It's huge head and strange snout will greet you when you enter Wellington House. The St Helenian authenticity and old world charm doesn't stop there.

Ivy Yon (who owns and runs Wellington House) is self-effacing but diligent. Beneath her warmth lies a powerhouse of St Helenian hospitality. She says she gets satisfaction out of cleaning. I believe her too. The polished Burmese teak floors of Wellington House gleam and squeak under foot with palatial confidence.

One of her favourite jobs is cleaning windows she says. Her least favourite is ironing. But she will do it and, she will "do it as it's supposed to be done" she admits happily.

Wellington House is an alternative to Jamestown hotels located right in the heart of Jamestown. Looking through the Wellington House guest comment books (and there are many), admiration from guests for Ivy's home cooking shines through. On this subject, she says much is owed to her mother who insisted she just "watch and taste." There was never a mention of "a teaspoon of this and a quarter teaspoon of the other." She just had to pick it up as she went along.

Most of her meals are "St Helena cooking" which she says are British foods with a "twist" which for Ivy means chili.

The business was started in the very late 50s by her parents but then took the form of Yon's cafe. The house was later purchased from a cousin. And Ivy worked alongside her parents from the mid-70s after leaving school.