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| Giving it all up to be a Christmas Island 'beachcomber' | Giving it all up to be a Christmas Island 'beachcomber' |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The allure of a new and different life on a South Sea island has tempted many Europeans over the past two centuries. But these so-called "beachcombers" do make sacrifices in return for their life in the sun, away from the stress and strain of the big cities. | |
| "Come in, come in!" It is a glorious welcome, considering Perry Langston is not expecting me. He stands outside his simple home and warmly shakes my hand. | "Come in, come in!" It is a glorious welcome, considering Perry Langston is not expecting me. He stands outside his simple home and warmly shakes my hand. |
| His house is near the lagoon, single storey, with a half-covered entrance yard and a corrugated tin roof. | His house is near the lagoon, single storey, with a half-covered entrance yard and a corrugated tin roof. |
| Perry first came to Christmas Island - an isolated coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific - in 1966, just a few years after the British stopped using it for nuclear tests, which makes him one of the island's most enduring residents. | Perry first came to Christmas Island - an isolated coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific - in 1966, just a few years after the British stopped using it for nuclear tests, which makes him one of the island's most enduring residents. |
| He is now 74, slightly stooping, spectacles on nose, with a sharp and intelligent face. | He is now 74, slightly stooping, spectacles on nose, with a sharp and intelligent face. |
| He has a few front teeth missing - lack of access to dentists is a drawback of island life - and a completely unselfconscious smile. | He has a few front teeth missing - lack of access to dentists is a drawback of island life - and a completely unselfconscious smile. |
| He introduces me to his silver-haired Micronesian wife. She exudes calm and grace. | He introduces me to his silver-haired Micronesian wife. She exudes calm and grace. |
| They have had seven children together. One son lives next door and grandchildren are nonchalantly passing in and out as we are talking. | They have had seven children together. One son lives next door and grandchildren are nonchalantly passing in and out as we are talking. |
| "Sit down, sit down," Perry says, beckoning to a battered armchair. | "Sit down, sit down," Perry says, beckoning to a battered armchair. |
| There is a map of the Pacific and an old map of England - both much repaired - pinned to the wall. | There is a map of the Pacific and an old map of England - both much repaired - pinned to the wall. |
| He shows me a photograph of the red-brick farmhouse in Warwickshire where he grew up and I think: "How far can a man travel in one lifetime?" | He shows me a photograph of the red-brick farmhouse in Warwickshire where he grew up and I think: "How far can a man travel in one lifetime?" |
| But this journey happened without a plan. | But this journey happened without a plan. |
| Perry trained as an agronomist and went out to the Solomon Islands in the twilight years of Empire to work in a technical capacity for a Catholic mission. | Perry trained as an agronomist and went out to the Solomon Islands in the twilight years of Empire to work in a technical capacity for a Catholic mission. |
| After that, his whole life in the South Seas involved practical work - the sharp edge of development. | After that, his whole life in the South Seas involved practical work - the sharp edge of development. |
| He seemed to revel in his lack of material wealth. He quoted Gandhi to me: "Meet your needs and limit your wants." | He seemed to revel in his lack of material wealth. He quoted Gandhi to me: "Meet your needs and limit your wants." |
| He may be poor by Western standards, but surrounded by his island neighbours and his grandchildren he will never fear a lonely old age. | He may be poor by Western standards, but surrounded by his island neighbours and his grandchildren he will never fear a lonely old age. |
| Twenty minutes away lives another "beachcomber" with a rather different lifestyle. | Twenty minutes away lives another "beachcomber" with a rather different lifestyle. |
| Scotsman John Bryden runs a successful grocery and provisions store and has been on the island almost as long as Perry. | Scotsman John Bryden runs a successful grocery and provisions store and has been on the island almost as long as Perry. |
| He came out to visit his brother, met a local woman and did not go home. | He came out to visit his brother, met a local woman and did not go home. |
| John is 70 and looks 50. "But my teeth need fixing," he says. That missing island dentist again. | John is 70 and looks 50. "But my teeth need fixing," he says. That missing island dentist again. |
