Thursday 29^th  

Apparently the King Penguin was at Surf Bay.  Darn.

Coffee morning – this is how it feels not to work… Met some lovely women, ate amazing scones and had a very nice time.  I will need to get a job soon though.

Friday 30^th

Party!  It’s great having a local at the bottom of the road.  This evening we were invited to a 60^th birthday party at said local.  Free bar and fun loving people made for a great, everso slightly tipsy evening.  Pisco Sours are my undoing.

Sat 31^st

We volunteered at the wildlife rehabilitation centre during the morning.  This is where injured penguins and other birds are brought in to recover.  Oil slicks being the most common cause.  Apparently for every penguin found, another 200 perish.  They stay in flocks when they forage so if one has been through a slick, then the whole group will have.  It’s shocking.

After finishing at the rehab centre we popped to Surf Bay to see if we could see the King Penguin.  No luck .  We did watch Steamer Ducks moving about on the rocks as the tide came in though.

After that, we went to the Race Course for the 250 years celebration.  It was great, the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly.  We sat in the sun soaking up the atmosphere and generally having a lovey time. The weather was really hot, it was sunburn weather. 

As if we hadn’t packed enough in, we drove to the other end of Stanley and out the other side.  We spent a bit of time scrambling over rocks and climbing up small rock faces.  The views were wonderful. 

All this and with quite substantial hangovers.

The day was rounded off with a meal at The Narrows (our local).  I was asked if I wanted a Pisco Sour when we arrived at the bar.  Very funny.  It’s too early to be able to walk into a bar and ask for ‘The usual’.

Sunday

Bridge Lesson

We are learning to play Bridge.  We had our first lesson today and I am thoroughly confused.  We have been invited to join the Bridge Club, which meets just across the road from us.  It may be a while until I am ready….I’m going on Tuesday to observe.

Monday

The solution to the school run is nigh!!  Sian (who lives 4 doors up) takes Maya and her older son in the morning and collects them at the end of the day.  I take her younger son and Anna and collect in the afternoon.  We both do the lunch run.  What makes it even better is cycling.  I accompany the children morning and evening by bike!  It’s great.  Luckily it’s downhill but into the wind on the way in and uphill with the wind at our backs on the return journey.  When it’s really windy we even get blown uphill.  

Wednesday

The weather continues blue skies and sparkly seas.  We live in a truly beautiful place. 

The observation evening at Bridge was good, the rules are still a little opaque in places but becoming clearer.  The Bridge players were very generous with advice and hints.  It will be fun if I can master it.

I’m off to Aqua aerobics tonight.  It’s the only exercise class I’ve ever been to where everyone is there for a good gossip, which continues right through the class.  I’m still completely spent at the end of the class though, so it is hard work too.  I hope it is effective, as I am well on the way to gaining the ‘Falkland Stone’ that everyone here talks about.

Thursday

Oh my goodness, there was a new person taking the aqua class last night and I’m in pain!  There was very little talking last night, as it was a really hard session!

I had a very instructive morning learning how to use a loom.  The lady teaching me makes the most amazing hats from felted wool.  She spins and dyes the wool herself, then weaves it into cloth, felts if and then creates wonderful things.  What an inspiration.  I am missing the essential ingredient in all this…patience.

Friday

A parcel from the UK!!!  DVD’s, cards, letters, photos, gifts.  Thank you so much Louise.  You are an amazing friend.  Thank you to everyone who contributed, we felt really spoilt and a bit homesick. While I’m at the thank-yous, I must also say thank you to Sue and to Jean who keep sending photos of the pets we’ve left behind.  It means the world to us to see them all so happy.   

I have been bored during the day today, and really need something to keep mind and body active.  So, to sort this out, I have booked us a weekend on Sealion Island!  We go in March for two nights.  It’s an island absolutely teeming with wildlife.  We cannot wait. 

Meat

Matt won a lamb in a raffle.  We weren’t sure how it would arrive.  The girls were hoping it would come bounding up the path bleating.  It came in a black sack cut into 8 pieces.  We have eaten some of it and it is absolutely delicious.  The rest of it is bagged up in ziplock bags and is nestling alongside the reindeer leg in the freezer.

Shops

There are a lot of shops in Stanley that are very well hidden.  I am still discovering them.  I have needed the assistance of locals to help me find some of them.  One of our neighbours took me to one on Saturday.  It looks like a private house and it’s only open on Saturdays from 12-4 as the lady who runs it also works full time.  We entered and it was an emporium of all things sewing/crafty.  It was utterly unexpected and is a gem of a place.  I will be revisiting it regularly.

Stanley is going to take a while to get to know properly, and there would be things that I would miss completely without the kindness of people here showing me tucked away places and taking me to see interesting things. 

The view from our lounge

The sea was navy blue when I woke early on Saturday morning.  After rain, the air can become really clear making the scenery come into pin sharp focus.  The scenery is rugged and beautiful, rocky and bleak.  Most days I open the curtains and utter an involuntary ‘wow’.  It’s a constantly changing view, sometimes there are huge cruise ships in the sound, sometimes it looks as if there are diamonds on the surface of the water.  It is occasionally steel grey, reflecting the sky. 

When the wind is up, the waves in the harbour can become large and white horses blow across the harbour.  It was very windy on Sunday and as we drove out to lunch at The Malvina, the waves were breaking spraying the car as we drove along Ross Road.  The car was crusted with sea salt.  

Here are some photos of life here,  I will take some of our view when it's stopped raining!

 This is the Lady Liz, a beached ship near our house.  It's beautiful in certain lights and when the tide is out, apparently you can walk right up to it.

A blustery day at Surf Bay

Our house and Maya