10:55 tuesday 8 february – rosevear , st agnes

i sit in my studio amidst half-packed boxes and scattered papers . sunlight cuts low through the windows and i can feel its heat on the back of my hands as i type . my belongings are booked on the launch to st mary’s at half past nine tomorrow morning , ready for thursday morning’s sailing to penzance .

so it is almost over , this enchanted year . but i find my heart is not heavy . i have drunk deep of this place .

these final weeks have been as busy as any . the first full meeting of the scillonia digital workshop’s membership , a session on the internet with the st agnes schoolchildren , the first steps towards a community website built by the people of st agnes , a flurry of correspondence . also i have a new computer , a macintosh powerbook . the big system which has been the mainstay of successive projects since 1995 , when it was acquired to develop the balkan odyssey cd-rom , has found its final home in the school here on st agnes . i found myself unexpectedly sentimental about parting with it . we have been through a lot together , shared many memories . but i’m glad to put it out to pasture here where it may continue to be of use a little longer .

the new one is a joy . i spent half an hour last week with keith in the sail loft designing a padded case for it in yellow and tan canvas . another step towards being able to work from anywhere . i leave for australia on the twenty-fourth , where i shall be for five weeks or so .

today is clear , bright and very windy . i had a packed morning planned on st mary’s . meetings with the duchy of cornwall and the education authority , a handful of other liaisons and ( most important ) a haircut . but it is too rough and the boats were cancelled . there will now be no chance to reschedule these engagements . the weather has had the final word . i wonder if it will calm down tomorrow ?

this inconvenience did have a silver lining . i got some terrific photos of the island’s farmers loading boxes of flowers onto the launch . the light is amazing .

: cH