5 Do Sport

Sport on St Helena is big, the Saints love football and cricket and everyone turns out to watch. There is also a festival of walking and a festival of running.

The Ansell’s have been contributing to sport on the Island in various ways.
Last Friday Isaac played football for the school football team who won their inter-school tournament playing against 2 other primary schools.

Isaac and Archie have also joined a 5 a side football team called the Skull fires, they play on a Sunday morning in a league, they have played 2 games so far and are doing well. They rock a pink kit, I think it’s their new favourite colour!
Last weekend as a family we all managed to climb Jacob’s ladder, 699 steps up from Jamestown to Ladder hill. We managed to go up in around 20 minutes with a couple of rests, the steps seem to go on for ever. The kids were great and really felt like they had achieved something. Our time back down the steps was much quicker! Afterwards we were all very proud of ourselves and went to Anne’s place for a drink to celebrate!
As well as tackling the ladder we have walked around locally with Cooper exploring during our daily dog walks, there are lots of little nooks and crannies and being somewhat nosey Jo likes to have a look. We often end up walking down someone’s driveway or coming across a dog that is not tethered and end up making a hasty retreat but it has also provided us with some great dog walking routes. Most of the walks we do are off road, Cooper runs off the lead and has a whale of a time, we often find him sitting and waiting for the rest of us at the top of a hill as we arrive puffing and panting a few minutes behind him!
At the weekends, we often try and tackle one of the 21 Post Box walks here on St Helena as a family, they are walks that vary in difficulty from 2/10 to 9/10, some you even need ropes for! There are steep drops on every walk and they can be a little hair raising, we are still only doing the 2 or 3/10 walks so goodness knows what the 9/10 walks will be like! At the end of each walk there is a stamp and a book to write in, the idea is we stamp our book of walks and by the end of our stay here we will have done all 21?! We have currently done 3 so we have a way to go yet.
A couple of weeks ago we walked to Flagstaff, one of the high points on the island, it is a straight forward walk up a track. It is a 2/10, good for walking with Cooper and great views from the top, Ruby cried the whole way up which made the whole thing such a pleasure!! I had some advice given to me after that walk,” take other children with you on a post box walk, it makes it more bearable!” we may have to try it next time.
Since coming to the Island Jo and Matt have both started playing golf, St Helena golf course is 9 holes and you go around twice to play 18. Jo had only played golf twice before both Jo and Matt were entered into a Texas scramble last Saturday, (Jo didn’t know she was playing, she only went along to look after the kids and for the BBQ afterwards!) Matt and his partner Larry came 2nd, Jo had a great time but was generally rubbish throughout, more practice needed! Maybe if she wore plus 4’s she would play better.
Well we’re off for another dog walk so we’ll speak soon!
Lots of love from Jo, Matt, Isaac, Ruby and Archie xxxxx

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