Thursday, October 20, 2011

I Left My Heart in a Victoria Magazine

Oh, yes I did! I was just drifting through this old issue, reading articles (how can we call them articles? From the original Victoria, they were more like works of art!) that I'd read before and before ...
 ...When my eyes fell on this:  The Isle of Sark.

Where has this enchanted place been all my life? Waiting silently in the English Channel for me to find it? Perhaps it's just the writer's skill, but this tiny island sounds like Paradise, like Eden. I hope I'm not blaspheming when I say that. Okay, it sounds as close to a perfect existence as this feeble, fallen, female brain can manage to imagine. There.

 It's a tiny island. You can read about it here. Three miles long. 80 miles from England; 20 miles from France. No automobiles! No paved roads. Ahhh -- doesn't that sound divine? (Oops, um, "lovely.")

There's a thin, terrifyingly beautiful road along a spine of rock, leading to the southern end of the island.
 Without cars or buses (or their attendant smells) all on the island must either: 1) walk, 2) bike, or 3) take a horse-drawn carriage.

 And to get to the island -- no planes, you know! -- there's this adorable little ferry.
 How would you like to stay in this charming hotel for a few nights?
 The clean, pollution-free air creates a perfect paradise for flowers on Sark, and there are fields of bluebells.
 Enjoy a stroll through this garden:
 Or down this quiet lane.
Victoria did a much better job than I have, showing the beauties of this unique spot on the globe. Just reading a bit of the history of the place, and its politics, is fascinating. I hope you've enjoyed our little tour.

5 comments:

Melissa Ann Goodwin said...

That is SO my kind of place. And, I LOVED Victoria magazine - I couldn't wait for the next issue to come out. I would pour over them and when we lived in Maine, much of my decorating was inspired by them. I still have pictures I cut out of outfits I liked too -that whole classic English look. I was heartbroken when the magazine went away. How are you anyway?

Gumbo Lily said...

The isle sounds fascinating and charming. Is it actually a British Isle or French?

I used to get Victoria too. It was quite a nice mag. Probably not enough advertising to keep it afloat.

Jody

M.K. said...

Hey, Melissa -- doing okay. Still no work, yet :( But we're hanging in there, and enjoying living in the mountains in the autumn. I'm really enjoying reading about your big MOVE, and all the progress on your BOOK! Love the video trailer too :) Your life is pretty exciting right now! I miss Victoria too. The new one is really nice, but there's some intangible quality that's missing.

M.K. said...

Jody -- I think the island has been English since the 1500s. But it's quite a mix of the two. A lot of the names and terms on the island are French, even though the politics are British, I think. Technically part of Britain. Until 2008 it was still ruled by a feudal "Lord of Sark." Now it has a democratically elected body.

Pom Pom said...

I like it! That spiny road would be fun to walk upon! Thank you for the tour!