Jonathan Hollins

Hello Reader I’m Dr Jonathan Hollins – Joe – an English vet. For some years now I have been working on the British Overseas Territories of the South Atlantic islands: the Falklands, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and St Helena. Islands fascinate me: tiny, condensed nations, encapsulations of existence, each with its own colourful stamp, and moulded by vastly differing geographies and colonial origins. And on St Helena, the former darling of the East India Company, I have the immense privilege of looking after the world’s oldest known living land animal, my namesake Jonathan, a giant Seychelles tortoise, who is close to entering his third century. I’ve written a book about it: 'Vet at the End of the Earth'. It’s packed with colourful characters, island culture and, of course, my great love, the animals. Innocent and honest, they never lie, they never deceive. They represent the best of us. I’ve fashioned it to entertain and uplift, to plant a smile on your lips and draw the occasional tear, whether you, the reader, be warming your toes by a winter fireside in a cosy armchair with a cup of tea or topping up your tan in a deckchair on a broiling costa with an ice-clanking sangria. I’ve previously written for the UK national press and presented documentary features for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. I think you’ll enjoy the book. I certainly hope so! And importantly... thank you for sharing your time with me :-).