A Friendly Walk

 It was a lovely April morning on the Isle of Swemmit, and Mr Ibsen Finch - scholar, gentleman, retired librarian, bear - was on his way to deliver his post just outside the village of Trosset. He had nothing on his mind except good food, good friends and good books which is always the best thing for anyone to have on their mind. He was also humming a little song to himself, one his housemate Aloysius, a parrot of no fixed breed or manners, was probably singing to himself as he prepared his lunch. Aloysius was always singing something or chatting to himself, always a bit suspicious of a bit of peace and quiet which Mr Finch always enjoyed, as it was the perfect way to enjoy a good book.

And as we shall see, Mr Ibsen Finch always loves enjoying a good book.

Anyway, on this April morning Mr Finch was half way through his song when he heard a friendly voice pipe up behind him.

"Hallo there Mr Finch!" said the voice, "wait up and I'll walk with you!"

"Why hello Mr Minton," said Mr Finch, smiling to see the small dog in the bright red hat scampering up the coastal road behind him. Mr Minton was a fisher man and gardener, but most importantly something of a dreamer and Mr Finch loved nothing more than people who were dreamers. They were his kind of people.

"Off anywhere exciting?" asked the pup.

"Just to post a letter to a friend from Yorkshire," explained the bear. "I have a lot of friends I write letters to and this is one of my favourite kinds of letter - all about books and pictures and friendly chatter."

Mr Minton thought for a moment. "I don't get many letters I think, but if I did I think I'd like them mostly to be about food. That's my favourite thing to talk about. I do like my food. Who's your friend?"

"He's one of those human types, a fellow called Mr Browning. Wants to be a writer and an artist and particularly loves books, especially picture books which happen to be some of my favourites as well. He wants to make his own. We talk a lot about them in our letters."

"What on earth is a picture book?" said Mr Minton. "A book full of pictures?"

"Yes, but usually with a story. So you might have a story about a cook or a baker making lots of food, so you'd see the food being prepared and the people about to eat it. I imagine you'd enjoy a book like that!" 

Mr Minton smiled. "Oh Yes, very much. Doesn't need to even be a story. Just looking at food will do me, although I do tend to prefer eating it."

"Well," said Mr Finch as they reached the post box, "let me post this letter and then why not come home and not only look at some food but also eat it. Aloysius has made a cake you know and everybody loves Aloysius' cakes."

Mr Minton smiled. He remembered a large fudge cake the bird had made for the St Tressop church fete a couple of years ago. That was a fine cake. "Oh that sounds lovely, thank you very much."

And as they turned home to Mr Finch's house, the bear added "And I'll show you some picture books while you're there and show you one of Mr Browning's letters."
"Will it be about food?" asked Mr Minton happily.

"I'm sure we can sort something out, yes." smiled the bear. He loved nothing more than good food, good friends and good books and any opportunity to combine all three was always excellent for him.

Swemmit Lighthouse

 One of the most unusual landmarks of Swemmit is the Swemmit Lighthouse. Built in the early 1800s by the Medwain family, it has relocated many times around the coast of the island usually settling for a couple of decades before mysteriously - and always overnight - establishing itself at a new location. Some have said the lighthouse is in some way sentient, and makes its own way to find a new home after getting bored of one view of another.

For the last thirty years, the lighthouse has most been located around the large lake at the centre of the island, Kilvert Water. It’s currently located at the edge of the woods around Temso Hall, and has settled there for the last seven years. Current Lighthouse keeper, Stinky Robards, claims that the lighthouse is in the retirement phase of its life and enjoys the less dramatic waters and more pleasing vistas of that giant lake than the constant worries about where the island will relocate to next. He is of no opinion about whether the lighthouse is sentient or not, just saying “a perambulatory building on a perambulatory island only seems right to me”

Greetings From The Island

The Island of Swemmit is hard to find if you haven’t checked the pages of Old Mantiphe’s Almanac of Swemmit recently. Since 1802 the island has committed itself to taking shifts in being off the coast of every British coastal county at least once a decade to boost tourism. This was instigated after the civil war of 1801, which wasn’t so much as a war as a bit of a scrap that lasted a morning and resulted in the ancient Swemmit royal family of the Blonwynns stepping down in favour of an elected - if somewhat eccentric - parliament. The Blonwynns still live on the island in shabby splendour just on the outskirts of the village of North Hum.

It is not a large island, or a small island, but it is - as described in the words of 18th century geographer and gadabout Dr Ephraim Pudding -  "comfortably snug". It is a mainly agricultural economy, but increasingly has become known as a tourist hotspot. This is mainly because of the notoriety of such mysteries as the wreck of the 17th century ship the Pifkyn, the haunted Medwain Abbey, the mysterious and seasonal lights and sounds over Kilvert Water and the fact the entire island is wholly populated by anthropomorphic animals, and always has been.

Think of Nutwood, but as a whole island. And stranger.

Anyway, if this has whet your appetite for more about the delightful tales of Swemmit, this blog will soon be turned over to one particular inhabitant, retired librarian Mr Ibsen Finch - a bear - who lives in Trosset on the north western side of the island. A fine and erudite gentleman, with a broad series of penpals and friends from across the world whose stories he will soon be sharing. 

In the mean time, if you're interested in reading more about this most lovely of places, I can heartily recommend Trevelyan K Spong's Visitor's Guide to Swemmit. Unavailable anyway other than the island of course, unless you happen to know the right people, but a wonderful introduction to the traditions, history and mysteries of this most enchanting of islands.