Macmillan Caribbean Writers:...and the Sirens Still Wail

It wasn't the volcano's increasingly violent fiery explosions that drove New Yorkers Nancy and Richard out of their beloved Montserrat.

It wasn't the swift, incinerating pyroclastic flows that killed every living thing in their path.

It wasn't even the hot rocks hurtling onto the roof of their house.

It was the ash. It was the thick blanket of ash that covered everything inches deep, it was the film that grimed every surface, it was the powder that crept through every crack, squeezed into each sealed plastic bag, burrowed down to the skin of each bedraggled furry creature.

The misery and endangered health of their pets played a large part in the couple's decision to leave their home.

But there were no planes flying and no boats willing to turn Noah's Ark, until the skipper of the M V Abiding Love came to the rescue. Or did he?