In the British Isles we are fortunate to have over 6,000 offshore islands, though only 189 of them are large enough to be permanently populated. This CST activities page celebrates some of those islands and provides an opportunity for reminiscence and reflection about places visited and animals seen.
Idioms
First ask members to complete the following well known phrases ...
No man is an ISLAND (John Donne)
Desert Island DISCS
Message in a BOTTLE
Treasure ISLAND
Robinson CRUSOE
All washed UP
Beach COMBER
Rock POOL
Between the devil and the deep blue SEA
The coast is CLEAR
Have a whale of a TIME
Like a fish out of WATER
Keep something at BAY
Between a rock and a hard PLACE
Plenty more fish in the SEA
Batten down the HATCHES
Like ships that pass in the NIGHT
Sink or SWIM
Make a SPLASH
Make WAVES
Discussion
Ask members if they were deserted on a desert island, what discs would they take with them and which one would they save from the waves (their overall favourite)?
Which favourite book would they take with them, in addition to being given the works of William Shakespeare and the Holy Bible?
Which luxury item would they take with them?
Round 1. Name The Island
Name the group of islands 27 miles off the coast of Lands End?
How many of the islands can you name?
Which pipe smoking politician holidayed there every year?
Name this Cornish island?
Hoe do you get across to it?
What island in France is it twinned with?
Name the island off Bigbury On Sea on the south cost of Devon?
Which author set several of their thrillers here?
Name her two lead characters?
Name the island off Portsmouth?
Name the lighthouse and cliffs?
Name the tower overlooking the island?
Which Channel Island provides us with these food stuffs?
Can you name any of the other Channel Islands?
Which Welsh island is pictured here?
Name the bay?
Can you name the TV sitcom and the other two characters?
Can you name this Welsh seaside town?
Which island is found a few miles out from it?
What are the Cistercian monks who live there famous for making?
Which island would you find off the coast of North Wales near Bangor?
What is the stretch of water that has to be crossed?
Who trained as a helicopter pilot there?
You will find the longest place name in the UK on this island. Can anyone read it out loud?
What does it mean?
Can you name the self-governing British island in the Irish Sea?
What is the name of the native cat?
Name this Holy Island in Northumberland?
Which single did a pop group named after this island have a hit with in 1971?
Name the Scottish island group?
Name the TV reality show?
Name the TV presenter who came to fame on it?
Name the most northerly isles in Britain?
Name the horses?
Name the dogs?
Factoid.
A message in a bottle sent 82 years ago is to be posted to the sender's relatives.
The bottle, found on a Jersey beach last year, was originally thought to have been sent by John Stapleford. It is now understood to have been sent by his teenage son, also called John, when the family attended a wedding in Jersey in 1938. Nigel Hill, who found it, said he would be posting it to the younger Mr Stapleford's daughter. It was her daughter who first got in contact with Mr Hill after seeing reports of the discovery. The note is written on a back of a cake box, which can be traced to the company Cawley Bros, once based in Jersey.
Mr Stapleford's daughter confirmed the handwriting was her father's. He is thought to have been 14 when he sent the note. He later served in the Merchant Navy, and died in 1994.
"Sometimes with these stories you can never close the book on it, but we actually have now", Mr Hill said. "It will be a family heirloom for her and generations to come, and what an incredible story that is."
Round 2. Name The Animal
Name and discuss the animals?
Can members think of any others they have seen on or in the sea around British islands?
Round 3. Overseas Islands
Name the scientist?
Name the ship?
Name the islands?
On which Italian island is there a volcano?
What is it called?
Name this island?
Name the native people?
Name the bird & fruit?
Name the island where this politician was held captive for 18 of his 27 years under arrest?
Name the politician?
Name the island US state?
Name the politician born there?
Name the TV detective series?
Name the island?
Name the country?
Name the 1989 movie?
Name the Caribbean island?
Name the pop star?
Name the 1936 thriller and author?
Name the island & island group?
Name the mountain?
Name the bird?
Name the island?
Name the artist?
Name the song?
Name the island?
Name the artist?
What is the island otherwise called?
Factoid.
Manhattan in New York, being part of Long Island, has a twice yearly phenomenon called 'Manhattanhenge'. The Manhattan Solstice is an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is perfectly aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan. The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice. The sunset alignments occur on or around 28th May and 13th July. The sunrise alignments occur on or around 5th December and 8th January.
Name the islands associated with these TV shows and movies?
Name these movies set on islands?
Some music to finish ...
