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“Our Views Are Clear.”
Winter 2012
VOLUME 6.5
THE TRESCO TIMES STILL FREE AND STILL MAKING SENSE OF SCILLY
Plane Sailing To Tresco In 2013
As part of a brand new ticketing system, Tresco’s guests will now be able to take advantage of a bespoke service that will allow for an all-in-one ticket which will see them from their departure airport (Exeter, Newquay or Land’s End) to their cottage door on Tresco. Only tickets booked through the Island Office will include all island transfers between St Mary’s airport and Tresco. Prices start at £150 for an adult return from Land’s End.
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With the closure of the direct helicopter route, Tresco, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company and Bryher Boat Services have removed all the logistical niggles to leave you with a smooth and seamless journey to wherever you are staying on Tresco. Read more inside...
Tresco and Bryher Food Festival
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Insular Things
Royal Jubilations!
The Isles of Scilly were treated to a Royal visitation by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.
Their focus was on the islands of St Mary’s and Bryher, which allowed for a contingent of Tresco’s gig rowers to make the arduous voyage over to our neighbour’s fair shores. The Duke and Duchess’ first stop on Bryher was at the newly-refurbished Sussex gig
shed, now home to Tresco and Bryher’s premium racing gig, the Alfie Jenkins. Here they had the opportunity not just to appreciate all the new information boards but also to meet some of our heroic rowers.
The occasion was noted for the variety of choice footwear on display, in particular Jake Newton’s yellow wellies. The Press made much of the fact that the Duchess preferred to dispense with shoes altogether, a fashion tip she clearly picked up from Michelle Oyler.
Many belated congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Watkins! Mark, Sous-chef at the Flying Boat Club and island girl Becky (nee Brint), Reservations Manager, were married in Cape Town on Tuesday 24th January 2012. Bride and groom arrived at the beach in a 1947 Rolls Royce.
Rebecca was given away by her father, Stuart Brint, who many readers will remember as Tresco’s heliport manager. Present also at the wedding were Becky’s mother Fran Brint, daughter of Roger and Ann Oyler and ex Abbey gardener, and aunt Michelle Oyler from the Timeshare Office. Lots of best wishes were received on the day from friends and family on the mainland and in Scilly.The honeymoon was spent on safari and at a hotel in the winelands sampling the food and local wines.
The school have enjoyed a busy summer with all sorts of activities from a cupcake workshop with Daisy Cupcake (aka Alison Goddard pictured above) during the food festival, a superb fundraising effort with the New Grimsby money-trail which garnered an amazing £450 to buy garden furniture for the school garden and a first aid tutorial from our very own Co-responder extraordinaire, Richard Hobbs.
From left: Andrew Hulands, Alex Christopher, Jake Newton, Jamie Parkes, HRH Duchess of Cornwall, HRH Prince of Wales the Duke of Cornwall, Connie Lawson, Michelle Oyler, Jack Carter and Kim Hopkins.
Other well-known visitors to Tresco this summer included Alex James, bassist of Britpop supergroup Blur and celebrated c h e e s e m a k e r, who, with his family, spent a week on the island in the early summer. Demonstrating that his talents go beyond musicianship and dairy products, Alex penned a delightful article in the Independent about their holiday and was fulsome in his praise of Tresco and the islands in general. If you missed it the first time, the piece is available on our website, www.tresco.co.uk (What the Papers Say), along with other recent articles from the Financial Times and the Times.
ITV’s charming culinary father and son combo, Dick and James Strawbridge, The Hungry Sailors, also paid us a visit during the Food Festival as part of three hour long programmes about the Isles of Scilly, which they were filming for their next series. Due out in Spring 2013, viewers can look forward to them making sandwiches for the cricket team, repairing a wall for the farm and helping dig up sweet potatoes in the Abbey Gardens.
There may have been a little bit of rain in the air but Tresco’s Jubilee Beacon was anything but a damp squib. Despite the poor weather, a crowd of over a hundred islanders and visitors gathered up at Dial Rocks on Monday 4th June to watch as Robert Dorrien Smith lit the 20 foot beacon. Amid cheers, hurrahs and rousing calls of “God save the Queen!”, flames quickly took hold, lighting up the hillside and providing some welcome warmth. Plenty of champagne was on offer to all present, courtesy of the Dorrien Smiths. Credit must also go to the Woodlands team who had carefully constructed the magnificent beacon, making sure that it burnt beautifully in honour of Her Majesty the Queen. Celebrations were not limited to the Jubilee Beacon - Sunday 3rd June saw a fancy dress procession led by Milly Driscoll-Johnson parade from New Grimsby to the Community Centre at Old Grimsby. Here locals and visitors gathered for a special Jubilee picnic, which was very much enjoyed by all, though the brisk north-westerly did its best to cool proceedings.
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Travelling to Tresco with Skybus An open letter from Robert Dorrien Smith to the readers of the Tresco Times. Isles of Scilly
I would like to update everyone on the proposed travel arrangements after 1st November 2012. Whilst we have explored many alternative helicopter options, I am certain that there is no financially viable rotary solution available in the short term.
Given this situation, we have therefore devised a seamless service for Tresco Estate guests, following extensive discussions with the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company / Skybus. This new system will allow us to continue to deliver the first-class experience that our visitors have come to expect, as well providing a saving on travel costs.
The Steamship Company has committed considerable investment to expand and improve their capabilities, not least a new terminal building at Land’s End, new Twin Otter aircraft and a major refurbishment of the Scillonian III. In addition, the Isles of Scilly Council has applied for ERDF funding to carry out significant improvements to St Mary’s airport, runways and terminal building, as well as electronic landing systems which will greatly improve access in adverse weather conditions. These works should be complete by early 2014.
We will all miss the luxury of Europe’s only scheduled helicopter passenger service. For the past 30 years, we have been looked after so well by all the helicopter staff, both in Penzance and Scilly. They have provided a dedicated and friendly service: we wish them all the very best in the future. I would also like to thank so many of our visitors for their support, loyalty and unselfish regard for the issues facing our island community during this transitional period. I have complete confidence that the new system will serve us extremely well. The Isles of Scilly are the only remote part of the United Kingdom that receives no revenue support for the cost of travel. This remains the core issue confronting the islands and their communities. We are addressing this at the highest ministerial level, drawing attention to the obvious comparator of the Scottish islands.
