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Private Notes
The first in a series following the community on the Falkland Islands, a British territory 8,000 miles south of the UK in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.
It is November, the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere and the Reverend Richard Hines has flown out to far-flung Pebble Island to visit Irina and bring back some fresh eggs for her mum Clara who lives in Stanley. Famer Andrez is busy with lambing and governor Nigel Haywood leads the islanders in a Remembrance Sunday service to honour all fallen soldiers, especially those who gave their lives so that the Falklands could remain British.
The festive season is upon us, but over at the military base, padre Al Nicoll dons a safety suit to go up against a new recruit, army guard dog Ali, as he volunteers to help out with a bit of basic training. The Reverend Richard flies over to the West Island for a carol service in one of the more remote settlements. In Stanley, Steve and Jodie tie the knot in the wedding of the year in Christchurch Cathedral and the whole community comes together to celebrate two of the oldest families on the Falklands being joined together.
It's Christmas on the Falklands - high summer. The islanders are singing carols and preparing their traditional Falklands roast lamb, but there's one important person missing. The Rev Richard and his wife Jen have sailed 800 miles east to celebrate the big day in the furthest corner of his parish, the tiny island of South Georgia. Back in Stanley, the Christmas elves are wrapping presents for Flying Santa to deliver to the children on the most remote farms and settlements, and the owners of the fastest horses on the islands are converging on the racecourse ready for the annual Boxing Day races, where veteran jockey Ron Binnie is making his 50th appearance alongside his grandson Duane.
The New Year gets underway and every corner of the rocky Falklands coastline is bursting with new life as penguins, seals and albatrosses hatch their young. It's also the start of the tourist season and Hattie Kilmartin is working overtime to bake enough homemade cakes and buns to feed all the visitors who've come to catch a glimpse of Albert, Bluff Cove's very own albino penguin.
But in the midst of all the activity, island life goes on as it has for the last 200 years. Governor Nigel Haywood flies to West Falkland to judge the annual Fox Bay ram and fleece show and fleeces fly as the best shearers on the islands battle it out to win the right to represent their country in the upcoming world sheep shearing championships
It's high summer in the Falkland Islands and Reverend Richard's wife Jen has decided for the first time to enter some of her homemade produce in the annual Stanley horticultural show. Meanwhile Richard takes over as guest presenter on Falkand Islands radio and almost comes a cropper as he battles the technology gremlins. The islanders welcome some honoured guests, veterans of the 1982 war who have returned to remember their fallen comrades who perished when the Sir Galahad was bombed in Fitzroy harbour.
Summer is drawing to a close, and vet Steve Pointing is busy inspecting the foreign fishing vessels that are arriving in Stanley to get their permits to go and fish for the famous South Atlantic squid. Back at his surgery, a new patient has arrived. Cedric the gentoo penguin has been mauled by a sea lion, and if he doesn't heal quickly he's in danger of being left behind by his friends, who at this time of year are heading out to sea to feed. Meanwhile, the Rev Richard and his wife Jen are heading out to Bluff Cove to indulge in a famous Falklands pastime - diddle dee berry picking, which they're going to use to make jam. And it's stiff upper lips all round as the islanders bid farewell to a popular figure. After four years, governor Nigel Haywood is leaving them and heading off to retirement.
