Nature's Bounty An Island Parish

The Falkland Islands are just

800 miles north of the Antarctic Circle,

so it's no surprise that there are more penguins than people.

The close-knit human community

are mostly the descendants of pioneer settlers

who, 200 years ago, saw the opportunity

in this wild and windswept landscape

and made this isolated corner of the Earth their home.

With summer over, the tourists have gone,

but one visitor to the islands has come a cropper.

This penguin was attacked.

He's not a very old one, I think.

He's left his mother and has been swimming in the ocean

and, presumably, possibly got too close to a, um, a sea lion.

And, very nearly, that was the end of you, wasn't it?

And the islanders bid farewell to a popular figure.

After four years, the Governor is leaving them

and heading off to retirement.

We're going to miss you.

Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley

is the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world.

It's also the parish church for the Rector of the Falkland Islands,

the Reverend Richard Hines.

This is called Christian service.

About £5.50 an hour.

HE LAUGHS To supplement my stipend!

The job of rector is not a regular 9 to 5

and weekends are always busy,

but Richard usually gets Wednesdays off and, today,

together with his wife Jen, he's planning a trip to the countryside.

Er, we're going out into the camp.

It's day off today and the weather's not bad.

It's a little bit breezy, but bright and cheerful.

I like the Falkland Islander who once told me,

"I get up in the morning, I pull the curtains and I sniff the air

"and what it is, it is." THEY LAUGH

I want to get my, um, my pink gloves.

Right, put it in the back.

Like most people on the islands, Richard and Jen drive a 4x4.

Outside of Stanley, very few of the islands' roads are surfaced.

Where are you off to?

We're away to Bluff Cove, er,

where Hattie and Kevin Kilmartin have a farm

and, er, Hattie is the most amazing chef and cook

and we're going to pick some diddle-dee berries

and Hattie's going to make some diddle-dee jam.

It's what all Falkland Islanders like to be doing

at this time of year, picking diddle-dee berries,

because they're at their best.

We're trying to catch them before the geese get them!

THEY LAUGH

The diddle-dee berry grows on a tough heather-like plant.

It's only found in a few places in the Southern Hemisphere

and the Falkland Islands is one of them,

where it thrives in these windy, exposed conditions.

At Bluff Cove, Hattie Kilmartin runs a cafe and a restaurant

on her 30,000-acre farm.

She uses diddle-dee berries in lots of her recipes

and is a firm believer in living off the land.

The shops in Stanley are very good, but they can run out

of just basic things, you know, they may run out of flour or onions.

And, because we do get a lot of supplies from, um, from, you know,

from Chile, or we did, and then, with the sort of political pressure

put on them by the Argentines, they stopped our coastal shipping,

so we even had an egg shortage, so, you know, so all that happened

was everyone started, um, getting their own chickens again.

And it does, it makes people very resilient.

You've got that sort of pioneering thing,

the wild is still there, you know, and you can get out and go fishing

and...and just about do anything like that, which is lovely.

So, yes, there's a good patch just over here.

'At this time of year, the scrubby sheep pasture

'surrounding Hattie's home is bristling with diddle-dee berries.'

Is this the only wild fruit you get in the Falklands?

No, there's also tea berries, which are delicious,

but they're even fiddlier to pick,

cos they're actually on vines along the ground.

Often, when you're driving along,

you'll see cars parked on the side of the road and bums in the air

as people are burrowing around.

Cos, um... Just recently, they've been gathering wild strawberries.

They're just about over now.

And, again, people have their spots that they like,

and they're guarded... carefully guarded.

-So the secret is to look for bums in the air, then?

-Yeah, bums in the air

and you know there's going to be some good berries there.

These ones are nice and ripe!

The secret to picking them is

actually sort of almost... almost milking them.

Finding a branch and then, just very, very gently,

just rubbing them off, almost.

In Stanley, the commercial fishing season is underway

and the harbour is busy.

From his home on the water's edge, retired businessman Dick Sawle is

about to set off for a morning's potter in his dinghy.

