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The Ascension Island Newspaper |
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The Ascension Island Newspaper |
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| CHRISTINGLE 2000
A very big THANKYOU to all who came to the Christingle Service |
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Dear Friends,
This week a little story! Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.
Once upon a time there was a clergyman who always liked to get things right,
especially when it came to the Services in his Church.
Well it was only fitting, for after all the services were to worship God, and
only the best that we could do was good enough for Him.
He had been taught all the rules of the church at college. He knew all about
what was and what was not allowed, about when to stand and when to sit and when
to kneel. He also knew about church Seasons, about the number of Sundays there
were "After Trinity", all about the seasons of Epiphany and Advent
and so on, and what "colours" you used on the Altar for special occasions.
It took him seven years to get his little country congregations in the UK to
learn the rules.
He would not allow flowers in church at Advent - that was against the rules.
Advent was for repentance, a time of doom and gloom inspite of it being a preparation
to receive the Christ Child at Christmas.
And he taught them what Advent Carols were - he certainly would not allow the
singing of Christmas carols until Christmas day Itself, or at the very earliest
a week before the Celebration. Anything else was against the rules.
And people grumbled. And some stayed away. Some of course came back in time,
but no doubt others didn't.
But he knew the rules; he knew what was right and proper. He stuck by his guns.
And then he came to Ascension Island.
And he was going to stick to his guns there too.
And then one day he thought "Does it really matter?"
After all it was still Christmas without the snow, or the long winter evenings,
or many of the other things he had left behind that made Christmas what it was.
The main thing after all was that people should rejoice at the coming of their
Saviour.
So there will be flowers, and there will be some Christmas carols even if it
is only Advent, at our Songs of Praise next Sunday, December 10th.
Let me know if YOU have a favourite hymn you would like us to sing
6.pm. Come and enjoy yourself. Raise the roof. Forget the rules and Worship
God.
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God Bless you and keep you, Fr Keith & Ginny. |
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FROM
THE GOVERNOR
Mr David Hollamby |
As Governor of Ascension Island, one way I keep in touch is by reading the 'Islander' newspaper. It is a lively publication and epitomises one of the two attributes that I associate with Ascension Island: volunteerism (the other being generosity towards charities).I also think it is a great idea to publish material from the Falkland Island News Network. Juanita Brock's interviews make for interesting reading and often cover cross-cutting issues which are important right across the South Atlantic. But I nearly had apoplexy last night reading the comments of one of the four MPs who visited the Falkland Islands earlier this month. In particular his comments linking the citizenship issue with human rights issues in the Caribbean Overseas Territories (COTs) and financial services were well off the mark. This will probably get me into trouble, but I can only endorse the editorial comment by Ms Brock at the end of the article but I would like to set the record straight. There is absolutely no linkage between the offer of full British Citizenship to the people of the Overseas Territories and the policy of the British Government to make the five Caribbean OTs change their laws which criminalize homosexual acts in private. That is why the restoration of the right of abode, which comes with the offer of British Citizenship, is to the people of the Overseas Territories and not to their Governments. Indeed people who have the status of British Dependent Territories Citizenship by connection with a qualifying Overseas Territory will become British Citizens automatically on the passing of the legislation. As the Prime Minister has made clear to the Bishop of St Helena and the Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House have made clear to MPs the only delay is finding a slot in the Parliamentary timetable. The principles on which the Bill will be based have been agreed and instructions for Parliamentary Counsel prepared. The Government will proceed with legislation as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arises. There is absolutely no linkage with any other issue addressed in the White Paper "Partnership for progress and prosperity" "Britain and the Overseas Territories". What is happening in the Caribbean is that the five COTs have been given a period of time to change their statutes to decriminalise homosexual acts in private. Whilst these Territories retain this legislation the Government risks being in breach of important and fundamental international agreements, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In keeping with our commitment to a modern relationship with the OTs based on partnership and responsible self government, our preference is that the Overseas Territories concerned should enact the necessary reforms themselves. But in the absence of local action, legislation will be imposed on the COTs by Orders in Council in the same way as they were used to enforce the abolition of capital punishment a decade or so ago. Nor is there any linkage with financial services. I understand that the British Government is working with the Governments of the COTs to ensure that the regulation of financial sectors is tightened to protect them from international financial crime and regulatory abuse and ensure that they are responsive to ever tighter international standards. I hope this sets the record straight.
