Teutonic Hall - as it used to look

Not too long ago I wrote a post about Teutonic Hall. It seems to have created a lot of interest. Since then a reader has kindly drawn my attention to some photos taken in the 1970's for the Crallan Report on the historic buildings of St Helena. (1)




A fine building and a fine setting. How sad to see it in its present state.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them).

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1. Crallan , Hugh The Crallan Report: the Complete Photographs. Museum of St Helena 2007. DVD containing all 360 of Crallan’s images - A comprehensive record of St Helena’s buildings. The DVD is available from Miles Apart.

St Helena and Napoleon's Bicentenary : Let's Just Do It

I have always given a link to the Friends of St Helena's website on this blog, but until recently have never actually got round to filling in the membership forms.

I don't know why it has taken so long. I could claim that it is because all its events are held in the south of England. Apart from occasionally passing through en route to far away places, I can only recall visiting London twice in 20 years!

That is probably just an excuse though.

Anyway, prompted by a certain French man who I believe has never himself visited St Helena, I have now joined.

What is more I have buried my prejudices, or some of them at least, and I hope to be in London on 16th October for the Friends' meeting on "Napoleon and His Time on St Helena 1815-1821."

Amongst the information sent by the Friends is the booklet "Let's Just Do It", produced by Hazel Wilmot, who is I believe the new owner of the Consulate Hotel in Jamestown.

What an interesting read. Written in 2021, it looks back on St Helena's development since 2010. You may have to read that twice!

In 2021 the new Bicentennial Airport is being opened on Prosperous Bay Plain. Apparently there has in the meantime been the development of a small daytime airfield at Horse Pasture, which was opened in 2011 or maybe 2012, and gave Saints quick access to medical facilities in South Africa. This airport is now far too small, hence the building of the new one. Among the many other developments have been the lifting of previous restrictions on immigration, a rise in population to 6000, the development of two new retirement villages, the relocation of a number of banks from the politically less stable African continent and so on.

I was interested to see the pride of place given to Napoleon in the opening passage.

Liverpool has its John Lennon Airport, so why should St Helena not have one associated with the captivity and death of its most famous resident? I would not hold my breath over that one!

Certainly the work of preserving and developing the Napoleonic sites has at best been peripheral to the concerns of Government and most Saints.

Hazel Wilmot however, perhaps because she is a newcomer as well as an astute business woman, seems to have instantly grasped the significance of the Napoleonic heritage for the future of St Helena.

It will be interesting to look back in 2021 and see what has actually been achieved.

The Future of St Helena: A Wedding destination?

An interesting day for the Napoleonic blogs.

Carmi has unearthed a wonderful cartoon of Napoleon on the front page of a 1949 Men Only Magazine - a real gem. Quite how the cartoon relates to the content of that particular edition of the magazine is unclear.

Then Michel reports a recent wedding at Longwood House,well a renewal of vows actually, and in the Montholon Apartment, not the Imperial Suite.

The happy couple were expatriates currently working with the island police. After the short ceremony there were photos on the lawn in front of the famous entrance.

Longwood has over the years witnessed births and deaths and other dramatic events - but as far as I know never a wedding ceremony.

I could not help wondering what Napoleon would have made of all this.

Perhaps this will be the future of St Helena and of Longwood House - an exotic wedding destination.

Once St Helena gets its airport then the Mediterranean, Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Las Vegas will have a new more exotic and probably more expensive rival.

I can see it now: horses and carriages, men dressed in uniforms of the Grande Armée, and maybe even photos in Longwood House with a Napoleon look alike, for a supplementary fee of course.

Certainly beats a photo with a Sri Lankan elephant.

Orange Grove/Miss Mason's/Teutonic Hall

I have for some time been fascinated by this once fine house.

Apparently Hudson Lowe toyed with the idea of renting what was then known as Orange Grove for Napoleon for £100 a month.

How many houses did that tortured man consider I wonder? I refer of course to Hudson Lowe not Napoleon.

In Napoleon's time it was the home of the wealthy Miss Polly Mason, about whom I have discovered little, except that she apparently used to ride an ox, and always bowed effusively whenever she saw Napoleon.

There were the inevitable rumours about a romantic liaison - but St Helena has never been short of rumours - or romantic liaisons for that matter!

My understanding was that Miss Mason was still alive and greeted the French party when they returned in 1840 for the exhumation of Napoleon's body, but I may be wrong.

Anyway at some point the house was sold to Georg Wilhem Janisch, originally of Hamburg, and it was renamed Teutonic Hall.


