By Carole Dennett
The Isle of Wight Observer of the 8th January 1898 was eight pages long and cost three halfpence. The newspaper has the following account of a gardener feeding the gulls every morning at the side of the sea in Ryde.
It would be interesting to see how any neighbours would react these days to such a regular occurrence by any householder – or their gardener. However, it is undoubtedly less unpleasant than that which Southern Water regularly discharge into the sea waters around the Isle of Wight!
A PRETTY SIGHT – may be seen early in the morning at the steps leading from the shore to Pelham Fields. The gardener brings out refuse from the neighbouring houses, and throws it over the wall into the sea. The gulls flock in from all parts to enjoy the feast, and come almost as close to the gardener as fowls will do in a farm yard. One morning this week we saw the gardener bring out his morning bucketful. It contained pieces of fat and kitchen scraps of all kinds. There were a number of gulls off the banks, and they all seemed to be on the watch. Almost directly he appeared the gardener was surrounded by a flock of about a hundred gulls and other sea birds. He says this was rather a small number, and that frequently in the winter he has as many as 300 birds flocking all round him to share the feast. It would be rather a pretty picture if photographed.