David J Hollamby Governor
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Museum Expert Inspects Fort Hayes
Recently Geoff and Wendy Fairhurst have been hosting a very interesting house guest. Mary Burkett, OBE has been on island at the behest of the Heritage Society to give her expert opinion on our museum and perhaps, to offer some advice on the way forward. Ms Burkett is eminently qualified on such matters as she has been involved in running museums since 1962. Mary originally qualified as a teacher in arts and crafts but gave that up to become Assistant Director and then subsequently, Director of Abbot Hall Art Gallery and Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry in Kendall, Cumbria. She has also been a director of the Borough Museum in Kendall. If all this wasn't enough, Mary's museum has won the Museum of the Year Award on more than one occasion and she herself has been a judge for the corresponding Scottish version of the award. Mary is also a keen traveller and has been around the World, integrating lecturing with sight-seeing. As such, Mary has obviously seen a great many museums and this is what she had to say about ours: "the first thing is, that it is unique in the world: a) for the number of items being kept in the good state that they are in and the fact that they are recorded and catalogued and b) for the continuity of care despite the fact that volunteers are only here for 1 to 3 years. I think, that continuity and voluntary custodianship is unique in the world. I think that it is very impressive…….it is the voluntary aspect that makes the difference and I hope more people will become involved" Mary spent the majority of her time here at the museum and also attended a Heritage Society meeting. She complimented all involved with the society especially Wendy Fairhurst and Steve Fowler for their efforts and enthusiasm. She will be making a report on her findings and offering suggestions on the way forward. One thing Mary did find strange was our lack of a volcanic display. She definitely has a point there since we're sitting on one! Mary is also a keen bird watcher and complimented us on our feral cat program. She said she could not emphasise enough the importance of ensuring the terns were free to breed safely. "Every country I go to the number one enemy is the cat and something must be done" In fact Mary showed a lot of interest in all of our conservation plans which is not altogether surprising considering that she counts the likes of experts David Attenborough and David Bellamy amongst her friends. On top of all her other achievements Mary has also written numerous books and served on many committees in the UK including the National Trust. A very busy lady indeed which makes her visit here even more of a coup for our museum. Hopefully the Heritage Society found her visit useful and will be able to implement some if not all of her suggestions. We also hope that Mary herself will be able to return to see that they do.
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| Message: To: Lawson, Iva and Leslieann andd Rachael and Donnaa andd Pete, Emma and Nicole, Pat Williams and the Commesary Gang, Peter and Jean Fowler, Nikky and Roy and family, Robert and Mary-Ann, Bobby, Joe, Anniee, Jaylee, Phyllis andd Peter, Theresa and Justin, Have a happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Love from Pat, Lynda, TJ and Angelo. | Merry Christmas to my Brother, Alan, also Anita and Sister, Leaann and Joshua. Also, to all my other friends and relatives on Ascension, Have a nice time over the Holiday Season. Love Emma. |
LETTERS|
From the Editors:- Tony Jenkins & Phillip Stevens From the editors, Christmas must be on its way, with decorations up everywhere, and with
Christmas music all around. As it's our last edition this year, a very Merry Christmas, or what ever you believe in, to you all. Have a safe time, especially if your driving, see U all in 1. Merry Christmas
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| Letters
to the Editor can be sent to editors@the-islander.org.ac |
The Met Office Weather Report |
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Statistics for the week ending {date}.
| Max (deg C) | Min (deg C) | Rainfall (mm) | |
| AIRHEAD |
27.9
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20.5
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5.9
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| TRAVELLERS |
27.7
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19.7
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7.2
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| GEORGETOWN |
29.0
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22.0
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0
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| RESIDENCY |
24.2
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16.2
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17.7
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| ST. HELENA |
21.1
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14.8
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0.6
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| FALKLANDS |
19.9
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2.1
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3.3
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| BRIZE NORTON |
14.8
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2.2
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29.8
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ASCENSION SEA SWELL FORECAST:
Northwesterly 1.3 metres increasing to around 2 metres so English Bay bathers
and especially 'Washing Machine' divers beware!
Sea temperature around Ascension Island:
Remains 25 Celsius.
ASCENSION ISLAND:
A similar pattern to recent weeks with a good deal of cloud and showers interspersed
by fine, dry and sunny afternoons.
ST HELENA:
Gary Thomas reports:-
A cloudy and very dry week with just the odd light shower and a moderate to
fresh breeze. The sunniest day being Friday.
Mean Temp 17.0 deg C, Sunshine 19.1 hrs & mean Wind Speed 14.8 kts.
