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[raflaunches]

Hi everyone

If you don't know by now, I am Nick Brown and I am currently in the Falklands, not through my own choice though! I have always been interested in the area but never thought I would end up here for 4months! 
Apart from the War in 1982, the Islands have a long historical links to shipping (thanks to Ron Dean for informing me about the area before I flew down) the entire coast is covered in ship wrecks ranging from sailing ships to German cruisers from WW1, there is a pair of 12inch guns from HMS Canopus still used to this day but only for ceremonial use and when I return home in November I will upload as many pictures as possible. However, Port Stanley is a place full of strange sights (other than odd RAF/Army lad running around!) the strangest has to be the shoe camp where the islanders leave a shoe if they leave the island but intend to return, they leave a pair of shoes if they do not intend to return!
There is also a totem pole with all the places in the UK and their distances from Port Stanley, most are over 8000miles away
Reminders of the last war are all around us ranging from crashed helicopters to the most scary and most dangerous threat to us, minefields. We have been informed that there are still 113 minefields with over 25,000 mines still not accounted for!
Hope to continue my posts as I visit different parts of the islands, I have already seen the penguins at Volunteer Point, unfortunately Martin, I can't upload any pictures down here due to security reasons but I will do my best to keep everyone up to date.
Best regards

Nick B 

[Neil]

I for one will follow your reports with great interest, Nick.

I actually applied for a job as a woodwork teacher at Stanley high school way back in 1982.

My CV and application form including letter of application was sent from Fleetwood post office on Saturday 13th March 1982.

Strangely I never did hear anything about the post........wonder if it's still vacant???

neil

[raflaunches]

Weather update... its above zero degrees Celsius and its not snowing (yet ) forecast gusting winds reaching 40knots! (thats nothing compared to last week we had 50+kts!)
I have a sore head this morning spent too much time at the C.O.'s leaving party, so its my own fault , hope I can see the aircraft this afternoon (when I mean afternoon it will be evening for everybody back in the UK).

Neil, its a shame you did not get a response regarding the job you will probably get a reply in a few years time informing that the post has been filled!
The people in Port Stanley are very friendly and don't mind guiding us poor RAF lads through the streets to find our barracks at 12am! However I will never complain about the condition of British roads ever again, apart from sticking to a speed limit of 40mph the roads are like driving on a mix of gravel and clay, the bits with tarmac have pot holes you could loose a wheel in and we saw numerous Land Rovers broken down by the road side!
What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger (or so I have been told)
Regards

Nick B
 

[regiment]

 lucky to have roads.so count your self lucky  in oman we had sand sand and a bit more sand in our meals and not a six month tour. but 12 months we had a few mines   as well trouble was some of our lorries went over them only once mind you ,were not worth. much left over from the war and you do have a proper runway every time a plane took off we filled the holes in  but do not worry the good times will soon be here   gordon  ps ex cpl cook attached to no one sqdn raf regiment for a time now retired after 22 very good years do not grumble you will miss it when your time comes  gordon

[Norseman]

HI Nick

I'll be interested in anything you have to post ................ and eventually the pics  

Dave

[Bryan Young]

Nick.....go back a bit and find my blog about 1982. Comes under "Nautical Strange But True".  Then you can compare my pics as it was then, with yours as it is now. A lifetime and a different "life" then! Bryan.

[w3bby]

Been there (twice), done that, got the T-shirt (or rather a sweater ) Mines are not nice, mind where you go.

Enjoy your tour

Pics from the 2nd time down mid 80's......

[raflaunches]

Hi everyone

Thank you for the continueing support, I am entering the 1 month marker tomorrow one quarter through my tour already, I really must be enjoying myself!
Bryan, I had a look at the pictures posted on the Nautical Strange But True thread and it looks very similar to pictures I have of Port Stanley the only difference being the lack of snow in my pictures! I have walked the same 'roads' in your pictures and I am sure everybody will be pleased to know that there is a very strong sense of pride in the British Forces defending the islands past and present, but whilst Liberation Day has been and gone the next big event in the Islanders calander is their 180th annerversary of being in the Falklands something I will miss but I am sure it will be a sight to behold!

Weather update... Very strong gusting winds exceeding the RAF met reports finally reached 55kts! Very amazed to see the civilain airliner take off sideways from the runway
Still its better than when I first arrived with a foot of snow in places and bitterly cold its just cold and windy but we have been informed that this is just a calm before the storm and expect more snow to come over the following weeks.

Nick B

[raflaunches]

Update: Weather- Strong gusting winds exceeding 40kts, air temp 6 deg C, wind chill makes it feel like -8 deg C

Working today has been a nightmare with regards to the wind, it was so bad with the low temperature that I actually got wind burn on my face!
The vehicles particularly the Land Rovers do not like this weather at all, our wagon suffers from starting problems especially in the mornings usually when we are in a hurry to pick up the jet as it lands, once again Murphy's Law is in force!
Apart from this though, the clear skies and bright sunshine allows us to see the mountains behind the airfield, the pictures we have got just goes to show the unspoilt landscape in the Falklands. We often get Turkey Vultures swooping quite low over us, I have tried to get a photo of one but they are quite fast and it is rumoured that they have a particular taste for berets!

