MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Praise for Falklands Way of Life.
Praise for the Falkland Islands as a place both to live and to work is contained in the latest edition of one of the United Kingdom's biggest selling monthly publications, “Saga Magazine” distributed to about a million subscribers.
In an interview with the magazine under the heading "Wish you were there?" the Falkland Islands Director of Health and Social Services, Norman McGregor Edwards, who emigrated from Scotland in 2001, says the people are very friendly and there is nothing he dislikes about the Islands. He describes a lively social scene with lots to do and compares the cost of living.
Mr McGregor Edwards, who travelled widely during 19 years in the Royal Air Force, took up the post after running Glasgow's Primary Care Trust for six-and-a half years.
Asked by Saga Magazine whether his life is now less pressurised, he says: "In Glasgow I had 1,000 staff and the pressure was in the sheer volume of the job. Here I have 91 staff and my responsibilities are more wide-ranging. The job is made more complex by the distance. I just can't ring up Boots (the chemist chain) and say ?I'd like 500 of this for tomorrow'.
Asked whether the natives are friendly, he says: "Yes, very. It's like living in a little piece of England. It's a very close community ? everybody knows you and what you are doing. I'll make a decision in the morning and meet the person it affects in the supermarket in the afternoon".
He dismisses the view that the weather is terrible. "Most people", he says," formed their impression of the Falklands during the 1982 conflict, during the worst winter for years. I've found winters to be cool, clear and calm. The summers are warm with brilliant blue skies and quite strong winds. The air is so clear that sunburn is a real problem, but it means you can see for miles and the night skies are amazing".
Never bored nor home-sick He says he never gets bored when not working. "We spend a lot of time walking and watching the wild-life. Once on the way to the supermarket we saw a Southern White Whale about fifty feet (about 17 metres) long". He has taken up amateur dramatics, with the Falkland Islands Operatic and Dramatic Society.
His wife is also involved in amateur dramatics, a craft group and a mah jong circle, as well as serving in a charity shop. His daughter, studying at a UK university, spent a gap year in the Falklands, helping to police the fishing zone and working as a reporter for the local radio.
While there is nothing he dislikes about the islands, he says "it would be nice to have better access to some shops, to be able to nip into Marks and Spencer, but you soon realise it does not really matter?Fruit and vegetables are much more expensive because of the supply chain, but meat is astonishingly cheap ? a whole leg of lamb, from just above the hoof to the hip, is three pounds (about five dollars)".
Asked where he goes for a night out, he says: "We go out much more than we did in the UK. There are lots of different places to eat out. There's quite a lively social scene. He mentions whist drives, bridge, a beetle drive at the Cathedral, a Japanese and Thai theme night at the Falklands Brasserie, and they regularly entertain friends and colleagues at home. He has a four bedroom rented house in Stanley with "spectacular views over the harbour". He says he never gets homesick, but he does miss Indian take-aways, but there is a move to get one opened!
The article is illustrated with his picture against an attractive sea view.
Harold Briley, (MP) London
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