I’ve been speaking this week to someone who has just been offered a job on the Island. She got in touch with me through this Blog – Fantastic as that is exactly the purpose of me wittering on giving an ex-pats honest overview of life on St Helena.
It made me review the ‘Country Notes’ which are sent to new recruits to see if anything had changed. In fact, it had been a year since I last reviewed them and changes had happened – some of them quite significant and worthy of a mention for people thinking about employment here.
There are now 15 TV channels. Please don’t get too excited, unless you love sport as half the channels are sport channels. Others are National Geographic, BBC Lifestyle, Discovery Channel, MNet (South African rebroadcast) MNet Movies – Premiere, Drama and Romance, Action. Cartoon network and Disney also feature. You can download a TV guide here http://www.sure.co.sh/page16.html
The first thing you will notice is that programmes are on at bizarre times of day and night. For example if you wanted to watch X-Factor UK (just being screened here for the first time) you would have to watch it at 8am on Saturday morning, EastEnders (3 or so weeks behind) is on at 3am and 3 pm, so you start to appreciate the importance of bringing a VCR or DVD recorder to the Island - we also brought a Media Streamer (ACRyan) on which we pre-loaded all our DVD movies before leaving the UK – we now have around 2 TB worth. The TV programmes are mercilessly repeated and are generally quite dated, with a few more up-to-date programmes interspersed. It is quite expensive too in comparison to what you can get for your pound elsewhere. As at November 2014 we pay £36.30 per month. This amount is beyond the reach of many locals who hire DVD’s cheaply from shops in town as an alternative to the TV package.
This brings us nicely on to Communications in general. Telephone line rental is cheap at £5 a month. Local calls are reasonable too. Calls to the UK are expensive, currently £0.86 per minute (£0.99 Rest of the World) Skype and FaceTime etc are possible, but do eat into your data allowance, as does the use of anything wireless.
So to internet. If you think you ever had a slow/bad connection in the UK/Rest of the World – think again! St Helena Island is reliant on one tiny satellite link for her bandwidth and at peak times it can be dire, almost resembling dial-up! You pay through the nose here too. Most ex-pats struggle to stay within the download limit of the Gold package (£97 per month for 6.5Gb max download at a maximum connection speed of 1.5Mb) and opt for Gold Plus (£190 per month for 13.25Gb max download at 1.5Mb connection) Beware of going over though. Someone recently went over their allowance on Gold by 5GB and it cost £450. Even on the top package, we have sometimes gone over a little. We tend to save our data for talking to friends and relatives, but if you have teenage children (as we have) using wireless applications on mobile phones can kill your allowance – we also turned off all automatic updates so we can control when they happen. More recently SURE has introduced unlimited downloads between 12 midnight and 6am, which helps.
Things we brought that we wouldn’t be without : Goes without saying – our dogs, but materially – I am very pleased we brought our super-king sized bed – not because I don’t like sleeping close to Andy, but because we are used to the comfort of it. And at £3,000 new it was an investment that needed to travel. We didn’t bring white goods, but I have since bought on Island a chest freezer and have shipped a tall fridge out too. Depending on the size of your household, you will refrigerate and freeze so much more than in the UK, particularly fruit and vegetables. We bought dog food with us (Bakers Complete type large sacks) You can get dog food on the Island, but it’s probably not what your dog is used to! We brought out Advocate (which ran out fast!) and is not available here although a lesser version (Fiprotec) is. We also brought things like rugs - framed pictures and things that make your home comfy too!
Other things go without saying but:
Crockery,Cutlery,Knife Block,Kitchen utensils,Saucepans,Frying pan,Baking tins and trays, microwave, slow cooker, toaster, kettle, mixer,deep fat fryer, steamer, duvet, bedding, pillows, throws, vacuum, dustpan and brush, DIY tools, etc
Other than that, I ‘Tesco shop’ on line once a quarter approximately for the things I really need (to be honest there’s not much that I can’t live without and in fact have done so quite admirably so far)
So what have I ordered? Nothing earth shattering – my favourite fabric softener, Tesco own yeast extract which I find much nicer than Marmite! Quavers, Xmas chocolates, Xmas pudding, a few bottles of wine (expensive to import, BUT you get what you like to drink.) Dog treats and a couple of breakfast cereals that we don’t see here often. It was delivered for shipping on 9th October. I am expecting it to arrive on or around 8th December with any luck. Hopefully most will still be within its sell by date! If it missed that ship, it won’t get here until sometime in January so fingers crossed.
