Today is Friday, when the Penguin News is issued. Frankly it is a must-read after all the political pouting of the last fortnight. Turns out the local Chilean workforce have been protesting about the interference with their air and sea connections, the Falkland Islanders have been protesting about all the bizarre commentary relating to their security and some Argentinians have been posing around Stanley in 'I Love Las Malvinas' t-shirts. Had no idea all this was going on! Perhaps I should get out more.
On the domestic side, the egg shortage has really hit home. What with all our birds being in moult, the ones in the shop here being ancient and borderline rotten, and the usual farm suppliers being completely bare due to town shortages (because the annual mid-summer re-supply charter flight has been thwarted by a certain Kirchner person) - I was starting to panic. Anyway, I was rescued this morning by a neighbour with a couple of chooks in a more sheltered garden, either that or she gives them little jackets to wear (now there's a thought) who gave me four beautiful large eggs with gorgeous orange yolks that didn't fall to pieces immediately. Sigh of relief.
Second time is clearly the charm when it comes to the dashing Duke who was relaxing in the cafe on his no-fly day. Managed to elicit a smile during my encounter with him and his cronies ordering their elevenses. His choice of snack? Millionaire's shortbread. Very apt.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Monday, 13 February 2012
Month of madness!
It has been a time of craziness here in the Falklands, where to start...
It was my birthday last month, necessitating a small celebration befitting of my age group. I had a lovely quiet day, being serenaded by the Mums at playgroup in the morning, friends over for cake in the afternoon and my dinner cooked by Big Man in the evening.
That week I fitted in a cheeky trip to Whale Point, where I have been once before when Grandma was visiting. It is only a few miles beyond a nearby farm but without road or any other amenity to speak of. There is a colony of elephant seals, gentoo penguins and shipwreck of the St Mary hosting night herons. This time was different though as I drove our Defender off-road myself! Apart from a couple of worryingly steep banks and a minor fuel scare (administrative oversight) it went off fabulously well. Not quite as epic as the trip to Paloma beach with the Conservation Group, when I rode in with another army wife and we drove to what seemed like the edge of the earth. Her blog is an interesting read and is at:
http://www.candis.co.uk/candis-online/blogs/my-life-in-a-box
Enter 'Broccoli-Gate'. As you may recall from my previous posts, fresh produce is scarce here. The standard fayre in our shop is carrots, potatoes and onions, in varying states of bendyness. The powers-that-be, in consultation with the families, told us at our regular meeting that they would spice it up a bit and, when feasible, order in a few new things. Cue ripples of excitement through the room. The next week the toys were flung angrily out of the pram when it was alleged that one family had taken way more than their fair share of broccoli, leaving most people without. The shame! I finally got my hands on a head of broccoli and a pineapple the next delivery and must stress how much you taste the difference after so long eating only frozen or tinned.
The weather has been a massive disappointment. After a hot and sunny December, the last fortnight has been cold, windy, with occasional hail and horrendous wind storms. Because of this, my courgette plant, which was doing so well in the polytunnel has now retreated into itself and is threatening to give up unless the sun comes out again. Don't blame it. Rita is moulting too.
As you will have read, HRH the Duke of Cambridge is now on base and busy flying helicopters about. I managed to bump into him at the beach, so to speak, and can confirm that he is as tall as he looks on telly, is very polite, but alas, is not here to socialise with the likes of us commoners. Well that is how low key his presence is here but the Argentinians have been rattling their cage ever since! On Friday their Foreign Minister gave a long (and tedious) presentation to the UN in New York, making out that Britain was increasing the military capability in the South Atlantic to an excessive level, bringing in warships (never mind that it was on a like-for-like basis), nuclear submarines (not sure if there is proof of that) and whizzing Typhoons about all over the place. Basically it was a rather feeble attempt to make Britain look like the bad guy, although I will admit at least it was aimed at opening negotiations like grown ups. Makes a change.
This Saturday we stayed on base and watched a few wretched fools pull a Hercules (big, heavy, large, weighs a lot, etc) 1 km along the runway for charity. Well, I think it is fair to say it was harder than they anticipated. After a nice rolling start they soon started to bunch up and lose rhythm and after only 100 m it wasn't looking good. Drinks breaks seemed to become more and more frequent and shouts became more and more desperate, til we all wondered if they would give up. But no, they fought on with burning arms and burning legs and managed to pull the plane over the line. Still took over an hour mind. More details at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Herculespull
In a similar vein Him Indoors has finished collecting in the money for his charity tab and managed to reach the target of £2,000, so thank you to everyone who sponsored them. And his feet are mostly better now I think you are all massively relieved to know.
