Feb 24th, 2025
Ahoy there!
I write to you from a village in the far west of Cornwall. The Winds of Change are here. So strong are these winds, that when they blow, they have the power to change your entire life, whether you like it or not.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to find shelter inside a little cafe where they make the most delicious hot chocolate. The Storm Cat is making giant waves just outside the entrance to the harbour, known locally as ‘the mousehole’. This is the place where Antonia Barber wrote her book ‘The Mousehole Cat’ based on a local legend about a fisherman named Tom Bawcock. I was so moved by this story that I decided to add it to our lineup of handmade theatre productions this summer! As much as I would like to walk around the village and conduct some research forthe play…it’s probably best to stay inside today. With the Storm Cat out at sea and those Winds of Change rattling the windows, who knows what could happen!
I am reminded of the first time I felt these windsblowing. It was last Spring and Sir Gerald and I were visiting some friends in the Mojave Desert. The wind blew so dangerously strong that we had no choice but to stay inside the whole time. I don’t think we got a wink ofsleep either! It banged at our windows all night and day as if to say: “Open up! Let us in! We have an important message for you!”
But what that message was…I couldn’t tell you. They sang in a language I didn’t understand.
After a few days in the windy high desert, Sir Gerald and I were ready to go home. He was car sick on the way there and the way back, so the minute we walked in the door, he went straight to bed. I, on the other hand, went straight to the sea. Perhaps it was all that sand. Or maybe it was the wind? So relentless and impossible to ignore. Either way…I needed the big ocean.
It was dusk when I arrived at the beach. I walked down the steps at the end of Bird Rock Ave and climbed over the rocks until I reached the waters edge. I put my feet in and looked out onto the darkening horizon in the hopes I might see a little boat with a hurricane lamp shining at the top of its mast. The last time I read about the Moomins, they were headed for an Island in the middle ofthe Northern Sea with nothing on it but a lighthouse. They were going to live there and lead “a wonderful life, full of troubles.” Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a lighthouse? I think the Moomins are very brave to try it. If I was with them, I’d like to ask them what they think about these Winds of Change that come blowing their trouble all around. Surely MoominPappa would have an answer for me?
But that night, on the shores of Bird Rock, I did not spot any Moomins in their little boat called The Adventure. Instead, three sea lions appeared. They took turns poking their heads above the water and looking straight at me. I was careful to sit very still and smile. Eventually, they seemed to trust me and came close enough to the shore forme to ask them my question.
“What does one do when the Winds of Change start blowing?”
The sea lions looked at eachother and dipped below the waves before popping up even closer. No doubt so that I could hear them better. One by one, they seemed to say…
“Listen closely”
“Don’t be afraid”
“Find the Mermaid”
And with that they disappeared under the waves. I watched the surface for a while but they never popped up again.
“Listen closely. Don’t be afraid. Find the Mermaid.” Seems pretty straightforward right? Well, I guess that depends… When was the last time you went looking for a Mermaid? I’ll let you know how my search goes.
Yours faithfully,
Miss Nati
P.S. Sir Gerald the cat found my call for adventure a little tiresome. He has since fallen in love with a Cello player and now lives in Portland, Oregon. He sends his regards.