Showing posts with label south Atlantic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label south Atlantic. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Remembrance Sunday 2014
The spring weather has been late to arrive this year and I wondered if Remembrance Sunday would be a damp squib, but on the morning the sun was shining as we made our way into Jamestown to be part of the service at the Cenotaph on the quayside.
We arrived early (required in order to find a parking space!) We were delighted to find the Coffee Shop open and sat in the sun drinking St Helena coffee and chatting with friends.
The parade started early and we were soon bustling through the crowds to get a good vantage point for the ceremony. Various uniformed groups marched down to the Cenotaph and soon the Acting Governor Mr Sean Burns and his wife Marina arrived to start the service.
As before, the service was respectful and moving, culminating in a parade past dignitaries who received the salute on the Court House steps! All in keeping with local tradition.
Speaking to some locals afterwards, they told me that the weather is ALWAYS perfect for Remembrance Sunday and so it was.
The most entertaining part though was the colour of ex-pat faces on Monday morning, where they had not used a strong enough factor sun cream. I advocate using Factor 30 as a minimum and I am not someone who readily burns. The sun is exceptionally strong here even when it isn’t very hot. It got to around 28◦C here on Sunday, which is not hot in comparison to summer here, but you really can’t underestimate the strength of the sun.
Anyway, lots of sunburnt faces on Monday did make me smile :-)
We arrived early (required in order to find a parking space!) We were delighted to find the Coffee Shop open and sat in the sun drinking St Helena coffee and chatting with friends.
The parade started early and we were soon bustling through the crowds to get a good vantage point for the ceremony. Various uniformed groups marched down to the Cenotaph and soon the Acting Governor Mr Sean Burns and his wife Marina arrived to start the service.
As before, the service was respectful and moving, culminating in a parade past dignitaries who received the salute on the Court House steps! All in keeping with local tradition.
Speaking to some locals afterwards, they told me that the weather is ALWAYS perfect for Remembrance Sunday and so it was.
The most entertaining part though was the colour of ex-pat faces on Monday morning, where they had not used a strong enough factor sun cream. I advocate using Factor 30 as a minimum and I am not someone who readily burns. The sun is exceptionally strong here even when it isn’t very hot. It got to around 28◦C here on Sunday, which is not hot in comparison to summer here, but you really can’t underestimate the strength of the sun.
Anyway, lots of sunburnt faces on Monday did make me smile :-)
Moving House
It’s been a long time coming. We have been looking for somewhere quiet and suitable for two dogs, including a blind one, for a while. Most ex-pats with animals tend to stay in Chief Secretary Housing (owned and operated by SHG) as they allow pets. Unfortunately there are very few private landlords that permit animals and those that do; the property is not always suitable for disabled ones!
We had pretty much decided to stay at Piccolo Hill where we are settled, have an uninterrupted view of the Barn and Flagstaff and a safe garden for the dogs, but literally a couple of days after our return to the Island in September, the local person in the ‘know’ AKA as ‘Small Change’ got in touch to say he had the perfect place for us. No harm in going to look, we decided and the next day we were introduced to ‘Spring Knoll’, a fairly large imposing house on the opposite side of the Island, located in Scotland! Luckily it’s not as cold as the UK counterpart, but it does rain more than in Longwood. The difference is it rains properly. Longwood spends more of the winter month in cloud, making it damper in that respect.
We love the house and the location and it’s relatively dog friendly (and the landlord is happy with our dogs) Nothing in our world is ever that simple though. The house is pretty much unfurnished – not even a cooker, so having just left our furniture in storage in the UK, we now need it out here. We’d shipped some items from the UK during our holiday, arriving at the end of October, but nothing like we’ll need at the house!
A shopping frenzy ensued with items now en-route from the UK including a 4 piece lounge suite, bedroom and dining furniture, not to mention a cooker, washing machine and curtains! Expensive, but worth it we hope.