Many Tresco guests have asked what they can do to help. I think that one answer would be for everyone who minds about Scilly and the viability of its community to write to their MP, expressing their concern at the inequality of this treatment. yours sincerely
Robert Dorrien Smith
Exeter
Newquay
Land’s End
Return from Land’s End Adult - £150 Child - £118 Flight time - fifteen minutes. ............. Return from Newquay Adult - £190 Child - £150 Flight time - thirty minutes. ............. Return from Exeter Adult - £240 Child - £190 Flight time - one hour.
Seamless To Tresco: choose the “car to cottage” ticket to take you from three mainland airports all the way to your holiday accommodation, including all island transfers, when booked through the Island Office.
The ticket price includes all transfers within Scilly, such as taxi-bus to the quay and boating to Tresco. At every stage of their journey on the islands, guests will be assisted by Tresco Estate staff or contractors.
This “car to cottage” ticket is only available when booked through The Island Office.
For more information or to book please call us on 01720 422849 or visit www.tresco.co.uk
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Tresco Triathlon 2012
After Tresco’s cricketing generation game, the teams warmed down in the clubhouse.
Tresco & Bryher Cricket Club concentrate on the taking part.
Tresco & Bryher Cricket Club have not had the most outstanding of seasons in terms of victories (it took us until August to win our first match) but it has certainly been a very enjoyable summer. The general air of bonhomie was on display recently in two inter-Tresco games. This week saw Tresco’s Old Gentlemen’s XI play the Young Gentlemen’s XI. The contest was the idea of gardener David Hamilton, whose two sons, Hamish and Luke, are key members of the Tresco & Bryher XI. To qualify for the Old Gentlemen, players had to be over the age of 40 and possess at least one fully-functioning limb. Some of Tresco’s finest came out of retirement to grace the field, most notably wicket-keeping legend, Bill Pritchard. In fact, 5 members of the OG’s could just about remember winning the Island Triangle Tournament together 20 years previously! The Old Gentlemen batted first, with an excellent performance from opener Steve Parkes, battling cameos from Dean Whillis and Neil Barbary and a splendid 38 not out from skipper David Hamilton. The OG’s total after 20 overs was 126 for 5. Some fine boundaries were struck by the OG but the loudest cheers were for the odd occasions when their batsmen actually managed to complete two runs off a single ball. The standout bowler for the Young Gentlemen was Luke Hamilton who took three wickets for 14 runs. Luke also took the catch of the season to dismiss Dean Whillis. The Young Gentlemen started steadily in reply but began to rack up some serious runs once Jon Taylor came to the crease. He scored a quick-fire 30 before being bowled by Dean Whillis’ first ball, much to the delight of the Timeshare Manager. After Jon’s dismissal, the YG began to struggle with the run rate, not least due to some fine bowling from Dean, who ended the match with 4 wickets for 5 runs from his 4 overs. The other highlight was a father/son tussle which ended with
Parkes Snr clean bowling Parkes Jr. The YG’s last batsman was bowled out in the final over, with the team’s total at 88. We all then repaired to the New Inn for the presentation of the cup and the awards for Men of the Match. The OG’s Man of the Match was Dean Whillis and for the YG’s it was Luke Hamilton. Everybody agreed that the match should become an annual fixture, more drinks were ordered and things got a bit blurry. Despite the beer, it was a very memorable occasion‌not least because the Timeshare Manager won’t stop reminding us all that he was OG Man of the Match. A week or two earlier saw the annual Islanders vs. Timesharers match. The Timesharers batted first and scored 94, the result of a superb innings by opener Hugo Sells who scored 44 before being bowled by Simon Sandison. A good opening partnership for the Islanders and another quickfire blast from John Taylor saw them make the total in the 18th over. Once again we all retired to the New Inn for beer, the awarding of the Wilson Trophy and general merriment.
From left: Ali and Paul Wilson hand over the Wilson Cup to T&B skipper Jon Taylor after the annual Timeshare vs Islanders cricket match, first instituted by Paul Wilson.
Probably the island’s most romantic gesture this year was delivered with aplomb by Giles Ashford. Giles, who has been visiting Tresco since the age of four, travelled all the way from Perth Australia where he currently lives, to propose to his girlfriend Laura Phillips in Tresco Abbey Gardens on July 5th. Giles and Laura announced their engagement that evening in the Flying Boat Club. The couple plan to return to marry on the Scilly next year. Many congratulations to you both!
A third of a mile swim, a twelve mile cycle and then a three mile run was the challenge offered by the Tresco Triathlon this year. Amongst the thirty eight competitiors there was only room for one winner...step forward our very own Graham “The Bike� Clegg, who stormed home in the splendid time of 1hr 12mins 45secs. Graham seemed typically underwhelmed by his victory, especially as in his very first triathlon he beat into second place hardened triathlete, Mark Worledge. Scilly had first with the ladies as well with Ruth Nicholls of St Mary’s. The events organiser Pete Marshall (pictured above presenting Graham with his trophy) and all the volunteer stewards deserve considerable praise for the success of the event. Anyone inspired to enter in 2013 should contact Pete for details - pete@trescotriathlon.co.uk.
Eddie’s Tours have been a notable success this summer most particularly the £350 that they have raised for the RNLI. Eddie will continue to offer his informative tours of Tresco over Christmas and will start again in February. Well done Ed!
The Editor was delighted to have the opportunity to catch up with one of Tresco’s most dedicated visitors. Mrs Hurle-Hobbs who first visited Tresco with her husband the year that the Island Hotel opened in 1962, making the trip from Petersfield in their own boat . Mr Hurle-Hobbs had known Tom Dorrien Smith in the Royal Navy during the war. Mrs Hurle-Hobbs has visited nearly every year since and was one of this island’s first timesharers. She fondly recalled friendships with the Hamiltons and the Hodgsons, as well as holidays in the Island Hotel. “It was like a big house party with mystery barbecues and tea at King Charles’ Castle. I always enjoyed entertaining guests at the cottage but I always liked a week in the hotel afterwards to recover!� Tresco looks forward to your return, Mrs HurleHobbs!
