Waterfalls of Stars: Ten Years on Skomer Island

Product Information

When Rosanne Alexander's boyfriend Mike was offered the job of warden of Skomer, a small uninhabited island off the south west tip of Wales, they had just ten days to leave college, marry (a condition of employment) and gather their belongings and provisions for the trip to the island. This was the first of many challenges Roseanne and Mike faced during their ten years on the nature reserve, from coping with periods of isolation when they were the island's only inhabitants, to dwindling food supplies during the winter when rough weather made provisioning from the mainland impossible. Thrown on their own resources they had also to deal with catastrophes like the devastation of the island's seal colony following an oil spill.

When Rosanne Alexander’s boyfriend Mike was offered the job of warden of Skomer, a small uninhabited island off the south west tip of Wales, they had just ten days to leave college, marry (a condition of employment) and gather their belongings and provisions for the trip to the island. This was the first of many challenges Rosanne and Mike faced during their ten years on the nature reserve, from coping with periods of isolation when they were the island’s only inhabitants, to dwindling food supplies during the winter when rough weather made provisioning from the mainland impossible. Thrown on their own resources they had also to deal with catastrophes like the devastation of the island’s seal colony following an oil spill. We have always known the stars in our skies by the names traditionally given to them from Greek mythology: Martin Griffiths reveals the equally traditional names they have long held from the annals of Welsh lore, names like Blodeuwedd and Rhiannon for the Andromeda constellation, Ceffyl-Dwr and the Mount of Rhiannon for the Pegasus constellation, Sarn Gwydion for the Milky Way galaxy — and also from the fourth branch of the Mabinogion, Llew Llaw Gyffes represents Perseus, and Arianrhod is the Welsh name for the constellation Coronae Borealis. She’s honest. Even the extensive use of adjectives is part of the honeymooned lexicon which makes this story real. She does not shy away from describing the frustrations which add to the colourful tapestry of marriage. There is much joy too and an Adam and Eve feel to the narrative; a man and a woman, isolation, a beautiful but dangerous habitat, and animals galore. My favourite has to be Wellington the goat who causes them to fall now and again! The animals are never over-anthropomorphised, but we do feel that we know and care for them. The book involves us and we are as hungry as they are when they run out of food. I was heart wrenchingly gutted when the precious pear pudding was ruined or when a bird flew in through the window, leaving shards of glass in the freshly cooked pies. Rosanne Alexander was a student of wildlife illustration in Carmarthen at the beginning of her Skomer adventure. She now lives in mid Wales, having continued as an environmentalist and illustrator. Her novel, Selkie, about the life of a young grey seal, was published by Andre Deutsch in 1992.

An isolated island, a sanctuary for thousands of birds, surrounded by a wild sea — not the ideal honeymoon for a twenty-year-old bride, one would imagine. But Rosanne Alexander revelled in her new surroundings and remained on Skomer Island for ten further years with her husband Mike as warden. Martin Griffiths is well known nationally and internationally as a distinguished astronomer involved with the Dark Sky initiative especially as Director of the Brecon Beacons Observatory. His credentials, and his publications are prodigious; this new book especially endears him to Welsh hearts.

Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuthLoved this book. I lived in Marloes, so not far from Skomer. I frequently used to cycle down to Martin’s Haven as a teen. I recognised a couple of names mentioned in this book. I think the author and her husband lived on Skomer for some of the time I also lived in Marloes. I remember the divers going missing that Roseanne refers to the book.