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Original poster

Anyone watching that Kevin McCloud programme?

201 replies

SwedishEdith · 08/06/2015 21:32

Missed the beginning - are they living on that island alone? What are the kids going to do when they're teenagers?

OP posts:
VivaLeBeaver · 09/06/2015 08:27

Maybe they don't rent the who,e island but just the acre they live on? And bank on no one else being bonkers enough to come?

Just watching it now. Beautiful but too isolated.

HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 09/06/2015 11:31

maybe it is just an acre, but h said it was the whole island. I missed the first few minutes as was mumsnetting busy. Blush

Jacana · 09/06/2015 15:04

Depending on how much they rent/can build on, perhaps they might expand to include guest accomm in time and build a business? I was delighted to see the lad sailing an Optimist. It's a kit build boat, designed as a virtually unsinkable bath-shaped boat by an inventor, for his own children, back in the 60/70s I think. We built one for our lad when we lived on the coast in Italy.

Viva I'd be bonkers enough to get away from the winter here, 3 months say, but more than that? I'd get Big City, Neon Lights,Quiz Night at the Pub type withdrawal symptoms, I reckon.

chickensaresafehere · 09/06/2015 15:36

Love programmes like this,the one with Ben Fogle on Channel 5,was good too.
I find the idea of it fascinating and do believe on my deathbed it will be one of my regrets.

ChuckNovice · 09/06/2015 15:49

Watched this last night thought it was great however, I Google them and they rent out three houses on the island as holiday homes where you can have personal chefs etc. The dad takes people out on fishing trips, whale watching and other outings and Karyn the Mum does massage for the guests. It's from £1500 for a weeks stay out there so they must make an okay income from that. They are an inspiration but I don't think they're as cut off as it seemed on the programme. They have their own website with all the info. It looks amazing, I'd love to go.

Jacana · 09/06/2015 15:59

Thanks chuck (really liked typing that!), so all things aren't quite what they seem, then..

well, well,well....who'd'a thunk it Hmm

HollyJollyDillydolly · 09/06/2015 16:05

just thought they must have access to the internet/email etc or how else would they have applied to be on the show?
Will have to Google their website. Sounds quite good...

ChuckNovice · 09/06/2015 16:23

tongabeachhouse.com/

Magmatic80 · 09/06/2015 16:25

Ok, this makes more sense. The town is 45 minutes away by boat. I couldn't understand where one of the boys had picked up the local accent. Not quite as Swiss Family Robinson as portrayed. I did enjoy the programme but felt sorry for the boys. I worried about how they would cope with modern life if they decided to leave (eg Internet etc). Clearly they do access it judging from FB page. Glad the oldest is going away to school.

Christelle2207 · 09/06/2015 16:29

I wondered what the plan was in the event of a medical emergency. Guessing you can't just dial 999. Even if you had a phone.

HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 09/06/2015 16:37

Bloody editing!! I hate it when these programmes mislead the viewers. There was talk of five days to reach them etc when it's 45 minutes by boat!!!

SoupDragon · 09/06/2015 16:47

I think it did take Kevin 5 days to get there because he got caught up in a volcano incident that grounded planes for several days. I think with all the connecting flights it was going to take 2 days anyway.

SunnySomer · 09/06/2015 16:50

To be fair, he said it was five days from England with two days grounded because of the volcano - not five days from any other human life.
And Boris had a background in hospitality, so it's a logical step to make Eco-guest houses like that. I think if you watched the whole of the programme it was fairly clear that they hadn't totally marooned themselves.
Beautiful place, wasn't it?

SunnySomer · 09/06/2015 16:51

X-post!

tadpole39 · 09/06/2015 17:03

They should have mentioned the tourism business, it puts a whole different slant on their experience, I feel a bit misled having seen that website.

Jacana · 09/06/2015 17:09

I just checked out their website from the link above. Thanks for that, chuck.

Yes they've done well, yes they're doing well, but surely by KMcL not even acknowledging their business, any of the work they've done, the going concern they've created, even their bloody website ffs, it's just plain misleading? grrrr.Angry

Jacana · 09/06/2015 17:15

x post with tadpole above, so seems we all feel the same..

So, the rest of the series.....are we expected to believe everything we see there then?

It'll be fun to suggest how the 'special' effects might have been createdHmmGrin

HollyJollyDillydolly · 09/06/2015 17:17

Wow £465 A night for one of the holiday homes. I had no idea they let them out, they only mentioned the whale watching for generating income.

SoupDragon · 09/06/2015 17:36

They did say in the programme that they had an income from whale watching.

Whathaveilost · 09/06/2015 19:01

I don't feel misled at all.

KMc did say the travelling time from the UK + volcano time.

Even if they have tourists staying what they have achieved is bloody amazing! And to get people to want to go and pay to be there, well hats off to them.

I did feel the lady did feel isolated and loney at times and I could understand that.

I don't know why everyone seems suddenly suprised by the whle watching income. It is mentioned on the second post on this thread.
I am guessing that tourists / whale watchers aren't going to be there 365 days a year so they are going to be very reliant on each other.

I don't think it is smoke and mirrors as some posters are implying.

I would like it for a week but not month in month out throughout the different seasons over the years.

Whathaveilost · 09/06/2015 19:03

Also it's not the fault of the family how the production team edit the programme so I wouldn't be hard on them.

ThatBloodyWoman · 09/06/2015 19:11

I agree with chickensaresafehere.

Jacana · 09/06/2015 19:18

lost, from that programme I'd no idea that anything, other than what we were shown, had been constructed and how that had been managed. So, from one 'roundhouse' structure and the bunker/hurricane shelter for the family, I now find out that there's a whole hamlet of dwellings lurking somewhere off camera (constructed by them -who knows?) and serviced by teams which includes chefs?

Hard on them? Yep, I am.Angry

Whathaveilost · 09/06/2015 20:01

I can't worked up over a tv show to be honest.

fussychica · 13/06/2015 16:31

Totally bonkers! If they have no internet or phone it must be pretty difficult to run a business. Think we were totally mislead, thought they were alone. On a different tack I felt really sorry for the kids. Just knew things would have to change as they get older. I just hope the eldest lad can adjust easily to a totally different life. When we lived abroad we saw lots of kids who had been uprooted as teenagers not fitting in to their new surrounding and struggling to stay on the straight and narrow.