UK:
Guess what? Another rather unsettled, mild and windy week although away from
the northwest, most parts enjoyed a pretty reasonable weekend until the next
batch of rain arrived from the west on Sunday afternoon/evening. Indeed, my
wife actually phoned me up to tell me that the sun had actually come out.
Sad isn't it!
FALKLAND ISLANDS:
Still rather cool and windy with sunshine and showers although at least there's
plenty of daylight to play with at the moment.
Met-wise we're gearing up for a pretty busy week thanks to significantly more aircraft movements than of late. We do a face to face brief for every outgoing aircraft on expected weather conditions both here, en route and at the destination airfield, be it in Europe, the Falklands, Africa or South or North America. This gives us the unique opportunity to get the weather wrong on any one of four continents - if not all, but of course we never do, do we?!
Strange noises were heard coming from the top of Travellers hill last week. Jim and I, who were admittedly slightly the worse for wear at the time, decided that the sound was the bleating of a lamb and convinced ourselves that the noise was in fact coming from inside S Met O's basha. We peeped in through the window to be greeted, not by a lamb or even a sheep but by a pair of wellies! In all seriousness though, there do seem to be a lot of sheep around Travellers Hill at the moment and some have indeed mastered the art of crossing the cattle grid or perhaps they are using the stile, now that would make a good photo!
What happened on Friday night, somebody please tell me? The good old 'Movers and Groovers' organised a 'Sundowners' night with food and a disco although it looked like being a really quiet night at 9 o'clock with just a smattering of people in the MVC. Suddenly everything just went crazy and there were people everywhere such that it turned out to be a really excellent do. That said, going to bed at 4 a.m. before a 7 a.m. start was probably not the brightest thing I've done so far on this tour! On the subject of Friday night, a certain Glaswegian lassie, brightly attired in orange that night, is still wondering how she ended up with a black eye! Answers on a postcard please although she is absolutely sure that it was somehow self-inflicted!
The answer to last week's teaser is that January is statistically the driest month with an average rainfall of just 5.4 millimetres. Surely therefore we should soon be enjoying days of wall to wall sunshine rather than the rather cloudy stuff we've had these last few weeks. To counter this I must remind you that a) Jonah (myself) will still be on the island, and b) I've arranged for my wife and daughter to come out for a few days holiday in the January sunshine! This week's question is a simple 'Play Your Cards Right' higher of lower call. How does the highest air temperature ever recorded here at the Airhead, Ascension compare with the highest air temperature ever recorded in the UK?
Finally this week, a quick apology to the girls in the Mess for attempting to juggle with a glass on Saturday evening. The state I was still in after Friday night meant that holding a glass would have been quite some achievement. Flipping it gently in the air to turn it the right way up was always going to end in tears and naturally the glass smashed into a million pieces despite landing on the carpet. Never again I promise!
Captain Caveman.
2nd December 2000Hash Hares: A-Drain & Hong Kong Phooey
Hash Hounds: Frank-N-Furter,Fugitive,The Major,Rubber Duck, Grasshopper,Morticia,Ivor the Engine,Bonehead,Boots, Skipper,Pants,Rat Boy,Floppy Top
"Tiggers are best at bouncing."
As the gale force winds and sheets of rain assault the hashers, the briefing starts. Poke-everywheres, sharp stuff, cliffs, and HKP. Off we go along a strange looking fence to the first of many checks. Rat Boy shots off and finds the true trail(someone must have told him). Across the road to another bar check leaving Ivor in the Knitting Circle(must be age). Zig-zag they went to find the first circle. Up-up we go behind and between Perfect Crater and Sister's. Some false up's, gives Fugitive some backtracking and some practice with his Ascension Hash Sign Language(I luv u & have a fine day). Loose rock, good for bouncing, gives the hounds some grumbling. Up again and across a ridge with a very fun down.
As the after hash fun starts, so does the rain again. Some hash hogs arrive and help with the merriment. We did notice that Morticia moves faster after the hash then during the hash. Why is that?
Good fun and good hash.Next weeks hares: Frank-N-Furter & Bonehead from Pines Road.(Ouch)
Hash Scribe - HKP
EDITORS : {editor name(s)}
The New Islander Office, Fort Hayes, Georgetown, Ascension Island.
Tel/Fax 00 + 247 6327
E-Mail: editors@the-islander.org.ac
Internet Team: Carolyne Armstrong, Adrian Fowler, Mark & Laura Handley,
Gavin Yon
Deadline for all contributions is 6.00pm on Monday
All articles © copyright 2000 The Islander Newspaper. All rights reserved. |
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