I wasn’t going to write about our move yet, but the car-share drive in this morning made me laugh out loud! We often have some hilarious moments on the drive in, recounting events and stories. This time it came from Martin. We were discussing using parental controls on the set-top box (I use that phrase with caution – it’s nothing like TV anywhere else and is very limited)
‘I’ve tried that’ he declared ‘Did you not here about my problems?’ He then started to tell us how he was trying to access the parental control menu, when he accidentally press the wrong button and ended up with Arabic subtitles! That wouldn’t have been too bad, but because he didn’t know how he’d done it, he couldn’t undo it! Having already had to recently call ‘Sure’ out for another TV related issue, he was reluctant to do so again. It took almost a week to remove the subtitles!
This for some strange reason, reminded me of a conversation Andy and I had had the previous evening.
He had been at Spring Knoll, building my new utility room and had been clearing the gutters of debris with Small Change. He brushed against the plumbing waste pipes on the exterior wall, serving the bathroom and toilet. The pipes were not actually fixed to anything – not even each other, so they collapsed like a pack of cards! (Luckily Andy is one of the people who can only see how to make good, so was actually pleased to find it, so it can be sorted!) It makes us laugh how such bodged things actually work quite well until you touch them.
Following Small Change’s inspection of Andy’s plumbing work, both in the utility room and externally, he has declared Andy ‘a qualified St Helenian plumber’
We had pretty much decided to stay at Piccolo Hill where we are settled, have an uninterrupted view of the Barn and Flagstaff and a safe garden for the dogs, but literally a couple of days after our return to the Island in September, the local person in the ‘know’ AKA as ‘Small Change’ got in touch to say he had the perfect place for us. No harm in going to look, we decided and the next day we were introduced to ‘Spring Knoll’, a fairly large imposing house on the opposite side of the Island, located in Scotland! Luckily it’s not as cold as the UK counterpart, but it does rain more than in Longwood. The difference is it rains properly. Longwood spends more of the winter month in cloud, making it damper in that respect.
We love the house and the location and it’s relatively dog friendly (and the landlord is happy with our dogs) Nothing in our world is ever that simple though. The house is pretty much unfurnished – not even a cooker, so having just left our furniture in storage in the UK, we now need it out here. We’d shipped some items from the UK during our holiday, arriving at the end of October, but nothing like we’ll need at the house!
A shopping frenzy ensued with items now en-route from the UK including a 4 piece lounge suite, bedroom and dining furniture, not to mention a cooker, washing machine and curtains! Expensive, but worth it we hope.
I wasn’t going to write about our move yet, but the car-share drive in this morning made me laugh out loud! We often have some hilarious moments on the drive in, recounting events and stories. This time it came from Martin. We were discussing using parental controls on the set-top box (I use that phrase with caution – it’s nothing like TV anywhere else and is very limited)
‘I’ve tried that’ he declared ‘Did you not here about my problems?’ He then started to tell us how he was trying to access the parental control menu, when he accidentally press the wrong button and ended up with Arabic subtitles! That wouldn’t have been too bad, but because he didn’t know how he’d done it, he couldn’t undo it! Having already had to recently call ‘Sure’ out for another TV related issue, he was reluctant to do so again. It took almost a week to remove the subtitles!
This for some strange reason, reminded me of a conversation Andy and I had had the previous evening.
He had been at Spring Knoll, building my new utility room and had been clearing the gutters of debris with Small Change. He brushed against the plumbing waste pipes on the exterior wall, serving the bathroom and toilet. The pipes were not actually fixed to anything – not even each other, so they collapsed like a pack of cards! (Luckily Andy is one of the people who can only see how to make good, so was actually pleased to find it, so it can be sorted!) It makes us laugh how such bodged things actually work quite well until you touch them.
Following Small Change’s inspection of Andy’s plumbing work, both in the utility room and externally, he has declared Andy ‘a qualified St Helenian plumber’
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Going Back to Basics Part 1
In 6 weeks’ time, we will have started our 7 day journey back to the UK. It was this realisation that inspired this ‘Back to Basics’ Blog post.
Having been cocooned on the Island for over a year in pretty much complete isolation, somehow, you forget the military operation and precision required to get to anywhere off island!