Yeah, I just go and do a spot of fishing in it,

go round, look at the wildlife, visit some of the islands,

sometimes, er, go out and watch the whales.

And, er, just sit amongst a pod of whales.

It's very, very pleasant, really. Just a bit of fun.

Despite being surrounded by water,

Falkland Islanders have always been more farmers than fishermen.

But in 1986, the Government decided to capitalise

on this great natural resource and regulated it,

introducing conservation licensing,

extending to 200 miles around the islands.

Now, specially designed boats, called jiggers,

come from as far away as Taiwan

in search of the valuable South Atlantic squid, known as white gold.

Got to be careful of that jigger, which is coming round the back.

I'll just slow down.

Er, it's a very intense operation.

They have these arms that come down off the side of the vessel

and they literally jig, like that.

And they have retractor lights - plastic fluorescent sort of tubes -

the squid are attracted to the tube

and, of course, they grab hold of the tube, then they get hooked.

The squid will come up the side of the vessel and so they leak ink out,

and so, one of these that's been fishing, you can always tell,

because the sides of the vessel are always black with squid ink.

Yeah, he's just hauling up his anchor.

They come in and they probably have a fisheries inspection

to make sure they're all in order form the regulation point of view.

They then go off to the fisheries department

to collect their licence, their fishing licence.

It's the selling of these licences to all these ships

that brings in the money to the Falklands, yeah.

It represents about 60% of our gross domestic product

and it's basically what built the whole of Stanley.

The school, the hospital, a lot of the houses,

it supplies a lot of the revenue we need for the jobs.

Er, we have a budget of around £55 million a year

and most of that will be

revenue that's earned from selling of fishing licences.

Also out and about on the water today is

Stanley's vet Steve Pointing.

Steve is one of three vets on the islands.

He's also employed by the Falklands government to do

regular hygiene inspections on boats applying for a fishing licence.

The Beagle has come all the way from Galicia in northern Spain.

She's a trawler equipped to catch all kinds of fish and seafood.

Er, cafe solo. Si. Con leche.

Con leche. Solo.

HE REPEATS SEVERAL ORDERS IN SPANISH

Oh, sorry.

We're going to have a table cloth! LAUGHTER

CHATTER IN SPANISH

Oh, right you are, right!

Galician fishermen are very, um...

They've got lots of superstitions.

-What's a witch in Spanish?

-Bruja.

-Bruja!

Bruja, that's right.

On some of the vessels, they've lots of, um, garlic,

because garlic's supposed to keep the, um, keep the evil spirits away.

-But you still arrive here.

-LAUGHTER

First stop, he's heading for the freezers,

where the freshly-caught fish and squid are placed for six hours

until they're deep frozen.

Right, that's OK, lovely. I just want to have a look.

I just want to have a look.

I like to just see how clean things are here.

So, this time of the year, they tend to be smaller.

They get bigger as the season goes on.

Yeah, normally, in the first month, they are smaller.

-Yeah.

-OK?

-OK, fine.

Gracias! OK.

So we're checking the, um, the temperatures in the holds

that are being used for keeping the frozen fish.

And the European Union says

the temperatures have to be below -18 degrees centigrade,

so I'm just checking on this computerised record

to make sure that is the case.

And we always inspect the calendar when we're on board as well!

-Oh?

-LAUGHTER

When full, the ship's hold contains 2,000 tonnes of fish and squid

all destined for the European market.

-So, we want one sample to take with us.

-OK.

Over half of the squid sold there is caught in these waters.

Steve takes a sample bag back to be tested in his lab.

If it passes muster,

the Beagle will soon be heading out to sea again to continue fishing.

Back at the surgery in Stanley,

Steve's first job is to check up on a very special patient.

Come here. What have we called him? Cedric?

Cedric, the juvenile gentoo penguin,

was brought in about a week ago by a member of the public

who found him stranded on a beach near Stanley.

This penguin was attacked, I would imagine, by a sea lion.

