Mike Tomkies - where is he now?

[theartfullodger]

Gaskan looked lovely yesterday. Stunning day, clear blue sky, few wisps of cloud, warm with stiff-ish breeze. Saw an Eagle over mountains on North side of Loch Shiel.

According to boat skipper (MV Sileas, Wildlife and Historical Cruises on Loch Shiel, from Glenfinnan and Acharacle in the Scottish Highlands
the cottage is being lived in my a welsh couple. Looked spruced up.
Will post link to snap if I can later..

Lodger

[theartfullodger]

Gaskan Cottage, North side of Loch Shiel:: OS grid NM8072 :: Geograph British Isles - photograph every grid square!

[canny]

I really enjoyed the film 'Last of the Scottish Wildcats' it was fantastic to see Mike in such fine form.
I was under the impression he now lives in southern England...or does he still live in Scotland somewhere??

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by canny

I really enjoyed the film 'Last of the Scottish Wildcats' it was fantastic to see Mike in such fine form.
I was under the impression he now lives in southern England...or does he still live in Scotland somewhere??

i'm fairly sure he's living near henfield in west sussex and involved in a nature reserve near there, it says somewhere further up the thread i thunk

[brenbee]

hi there, Mike Tomkies is alive & well & living in the south of England. He does indeed have a Nature Reserve. DVDs about it called- My Wild 75th Summer & My Wild 80th Year can be purchased at £7 each from Whittles Publishing.

[canny]

Thanks, I will look into getting the DVD's.

[vicshere]

I just did my second interview with him, and he is in great form. He sounds about half his age on the phone! The second book is great, with some fantastic anecdotes on Doris Day, Robert Mitchum, Omar Sharif and Steve McQueen, among others. But there is lots about his time in Canada which I'd never seen before, too. Also great tales of his dog there, Booto, who did all sorts of tricks and seems to have been a fellow-maverick. I think Mike is toying with the idea of returning to Scotland. I told him you were all on here asking about him, and I think he was quite chuffed! He's not online, so I've to find anything about him related to golden eagles on the internet, print it out and post it to him. So if anyone finds anything on that, please let me know!
Cheers

[canny]

Originally Posted by brenbee

hi there, Mike Tomkies is alive & well & living in the south of England. He does indeed have a Nature Reserve. DVDs about it called- My Wild 75th Summer & My Wild 80th Year can be purchased at £7 each from Whittles Publishing.

I have contacted Whittles and in fact Mike has four DVD's available. I have ordered all four!

[struthiomimus]

I've finally read ALL of Mike's books,having acquired Moobli from a charity shop and the one about the Golden Eagles from the great man himself.

I will warn anyone who has lost a dog though that Moobli is not a comfortable read and from that perspective it's probably not up there with his best.It's as disturbing a read as Gavin Maxwell's last otter book,'Raven Seek Thy Brother'.Certainly not titles for any apostate of contemporary life who wishes to find solace in the wilderness!

It was a dream come true to be able to have some contact with him,even if just in the capacity of seller and buyer.I was thinking of writing him a short note and enclosing it with the last order just to say how much I've been influenced by his works,his humbleness and selfless existence in pursuit of knowledge;but I had qualms as he's a private man who has chosen his path in life in part to get away from the everyday concerns of people;so for that reason and that reason alone,I swerved away and disabused myself of the idea.

But I don't want to one day live to regret that missed opportunity.

So,if there's someone reading this right now who knows him,or has occasional contact with him,I'd be grateful if they could pass on my utmost admiration for his life and work.He is undoubtedly the greatest naturalist,in my opinion,since Thoreau,because like him he transcended the confines of the narrow society he lived in and by so doing became as one with the thing that he has set out to study:nothing less than the the world.

A true individualist and a man of great emotional perception.

Since I last posted on here,I've bought some land and I hope to build something simple on it to live in in the autumn.Society ,as I said before,needs people like him to show the rest of us a better more simple and purer way to live without materialistic concerns or self-interest.

A true hero and a gentleman.

[vicshere]

I'll pass on your message. He'll like that!