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Tuesday 5 March 2013

A ghost in the sea?

Sunrise at Bordeaux Harbour


This exquisite sunrise was sent to me by Guernseyman Robin Banneville, a brilliant amateur photographer who captures the island just as I always remember it. The first thing I saw when I opened this photograph was a ghost staring out from the sea. Just my imagination? Maybe.

But  where would we be  without our imagination? When I was a child my parents would  take me to watch Guernsey's famous sunsets,  and afterwards I really believed that the sun had fallen into the sea.

As I grew up, the power of  make-believe  made me want to write, and thankfully nothing has changed. Children are born with an innate sense of make-believe but some are in danger of losing this ability in an increasingly computerised  world.

The lines between fact and fiction are becoming  blurred as two and three-year-olds sit in front of the screen, entertainment taking the place of  early education.

I've just discovered a wonderful children's book 'The Chimneys of Green Knowe' written in 1958 by Lucy M Boston and reprinted in 2010 by Oldknow Books. This simple story, of a young teenager sent to live with his grandmother during World War Two, was transformed for the screen by Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes.  'From Time to Time' starring Maggie Smith,  and featuring Hugh Bonneville, Timothy Spall,  Dominic West and Pauline Collins is one of the most moving adult films I have ever seen.

'Don't tell fairy stories,' my mother used to say when I was  sparing with the truth.

I'm glad I didn't listen.

 




Thanks, Robin...


 

4 comments:

Elaineyross said...

How beautiful the pictures are, not just to look at but because they encourage us to use that wonderful tool - our imagination. I love fairy tales myself and regularly tell my granddaughter all sorts of harmless nonsense. Hopefully, when she grows up, she'll look back fondly on the stories that I've related to her and maybe even pass them to the next generation. Why not?

Guernsey Girl said...

I hope so Elaine - not just because you have a beautiful granddaughter, but because the relationship between the two of you is surely one of the most precious you will ever have?

Linda Mitchelmore said...

Oh, Marilyn, this is a lovely post. And fab pictures, but it is the words that do it for me. My daughter is holding off having a computer so my grandson is one of those rarities who doesn't sit playing computer games. I don't know how much longer she can hold off before he is compromised amongst his peers but.....he does have a wonderful imagination...:)

Barbara said...

Beautiful photos, thank you for sharing.
The Chimneys of Green Knowe has been on my must read list for ages – now I really must read it!