PARADISE LOST

“A mind not to be changed by place or time. Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.”

        Paradise Lost - John Milton

 I woke to a beautiful morning which is so much better than the weather we've had for weeks now.

The outlook made me think of Atata Island in Tonga for some reason and I recalled my lovely experience there ... but also the devastation of 2022. See: HERE

The beautiful island, among others was totally munted by the tsunami that followed the volcanic eruption and the people (population 106) were evacuated to one of the main islands.

I searched the internet to get an update of the fate of Atata and found this sad little videoblog of one of the survivors. This is worth a look. 

ATATA SURVIVORS

Remarkably, the people of Atata, even though there was a tourist resort at one end of their small island (Royal Tongan Sunset Lodge where I stayed in 1995) managed to maintain their community and garden-of-eden lifestyle right up to 2022 and the tsunami. The simple and in many ways idyllic existence has been replaced by a jarring movement to the 21st century - even though that is just a few kilometers from where they were - which has brought drug issues, monetary problems and social dysfunction.

Let's hope that they can make a slice of heaven from their current situation.*

"A Paradise within thee, happier far."

          Paradise Regained - John Milton

 

* No, I haven't downloaded Dave Dobbyn's 'Slice of Heaven'. You can imagine that song in your own heads.