I arrived here in the Falkland Islands in January for a six-month detachment as the breakfast show presenter on BFBS Falkland Islands.
This is my fourth year as a forces broadcaster, based at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh with BFBS Scotland.
BFBS Radio has been fully operational broadcasting to the UK armed forces in the Falklands since 1986.
It’s very much part of community life here.
There are few other options on the radio dial so pop into any shop or restaurant and they are likely to have us blasting out.
A few months ago, I went to a horse racing and sports event at the Stanley Racecourse.
Between the announcements the worldwide BFBS Saturday Sport show was played out.
Even 8,000 miles away from Dens Park I was kept updated with the latest on Dundee FC.
The network show is presented by my BFBS Scotland colleague Mark McKenzie from our Edinburgh studio.
He knows I’m a Dee and revels in winding me up on air about the latest disaster.
A bit of home down here in the Falkland Islands. Delighted to be invited onto HMS Forth at Mare Harbour.
Interviews with some of the Royal Navy personnel on the BFBS Falkland Islands Breakfast Show this week. pic.twitter.com/xAoIUY8Lo3
— Jim Gellatly (@JimGellatly) April 5, 2022
I’ve been shopping in the West Store in Stanley when I’ve heard Mark say: “If you see a guy with blue hair let out a yelp, that’s because Dundee have just scored.”
It’s a standing joke that I’ve come down here to avoid this football season.
Hanging out with the punk rockhoppers
The Falkland Islands are an incredible place. I’m so privileged to be able to spend some time here.
The radio station and my digs are at Mount Pleasant Complex. It’s a military base about 50 minutes’ drive from Stanley.
There are plenty of opportunities to explore though, and I was recently at Sea Lion Island for three nights. It’s a short flight away on a tiny red FIGAS (Falkland Islands Government Air Service) plane.
There are plenty of penguins populating the beaches around East Falkland where I am based. But Sea Lion gave me to opportunity to see even more wildlife in a concentrated area including massive elephant seals.
Just the one sea lion though.
I’ve also been right down to the south of East Falkland to a place called North Arm for a couple of nights.
From there, after a long off-road journey, I visited Bull Point with its beautiful white beach.
If it wasn’t so cold and windy, you’d think you were in the Caribbean.
The Gentoo penguins scurrying to and from the surf were a bit of a giveaway though.
On another trip to Kidney Cove, I saw my first Southern Rockhoppers.
They may be my favourite penguins. It’s the punky look and scary red eyes that do it for me.
Falklands war memories are everywhere
Some of these wildlife-watching spots weren’t accessible until a few years ago.
It’s a legacy of the 1982 conflict.
The last land mines were only cleared in October 2020.
There is a lot of interest in the Falkland Islands of course in the 40th anniversary year of the war.
I met TV presenter Ben Fogle when he was here filming his ITV/STV documentary Falklands War: The Forgotten Battle.
It’s the fascinating story of Naval Party 8901, the small detachment of Royal Marines that were based here at the time of the Argentinian invasion.
It’s one of many broadcasts and articles being produced around the anniversary.
A place for patriotism – and even Thatcherism
A recent survey from charity Help For Heroes, revealed that many young people did not know when the war was fought, and some thought the Falklands are in the English Channel.
I probably wouldn’t have known much myself had I not been a teenager in 1982 and remembered the news coverage.
The ‘Project Moonshine’ recruits tell the inside story about how they created a propaganda radio station during the Falklands conflict 🇫🇰
Spanish-speaking UK military personnel tried to persuade their Argentinian counterparts to surrender!
Watch here👉 https://t.co/ykDFSspWOE pic.twitter.com/wLnnMmGAwB
— BFBS Radio (@BFBSRadioHQ) April 5, 2022
Even then I was surprised at the size of The Falkland Islands. They are much larger than I expected, about half the size of Wales.
But it was no surprise finding out how patriotic the Falkland Islanders are.
I remembered that from the war.
But even so I wasn’t expecting to see so many union flags flying alongside the Falklands flag.
The first islander I met took me aback when they referred to themselves as a “Thatcherite”.
I’m pretty sure it had more to do with the former PM’s role as a liberator than her political and economic policies.
Margaret Thatcher Day is celebrated here every January 10, the anniversary of her first visit in 1983.
A bust of Baroness Thatcher was unveiled in Stanley in 2015.
It now stands proudly in Thatcher Drive.
There is even a local beer called Iron Lady.
It’s an incredible time to be living and working in the Falkland Islands as we approach the Liberation Day events on June 14.
I’ll have so many stories to share when I return to Scotland and I feel very privileged to be here at such a landmark time for the Islands.
• BFBS is commemorating the Falklands 40th anniversary on forces.net, including a memorial wall to those who served.