He's not a very old one, I think,

so he's probably fending for himself for the first time in his life,

so he's left his mother and has been swimming in the ocean

and, presumably, possibly got too close to a sea lion.

And, very nearly, that was the end of you, wasn't it?

It had a big, it looked like a tooth mark on its abdomen,

so we've cleaned it up and we've stitched it up

and put everything back in place

and, so far, it doesn't look too bad!

Will you stay there?

Stay there.

Right, I'm going to go down a bit, all right?

It's easier coming from above.

Do you know what's coming?

While he's here, Cedric will be fed on a diet of raw fish and squid.

Is that nice? Is that nice?

Is that nice?

Yeah?

I think, in the wild, they'll eat as much as they can, when they can,

and then, they may go for several days without eating at all.

You've got to hunt for yourself then, haven't you?

Cedric's best chance of survival is

to be released quickly back into the wild

before he becomes too reliant on human help,

but until that wound heals, he's not going anywhere.

One of the key events in the Falkland Islands calendar is

the annual Half Marathon that runs for 13½ miles along the coast

and out around the historic lighthouse on Cape Pembroke,

the most easterly point on the whole Falkland Islands.

'Soon-to-be-departing Governor Nigel Haywood is

'a keen distance runner

'and this will be the fourth time he's taken part.'

-What are the challenges of Falklands running?

-Um, the wind, mainly,

because, certainly as I go up Reservoir Hill up there,

I'll be running uphill and into the wind

and the prevailing wind tends to be straight in your teeth

as you're going uphill and, lots of times, you're running along

and you're like something out of a Marcel Marceau movie.

You're doing this and yet actually you're not moving forward at all.

26-year-old local journalist Teslyn Barkman

is one of only a handful of female members

of the volunteer Falkland Islands Defence Force.

Shoulder arms!

This year is her third half marathon and she's hoping to do well.

Because of the terrain and the weather,

you kind of develop into a bit of a stronger runner.

I've always known I can do better

and have been trying in previous years to get better at running

and I think I'm kind of getting there now.

There's a friendly rivalry between the Governor and Teslyn,

but this is the last time they're going to be battling it out,

because, shortly after the event,

he'll be handing back his ceremonial sword

and heading home to Devon, where retirement beckons.

He's a very fit bloke, and he's infamous for his short shorts,

which kind of really I think took people by surprise.

He's a really great governor, actually,

and I wish he'd stay longer.

A lot of that comes from the running.

Back in Bluff Cove, the precious diddle-dee berries

have arrived back home and the jam-making process,

under Hattie's expert supervision, is about to begin.

This is similar to looking through the donations box in the Cathedral,

where the first thing you do is

you pull out all the coins that aren't pounds.

Yes, we use a potato masher.

-How long would they take to cook?

-Not long at all.

-No?

-As you'll see.

If you cook them for a longer time, wonderful pinky red berries.

Mmm.

Diddle-dee jam is a regular on the menu at the Sea Cabbage Cafe,

which Hattie runs for tourists during the summer season.

You've done this before.

She also sells it in pots as the perfect Falklands souvenir.

Each jam pot is thoroughly cleaned and sterilised before use,

but a quick wipe around with some vodka makes doubly sure.

I'm well impressed. I think I missed my vocation.

I took a wrong course somewhere and I should have...

I feel strangely called now to diddle-dee making...

diddle-dee jam making. SHE LAUGHS

After all their efforts, it's time to tuck in.

-Here we go!

-Oh!

-Oh, Hattie!

-The fruits of our labour.

-Wow!

That's the best cream tea south of Torquay.

Bless you. Lovely!

There we go.

-Cheers, Hattie!

-Cheers.

-What could be better?

-Mmm.

-Yeah.

-Mmm!

-Mmm.

Very good!

HATTIE LAUGHS

But it is just a lovely combination, isn't it?

-The berries and the cream.

-Mmm.

-Is that your last one, then, now, Richard?

-No.

-Probably not.

