It seemed there was no part of the RMS St Helena that went celebrated during the ship’s final visit home. Not even the propellers. A few members of St Helena Dive Club slipped below the surface and gave them one last “inspection” before the ship’s last scheduled departure. Having checked, of course, that the blades …
Some watched from the quayside, and some climbed to the high ground to watch the RMS St Helena steam across James Bay and out towards the horizon, for what everyone thought would be the last time. It didn’t turn out that way. Just when everyone was coming down from two days of high emotion in Jamestown, …
St Helena’s paymasters in Britain have been accused by councillors of breaking their funding promises in the wake of the airport opening. Dr Corinda Essex said that with no investment agreed for the island from January 2018, its failing facilities were becoming “weeping sores”. Another scandal could blow up after the British government insisted on building a wharf in …
Marriage between same-sex couples has been approved by St Helena’s legislative council by nine votes to two – meaning weddings could take place within weeks. The Honourable Cyril Leo warned of a “deep divide” on the island and said he feared a negative reaction from “homophobic elements” in society. But he said people should embrace …
It took a week for Donald Trump’s favourite news outlet to get round to reporting on the first commercial flight to St Helena. But when it did so, Fox News introduced an interesting new word for the airport project. It said it was “condemned last year by British taxpayers as a boondoggle.” Various online dictionaries define …
St Helena’s airport: a boon-what? We’re boggled… Read More »
A new maritime training course is being created to increase the rates of young pepole entering into the fishing industry on St Helena. This is a response to concern about the future of the industry, because not enough young people are taking up fishing to sustain it. St Helena’s education committee received a report from …
The Daily Mirror headline read: ‘World’s most useless airport’ finally gets its first commercial flight – and it’s LATE. Well, it was an irresistable line. The paper’s report of St Helena’s first commercial flight included a nice quote from tour operator Libby Weir-Breen, who had flown specially from Scotland. “I’ve never felt so emotional in all …
‘World’s most spectacular airport’ makes global news. Mostly good Read More »
Three sites near Longwood are being considered for a new prison for St Helena, to replace the “totally unsatisfactory” one in Jamestown. It comes after former governor Mark Capes was strongly condemned for trying to impose a new prison at Half Tree Hollow, disregarding protests about sex offenders being kept near young families. The three …
Three sites to replace ‘unfit’ prison go before ExCo Read More »
A deal has finally been signed for an air service into St Helena’s £285 million airport – 14 months after it should have opened. No date has been set for the start of flights by South African operator SA Airlink. Flights between the island and Johannesburg will include a stop at Windhoek in Namibia to …
Captain Andrew Greentree had spent more than half his life at sea on the RMS St Helena. Patrick Williams and Eddie Benjamin had been on the maiden voyage up from Cape Town, 26 years earlier. Gay Marr was present when the keel was laid. And now here they all were, ploughing northward on what should have …
The Last Farewell: Tony’s video tribute to the RMS St Helena Read More »