Sanchez sails to Scilly. Man still not in Álora.
Mrs. Sanchez and I have just returned from a holiday on the Isles of Scilly. I must be careful about the name because the inhabitants don't like you saying ' Scilly Isles' for some reason and 'The Isles of Scilly' is the preferred title but also acceptable is just plain 'Scilly'. There are between 54 and 200 islands (depending on whom you ask) out there 28 miles from Land's End and hundreds of mini islands which they call 'rocks' , 'ledges' or 'wreck magnets'. Only 5 are 'inhabited' by people who mostly make a living from the 'visitors' in one way or another. Visitors are attracted by the peace and tranquility, the beautiful, quiet beaches, pasties and the stunning views.
A beautiful, quiet beach
A stunning view
There is a strict but hidden class or caste system in operation over there. We were 'visitors' (pronounced vizziturz) because we were staying there on holiday and therefore big spenders. People who live on Scilly but moved there from 'the mainland' or 'up country' can call themselves 'residents' (rezdunts), but in no circumstances should they regard themselves as 'locals', a term reserved for someone born and brought up on the Islands. Even 'locals' can only aspire to being 'Scillonians' if their family has lived there for several generations and has one of the distinctive Scilly surnames such as 'Mumford', 'Banfield' , 'Hicks', 'Legge', 'Pender, 'Woodcock', 'Gibson' and 'Smith'.
'Scillonian' status includes several eagerly sought after advantages and privileges which may account for the large number of mainlanders or 'outsiders' queueing up to marry into 'Scillonian' families (and there are only about 50 of them). Perks include the right to name a rock or even an island after yourself (eg. Great Smith, Little Smith, Jacky's Rock, Taylor's Island etc., the right to sit down in the Mermaid pub and 10% discount at 'The Foredeck'. clothes shop.
It's always nice to know where you stand ; and from almost anywhere you stand there are stunning views. Mrs. Sanchez and I, who had presumed we were at the bottom of the social pile, were delighted to find out that there is a class even lower than 'visitors'. 'Trippers' (trippurz) are people who come on a day trip (often having survived a 3 hour perilous sea voyage) and who aren't there long enough to spend serious money or realise that they occupy a place so so low in the Scilly pecking order. Of course, even above the Scillonians comes Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall who owns everything anyway and has the exclusive right to sell his jam and other posh grub on the islands which, sadly, has resulted in the demise of the local WI . Although everywhere comes under the ownership of the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince Charles did, once, sell the freeholds of lots of properties and land to local people and conservation trusts. I was told by a man in the Bishop and Wolf pub that he may have needed the money for an possibly expensive divorce settlement but had a spot of luck and didn't need the money after all. The entire island of Tresco has been leased to the Smith family for 180 years. They own all the property and people there and make a lot of money by charging £12.00 to look at a few flowers and bushes that you can see growing wild about the islands anyway.
It turns out that HRH lives just up the road from our B&B in St. Mary's (the biggest island). I am not allowed to divulge the name of his house, but if you look out for two big white horses' heads painted on the wall, you'll find it. We called round a few times but he always seemed to be out.
The demise of the WI Jam and Cakes Stall at St. Mary's Community Hall.
The inhabited islands are St. Mary's, St. Agnes, St. Martins, Bryher and Tresco. St. Marys is the big one (pop.1666) and is the only one with banks and proper roads. There are only nine miles of proper road on St Marys which means that in the annual Scilly Marathon competitors are allowed to run the 26.2 miles in sections of 5 miles clockwise and 5 miles anti-clockwise alternately to avoid getting dizzy. It's very difficult for the thousands of spectators, though, who can never tell who's in the lead.
There are about 600 cars on St Marys plus vans, shuttle buses,motorbikes, and golf buggies (that's about 25 yards of roads each) and they spend most of the time parked in the sun, wind and rain, quietly rotting away in the salty sea air. Every day except Sunday, most of them head down to the only main street in Hugh Town (the capital city of St. Marys) where they either park as close to the Co-op as possible or drive up and down beeping their horns angrily at the pasty faced bewildered 'trippers' who stagger about in the middle of the road recovering from sea sickness and looking for somewhere to sit down (no use trying the Mermaid) until it's time to board the Scillonian 111 for the exciting 3 hour trip back to Penzance. There are lots of cafes and restaurants to choose from and pasties can be bought almost anywhere.
Despite the Scilly caste system most islanders are very friendly, especially in the Scillonian Club which you can join for £5.00 and get £1.00 off a pint of beer. Uniquely, I believe, all the locals and even 'Scillonians' are immigrants. No-one can find any trace of their family having lived on the islands before 1700.
People have lived on Scilly even 1000s of years ago when it was one big island. It's thought that a big tsunami 'inundated' the centre of the island a long time ago and everyone who wasn't drowned left for the mainland where house and contents insurance was more readily obtainable.
