar of St Mary, Shortland, in the Diocese
of Rochester; Area Dean of Beckenham; Chaplain to HM the
Queen, to be Chaplain to the Isles of Scilly, Diocese of Truro, and con-
Ecclesiatical Announcement
The Tresco Times
also very much regrets
to report the recent
death of John
Avery. Wine merchant
and a Master of Wine,
John Avery was described
by Jancis
Robinson as a “oneoff”.
Born in 1941,
John Avery took over
the family business,
Averys of Bristol, from
his father Ronald in 1966 and was one of the original European
champions of New World wines. For both islanders and visitors, however,
he was known for his friendliness, conviviality and great love for
the Isles of Scilly.
His father introduced him to Scilly, following a posting during the Second
World War, during which Ronald instructed islanders in the use
of radios. Lifelong friendships were made with Leonard Jenkins and
his family on Bryher. Ronald took to taking his family on holiday to
Scilly in one of two boats, a German patrol boat called the Blitz and
a motor launch called Maiden Bower. It was from these early holidays
that John’s enthusiasm and affection for Scilly were born. He
was to become a familiar and much-liked figure on the islands and
was honoured to be godfather to a Bryher Jenkins.
John began with camping holidays on Bryher in the 1940s and went
on to become a long-standing Tresco timeshare owner. As his father
before him, John and his wife Sarah brought their four children to
Scilly, making Tresco a second home. A keen follower of the Czar, he
replaced a trophy that was jointly dedicated to Dennis Jenkins and
Ronald Avery after it fell overboard. Until recently John took pride in
personally delivering cases of wine to a customer on St Agnes, living
in one of the last houses in England.
In the Times’ obituary, John Avery is described as “Wine merchant
and raconteur with an irrepressible joie de vivre.” The Tresco Times
would like to add “Scilliophile” to that description and offer its condolences
to the Avery family.
tinuing as Chaplain to HM the Queen with effect from November 2012.
The Revd Canon Paul Miller will be known to islanders and visitors for
his abilities both in the pulpit and on the cricket pitch.

At the start of the Great War our father had
permission to raise Volunteers to defend
Scilly against landings from enemy ships or
submarines. He somehow got some rifles and
drilled his men on St Mary’s at Star Castle
with the Steward, Mr Maggs.
There was already a rumour that a submarine
was waiting off the Eastern Isles to attack
RMS Lyonesse, so a coastguard was put on
Great Arthur with a rifle to stand watch. Then
three German ships were sighted in Crow
Sound and we went out in our launch to intercept
them. They had not heard there was a
war on, having just sailed from America. Their
boats were towed away and the lay in the
roadstead for some weeks before being
towed to the mainland.
Our chief defence was trawlers, and these set
iron netting off the islands to stop German
subs coming in. A large turtle got caught in
one net and was landed at St Mary’s. The
Gottland came in later, half underwater with a
cargo of grain. Men in the hold were over-
Page 14 Tresco Times
The Dorrien Smith Aunts
Sam Llewellyn, author and editor of the Marine Quarterly, continues to trawl the
archives for tales of his extraordinary great-aunts. In an excerpt from an interview
by Molly Mortimer, first published in the Scillonian Magazine, Charlotte “Babs”
Dorrien Smith recounts some of her memories of the First World War.
come with fumes from the soaked grain. One
died and another was temporarily blinded.
In 1915 Cicely and I moved to Rouen to run a
canteen for British and Indian troops going up
to the line from Havre. Then we moved to No
1 military hospital where Cicely died, and I
went back to Scilly. The Navy was very good
to us, and we could go to a Naval base any
time we had leave to see if there was any
transport to Scilly. Once, when Commander
Blair found me a small boat to travel in, he
said, ‘You’ll see she goes the right way into
Scilly, won’t you?’ I laughed at his chaff
against the natives, and though no more till
we got near St Mary’s Sound when I noticed
the buoy on the wrong side. I went up to the
step of the bridge (not onto it, which would be
an insult to the skipper) and called, ‘Please
get that buoy portside or you’ll be on
Bartholomew Ledges.’ Naturally enough he
turned on me angrily. So I added, ‘Commander
Blair asked me to see you went the right
side of that buoy.’ We sheered over. Seven
years later I met a nurse from Ceylon. She remarked
that she had met a naval officer recently.
He told her nobody had ever interfered
with his navigation, except one - me.
In 1917 seaplanes were sent to Scilly to protect
shipping. They were based on Tresco
and a lot of huts were put for the men to live
in, with hangars for repair work. Some of the
flying boats anchored out by Hangman’s Island
as they had no hangars. One day after
a 90mph gale, three arrived in bits on Tresco.
Some of the farm buildings were used to
house their bombs and one day a man was
doing something with a detonator and got
blown up and killed.
The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rev. Anderson,
was there in the RNAS and got the DSC for
keeping his finger in the hole of the petrol tank
of his flying boat after they had bombed a
German submarine off Seven Stones.
Our father was in failing health for most of the
war, and while we were at Devonport Hospital
in 1918 a message came to say he was
worse. A trawler took me home as fast as possible.
But as we came into Crow Sound, the
flag on the Abbey was at half mast...
How do you find a bargain sailing dinghy, a pony for your daughter
or a drum kit for your son? Some second-hand trading websites are a
bit daunting, so we were very pleased to discover that a family who have
spent many summer holidays on Tresco in Dolphin House run a terrific
simple website called www.schoolstrader.com Initially set up for families
with children at school, it’s now open to all – so Tresco Times readers can
all use this fantastic free online service to buy, sell and rent everything
from musical instruments, text books and bikes, to boats, motors and
even houses. The site is growing fast and was a Top 10 site in The Sunday
Times. Worth a look!

