Very nice story.<p>One thing I often ask myself in these situations:
What do the inhabitants on these islands actually do?<p>There are 259 of them in this case.<p>Are they self-sustaining? How do they pay for stuff the want to import? Do they live off the cruise ships they supply? And do people generally stay there or do young people generally move to mainland?<p>Edit: For economy, it looks like they live off exporting langustas.
The UK built a crayfish processing facility so that they could have income. They also sell stamps and a few handmade crafts such as knitted socks. There are a few government jobs and they must make some money from tourism. And they all grow potatoes for their own consumption.
Lobsters. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha-the-lobsters-keeping-earths-remotest-town-afloat" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha...</a>
There's actually Street View images, so you can take a look, also at the agricultural plots southwest of the town (see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches</a> ). There's some sheep, cattle and (I think) donkeys as well.
There was an AMA by a journalist on the island this year: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i_currently_live_on_tristan_da_cunha_the_worlds/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i...</a>
I think this was also a “look what we can do at short notice” kind of exercise. Just in case a country was thinking of maybe trying to take over another set of islands in the south Atlantic
I think this is one of the few things as late that makes me feel genuinely proud to be British, because, beneath the hostility that feels so rife across our country recently, we’ve so many good people making things like this happen. Bravo.
The hostility is rife across social media. I don't see much of it day to day.
Reminds me of the Bill Hicks bit during the early days of CNN and 24-hour news channels: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjuPJskNRE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjuPJskNRE</a>
Unfortunately, for a few years now, social media <i>is</i> real life...
As the persons said, they are not observing it in real life.<p>This is what I also have observed in various contexts as well. Social media is not a representation of what real people think. Most people in real life does not comment in social media, or they comment on inconsequential or trivial things....
Social media gets distorted by a handful of extremists who are motivated, and by commercial interests. A lot of the nastiest stuff is not even posted by British people, but people masquerading as British: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgpyn30dp3o" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgpyn30dp3o</a>
I know exactly what you mean. But for me there's an even greater emotion here... <i>relief</i>. At a time when everything feels so utterly divided, it's such a relief to see a positive story that everyone can celebrate and feel proud of, regardless of their stance. Better, it's a story that can't be politicised one way or the other, it has a purity about it. I think if we had more positive stories like this, our political & ideological differences wouldn't seem so all consuming.
It certainly involved a lot of skill and expense, but how many more lives could be saved if the same money had been spent on improved traffic safety or NHS in general?
Probably not that many. You underestimate how expensive either of those things are.<p>We have obligations to provide services like this to the people living in our overseas territories, and you won’t find many people who’ll oppose that.
This is a classic. It occurs in two forms:<p>Wow, logistics to <remote place> are very expensive! We could spend that money better in the cities!<p>Wow, logistics in <city> is expensive! We could spend that money better in rural areas!<p>I read about a new road tunnel in London last year, a ten-digit price tag for about 1km of road IIRC. I'm 100% sure some people suggested that that money could have been better spent in rural areas.
People respond to inspiring stories that show what is possible. Inevitably that means choices that might not match what a perfect allocation looks like.<p>Quiet, bland execution in government will get you voted out. Technocrats tend to come in after corruption, but they don’t usually last.
You'd rather we ignored our overseas compatriots?
It's a small price to pay to keep political control. Probably not the entire motivation here, but generally countries like keeping their remote islands and settlements lived in because it represents a claim of the land by proxy.
True, but this is military expenditure. So would you rather they spend this on an exercise or on actually saving people?
I'm no expert but that looks like an impressive feat of skill, coming blind through the clouds and picking out a relatively small patch to land on. Remember also it is late autumn there, pretty windy (according to TFA) and the wind would probably be doing weird things off the sea around those cliffs. All in all, very cool.
Amazing! Tristan’s entire website is a treasure. It’s a throwback to when the web was great.
Agreed. The story is great, too. A really interesting logistical challenge that arose from unusual circumstances.<p>There's probably something to be said for the fact that TDC is a small, remote community, so it shouldn't be surprising that its website is reminiscent of a smaller, more communal web... but I'm not going to try to read too much into it and let the story stand on its own.
Tremendous stuff. Made better by the throwback web styling. Almost broke out in to the national anthem halfway through the article.
Were the ICU nurse and Doctor trained for the tandem jump previously - I've not seen that said in any of the stories published. Or did they just find a random ICU nurse and Doctor who was up for it?
144 Parachute Medical Squadron has a number of specialists available - <a href="https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/about-the-army/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-army-medical-service/16-medical-regiment/" rel="nofollow">https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/about-the-army/cor...</a>
Article in the Guardian suggested the medic had been in a tandem jump before bu the doctor hadn't (or it might be the other way around)
It does not take anything more than listening to instructions and remaining calm to do a tandem parachute. Doctors and nurses on average have those skills. And those who volunteer for a mission like this undoubtedly do.
What a heartwarming article.
The only reason military should exist is to perform such life-saving, not life-ending, missions...
In case you're as interested as I was, they have google street view.
Visiting Tristan Da Cunha is on my bucket list. Just a shame it takes so long to get there, but maybe that's part of the appeal.
Wonderful. I love the poem at the end too.
Literally one of the worst places to fall seriously ill due to the fact you are absolutely and totally stuck in the actual middle-of-nowhere.
Polar stations are even more inaccessible during polar winter with months of total darkness and it is just too dangerous to reach them. The winter-over crews need to be completely self-sufficient until the sun rises again.
Free (but admittedly useless) advice when you plan to fall seriously ill:<p>- do not get on a cruise ship<p>- do not get off at a remote island
> The plane flew between Inaccessible and Tristan<p>My god there actually is an island called Inaccessible Island! That's fantastic.
In that case, you will probably also be happy to learn about:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnecessary_Mountain" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnecessary_Mountain</a>
We have a mountain here called Bod an Deamhain meaning the Demon's D*ck. It has been anglicised into something more polite.<p>If you want something more bleak, there are also islands called Disappointment and Desolation.
This is the best thing, thank you.
Definitely on the short list of locations to build my Bond villain lair.
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