Feature
Chine Widgits
When looking for inspiration for a new picture book for children, author
and illustrator Nick Pointing turned to local myths and folklore.
And in the resulting story,
we find the Island has been
affectionately referred to as
the Isle of Wid-git, for no
other reason than that the
word ‘white’ is the colour
white, while Wight is Wid-git
from an appearance and
phonetic point of view.
The book draws on the
idea of Widgits, a small
indigenous mammal
living in the Chines on
the southern coast of
the Isle of Wight. Based
around days of old and
smugglers, Chines were a
great place to hide away
from the authorities.
Dark tales of contraband
were woven into a legend of
cute yet fearsome Widgits.
Old wives’ tales grew out of
superstition and the need to deter
Customs men from venturing
where they weren’t wanted. But
there is a bit more to this story.
“Now we seem to have
blurred the edges a bit between
fact, myth and legend” says
Nick, “but here goes”.
“Its true that the Island does
have a few indigenous species,
for example the Glanville Fritillary
butterfly, very rare and native
to the southern cliffs. So it’s fair
to assume there are possibly
still as-yet undiscovered insect
species and plants
within the British
Isles. As with most
ingrained stories there
lurks a small helping of
fact, however well embellished!
“Can there really be undiscovered
small mammals living on the
Back of Wight in
Island Chines? From
a tourism point of view
I would like to think so!
“The Romans named the Island
Vectis, The Beaker people, so
called for their distinctive pottery
called it “Wiht”, the Saxons
used the letter “W” in place of
”V” and Vectis now Wectis with
the mix of Whit we get Wight!
So with many Island name
changes and a bit of old Island
dialect bringing a phonetic
twist, my money’s on Widgit.”
The book is full of colourful
illustrations and plays on a
great local theme. You can
find more details on Nick’s
new book at Waterstones in
Newport or facebook “widgits”.
As for Widgits lurking in a
chine on the southern coast
of the Isle of Wight, well that’s
one to keep your eye on!
www.visitilife.com
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