'Islands In The Stream', Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQW7I62TNOw
'Islands In The Sun', Harry Belafonte - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjPNDFr_ZpE
'Kokomo', The Beach Boys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F7feVPuTBI
'Barbados', Typically Tropical - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALD-rI8Q08
'Island Of Lost Souls', Blondie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7gqErYW0K0
'La Isla Bonita', Madonna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpzdgmqIHOQ
'Message In A Bottle' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbXWrmQW-OE
You can download the BBC 'Wild Isles' poster for free at https://connect.open.ac.uk/wildisles
ANSWERS
Name the group of islands 27 miles off the coast of Lands End? Scilly Isles
How many of the islands can you name? St.Mary's, Tresco, St.Martin's, Bryher and St.Agnes
Which pipe smoking politician holidayed there every year? Harold Wilson
Name this Cornish island? St. Michael's Mount
Hoe do you get across to it? Via the Giant's Causeway at low tide or boat
What island in France is it twinned with? Mont Saint Michel
Name the island off Bigbury On Sea on the south cost of Devon? Burgh Island
Which author set several of their thrillers here? Agatha Christie (The books were 'Evil Under The Sun' and 'And Then There Were None')
Name her two lead characters? Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple
Name the island of Portsmouth? Isle of Wight
Name the lighthouse and cliffs? The Needles
Name the tower overlooking the island? The Spinnaker
Which Channel Island provides us with these food stuffs? Jersey (Jersey Cow & Royal Jersey Potato)
Can you name any of the other Channel Islands? Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark & Herm
Which Welsh island is pictured here? Barry Island
Name the bay? Whitmore Bay
Can you name the TV sitcom and the other two characters? 'Gavin And Stacey' & Tessa and Smithy
Can you name this Welsh seaside town? Tenby
Which island is found a few miles out from it? Caldey Island
What are the Cistercian monks who live there famous for making? Mead, Candles (Beeswax) & Chocolate and Perfume
Which island would you find off the coast of North Wales near Bangor? Anglesey
What is the stretch of water that has to be crossed? Menai Straits
Who trained as a helicopter pilot there? Prince William
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of Llandysilio of the red cave
Can you name the self-governing British island in the Irish Sea? Isle Of Man
What is the name of the native cat? Manx
Name this Holy Island in Northumberland? Lindisfarne
Which single did a pop group named after this island have a hit with in 1971? 'Fog On The Tyne'
Name the Scottish island group? Outer Hebrides (Taransay)
Name the TV reality show? 'Castaway'
Name the TV presenter who came to fame on it? Ben Fogle
Name the most northerly isles in Britain? Shetland Isles
Name the horses? Shetland Ponies
Name the dogs? Shelties
Grey Seal, Puffin, Red Squirrel
Sea otter, Orca, Porpoise
Basking shark, Crab, Gannett
Lobster, Bottlenose dolphin, Leatherback turtle
Name the scientist? Charles Darwin
Name the ship? 'HMS Beagle'
Name the islands? Galapagos
On which Italian island is there a volcano? Sicily
What is it called? Mount Etna
Name this island? New Zealand
Name the native people? Maouri
Name the bird & fruit? Kiwi
Name the island where this politician was held captive for 18 of his 27 years under arrest? Robben Island
Name the politician? Nelson Mandela
Name the island US state? Hawaii (Oahu)
Name the politician born there? Barack Obama
Name the TV detective series? 'Hawaii Five 0'
Name the island? Mykonos
Name the country? Greece
Name the 1989 movie? 'Shirley Valentine'
Name the Caribbean island? Jamaica
Name the pop star? Bob Marley
Name the 1936 thriller and author? 'Jamaica Inn' by Daphne Du Maurier
Name the island & island group? Tenerife / Canary Islands
Name the mountain? Mount Teidi
Name the bird? Yellow Canary
Name the island? Bermuda
Name the artist? Barry Manilow
Name the song? 'Bermuda Triangle'
Name the island? Iceland
Name the artist? Bjork
What is the island otherwise called? 'The Isle Of Fire And Ice'
Bali, Craggy Island ('Father Ted')
Amity ('Jaws' / Roy Schieder), 'Treasure Island'
'Fantasy Island', Tracy Island ('Thunderbirds')
'Robinson Crusoe', 'Lord Of The Flies'
'Swiss Family Robinson', 'Escape From Alcatraz' (Clint Eastwood)
'Castaway' (Tom Hanks), 'Escape From The Caribbean' (Johnny Depp)
