Staff in Confidence
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FALKLAND ISLANDS.
די
been sufficiently appreciated that, while local produce seems to be cheap, it is only so if one grows or raises it oneself and puts up with a daily diet of 2ld mutton; short term residents, like DS staff, generally have to buy a lot of imported foods at a fairly high cost; we the locals have a pretty good idea of the value of the surplus essentials they occasionally sell. Their heating bills are, however, the biggest burden on the staff. Because of labour shortages no longer is peat cheap here, and oil fuel and bt electricity costs have risen dramatically. As an indication, now costs the local Government over 10,000 a year to heat and light this rambling old house and office for me. We are looking at the bases of our budgets to see where things might have gone awry in the past, or whether it is that our cost of living returns have been faulty, and will also be writing to the Department about this shortly.
6. Knowing your own sympathies in the matter, I hardly need make the point that as the post does not seem to be an attractive one to potential candidates, it is necessary we should offer reasonable conditions to the staff we do get; it is a tricky task of fair importance to HMG that we have to carry out here and a contented staff will do it all the better. I must therefore add that we are of course grateful for all the concessions that have already been made the grant of EDSA etc.- and I hope we will not be thought to be demanding too much attention merely because we think we are an isolated, special little bunch.
7. It is a blissfully calm and sunny day as I write this, and the political temperature is down; it is pleasant to be here. Give it a with a few days for the return of the usual blustery, wet weather period of heightened local passion, and anyone can have the place. The long winter is the worst time, and that will soon be upon us; those 7,000 miles, partly through "hostile" territory, will then seem long ones indeed.
Jim
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JR W Virker
ċc
JA B Stewart, Hong Kong and Gen Dept.
Gr. Sinan
བསམ
کیا
Staff in C
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PA
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