Life on the island lies on the edge of the world

Foula Island resident of England had to cross the ocean to go buy food and accept life without cell phone waves.

In 1937, the movie "The End of the World" debuted, with the story about the British island of St Kilda.However, because he was not allowed to film at St Kilda, director Michael Powell chose Foula Island as an alternative.The film inspired inspiring photographer Jeff J. Mitchell to Foula and made this set of photos.

Foula Island, belonging to the group of Shetland islands, has an area of ​​about 13km ² and a population of only 30 people.Located near Norway than the Scottish capital of Scotland, this is the most isolated island in the British Isles.People began to reside on this island 5,000 years ago.

Foula has now become more than 80 years old, with the airport transporting residents between this island and the main islands of the Shetland Islands group. However, the island still has no mobile waves and too few people. " There are no vehicles, no noise. Your phone is completely useless here," Mitchell photographer told the BBC.Even if they want to go shopping or go to the dentist, people have to use an airplane or boat to cross the sea.

These restrictions do not make the lives of people here boring. Stuart Taylor, who lived on the island for 30 years, said: "We still have landlines, Internet, electricity and television, so what exactly do you lack? Just one phone call can be gathered. people come to dinner and play music ".

However, many tourists still feel unable to endure the solitude to the end of this world .Mr. Taylor said a tourist from Edinburgh said he wanted to go to Foula to take a rest, but only after a day he returned to the boat.The island has no pub or shop, even a post office.

Foula (ancient Nordic means "bird island") is famous for seabirds, attracting several hundred visitors here to watch every summer.In addition to tourism, people here live on agriculture, mainly raising sheep.However, unlike other agricultural products that can be transported by plane, people have to use ocean-going boats to take sheep to market.

Eric Ibister, 78, grew up in Foula.He only left the island exactly 2 times, the first time he was born.Next to him was a cow named Daisy and a goat named Dixy.

"His house was like a century ago," Mitchell photographer described Ibster's whereabouts.The living room is full of old books and charcoal plates.In the middle of the room, he placed a medium iron furnace for cooking and heating in winter.

You can easily see the pony horses wandering between peaceful scenes.For the Foula people, the reason they were attached to this place stemmed from a paradox.The island does not have the basic conditions that other places have, such as hospitals or police, but residents here have peace of mind from their belief in self-reliance.