If you are following my Blog, you were probably expecting Back to Basics Part 2 - that's on its way. Yesterday 27th June 2014, I received an notification from the HR department here that new legislation had been passed in South Africa and anyone traversing or even arriving and leaving fro the same place with minors (under 18's) can only do so with a FULL birth certificate (that's the one that details the mother and father too)in addition to usual paperwork (passport etc. The legislation comes into effect from 1st July 2014. This revelation filled me with horror! We are leaving the Island for a well earned break in a little over 4 weeks. Henry's 'long' birth certificate is safely stored in the UK. Sometimes it is possible to get things within around 4 weeks - 8-12 is more the norm here. But that is on a wing and a prayer AND if the RMS is at Ascension when the item arrives. The RMS is not calling at Ascension next time around, it is shuttling straight back to Cape Town! I am sure you will appreciate the panic that quickly set in when I realised there was no way I can get Henry's certificate here any time soon and certainly not before we travel to South Africa.
Ever the pragmatist, I Googled the new legislation and found that whilst the legislation has indeed been passed and will be in place when we travel, the South African Authorities will not be enforcing it strictly until 1st October 2014. Henry's almost 18 so it won't apply to us for very long. I will, however, be bringing all our certificates back with me - you just never know. So for anyone planning a visit here or to South Africa - remember even if you are just visiting St Helena via Ascension, all medi-evacs are via Cape Town, bring long birth certificates for anyone under 18, just in case. You can find out more information here on the UK travel advice web-site, which will be changed if legislation changes https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa
and here from South Africa http://www.southafrica.info/travel/documents/travel-children-110614.htm#.U6585JR_uSo
Saturday, 28 June 2014
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
A Year On
I left the UK on Sunday 26th May 2013. The time has gone by really quickly. By the time I get back to the UK in early August for my ‘mid-term leave’ I will have been away for just over 14 months – It’s also a long time to go without a holiday, so really looking forward to the break – 6 weeks! A chance to catch up with my Mum, my eldest (George) as well as Andy’s family and our friends. It’s our eldest nephew’s 21st too so will be looking forward to the fabulous party that I know Jill will deliver.
So to Island life…
We spent a lovely late afternoon and evening on Friday after work just chilling at Donny’s Bar. There were people wake boarding in the Bay and it was great to spend some time just people watching. Henry had taken one of his AS papers in the morning – 2 down, 2 to go. As usual the boys went diving on Saturday and in the afternoon Henry debuted as Crystal Rangers goal-keeper. He had a great time and for the first time in ages Crystal Rangers only lost by one goal (it’s usually double figures – LOL)
The Jeep Wrangler is finally up and running – new clutch fitted and tested – although had to wait for various parts to arrive from the UK. Andy often sends me into the shops to ask for different car parts – I swear he’s just having a laugh!
The sales assistants look at me like I am mad, then suggest a different shop to go to. So to anyone who is bringing a car = also bring brake pads, service parts (filters etc) don’t expect to find the ‘right’ part for your car here – generic things like oil are available and we did get wiper blades, but I asked for copper grease and there was silence.. ‘Won’t get that here’ was the response. BUT we did get it after much foraging around! I also wanted a trolley jack – I didn’t get a trolley jack, but did get a bottle jack – not quite what I was looking for, but it will do
We woke up on Sunday morning to a very low water pressure, then a short while later, no water at all. No 1 Piccolo Hill had sprung a leak! Fortunately due to the eagle eyes of John at No 4, the fault was reported and fixing within a few hours. So by lunchtime, we had brown water. A short time later we had white foaming water – it looked like milk it was that dense! Figured if I boiled it, it would be ok..
We’ve taken to walking the Muppies down at Millennium Forest/Horse Point – overlooking the airport site. It’s quiet and Pippy seems to like it – Smudge can go off the lead so long as she keeps away from the edge. Like pretty much everywhere on the Island, the views are spectacular.
We had a bank holiday on Wednesday last week – in aid of St Helena Day (anniversary of the Island’s discovery in 1502) And again, unlike the UK we have 2 bank holidays in June, on the 9th and the 16th, so looking forward to that
So to Island life…
We spent a lovely late afternoon and evening on Friday after work just chilling at Donny’s Bar. There were people wake boarding in the Bay and it was great to spend some time just people watching. Henry had taken one of his AS papers in the morning – 2 down, 2 to go. As usual the boys went diving on Saturday and in the afternoon Henry debuted as Crystal Rangers goal-keeper. He had a great time and for the first time in ages Crystal Rangers only lost by one goal (it’s usually double figures – LOL)
The Jeep Wrangler is finally up and running – new clutch fitted and tested – although had to wait for various parts to arrive from the UK. Andy often sends me into the shops to ask for different car parts – I swear he’s just having a laugh!
The sales assistants look at me like I am mad, then suggest a different shop to go to. So to anyone who is bringing a car = also bring brake pads, service parts (filters etc) don’t expect to find the ‘right’ part for your car here – generic things like oil are available and we did get wiper blades, but I asked for copper grease and there was silence.. ‘Won’t get that here’ was the response. BUT we did get it after much foraging around! I also wanted a trolley jack – I didn’t get a trolley jack, but did get a bottle jack – not quite what I was looking for, but it will do
We woke up on Sunday morning to a very low water pressure, then a short while later, no water at all. No 1 Piccolo Hill had sprung a leak! Fortunately due to the eagle eyes of John at No 4, the fault was reported and fixing within a few hours. So by lunchtime, we had brown water. A short time later we had white foaming water – it looked like milk it was that dense! Figured if I boiled it, it would be ok..
We’ve taken to walking the Muppies down at Millennium Forest/Horse Point – overlooking the airport site. It’s quiet and Pippy seems to like it – Smudge can go off the lead so long as she keeps away from the edge. Like pretty much everywhere on the Island, the views are spectacular.
We had a bank holiday on Wednesday last week – in aid of St Helena Day (anniversary of the Island’s discovery in 1502) And again, unlike the UK we have 2 bank holidays in June, on the 9th and the 16th, so looking forward to that
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