ED’S LETTER

Inever had any desire to visit St Helena – that little island in the South Atlantic. It’s Napoleon’s fault. In my history books in high school, he complained constantly about the food, the wine, the rats and the damp that he had to endure during his exile there. It just didn’t sound like a great place to visit. Then my history teacher moved on to the Anglo-Boer War and I discovered that the British had sent hundreds of Boer prisoners to the island... I became even more disenchanted with the place and it dropped off my radar completely. This changed about eight years ago when former go! editor Andrea Weiss travelled to St Helena by ship, and I read her story in this magazine. Turns out the island is a fascinating paradise with interesting people, a subtropical climate, a warm ocean with abundant sea life and a pristine landscape unlike any other on earth. Our journalist Sophia van Taak recently flew to the island’s new airport and her story on page 52 reinforces why St Helena should be on your must-visit list. Besides, Napoleon himself is quoted as saying “the French complain about everything, and always” – it seems the cantankerous emperor lived up to his own stereotype, even if his wineglass was full to the brim. In 1820, a year before his death, the island’s purser kept a record of the exiled ruler and his entourage’s daily food allowance: 31 bottles of Cape wine, 10 bottles of claret, three bottles of apple cider, three bottles of malt liquor, one bottle of champagne, 50 pounds of beef and veal, 50 pounds of mutton or pork, 68 pounds of bread and 42 eggs. On top of that, they got one roasting pig and 29 birds every week and an additional monthly allowance of 12 bottles of cognac and 22 extra bottles of wine. No wonder Napoleon kicked the bucket when he was only 51! He was having too much of a good time on St Helena. I can’t wait to go to the island and tick it off my own must-visit list. When I do, I’ll have Sophia’s guide in my hand… En bonne santé.