That's it from us to date. Toodle pip.
It was my birthday last month, necessitating a small celebration befitting of my age group. I had a lovely quiet day, being serenaded by the Mums at playgroup in the morning, friends over for cake in the afternoon and my dinner cooked by Big Man in the evening.
That week I fitted in a cheeky trip to Whale Point, where I have been once before when Grandma was visiting. It is only a few miles beyond a nearby farm but without road or any other amenity to speak of. There is a colony of elephant seals, gentoo penguins and shipwreck of the St Mary hosting night herons. This time was different though as I drove our Defender off-road myself! Apart from a couple of worryingly steep banks and a minor fuel scare (administrative oversight) it went off fabulously well. Not quite as epic as the trip to Paloma beach with the Conservation Group, when I rode in with another army wife and we drove to what seemed like the edge of the earth. Her blog is an interesting read and is at:
http://www.candis.co.uk/candis-online/blogs/my-life-in-a-box
Enter 'Broccoli-Gate'. As you may recall from my previous posts, fresh produce is scarce here. The standard fayre in our shop is carrots, potatoes and onions, in varying states of bendyness. The powers-that-be, in consultation with the families, told us at our regular meeting that they would spice it up a bit and, when feasible, order in a few new things. Cue ripples of excitement through the room. The next week the toys were flung angrily out of the pram when it was alleged that one family had taken way more than their fair share of broccoli, leaving most people without. The shame! I finally got my hands on a head of broccoli and a pineapple the next delivery and must stress how much you taste the difference after so long eating only frozen or tinned.
The weather has been a massive disappointment. After a hot and sunny December, the last fortnight has been cold, windy, with occasional hail and horrendous wind storms. Because of this, my courgette plant, which was doing so well in the polytunnel has now retreated into itself and is threatening to give up unless the sun comes out again. Don't blame it. Rita is moulting too.
As you will have read, HRH the Duke of Cambridge is now on base and busy flying helicopters about. I managed to bump into him at the beach, so to speak, and can confirm that he is as tall as he looks on telly, is very polite, but alas, is not here to socialise with the likes of us commoners. Well that is how low key his presence is here but the Argentinians have been rattling their cage ever since! On Friday their Foreign Minister gave a long (and tedious) presentation to the UN in New York, making out that Britain was increasing the military capability in the South Atlantic to an excessive level, bringing in warships (never mind that it was on a like-for-like basis), nuclear submarines (not sure if there is proof of that) and whizzing Typhoons about all over the place. Basically it was a rather feeble attempt to make Britain look like the bad guy, although I will admit at least it was aimed at opening negotiations like grown ups. Makes a change.
This Saturday we stayed on base and watched a few wretched fools pull a Hercules (big, heavy, large, weighs a lot, etc) 1 km along the runway for charity. Well, I think it is fair to say it was harder than they anticipated. After a nice rolling start they soon started to bunch up and lose rhythm and after only 100 m it wasn't looking good. Drinks breaks seemed to become more and more frequent and shouts became more and more desperate, til we all wondered if they would give up. But no, they fought on with burning arms and burning legs and managed to pull the plane over the line. Still took over an hour mind. More details at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Herculespull
In a similar vein Him Indoors has finished collecting in the money for his charity tab and managed to reach the target of £2,000, so thank you to everyone who sponsored them. And his feet are mostly better now I think you are all massively relieved to know.
That's it from us to date. Toodle pip.
Friday, 27 January 2012
'I've got a baby in my tummy'
No, don't get excited, this was the young lady's announcement at breakfast the other day, nothing to do with me! She has recently developed a keen interest in such things, regularly stroking and grabbing the one baby girl who lives on the patch here. She even brought home a book from the library yesterday about managing her feelings should a new arrival be likely! After reading it to her at bedtime tonight she asked 'Mummy can we get a baby?' And I assured her that we would try to, one day, to which she replied 'and can we get a cottage to put the baby in, and a hostipal to cuddle the baby in?'.
It's not just the hens that are broody around here!
It's not just the hens that are broody around here!
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
2 years and 11 months old
The young lady is almost 3 years old, can't believe it. She is a little chatterbox and very much a people-person, if you like Vulcan Death Grips that is.
Her latest passion is building. "Build a castle with me Mum" is her constant refrain. She has spent the last 2 weeks or so repeatedly building and re-building castles, home-houses and other things on our living room floor so I have ordered some more blocks online.
