Lundy Musings

A new year begins
Majestic and proud
The island is wrapped
In a mystical shroud

February brings
The promise of birth
Wrapped deep inside
The slumbering earth

March is here
The first day of spring
The sun warms the earth
As birds start to sing

April brings showers
A wealth of spring flowers
The Oldenburg begins to sail
Sea sick passengers weep and wail

Birds start to nest
In the month of May
New born lambs
Are happy and gay

June brings the shortest nights
Sea thrift adorns the dizzying heights
Seals sing and play at Brazen Ward
Sounding better than I, who's distinctly off chord!

Basking sharks start to shoal in July
Sky larks sing in the clearest blue sky
The paths are well trodden with day trippers galore
Thronging around the enchanted shore

In August the heather and gorse start to bloom
The island is packed and there is no room
The air is hot and still and dry
Brows start to sweat and bodies fry

Come September the birds start to fly
For sunnier climes, warmer and dry
The days are warm and crisp and clear
Silence is deafening with nothing to hear

In October the nights start to lengthen
The leaves start to fall and the wind starts to strengthen
The deer are rutting along the east side
The bracken is gone, they have nowhere to hide

In November the chill wind blows
The 'other island' is wrapped in snow
On long moonlit nights the stars shine brightly
The Tavern is warm and open nightly

December brings Christmas, the end of the year
Fun and feasting and much good cheer
The wheel has turned and the circle now ends
The island now sleeps 'til it all starts again

Copyright June Austin. All rights reserved.

Why we have come to this god forsaken lump of rock I do not know. It is horrible. Everywhere is cold and draughty. The toilet is smelly. There is no telly, nothing to watch except the old boat when it comes in, and that's German. It's a long way to the shop and the Marisco Tavern. The staff are grumpy with you if you complain. There is sheep muck everywhere and deep puddles. The shop has not got what you want. It is so cold and miserable. No TV. The books are all old and the puzzles and games, that's if you risk touching them. We will be glad to leave. Your umbrella turns inside out if you try to open it. No street lights! Everywhere looks grubby with cobwebs as well. I go to bed miserable and wake up miserable.

Everyday is the same. We were recommended to walk up to the top lighthouse but turned back as there are so many gates to open. Why is everything so primitive? Good god this is 1996 not 82 BC. At least the eggs are fresh; they are still warm and dirty. When it rains hard and fog some idiot in the castle keeps blowing a whistle or something. It keeps you awake. No television to watch.

One good thing is that there is no annoyance from the next-doors kids but sometimes people walk down outside the gate. More people came off the boat today, a fresh lot thinking they own the Tavern. I shall be glad to go home and never come back.