Currently there are 2 ways to get to the Island – both entail lots of time plus journeys by sea.
James Bay St Helena Island
In July, we will be leaving James Bay on the RMS St Helena and embarking on a 6 day/ 5 night voyage – I’m going to call it a cruise – which will arrive in Cape Town, South Africa.
RMS St. Helena
We are then spending a night in a nice looking hotel in the V and A Waterfront in the shadow of Table Mountain.
Table Mountain
Of course when travelling to and from the Island via Cape Town there are many other possibilities en route. It’s relatively easy and cost effective to stop off in Mauritius for example – something we will be looking to do on the way out next time.
Its winter here now, so will be winter in Cape Town – even snows sometimes! So we must remember to pack a couple of jumpers and boots too! That also means that the journey is likely to be a tad rough and delays in arriving are not uncommon, but the ship does mainly run to schedule.
We will leave Cape Town late on the following evening and fly back to Heathrow, arriving early on the Thursday morning, 8 days after leaving St Helena. Of course the journey back will take the same time, so that is already over 2 weeks taken in pure travelling time.
So the other route in is via Ascension Island and although slightly quicker, it is fraught with more potential points of failure!
Ascension Island is a military base, occupied by the British and the Americans. As such, only military flights are permitted. The RAF has 2 scheduled flights to the Falkland Islands per week. It is this flight that touches down in Ascension and refuels. As it is primarily military there are only 10 seats allocated to civilians. So If you get one of the precious seats, you then have to try and coincide it with the RMS St Helena calling. There is only one hotel on Ascension (the Obsidian) so again getting accommodation can also be tricky. Once all these hurdles have been overcome, the journey on the ship is only 4 days/3 nights. So you can in theory get there and back in a little over 7 days, providing the ship calls to coincide with flights, which it generally doesn’t!
The days spent on the RMS St Helena are idyllic with a real feel of going back in time. Playing deck quoits or cricket, watching movies in the lounge, letting the ship’s crew entertain you after superb, top quality dining is all part of the experience.
But the whole journey which ever route is chosen is full of adventure and opportunity. Seeing turtles on Ascension Island’s beach or going on safari in South Africa, spending time on the RMS St Helena, visiting one of the world’s remotest islands, seeing the breath-taking scenery first hand, diving in spectacular waters, seeing things you’d never see elsewhere is why we are living on St Helena.
Having been cocooned on the Island for over a year in pretty much complete isolation, somehow, you forget the military operation and precision required to get to anywhere off island!
Currently there are 2 ways to get to the Island – both entail lots of time plus journeys by sea.
In July, we will be leaving James Bay on the RMS St Helena and embarking on a 6 day/ 5 night voyage – I’m going to call it a cruise – which will arrive in Cape Town, South Africa.
We are then spending a night in a nice looking hotel in the V and A Waterfront in the shadow of Table Mountain.
Of course when travelling to and from the Island via Cape Town there are many other possibilities en route. It’s relatively easy and cost effective to stop off in Mauritius for example – something we will be looking to do on the way out next time.
Its winter here now, so will be winter in Cape Town – even snows sometimes! So we must remember to pack a couple of jumpers and boots too! That also means that the journey is likely to be a tad rough and delays in arriving are not uncommon, but the ship does mainly run to schedule.
We will leave Cape Town late on the following evening and fly back to Heathrow, arriving early on the Thursday morning, 8 days after leaving St Helena. Of course the journey back will take the same time, so that is already over 2 weeks taken in pure travelling time.
So the other route in is via Ascension Island and although slightly quicker, it is fraught with more potential points of failure!
Ascension Island is a military base, occupied by the British and the Americans. As such, only military flights are permitted. The RAF has 2 scheduled flights to the Falkland Islands per week. It is this flight that touches down in Ascension and refuels. As it is primarily military there are only 10 seats allocated to civilians. So If you get one of the precious seats, you then have to try and coincide it with the RMS St Helena calling. There is only one hotel on Ascension (the Obsidian) so again getting accommodation can also be tricky. Once all these hurdles have been overcome, the journey on the ship is only 4 days/3 nights. So you can in theory get there and back in a little over 7 days, providing the ship calls to coincide with flights, which it generally doesn’t!