The Janisch Family and Teutonic Hall

Janisch came out to St Helena as a clerk to Denzil Ibbetson. He was underemployed with Ibbetson, so Lowe took him on as personal secretary. They seemed to have a high mutual regard for each other, and Janisch later gave the name Hudson to his son.

Janisch fell in love with Ann Mira Seale, the daughter of Major William Seale. He decided to stay on when Lowe left in 1821. He married Ann Mira in 1823 and a son was duly born in 1824/1825.

The son, Hudson Ralph Janisch, became Governor of St Helena in 1874, in which office he remained until his death in March 1884 at the age of 59. He remains the only person born on the island to have served as Governor.

After Hudson's death his widow Eleanor, herself a daughter of the well established Pritchard family, moved to the Cape, which seems to have attracted a number of old St Helena families as the island went into economic decline.

The Janisch family were instrumental in helping to establish the Baptist faith on the island. Apparently the first ever Baptist sermon was delivered in July 1845 in the parlour of Georg William Janisch's widow. Was that Teutonic Hall I wonder, or their house in Jamestown?


Teutonic Hall is a listed building, but is now little more than a shell.




Its current perilous state was described in Michel's blog in November 2008.

Contrary to Michel's blog, I am pretty certain that Mason's Stock house was a different building, although presumably part of the estate.

The completion of the airport will doubtless lead to a big demand for property on the most pleasant parts of the island. One can imagine that St Helena will be seen by the wealthy as an safe and attractive domicile, secure from the uncertainties of the African continent.

I am sure I am not the first to realise that the value of this site, situated in a beautiful lush valley, will greatly appreciate in the future. Let us hope that something is done for the house that currently stands there before it is too late.


CORRECTION
As the comment by Michel makes clear, there is a major error in this post. Orange Grove and Teutonic Hall were not the same building. Teutonic Hall was previously known as Mason's Stock House; so presumably Miss Mason did indeed still live in Orange Grove, which is closer to Hutts Gate. As far as I recall it was at Hutts Gate that she greeted members of the French party in 1840. It is also likely that the house Hudson Lowe considered, among others, renting from Miss Mason for Napoleon, was Orange Grove rather than the house now known as Teutonic Hall.

So St Helena will get its Airport - thanks to the "Brokeback Coalition"

So at long last, despite all the cuts that the new Coalition Government has announced, St Helena will get its airport.

The Government thinks that it can reduce costs by shortening the runway - using an engineered material arresting system (EMAS).

The aim is that St Helena will develop a self sustaining economy. Among the conditions which the Government has attached is that

the St Helena Government undertake to implement the reforms needed to open the island's economy to inward investment and increased tourism

Not sure what that means, but fear that the devil will be in the detail.

Clearly it has pleased many on the island.

The Governor and the Honorary French Consul seem to be delighted!

There will of course be some who are not so pleased - there has always been a vocal minority who opposed an airport, and wanted a replacement for the R.M.S. St Helena. It will be interesting to see how the issue of freight will be resolved when the R.M.S. is decommisioned.

Personally, although I can see the advantages of an airport, particularly as regards access to medical treatment, I am a little apprehensive.

The high profile involvement of the billionaire Conservative party donor Lord Ashcroft - embittered coiner of the homophobic term "brokeback" to describe the relationship between the leaders of the UK Coalition Government - leaves me with a few nagging doubts about the future of St Helena.

I couldn't help noticing the following in the Governor's statement about the decision:

There will be many attractive jobs - being an air traffic controller is very lucrative. It is an international job with a salary of over £100,000. The training has been said to take 5 years – so school leavers should be thinking about that kind of thing right now.

At the risk of pouring cold water on people's hopes for the future, I should point out that there may be some senior highly skilled and experienced air traffic controllers at Heathrow and a few other major airports in the UK earning such large salaries, but we are talking here about a small airstrip on a small island which in the future will have to pay its way without handouts from the British Government. A dose of realism is I think called for.

I hope I am wrong. St Helena is a very special place, and the Saints are lovely people who deserve a break. I would be dishonest though if I did not express my fear that the ordinary people of St Helena will not benefit from this development.

Future of St Helena

Anyone who keeps in touch with St. Helena cannot fail to be concerned about the current situation.

Plan A was for the island to become self sustaining. HMG was going to build an airport, and an influx of high value tourists was going to develop the economy and ultimately eliminate dependence on the UK. There was always some scepticism on the island as to whether this strategy would work. When HMG announced a pause in plans to build the airport, and expressed doubt as to whether in the future tourism would recover/develop to the extent assumed because of the global economic crisis, it became apparent that there is no Plan B.

