Jack Green's 70th Birthday
Photos from Kelly Green
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Jack Green celebrated his 70th birthday on the 7th November 2021. A reception was held on Sunday morning at the Prince Philip Hall. Jack's actual birthday was on the 21st July 2021, however he awaited the return of his family who was overseas at the time, and the arrival of the newest family member, grandson Seren Green . Jack had an enjoyable day surrounded by family and friends. |
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| Right: Jack's cake depicting his motorcycle, given to him for his birthday, which he enjoys riding to the potato patches. |
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| Jack with his wife Cynthia and grandchildren Savanna and Seren Green | Jack and Cynthia |
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| Jack’s son Shane Green, Jack, Cynthia, daughter-in-law Kelly Green and grandchildren Savana and Seren | |
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| Jack with his godchildren (L-R): Lynette Green, Clifton Repetto, Adrian Swain, Warren Glass, Shirley Squibb and Leon Glass. Absent: Clive Glass, Fiona Rogers and Chiara Schreier. |
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Death Announcement for Lars Repetto
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We regret to announce the death of Lars Repetto, who passed away on the 31st October 2021 aged 83 years. Lars Repetto was born on 7th December 1937. He was a prominent member of the community as a lay minister for St Mary's Church and will be dearly missed by all. He is survived by his wife Trina, sons Paul and Andre Repetto, daughter Debbie Elsmore and granddaughters Megan Elsmore, Chantelle Repetto and Katie Repetto. Lars is also survived by his brothers and sisters: Peter Repetto, Gerald Repetto, Tordy Repetto, Yvonne Glass, Joy Stoffberg, and Maureen Green Our sincere condolences go to Trina, Paul, Andre, Debbie and families. We expect to post a full obituary in due course. |
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| Right: Lars pictured in January 2021 on the occasion of him being presented with the British Empire Medal. |
2021 Annual Gathering
Report by Peter Millington |
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The Tristan da Cunha Annual Gathering took place at the Holiday Inn, Southampton, on Saturday 2nd October 2021. There was a good attendance, although understandably it was a smaller event than usual because of the Covid pandemic. Many regular attendees were sorely missed, not least the Association's co-founder and President, Michael Swales, who had attended every Annual Gathering until now. Only one visiting resident islander was able to attend - Dereck Rogers - but several islanders living in the UK were present. One of the main attractions of the Gathering is the opportunity to socialise, and for early arrivals, this started on Friday evening with carvery meal in the hotel restaurant. |
 Visiting islander Dereck Rogers. Photo: Peter Millington |
Early Arrivers on Friday Evening
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| Susan Rich & Robin Webb, Austin Meares, Alan Ashworth, Mike Faulds, and Ron Burn. | Tessa Smith, Ian Mathieson, Christine & Roger Leighton. Photos: Ann Ashworth |
Gwen & John Cooper, Dereck Rogers, Aniket Sardana, Jim Kerr, and Hazel Carter. Photo: Mike Faulds
Saturday Morning
In previous years, we have run parallel activities, which sometimes meant people missed out on some things. This year, we changed the format to have just one schedule which seemed to work better. Saturday morning was a time catching up with old (and new) friends, and to browse the stalls. The Association's AGM was held before lunch, which encouraged a prompt conclusion of business.
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| The ever popular 'Miles Apart' book stall. Photo: Ann Ashworth |
Tessa Smith and Ann Ashworth at the raffle stall. Photo: Mike Faulds |
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| Dennis Swain and Frank Rogers. Photo: Mike Faulds |
Roger Price, Lee Bryant, and Neil Robson. Photo: Mike Faulds |
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| Jim Kerr, Robin Webb, and Paula Swain. Photo: Mike Faulds |
Dereck Rogers, Alan Green, and Janet Toseland. Photo: Mike Faulds |
Members gathering for the Association's AGM. Photo: Mike Faulds
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| John Cooper, Jim Kerr, Chris Carnegy, and Ken Gardner speaking at the AGM. Photos: Mike Faulds | |||
Afternoon Talk and Fun Fund Raising
This year is the 60th anniversary of the eruption of the volcano next to the settlement in October 1961, and the evacuation of the islanders to England. This provided the theme for the Gathering. Richard Grundy gave a talk after lunch about the volcanic era which is the focus of the book that he and Neil Robson have written, and which is currently being printed. Its title - "Nothing Can Stop Us" - is a quotation from the then Chief Islander Willie Repetto during the islanders' campaign to be allowed to return to Tristan. Richard included many interesting photographs, some of which have never been published before. He also showed the film made by the Royal Society about its expedition to investigate the volcano and its effects in 1961/62, and a more general film about the emergency - "The Tragedy of Tristan da Cunha" - made by Charles Frater, as well as a contemporary ITN news report.
