‘It is a close-knit community’: What is life like in the Falkland Islands?
They have British accents, endure horrible weather, and share their islands with one million penguins. Meet the Falklanders...
The weather is bleak, there are ten sheep for every one person, and there is little way to get on or off the Falkland Islands, but its tiny population says they enjoy their close-knit community.
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The tranquil, albeit windy, archipelago feels peaceful to visit, yet has long been the centre of a political tussle between its sovereign power, Britain, and its nearest nation, Argentina.
This week, England’s heated World Cup defeat against Argentina led to renewed calls from Buenos Aires for the Falkland Islands to belong to the South American country.
“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a Downing Street spokeswoman has said in response.
But amid the tensions, reports from the southern hemisphere have repeatedly drawn the conclusion that life can be hard for the small population who live there, but residents are happy to keep things as they are.
The Falkland Islands is a British Overseas Territory with a population of a little more than 3,000.
Residents are spread out around a land mass the size of Northern Ireland, although the majority live in Stanley, the islands’ only town, on the western of the two main islands.
Abrasive wind conditions make the Falklands difficult to live in, even in the summer.
The winters can go on and on, with two snowfalls a season and regular temperatures of -5C.
It is also largely inaccessible, with one weekly 1.5-hour commercial flight arriving at Mount Pleasant Airport (around 45 minutes from Stanley) from the isolated Punta Arenas airport in Chile.
Passengers can also make use of the twice-weekly RAF flights from the UK, sharing a plane with some of the military who are based at camps on the islands.
These flights can take around 20 hours to reach the South Atlantic, including a refuelling stop on the Ascension Islands.
The Falklands does attract around 1,800 tourists a year, with 50 cruise ships arriving every summer, but visitors only find the British-style buildings, red post boxes, and small array of shops apparently interesting enough to stay for an average of four hours.
Christ Church Cathedral (which amazingly calls Church of England leader Sarah Mullally its Archbishop) is about as close to what can be considered a landmark.
The weather and conditions are so poor that it is hard to grow fruit and vegetables, with the one supermarket (a Waitrose, no less) putting a limited range of goods on sale at prices that factor in some huge importation expenses.
But the 3,662 people who call the Falkland Islands home are, by all accounts, a happy bunch.
Roxy, who is a lifelong islander with a customary British accent, said in a YouTube documentary: “I personally love it, it’s a close-knit community and as a kid you knew everyone.
“We have one primary school and one secondary school. There is no choice!”
“I went to college and university in England,” she said, adding that the Falklands can offer education opportunities abroad, but 70% choose to come back.
“I am a tour operator and I can call on others if I need a hand with anything.”
Stanley is the only major (if something the size of an English village can be called that) settlement, and also the only location with paved roads. More remote towns require a journey by boat or a propeller plane.
There is a low crime rate, and the 20 police officers are hardly run off their feet. The last murder was decades ago.
Plus, there are penguins! Around one million of the birds nest on the Falkland Islands during the peak of their season, with gentoo, king, magellanic, macaroni, and rockhopper breeds all being found around the islands.
Those, plus the white-tufted grebe, upland Goose, and black-crowned night heron, make the Falkland Islands a birdwatchers' paradise.
For such an isolated and desolate place, the Falkland Islands have a complicated and contentious history.
The east and west islands were discovered at different times in the 18th century by British, French, and Spanish explorers.
They became a key shipping point and became very useful for the UK after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1812 left it in sole control.
But being 300 miles (480km) east of mainland Argentina, the Islas Malvinas (as they are known in South American Spanish) have long been sought after by Buenos Aires, which claims it has a right based on an 18th-century Spanish agreement - plus its location being far closer than the 7,852 miles (12,636 km) from Stanley to London.
The 1982 Falklands War ended in a British victory, but Argentina has never quite relinquished its claim and claimed ownership in its 1990s constitution.
Tensions still occasionally flare up, with Argentine president Javier Milei being outspoken on the issue.
As a British Overseas Territory, the Falkland Islands have the pound as their currency, and King Charles is considered the head of state. It is governed by Colin Martin-Reynolds (who liaises with London) and should a Falklander win gold in the Commonwealth Games (something which has not yet happened…) God Save the King would be played at a victory ceremony.
But the parallels only go so far. Falkland Islanders have their own elections and referendums (a 2013 vote clarifying that 99% wanted to remain British) and do not vote for Westminster politicians, nor did they cast a ballot in the 2016 European Union referendum.
Migration is also trickier than you might expect. A British person would be unable to simply move to Stanley to start a new life and would require a job lined up, and, at that, it must be a job that cannot already be fulfilled by an existing islander.
There are, of course, further quirks that come with living in one of the world’s least densely populated places.
There are so few people that phone numbers have five digits. Car number plates have only four. Amazon does deliver, but orders need to be sent via a forwarding company in the UK. Most shops cannot afford to specialise and provide a range of services, sometimes with a cafe to boot.
Jason, an eighth-generation Falklander, said in a YouTube interview that he had lived in the ultra-remote New Island (population: two), which required a six-week wait for a supply ship.
“I don’t feel lonely or cut off out here,” he said. “It has become a lot easier now that we have the internet, Facebook, and WhatsApp.”
Major (again, that word being used relatively) income streams are sheep farming, fishing, and catering for bird-watching tourists.
It makes society well-functioning, financially secure, and also friendly - as there are not enough people for anyone to make enemies.
Dating is a challenge, with many on Hinge having gone to school with each other, but the cathedral does make a stunning venue for a wedding.