The Island Piece

Hi Fiona,

I have attached the piece on the island, but before you read it, I owe you an explanation, because it is not the piece we agreed on.

You commissioned eighteen hundred words on “the last hidden island in the south”, and for the first three days that is what I was writing. The beaches are as wonderful as everyone says, the harbour town is full of character, and the fish is extraordinary. All of that is in the piece.

On the fourth day, however, I had a long conversation with the woman who runs the guesthouse where I was staying. She told me that the island’s population was about three thousand, that last summer it received more than ten times that number of visitors in a single month, and that the one water plant had failed twice in August. Two of her neighbours have since sold their houses to holiday rental companies and moved across to the coast, because the rents had become impossible for anyone who actually works there.

I do not think I can, in good conscience, describe the place as hidden, and I am not comfortable with a piece that will encourage several thousand more readers to go there next July. What I have written instead is still, I hope, good to read. It keeps the beaches and the fish, but it is honest about the strain, and it suggests visiting outside the summer months, staying in the few places still owned by people who live there, and taking the slow boat rather than the new fast one.

I realise this is not what the travel section usually runs, and I understand if you would rather not use it. If so, I would be happy to write you something else on the same budget, but I would ask you not to run the original version under my name. If you do want to use it, I think the headline needs to change too. I have suggested a few options at the end of the document.

Sorry to make your Monday more difficult than it needed to be.

Best,

Martha

Hi Fiona,

I have attached the piece on the island. But first I need to explain something, because it is not the piece we agreed on.

You asked me for eighteen hundred words on “the last hidden island in the south”. For three days, I wrote that. The beaches are wonderful, the harbour town has a lot of character, and the fish is very good. All of that is still in the piece.

But on the fourth day, I talked for a long time with the woman who runs my guesthouse. About three thousand people live on the island. Last summer, more than ten times that number of visitors came in one month, and the water system failed twice in August. Two of her neighbours sold their houses to holiday rental companies and moved across to the coast, because the rents were too high for people who work there.

So it would not be honest to call the island hidden, and I do not want to send thousands more readers there next July. My new version is still good to read, I hope. It keeps the beaches and the fish, but it is honest about the problems. It suggests visiting outside the summer, staying with local people, and taking the slow boat, not the new fast one.

I know that this is not what the travel section usually publishes, and I understand if you do not want it. Then I can write something else for the same money. But please do not use the first version with my name. If you want to use the new one, the headline should change too. There are some ideas at the end of the document.

Sorry for making your Monday more difficult.

Best,

Martha