In the short term the island is also facing disruption of its lifeline. Both engines of the RMS St Helena are to be replaced - necessitating two periods in the dry dock in Cape Town in 2010.

Looking at it as an outsider it seems to me that some kind of air link is essential: to enable families to visit at shorter notice than is presently possible, and to enable those requiring emergency medical treatment to be moved quickly. It clearly will never be possible to have the highest standards of medical care available on an island with a population of only 4000. Whether the island needs the expensive airport previously proposed is another matter. In a rational world a low cost air link to Ascension would seem the most sensible solution, but I fear there are strong political reasons which would make that impossible.

The island also will need some way of getting freight by sea. I suspect that the most effective solution remains a dedicated ship to service the needs of this and the other islands in the South Atlantic. The replacement of the RMS engines suggests an intention that it will continue to ply between South Africa and St Helena for a number of years. At some point a replacement will be needed. Last year I read that the French were going to export wine to the UK by sailing ship. Whilst not advocating a return to sail for St Helena, I do wonder whether in the very long run a wind assisted ship might be a sensible way of reducing the costs of transport to the island. One thing the South Atlantic is not short of is wind! Probably far too visionary - but Napoleon would have loved the idea.

One final thing that visitors raise all the time is the question of growing more food. In a much earlier blog I pointed out that the allotments offered by the French Consul had few takers. It was also apparent that the land at Plantation House was not fully cultivated. I understand that there are numerous pests and diseases which frustrate vegetable growers on the island, but these problems and their solutions are surely within the realms of human knowledge - and hopefully do not need visits from expensive consultants.

On our recent trip to Cuba we found organoponicos in all the towns we visited. These are concrete raised beds which allow vegetables to be grown anywhere, regardless of the soil conditions which are usually poor. There are even such plots close to the centre of Havana. (1)





Obviously there are problems in developing similar solutions in St Helena - but they are organisational, not technical. I wonder for example how much organic waste is composted on St. Helena - or does all the compost come on the RMS?


Nobody is going to get rich growing vegetables on St Helena. Nevertheless, everything I have read indicates to me that food is not likely to get cheaper in the foreseeable future, and that a community so vulnerable to energy costs ought to replace as much of its imports as possible. Gardening is also a healthy activity, which is worth encouraging for its own sake. I imagine that a Cuban consultant would be fairly cheap, and might even bring a breath of fresh air to the island! Now I am getting really visionary -maybe entering the realms of fantasy even.

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(1) These are a relatively recent development in Cuba. Gardening was looked down on in pre 1990 Cuba, and was seen as a sign of poverty and under development; but it became necessary when Cuba could no longer obtain food imports from the eastern bloc on whom it had relied for most of its foodstuffs.

Christmas Images of St Helena

St Helena has had more than its share of problems in 2008 - escalating fuel prices which impact on everything purchased on the island; heavy rains and rock falls; problems with the ageing mail ship (RMS St. Helena) and now uncertainty as to whether the airport will be built.

For a short time though its inhabitants, like those of much of the rest of the globe, are putting aside the economic doom and gloom and celebrating the holiday season.



I liked the colour of this parade down the main street in Jamestown, and thought it worth sharing(and worth clicking on for a larger image).

It is comforting to note also that Jonathan - the island's most famous inhabitant other than Napoleon - who has attracted international attention this year and may or may not be the oldest animal in the world, continues to do what he has done through two World Wars, countless smaller conflicts, one Great Depression, numerous recessions, and the reigns of some half dozen British monarchs.




Long may his health and good fortune continue; and best wishes to all the other less well known residents of the island.

Best wishes and thanks also to the St. Helena Independent, the source of the images reproduced here, and an invaluable source of news and opinion on events on the island.

Ode to Despair: The St. Helena Independent

A few weeks back the St. Helena Independent reproduced one of
my blogs.

It is time to repay the compliment with a review of its latest issue.

My impression incidentally is that the St Helena Herald is a less gloomy read than the Independent. It certainly seems to have more pictures of Saints who carry on smiling whatever storm clouds are hovering above - less a newspaper and more a parish magazine? Perhaps I need more time to reconsider that sweeping judgement - but hey this is a blog, and anyway today I am focusing on The Independent, not The Herald!

St Helena Independent







The St. Helena Independent has not made for cheerful reading of late - and the doom and gloom does not emanate solely from Mr Cairns Wicks.

