Two million Britons visit the UK’s largest Island every year, but few seem to have much of a clue about where it is, or even what language the natives speak.
Other regular enquiries to the Isle of Wight Tourist board include:
- What’s the currency and will they accept English money?
- What side of the road do they drive on?
- Will I need a passport?
To clear up the confusion, travel writer and humorist George East has come up with Rough Diamond, a book about the history, places, people and sometimes quirky aspects of the Isle of Wight.
After eating, drinking and writing their way around France for many years, George and his wife Donella bought a home on the Isle of Wight to be closer to their family on the mainland.
East: Curious why there were so many misconceptions
Rough Diamond follows George as he spends a year visiting every town and village (and most of the pubs) on the Island while trying to discover what makes it such a closed book to so many Britons.
“I was curious why there were so many misconceptions about the Island, and why so many people thought of it as years behind the times and awash with weird customs, attitudes and characters.
“I have to admit I started off with some of those misconceptions, but by the end of my journey I had been won over completely. And I didn’t meet a single person with more than the normal quota of fingers or heads. Now I know that the Isle of Wight is a place of sometimes stunning beauty and has a remarkable history and is stacked with interesting people and places.
“I didn’t think I could settle here, but if the Island was good enough for Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria, dozens of other monarchs and an amazing array of thinkers, politicos, revolutionaries, writers, poets, painters and mass murderers over the centuries, it’s certainly good enough for me.”
Find out more about the author by visiting his Website.
News shared by Francesca, in her own words. Ed
Image: Ronald Saunders under CC BY 2.0
