Tristan da Cunha Community News 2005 - 2011

Flames seen near volcano-
no need to panic!

A group of island children decided to celebrate Bonfire Night by building a bonfire near the 1961 lava flow
on 5th November 2011

Pictures and report of the
Guy Fawkes Bonfire
from Tina Glass

Above:
L to R Linda Green, Leo Glass, Natalie Swain, Nathan Green

Above: L to R Leo Glass and his friend Nathan Swain

Left:
L to R Leo Glass, Natalie Swain, in front Nathan Swain

In recent years the mid-winter Anniversary Day celebrations are fairly low-key.
In 2011 a public holiday followed on Monday 15th August when many families took
advantage of a mid-week day off to tend their potato patches.

The photo left shows the Tristan flag flying outside the Tristan Admin Building.
Determined to celebrate Anniversary Day at her UK home, Ann Ashworth flew the Tristan flag on Anniversary Day 2011
- see photo right and also the
Tristan Overseas News Page
for the full story and more pictures.

Official opening of children’s playground on Tristan da Cunha
Report from Dawn Repetto and pictures from Tina Glass

On 22nd June 2011 at 1.30pm, after many years of planning and almost a year since starting, a children’s playground was opened. All children at St Mary’s School, Crèche and a few spectators attended the opening.

The opening began with a short talk about the Playground and a few rules which needed to be abided by to ensure safety and tidiness, the Acting Administrator Lorraine Repetto then gave a short speech welcoming everyone present and thanking all those who had donated equipment, funds and who carried out the work to make this playground possible. This was followed with a blessing and prayer by Carlene Glass Green one of the islands Lay Ministers and then much to the anticipation of the children, the ribbon was then officially cut by Sue Kerr, who does lots of voluntary work with the island children.

Dawn wants to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Andrew James and his team at Ovenstone who very kindly donated the Wendy House, table and chairs, to Neil Foster and all his family, Ivey and friends who donated money so that the Jungle Gym could be purchased, to the Enstrom Fund and to all those who donated generally to assist with purchasing the boundary fence and other small items. A special thank you also to Neil Rogers and Charl Moolman from Apple and the Island Men who assisted in the building of the Playground it was appreciated by all especially the children.

Roundabout construction is still in progress by Joseph and his Mechanical Team and this should be completed and installed shortly. There is still a small amount of funding left and it is hoped to purchase another small playground item from Cape Town.

Party to welcome new Administrator Sean Burns
Sean Burns arrived on Tristan aboard SA Agulhas on 9th September 2010. A 'Meet the New Admin. Party' was held in the new Post Office and Tourism Centre for Island Councillors, Heads of Department with their partners and other visitors and expatriates on 11th September.

Photos from David Morley

Tristan Golf Course News
Robin Repetto manages the unique Hottentot Fence Tristan da Cunha Golf Course on behalf of the Tourism Department. Robin is planning some course improvements ready for the 2009/10 season and hopes for donations of equipment.

Robin is photographed left with visiting consultant Steven Catchpole who generously donated two new sets of golf clubs along with 10 pair of gloves, 1000 tees and 6 dozen new golf balls.

Tourism Coordinator Dawn Repetto (Robin's wife), can arrange a golf package for visitors which includes a famous Tristan Golf Club tie, golf certificate, score card and a play on the course for £20.

Dollywood comes to Tristan

Report from
Deputy Administrator
Tasha Reilly


Photographs of the children
with their new books
from Robin Repetto

All Tristan children under five received a late Christmas present from a surprise source when the Kelso arrived on 20 January. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in partnership with the Royal Mail offered to donate a book a month to every island child up until their fifth birthday. Given the logistical impossibility of having a book arrive each month on Tristan it was agreed that the books should be sent in annual bundles.

The Kelso arrived and mysterious packages addressed personally to each child were unloaded. Mario Todeschini, a Cape Town photographer hired by the Royal Mail to document the event, also disembarked. Mario trailed the packages through immigration, to the Post Office and to the Hall via the gong. However the books were kept back when the mail was collected for a special presentation at school.

Chloe Glass, Dylan Green, Julie Green, Callum Green and Chantelle Repetto fought through the well bound boxes to discover mini libraries all of their own. Wonderful, colourful books spilled out all over the classroom and eyes widened as they picked through the various front covers each finding a favourite animal depicted on one book or another – islanders to the core!

Peter Rabbit is the first book that the Imagination Library sends to each child and so everyone was able to follow along as Sheila Glass read the beginning of that familiar tale. Later the preschool children made a thank you card for Ms Parton that was sent back with the Kelso as it returned to Cape Town . More copies of Peter Rabbit and assorted other age specific goodies were unpacked in the crèche later that day by (or on behalf of) the youngest islanders.

Although this scheme is only aimed at under fives the Royal Mail wanted to make sure that older schoolchildren were also given a literary offering and so further boxes are expected when the Baltic Trader arrives in February with an assortment of books for the school library. Meanwhile the magic of Peter Rabbit, brought to us by Ms Parton, has arrived on the island... let’s hope our carrots fare better than Mr McGregor’s!