The island is very vulnerable to increases in fuel costs, since virtually everything consumed has to be transported from the Cape.

Massive increases in electricity, petrol and diesel prices have also been announced. (1)




A succession of problems with the RMS have increased the feeling of vulnerability.

Irrespective of the planned airport, the island will need a new ship for freight - and given the long lead time, plans need to be started soon. Unfortunately as we all know, H.M.G. has got its own problems, and St. Helena is likely to be a long way down the pecking order for scarce resources - and, as Napoleon himself observed, things move slowly on St. Helena.



Ode to Despair

I thought that The Independent's Ode, suitably enclosed in a black border, was worth reproducing.


The section on expatriates caught my eye. I picked up a little of this resentment during my trip earlier this year.

I imagine that the salaries and expenses are standard for those working in other dependencies, and probably less generous than those for employees of private sector firms working in remote areas of the world. Nevertheless the disparity of treatment is bound to cause concern in the present circumstances.

I do wonder what percentage of the £1.5 million cost of hiring expatriates is spent on the island. I fear that much remains in bank accounts in the UK and elsewhere, although it will show on the records as money spent on St. Helena.

As I read this and a piece by Mr. Cairns-Wicks (see below) I couldn't help thinking that the French contribution to the island and to its economy is not appreciated. The French Government and the Honorary Consul currently generate local employment on building and maintenance work, and the French properties are the key to the tourist potential of the island. One wonders what state they would be in had they been in British Government hands.

From Mr. Cairns Wicks' latest article:

family life has been torn apart
by enforced separations as family mem-
bers go abroad to work for a decent
wage. We are now being faced with hor-
rendous price rises which encompass
every facet of St. Helenian life. The price
of every imported item is escalating due
in part to the shipping costs and subse-
quent duty and import charges, our hos-
pital service is seriously short of trained
staff and our education system is short
of teachers. Our infer structure is in a
mess, our roads, water supplies, reser-
voirs and drainage system are suspect.
Some engines at the power station will
require replacement in the near future;
furthermore it is by no means a fail safe
unit as if one engine fails, we could be
in trouble as many huge freezers con-
taining essential supplies will stop work-
ing. It is now most urgent that a number
of our forts, emplacements and time
honoured features receive aid to repair
and secure them against the ravages of
time.

Comment would be superfluous.

I will close with a recent quotation from the Governor, who is in a position that I for one do not envy!

Finally let me return to the oil situation: you
will doubtless know the story of King Canute,
the English king who is remembered as sit-
ting on a beach getting wet as the tide came
in. He is often mistakenly imagined to have
thought he was powerful enough to resist
the tide. In fact the opposite is the truth –
he was showing his court that his power was
limited and there were certain matters he
simply could not control. From letters in the
local papers it is clear that some of you be-
lieve that your Council has the power to re-
sist the huge wave of oil price increase; I
believe we can no more do that than Canute
could command the waves. What we have
had to do is painful, but it means that we
remain on course for a more promising fu-
ture.

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NOTES

1. Petrol now costs a staggering £1.57 a litre. Electricity costs 15p per unit for the first 400 units, 25p for the next 401-1000 band, and 30p for consumption greater than 1000 units. Domestic consumers also pay a standing charge of £20 a quarter.

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?

Stamps / Philately, St. Helena & Napoleon

A short posting from Dubai airport on my way back from KL. Strange that I have been in this airport three times already this year, and have only been into Manchester twice. Anyway, I digress.

Michel has posted on his blog a collection of stamps that have in the past been issued on St. Helena with Napoleon as the subject. The first bears an August 1953 date stamp. It will I am sure interest most philatelists. Some of the stamps are apparently now quite rare.

It appears that Michel had asked the St. Helena Post Office to mount an exhibition to coincide with the 150 years of the French Properties, but he has not even had a reply. Surprising and a little disappointing! Stamps are I understand a good source of revenue for small islands, and I would have expected St. Helena to use every opportunity to market itself as an issuer of stamps. Michel himself has indicated that he has had a large number of emails following his last blog on the stamps he has designed for St. Helena.

Anyway the blog can be found here : St Helena Stamps

What Language do they Speak on St. Helena - French?

Since my return I have been asked a number of questions about St. Helena. I will now try to put my answers together. Hopefully if I make any mistakes somebody will correct me.


1. What Language do they Speak ?

It is English - in fact it is the oldest variant of English south of the Equator. St Helena was settled in the early days of the Empire, before Australia, New Zealand and the Cape. The form of English spoken is therefore a product of early settlement and interaction with later settlers from other cultures - Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Asia.

