St Helena Island South Atlantic Adventure: My First Week on St Helena

First things first - I believe there is a bit of a debate back in the UK as to who 'won' the battle of the lettuce! So there is no doubt, here is a picture of me with the said lettuce!!!!!!!

Arrival on the Island was fairly uneventful. Earlier than planned, after a short tender from the ship to the quayside, we passed through customs and immigration easily - I had declared absolutely everything I could remember on my customs form!! You only get to keep the bags you had as cabin luggage at this point and have to return to Customs later in the day to claim Hold baggage.
We emerged from Customs, walked over the bridge to see my name on a piece of paper held by some enthusiastic people. Paula was the first to greet me with great gusto and friendliness, followed by my new Boss Susan and Anya from Human Resources. There are a number of important things to do on arrival, so we all walked back to the Castle (St Helena Government - SHG HQ) and started to 'look' for the hire car that had been booked for me!
The Castle Entrance

Paula took us for coffee and we chatted about the Island. Paula is the Statistician and has been on the Island since September, being previously based in Southampton. She is also my next door neighbour in Piccolo Hill.
I then have to take my driving licence to the Police Station to have it verified to enable me to drive on the Island and hire the car! A first look in the local shops proves to be a real eye opener. The main shops are the size of Tesco Express or smaller, with a range of out-of-date Tesco/Asda/ Iceland products at around an 80% mark-up. There is of course local produce too which I by far prefer to purchase. On our first visit we get lettuce, bread, wine - oh so important :-) butternut squash to name a few items.
Paula locates the hire car and we take the heart stopping journey from Jamestown to Longwood, via Side Path. Paula offers to drive, for which I am forever grateful!! To give you some idea of the horror, here's a picture taken from Side Path across the valley - Jamestown below, but imagine that the road is single track, stuck to the side of the mountain!! I didn't look down..

Paula drove to our house. Her house is just behind ours and I am pleasantly surprised by the size and location.

Check out the size of my neighbours satellite dish!!!!!!!!!

Paula, her partner Bob and daughter Pip are extremely welcoming and invite us to dinner so we don't have to worry about cooking - They continue to be a great source of help and assistance every day, for which I will always be grateful!
On that first day, Bob takes me to meet the local 'fish' man who arrives at Piccolo selling very fresh fish - I get a sizable piece of Wahoo and Tuna for around £3.00. I also meet other neighbours Eleanor and Hazel. A housewarming gift is a can of RAID!! MMMmmmmmmmmm...
The weekend is spent unpacking, returning to the quay to retrieve my hold bags and practicing driving on Side Path! I have to be confident - it's the only way into work!
Sunday - And this is just for my very good friend Steve - the day was spent chasing GOATS off my land - Yes it's true!! We laughed about it, but there are goats - kids especially - wandering loose on other peoples land!
I am joining the local car sharing pool so only driving in 2 days this week, which I manage accident free, but spend a great deal of time on the horn - -the bends are pretty much all blind hairpins - single track..
I arrive at the office on Monday morning - Paula is still being an absolute star showing me all the ropes and introducing me to a plethora of new faces - names are in there somewhere but as with any new job it's a blur!

I have an early meeting with Susan and the Acting Governor to start outlining my role and the deliverables. I am not sure it sounds wholly like the original advert, but hey I am here now and will turn my hand (and ability) to pretty much whatever is required!
I also find loads of subject matter for the Masters in Strategic Change Management that I will be attempting to complete from here..

Lunchtime is a world of discovery!
Every morning in the car, I have introduced a new game - it starts with. 'Your question for the day is : Where would I go to find...' I then insert some obscure (or sometimes not so obscure!) object. So far we have had Thai green curry paste, a dust bin, Blu tac, eggs; among others - are you starting to get a picture?
And have I been successful - well I think so - not always exactly as planned, but I found (after 3 days of foraging) Thai yellow curry paste, a sort of Blu Tac equivalent, Annie at work bought me eggs when I couldn't get them anywhere - Thanks Annie, I think I have found where I can buy a dustbin! I have also been fortunate enough to work with some great girls - Nicole, who asks me if I would like bread, tea cakes, rolls on a regular basis and orders them for me! Tessa, from whom I am learning what a true St Helena Islander would eat for dinner and Rachel who is a very young ex-pat, who was far to quick to point out that she was younger than the number of years I have been married for - Thanks Rachel!

For anyone interested, Picture 1 is Nicole, Pa to the Chief Secretary and a great person who makes me laugh every day, Picture 2 is my desk in the foreground with Tessa at the next desk. Tessa is a wonderful source of local information. I am incredibly lucky to have such a friendly, helpful and supportive team around me - of course I have to say that as Nicole is going o follow the Blog - JOKE Nicole LOL

I have had a couple of shaky moments not about what I have done or where I am, but that I am not with my husband and sons. That's by far the hardest bit. Although I managed to get the internet up and running in record time - even my colleagues were impressed! I still have no TV as set top boxes are scarce - There's not lots to watch but it would be nice to have the option....

On my first or second day at work I was asked if I cried when the ship left - Those who know me well will know the answer! I was confused by this statement, but apparently some people coming to the Island to work cannot come to terms with the isolation of being completely cut off from the rest of the world. To be honest it hadn't even occurred to me - a good thing apparently!

Yesterday I was asked 2 things
Nicole asked me what the time was in the UK..
I was asked if I knew where the RMS ST Helena was.
I had to think long and hard about:both! Apparently that's good too - means I am assimilated already!

Am I missing the UK - No, only those I have left behind - and of course counting the days until Andy and Henry join me - maybe I can convince George and Jenni to come out too at some point.
Steve, Mandy and Dave have already said they will visit and I truly hope they will - It will be an experience of a lifetime, for all the right reasons..

Sunset today XX