Postcard 76: Save my Seal (please)!

Mother and Pup, photographed near St Davids a year ago

This is the last call for any kind person to cast a vote for my seal poem (a Lilibonelle) about the Pembrokeshire coast. My poem has been submitted to the Writelink Grape and Grain Poetry Contest.

You can cast a vote here (and you will find other contending poems by following the link below my poem - 'show all poems'. You may prefer to vote for these instead - or as well). 

The polls close on 30 September, so the clock is ticking!

Postcard 76: Not quite Moby Dick...

Heading back to Greenwich on The Thames Clipper
from the O2
(May 2010)

It was only yesterday that I was blogging about my early visits as a baby and toddler to the squirrels in Greenwich Park. I have been back to Greenwich many times, and feel a strong connection with the area. I love to take the Thames Clipper from the London Eye, and approach Greenwich by water. You get a good view of the Naval College, the Maritime Museum and the Park, with its Meridian. Sadly the Cutty Sark is not on show at present, but restoration work is underway. However, the current headline story relating to Greenwich concerns not a small grey mammal but a Leviathan-sized skeleton.

Drawing out of Greenwich
on the Thames Clipper

The Moby Dick-like tale relates to Bay Wharf in Greenwich and the recent finding by archaeologists, working for Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited, of a colossal North Atlantic Right Whale from north Atlantic waters, probably in the areas between Spitzbergen and Greenland. I am grateful to the History Blog for alerting me to the sad, sad story of this 200 year old headless corpse of a creature that died at some point between the age of 50 and 100. The remaining skeleton weighs in at 60 tons and is a mere 52 (Imperial) feet long. It seems to have fallen foul of whalers and their harpoons. Whales were prized in the 17th and 18th centuries for their oil, and the word 'right' in the name indicates that whales of this species provided quality oil for lamps, soap-making and industry. Whale bone was used for corsets.

Can a sad story like this have any kind of happy ending? Please note, I have NO wish to endorse the killing of whales. Those who follow my blogs will know the immense pleasure I get from watching creatures like Basking Sharks in their natural habitats. However, this sad mammal is already well and truly dead. DNA tests on its skeleton will help scientists in their quest for knowledge about the genetic diversity of this particular Right Whale. It will also help to fuel our understanding of the negative impact of whaling in terms of the future survival or otherwise of a particular species. Perhaps the discovery of 'Moby' will challenge us all to reconsider the part we can play in protecting creatures at risk.

The London Eye,
where we caught the Thames Clipper

'Like the creature in Herman Melville's novel,
it was a giant whale of great age.'

David Keys,
The Independent

• 'Moby' in Time Magazine
• and in The Independent

Postcard 73: All at Sea ...

Puffins again!

A year ago I much enjoyed reading Sea Room, a book about the Shiant Islands by Adam Nicolson, who inherited the small archipelago from his father. Those who follow my blog posts will not be surprised to learn that the Puffins were among the star members of the cast for me - all 240 000 of them. It came as something of a shock, though, to read that some of these Amber Conservation Status birds ended up - and not so long ago - as food for humans.



Last month, we spent a happy afternoon at the Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir on Skye [above]. This fabulous museum is situated between Flora MacDonald's grave and the cool waters of the Minch.*




The visibility was quite good on the day of our visit: we watched a Golden Eagle hovering above us in the distance, and noticed some very strange landforms out at sea.



We looked at our map and discovered that these islands, a mere 12 miles from our shore, were indeed the Shiant Islands.

Above: the stone in the foreground is on Skye.
The Shiants are in the middle distance.
Harris lies beyond.

Above: close-up of the Shiant Island rock structure,
with steep column-like cliffs.

The islands consist of columns of Dolerite, and geologically are more akin to Staffa [of Fingal's Cave] than to the plethora of rock types found on Skye. They are home to huge colonies of Black Rats.

It may only be early August, but already the trees are turning here in South Wales, and there are signs of autumn. I have just read the update on the Skomer Island blog, informing us that following the fledging of this year's Pufflings, members of the Puffin colony have already left their island off the coast of Pembrokeshire for their winter voyage. You can read about them here. I find it incredible to think of these birds travelling so far north ... and then south again!


* On a previous visit we witnessed a scene of the purest light we have ever seen. It may not have been the aurora borealis, but it was the next best thing.

• Great photos of the Shiant Islands scenery
• Bird art from Romania - a lovely blog [and the illustration made me smile!]
• Rats at natural World Heritage sites
  

Postcard 70: St Govan's Chapel

Guillemot colony at Stack Rocks
near St Govan's
on the Castlemartin Range, Pembrokeshire

St Govan's Chapel
tucked in its rocky cleft
(click to enlarge)

Stack Rocks
near the Green Bridge,
Castlemartin Range
(click to enlarge and spot the Guillemot colony)

We spent the Bank Holiday in fine sunshine on the Pembrokeshire cliffs, here at St Govan's Chapel. It is a favourite haunt. Some people believe that it is the final resting place of Sir Gawain.

We failed to spot any seals today, but the flowers - including the Green Winged Orchids - were a delight. There were scores of bees and butterflies.

Some years back I took part in a Disability Arts Cymru project, which resulted in the publication of an anthology called Hidden Dragons | Gwir a Grymus (edited by Allan Sutherland and Elin ap Hywel, Parthian Books).

My poem, 'St Govan's Chapel' features in the book. It was later selected for inclusion in an Arts Council Wales report (Moving Beyond: an Arts & Disability Strategy for Wales p.7), which is online. You can follow my link through to read it here.