The islands have been abandoned and repopulated several times by a variety of people including Romans, Saxons,Vikings, pirates, 'turks', soldiers, monks and 'exiles'. Tourism didn't really take off until the crusades and Richard 111 only valued Scilly at '40 shillings (£2.00) in time of peace and nothing (£0.00) in time of war'. The islands were a pirate base until 1549, when Elizabeth 1st. built a proper castle to ward off the Spaniards and the soldiers chased off all the buccaneers. Star Castle is now a very posh hotel with stunning views.
Stunning view from Star Castle
The Spanish Armada of 1588 visited the islands but bad weather put the 'Dons' off. The only real industry at this time was piracy or privateering, (a bit like official piracy) and probably explains why so many islanders still talk like pirates The real growth industry, apart from the ever popular 'smuggling' was 'wrecking'.
The Isles of Scilly lie very low and are surrounded by hundreds of rocks and sharp 'ledges' which easily rip out the hulls of wooden boats . Scilly was often the first land sighted by ships about to enter the English Channel. Very often, by the time the islands came into sight it was too late to avoid the rocks. Bodies and cargoes were frequently washed up on the scenic, tranquil and unspoilt beaches There were no lighthouses there until 1680 (on St. Agnes) and navigation techniques were often crude and charts approximate. It is said that 'there is a wreck for every rock'. Even with the St, Agnes Lighthouse in place there have been over 300 wrecks recorded. The sea around Scilly is so littered with wrecks that one ship still lies on top of another and there are two ships down there with the same name (Minnehaha).
Even though the islanders did very well out of shipwrecks, 'wrecking' only refers to collecting stuff that has been washed up and not to the nefarious practice of tying lanterns to the tails of cows to make the sailors thing they were near a port and steering towards the welcoming rocks and almost certain death. There is a local proverb that says, ' For one who dies a natural death nine are drowned' .St Agnes lighthouse was lit by a coal burning 'cresset' or brazier which had to be kept burning brightly. If the light became dim or went out, ships could go the wrong way and end up wrecked. Someone called Heath wrote in 1750 that the fire may even have been left to go out on occasions or not even lit on purpose!!
We pray O Lord, not that that wrecks should happen,
But that, should they happen,
Thou wilt guide them to these islands
For the benefit of the poor inhabitants.
goes a Scillonian prayer.
There is even a patron saint of shipwrecks; Saint Warna who lures ships onto the rocks for the benefit of the locals/Scillonians. St. Warna's Well is to be found on St Agnes. She's still pulling them in, too. The last 'good wreck', as the locals called it, was the Cita which ran aground in March 1997. The most famous was the 'Association' which hit the Gilstone Ledges in 1707. All 739 crew members drowned including the captain, Sir Cloudesley Shovel who was washed ashore, some say still alive, and found dead with his emerald ring missing from his finger. The stories implicating a local woman in his death and the theft were never proved.
Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel
During English Civil War 1642-51 Scilly saw a lot of excitement and Star Castle was a royalist stronghold for a long time. After the war things went quiet again and the castle became a popular place to send unpopular people. The first 'visitor' of this type was Dr.John Bastwick who criticised bishops and the church. He was fined £5,000, had his ears 'removed' and was sent to the Isles of Scilly for 3 years where his mutilations rendered him unable appreciate the tranquility or, indeed, to enjoy the stunning views because he could not stop his hat from falling over his eyes.
After a week in the metropolis Mrs. Sanchez and I spent a few days on St. Agnes which is peaceful and picturesque and has a pub called The Turks Head. We were delighted to find that our surname is,in fact, an old Scilly name and the pub has a bench inscribed with our name.
The lovely Mrs. Sanchez on 'our bench' in The Turk's Head.
And finally a few words in praise of the pasty. In my view a good pasty can take on all comers in any pastry enclosed ready to eat meal contest. Unfortunately, like its close cousin from 'up country', the pie, there is no shortage of poor, almost inedible exemplars. A good pasty (we like to call them 'Cornish' but they have some good 'uns in Devon too) can take on the best (eg.a Holland's meat pie). Scilly makes some of the best pasties The best of the best used to be made by Julia who supplied The Turks Head pub back in the 90s. Now my vote goes to Badcocks Home Made Pasties which are sold from the back of a car at 9.15 am. in the centre of Hugh Town. I bought one on Monday morning; a bit pricey at £3.95, it was the best I've tasted since my first Ivor Dewdney's in Exeter in 1968. Unfortunately they are in short supply and sell out quickly. For six more days I turned up at the appointed time in the advertised spot clutching my 3 pound coins but Mrs. Tracy Badcock did not show up.
A Tracy Badcock pasty
'Always leave them wanting more'
PT Barnum and Tracy Badcock.(possibly)
July 28th. 2014.
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