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Tresco & Bryher Food and Drink Festival 2012 A celebration of the very best in local produce, producers, chefs and suppliers took place on the weekend of 15th -16th September on the islands of Tresco and Bryher in The Isles of Scilly. More than 20 producers came together as part of the first Tresco & Bryher Food & Drink Festival. Throughout the day on the Saturday the foodie spotlight was on Tresco. Visitors enjoyed browsing around an array of food and beverage stalls and sampling tasty local treats. In addition, festival-goers enjoyed a wine masterclass from
top international wine-makers as well as workshops in focaccia – making, cupcake decorating and cocktail mixing Highlights throughout the day also included a special Tresco beef lunch menu at the New Inn pub, and a gourmand evening at the chic Flying Boat Club with a seven course tasting menu – each course specially prepared by a different island chef, accompanied by individual wines selected by winemakers from New Zealand and Australia. On Sunday, the foodie focus turned to Bryher where the culinary cele-
brations continued. A Harvest Festival in the morning launched the day’s gastronomic delights. Throughout the rest of the day, visitors were treated to a number of delicacies including locally made fudge from Veronica’s Farm, Bryher-baked speciality breads and authentic Mexican cooking. The event proved such a success that the dates are set for next year. 14th-15th September 2013 will see the 2nd Tresco and Bryher Food Festival. For more information or for special Food Festival holidays, please call us on 01720 422849.
Clockwise from top right: Cakes and Ale with workshops from Daisy Cupcake and tastings from Ales of Scilly; crab and lobster from the Penders of Bryher; cheese from Tresco Deli with Helen Venning of Newlyn Cheese; wine masterclasses with Iain Riggs of Australia’s Brokenwood vineyards and the creamiest ice cream with Sam Hicks of Troytown Farm, St Agnes.
Tresco - The Best of British Beef
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!
One shining example of local produce which was at the heart of the Food Festival was our very own Tresco Beef. Given their surroundings, their diet of rich island pasture and the dedication and expertise Tresco’s farmer Paul Christopher and his team, it comes as little surprise that Tresco beef is known on the island for its tenderness and superb flavour. This year it seems that Tresco beef’s renown has spread to the mainland. Bullocks from Tresco are sent to Truro market every few weeks and in the past 12 months, they have been top in the class at Truro’s livestock market. Paul Christopher commented: “I’m thrilled to bits. We always knew that both the animals and the beef were very good but it’s very rewarding to see that the market agrees! Our current bull, Del-boy, is a pure Limousin pedigree and he’s helped steadily improve the herd.”
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Birdman David Rosair asks the question “Is it better to visit Scilly for birds in the Spring or the Autumn”?
From mid September through to the end of October, there are surprises around every corner. I can vividly recall last September when we visited Bryher and walked slowly up towards Shipman Head Down, when a smallish dark grey and brown bird with a longish tail flew across our path and landed on the stone wall 20 yards in front of us. “Wryneck” I exclaimed. Well, what a view! The bird, probably recently arrived from the Continent and making its way south to Africa, spent a few minutes probing into the cracks of the wall for insects, occasionally looking up and turning its head in a peculiar fashion, which quickly made me recall its appropriate Latin name Jynx torquilla. The strange Nightjar-like cryptic colourations and unobtrusive behaviour added to the overall beauty of this very special migrant bird. Later the same week and with the tide just about high, we visited the Great Pool on Tresco to search out any newly-arrived waders. From the Swarovski Hide a small mixed flock of Redshank and Greenshank were already roosting on the stones in the far right hand corner of the Pool, with several birds also wading around and feeding in
the shallow water, their dull greenish legs tinged yellow evident in the bright morning sunlight. Amongst them however, was a smaller, neater wader with much brighter yellow legs, the darkish upperparts neatly spotted and fringed whitish – a superb Lesser Yellowlegs, a vagrant shorebird from North America.
A final “Autumnal Moment” I must just recall was when walking back along Pool Road when we came across a handsome Redstart flitting along the path in front of us, revealing its diagnostic fiery orange tail. It then landed briefly in a small Sycamore tree alongside a Pied Flycatcher which made several sallies to catch insects ready to stock up for its long journey south. Just as we were leaving a Whinchat also landed on the fence post adjacent the Sycamore tree, its distinct buffy supercilium and spotted upperparts clearly separating the species from its commoner congener the Stonechat which we had been watching earlier in the gorse bushes behind the AbbeyPool.
So Yes, Autumn is a better time to visit, or is it? It’s late April, 06.30 outside Hell Bay, Bryher and nobody about…the Peregrine flies overhead looking for breakfast, the Cuckoo is calling from the rocks on Gweal Hill, I am counting at least ten Northern Wheatears flitting around the grassy edges of the Pool and behind them, perched on a fence post is a superb handsome male Ring
Ouzel! Out to sea, Guillemots are whizzing by, along with Gannets and a small flock of distant Manx Shearwaters, whilst down on the beach at Great Bay, a mixed flock of Turnstone, Curlew & Oystercatcher are quietly feeding amongst the seaweed. In the distance I can hear the familiar “Spring” sound of an approaching flock of migrant Whimbrel calling, their “seven note whistle”. As I stroll over to Rushy Bay to see find the diminutive Dwarf Pansy, a Holly Blue butterfly flies by, whilst several Atlantic Grey Seals poke their heads out of the water in their usual inquisitive fashion. All this before breakfast too. Later today we shall take a special boat excursion and search for Puffins. So is Autumn a better time? I’m not so sure myself! Why not come and judge for yourself. Join David on one of his Spring Tours in 2013 for “Spring Migration, Abbey Garden, Flowers & Butterflies” as follows: Sea Garden Cottages, Tresco . . . . .April 20-24 Hell Bay, Bryher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .April 24-29 New Inn, Tresco . . . . . . . . . . . . .April 29-May 4
For full details of prices and bookings please contact: David Rosair, Island Ventures Tel: 01227 793501 Email: drosair@aol.com www.islandventures.co.uk www.tresco.co.uk
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Enjoy a wonderful island Christmas on Tresco If you have yet to make your plans for Christmas and New Year, then why not come and stay with us on Tresco? The New Inn
Make your seasonal base at the island’s only pub. With 4 star accommodation, guests can stay between the 22nd – 27th December for £790 per person on a dinner, bed and breakfast rate. The cost includes return flights to neighbouring island St Marys, and onward transfers to Tresco.