LAUGHTER

In Stanley, it's the day of the Cape Pembroke Half Marathon

and, even by Falklands standards, conditions are pretty tough.

It's cold out there!

I don't want to go out there. Everyone's going out warming up.

I'm like, "You've got 13 miles to run in freezing cold and wind!

"Stay warm as long as possible!"

GUSTY WIND BLOWS

Here we are, freezing to death on the Stanley Bypass. Yes!

What's, um, what's the attraction of running in the Falklands?

Um, difficult to think of one at the moment. The challenge!

Despite the cold, 26 runners get off to a good start

and the Governor settles into his stride

in the middle of the field just behind Teslyn.

Apart from the farewell parade,

it's almost literally the last thing I do, so I'll run this,

we'll have a prizegiving in Government House this afternoon

and then, that's it - final day tomorrow and the parade and off.

But it's nice to be able to do a run

and it's also given me something to focus on,

away from all the packing and everything,

the thought that I was going to have a run just before I go

was something to look forward to.

First one to the lighthouse is Tim Drew.

PEOPLE SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT

Tim is the maths teacher at the Falkland Islands Community School.

-Well done, mate.

-Hi there!

-Keep it up!

'It's quite a challenging course.

'It goes off-road after about three or four miles

'and you're really running through marram grass or sand dunes

'just trying to follow little orange markers along the way.'

Back in the centre of Stanley,

loyal supporters are gathering at the finish line

as Tim comes romping home after 1 hour, 16 minutes...

-CHEERING

-..almost breaking the course record.

Third and fourth places are taken by two servicemen

from the Mount Pleasant military base.

They only arrived on the island a few days ago.

So, have they been training for long?

-No.

-No, not at all.

-It was decided last night.

-In the bar.

-Yeah, we found out about it last night in the bar.

-Minefield signs and penguins.

-THEY LAUGH

So a bit different to back home.

CHILD SHOUTS

The biggest upset is that Teslyn has pipped the Governor to the post.

But he seems to take it in his stride.

CHEERING

Ah, well done, Teslyn!

EXCITED CHATTER

You were there in the distance and I just couldn't get you.

-Thank you. Is that your leaving present?

-Great run, yeah.

-Cheers.

And I beat my best time, so that was fair and square.

-That was my best time.

-That was a good effort.

I'm OK at the moment, thanks.

She was right in front of me all the way around.

I just couldn't catch her at all and I felt the gap was narrowing

and then she suddenly put on bursts of speed, so it was a good effort.

I'm glad I finished, actually. It was quite a tough course,

with lots of sand in the face, which wasn't so good.

After a quick wash and brush-up,

it's all back to Nigel's for a well-deserved drink.

And the organisers have got a special leaving gift

for their outgoing governor.

-Very touched.

-HE LAUGHS

APPLAUSE

-That's very kind. Thanks very much.

-We're going to miss you.

Not as much as I'm going to miss you all, but thank you.

For the past two weeks, Cedric the penguin has been

recovering from his injury in vet Steve's specially-adapted shed.

But he's no longer alone.

Oven Ready, another slightly older gentoo penguin,

was found washed up on a beach and covered in oil.

He's been cleaned up and is keeping Cedric company

while his feathers become waterproof again.

But today, the two pals will have to be parted,

because it's time for Cedric to be returned back into the wild.

-Cedric!

-Oh, hello, he's escaped.

-Oh, look, he's ready.

Sarah Crofts from Falklands Conservation

has joined Steve to help with the release.

Right, come on, then Cedric, out.

Don't peck me.

In you go.

-No, no, no.

-I'll put a towel in, just so he doesn't slide around.

-OK.

So that's it. The most challenging bit's done.

HE LAUGHS

-That's him ready. He's all by himself now, he's going to be.

-Yes.

-Aw!

-He says, "I want to join my friend.

-I know!

-"I want to join my friend!"

Cedric hasn't seen the sea for the past two weeks,

while he's been recovering from his attack by a sea lion.