The days spent on the RMS St Helena are idyllic with a real feel of going back in time. Playing deck quoits or cricket, watching movies in the lounge, letting the ship’s crew entertain you after superb, top quality dining is all part of the experience.
But the whole journey which ever route is chosen is full of adventure and opportunity. Seeing turtles on Ascension Island’s beach or going on safari in South Africa, spending time on the RMS St Helena, visiting one of the world’s remotest islands, seeing the breath-taking scenery first hand, diving in spectacular waters, seeing things you’d never see elsewhere is why we are living on St Helena.
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
A Change in the Weather
This time last year in my first week on St Helena, it felt positively boiling hot! A year on and having just spent several months basking in temperatures in excess of thirty degrees, there’s definitely a chill in the air (that’s a 22 degree chill!) Typical autumn weather, I guess – bit of a nip in the air first thing in the morning and from late afternoon. During the day, the sun has been out most days and the temperature rises rapidly.
The usually calmness of James Bay, has been replaced by ‘rollers’ and large swells. The waves have been crashing over the waterfront, bringing large stones with them – not the place to park the car at the moment!
Picture by Mark Stevenson - winner of picture competition 2013
The RMS St Helena was in from Cape Town last week and for the first time since I arrived, there was some difficulty disembarking passengers due to the swell. The normally slick and speedy process was delayed by several hours as the highly skilled coxswain fought against the waves and swell to bring passengers safely to shore.
Passengers alighted and attention was turned to the cargo and containers. Usually the RMS ways anchor on the right side of the bay, closest to the wharf and cranes. This visit was no different, but it soon became clear that the swell was forcing the ship to list precariously from side to side. For the first time since I arrived, the RMS had to be moved to the opposite side of James Bay where the Ocean was a little calmer. This resulted in it taking much longer to crane cargo off the ship onto the waiting pontoons and the pontoons still had to ‘run the gauntlet’ of waves to get the containers/vehicles etc safely onto the wharf.
All of this meant that when the RMS departed for Georgetown, Ascension Island a couple of days later, cargo that should have been offloaded was still on board.
Andy Crowe – Piccolo neighbour and Housing advisor here, is returning from oversea leave on the RMS when it returns from Ascension Island. Our cat sitting duties will cease – Jo will be pleased to see Andy, I am sure. Andy will be arriving with the new Chief Secretary Roy Burke and his wife, Jill.
Let’s hope it is nice and calm later today when the RMS arrives! The current voyage is V209. We will be leaving the Island for overseas leave on V212 – so close now
It also means that our dog sitting duties are also nearly up. The Governor, Mark Capes, will be on the RMS when it returns from Cape Town on 17th June. Wellington will return to his much more up-market residence of Plantation House, but I know he will miss playing with our two dogs. Housing status isn’t everything after all, for Sir Wellington Capes LOL
The usually calmness of James Bay, has been replaced by ‘rollers’ and large swells. The waves have been crashing over the waterfront, bringing large stones with them – not the place to park the car at the moment!
Picture by Mark Stevenson - winner of picture competition 2013
The RMS St Helena was in from Cape Town last week and for the first time since I arrived, there was some difficulty disembarking passengers due to the swell. The normally slick and speedy process was delayed by several hours as the highly skilled coxswain fought against the waves and swell to bring passengers safely to shore.
Passengers alighted and attention was turned to the cargo and containers. Usually the RMS ways anchor on the right side of the bay, closest to the wharf and cranes. This visit was no different, but it soon became clear that the swell was forcing the ship to list precariously from side to side. For the first time since I arrived, the RMS had to be moved to the opposite side of James Bay where the Ocean was a little calmer. This resulted in it taking much longer to crane cargo off the ship onto the waiting pontoons and the pontoons still had to ‘run the gauntlet’ of waves to get the containers/vehicles etc safely onto the wharf.
All of this meant that when the RMS departed for Georgetown, Ascension Island a couple of days later, cargo that should have been offloaded was still on board.
Andy Crowe – Piccolo neighbour and Housing advisor here, is returning from oversea leave on the RMS when it returns from Ascension Island. Our cat sitting duties will cease – Jo will be pleased to see Andy, I am sure. Andy will be arriving with the new Chief Secretary Roy Burke and his wife, Jill.