Sleep is still a little variable. Had 3 good nights this week where she stayed in her own bed all night and then 2 nights of sleeping-on-the-edge discomfort. Generally she opts for head on Mum and feet on Dad or variations thereof and as she is now a tall preschooler rather than a baby, she stretches virtually the width of our queen-sized bed.
Of course, she is more than worth it!
Her latest passion is building. "Build a castle with me Mum" is her constant refrain. She has spent the last 2 weeks or so repeatedly building and re-building castles, home-houses and other things on our living room floor so I have ordered some more blocks online.
Sleep is still a little variable. Had 3 good nights this week where she stayed in her own bed all night and then 2 nights of sleeping-on-the-edge discomfort. Generally she opts for head on Mum and feet on Dad or variations thereof and as she is now a tall preschooler rather than a baby, she stretches virtually the width of our queen-sized bed.
Of course, she is more than worth it!
Not at all chilly
We left the island on New Year's Eve with quite a few other holiday makers. At the passport control desk I was amused to overhear an older Falkland Islander requesting the passport official bring her horse to graze his grass in Stanley. Although quite a few modern folk mow their grass nowadays there is still a fair bit of communal grazing as the houses in town typically have sizeable plots.
The flight was ok although a bit wobblier than usual from cross-winds on take-off leaving me a bit pale-faced! Only 1.5 hours to South America though so happily very short. After what seemed like a ridiculous lap of the terminal at Punta Arenas we set off for Santiago, essentially flying halfway up the length of Chile, so this took a wee bit longer. If we'd have had a window seat I expect the views would have been marvellous.
Santiago was as expected; vast, sprawling and modern but with glimpses of something different. We made the most of the warm Mediterranean weather and walked the streets, shopped and ate our way round.
Vina Del Mar was next, an hour from the capital, on the coast. This became a favourite as although it is a huge and somewhat bland modern seaside resort, Valparaiso, a port town only a short metro ride away is much more interesting.
The next challenge was hiring a car and exiting Santiago, this was actually not too difficult and we found ourselves heading south on Ruta 5. Cue comical moment when Big Man asked me where we were staying for the first night of our road trip as I had done most of the planning and booking myself. 'Curico' I replied. 'Wasn't that the town that was flattened by the 2010 earthquake?' he says. 'Er, yes, possibly'. So we didn't know what to expect arriving into the town late in the afternoon, wondering if we would be accommodated next to a pile of rubble, or even in one. Turned out to be fine, the hotel was nice, yes a few buildings (mainly the older ones) had been damaged so had hoardings outside them and our hotel room was equipped with more than the average amount of safety information (and even a torch!) but we had no problems.
My second favourite moment was our wine tour, tasting and lunch at Miguel Torres HQ. Speaks for itself really!
We had 4 lovely nights in the lake district staying in a cabana with lovely views of the lake and two nights in Puerto Varas, which was a smaller resort with lots of German influences and beautiful snow-capped volcanoes in the distance.
After a nerve-wracking trip to locate petrol on the way to Puerto Montt airport, we dropped off the hire car and flew back to Punta for a final night. Our taxi driver spoke excellent English and was somewhat of a comedian. Turns out he used to live in Florida where his only concern was whether to go to the beach or the pool. Now he lives in Punta where it rains 5 days out of 7. His Nibs was not impressed with the service at table during dinner, having to eat without being given his second glass of red wine. Turns out there were loads of politicians and diplomats in the function room hogging all the staff - don't they know who we are?!
It was a lovely fortnight away but I feel that madamoiselle summed it up when she said towards the end 'sometimes I want to be back in my green home house'.
The flight was ok although a bit wobblier than usual from cross-winds on take-off leaving me a bit pale-faced! Only 1.5 hours to South America though so happily very short. After what seemed like a ridiculous lap of the terminal at Punta Arenas we set off for Santiago, essentially flying halfway up the length of Chile, so this took a wee bit longer. If we'd have had a window seat I expect the views would have been marvellous.
Santiago was as expected; vast, sprawling and modern but with glimpses of something different. We made the most of the warm Mediterranean weather and walked the streets, shopped and ate our way round.
Vina Del Mar was next, an hour from the capital, on the coast. This became a favourite as although it is a huge and somewhat bland modern seaside resort, Valparaiso, a port town only a short metro ride away is much more interesting.