2. How many people live there, and where do they come from?

It was settled from England in the seventeenth century - before the union with Scotland. By the nineteenth century there were some 1600 Whites (including about 800 soldiers), 600 Chinese, 500 free blacks and 1500 slaves. A large number of Chinese left by the 1830's, a large number of whites left after 1836 when it became a Crown Colony, and in the period 1870-1875 some 2000 islanders left for the Cape. The island has lost population in recent years following the restoration of the right of Saints to work in the UK. There are now some 3900 living on the island, but many thousands more living overseas. There appears to have been some small scale inward immigration from the 1800's right up to the present day. I would guess that few if any families could trace their origins back to the original settlers.

3. What kind of economy does it have?

It doesn't really have one. It is highly dependent on Government expenditure and remittances from Saints working overseas. For those who are interested in such things, academics now use the following taxonomy when talking about small island economies:

MIRAB : Migration, Remittance, Aid, Bureaucracy - sums St. Helena up to a T.

SITE : Small Island Tourism Economies (Antigua, Bali, Barbados)

PROFIT : People, Resource, Management, Overseas, Engagement, Finance, Transportation (Primary and manufactured exports, offshore finance, diversified economies - Isle of Man, Cayman Islands etc)

Clearly the aim is to try to move St. Helena into the SITE category, principally by building an airport and developing tourism.

4. When will the airport be built?

Now who was it who said that a fool can ask more questions in ten minutes than a wise man can answer in a life-time? The airport has an entry on Wikipedia, which is I suppose some kind of a start St. Helena Airport. Seriously though, it is hoped that it will be ready by 2012 - but there are some concerns that HMG will baulk at the cost estimates (£200,000,000 and rising). Some will be pleased if they do - but it has to be said that nobody has come up with any alternative for development of the island.

5. What currency is used?

St Helena sterling - it has parity with UK sterling. There are no ATM's on the island, and just one bank. Travellers cheques seem the most sensible option.

6. What is public transport like - can I manage without a car?

It is a small island, but very hilly, and it is better to hire a car. There is little public transport, and taxis are expensive. Fuel is more expensive than home, and you will use more, because the mountainous roads mean that you will spend most time using lower gears.

7. What is the cost of living like?

Accommodation is reasonable, but generally things cost more than at home - remember that they mostly come on the same boat as you, and rising oil prices are an added problem.

8. How can you communicate with home ?

Phones are relatively easy to find, and not prohitively expensive unless you insist on long calls. I could find only one computer available for public use; it is possible to take a laptop and get it connected to the internet using dial-up. Broadband is very expensive and not worth paying for a stay of a few days. Don't even think about trying to use a mobile phone.

9. What are the attractions of the island to tourists?

Remoteness, relative peace, spectacular views, friendly people, and, when it is clear, the most spectacular night sky you will ever see. Quite simply it is a unique place, and provides an unforgettable experience.

10. Won't an airport destroy the very things you like about the island?

That is a danger, but it is not the intention to develop mass tourism, and the cost of getting there will hopefully be a disincentive for stag nights and hen parties for all except the rich, and for them there are more suitable places to party! In any case I feel this is a decision for the people who live on the island, not for me.

11. What is the island like for beaches, shopping, fine dining, and night life?

If that is what you want I suggest you try somewhere else.

12. Are there any world class tourist sites on the island?

The three Napoleonic sites fit the bill. In the days when literally hundreds of ships a year visited St. Helena they were a great attraction. More books have been written about Napoleon than anyone else except Jesus, and the interest shows no sign of abating. Longwood and the Briars have now been carefully restored. The Valley of the Tomb is a very special place. Without wishing to make St. Helena a Napoleonic theme park, there are also other sites such as Bertrand's cottage which could also be marketed. If it is serious about tourism, St. Helena would be very foolish not to take advantage of these major assets.

13. What about medical facilities?

There is a hospital on the island. Clearly for certain conditions people need to get to South Africa for treatment - and there is only one way to do that at present. Visitors must have proof of medical insurance.

Meanwhile something different - St. Helena April 2008

Glad to see that Michel has resumed his blog.

They have had an unusual amount of rain I believe. I have heard from another source that the heart shaped waterfall is in full flow. It was dry when were there only a couple of months back.

They have also had a lot of power cuts - Michel says that one lasted from 9.00 a.m. until 8.00 p.m. I should know why they are having such problems, but I don't.

