The Administrator’s Christmas Message

24 December 2019

Government

A Christmas message from the Ascension Island Administrator, His Honour Steven Chandler:

I’m very much looking forward to celebrating my first Christmas on Ascension, all the more so because my posting here was originally supposed to end in November this year. Rather selfishly I’m delighted to be staying now until March 2020, not least because I get to spend the festive period in this wonderful place.

I really enjoyed hosting Christmas Carols at the Obsidian Guest House last Friday as my first taste of jovial Ascension Christmas celebration – I was off Island for the previous three weeks and landed on the RAF aircraft just 90 minutes before the Carols started.  Perfect timing, and I could not have asked for a more immediate fun and happy way to return to the Island.

Thank you to those who came, and special thanks to Deborah, Junior and Jane, and all those who helped make it a success including our musical Quartet who led our wonderful singing.  The interactive ’12 Days of Christmas’ was a particular highlight!

Christmas is almost upon us. I trust you are all well stocked up with food and drink (and presents…..but only if you’ve been good!) after two FIRS and one MV Helena calls in the last month. And families and friends are being reunited overseas or on Island with two Airlink flights this month providing an extra welcome opportunity for people to travel on and off the island. A huge thank you goes to colleagues whose hard and dedicated team work ensured that all of the ship calls and flights, including RAF and USAF flights, took place and went smoothly.

As a relative newcomer, my overriding sense of Ascension’s uniqueness and strength as we finish 2019 and look forward to another year is your extraordinary ability and commitment to make one of the most remote places in the world work. I applaud your team spirit and the cooperation that exists on this island between the AIG, the Island Council, the UK and US Military Forces and all the Employing Organisations which together have been and will continue to be the bedrock of this community’s collective success.  I’m very proud to a part of such a wonderful community.

Wherever you spend it, I wish you all a memorable and peaceful Christmas, and a happy New Year.

Steve