See you soon

Nick B

[Martin (Admin)]

Greetings Nick,

Good to hear your regular report, very interesting reading!   

What season is it down there?
How much daylight do you get?

... hoper you took a small boat kit to build where your down there!


 Martin

[raflaunches]

Hi Martin

To answer your questions, at the moment its about mid winter but I have been informed that we are going through a nice patch in the weather much like a calm before the next storm!
It starts getting light about 8-9am at the moment but gets dark about 4-5pm so it varies between 6-8hours depending on how nice the weather is. At the moment we have bright blue skies and looks like a typical British winter's day but looks can be very deceiving the actual temperature is closer to -10 deg C than 0 deg C! When it gets dark the temperature really drops, quite noticeable in our barrack block rooms. We have a 1.5mile long corridor which connects all the building together so you don't have to go outside too often but there is no heating or insulation in the corridor, its often mentioned to the FNG (Falklands New Guy) that if he gets lost inside the rabbit warren of accommodation buildings to search for the coldest part of the passageway and keep following it and it will lead to you back to the main corridor! That has saved me the embarrassment of having to ask for directions back to my own room!
Unfortunately due to baggage restrictions I could not take any model boat or any modelling equipment with me as I only had 55kg to play with, most of that went on clothes and RAF uniforms but I read the forum every day so I can at least see what everybody else is doing.
 
Nick B

[Stavros]

So good to read your reports hope all is well with you and hope you packed your thermal long johns LOL


Dave

[essex2visuvesi]

So good to read your reports hope all is well with you and hope you packed your thermal long johns LOL


Dave

I have these for the winters here in Finland lol
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Unisex-Battery-Powered-Heated-Fleece-Winter-Socks-Medium-UK-5-8-/290681810056?pt=UK_Men_s_Socks&hash=item43adfc6c88

[raflaunches]

Weather update... not much change, still quite cold- ground temp 4 deg C wind chill takes it down to about -5 deg C, but at least its not blowing too hard!

I packed enough thermals to last a year down here (you never know with the RAF if they change their mind about where to post you!)
I started a fitness regime which most people like to do whilst they are in the Falklands, the Falklands Challenge. You have to run 574km and row/swim 62km all done in your time off! I have only been on it 3 days and I have achieved 70km running and 4km rowing.
I intend to finish the challenge in less than a month or die trying!

Whilst I visited Port Stanley I bought a book from the gift shop next to the Whalebone arch church, typically its all about the Falklands and the Royal Navy. Its called the Falklands and the Dwarf. Its about the cruise of HMS Dwarf, a British composite gunboat, sent to the Falklands in 1881 to enforce a seal hunting season as many seal skin traders chose to ignore the Falklands Government decision to impose a limit and a hunting season. The Captain, Commander William Wiseman sails to the Falklands and arrives on Christmas Day 1881 and sends a regular letter back to his wife back in England. Looking at the pictures in the book life is not that different from the 1880's as many of the buildings in the photos are exactly the same today! I am a third the way through the book, I'll tell everyone about what happens.
Brrr...

Nick B

[Martin (Admin)]

Can you get most of the comforts of home?
Tetley tea, sliced bread, bad kebabs?

[sailorboy61]

Can you get most of the comforts of home?
Tetley tea, sliced bread, bad kebabs?

NAAFI shop..... like ASDA, well almost....        

[raflaunches]

We can get some luxury goods like chocolate and tea/coffee but the milk is the UHT variety however the GE (Ground Engineer) on the Airbridge jet arrived from the UK this morning he kindly bought with him some real milk, best taste I've had for 4weeks. We often don't have any pork based products, even the sausages are beef! If we are very lucky we can get some bacon for breakfast but it runs out very fast!
Due to the food being shipped out here everything is usually out of date, most chocolate and crisps are often 2months out of date and its done nothing to effect me...yet
The NAAFI shop (this ones probably closer to a SPAR shop  ) supply most of the luxury goods at relatively cheap prices but if you go to Port Stanley you could say good bye to a lot of money for some Jaffa cakes or Pringles often selling for £3.00+ per tube! Luckily we have a local bakery so we can get fresh bread and cakes every day but the freshest food we are told to eat are fish and chicken since they do not have to be flown back to the UK for certification only to be returned several months later.
At least the beer is cheap but the bar closes at 10.30pm every night and you get kicked out by the MPs, so there are certain drawbacks to being down here but I am returning to Volunteer Point this afternoon to see some more penguins, hopefully I will return before the bad weather hits us, the storm clouds are gathering over MPA and the temperature is dropping very quickly. 

[sailorboy61]

Always a bed to be found somewhere at East Cove.