Meanwhile, in addition to doing guard duty at Longwood House after the departure of the Chief Secretary and his wife, Michel is finalising preparations for the exhibition celebrating 150 years of the French Properties on St. Helena.

He has announced a list of distinguished French visitors who will be there by the end of April

M. Victor-André Masséna, prince d'Essling
Le comte et la comtesse Walewski
M. Emmanuel Suchet, duc d'Albufera
Mme Annie Meunier
M. Bernard Chevallier
M. Daniel Alcouffe
M. Jean-Claude Le Parco
M. Marcel Guery
M. Pierre-Jean Chalençon
M. Philippe Montanari.

An interesting list which includes as far as I can see one descendant of Napoleon, two descendants of Napoleon's Marshals, a curator of the Louvre and a young passionate collector of Napoleonica who is making I think his third trip to St. Helena.Pierre-Jean Chalencon

I wonder if this is the first time that a descendant of Napoleon has visited St. Helena? The answer is no; Count Walewski has visited before; last time accompanied by his brother.

Finally Michel's blog shows some pictures from his collection by Raoul Serres(1881-1971) and Claude Quiesse(1938-) , who visited St. Helena as part of his world tour in 1966-1968 - I liked his portrayal of Sandy Bay and Lot.

Well worth a look.



Finally,finally, a plug for the St. Helena Independent. Always an interesting read; I usually find the weekly column of Mr Cairns-Wicks, St. Helena's equivalent of "Disgusted of Tonbridge Wells", very entertaining. I doubt if the Governor does.

Art, Culture and Stamps on St Helena

Does St. Helena attract artists and new age people? - This is one of the questions I have been asked since my return.

It is not something that I thought about while I was there. St. Helena is simply not that kind of place. There is no art gallery on the island, and not much evidence of any cultural life. There were once amateur dramatics, but they have been killed off, presumably by the ubiquitous videos.

This morning I noticed a headline in the Financial Times, Grim Luton takes cultural path to boost self-esteem

Not that I am suggesting that St. Helena is grim - nor even Luton come to that - but I gather that whilst ambitious plans are being made for the island after the airport, no thought has been given to its cultural life.

The FT. article goes on:

A property developer has joined forces with the town's borough council to create a "2012 Cultural Vision" document aimed at revitalising Luton's artistic and cultural life in time for the Olympic Games in London.

Apparently even the most cynical property developers are now aware of the importance of a cultural dimension to their plans.(1)

In a recent blog Michel reported on the success of an exhibition, hosted by the Museum, of the work of a British artist, Andrew Parker. Lets hope that the organisers were sufficiently encouraged to mount more exhibitions.


The stamps at the top of this posting were designed by Michel, who himself is no mean artist. Quite an achievement for a French Consul to design stamps for a British Overseas Territory - which is I think the correct designation for St. Helena.
MICHEL HAS INDICATED THAT THE STAMPS ABOVE WERE NOT DESIGNED BY HIM. HIS WEB SITE NOW CONTAINS THE TWO SETS HE HAS DESIGNED FOR ST. HELENA. My error Michel's Stamps

___________________________________________________
(1) Financial Times, March 22/March 23 2008 p.5

Planning for Journey to St. Helena

The purpose of this blog is initially at least to allow me to organise and share my thoughts about a recent trip to Saint Helena.

This journey was planned for some time, as all journeys to and from St. Helena have to be. You can't just ring up the travel agent and book a passage for next week or even next month.  To get there you have to travel on the R.M.S. St Helena which from time to time calls in at Portland, Cape Town, Ascension Island or Walvis Bay.  From Cape Town, which we chose, it takes 5 days. Because of bad weather on our return it took 6 days.

It is however, a very comfortable ship; the food is excellent, the crew (many of whom are Saints - residents or former residents of St. Helena) are very helpful, and all in all it provides a pleasant and unique experience. The R.M.S. takes just over 100 passengers - some are returning Saints who live overseas, some are residents who have been to Cape Town for short visits or even medical treatment, some are Government consultants, of whom there are reputedly too many, and some are tourists; a few non-Saints seem to be returning for the umpteenth time.

I personally did a great deal of preparatory reading in the two years or so before I went. My focus was mainly about the period of Napoleon's captivity on the island - which was my main reason for going.  My other reason was a desire to visit before the planned airport is built. For once in my life I wanted to experience a really remote place, and places do not come much more remote than this.  I should add that my wife accompanied me on this trip; she was not in the least bit interested in Napoleon, but was very keen to share the experience, and she enjoyed St. Helena as much as I did.