Scilly Stories

“I came here for a holiday and I thought well this is very nice, I’ll stop here!” In this episode, we speak with 99 year old Derek Perkins who has spent most of his life on St Martin’s, having arrived on the island during the war when his father was stationed on the island as a coastguard. It was interesting to hear his experiences of the war and some of the differences between life on Scilly over eighty years ago and life now. Derek also talks fondly of his wife, Gladys, who was born on St Martin’s and who sadly died last year.  *** See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast *** Find out more about hosts, Kylie and Erica: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

“If gossip upsets you, don’t come and live in Scilly! …. I always used to say, ‘If they’re talking about me, they’re giving someone else a rest!’”   We just loved this quote from Avril Mumford when we spoke with her recently about island life!   Avril moved to Scilly with her parents while she was still at school, after her father, Doctor Bell, took on the role as the only doctor on the islands. It was interesting to hear all about how she went on her rounds with him and how different things were during that time.    Avril later married Clive Mumford and we enjoyed hearing what life was like in the papershop, the beating heart of the island community. We also hear how being in the newsagent’s helped her to understand the needs of islanders when she represented Scilly as a councillor, a role which she continues to do to this day.    Avril was inspiring to listen to and we can only hope to be as fun, hardworking and engaging as her when we get to 83!   ***   See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

“If you see the wall there, and all around the pottery, there are several hundred heights of children. Those children are coming back at sixty now... We’ve got the third or fourth generation coming back.“   When children come into his pottery studio, John Bourdeaux often marks their height on his walls. He has been doing it for so long that some of the original small people are now grandparents!   He recounts how he bought a barn, originally intended for storing his boat, but how it eventually became his pottery workshop where he has remained for close to fifty years. John clearly loves meeting different people and seeing customers return over the years.   John also tells us about moving to Scilly as a child and what adventures he used to get up to when he was young. It was also riveting to hear what it was like to come into Scilly as an outsider, and how his family were treated by different individuals on St Mary’s when they took over one of the shops in the centre of town.   If you enjoy entertaining stories from the past, this episode is for you! John Bourdeaux clearly revels in spinning yarns and even refers to himself a “master of BS" during our chat! Some of his stories push the boundaries, and whilst we could have cut them, we chose to keep them in... We’ll let you decide for yourself whether or not that was the right choice!   *** See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

“I love football! …In the Easter holidays and the summer holidays, we’d be up the campsite all the time, going round all the holiday homes knocking for kids who wanted to play football. We used to have these epic ‘islanders versus visitors’ football matches…. Lots of people ended up rebooking their holidays around the football matches because their kids loved it so much!”    In this episode, local fisherman, Neil Jenkins, talks fondly about his childhood on Bryher. He speaks with affection about his father and grandparents and what it was like to go out at first light and only come back when he was hungry! He discusses the differences of living on St Mary’s compared to an off-island and about his fears and desires for the future of Scilly.    Neil’s stories are highly entertaining and there is a lot of laughter from hosts Kylie and Erica throughout!     See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk      

Erica and Kylie sit down with Erica's dad, Stephen Hicks to explore his life growing up on St Mary’s. They cover childhood adventures and island traditions as well as Steve's seafaring career and the story behind designing the passenger boat, Seahorse. Although many topics were not covered, this episode gives an insight into various aspects of Scillonian life, including the challenges of island living versus mainland living, and what Scilly means to Steve.    See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

In this episode Kylie and Erica interview Jessie Guilliatt about her journey to the Isles of Scilly, working at Salakee Farm, how island life became her home and what she will miss when she leaves. Jessie recounts a rough first ferry crossing, helping build a market garden, and the push to provide food during the pandemic. They explore island traditions, rowing, winter rhythms, unique island moments (from whale encounters to farm accidents), and the trade-offs of living somewhere remote and historic versus a life in the city full of culture and diversity.    See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk                

In this episode Erica and Kylie interview Erica's mother, Oriel Hicks at her workshop, Phoenix Craft Studios at Porthmellon.   Oriel first started visiting St Martin's as a young girl and fell in love with the islands. She returned regularly until marrying islander, Steve Hicks, and eventually settled on St Mary's with their three young children. Oriel talks about visiting during her early years, working seasonally on St Agnes and St Martin's, what has changed over the years and what living in the Scilly community means to her.   See photos on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast Find out more about Oriel's work here: https://www.phoenixstainedglass.co.uk/ https://tamariskscilly.co.uk/collections/oriel-hicks https://www.instagram.com/orielhicks http://facebook.com/phoenixcraftstudios   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk              

The hosts interview Arthur Swift of Mount Todden Farm at Pelistry on St Mary's, who arrived on Scilly in the 1950s and never left.   Arthur shares stories of farming in the early days, growing bulbs and vegetables, island self‑sufficiency, and how life on the islands has changed over the decades he has been here.   See photos of Arthur and his farm on the Scilly Stories social media pages: http://facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast   Find out more about the hosts, Kylie and Erica, via their websites: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

In this episode, Kylie and Erica chat with Sonia Fletcher about life on St Mary’s, her family history on Scilly and the many hats she has worn in the community. They discuss island traditions like gig rowing and May Day and aptly finish with cream teas! Follow along on the Scilly Stories social media pages for photos: https://www.facebook.com/ScillyStoriesPodcast/ https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast/   Find out more about what the hosts, Kylie and Erica, do in their day-to-day lives on Scilly: www.salakeefarm.co.uk www.ericahicks.co.uk www.tamariskscilly.co.uk  

Kylie Carter from Salakee Farm and Erica Swain from Tamarisk Gallery introduce their new podcast where they hope to interview a range of people about living in Scilly (a group of islands off the coast of Cornwall in the UK). In this episode we get to know the presenters, how they ended up living on Scilly and what it means to them.  *Please note that the topic of bereavement comes up during the conversation   Scilly Stories: Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/scillystoriespodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scillystoriespodcast/   Salakee Farm: www.salakeefarm.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/salakeefarm https://www.instagram.com/salakeefarm   Erica Hicks www.ericahicks.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/ericahicksprints https://www.instagram.com/ericahicksprints/ Tamarisk Gallery: https://tamariskscilly.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/TamariskScilly/ https://www.instagram.com/tamariskscilly/