Rainbow House
Barbados
Page 15 Tresco Times
Rainbow House is a family-owned beachfront holiday home on the island of
Barbados. Considered a gem amongst the south coast villas, it is situated on
a superb white sand beach looking out onto aquamarine waters.
Rainbow House has 3 air-conditioned bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom.
There is an elegant veranda for dining, with seating for 10 people, as well as a large
open terrace with a gas grill/barbecue.
For further details please call: 01720 422849
or visit www.tresco.co.uk/accommodation

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Spriggan 3.8%
Cornish Knocker 4.5%
Ginger Tosser 3.8%
Figgy’s Brew 4.5%
Cornish Lager 5.0%
www.skinnersbrewery.com
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Page 16 Tresco Times
Building for Tresco
The Sea Garden Cottages and The Flying Boat Club.
01736 794144
www.symonsconstruction.co.uk
Above or below ground,
on or under water – we do it!

Old Moore, Heloise and Osbert.
Tresco and the Mountains of the Moon.
It is one of the compelling elements of living on
a small island that the past somehow seems
more familiar. It is probably a combination of the
limited terra firma with a continuity of inhabitants
and memory but things often appear simply
more knowable. Be it castles or Bronze Age burial
sites or nineteenth century gigs, history is
often to be seen happily rubbing shoulders with
the here and now.
Racket Town Cottage
It’s not just the big stuff that connects now with
then. A few months ago, I was admiring the watercolours,
which decorate the sitting room of
Racket Town cottage. I asked Miss Helen Dorrien
Smith, the owner of the cottage who the
artist was . Miss Helen went on to explain how
she had come to possess the pictures through a
family by the name of Moore, the work of either
the father or the son. The Moores were resident
on Tresco for over twenty years, living in the
house that was to become the Island Hotel .The
brief resume of the Moores recounted by Miss
Helen involved “Darkest Africa”, MI6 and a Buddhist
monastery in Sri Lanka. This was clearly
not a typical island family.
Intrigued, I did some research and quickly discovered
that the family responsible for these watercolours
was every bit as fascinating as Miss
Helen had suggested.
Page 17 Tresco Times
My initial enquiries led to another painting, a
portrait that hung in the Island Hotel for many
years. This is the man whom Miss Helen referred
to as Old Moore. His full name was John
Edmund Sharrock Moore and he was born in
1870. Educated at Tonbridge, Moore went on to
study at the Royal College of Science and
worked at the prestigious Stazione Zoologica at
Naples. In the autumn of 1895 he left on the first
of two expeditions to central Africa, most particularly
the areas around Lake Tanganyika. Sponsored
by the Royal Society and later the Royal
Geographical Society, these were scientific surveys
which produced numerous academic papers.
After the second expedition, 1899-1900, Moore
wrote and illustrated a popular account of his adventures,
aimed at the lay reader rather than the
zoologist. “To the Mountains of the Moon” is a
remarkable book. Beautifully observed, thoughtful,
humourous, cruel and unflinching - at times
it reads like an off-key duet between Saki and
Joseph Conrad:
“The place was filthy and dirty beyond all words,
and in an inner room, almost dark, which reeked
of filth of every description from bad whiskey to
rats, lay the engineer of the steamer, whom, according
to our contract with the Corporation, I
had chartered as well. He was at the time badly
wounded, having, I suppose in want of something
better to do, taken to hunting cockroaches
on board his ship with a revolver, a practice
which is not to be recommended, as game of
this description is apt to run over one’s person,
when shooting becomes very risky, and it had
ended in this instance by the bullet passing tangentially
through the engineer’s chest and into
his arm.”
Other passages, particularly his descriptions of
