Product Description

Welcomed with open arms, derided as a pig-ignorant tourist and occasionally mocked mercilessly for his trouble, Ben Fogle visited the last flag-flying outposts of the British Empire. With caution, dignity and a spare pair of pants thrown to the wind, he set out to discover just exactly who would choose to live on islands as remote as these and - more importantly - tried to figure out exactly why. Landing himself on islands so isolated, wind-swept, barren and just damned peculiar that they might have Robinson Crusoe thinking twice, Fogle: - Almost becomes lunch on the appropriately named Carcass Island - Gets deported from Pitcairn for being both a spy and a smuggler - Uncovers the story of the tyrant who became St Helena's most unwilling and least popular guest - And witnesses a shark attack from a respectable distance. Why he went, what he did when he got there and how exactly he got back in one piece makes for an eye-opening but affectionate look into life in these unique, peculiar places.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194110 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Ben Fogle was the star of the BBC's hit series Castaway 2000. Now presenting Country File, The Teatime Islands is Ben's first book. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Teatime With Ben Fogle
The well known Castaway Ben has been travelling to lots of far flung islands of the British Empire. His humourous writing style transports you to the islands he visited, and his descriptions of the people and places are so vivid, you could almost have been there yourself. What a refreshingly enjoyable travel book this is. He includes the history of each island in a interesting way, and his own experiences and comments on the places and people are often laugh out loud funny. I went to see him at our local bookshop last week where he charmed an audience of over 200 people with a talk, some readings from the book, answering questions and signing books too. His readings from the book made you want to rush home and read it immediately. He talked of future travel plans, and I look forward to the next book from him. Any Castaway fan will love this book. It comes with maps and colour photographs, and gives you itchy feet to go and see the places for yourself. Well done Ben!

No Man is an Island
If you really want to enjoy a travel book with a difference then I can enthusiastically recommend Ben Fogle's first book "The Teatime Islands" first published by Penguin Books earlier this year.

Ben Fogle is of course the writer and travel presenter who also vollunteered for the Taransay "Castaway" 2000 project spending a year on a normally uninhabited Island with a bunch of strangers.

The Teatime Islands, are not in fact a long forgotten archipelago in the middle of the pacific but a collective name given to some of the most remote places on earth all linked together by the fact that they are British Overseas Territories. Even as a young boy, Ben Fogle dreamed of visiting these far off places and walked the globe with his fingers at teatime..hence the name.

Following on from his experience on Taransay, Ben is determined to take a year and visit some of these places he has only dreamed about. Organising such a trip is not easy, with normal commitments and the sheer inaccessbility of the Islands he has selected. However he begins his journey in 2002.

Ben visited six different regions, and these are Tristan da Cunha, Falkland Islands, St Helena, Pitcairn, Ascension Island, British Indian Ocean Territories and his journey was not without the occasional mishap, as well as the most wonderful opportunity to meet like minded individuals.

I loved the straightforward flow of the book, and as each Island or Group of Islands was written as a separate chapter, then it made it easy to read them in the order you wish to, rather than in chronological order, some Islands being better known (or simply have a higher profile in the news), than others.

It was a joy to read this book and I literally could not put it down, completing it in just a few short reading sessions. If I could have found a way to read it in the car on the way to work I would have done!

Ben's style was relaxed and down to earth, which is exactly what is needed for someone undertaking such a journey. The book had an element of wit, and this often caused me to laugh out loud, at his account of situations, which are probably not that funny out of context.

It was also fascinating to understand the different travel routes, and the extremes which would be visitors would have to go to, to be able to visit any of these places. Not the Chairman's Lounge at Heathrow, but instead the RAF base at Brize Norton for example, or long boat journeys across two thousand miles of ocean, causing days of seasickness.

Of course the Pitcairn Islands have had their share of negative press over the last few months, and despite this Ben had arranged authorisation for a visit. However I could feel his pain in his writing when the authorities would not allow him to stay on the island as he gave his occupation as Journalist, and BBC as an employer....his childhood dream was ruined, despite the massive efforts to reach the island in the first place. Its current population are direct descendants from the SS Bounty.

Or the Falklands whose location is now infamous thanks to that invasion over 22 years ago, which many will remember only too well, despite the fact that until then all to many of us thought the group must be part of the Shetlands or Orkneys; the first British claim to the islands dates as far back as the 16th Century.

Some of the place names on the various Islands are so straightforward in their description that they are most amusing. My particular favourite has to be "Ridge-where-goat-jump-off" on Tristan da Cunha. No prizes for guessing how it gots its name. In fact while this Island is known on the Scottish pub quiz circuit for the other place with a capital called Edinburgh, it takes the cup for the most amusing place names, with Soggy Plain, Down-where-the-minister-lay-his-things, and Noisy Beach being some faviourites, with another Island in the group being named inaccessible Island.

It is fascinating to read about the history of all of these islands/island groups, and both their early inhabitants and how they came to be British Overseas Territories. It is also inspirational and somehow mildly amusing to read about the islanders daily lives, and how so far removed their existence is from our Western society. Even here, gossip and "them and us" situations prevail, particularly with regard to overseas staff (or RAF/Army staff) versus residents. However even residents of these remote places need to get away from it all at times, as there was more than one Island where residents had a weekend retreat, down by the tater fields often little more than one mile away.

Ben's passion for travel and in particular his fascination for these remote islands exudes in his writing style from start to finish, and this enthusiasm certinaly made me want to pack a bag and follow even part way in his footsteps.

Ben captures Island spirits
Ben Fogle has notched up some very faraway islands to add to his reportoire. Places few of us will ever be fortunate enough to visit. For someone new to professional writing it stands up pretty well, although I found myself wishing there was more depth at times. The content was very interesting,and there is no doubt Ben has the island spirit in him, but I felt it was a difficult task to link so much in one book to a common theme, and the 'Teatime Islands' theme was a bit weak. Overall,the book was well worth reading and highlights the hand in glove aspect of UK/USA military policy riding roughshod over people who are supposed to be under our protection. Whatever the books literary shortcomings may be, I am grateful to Ben for his efforts to enlighten.
I liked all the permit stamps and tickets too !