
* Weekend dances
at various clubs and community centres.
- * Occasional
musical concert.

Local
crafts on St Helena are limited due mainly to the fluctuating market
demand. However a limited amount can be bought from the Art &
Craft Centre and Souvenir Shop in Jamestown. Special items of craft
can also be purchased from the individual producer. Souvenirs, such as
T-Shirts, Caps, Key-rings, etc are on sale in a number of shops in
Jamestown. St Helena stamps on First Day Covers make excellent
souvenirs of St Helena.


The
island could never be described as a sporting Mecca. Nevertheless, a
wide variety of sporting activities takes place on St Helena and the
participation of visitors is welcomed by almost ail. Cricket, golf and
rifle shooting were introduced to the island in the late 1800s. Other
sports and leisure pastimes enjoyed are football, tennis, rounder,
basketball, badminton, skittles, table tennis, darts, euchre drives,
water sports, line dancing and aerobics.
There
are no sandy beaches but swimming is possible from the Wharf and a few
other coastal areas. There is also an Olympic-sized swimming pool in
Jamestown, open daily. The St Helena Diving Club offers the
opportunity to enjoy some excellent snorkeling and scuba diving with
superb wrecks to explore.

There
are many interesting walks, ranging from gentle strolls along country
roads to climbing up through flax and pastures to appreciate the
dramatic contrasts and spectacular scenery of the island. For the fit,
but not faint-hearted, there is ample opportunity to discover more
isolated parts of the island - Lot’s Wife Ponds, Sharks Valley,
Prosperous Bay or the Barn.

There
are no train or scheduled bus services on the island and most visitors
explore the countryside outside of Jamestown by taxi. But, by
arrangement, special bus tours are laid on for ship's visitors. The
tours are well planned and enable one to view not only the surprising
flora found in the island's interior, but to visit Longwood House
where Napoleon spent the final six years of his life. The property is
maintained by the Government of France and the house is filled with
Napoleonic memorabilia. Plantation House, the Governor's residence
built in 1792, is another favorite stopping place on the tour, where
visitors are fascinated by the giant tortoises who live in the grounds,
one of which is reputedly 171 years old !

On the
trip into the interior, a bird unique to St. Helena can often be seen
running through the long grass on wiry legs that have earned it the
name of the wirebird. The countryside of St. Helena consists of
astonishing contrasts. In its 10½ miles by 6 miles the terrain ranges
from wind eroded desert with multicolored ridges and valleys, to flax
and tree covered hillsides, soft pasture, lush vegetation-filled
valleys and large areas of prickly pear scrub. Towering high above
Sandy Bay are two huge basalt columns named appropriately Lot and
Lot's Wife.

The
most spectacular feature of Jamestown is Jacob's Ladder : 699 steps
leading from the floor of the valley, on which the town is built, to
the top of Ladder Hill. Exploring Jamestown is a delight rather akin
to a treasure hunt. By far the greatest number of buildings in the
town are of eighteenth or nineteenth century origin. The Consulate
Hotel with its old colonial style wrought iron balconies and the
historic Wellington House are the two hotels in Jamestown. Next to the
Consulate Hotel is a massive Victorian warehouse known as The Malabar.
Further along Main Street is Essex House, built in 1739, with its
interesting colonnaded extension at the rear.