landscape are nothing short of lyrical:
“The noise of the thunder grew absolutely deafening,
and as the rain swept over us with a dull
roar, the outer world seemed to sink suddenly
into a mysterious, indistinct, rustling, watery
gloom, which was lit only, but lit every instant, by
the blue flare of the lightning, and shaken with
the continuous sonorous boom and the sharp
spluttering crash of the thunder. I confess that I
don’t like thunderstorms. English ones are bad
enough but these tropical pandemoniums are a
bit too much; they have only one redeeming
point, they go almost as quickly as they come.
In an hour the sky was as serene and clear as
ever, while in the air was the freshness of rain;
the bay resounded with frogs, frogs that piped
and frogs that whistled, frogs that trumpete like
elephants and frogs that banged on big drums.
A superb scent of flowers and honey drifted from
the warm green land, mixed with the singular
scent of recent rain. Everything seemed, indeed,
to have become suddenly full of the essence of
all that is delightful in a country where there is
always summer, summer all the year round,
through all the seasons, and always has been
through al the years since Africa has been Africa
at all.”
Geology and zoology are never far away but the
book always feels like a personal account. On
the surface, themes of Victorian racial superiority
abound. However, the standards of the author
are far from ordinary and he is no colonialist.
Moore is wryly scathing about dishonesty and
weakness in all, both black and white, and the
book firmly rejects imperialism.
“To the Mountains of the Moon” reveals Old
Moore to be an artistic, literary, ruthless, confident,
tough, intellectual, honest and dedicated
man, unafraid of controversy or publicity. On his
return to Britain, Moore gave many talks on his
expedition from London to Edinburgh, on one
occasion to an audience of two thousand. His
book was met with mixed reviews, some criticising
his refutation of colonialism in Africa.
Around this time John Moore travelled down
from London to Sussex to see Osbert Salvin, a
celebrated naturalist. Salvin was not at home but
Moore was not disappointed. It was here that he
made the acquaintance of Salvin’s daughter,
Heloise. Moore would write later that Heloise
was quite literally the woman of his dreams . At
this first meeting, he recognised her from a
dream that had recurred throughout his life,
something that rendered him almost speechless.
They married in 1904 and the following year,
Heloise gave birth to a son, who they named
after her father.
By the time of his son’s birth, John Moore was a
Fellow of the RGS, the Zoological Society and
of the Linnaean Society. In 1906 he was to become
a Professor of Cytology at the University of
Liverpool. Then, quite suddenly, in 1908, J.E.S.
Moore gave it all up. He withdrew from all scientific
research and from all professional obligations.
He resigned all his fellowships. It was the
same year that his father died. The evidence
certainly suggests that the family came into
money, allowing John to shrug off the harness of
work.
In a book written over twenty years later, John
Moore described the moment of receiving an inheritance
from “ a lady” – possibly his mother:
“We were free at last to be a perfectly idle man.
The world was full of the golden, trailing glory old
Death leaves behind him. We felt like the old
washerwoman who, having washed all her life,
when they found her dying, sang as the swans
sing:
Don’t mourn for me now, Don’t mourn for me
ever
I’m going to do nothing For ever and ever.”
And so John, Heloise and young Osbert Moore
disappear from public view, taking that golden,
trailing glory with them.
After a vacuum of nearly two decades, the
Moores appear again. The year is 1927, they are
living on Tresco and old Death has returned.
The story of curious world of the Moores will be
continued in the next issue...
The Moore's Cottage

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Page 19 Tresco Times

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