If you’re at home for Christmas but want to escape for a New Year stay on Tresco there’s also a tailored break on offer. Available from the 29th December – 3rd January 2013 the package includes 5 nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast, return flights to neighbouring island, St Marys and onward transfers to Tresco, his and hers 1/2 hour treatments at the Flying Boat Club Spa, travel insurance and Flying Boat Club Spa membership. £790 per person.
Sea Garden Cottage – Sea Horse
Flying Boat Club - Endeavour
The luxurious Sea Garden Cottages feature spacious, open-plan living areas that lead onto private decks overlooking the clear Tresco waters. Rental includes access to the Sea Garden facilities (pool, jacuzzi, small gym) and the Ruin Beach Café.
How much? £2,030 per week per cottage – availability throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
A spectacular beachfront house with accommodation for up to 9 guests. A weekly stay includes access to the Flying Boat Club with members' dining room, indoor pool, spa and tennis courts.
How much? £2,575 per week per property availability throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
Farmhouse
Sleeping up to 10 guests, Farmhouse is a family friendly cottage complete with log burning stove to take the edge off the cooler evenings. How much? £1,660 per week per cottage – availability throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
The cottage rental prices outlined above include a seasonal hamper, decorated Christmas tree, linen, towels, solid fuel (where applicable) and membership of the Flying Boat Club with indoor pool, gym, spa and tennis courts.
For more information or to book please call us on 01720 422849 or visit tresco.co.uk
Colossal Holiday Prize For Your Help With Historic Colossus
Win a week’s holiday in Colossus, one of the Flying Boat Club’s beautiful cottages!
Last May, after over ten years of waiting and two hundred years underwater, the magnificent stern-figure from the wreck of an eighteenth century warship was finally put on display on Tresco. Housed in the Abbey Garden’s History Room, this extraordinary 3.3 metre relic was part of the intricately carved stern section of HMS Colossus, which sank in a storm off Samson in 1798. It has been described as the most important marine archaeological discovery since the Mary Rose. The exhibition is fully open to the public and there is no charge to view it. The cost of raising the huge carving from 12 metres below the waves, conserving the ancient
timbers and constructing the display was in the region of £110,000. This was met by the Isles of Scilly Maritime Heritage Trust. As a registered charity, its continued aim is to raise this sum by donations. So far generous contributions have provided about 30% of the final figure.
In order to revitalize the Colossus campaign, The Tresco Times is offering donors the chance to win a week’s holiday in Colossus, one of the Flying Boat Club’s beautiful cottages. Colossus can sleep up to 10 guests in a high degree of comfort and style, with its beachfront chic interiors and spectacular views.
To enter the Colossus Prize Draw, all you have to do is call Michelle at the Island Office 01720 424076 and make a donation of £10 or more by debit or credit card. Michelle will take your details and your name will be entered in the draw. The lucky winner’s name will be drawn on 1st November 2013. Donate over £1000 and your name will join the other Colossus donors on a commemorative slate which will hang by the exhibition itself.
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Old Moore on Tresco Death, Espionage and a Buddhist Monk
Watercolour by Osbert Moore from Racket Town cottage.
In the last issue of the Tresco Times, the readers were introduced to John Edmund Sharrock Moore (1870 – 1947), a naturalist and explorer of Central Africa in the late Victorian period and for over twenty years a resident of Tresco, where he is still remembered as Old Moore. His portrait hung for many years in the old Island Hotel’s Quiet Room, whose original structure was once his home. Old Moore arrived on Tresco in the 1920s with his wife Heloise and possibly their son Osbert, who was born in 1904. As was mentioned previously, Old Moore had come into a considerable inheritance in 1908, allowing him to withdraw from all his professional obligations and scientific research. The family disappears from view for nearly 20 years before resurfacing on Tresco. Along with this portrait and series of watercolours that hang in Racket Town Cottage,
Old Moores portrait that once hung in the Island Hotel.
the only other evidence of the family’s presence on Tresco is to be found in the churchyard. Close to the western end of St Nicholas’ Church stands an angled gravestone, more akin to standing stone than a traditional headstone. The weather-worn inscription reads: “In memory of Heloise, daughter of Osbert Salvin of Hawkesfold Sussex and wife of John Edmund Shorrack Moore who died 4 Nov 1927. Nonextinguetur innocte lucerna eius.” Evidence suggests that the inheritance had been spent and with Heloise in poor health, the Moores turned to the Dorrien Smiths. At that time, Tresco was under the care of Major Arthur Dorrien Smith, whose wife Eleanor was a cousin of Heloise. Exactly when the Moores arrived on Tresco is hard to say but it was certainly Old Moore’s home from 1927 to his death in 1947. Old Moore is still fixed in the memories of some of Tresco’s older residents. Both Nonie Handy and Gloria Lawry recall Old Moore bringing to the island the first black man they had ever seen, the cause of some consternation amongst the island children. From Nonie and Gloria’s childhood recollections, it would seem that he was some sort of valet to Old Moore and was also an evangelical Christian who led prayer meetings on the island. Old Moore was a keen patron of the New Inn and would pretend to try and hook the children’s legs with his walking stick on his way home. During his time on Tresco, Old Moore wrote and published a book in 1934 called Five Foolish Virgins. It is a genuinely strange book, mixing elements of autobiography and fact with imaginative fancy, humour and a dash of magical realism. The book begins on Tresco with dinner at the Abbey with the Dorrien Smiths, after which Old Moore takes a moonlit stroll up to the monument where he considers his life and the roles that women have played in it. The title of the book is hinted at thus “Think of
the parson who got so verbally mixed up that his sermon ended, “ And now brethren, which will you do – will you watch with the wise virgins, or sleep with the five foolish ones?”…” A nod too, perhaps to the inscription on his wife’s grave Her lamp shall not be put out in the night. There is no mention in Five Foolish Virgins of the Moores’ son, Osbert, who was 23 at the time of his mother’s death. If Old Moore is a fascinating personality, Osbert is truly an enigma. Almost everything that is known about Osbert Moore comes from Friends Abroad by Maurice Cardiff. This book recounts his memories of such luminaries as Patrick LeighFermor, Peggy Guggenheim and Freya Stark but the final chapter is dedicated to the odd and intriguing story of Osbert Moore. Even in this extraordinary company, Osbert stands out.