[raflaunches]

Had another trip back to Volunteer Point to visit the penguins again, this time we had to be more careful due to a particularly nasty bird circling around, a Skua.
For any one who does not what they are like they are very territorial and have a particular dis-like of humans, especially in the breeding season. They attack by flying into your head, trying to stun or knock out their intended target, some people have been critically injured from these aggressive flyers. 
Whilst on this visit we met several members of the HMS Dauntless, the new super-destroyer. They are on a 7month tour of the Atlantic and have had to put up with some bad weather on the way to the Falklands, but they are all very happy to be here, especially to see some real penguins! On our way back to MPA we over flew Port Stanley and to our surprise in the harbour, not far from where almost 98 years ago the Invincible and Indomitable were anchored, was HMS Dauntless. We were flying at about 200ft in a Seaking but from this height the size of the ship was impressive!
We have had a change in the weather again... we have beautiful blue skies but the temperature is still quite cold, we actually had some proper rain on Friday night, I knew this because I was out on the pan servicing a jet in these conditions. It was actually quite pleasant as it reminded us of home, apart from it blowing in horizontally! 

[Bryan Young]

Hi, oh chilled one.
In one of your recent despatches you mentioned a possible trip to South Georgia. In a Hercules. I know it's been a few years since I was there....but where can a Herc land? We had enough trouble finding a suitable spot for a Sea-King! Bryan.

[raflaunches]

Hi Bryan

I don't think they intend to land at South Georgia in the Hercules, I think from what I have been told that they will fly around the island looking for icebergs, ironically the exercise is called Op Cold Stare. The Hercules is primarily used for maritime reccee in the Falklands but they allow some of the poor marooned airman (like me!) to see some of the sights that the air crew see on a regular basis.

It actually warmed up yesterday to a mild 10 deg C in the sunlight, it was almost a pleasure to go outside! To compare the inside temp of the corridor remained the freezing cold temp that it always seems to maintain, can anyone explain how that works, the same principle seems to work with aircraft hangars, it can be coldish outside but freezing cold inside the building, I know the building has to warm up but it can be ridiculously cold in the afternoon in the hangar compared to the outside air temp! I think its a RAF conspiracy to keep us under control .

For anyone who has never had the opportunity to visit the Falklands, the best way I can describe Mount Pleasant Airfield is remember what the 1980's were like. Whenever you go for a few drinks in the NAAFI the music playing when you first enter will most certainly something from the 80's, we think that most of MPA's population were born in the late 70's to the early 80's so it music we can all relate to. Some of the equipment we use is actually older than I am, the VC-10 certainly is! Such a shame that she is retiring next year, the queen of the skies will only been seen in a museum. The buildings down here are showing their age, they were originally built in 1984 and whilst the facility is maintainable  some new projects are starting up to improve our barrack blocks, please let them make them with bricks this time not portacabins on blocks. You can hear who the next person is talking to 4 rooms away, the walls are that thin!

Only three months to go now... the penguins are coming...

[Martin (Admin)]

Hi Nick,

I didn't think that you had such big hangers down there, big enough to house a CV10.... the tail seem very tall when I stood under one at Duxford.

.... what a beautiful plane.


What do Penguin burgers taste like?

 Martin

[pugwash]

Now Now Martin you will have the RSPB after you!!!

Geoff

[Norseman]

Hi Nick,
What do Penguin burgers taste like?

I don't know Martin - but there is a penguin in Spain that knows what I taste like - it bit my finger
........ yes, all my own fault.

Hey Nick - what's the night sky like - can't be much pollution down there?

Dave

[raflaunches]

Penguin burgers? Tastes a bit fishy to me  that last burger served to me in the junior ranks mess did look rather dodgy!
I've heard that the locals have eaten penguin and their eggs recently but its nothing to write home about, apparently it tastes very similar to sea gull due to all the fish that they eat. Anyway you wouldn't want to eat such a fluffy pretty king penguin chick now would you? Mind you, like Norseman, I bet they know what we taste like!

The night sky is pretty amazing down here, unfortunately due to working on an active airfield the lights are on all the time but when I visited Port Stanley a few weeks ago the sky was the darkest blue and it was the most stars I have ever seen without a telescope! There were even some constellations I recognised the easiest was Orion the hunter which I forgot is visible in the Southern hemisphere at this time of the year. I will have to try to get a decent photo next time I go for a walk about in Stanley.

The aircraft hangar is big enough to house not just a VC10 but a Hercules too, often sharing the hangar for those long winter nights! We even had the Ground Engineer asking if his 767 could fit in, we estimated that he could just about fit if he came in perfectly straight! If you look on Google Earth you can spot it next to aircraft pan at the most Western point of the runway, when I looked last time I thought that there were two F3 Tornado's sitting on the pan, it was not until I zoomed in further that I realised my mistake. The two aircraft were a VC10 and a Hercules, it goes to show how big the area I have to work on really is!

Weather update: wind has continued to blow very hard 30-40mph gusts with a prediction of more wind and cold weather soon!