Chapter 3 : Letters from Laxey
Dear Mother and Aunt Maria,
After a fairly rough crossing we today visited the Lady Isabella, which is sometimes known as the great Laxey Wheel.
Peggy paused. It looked formal enough to please the great aunt. She could mention nothing more about the crossing, since the great aunt would have assumed that they had come across on the steam packet, and she could say nothing about the Walkers or the Callums. Dick had been scribbling facts and figures down in his little notebook when they were at the mine. Peggy carefully capped Nancy's fountain pen and rolled out of her bunk to find Dick. Dick was on deck and pulled out the notebook and handed it over without taking his eyes from his binoculars, but Peggy thought a smile crossed his face. Well fair enough, the notebook was being useful, whatever Roger might say, even if it was only to sooth the savage beast.
The wheel is 72ft and 6ins in diameter and was built in 1854. It was designed by Robert Casement and removed 250 gallons of water per minute from the mine. The mine itself has only recently closed, in 1929, I think.
She probably shouldn't mention the walk up from the harbour, since presumably the great aunt thought they were staying in a hotel somewhere. She still had nothing like the page and a bit that the great aunt would consider the minimum politeness required. She looked at the notebook again. Dick had used symbols. Titty was writing at the table.
"Pb is lead." She replied to Peggy's question. "I don't know the rest. Susan might."
"Cu is copper and Ag is silver." Susan called from the galley.
Besides lead, the mine also provided copper, silver and zinc. After this, we went on the electric railway up to the top of Snaefell. The view was extremely fine, especially to the north and east. We certainly saw hills in Galloway and, of course, home. N She had nearly written Nancy Not so sure about the mountains of Mourne. I thought I could see them, but Ruth was not entirely sure that we were not looking at a cloud bank.
Nearly there. Peggy turned the page.
Wild fuchsia bushes grow here as part of the hedgerows. They are just coming into bloom and the overall effect is very charming.
She felt quite proud of that sentence.
I do wish you were both able to see them; I am sure you would like them.
We both hope that you are well and that Aunt Maria has quite recovered from her indisposition,
With love from Margaret and Ruth.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Dear Bridgie,
This is a postcard of the Laxey wheel. After we visited it, when went up Snaefell in the Electric train. Even though it was quite cloudy when we got in at Laxey, it felt as if we were in warm sunlight because some of the little window at the top of the tram had golden-yellow glass. It had cleared quite a bit by the time we got to the top. On a clear day they say you can see 6 kingdoms: the Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Heaven. We couldn't see Wales and I'm not sure about Ireland but we saw the rest. There are also some stories about fairies coming out onto the top of Snaefell when it's misty – I expect the trains and people constantly coming to the top is a great nuisance to them. I'll write again from Douglas.
Love from Titty.