Heloise Moore’s gravestone on Tresco.
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Little is known about Osbert’s early life, other than his formal education was fairly sketchy. His natural facility for languages, particularly French and Italian, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity meant that he was sufficiently equipped to study modern languages at Oxford. Cardiff first meets him in 1934 at Beckley Hall, near Oxford. He describes a tall, quiet young man, referred to by all as Bertie, with a seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of all things from antique furniture to topiary. Osbert teaches himself the harpsichord in a few months with no prior musical knowledge; he learns fluent Turkish from a book and seems to pick up landscape painting with oils instinctively. He can fix anything he puts his mind to from 18th century barrel organs to early automata. Cardiff finds him a thoughtful, meditative and detached. Occasional trips to Tresco are mentioned, in particular by one friend who Osbert and Old Moore managed to terrify with a perilous sailing trip With the outbreak of the Second World War, the impoverished Osbert joined the army. Despite his degree, he signed up in the ranks and found himself in an anti-aircraft regiment. The War Office had need of his linguistic talents and swiftly transferred him to an Intelligence Corps officer-cadet training camp, from where he was sent to help oversee Italian internees in a camp on the Isle of Man. In 1944, he was posted to Italy and into the shadowy world of espionage and sabotage, a world Osbert described as “…resulting from the passing of armies – poverty, corruption, unscrupulous exploitation, plotting, denunciation and, worse than all, enjoyment in these things.” Cardiff describes how Osbert and two other British officers have “…the pick of the big game in spyhunting…” in Allied-occupied Italy. For many years previously, Osbert had become increasingly interested in spiritual matters and meditation and was developing an affinity with Buddhism. As if in direct opposition to the dark new surroundings in which he found himself, this interest in Buddhist teachings grew in its intensity. It was an interest shared by a brother Intelligence officer Harold Musson. The Buddhist principles that Osbert adopted were at odds morally with the military duties demanded by his position. Many of the spies and saboteurs that Osbert unearthed and captured would inevitably be put to death. The sanctity of life is a cornerstone of the Buddha’s teaching. Cardiff explains: “In the dilemma in which he now found himself, he asked to be relieved of his counter-espionage duties and followed this up with a refusal to divulge evidence, known only to himself, with regard to investigations already in hand.” For a British Army officer, these demands were not far short of mutiny and carried with them a real risk of court martial and a lengthy imprisonment, if not worse. Fortunately for Osbert, his superiors let him go and he moved back to London to work for the BBC. It was around this time that Old Moore was becoming increasingly unwell. On 15th January 1947 he died of heart failure in West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance. Osbert never returned to Tresco and when asked by the Dorrien Smiths where they should send his father’s possessions, he replied that he had no need of them and they could do with them as they wished. I have been told that Old Moore was buried beside his wife in the churchyard. He asked for no headstone to mark his grave. Towards the end of 1948, after a year of indecision, Osbert left England for Sri Lanka with his friend Harold Musson in order to study and practice Buddhism. His departure was quite sudden and he was never to return. His home was to become The Island Hermitage at Dodanduwa. Here he soon joined the monastic Theravada order, changing his name to Nanamoli. In the years to come, Osbert was to become a renowned scholar and translator of Buddhist texts, having taught himself the ancient language of Pali. He remained at Dodanduwa until his death in 1960 from a heart attack. The story of Old Moore and his son Osbert rolls across the world, from the African continent and the Mountains of the Moon to the jungles of Sri Lanka. This short account does no more than give a flavour of their extraordinary lives, a few remnants of which lie quietly on Tresco. Old Moore’s books, Cardiff’s memoir and Osbert’s posthumously published Thinker’s Notebook all offer fascinating windows in to their exploits and Buddhist monk and scholar, Nanamoli (Osbert Moore) at study in Sri Lanka. characters.
New Green Machine
As part of Tresco’s recycling and waste management system, a new rubbish van has appeared this year. In a design / conversion partnership between Nick and Alex in the engineering workshop and Andy the bin man, the green machine has proved much quieter and far more efficient than the old tractor. In addition, it actually tips, saving a great deal of time and effort in emptying the rubbish by hand. Nick Shiles, who oversees Tresco’s waste management said:
“It’s a big improvement – 90% of our rubbish collection can now be done with the green machine. We don’t get any financial support from the Isles of Scilly Council in this matter, so Tresco has to work everything out itself. This comes at some considerable cost to Tresco Estate…but at least we try to do it properly! ”
Tresco bales its metal and plastics, crushes its glass and condenses its polystyrene, with the main aim of burning as little of our rubbish as possible.
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EDITORIAL
LETTERS
THE TRESCO TIMES OUR VIEWS ARE CLEAR
The Penzance to the Isles of Scilly route, Europe’s only scheduled passenger helicopter service, has closed. Beyond the increased insularity of Tresco and annoyance of a boat trip, the wider picture involves the loss of jobs, both here and in Penzance. This affects families on Tresco. For some of those personally involved it has proved a life-changing event, while unsettling many others. The Tresco Times would like to join its readers in offering our heartfelt commiserations, sincere thanks and best wishes for their future. For a number of years, the fate of Penzance Heliport has dangled above us all like the proverbial sword of Damocles. Throughout the recent past, helicopter passengers and staff, no strangers to the problems caused by poor visibility, have found themselves in a constant fog of uncertainty and conjecture as to the long-term commitment of BIH’s owners to the route.
