Tuesday has brought rising temperatures reaching 22o as the afternoon approached. A beautiful day to be going out and a beautiful day to be out at sea. My good friend Piccallilli Peasegood,finding herself with a day to spare, due to Dingley Dell Academy being closed for an essential repair, has agreed to take the ferry with me to the Isle of Mikkelbark. We had a late breakfast and a giggle at the Buttercup Bistro, before making our way to the ferry. Piccallilli's scrambled egg parfait and my hot berry souffle with honey toast really hit the spot and we settled back in two charming window seats to finish our acorn brew and catch up with news. To be honest I know when I meet Piccallilli that she will tell me the truth,even though she knows how much I loved the old Academy, and how much it hurts me to hear how the present Head Teacher is letting standards drift. "We all really miss you ",she said for at least the tenth time since I retired. "Everything seems wrong there now, without you. Nothing is any better. The longer he's in charge,the more everyone feels that something needs to change, and no one knows what to do. He just won't listen." I understand what she means,because that is really why I left. Months and months of trying to help,and trying so hard to sort things,but going to bed at night,knowing that nothing seemed to make any difference, and not being able to sleep,although I was completely emotionally exhausted.
Seeing the slightly guilty look appearing on my face, she hastily said,"No one blames you. They all understand why you went, and they all hope you are having the kind of life they all wish they had".
Piccallilli brought the smile back with a cheery hug and a gently delivered "It's not your worry any more". I changed the subject with a speedy request to know what was happening on the "affair front". How were our dear Chief Catering Officer,Dolores Dinkweed, and the caretaker Ferrungus Belch getting on, or off as the case might be ?
Piccallilli put on her gossiping hat at this point,bending closer to my left pointy ear in a small bid to be discreet. Unfortunately she delivers at twenty decibels ,so all tables within fifty feet would be included in the secret. "Well",she said, Dolores is back at work,telling everyone who will listen,that the story circulating about her infidelity, is a pack of lies. She would never do anything to upset her current paramour, Nooksmith Dinkweed, even if he is a notorious drinker and chaser of elven skirt. She cries at the drop of a hat", said Piccallilli, but is still being seen sneaking into the caretaker's lair when she thinks no one has clocked her. As for the bold Ferrungus, he is a broken boggart, still wearing sackcloth and ashes and a huge board round his neck,declaring "IT WISNAE ME." At this,I am sorry to say,we both dissolved into hysterical laughter, for which we should be thoroughly ashamed. Piccallilli always cheers me up, she is a much better story teller than I , on every occasion.
We found a long queue forming as the ferry boat "The Lass of the Loch" moored at the pier. We found two seats to the rear of the ferry,so that we could capture all the delights of the Big Water with our digital picture snappers. It was so beautiful to be out on the water. The sky was a perfect blue behind a thin film of fluffy whiteness. A gentle breeze blew round our shoulders as we soaked up the sun. We approached the Isle of Mikkelbark , followed by flocks of seabirds coming in to land on the surrounding rocks. Families of seals basking in the warmth of the day, rose and waddled to the shoreline as the ferry boat came in to moor. The master of the boat passed us on his way to the prow, bucket in hand. We watched as he lobbed the bucket full of fish scraps into the grey water and in the direction of the blubbery hord es.Some caught the fishy meal in the air,others dived down into the watery abyss,and returned with the fishy spoils in their mouths. Piccallilli and I watched this with somee excitement and no small pleasure.
Once on shore we undertook a mile long walk round the isle,studied the half ruined outhouses,long since abandoned, and sat on a delicious grassy knoll,studying the bird life and dipping into our packed lunch knapsacks and flasks of nettle tea.The Isle of Mikkelbark is a natural beauty spot, with only the grassy element having been scythed to make sightseeing easier. We picked from clumps of gorse, and rosewood blossoms,bluebells and celandines,wild daisies and thyme.Piccallilli packed bunches into her empty knapsack to show the children back at the Academy. We returned to the ferry at three precisely,and enjoyed a slightly cooler but just as pretty sail back to Dingley Dell Pier.I said goodbye to Piccallilli Peasegood in the four wheeled carrriage holding area, and thanked her for her company on such a wonderful day out.I cannot be certain,but I thought I spotted a tiny tear escape from her eye, as she hugged me tight. "I'll see you soon,"I said. "Take good care, and may all your days be such happy and exciting ones."
I waved as she drove off in the cooling of the day. Such friends are hard to find and must never be forgotten. I mentally made a note to find another such day and time to enjoy the delights of her company in the not too distant future. Till then I have a knapsack full of blossoms and picture snappings to regale Pendragon with,over our supper.
May you all,my friends, be enjoying the fruits of a beautiful day and be relaxing in the mellowness of Maytime weather.
From Amarantha Willow,your Rainbow Faery.