We're just heading out just out of Stanley, so it's just a quiet beach.

Um, there's...there are some penguin colonies up this way,

so there should be penguins around,

but generally, we release them where there's no people or dog walkers.

Right, come on, then, Cedric. Ooh, ah...

Out you come.

The penguin breeding season is now over and this is the time of year

when they leave their nests behind and head out to sea to feed.

The hope is that Cedric will forget about his human helpers

and his wild instincts will kick in.

Right, little one. Let's see.

You're back to the sea again.

Come on, turn your back. Out you come.

-He says, "No, I don't want to go out there again!"

-He'll come out.

There you go.

Oh?

SHE LAUGHS

-He's thinking about it.

-He's thinking about it, he is.

-He said, "Last time I was in here, I got bitten by something."

-Yeah!

Go on, then.

He's having a think.

-"Where am I?"

-"Which way shall I go?"

-Yeah.

-Oh!

-Ah!

-There you go.

That's quite promising.

-Oh, no...

-THEY LAUGH

-It's too cold.

-He doesn't know...

-I think he wants to go.

-Hmm.

-Ooh.

-There you go.

-Yeah!

-Here we go.

-There you go.

There we go.

Aw, fantastic. Oh, look!

He's been waiting to do that. HE LAUGHS

-He's probably going to have a good clean and a preen...

-Yeah.

..because he's been not in the water for a few weeks

and then, when he's done, he'll take himself off.

I wasn't sure that he was going to go so quickly as that,

but obviously, the sea has lured him.

Oh, he's gone over his first wave!

So it's nice to see them back. And he'll probably go back

to the colony he came from or wherever he came from.

-Bye, Cedric!

-Yeah!

Fantastic.

-Until the next one comes in.

-Well, until Oven Ready's ready.

Until Oven Ready is sea ready.

-Sea ready, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

Down by the harbour, a crowd has gathered

for the Governor's farewell parade.

Parade!

Shoulder arms!

Inward dress!

Yeah, um, I think it's a very, very short ceremony.

There's a 17-gun salute, which is what governors traditionally get

on arrival and departure, and then I hand over my sword

to the Speaker of the Assembly

to be passed on to the next Governor when he comes down.

For the Governor's wife Louise, it's the end of an era.

When they leave the Falkland Islands,

Nigel will be retiring from the diplomatic service.

'I don't actually think it will hit Nigel until...'

I don't know. Two years into our home posting,

and then, we're not packing up to go somewhere.

Parade! Royal salute!

Present arms!

Well, we both will be very, very sorry to leave the islands.

We've always felt very, very welcome.

Time now for the big attraction.

17 explosive charges will be detonated

on the far side of the harbour, in full view of the expectant crowd.

Because of technical difficulties,

the 17-detonation salute has had to be cancelled.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

-LAUGHTER

-Everybody - "Aw!"

Thanks for trying!

Luckily, the rest of the ceremony does go off as planned.

Parade, present arms!

Parade, shoulder arms!

-We're going to miss you.

-Thank you.

Among the many friendly faces in the crowd

are Reverend Richard and Jen.

I'm very sad. I was privileged to welcome Nigel at the beginning

and to say prayers at his, er, at his inauguration

and I'm sad to see him go now.

He's been a very good Governor, I think.

I think he's been exceptional in relating to people across the board.

What do you mean I look like Mr Bean?

-LAUGHTER

-Who said I looked like Mr Bean?

RICHARD: He's loved just joining in and laughing with people.

He's enjoyed getting out and about,

running and doing all kinds of things, yeah, he's been great.

Sounds like we're going to have some explosions after all,

-so that's very exciting.

-CHEERING

Thank you!

CHARGES EXPLODE, SCREAMING AND CHEERING

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

On that note, Nigel heads off to the airport.

He'll be leaving on the evening flight

with the sights and sounds of the Falkland Islands

still ringing in his ears.

Oh, we do it...we do it our way here in the Falkland Islands.

We have our 17 bangs when we want to have them, you know!