The sale of Penzance heliport to Sainsbury’s could only be successful if BIH management displayed a convincing appetite to continue servicing the route from another airport or heliport, be it Newquay, St Erth or anywhere else. Many were suspicious of their sincerity. Conspiring with this was increasing unreliability and cost to the passengers, all of which led to a weakened service and poor customer relations. Doubt became the common denominator of visitors, islanders and island businesses. We may have lost an important helicopter service but we have gained clarity. The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company has been looking after the islands’ transport needs for seventy-five years. It is an island business with a sense of duty and continuity: one of its founders was Major Arthur Dorrien Smith. The company is utterly confident that they will be able to meet capacity and with the “car to cottage” service that we have put in place, Tresco’s visitors can be certain of a smooth and seamless journey. You will be looked after from St Mary’s airport to your island front door.
In terms of connectivity, the focus on Newquay and Exeter airports means that, with more Skybus flights from both these hubs, the links between Scilly and other national airports in London and Manchester will be hugely improved. Investment is being made in aircraft, airport terminals and aeronautical technology at Land’s End and St Mary’s, all of which will lessen the influence of bad weather on flying. For those who prefer travelling by sea, the Scillonian III is undergoing a major refurbishment this winter.
Cost of travel and freight has been a growing issue for the Isles of Scilly’s residents and visitors. The transport challenges that have confronted us in the past twelve months have inspired some in the community to seek action on a governmental level. The formation of FRIST (Friends of Isles of Scilly Transport) is a direct response to both the expense of travel and the loss of the helicopter.
FRIST is a community and business group which is aimed at giving a voice to the people of Scilly and West Cornwall in campaigning to secure: ‘a lifeline service between the Isles of Scilly and the mainland which is reliable, at least daily all year round (except Sundays) and affordable for both passengers and freight on a similar basis to that provided for the Scottish Isles’. Discussions are already taking place on a ministerial level with the Department of Transport. The disparity between the treatment of Scilly and the Scottish Isles is simply unjust. Tresco Estate has given its backing to FRIST. All of us who have an interest in travel to and from these islands would do well to lend our support, which can be registered on the FRIST website www.frist.org.uk
Today’s reality is that the helicopter has gone. Rotary aircraft are considerably more expensive to run than their fixed-wing brethren. To buy a new helicopter of equivalent capacity to the BIH S-61 would cost the same as eight new Twin-Otter planes. Let us embrace the future.
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
A Letter from America flying Skybus.
Dear Editor, We wish to let you know that our travel to Tresco went seamlessly in spite of the helicopters not flying. The bus was waiting to take us to St Just and a wheelchair was quickly provided for me, to assist me to the aircraft. On St Mary’s, a taxi was there to convey us to the quay, with Cyclone coming around the harbour to whisk us on to Tresco. The organisation was superb and no time was lost for us from our precious vacation on Tresco. Coming as we do from Connecticut makes every minute count on Tresco. Thank you very much. kindest regards and thanks Dr & Mrs Peter Jameson. Connecticut USA
Tresco Times Reunited
Dear Editor, Denise Jeffrey’s article in the last Tresco Times included my name. The late Laurie Terry and I were godparents to Denise and Jack Jeffrey’s youngest son. I have lost contact with them and would be grateful if you could put us in touch. Some of your readers may well be interested to learn of the death of my late mother Mrs D. Tolver-Banks on 23rd September this year, aged 95. She emigrated to Australia in 1960 but had first lived on Tresco and then Bryher for a few years. I was the only one of the family who remained in England as at that time I had married Laurie Terry and had our two daughters, Deidre and Rita. yours faithfully Daphne Cordery Hailsham.
Sadness and memories from the Tresco Times.
Dear Editor, My wife and I were pioneer Tresco Timeshares, having first made an 'inspection visit' in 1981! We were met in St Mary’s by Tresco's private launch and then driven to the New Inn in style in a pony and trap. Our two young daughters were thrilled and it inspired the younger one to take her very first steps outside the New Inn ( in the steps of her father? ). We were greeted warmly by Chris and Lesley, the new landlords, and it was clear that Lesley had made a considerable sacrifice by wearing her new,uncomfortable high heels, which,after a brief, friendly chat she quickly cast aside. My wife and I still smile at the scene. How very sad to learn that she had died. John Bonney Townshill,Nurses and Snipe
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Frank Gibson 1929 - 2012 Page 11 Tresco Times
heritage of the islands as a whole. Using Frank’s own words from an interview from 2009, we pay tribute to a local hero.
“When you live on Scilly the sea is the background to everything. I specialized in taking rough seas. You might think that’s easy to do but it’s not. The light has got to be right, especially as I was doing them in black and white. You had to know things like the state of the tide…but I did it because I loved doing it. We live on an island and the sea governs you, doesn’t it? The vast majority of people who live in England do not know what the sea is like in all its moods. To my mind, it’s part of Scilly and what Matt Lethbridge and the lifeboat crews had to go out in.
It was a sad day on 17th July this year with the funeral of one the Isles of Scilly’s most well-respected and admired sons, Frank Gibson. Frank was the fourth generation of the islands’ celebrated family of photographers, the Gibsons of Scilly, and contributed hugely to their accumulated photographic legacy, as well as to the
It’s the shipwreck photographs by my grandfather Alexander and his brother Herbert that I particularly admire. They worked damned hard to get them. Any boat that gets wrecked now, a yacht or anything and I’m there whatever! When the Romanian trawler Rarau got wrecked on the Seven Stones we were the first boat there. I don’t wish for shipwrecks but if they come along, I’m ready!
Sir Harold Wilson did me a favour in one of the first years that he came down. The Times wanted a special picture of him but he’d said “I
don’t want the Press over here.” He would go to church every Sunday and read the lesson. I asked if he would allow me to take a picture of him after the service. He agreed and I thought “Well he recognizes that there’s a local boy here!” After that he used to get me to take their Christmas card family photograph, so he was very good to me and to Scilly.
Photography is about recording life. Even at my age now, it’s still a part of what I do. I got myself a little pocket digital camera, no weight to it, and I can just pop it in my pocket. And I get real enjoyment out of that, going round taking photographs of people painting their boats and all that sort of thing. It’s these things to me, that should be recorded. It’s a way of life on Scilly, that city people just do not understand. I have always thought, let’s get this all recorded. If it’s not history already, it will be soon.
