I spent the weekend shooting and interviewing Saints and sailors. On Saturday, the Governor’s Cup racers invited Saints out on their yachts to sail around the harbor. I joined a yacht from South Africa and shot the three Saint children onboard a sailboat for their first time. The children were accompanied by their fathers, and sailors and Saints alike seemed to have a great time.
Sundays are completely dead in Jamestown. Shops are closed, no cars are in the lot—even the birds don’t seem to move. People are out picnicking, riding motorcycles or swimming in the bay. I did some shooting and much needed editing, as the photo folder has been expanding to unwieldy proportions.
I also saw Oakland cottage where John Thurlow stays. The house is ancient, but no one knows how old. At one time the house was made into a small hotel with toilets, sinks and showers thrown into previously large bedrooms. In many cases the new en suites were enclosed by wooden panels--it was a bizarre decorating concept and one that should avoid being duplicated. The house has some wonderful traits, but I’m afraid to think how much investment it would take to bring the place to its former glory, and the roof is made of asbestos. Yikes.
Monday I caught up with Sally and her children as well as Tara and Tom. Sally seems to be doing well and is enjoying her time at home with her mom. Her sister has been reunited with her 8-month-old daughter after four months, so she’s been having a ball with the little one.
At Sally’s mom’s house, I met two ladies. One is an older lady who seems to be a little different from most Saints. She wears all black and has long dyed black hair. Some call her Frenchy and I see her sitting next to Jacob’s Ladder, across the street from Sally’s mom’s house. Her voice is rough and she says she spent nearly 20 years living in South Florida—everyone on St Helena seems to have a family member living in Florida. One can tell from her face and voice that she’d had a rough life.
Today I saw Frenchy by Jacob’s Ladder and she and her boyfriend were drunk. I guess this is what they do everyday when he gets off work.
The big thing that I accomplished today was shooting video b-roll of passengers and the RMS leaving port again. Last week the ship left for Ascension and it has come back before going to Walvis Bay and on to Cape Town. The RMS will then return again on Feb. 8, which is when I will say goodbye.
The supplies in the stores are looking pretty barren. Imported vegetables are looking a little rotten and shelf supplies are getting low. I can’t seem to buy any decent batteries on the island. I was going to switch to rechargeable ones, but all the stores on the island are out of chargers.
I bought some refrozen vegetables the other day out of desperation. They were in about a 2-pound block of ice as they’d been frozen and refrozen perhaps several times.
Don’t misunderstand, the island life is great here, but one has to have less expectations. Battery chargers will probably be on the next ship, as will vegetables. It won’t do me any good, but that’s fine. It’s all part of the life here, and part of the documentary.
TDx
Showing posts with label South Atlantic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Atlantic. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Ascension to St Helena via RMS
Hello from the S. Atlantic,
All is well here on the island of St Helena. After my overnight flight to Heathrow, I took a coach to Oxford which is where RAF Brize Norton is located. Another overnight flight landed me 7,000 nm to the south on Ascension Island. I began working immediately, interviewing a Saint who has lived on Ascension for 42 years. I also met Major Block, the U.S. base commander, and expect to interview him on my return transit.
Ascension is an interesting place. It is UK-owned and was used by the RAF during its war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Initially, a naval base on Ascension was intended to intercept ships attempting to free Napoleon from St Helena when he was imprisoned on St Helena from 1815-1821.
No one has the right to permanent residency on Ascension, at this time, although attempts have been made by some who’ve lived on the island and raised their family there. The 1,100 people that currently live on the island are employed by either the U.S. Air Force, the RAF or a contracted company called CSR. Some families are allowed to live on the island but this depends on the type and level of job one has. The employer provides housing, which is either a room in the barracks or a home large enough for a small family. About 300 U.S. or British live on the island and the rest are Saints. Despite the island’s function as a base, there are only three U.S. and 10 RAF military personnel, the rest are contractors. A normal wage on the island is 2.50 pounds per hour. Jobs are hard to come by on Ascension and many people apply from St Helena. Like many places, it depends on who you know.
I landed on St Helena Wednesday after a three-day boat ride aboard the last Royal Mail Ship in operation. It was a delightful and very British experience including a 4 p.m. tea everyday. I shot people playing a modified cricket game on the sundeck, which was a ton of fun. Obviously I have never shot this sport, so I was surprised to find how difficult it was to shoot the bowlers—there arms go over their face twice as they pitch (or bowl). I also shot Deck Quiots, which is an ancient sea-faring game where rubber discs are thrown on a shuffleboard type target.
My documentary began on Ascension Island when I met Sally, a 31-year-old who works in the Falklands and was traveling home with her two girls, her sister and her brother for their father’s funeral. Sally hadn’t been home in six years and her girls have never been to the island. Her father passed away on Dec. 26, but they were not able to get a flight and passage on the RMS until Jan 11. It is an expensive trip for her and at a time when money is tight due to Christmas. I shot the funeral today, which was uncomfortable for me. I’d asked Father Alan, the pastor presiding over the service, his advice on shooting the event and he was able to tell me about the processional from the hospital down the street to the church and then asked me to ride with him to the cemetery where they lowered the wooden casket down and grave diggers covered up the casket. After the burial, Sally asked me if I could shoot a few pictures of the family and about 30 people stood by the graveside for a family photo. I was happy to oblige because many will not be back on the island for several years.
