Lundy: variable
Feb. 15th, 2026 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shewhomustWe were in two minds last night over whether to watch Sailing the Shipping Forecast with the Rev. Richard Coles. On the one hand: the Shipping Forecast! On the other hand: the Rev. Richard Coles! I don't actually dislike Richard Coles as much as that might suggest (though I'd like him better if he didn't use the 'Rev.' outside a professional setting), but I have very little tolerance for travel shows with celebrity presenters...
But we watched it, and I was glad we had, because not only did it start in the sea area Lundy, it did actually visit the island of Lundy, somewhere I have never been and have not quite given up the hope of visiting.
Unusually, it managed to visit Lundy without uttering the word "puffin", though I spotted two representations of my favourite bird. One was a picture on sale in the island shop (an unexpectedly large and well-stocked establishment); the other - well, this was something new to me. In the 1920s, the owner of Lundy issued his own currency: the programme didn't mention that the coins were the puffin and the half-puffin. Nor did it mention that he was prosecuted for it, under the Coinage Act of 1870. The House of Lords found him guilty in 1931, and he was fined £5 with fifteen guineas expenses.
But you can't visit Lundy and not mention the seabirds, so instead of the eponymous puffins, the island warden took Richard Coles to see the manx shearwaters. Not just manx shearwaters, but manx shearwater chicks, which are balls of soft grey fluff, and larger than I expected: Coles was allowed to hold one, and it overflowed his two cupped hands. He was also tutored in how to imitate the call of the manx shearwater. To my delight, it sounded very much like a fairy being sick.
The Lundy segment was only a fraction of the hour-long programme - but it made the whole thing worth my time. I'd be willing to watch the episode on the Faroes, too (though I'll probably give the Isle of Wight a miss).
But we watched it, and I was glad we had, because not only did it start in the sea area Lundy, it did actually visit the island of Lundy, somewhere I have never been and have not quite given up the hope of visiting.
Unusually, it managed to visit Lundy without uttering the word "puffin", though I spotted two representations of my favourite bird. One was a picture on sale in the island shop (an unexpectedly large and well-stocked establishment); the other - well, this was something new to me. In the 1920s, the owner of Lundy issued his own currency: the programme didn't mention that the coins were the puffin and the half-puffin. Nor did it mention that he was prosecuted for it, under the Coinage Act of 1870. The House of Lords found him guilty in 1931, and he was fined £5 with fifteen guineas expenses.
But you can't visit Lundy and not mention the seabirds, so instead of the eponymous puffins, the island warden took Richard Coles to see the manx shearwaters. Not just manx shearwaters, but manx shearwater chicks, which are balls of soft grey fluff, and larger than I expected: Coles was allowed to hold one, and it overflowed his two cupped hands. He was also tutored in how to imitate the call of the manx shearwater. To my delight, it sounded very much like a fairy being sick.
The Lundy segment was only a fraction of the hour-long programme - but it made the whole thing worth my time. I'd be willing to watch the episode on the Faroes, too (though I'll probably give the Isle of Wight a miss).
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Date: 2026-02-15 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-16 11:19 am (UTC)