Fear not, despite the title I am not going to channel my inner Keats and force a poem on anyone. None of us deserve that. I am, however, going to share my appreciation of my local library, and I realise that a more correct literary title would be a "Paeon of Praise" but it´s autumn … Continue reading Ode to a Library
Falkland Islands
Easy Like Sunday Morning
The Falkland Islands are famous for being windy but sometimes we get a beautiful calm day, with mirror like seas, unruffled birds and sunbathing sealions. That's always a good time to walk the coastline in perfect peace.
Dogs with jobs
Unsurprisingly, as a rural country the Falkland Islands has lots of working dogs - Collies (England) are commonly used for farm work, as are Kelpies (Australia) and Huntaways (New Zealand). Then there are the military dogs doing security checks at the airport and round the military base. So far, so normal. Living here I have … Continue reading Dogs with jobs
Wild Goose Chases
My first night at the Beach Hut through the fury of the wind and rain beating on the cabin, I could hear geese calling to each other. The next morning, in the blue pre-dawn light, I could see the creek edges were alive with geese, ducks and the occasional swan. I made a cup of … Continue reading Wild Goose Chases
A weekend retreat
Most of my weekends away in the Falklands have been to outer, smaller islands, drawn there by the attraction of seeing some of the spectacular wildlife. However, there are other weekend options on East and West Falkland where farms have created self-catering properties and new income sources. Often self-catering units are existing houses that are … Continue reading A weekend retreat
Advanced Shopping Skills
When I first arrived one of my earliest posts was about the idiosyncrasies of shopping for food here - Food Shopping 101. Since then I have honed my shopping skills. There are more options what can be bought locally in the shops or on Chebay (as the Facebook Bring and Buy group is known). An … Continue reading Advanced Shopping Skills
The great milk crisis of 2024
Our story begins in March 2024, when rumours began to circulate that there was no milk. It was said that one of the supermarkets had sold a lot of milk to a cruise ship and was now very short of supplies. To begin with there was some milk in some shops and there was also … Continue reading The great milk crisis of 2024
The times they are a’changing
The coming of autumn in England is easy to see and experience – summer flowers fade; trees burst into flame, covered in reds and oranges and the days shorten. Last year, experiencing my first autumn in the Falklands I found it difficult to feel autumnal, because I was missing those visual clues. The few trees … Continue reading The times they are a’changing
Black Browed Albatross
Day 2 at New Island and I was off to see the rookery nearest the settlement - about a 15 minute walk. The big draw here was to see Black Browed Albatross which would be my first time. I got buzzed by another pair of caracara. I’ve regularly met curious caracara but not experienced pairs … Continue reading Black Browed Albatross
A “Swiss Cheese” Island
I was very pleased to be at New Island - I arrived towards the middle of the afternoon and by the time we’d waited for the second plane to arrive and bumped over the track to the settlement for 40 minutes, it was getting on. It was about 5pm when I set out and as … Continue reading A “Swiss Cheese” Island
Where is Sarah? 