"I sit in a pitch-pine panelled kitchen-living-room, with an otter asleep upon its back among the cushions on the sofa, forepaws in the air, and with the expression of tightly shut concentration that very small babies wear in sleep. On the stone slab beneath the chimney-piece are inscribed the words
'Non fatuum huc persecutus ignem'
'It is no will-o'-the-wisp that I have followed here'.
I've forgotten now when and where I found Gavin Maxwell's book "Ring of Bright Water"; all I know is that it was after I had moved to "Riverbend" which, in many ways, is my own Ring of Bright Water.
It is a beautifully written, thoroughly delightful account of Gavin Maxwell's life in a lonely cottage on the northwest coast of Scotland, about the animals who shared it with him, and about the others who are his only immediate neighbours in a brilliant landscape of rock and sea.
Of course, the book was too good not to make into a movie which, together with the underlying script - click here - is also a masterpiece. I have it on DVD but, luckily for you, it is also full-length on YouTube:
Something to watch to drown out the drums of war in Europe. Enjoy!
P.S. To read the books, SIGN UP (it's FREE!), LOG IN, then BORROW!
