On this day...........
#31
banned
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7,611
Re: On this day...........
I have only been back twice since I left in "72 unfortunately. '77 and '96 actually. I had been playing with making a final trip back taking my family for the first time. Unfortunately have some health issues so think it will have to go on the backburner.
I did spend a week in Grytviken, South Georgia in 1968 tho!!
I did spend a week in Grytviken, South Georgia in 1968 tho!!
#32
Hit 16's
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine
Posts: 13,112
Re: On this day...........
I'm not sure if those responsible for writing the news at the BBC have a keen sense of irony or not. Was listening in the car and the announcement was along the lines of the UK sending troops to repel the invasion of foreign forces. Except that the Falklands are 8,000 miles from UK and only 500 and 1,000 miles from Chile and Argentina, respectively. We deserted the place for 37 years leaving only a plaque behind asserting our claim (during part of which time the Spanish remained, and they too left a plaque asserting their claim when they left). No denying that Argentina's invasion was wrong and that the inhabitants should have a right of self-determination, but the tenor of the BBC's coverage gave the impression that the walls of Westminster were about to be breached.
#33
Re: On this day...........
I'm not sure if those responsible for writing the news at the BBC have a keen sense of irony or not. Was listening in the car and the announcement was along the lines of the UK sending troops to repel the invasion of foreign forces. Except that the Falklands are 8,000 miles from UK and only 500 and 1,000 miles from Chile and Argentina, respectively. We deserted the place for 37 years leaving only a plaque behind asserting our claim (during part of which time the Spanish remained, and they too left a plaque asserting their claim when they left). No denying that Argentina's invasion was wrong and that the inhabitants should have a right of self-determination, but the tenor of the BBC's coverage gave the impression that the walls of Westminster were about to be breached.
At the risk of annoying some people, I've always been in mixed minds about whether the Falklands should be British. 'But we have a flag' just doesn't really cut it as an argument.
#34
Re: On this day...........
I'm amazed that we haven't handed it back - we are never going to be able to hold it long term (simply due to distance and a hugely powerful and increasingly important neighbour), we will never see the oil, and it's a massive cost.
Some places are worth holding on to, others.. .Falklands, St. Helens etc. are really not worth it.
#35
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 13,553
Re: On this day...........
Whether it 'should be' British or not is pretty obvious.
I'm amazed that we haven't handed it back - we are never going to be able to hold it long term (simply due to distance and a hugely powerful and increasingly important neighbour), we will never see the oil, and it's a massive cost.
Some places are worth holding on to, others.. .Falklands, St. Helens etc. are really not worth it.
I'm amazed that we haven't handed it back - we are never going to be able to hold it long term (simply due to distance and a hugely powerful and increasingly important neighbour), we will never see the oil, and it's a massive cost.
Some places are worth holding on to, others.. .Falklands, St. Helens etc. are really not worth it.
Falklands: We've already held it 'long-term', haven't we?
Whatever you think of the sovereignty argument, please let's hear no more of the risible 'continental shelf' argument that Argentina keep rolling out......... if we are going to go down that route, I can't wait to see Russia and China sort out who Japan belongs to........
Last edited by The Dean; Jun 16th 2012 at 12:05 pm. Reason: .
#36
Re: On this day...........
Whether it 'should be' British or not is pretty obvious.
I'm amazed that we haven't handed it back - we are never going to be able to hold it long term (simply due to distance and a hugely powerful and increasingly important neighbour), we will never see the oil, and it's a massive cost.
Some places are worth holding on to, others.. .Falklands, St. Helens etc. are really not worth it.
I'm amazed that we haven't handed it back - we are never going to be able to hold it long term (simply due to distance and a hugely powerful and increasingly important neighbour), we will never see the oil, and it's a massive cost.
Some places are worth holding on to, others.. .Falklands, St. Helens etc. are really not worth it.
What's your view on Gibraltar?
#37
Re: On this day...........
St Helens??? In Lancashire??? Harsh, Millhouse, harsh........
Falklands: We've already held it 'long-term', haven't we?
Whatever you think of the sovereignty argument, please let's hear no more of the risible 'continental shelf' argument that Argentina keep rolling out......... if we are going to go down that route, I can't wait to see Russia and China sort out who Japan belongs to........
Falklands: We've already held it 'long-term', haven't we?
Whatever you think of the sovereignty argument, please let's hear no more of the risible 'continental shelf' argument that Argentina keep rolling out......... if we are going to go down that route, I can't wait to see Russia and China sort out who Japan belongs to........
UK PLC recently spend 20m GBP building them a new airport that handles one flight a week. Good value for money that. IT would be cheaper just to bring them to the mainland and house them there.
#38
Re: On this day...........
As for those that have lived there, they hold a British passport... bring them home where they can have more than one egg at breakfast.
#41
Re: On this day...........
Just read this about Saint Helena. It is from Wikipedia, admittedly, but it sounds a fascinating palce:
Saint Helena is one of the most remote islands in the world, has no commercial airports, and travel to the island is by ship only. A large military airfield is located on Ascension Island, with two Friday flights to RAF Brize Norton, England (as from September 2010). These RAF flights offer a limited number of seats to civilians. The ship RMS Saint Helena runs between St Helena and Cape Town, also visiting Ascension Island and Walvis Bay, and occasionally voyaging north to Tenerife and Portland, UK. It berths in James Bay, St Helena approximately thirty times per year.[27] The RMS Saint Helena was due for decommissioning in 2010. However, its service life has been extended indefinitely until the airstrip is completed.[citation needed]
After a long period of rumour and consultation, the British government announced plans to construct an airport in Saint Helena in March 2005 and the airport was originally expected to be completed by 2010. However constant delays by the British government[citation needed] meant an approved bidder, the Italian firm Impregilo, was not chosen until 2008, and then the project was put on hold in November 2008, allegedly due to new financial pressures brought on by the credit-crunch. By January 2009, construction had not commenced and no final contracts had been signed, and Governor Andrew Gurr departed for London in an attempt to speed up the process and solve the problems. On 22 July 2010, the British government agreed to help pay for the new airstrip using taxpayer money.[28] In November 2011 a new deal between the British government and South African company Basil Read was signed and now means the airport is proposed to open in 2015, with flights to and from South Africa.[29]
After a long period of rumour and consultation, the British government announced plans to construct an airport in Saint Helena in March 2005 and the airport was originally expected to be completed by 2010. However constant delays by the British government[citation needed] meant an approved bidder, the Italian firm Impregilo, was not chosen until 2008, and then the project was put on hold in November 2008, allegedly due to new financial pressures brought on by the credit-crunch. By January 2009, construction had not commenced and no final contracts had been signed, and Governor Andrew Gurr departed for London in an attempt to speed up the process and solve the problems. On 22 July 2010, the British government agreed to help pay for the new airstrip using taxpayer money.[28] In November 2011 a new deal between the British government and South African company Basil Read was signed and now means the airport is proposed to open in 2015, with flights to and from South Africa.[29]
Last edited by littlejimmy; Jun 16th 2012 at 3:22 pm.
#42
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: On this day...........
I once tried to recruit someone for a road job in St Helena. If I remember rightly something like 1 in 30/35 is a Jehovah's witness giving it the highest concentration in the world
#43
#44
Re: On this day...........
45 years ago yesterday Reg Varney 'opened' the first ATM in the UK.
Yes, Reg Varney of On the Buses fame.
Yes, Reg Varney of On the Buses fame.