The next challenge was hiring a car and exiting Santiago, this was actually not too difficult and we found ourselves heading south on Ruta 5. Cue comical moment when Big Man asked me where we were staying for the first night of our road trip as I had done most of the planning and booking myself. 'Curico' I replied. 'Wasn't that the town that was flattened by the 2010 earthquake?' he says. 'Er, yes, possibly'. So we didn't know what to expect arriving into the town late in the afternoon, wondering if we would be accommodated next to a pile of rubble, or even in one. Turned out to be fine, the hotel was nice, yes a few buildings (mainly the older ones) had been damaged so had hoardings outside them and our hotel room was equipped with more than the average amount of safety information (and even a torch!) but we had no problems.
My second favourite moment was our wine tour, tasting and lunch at Miguel Torres HQ. Speaks for itself really!
We had 4 lovely nights in the lake district staying in a cabana with lovely views of the lake and two nights in Puerto Varas, which was a smaller resort with lots of German influences and beautiful snow-capped volcanoes in the distance.
After a nerve-wracking trip to locate petrol on the way to Puerto Montt airport, we dropped off the hire car and flew back to Punta for a final night. Our taxi driver spoke excellent English and was somewhat of a comedian. Turns out he used to live in Florida where his only concern was whether to go to the beach or the pool. Now he lives in Punta where it rains 5 days out of 7. His Nibs was not impressed with the service at table during dinner, having to eat without being given his second glass of red wine. Turns out there were loads of politicians and diplomats in the function room hogging all the staff - don't they know who we are?!
It was a lovely fortnight away but I feel that madamoiselle summed it up when she said towards the end 'sometimes I want to be back in my green home house'.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
A Summer Christmas
The events here began in early December with His Nibs' work functions, a bbq and a bash for the nippers. Despite it being more than a little windy and having to move the stalls inside (I had my debut as a face-painter!), the children's party was a really good event. Santa and reindeer arrived by Sea King helicopter after a dramatic fly-past which was an awesome sight for adults and little ones alike.
By the 25th the weather was actually cooler than the UK despite being the opposite season (12 degrees forecast on BBC for London and very rainy and cool here), still it didn't dampen our spirits and actually made it feel a bit more like Christmas is supposed to be, staying inside with a drink, curtains drawn and the lights twinkling.
A big effort was clearly made to get all our post here by plane and sea and so we began the 24th with a wardrobe full of goodies.
We had a party on Christmas Eve with lots of friends, colleagues and neighbours and plenty of food as well as a smidgen of mulled wine and punch a la Big Man. Hence we were unfortunately so tired [drunk] by the time the young lady's bedtime rolled around that although the stocking was positioned correctly, we may have overlooked Santa's snack and tipple. I just hope he won't hold a grudge for next year.
On Christmas Day, once the joint was in the oven, we scooted to the bar for drinks and nibbles and some bawdy games of pool.
By the 25th the weather was actually cooler than the UK despite being the opposite season (12 degrees forecast on BBC for London and very rainy and cool here), still it didn't dampen our spirits and actually made it feel a bit more like Christmas is supposed to be, staying inside with a drink, curtains drawn and the lights twinkling.
A big effort was clearly made to get all our post here by plane and sea and so we began the 24th with a wardrobe full of goodies.
We had a party on Christmas Eve with lots of friends, colleagues and neighbours and plenty of food as well as a smidgen of mulled wine and punch a la Big Man. Hence we were unfortunately so tired [drunk] by the time the young lady's bedtime rolled around that although the stocking was positioned correctly, we may have overlooked Santa's snack and tipple. I just hope he won't hold a grudge for next year.
On Christmas Day, once the joint was in the oven, we scooted to the bar for drinks and nibbles and some bawdy games of pool.
On Boxing Day Grandma went home and we were left exhausted and needing to regroup before our summer holidays in South America!
Chicken Little
Black chicken No. 2 (Mavis or Hilda) finally showed up from under our house on 23rd December with a stagger, a shrunken comb and a squirt of runny poo after her prolonged hide out of over a week. Having more or less mourned the blimmin' bird after countless forays around the edge with a torch we were suddenly close to wringing her neck for the aggro!
No, we (I) couldn't really have done that, it was to me almost a Christmas miracle and I could finally relax knowing that she wasn't wasting away under our very floor.
So now we are back to a full complement of hens and Rita is laying a daily egg again so things a bit calmer on the fowl front. If only the two black Barnevelder hens would sort themselves out into laying we'd be on a winner...
No, we (I) couldn't really have done that, it was to me almost a Christmas miracle and I could finally relax knowing that she wasn't wasting away under our very floor.
So now we are back to a full complement of hens and Rita is laying a daily egg again so things a bit calmer on the fowl front. If only the two black Barnevelder hens would sort themselves out into laying we'd be on a winner...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)