The Vaima, Tahiti

View From Point Venus

Island of Moorea in the Distance

After a long, long time - and such a peculiarly strange long time, in which it sometimes seemed as though eons might have passed unnoticed - it happened that once again, just as in olden times, it was Valentine’s Day - that special day of the year on which Algy always thought of all those friends who were dear to him…

Since the last Valentine’s Day an unforeseen plague had been raging around the world, altering the lives of billions of people, and although he was just a fluffy bird and not a human being, Algy too had been unceremoniously locked down, shut in, left alone and isolated, unable to undertake his adventures and unsure what to do with himself, until eventually he had reached a point where he was no longer even sure who he might be.

And the Scottish winter had not only been long and dark, as usual, but hard and cold, much colder than was normal on the wild Atlantic coast of the west Highlands.

So Algy had simply fluffed up his feathers and slept… and slept… and slept…

And then, one icy morning towards the end of the winter, when the days were starting to lengthen and get somewhat brighter again, Algy was awakened by an unexpected message from the other side of the world. One of his oldest Tumblr friends had remembered him, and sent him warm thoughts and fluffy hugs from thousands of miles away.

Algy read his message and then read it again. His kind friend suggested that he had been missed. Algy sat up, shook his feathers, and slowly began to think… Thinking was not so easy after such a long, strange time asleep, but gradually his thoughts began to take shape, and then he thought, and thought, and thought some more…

He thought of all his many friends in the far corners of the world who had been so kind to him in the past, and who had followed his adventures in happier days. He thought that he didn’t even know if they were safe and well, and he thought that some them could perhaps have been in need of fluffiness while he slept. Then Algy thought that he felt thoroughly ashamed of himself for ignoring his friends for so long, and he realised that he had missed them all during his isolation. Suddenly he knew that it was high time he pulled himself together and made contact with the world and all his friends again. It was time to wake up!

And, as he realised this, Algy was reminded of a beautiful wee poem by a famous poet from the far side of the world:

Last night your lost memory came to me as spring comes quietly upon a wilderness as a cool breeze blows gently across desert sands as a sick man without reason finds relief.

Algy wants you all to know that your memory has come back to him, and he hopes and prays that every one of his friends and followers around the world has managed to stay safe and well in these extraordinary times.

He sends you all his fluffiest hugs, and wishes you all a very fluffy Valentine’s Day xoxo

[Algy is quoting an Urdu poem by the famous 20th century Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, in a translation by Mahmood Jamal. By an odd coincidence, Faiz Ahmad Faiz was born on 13th February, the very day on which Algy woke up and thought of his friends.]

fort fort lointain / far, far away

Vahitahi

photo: Francoise Holozet-Howan

Three Dogs, atoll of Puka-Puka

photo: Francoise Holozet-Howan

many thanks to Algy and his assistant Jenny for their support!

When the Scotch mist came down during the winter months, the bare trees looked more beautiful than ever. Algy loved to sit and gaze at the wonderful maze of twisty branches silhouetted against the pale, hazy background, and study the rich pattern of lichens which would be hidden when the leaves returned. As he perched on a rock beneath the wet branches, he felt a constant soft drip, drip, dripping on his head, and remembered a haiku by Matsuo Bashō. Soon it would indeed be spring:

          Spring rain           conveyed under the trees           in drops.

This post is dedicated to Algy’s friend lillianhowan, who is currently setting up a new online literary magazine nimbuscat on Tumblr. The first issue, to be published this spring, will be devoted to writing on the subject of wood :)

[ Algy is quoting a haiku by the 17th century Japanese master Matsuo Bashō. ]

Sidewalk Koi on Ivy St.

Lillian, you spent seven years writing The Charm Buyers. What were your inspirations for writing this story?

My inspirations were the land and the people. Tahiti is incredibly beautiful, but there’s also such sadness in its history. I hoped to bring its recent history to life, particularly nuclear testing - but I didn’t want to write a polemic novel. I hope that The Charm Buyers brings the complexity, radiance, darkness, and hopefulness of its individuals to life.