Michael Remington and Diane Durrant, on the holiday of a lifetime, visited two world heritage sites (Iguazu Falls and Machu Piccu) as well as a special visit to the Falkland Islands. This is an outline of their visit.

Andy Keeling was Chief Executive Officer of Leicester City Council and lived on Coventry Road, Narborough. In 2020 he left England to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Falkland Islands on a four year contract.

Myself and my partner had booked a cruise of South America for February 2023 which included a stop off at Port Stanley. There is no certainty to be able to land on the Falkland Islands due to the possible difficulties brought about by the weather conditions. You tender off the ship and if the swell is slightly worse than normal then landing becomes dangerous. The Islands are continually affected by strong winds which is why there are no trees there, only scrubland.

Even though we didn’t know Andy personally, we decided to contact him by email to see if he would like to meet up with fellow Narborians. We received a positive reply and arranged to see him at his house for a cup of tea.

Fortunately the day we arrived at Port Stanley was the best day’s weather they had had in the last 12 months. We visited the local beach where we saw hundreds of Penguins of  3 different species  – King, Gentoo and Jackass. Azure blue sea and white beaches made it feel like you were in the Caribbean and I must be one of the few people in the world who has suffered from sunburn whilst visiting the Falklands.

We then had afternoon tea with Andy and he gave us an insight into the workings of the governance of the Falkland Islands before taking us on a grand tour of Port Stanley. He said he found looking after 3,500 islanders more challenging than looking after the population of Greater Leicester.  A most affable gentlemen and to all of you that know him he is in rude health and is enjoying life despite the remoteness. 

A day that  will live long in our memory.