I am also shooting Tara who is moving back to the island after five years in the UK. She brought her British boyfriend who has never been to the island before, but is willing to try living here for a minimum of 18 months. The concern is how they will earn a living on the island. Saints returning with exPat spouses/partners is common throughout history on the island, so I think this is important to demonstrate as a sidebar on the documentary Web site.
The third subject I began shooting is Anthony. Anthony lives on Ascension and works as a communications rigger, which means he climbs those 400-foot towers to fix whatever needs to be fixed. He has an 8-year-old son on St Helena and is coming home for a visit. We are traveling back on the same passage, so I will shoot him at his job on Ascension when we return.
I am also looking for more stories and people to interview. There are about 30 yachts in the harbor, which is more than anyone on the island can remember. Some of the boats are here as part of a race from Cape Town. They are having a race in the harbor Saturday that will include any locals wishing to board any of the boats, and I’ve been invited. I plan to shoot some Saints turning winches, etc.
This morning I climbed up and down Jacob’s Ladder, 699 steps. It occurred to me that climbing up one storey is about 30 steps, I think. This means I climbed up more than 23 stories. While this seems a ridiculous thing to do, the view is lovely.
I’ll try to update more later.
With love,
Tiff
All is well here on the island of St Helena. After my overnight flight to Heathrow, I took a coach to Oxford which is where RAF Brize Norton is located. Another overnight flight landed me 7,000 nm to the south on Ascension Island. I began working immediately, interviewing a Saint who has lived on Ascension for 42 years. I also met Major Block, the U.S. base commander, and expect to interview him on my return transit.
Ascension is an interesting place. It is UK-owned and was used by the RAF during its war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Initially, a naval base on Ascension was intended to intercept ships attempting to free Napoleon from St Helena when he was imprisoned on St Helena from 1815-1821.
No one has the right to permanent residency on Ascension, at this time, although attempts have been made by some who’ve lived on the island and raised their family there. The 1,100 people that currently live on the island are employed by either the U.S. Air Force, the RAF or a contracted company called CSR. Some families are allowed to live on the island but this depends on the type and level of job one has. The employer provides housing, which is either a room in the barracks or a home large enough for a small family. About 300 U.S. or British live on the island and the rest are Saints. Despite the island’s function as a base, there are only three U.S. and 10 RAF military personnel, the rest are contractors. A normal wage on the island is 2.50 pounds per hour. Jobs are hard to come by on Ascension and many people apply from St Helena. Like many places, it depends on who you know.
I landed on St Helena Wednesday after a three-day boat ride aboard the last Royal Mail Ship in operation. It was a delightful and very British experience including a 4 p.m. tea everyday. I shot people playing a modified cricket game on the sundeck, which was a ton of fun. Obviously I have never shot this sport, so I was surprised to find how difficult it was to shoot the bowlers—there arms go over their face twice as they pitch (or bowl). I also shot Deck Quiots, which is an ancient sea-faring game where rubber discs are thrown on a shuffleboard type target.
My documentary began on Ascension Island when I met Sally, a 31-year-old who works in the Falklands and was traveling home with her two girls, her sister and her brother for their father’s funeral. Sally hadn’t been home in six years and her girls have never been to the island. Her father passed away on Dec. 26, but they were not able to get a flight and passage on the RMS until Jan 11. It is an expensive trip for her and at a time when money is tight due to Christmas. I shot the funeral today, which was uncomfortable for me. I’d asked Father Alan, the pastor presiding over the service, his advice on shooting the event and he was able to tell me about the processional from the hospital down the street to the church and then asked me to ride with him to the cemetery where they lowered the wooden casket down and grave diggers covered up the casket. After the burial, Sally asked me if I could shoot a few pictures of the family and about 30 people stood by the graveside for a family photo. I was happy to oblige because many will not be back on the island for several years.
I am also shooting Tara who is moving back to the island after five years in the UK. She brought her British boyfriend who has never been to the island before, but is willing to try living here for a minimum of 18 months. The concern is how they will earn a living on the island. Saints returning with exPat spouses/partners is common throughout history on the island, so I think this is important to demonstrate as a sidebar on the documentary Web site.
The third subject I began shooting is Anthony. Anthony lives on Ascension and works as a communications rigger, which means he climbs those 400-foot towers to fix whatever needs to be fixed. He has an 8-year-old son on St Helena and is coming home for a visit. We are traveling back on the same passage, so I will shoot him at his job on Ascension when we return.
I am also looking for more stories and people to interview. There are about 30 yachts in the harbor, which is more than anyone on the island can remember. Some of the boats are here as part of a race from Cape Town. They are having a race in the harbor Saturday that will include any locals wishing to board any of the boats, and I’ve been invited. I plan to shoot some Saints turning winches, etc.
This morning I climbed up and down Jacob’s Ladder, 699 steps. It occurred to me that climbing up one storey is about 30 steps, I think. This means I climbed up more than 23 stories. While this seems a ridiculous thing to do, the view is lovely.
I’ll try to update more later.
With love,
Tiff
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