The Original Taylor Daughter

Uni Tour

July 1971

Three weeks into the university tour the band they're back in Penzance, Cornwall for the second time this tour. Roger is surprised at how well behaved Alice has been during the past three weeks, she seems to like travelling and seeing the sights.

As a reward, he's planned a day at the beach for her but when they got there, it's the castle in the middle of the sea that caught her attention, "Dada tastle!" She shouts pointing to the island.

"I know it's a castle, St Michael's Mount it's called."

"Go peas?" Being so young Roger can understand her excitement to see inside a real-life castle but he's seen it so many times before.

The puppy eyes she's giving him work their magic though he sighs, "Yeah why not? We have to wait till the tide goes out first to go along the causeway."

"Huh?" Alice frowns nothing understanding his meaning.

Brian takes her hand leading her to where the start of the causeway is covered by water, "This is a path called a causeway but as you can see the water is still covering, that means the water is at mid-tide. When the water is at low tide, the water will uncover the path and we can walk across it to get to the mount."

"Wow," She gasps. Brian likes telling Alice these things because she actually listens and likes to learn, but he's sure that he could tell her the moon is made of cheese and she'd believe him. "When?"

"Um..." He looks around seeing the sigh saying when the next low tide should be, "Next low tide is at 9:15am. So when the big hand is here and the little hand is here, we have twenty minutes to wait."

While they waited John guides her over to the rock pools and shows her some of the creatures that can be found in them.

"She's got those two wrapped around her little finger," Freddie muses quietly to Roger.

"Hmm... but not with you?"

"I'm sure in time I'll probably be under her spell too but we've yet to find something to bond over. She likes listening to Brian's stories, exploring with Deaky and she's just a daddies girl with you but I think she's still unsure about me. I'll win her over eventually." He takes no offence by it, most children are like that.

The time passed quickly and when the twenty minutes were up they weren't paying attention, well Alice was but Brian and John are still looking in the rock pools and Roger and Freddie have gone to get the tickets for the castle.

Freddie and Roger come back joining the other two, "Right we've got the tickets, Alice is good at suggestions she got in free. Tide is out, let's go," Roger then looks down from his friends to Alice but Alice isn't there.

"Where's Alice?" He looks around them along the beach and the sea edge nothing. Panic immediately sets in.

"She was right here," Brian worries looking about for her.

"Ur... guys," John speaks up, "Found her," He points towards the causeway and Alice is already halfway along, running towards the mount.

"Well you did tell her to wait twenty minutes and she waited," Freddie points out.

"Shit, that's not funny Freddie," Roger cursed running after her. He thought he'd lost her when she continues running through the entrance but she must have realised no one was following her because when he reached the entrance she's stood near a sign looking lost.

"Alice," He calls out catching up to her and lifts her into the tightest hug a spark of angry bursting free, "Alice, you don't run off like that do you hear me?" He pulls back from the hug looking at her face, "You could have gotten very lost and I might not have found you, you always make sure you're with me, Brian, Freddie or Deaky you understand?"