Let’s hope it is nice and calm later today when the RMS arrives! The current voyage is V209. We will be leaving the Island for overseas leave on V212 – so close now
It also means that our dog sitting duties are also nearly up. The Governor, Mark Capes, will be on the RMS when it returns from Cape Town on 17th June. Wellington will return to his much more up-market residence of Plantation House, but I know he will miss playing with our two dogs. Housing status isn’t everything after all, for Sir Wellington Capes LOL
Saturday, 12 April 2014
Only on St Helena!!
This is a phrase that you will often hear ex-pats muttering. The most recent events causing this reaction are:
· Nursery School field trip to the local abattoir
· Restaurants that close at the weekend
· Everyone finishing work at 4pm
· Hiring the local Golf Club for a party - £25
It was our 25th (Silver) Wedding Anniversary this week – I contacted the local radio station and asked them to play a request for Andy.
There was a big build up – several early mentions of Andy at Piccolo’s 25th – I contacted them to remind them it was 25 years of marriage, not his birthday! Although I am sure he would have been very happy to be 25 again. He waited for the ‘special request’. The song dedicated to our anniversary had the following opening lyrics:
‘As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left’
Our actual anniversary was a few days before the party and my lovely husband had gone to the trouble of designing a necklace to incorporate all three of our sons, Lee (who is sadly no longer with us), George (who is in the UK) and Henry (who lives with us on St Helena) It was had crafted by Giselle Richards who has a small jewelry business on the island. I was delighted.
But on a lighter note
· Nobody seems to pay upfront for stuff. My Christmas tree had well and truly dropped all its needles and was long gone before I received the invoice to pay..
· Nothing is too much trouble
· The Saints are amazingly kind, trusting and friendly
· The views and scenery are like nowhere else on earth
· I can’t use a mobile phone in the way it was intended (it’s a very expensive alarm clock!)
· I can walk for miles without seeing another person
· The weather changes every few minutes
· The MOT consists of brakes, lights and tyres
· Children have incredible freedom and safety
· People I don’t know stop me for a chat in the street and are genuinely interested
· I had more than 6 people interested in buying my Jeep less than 24 hours after it arrived on Island
· The local Rock Band – The ‘Big Easy’ performed at our party...
And so to the party. Quite soon after arriving here we discovered that it was our Piccolo neighbours daughter -Deanna's - 18th birthday the same week as our 25th Anniversary so we started to plan a big party. One evening we were entertained at the Mule Yard by a local band - The Big Easy. They were fabulous, so I tracked down the 'leader' Johnny Dillon. He was quite surprised that I wanted to 'book the band', but after some persuasion, he agreed. We decided on hiring the St Helena Golf Club as the venue and enlisted the help of Kayla and Leroy Fowler (owners of waterfront cafe 'Ocean Wave' to provide the catering.
Friends at work, Annie and Tessa provided the cake and artistic decorating of the venue respectively.
When the day came Piccolo guests met at the Woosey's house for Champagne and 'Taste the Rainbow' vodka, before walking over to the club shortly before 7. We had rigged up a 'disco' with the help of Henry's Peavey Amp and a laptop. 70's and 80's music started playing early on as did the dancing. The Big Easy arrived on cue and started playing. We had been worried about the constraints of the club house, but everyone commented on how marvelous they sounded.
Mark and Tamara Capes (AKA the Governor and his wife) were in attendance as were Sean and Marina Burns (Deputy Governor and his wife)so we were delighted to be able to welcome them to our celebrations. Many, many other friends were also in attendance and the band enjoyed it so much they played right through (apart from a short break!)to the very end. WE had the best time and thank everyone who made it a truly memorable occasion! I was particularly pleased to note that our Saint friends far outweighed our ex-pat ones.
· Nursery School field trip to the local abattoir
· Restaurants that close at the weekend
· Everyone finishing work at 4pm
· Hiring the local Golf Club for a party - £25
It was our 25th (Silver) Wedding Anniversary this week – I contacted the local radio station and asked them to play a request for Andy.
