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Page 13 Tresco Times
LETTERS
The Sun’s Moonshadow Halo
Dear Editor, I have attached a photo from my iPad (hence the less than perfect definition) taken from the garden of Mincarlo on Sunday 6th May. We were sat in the garden enjoying the sun after having had a super lunch at the pub and just happened to look up when I saw the 'halo' around the sun. First thought was a hole in the ozone layer but having heard the news that morning and how the full moon was at its closest to the earth rising in New Zealand, I realized that the halo was actually a shadow of the earth on a very light haze of cloud. It was quite stunning and we watched for about 15 minutes before heavier cloud came along and the image disappeared. Did anyone else see this phenomenon? I forward the other two shots I took, so disappointed that I didn't have my camera with me but as I have visited the island for the past 17 years I thought that I had seen it all - how wrong can you be. Regards, Jennifer Baldwin (Mincarlo week 18)
OBITUARIES
It is with great sadness that the Tresco Times informs its readers of the recent death of Lesley Hopkins. Born in Cornwall in 1948, Lesley first came to the Isles of Scilly in the 1960s, staying at the Island Hotel with her parents. It was the memory of these holidays that encouraged her and her husband Chris to apply for the job of managing The New Inn in 1979. Lesley’s ulterior motive was the opportunity of two free helicopter flights to Tresco. Unfortunately, the interviews were held in Bath. The Hopkins were offered the positions and moved to Tresco, where they envisaged staying for around three years. In 1982 their eldest daughter Naomi was born. Chris and Lesley could not imagine anywhere better to bring up children, so they approached Robert Dorrien Smith for the lease of the New Inn, where they were to stay for the next ten years. In 1987, their daughter Kim was born and two years later, Chris and Lesley began building Fraggle Rock on Bryher. In 1992, the Hopkins moved over to Bryher full time. Lesley was quickly to become a key member of the Bryher community, organizing the highly successful Bryher Flower Festival and teaching herself to play the keyboard in order to provide music for the church services. Lesley was a keen mathematician and she soon became an indispensible tutor to many Bryher children. Dispensing her knowledge with typical enthusiasm, there are more than a few on Bryher who have Lesley to thank for their Maths GCSE. In 2000, Lesley’s natural educational verve led her to join the Isles of Scilly Council in order to manage the islands’ Lifelong Learning programme. She was to remain Manager of Lifelong Learning until her retirement in April 2011. Lesley passed away in April and her funeral reflected the high esteem and affection in which she was held throughout Scilly. Bryher church was full, with mourners spilling out onto the roadside. Every island was represented and, as one would expect for such a joyous spirit, there were tears for Lesley but smiles and laughter too. Our thoughts are with Chris, Naomi and Kim.
The Tresco Times also very much regrets to report the recent death of John Avery. Wine merchant and a Master of Wine, John Avery was described by Jancis Robinson as a “oneoff”. Born in 1941, John Avery took over the family business, Averys of Bristol, from his father Ronald in 1966 and was one of the original European champions of New World wines. For both islanders and visitors, however, he was known for his friendliness, conviviality and great love for the Isles of Scilly. His father introduced him to Scilly, following a posting during the Second World War, during which Ronald instructed islanders in the use of radios. Lifelong friendships were made with Leonard Jenkins and his family on Bryher. Ronald took to taking his family on holiday to Scilly in one of two boats, a German patrol boat called the Blitz and a motor launch called Maiden Bower. It was from these early holidays that John’s enthusiasm and affection for Scilly were born. He was to become a familiar and much-liked figure on the islands and was honoured to be godfather to a Bryher Jenkins. John began with camping holidays on Bryher in the 1940s and went on to become a long-standing Tresco timeshare owner. As his father before him, John and his wife Sarah brought their four children to Scilly, making Tresco a second home. A keen follower of the Czar, he replaced a trophy that was jointly dedicated to Dennis Jenkins and Ronald Avery after it fell overboard. Until recently John took pride in personally delivering cases of wine to a customer on St Agnes, living in one of the last houses in England. In the Times’ obituary, John Avery is described as “Wine merchant and raconteur with an irrepressible joie de vivre.” The Tresco Times would like to add “Scilliophile” to that description and offer its condolences to the Avery family.
Ecclesiatical Announcement
Great news just as the Tresco Times was going to press... The Revd. Canon Paul Miller at present Vicar of St Mary, Shortland, in the Diocese of Rochester; Area Dean of Beckenham; Chaplain to HM the Queen, to be Chaplain to the Isles of Scilly, Diocese of Truro, and con-
tinuing as Chaplain to HM the Queen with effect from November 2012. The Revd Canon Paul Miller will be known to islanders and visitors for his abilities both in the pulpit and on the cricket pitch.