Jigsaw - 15

Still no sign of any jigsaw...but here's something else.A few of you might remember some time back I told the story behind one of my first ever self portraits. This Seagull appears in that picture and appears here only after I'd asked members of the Seagull benevolence union for permission to use his likeness again.They were over joyed by my request because apart from inspiring a million poems and the design of the Super Marine Spitfire, they tend to get the rough end of the deal because they tend to steal your fish and chips then in gratitude, crap on you from a great height.

where was I?....oh yes...This Seagull was pulled out of the sea by me whilst I was on holiday in a lovely little seaside village called Lea Bay (not to be confused with 'Ebay'...that's a web site and that would be silly because you can't take your clothes off and dangle your appendages in the sea on a hot afternoon there no matter how much you try) on the border of Devon and Cornwall.Three days prior to my rescue mission, a great storm had hit the coast and the next village along called Boscastle was flooded as the river that flowed through he middle of the town burst it's banks.Residents were airlifted out by helicopters and cars, homes and belongings were washed into the sea.It made the national news way back in 2004 .I discovered that this little fella was at one time resident in the gift shop at Boscastle which also submitted to the watery deluge...My Seagull who i named unsurprisingly 'Boscastle' still had his price tag stamped to his lower shoreline, and therefore escaped without being bought. I intend to return him to visit the shop in Boscastle one day and pay for him!

Anyway...after all that, why is he here in this picture?...well quite simply , he symbolises triumph over adversity..he survived the rush of the raging torrent, the storm of the century and the depth of the sea...only to be washed up and rescued. He's a survivor despite being battered and bruised and sustaining a crack around his neck...and as such, he fits in very well with the story of 'Jigsaw'.....but that will be revealed another time...so please be patient!

For more on what not to do with Sea birds see : http://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Rime_Ancient_Mariner.html