There was a big build up – several early mentions of Andy at Piccolo’s 25th – I contacted them to remind them it was 25 years of marriage, not his birthday! Although I am sure he would have been very happy to be 25 again. He waited for the ‘special request’. The song dedicated to our anniversary had the following opening lyrics:
‘As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left’
Our actual anniversary was a few days before the party and my lovely husband had gone to the trouble of designing a necklace to incorporate all three of our sons, Lee (who is sadly no longer with us), George (who is in the UK) and Henry (who lives with us on St Helena) It was had crafted by Giselle Richards who has a small jewelry business on the island. I was delighted.
But on a lighter note
· Nobody seems to pay upfront for stuff. My Christmas tree had well and truly dropped all its needles and was long gone before I received the invoice to pay..
· Nothing is too much trouble
· The Saints are amazingly kind, trusting and friendly
· The views and scenery are like nowhere else on earth
· I can’t use a mobile phone in the way it was intended (it’s a very expensive alarm clock!)
· I can walk for miles without seeing another person
· The weather changes every few minutes
· The MOT consists of brakes, lights and tyres
· Children have incredible freedom and safety
· People I don’t know stop me for a chat in the street and are genuinely interested
· I had more than 6 people interested in buying my Jeep less than 24 hours after it arrived on Island
· The local Rock Band – The ‘Big Easy’ performed at our party...
And so to the party. Quite soon after arriving here we discovered that it was our Piccolo neighbours daughter -Deanna's - 18th birthday the same week as our 25th Anniversary so we started to plan a big party. One evening we were entertained at the Mule Yard by a local band - The Big Easy. They were fabulous, so I tracked down the 'leader' Johnny Dillon. He was quite surprised that I wanted to 'book the band', but after some persuasion, he agreed. We decided on hiring the St Helena Golf Club as the venue and enlisted the help of Kayla and Leroy Fowler (owners of waterfront cafe 'Ocean Wave' to provide the catering.
Friends at work, Annie and Tessa provided the cake and artistic decorating of the venue respectively.
When the day came Piccolo guests met at the Woosey's house for Champagne and 'Taste the Rainbow' vodka, before walking over to the club shortly before 7. We had rigged up a 'disco' with the help of Henry's Peavey Amp and a laptop. 70's and 80's music started playing early on as did the dancing. The Big Easy arrived on cue and started playing. We had been worried about the constraints of the club house, but everyone commented on how marvelous they sounded.
Mark and Tamara Capes (AKA the Governor and his wife) were in attendance as were Sean and Marina Burns (Deputy Governor and his wife)so we were delighted to be able to welcome them to our celebrations. Many, many other friends were also in attendance and the band enjoyed it so much they played right through (apart from a short break!)to the very end. WE had the best time and thank everyone who made it a truly memorable occasion! I was particularly pleased to note that our Saint friends far outweighed our ex-pat ones.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Social Life and More!
It’s been particularly busy over the last few weeks! I have been putting the finishing touches to my Masters and been heavily involved in preparing the final documentation for the Department for International Development (DfID) to secure the Budgetary Aid settlement agreed by DfID representatives when they made their annual DAPM (Development Aid Planning Mission) visit in January. It wouldn’t usually be part of the ‘Day job’ but my Boss Susan O’Bey has been seconded to undertake a very important role as Deputy Chief Executive (and currently Acting Chief Executive) leading St Helena Island’s economic development, As a result, her vacant post of Director of Strategic Policy and Planning has been split in 2 and I am covering the performance and planning side until a replacement has been recruited, so it’s been full on.
After a nervous few weeks wait, I got the results of my MBA (Strategic Change) and got an A (distinction) so am delighted with that!!
I’ve also been teaching A Level and GCSE Business Studies at Prince Andrew School one afternoon a week to help them out. It’s something that I very much enjoy doing and reminds me of why I went into training and coaching much earlier in my career. So I spend time at the weekend lesson planning then teach 2 classes back to back.
Burns night came late to St Helena. There is a sizable Scottish contingent here, but a fair few were off Island, not returning until the end of January. So St Helena Burns Night took place at the Consulate Hotel on February 8th and a fantastic time was had by all! It was also the last social event we attended with Martin Sutcliffe and Linda Woods, who departed the Island a couple of weeks later following the completion of Linda’s contract.