When I’m gone, I don’t want a park bench with “Frank Gibson” written on it. I want people to look back at a book and say “There you are, that’s what his life was about.” I’ve never had too deep a thought about it but I’ve always thought that was the way to go” (courtesy of The Islander )
From left The gig Slippen takes a pilot out to Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Challenger; an island perspective of Harold Wilson and the national press on Samson and a portrait of Scilly’s celebrated lifeboat coxswain the late Matt Lethbridge BEM.
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!
Day trips & half day trips Birds and wildlife trips Regular ferry services Thrilling jet-boat rides Private charter Gig race trips
Isles of Scilly
For more information www.bryherboats.co.uk info@bryherboats.co.uk or to book call us on
01720 422886 FIRETHORN~ FALDORE~ CYCLONE~ HURRICANE
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New Arrivals in the Abbey Gardens Some exciting new arrivals have appeared recently in the Abbey Gardens, most notable of which are five red squirrels. Sometime, the introduction of red squirrels to Tresco has been under discussion. It has long been believed that the island could provide an ideal safe haven for this vulnerable species.
With the vital help of well-known countryman and journalist Robin Page, contact was made with the British Wildlife Centre in Lingfield, Surrey. In October, five squirrels were brought over to the island and housed by the gardens in a specially –constructed cage, courtesy of Tresco’s Engineering Dept. These Squirrelled away... will be The Nick Shiles Immigration released in Facility: Guantananutkin. the spring, at
which time it is hoped that six more squirrels will arrive. The proposed “2013 six” will constitute two breeding trios of one male and two females. These too will live in the cage initially but be released after a few months.
David Mills, owner of the British Wildlife Centre, commented:
"We are delighted to be involved in this very exciting project. It is a wonderful initiative because not only will the red squirrels be entertaining for Tresco's visitors but more importantly they will be provided with a safe breeding haven, helping to ensure their survival as a species. We thank Robin Page for his part in initiating this project and congratulate Tresco for showing the way by example in red squirrel conservation."
For more squirrel info please www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk
visit
Ill-gotten garden gains
The squirrels have already adapted well to their new surroundings and local pine cones. Mike Nelhams observed:
“We had been told that the squirrels are partial to
Bringing the Mediterranean to Britain Tresco’s Special Garden Break 2013
2013 sees the introduction of a new Tresco holiday – The Abbey Garden Special Break. Come and stay in our luxurious Sea Garden Cottages, while discovering the delights of the most extraordinary garden in the British Isles and new horticultural skills. In the expert company of Garden Curator Mike Nelhams, Head Gardener Andrew Lawson and Propagator Dave Inch, you can develop your gardening techniques and plant knowledge and return home with a bag full of seeds and cuttings for your own garden. There’ll be plenty of time for you to enjoy everything else that Tresco has to offer, such as relaxing spa treatments, fine food and breathtaking scenery, so you can take it easy as well. Monday 29th April to Saturday 4th May. Mon: Arrival – meet and greet, show to accommodation. Gather at 7pm for pre-dinner drinks with Mike Nelhams and Andrew Lawson, followed by a group dinner. Tues: 10am Meet at the Abbey Gardens for an introductory lecture with Mike Nelhams, followed by coffee and a guided tour of the gardens. Afternoon free Wed: 10.30am for Plant Propagation tutorial and practical demonstration. From seed sowing to potting up, learn all the nursery and glasshouse skills with Dave Inch, Abbey Gardens’ Propagator. 1pm. Lunch. 2pm. Beyond the garden walls: guided walk around the green shelterbelt that surrounds the garden. 3.30pm finish.
pine nuts but that our Pinus radiate cones would not be suitable. However, they have been tucking into them with relish. Once released, I hope that they will very much become part of our visitors’ experience of the Abbey Gardens. I have no doubt that by the end of next year that the squirrels will have developed a taste for Victoria sponge and flapjacks from the garden café, as well as pine nuts.” ( Squirrel images courtesy of Matt Binstead BWC)
Thurs: 10.30am for Planting and Pruning tutorial with Head Gardener Andrew Lawson – hone your practical gardening skills with an expert. Afternoon free. Fri: 10.30am for a seed and cuttings bonanza with Head Gardener Andrew Lawson. Gather your own cuttings from the Abbey Gardens and choose your own seeds from our seed store to take home with you, along with your new horticultural skills! Afternoon free Sat: Departure. Five nights dinner, bed and breakfast in a one bedroom Sea Garden Cottage with wine on the first night’s dinner; all flights and island transfers and all elements of the Abbey Garden course for £900 per person. For further info or to book please call The Island Office (01720) 422849
Propagator Dave Inch will be one of the expert gardeners sharing the tricks of the trade.
Curator Mike Nelhams is pictured above, peeking out from between two of the glorious cycads which were donated to the Abbey Gardens by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The South Africa Encephalartos plants had been seized by Customs officials after being illiegally imported into the United Kingdom. Mike was delighted with the gift and commented: “ It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good!” The plants are now firmly ensconced in a bed just below Neptune’s Steps. It is hoped that their days of travel and criminal association are now truly over.
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Rainbow House
Barbados 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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Island Signals
Page 14 Tresco Times
First with the news on Scilly Regular Tresco visitor, Professor John Salter, Master of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, sheds light on some of the islands’ lesser known historical monuments.
