Running to Catch Up

I’ve been a bit slack with the Blog over the last few weeks – not because nothing much has happened – rather that too much has happened!
The first devastating news came on 26th January when we learnt that our good friends Hazel and David were not going to be returning to the Island after all. We sort of knew when we said ‘Bon Voyage’ in late November, but it was still a shock when we had the phone call that confirmed it!

That left a house full of possessions, furniture, food etc that would need disposing of and/or packing up to be shipped back to the UK. Having agreed to take on the task for our friends, we literally spent the next three weeks driving over to Piccolo Hill every evening after work to pack their belongings into 50 boxes! We spent time there at the weekends too, so it was a relief to finalise the packing and selling in time for their belongings to be crated and sent off on the ship to Cape Town on 26th February.
The packing certainly kept us out of trouble for a few weeks, but on a Tuesday it enabled us to drop Henry off at Gareth Drabble’s house, where Gareth was helping Henry perfect his GCSE Music ensemble – Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton.

In fact we were all treated to an early performance of his exam piece when he and Gareth performed at the SPCA fund raiser – Last Night of the Proms – at Plantation House. The evening was a roaring success with well over £1,000 raised for the charity. Excellent hosting by the Governor and Mrs Capes too! A large marquee had been erected outside enabling guests to mingle in the interval with a glass of wine and a few nibbles. Here's a video of Henry and Gareth performing at Plantation House.

The following weekend we finally got around to hosting our housewarming party at Spring Knoll. My mass catering skills were put to the test as we provided supper for around 50 guests! We had also brewed our first batch of ‘hooch’ (allegedly Cabernet Sauvignon) which went down surprisingly well with our guests – so much so that I now need to do another batch!
So you can see, we have not really had much time to sit down and write, but hopefully this will make up for my tardiness!
I’ve written before about the challenges facing the Island if a medical emergency arises. This unfortunately happened for real on Friday when a 7 year old girl was taken very seriously ill. The RMS was4 days away and it wasn’t an option to wait for her to arrive. During the day the Island issued a number of SOS assistance calls, hoping to evoke a response from a closer ship. Eventually a Dutch cargo ship responded positively and altered their course in order to reach the Island in the early hours of Saturday morning. The girl was boarded along with medical personnel from the Island and the ship set off for Ascension Island where a military plane was waiting to fly her to London and Great Ormond Street Hospital. She arrived in a stable condition in the UK on Monday. The cargo ship had to go several hundred miles out of its way, but has done so free of charge to enable the young girl to receive medical treatment. Everyone on the Island is extremely grateful. I can truly say that after almost 2 years on the Island, I feel part of the community and part of the Island. As Simon Russell would say – assimilation complete Helen!
Read all about it here in the national paper