Fancy a Change??

[Mr T.]

Settlers wanted for a quiet life. No rush
(Filed: 05/04/2004)


The island where time never flies is hoping to increase its population by building new homes for families. Neil Tweedie reports from Ascension

There is a zebra crossing in Georgetown, the capital of Ascension Island. Why is something of a mystery.

One would have to stand in the middle of the road for a considerable period of time - say a day - to ensure being mown down by a speeding motorist. Nothing much seems to happen on Ascension - and when it does, it occurs at a pace so leisurely that you might just miss it.

The island, a speck of volcanic rock lost in the middle of Atlantic just south of the Equator, is as far from the cares of modern life as one could hope to get. The tropical heat induces an agreeable form of torpor, resulting in some difficulty in remembering the day of the week.

The latest edition of The Islander, Ascension's newspaper, gives a sense of the pace of life. Its front-page story, headlined "Congradulations" (sic) dealt with the marriage of Duane and Cheryl March, members of the St Helenian community (the Saints) which constitutes two thirds of its 900-strong population.

The perfect location for the stressed-out metropolitan Brit wanting to get away from it all. Or so the fledgling government of the British-administered territory hopes.

Next week, the island's council will discuss a plan to raise the population to 1,500 over the next few years by encouraging families to make their homes here. A building programme is under way, with plots earmarked for more than 20 houses. They will be the first on the island to be owned by residents. The thing is, no one is quite sure how much they should cost.

Land is hardly a problem, despite the island's size (35 square miles), and there is now a full range of utilities. The trouble lies in the building materials, which must be shipped 4,000 miles from the mother country.

Still, Andrew Kettlewell, the Yorkshire-born accountant who is the island's Administrator, believes a single-storey, three-bedroomed house should cost no more than £60,000 in total.

Mr Kettlewell, an employee of the Foreign Office, via the government of the British dependency of St Helena, said: "Virtually all of the people on Ascension are there only because they are posted to the island by their company, or because they are in the Services.

"We want to ensure that Ascension continues to be a viable community, whether or not a particular company comes or goes."

Ascension was found in 1501 by the Portuguese seafarer Joao da Nova Castelia. He did not bother to record his visit and the honour of "discovery" fell to Alphonse d'Albuquerque two years later. It was Ascension Day - hence the name.

The British became involved in a serious way in 1815 when a detachment of Royal Marines was stationed on the island to prevent the French trying to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte, in exile on St Helena 700 miles to the south-east.

Wideawake Airfield was built in the Second World War to link Brazil with West Africa, and the island became an important staging post to the Falkland Islands after they were invaded in 1982.

There is a shadier aspect to life on Ascension. The Composite Signals Organisation, which answers to GCHQ among others, monitors communications across the region, and the Americans are still there, tracking missile launches from Florida. Dishes and aerials abound on the dormant volcanic peaks.

Mr Kettlewell wants to boost the island's eco-tourism. Ascension is the world's second largest breeding ground for green turtles, which can be seen by moonlight, making their slow and stately progress from the shore to lay their eggs in the sand dunes.

Then there are the birds. The Wideawake Tern, unique to the island, gathers in vast numbers, accompanied by the similarly exclusive Ascension Island Frigatebird.

It also has a small but growing gamefish industry based on marlin, barracuda and shark.

Insp Reg Williams, head of the island's tiny police force, struggled to recall any really serious crime.

"It's mostly motoring offences with a little theft."

Anything else - like assault? "I think we may have had one, erm, maybe last year, but I'm not completely sure."

Road rage is not a problem. It is obligatory for passing motorists to wave at each other.

But there are drawbacks. The few shops are not over-stocked with luxuries, and a cheeseburger at the United States base is considered the height of culinary sophistication.

There is also a golf course - described by one RAF officer as the worst in the world - and a handful of bars, the opening times of which require careful study.

But most of all there is peace and quiet.

So, if the mortgage and commuting become too much, and the British winter too long, why not think about a new life on Ascension? But don't rush. They don't do rushing down here.

[Helen F H]

<font color='#000080'>one please

[Dominic]

It might be a bit of a commute to Sussex every morning, but what the Hell! Sounds good to me

[abucksdiver]

<font color='#000080'>...but what is the diving like? Do they have a Dive Centre (yet )


abucks

[Dominic]

Hmmmm... 1500 new houses.

1500(ish) YD'ers...

[Suzanne]

i'll open a pub  



edit: &nbsp;on second thoughts....its still too close to home...!

[warmwaterdiver]

can I apply for dive rib operator

It would be helpful if this position could come with a small house or apartment and a plentiful supply of jaffa cakes please (but not necessarily in that order)

wwd

[Ian@1904]

<font color='#736AFF'>Count me in. I am unexpectedly available as from mid April
I can provide financial, creche services(wife does this one), and babysitting facility (teenage daughter)

Ian

[Snash]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (IDH @ April 05 2004,19:45)]Count me in. I am unexpectedly available as from mid April
I can provide financial, creche services(wife does this one), and babysitting facility (teenage daughter)

Ian

Ian

that sounds ominous...... &nbsp;is it?

Simon

[louigi]

<font color='#FF0000'>sounds good to me recon i'll have some of that we could turn it into one big yd dive centre