A Voyage to World's End

Have just read an article today in the Observer by Jenny Diski, who recently visited St. Helena. It opens with a quote from the Honorary French Consul: "Please don't go away and write that St. Helena is an island paradise."


The article is generally downbeat - "It's British colonialism past its sell-by date" - and suggests that HMG really has no long term plan for the Island, other than the building of the airport - which sounds about right to me.

The only inaccuracy I could spot was the statement that Longwood was "given to the French" - in fact it and the Valley of the Tomb were purchased. The Briars was given - by Dame Mabel Brookes a century after the others were acquired.

The author seems to have witnessed Jonathan having "astonishingly noisy sex". "Who knew tortoises could be so interesting?" was the reported comment of the Governor's wife. Indeed. Jonathan seems to make an indelible impression on everyone. Even her Majesty still remembers him.

link to Observer Article

Postscript

The very large photo of Jamestown shown on the Observer (not on the web site) looks to me like a mirror image -a view of the sea down James's Valley shows Jacob's Ladder on the right hand side of the valley. The Observer's sister newspaper is often referred to as the Grauniad because of its poor proof reading, but this is the first case I have ever heard of of a totally inaccurate photo. How on earth did they manage that?