Our story begins with the war against France from the year 1793 or so until its conclusion with the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 . The French often wondered how it was that information and military instructions were transmitted so quickly by the British. The answer lies in the use of the shutter system erected on top of a wooden cabin or signal tower, worked by ropes with messages being passed by the ladies at assemblies using fans. Much has been written about lighthouses but not about their use as navigational aids as daymarks and as watchtowers, aided by the use of the optical telescope. The all important signal stations on the Isles of Scilly (Bryher, Tresco, St. Martin’s, St. Agnes and St. Mary’s) have hardly received a mention. The shutter system was invented by Lord George Murray and adopted by the Admiralty in 1794. The system is shown on the fan with full instructions and on an Admiralty Office bulletin from Charing Cross of March 1796. The pointed shape of the aptly named Watch Hill on Bryher was a helpful navigational aid, the hill looking rather like a pyramid, even in poor weather. It was in direct line of sight for ships approaching from the West and looked Eastwards directly over the Blockhouse on Tresco to the signal station on St. Martin’s – again a wonderful line of sight! The daymark on Watch Hill, probably first erected around 1690, has been rebuilt with modern materials, the blocks being some eleven courses high with a pointed top to aid navigation. Not much of the signal station remains to be seen on Watch Hill. This has been called “the Old Lookout”. It was a signal station of importance. It would have had a garden and animal pens. Building materials are in great demand in Bryher and stone transportation from the site was easy. Beacon Hill on Tresco, pictured below, was aptly named and plans show the location on the hill of an “Old Lookout”. The substantial foundations of the signal station’s tower survive, with signs of a fireplace in the dayroom. A separate sleeping room lies alongside. The floor of the signal station, some six feet above natural ground level, is accessed by steps. Stones lie scattered over the hill.
The second signal station of importance was constructed near to the Chapel Down daymark on St. Martin’s, using stone taken from the old church building adjoining the daymark, pictured below. Worked stones lie over the Down. The garden and animal pens can still be identified. The tower base steps and the open fire can still be seen.
.The Old Lookout on Beacon Hill, Tresco.
Watch Hill on Bryher, looking towards Tresco and St. Martin’s beyond.
The last tower of significance, hinting from its later given name at the transfer from shutter to semaphore and telegraph, is Telegraph Tower on St. Mary’s, on the highest point of the Scilly Islands, some 165 feet above sea level. It was designed in 1803 originally as a gun tower to fit in with the scheme devised by Major Daniel Lyman and erected soon after 1805. It was then used as a shutter signal tower. From the end of the war in 1815, however, it was used as a semaphore tower, being in line of sight with St. Agnes Lighthouse and the three signal stations on Bryher, Tresco (the station on Tresco had to be elevated by about six feet for this purpose) and St. Martin’s respectively.
In good weather homeward bound shipping in the 1790s, mindful of the many rocks and wrecks, could take back bearings but it was difficult to get a good fix because St. Agnes’ lighthouse was almost in line with the then signal tower in the Garrison. One wanted a third bearing and this was provided by the daymark on Bryher. The “cocked hat” thus produced by drawing in the three back bearings taken on the chart would have given a reasonable indication of position. The charts of the Scillies of that period were faultily produced and longitude, despite the growing familiarity with the use of John Harrison’s timekeepers, could still be a problem.
The signal station on the top of Watch Hill on Bryher was one of the first to pick up messages from ships approaching England from the SouthWest, transmitted by the use of flags. It was professionally manned for that purpose. A contemporary print shows that the control room (also shown on the Fan Makers’ Company’s Admiralty fan) was manned by three officers. The view from the top of Watch Hill was panoramic. Looking West one could, weather permitting, see with a good telescope the Bishop Rock (without a lighthouse at this time) and other Western rocks. Looking East one could, likewise, see the signal tower of the signal station on St. Martin’s, which is only some 18 miles from Lands End. The Murray system of communication was adopted and run by the British Admiralty from London. In 1795 the Admiralty ordered the construction of 48 new signal towers which were built along the South coast of England from Sheerness to Land’s End. Everything was centred on the Admiralty Office building at Charing Cross, the control point. The new Deal
line was completed in 1796. Nine towers comprised the new Portsmouth line also completed in1796. The Land’s End tower’s remains (described in some publications as a “look-out”) can be seen on the top of Maen Cliff, close to the Iron Age Hill Fort known as Maen or Mayon Castle. Finally in 1807 a line of 18 towers running North from Admiralty Arch to Great Yarmouth was added to complete the system.
The Murray system comprised shutters erected on a mast secured to the top of the signal tower’s cabin. It had six pivoted boards, each of which could be swivelled by ropes leading down into the cabin. Picked out by a powerful telescope each board was either edge on or fully visible. Six shutters gave a 6-bit binary code, allowing 63 non-zero states to be transmitted. Allocations thus covered the 26 letters of the alphabet, 10 numerals and useful pre-prepared messages such as preparatory signals for a forthcoming message and acknowledgements of receipt. It has been calculated that an average Admiralty Office at Charing Cross to Portsmouth message took about fifteen minutes. How long would it have taken a despatch rider on horseback to cover the distance?
Fan number 150 in the collection of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers shows an inside view of the signal station’s cabin and gives considerable information about signalling using the shutter method. English fans were very much used in communication.
News about victories on land and at sea in the war against Napoleon could now be quickly transmitted. A frigate could be dispatched from the fleet and start signalling as soon as it was in range of the Scillies. The message would be recorded and acknowledged. Bryher would repeat it to St. Martin’s who would record it and pass it on to a duty sloop midway between the signal station and the Land’s End tower. It would soon reach the Admiralty. All the principal Isles of Scilly would be kept informed of developments. They were first with the news! After the war, in 1816, the shutter system was replaced by a Chappe or semaphore type Electric telegraph systems gradually took over, boosted from 1835 with the invention of the Morse Code by Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872).,
The Signal Station on St. Martin’s, in use until 1810.
A fan from the collection of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers illustrating a signal station.
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3 1 W E 0 Skybus flights and transfers to the N R2 FO
Island of Tresco a seamless service In partnership, Skybus and Tresco have created an all-in-one “car to cottage” ticket, offering a seamless service for Tresco’s guests. The ticket price includes all transfers within Scilly, such as taxi-bus to the quay and boating to Tresco.
TRESCO FLIGHT PRICES Return Skybus flights and transfers.
nd Land’s E
£150
Exeter
£240 Newquay
£190 Prices are per adult return, call for child prices.
To book call Tresco or visit their website
01720 422849 tresco.co.uk
Cruise from Penzance or Fly from Land’s End • Newquay • Exeter
IOSTravel
Isles of Scilly Travel
ATOL exempt. Terms and conditions apply to all offers