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| Richard Grundy's talk on the volcano era. Photos: Peter Millington & Mike Faulds | |
The daytime part of the proceedings ended with the drawing of the raffle and an auction of Tristan-related items, both in aid of the Educational Trust Fund.
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| Roger Price & Julia Frater selecting raffle prizes Photo: Ann Ashworth |
Lots on display before the charity auction. Photo: Mike Faulds |
Evening Dinner and Quiz
The main casualty of Covid precautions was the evening dinner dance. We did enjoy dinner, but this time there was no dancing, not even the Pillow Dance. Instead the tables of diners competed in a Tristan-related picture quiz run by Richard Grundy. Even the islanders present were foxed by some of Richard's picture puzzles.
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| Hazel Carter and Isolde Mueller. Photo: Maggie Millington |
Maggie & Peter Millington, Barry Carter and Jim Kerr. Photo: Hazel Carter |
 Peter Millington, Aniket Sardana, Gwen Cooper, Dereck Rogers & John Cooper discuss a difficult question in the quiz. Photo: Hazel Carter |
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| Lee Bryant, Ron Burn, Neil Robson, Roger Price & Chris Carnegy. Photo: Ann Ashworth | Paula Swain & Wendy Rigby, Dennis Swain, and Susan Rich. Photo: Ann Ashworth |
The 2020 Gathering had been cancelled and this year's Gathering delayed from its usual post-Easter date because of the Covid pandemic. In fact even this date could only be confirmed two weeks beforehand. Legally, the wearing of face masks was optional. People generally only wore them in the parts of the hotel shared with other guests - mainly the lobby and the lifts.
The next Annual Gathering will be held on the 6th & 7th May 2022. Please note that this is different to the date we originally announced, our usual date having already been snaffled for a wedding. We will revert to our usual slot for 14th-15th April 2023
Community Braai to Celebrate the Tristan MPZ |
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| The Chief Islander with the help of the RSPB held a celebratory braai for the community to mark the establishment of Tristan's Marine Protected Zone (MPZ). 16-Oct-2021 |
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Next Annual Gathering to be held 7th May 2022 |
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| The Tristan da Cunha Association will return to the Southampton Holiday Inn for their Annual Gathering on Saturday 7th May 2022. 16-Sep-2021 |
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Obituary for Irene Green |
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| Obituary for Tristan da Cunha islander Irene Green, who passed away 17th June 2021, aged 95. 28-Jul-2021 |
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Birth of Jake Peter Swain |
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| Birth of Tristan da Cunha baby Jake Peter Swain to Sasha and Steve Swain on 4th July 2021. 16-Jul-2021 |
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Obituary for Ellen Rogers |
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| Obituary for Tristan da Cunha islander Ellen Rogers, who passed away 9th May 2021, aged 102. 9-Jul-2021 |
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- Birth of Summer Swain (9-Jun-2021) >>
- Birth of Seren Green (9-Jun-2021) >>
- Nancy Swain's 80th Birthday (4-May-2021) >>
- Remembering the Visit by HRH Prince Philip in 1957 (30-Apr-2021) >>
- Tristan marks HRH Prince Philip's Funeral (17-Apr-2021) >>
- Chief Islander's Tribute to HRH Prince Philip (11-Apr-2021) >>