After a brief stopover in Scotland, they are heading off to San Francisco where Linda is starting her next contract – Good luck guys – Miss you!
It’s an odd concept really – people come and go on a regular basis, not just ex-pats, but many Saints too. Due to the poor economy many Saints live and work overseas, predominantly on Ascension, the Falklands or in the UK. In fact two of my A Level students are from Ascension. They have moved here to complete their A Level studies and are living with relatives having left their families behind – it’s very hard for them to be apart, but I know they are really looking forward to visiting Ascension in the summer before commencing their second year of study here.
True friendships are hard to establish as often by the time you’ve got to know someone, they are off either for good or extended leave. But you do find yourself mixing with large social groups and attending lots of ‘do’s’
So to Christmas Day number two!
Bob, Paula and Pip had spent Christmas back in the UK and Pip had been disappointed not to be having a Piccolo Christmas, so we arranged to do a second Christmas on her return. They were due back on 31st January, so Christmas was set for February 1st. A few days before they were due to fly to South Africa to board the RMS, Pip went down with chicken pox! She wasn’t able to fly. Luckily, they were able to secure flights and accommodation to Ascension the following week enabling them to catch up with the RMS in Georgetown a week later. Christmas Day had to be postponed and due to Burns Night taking place the following Saturday, we settled on 15th February. We didn’t hold back! Starters – Lemon and herb breaded wahoo stick and scampi with Tartar sauce, followed by Roast Turkey, roast potatoes, fresh vegetables, pigs in blankets (home-made!)roast parsnips, washed down with a bottle of bubbly (courtesy of the Governor) and lots of wine. Crackers and presents too! Everyone contributed to the day and a fun time was had by all.
After a nervous few weeks wait, I got the results of my MBA (Strategic Change) and got an A (distinction) so am delighted with that!!
I’ve also been teaching A Level and GCSE Business Studies at Prince Andrew School one afternoon a week to help them out. It’s something that I very much enjoy doing and reminds me of why I went into training and coaching much earlier in my career. So I spend time at the weekend lesson planning then teach 2 classes back to back.
Burns night came late to St Helena. There is a sizable Scottish contingent here, but a fair few were off Island, not returning until the end of January. So St Helena Burns Night took place at the Consulate Hotel on February 8th and a fantastic time was had by all! It was also the last social event we attended with Martin Sutcliffe and Linda Woods, who departed the Island a couple of weeks later following the completion of Linda’s contract.
After a brief stopover in Scotland, they are heading off to San Francisco where Linda is starting her next contract – Good luck guys – Miss you!
It’s an odd concept really – people come and go on a regular basis, not just ex-pats, but many Saints too. Due to the poor economy many Saints live and work overseas, predominantly on Ascension, the Falklands or in the UK. In fact two of my A Level students are from Ascension. They have moved here to complete their A Level studies and are living with relatives having left their families behind – it’s very hard for them to be apart, but I know they are really looking forward to visiting Ascension in the summer before commencing their second year of study here.
True friendships are hard to establish as often by the time you’ve got to know someone, they are off either for good or extended leave. But you do find yourself mixing with large social groups and attending lots of ‘do’s’
So to Christmas Day number two!
Bob, Paula and Pip had spent Christmas back in the UK and Pip had been disappointed not to be having a Piccolo Christmas, so we arranged to do a second Christmas on her return. They were due back on 31st January, so Christmas was set for February 1st. A few days before they were due to fly to South Africa to board the RMS, Pip went down with chicken pox! She wasn’t able to fly. Luckily, they were able to secure flights and accommodation to Ascension the following week enabling them to catch up with the RMS in Georgetown a week later. Christmas Day had to be postponed and due to Burns Night taking place the following Saturday, we settled on 15th February. We didn’t hold back! Starters – Lemon and herb breaded wahoo stick and scampi with Tartar sauce, followed by Roast Turkey, roast potatoes, fresh vegetables, pigs in blankets (home-made!)roast parsnips, washed down with a bottle of bubbly (courtesy of the Governor) and lots of wine. Crackers and presents too! Everyone contributed to the day and a fun time was had by all.
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