Showing posts with label Tropics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tropics. Show all posts

Monday 9 August 2021

South Sea Bursting Dream


For some reason the idea of living on a desert island somewhere in the south seas came to my mind.  The thought of sunshine, white sand beaches, blue sea (I would say turquoise but I canny spell that), no cars slushing by in the rain, no diesel powered buses, lorries and train engines pollutting the air, just sea, peace, warmth, and coconuts for me.
Certain problems arose such as how to get there?  No planes on my island, no jetty to encourage others to join so no boats, I suppose I must swim there.  
Then other wee problems show themselves, well food for one!  Coconuts are all very well but they cannot be mistaken for Beef.  Possibly the island might have its own animal life?  Goats possibly, but how did they get there?  Furry animals unknown elsewhere maybe, and of course fish and sea birds.  It might be possible to survive.  
There are other problems come to mind, spiders and creepy crawlies for instance.  Anything with six legs and about six inches long is not for me, I bet the place is crawling with them.  Things crawl out of the sea also, crabs of various sizes, possibly by the thousand, what then?  
Still hungry I see a storm approaching.  What happened to the blue sky?  No-one mentioned storms!  Rain, torrential rain, high winds and tropical hurricanes lash the island.  While this may scare the creepy crawlies it also scares me.  Just how much lightning was ordered here?
Then of course there is another problem.
Some years ago, possibly around 5000 BC people left South East Asia and transported themselves across the world nearby.  Soon, in dugout canoes, with sails and probably a log outboard to stabalise, they sailed across thousands of miles of sea, inhabiting such islands as I desire.  These Melanesians developed quickly a knowledge of the sea, their navigation astounding to travellers in the 17th century as was the speed of their flimsy craft.  These can be a problem on the island with their 'I got here first several thousand years before you' attitude.  They will have settled into a way of doing things that enables survival, travel and making the most of things while I long for fish and chips, curry, bottles of beer and live televised football.  
I might not go.
Of course today life is very different in such tropical islands.  Modern devices abound, as do modern problems.  Many plastic made TVs and Radio's will be there, electricty enables computers also, contat with satalites way above enables travel.  Of course all those plastic made items also washes up on the white sandy beaches often dumped from very far off.
Add to this near wars between the locals and incomers from Asia, conflict caused by larger nations, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan made a mess duringthe 1940's.  Today all are wishing to make use of the islands for their own purposes.  Modern life has brought many advantages but just as many problems.  It was always the same, innit?
So, I will abandon the absurd vision of escaping from woe by heading for tropical shores, I will check instead the number of sausage rolls in the freezer, ensure tomorrows dinner is brought out from there, remind myself the NHS is around the corner, as are two supermarkets, a railway station and several buses.  OK, the weather is very wet and sometimes sunny but it is weather I am used to.  I will not be like Alexander Selkirk and get myself abandoned on such a place like he.  Indeed, he went a bit mad while there, though to be sure he was a bit rough bfore he left.  I am therefore satisfied to go mad slowly while near Tesco.