| He has a microlight aircraft. The runway is a field behind his shop. | He has a microlight aircraft. The runway is a field behind his shop. |
| When I came to see him, he had just returned from a flight around the island. "Saw lots of turtles and sharks this morning," he says. | When I came to see him, he had just returned from a flight around the island. "Saw lots of turtles and sharks this morning," he says. |
| He keeps his microlight in a big steel-framed shed which he bought from the Kiribati government. | He keeps his microlight in a big steel-framed shed which he bought from the Kiribati government. |
| It is a building with quite a history. It was the bomb assembly shed during the British nuclear testing era on the island. | It is a building with quite a history. It was the bomb assembly shed during the British nuclear testing era on the island. |
| John Bryden and Perry Langston are very different characters but both are capable, practical men. | John Bryden and Perry Langston are very different characters but both are capable, practical men. |
| If pressed, they could build a house, fix a car, catch fish in the lagoon. They are not dreamers, or bookish intellectuals. | If pressed, they could build a house, fix a car, catch fish in the lagoon. They are not dreamers, or bookish intellectuals. |
| But 35 years ago, on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, I met another sort of beachcomber. | But 35 years ago, on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, I met another sort of beachcomber. |
| I was making some programmes on Captain Cook and people said: "You must go and see Des Clarke, he has a wonderful library of books on the South Seas." | I was making some programmes on Captain Cook and people said: "You must go and see Des Clarke, he has a wonderful library of books on the South Seas." |
| Des was also an island trader and married to a local woman - a queen, in fact - one of three traditional chiefs. | Des was also an island trader and married to a local woman - a queen, in fact - one of three traditional chiefs. |
| I remember vividly the surprise of his office at the back of his shop. | I remember vividly the surprise of his office at the back of his shop. |
| One wall was covered with books - cooks' journals, Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson - a cornucopia of Polynesian scholarship, fiction and travellers' tales. | One wall was covered with books - cooks' journals, Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson - a cornucopia of Polynesian scholarship, fiction and travellers' tales. |
| I returned to Aitutaki this year and heard that Des was still on the island. In fact, I was to be renting a small house from his wife. | I returned to Aitutaki this year and heard that Des was still on the island. In fact, I was to be renting a small house from his wife. |
| The evening before they came to see me, I was sitting on the veranda reading Stevenson's In the South Seas. | The evening before they came to see me, I was sitting on the veranda reading Stevenson's In the South Seas. |
| The sound of the cicadas, the ocean breeze rustling the treetops, "the wide and starry sky", even the smell of the mosquito coils - not a bad place to live out your days, I was thinking. | The sound of the cicadas, the ocean breeze rustling the treetops, "the wide and starry sky", even the smell of the mosquito coils - not a bad place to live out your days, I was thinking. |
| The next morning, Des arrived in a battered truck, slowly climbed the steps to the veranda, brushed back his tousled grey hair and sat down. His wife, Gina, swatted mosquitoes as we talked. | The next morning, Des arrived in a battered truck, slowly climbed the steps to the veranda, brushed back his tousled grey hair and sat down. His wife, Gina, swatted mosquitoes as we talked. |
| "What about your books?" I asked. He gave me a long look. | "What about your books?" I asked. He gave me a long look. |
| "They are gone," he said. | "They are gone," he said. |
| "You cannot keep books in this climate. The bugs and the humidity get to them in the end and they always win." | "You cannot keep books in this climate. The bugs and the humidity get to them in the end and they always win." |
| Then he threw me another sharp-eyed look. | Then he threw me another sharp-eyed look. |
| "If you choose this sort of life," he said, "you've got to know what you're giving up and you've got to be prepared to pay the price." | "If you choose this sort of life," he said, "you've got to know what you're giving up and you've got to be prepared to pay the price." |
| From Our Own Correspondent: Listen online or download the podcast. | From Our Own Correspondent: Listen online or download the podcast. |
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