Seal Morning by Rowena Farre

I borrowed this handsom first edition from my mother in law, who was given it on her birthday by her brother Peter on 14th April 1958.
Published two years before Gavin Maxwell's more famous Ring of Bright Water it too has been made into a film. It would be really interesting to know if Maxwell had read it.

It has much in common with Out of the Wild by Mike Tomkies, in that they both are set in the most isolated parts of Scotland, and both are a series of tales about the authors interactions with wild, normally injured, animals. Tomkies' book has photographs and he lives alone, as a grown man.

Seal Morning is the story of a girl's childhood, from ten to seventeen, with her aunt; her morning. The majority of this time she has a Common Seal as a pet, but also a pair of otters, a pair of squirrels and a rat. I am not sure how much scrutiny the book bares - surely a rat who lived with otters would not die of natural causes? do otters not have a mechanism to block incestuous pair bonds? even in the fifties surely you could not just take a ten year old into the wilds for seven years? these points aside it is a delightful read, and highlights how much we have changed in half a century. The thing, as a parent, that I find shocking is that a child had been sent from India at age seven, not to see her parents again for ten years.

What is impressive is the dedication to reading, music and the outdoors which enables two people to be a sufficiency to each other. Also notable is the postal delivery service where the postman walks the extra four mile round trip twice a week to deliver the mail in person for the sake of a cup of tea. It is also interesting to read about a period of time when the fight to outlaw gin traps and bird nesting was still ongoing.

Lastly I want to mention the recipe for Lambs Wool: the insides of a baked cooking apple whisked in hot milk with sugar and wine (or beer) added to taste.