FINN(COM) DAILY RECORD: MONDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2004

 

Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)

 

The first ever winter shotgun season has now concluded.  Well done to all involved.  It was an excellent season with consistent numbers of shooters in place often in quite dire weather!!  This last week was a doubles shoot in winds that can only be described as ‘gusty’!!  With clays quite literally dodging the pellets it was always going to be a challenging day.  All shot well with Jon Butler and Henry McLeoed being the only ones not to show previous form.  Steve Dent stepped out as an early leader and managed to get a few hits on his last stand, right crosser, a long standing bogey stand, to hit a strong lead late on.  Henry McLeod was the only shooter with a chance of getting close but he somehow managed to miss more than the usual and was not able to keep up.

 

	Week 10
	Doubles
Name	Shots Faced	Hits	%
Steve Dent	50	34	68%
Graham Didlick	50	31	62%
Ricardo Leyton	50	30	60%
Henry McLeod	50	27	54%
Jon Butler	50	22	44%

 

The final tables for the season is now concluded and herewith is the final result.  Shooters are scored on 7 of 10 shoots and on their total percentage in those nominated shoots.  Jon Clark managed to maintain his early lead with Steve Dent, the summer champ, relegated to second.

 

Name	Total Shots Faced	Total Hits	Overall %
Jon Clark	251	195	78%
Steve Dent	201	145	72%
Henry McLeod	271	168	62%
Jon Butler	296	173	58%
Ricardo Leyton	270	131	49%
Graham Didlick	245	116	47%
Al Sutherland	245	55	22%

 

 

FALKLANDS CONSERVATION AUCTION NETS £13,340.00

 

By J. Brock (FINN)

 

If you didn’t go to the Falklands Conservation Charity Ball on Friday night, you missed out on an excellent evening of food, fun and fantastic artwork.  The main purpose of the charity ball was to earn money to aid on-going Falklands Conservation projects and some new ones.  In this 25^th anniversary year, the money raised by the auction came from the sale of approximately 30 items, ranging from felts produced by Alli Liddle to an Antarctic Cruise for two donated by Quark Expeditions.  Other items included Artwork by Una Hurst that was donated by the Government of South Georgia, a John Smith painting of the Capricorn, signed prints by Tony and Kim Chater, Richard Lewington’s signed prints of insects, watercolours of buildings on Carcass Island by Becky Ingham and Veronica Fowler and a limited edition print of two King Penguins swimming by John Gale.  Also on offer were, a slave for the day, an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter.  Finally, there was a painting by Mandy Shepherd on offer.  Raffle tickets were available at the door, with a hand-carved Albatross mobile, bottle of champers and boiler service courtesy of Energise.

 

H. E. the Governor Mr. Howard Pearce addressed the crowd half way through the auction and said, “Congratulations on your success so far in your success in running this auction.  It’s a great pleasure to see so many of you here this evening. 

 

As you know, the 25^th anniversary year is a very special year for Falklands Conservation.  I congratulate Falklands Conservation for the tremendous job that they have done in preserving the wonderful environment of the Falkland Islands - extremely important work, which they do.

 

Many of you may not be aware of the considerable success, which Falklands Conservation have had in raising money from outside the Falkland Islands from a number of institutions and a number of funds to pursue environmental projects they have in the Islands.  It amounted this year to some £350,000.00 and I think that’s a tremendous achievement.  And, I would like to say a special word of congratulations to Becky Ingham and her dedicated staff for their success in achieving such a considerable amount of funds from outside the Islands.

 

Of course an evening like this can only be successful if it has a tremendous amount of local support.  And, I am temped to say that this has been one of the great successes of Falklands Conservation.  And of course, this evening, this annual event, is one of the key events in the year at which Falklands Conservation are able to raise and encourage local support and raise money from the local community.  And, one of the things I have learned about the Falkland Islands is how extraordinarily generous the people of the Falkland Islands are in supporting local charities and local good causes.  And, there is no better cause than Falklands Conservation.

 

So, I would like to congratulate everybody who contributed so far this evening and encourage you to be even more generous as the evening wears on.”

 

The Governor then announced a special prize of two nights for two at Port Howard for someone that had a gold star under their seat. 

 

Tapas, provided by the Falklands Brasserie were served during the auction.  It consisted of 13 different oeuvres including Cougeres filled with Mortadella Pate, Vegetable Samosas, Sushi Rolls and Tandori Chicken Winglets.  The wine was provided by Beauchene Trading Company.  Fresh carnations provided by the Market Garden, were presented to everyone on arrival.

 

When contacted on Monday morning, Falkland Conservation’s Sarah Clement said that the organisation was grateful for the generous support shown on Friday night.  Sarah also thanked their sponsors, VT Communications at MPA and Consolidated Fisheries Limited.

 

OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL: THE DELEGATES GET TALKING

 

By J. Brock (SARTMA)

 

An official photograph was issued from the Sixth Overseas Territories Consultative Council, in which I saw some familiar faces.  Not only is Falklands’ Cllr. Jan Cheek present in the photo but also St. Helena Cllr Kathy Hopkins.  I know them both and have the intuitive feeling that the Consultative Council flourished because of their participation.  It is this Consultative Council and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conferences and meetings that provide a platform for representatives from the South Atlantic Remote Territories to get together and discuss common issues that affect them generally, as well as sharing ideas that can help solve problems and make things run smoother. 

 

Amongst the things that the Governments of St. Helena and the Falklands have in common is the fact that they both are undergoing Constitutional change.  There is no easy way to change a nation’s Constitution but it is helpful for St. Helena and the Falklands to hear first-hand about the process on other Islands.  Whether changes entail going over to a ministerial system, or just altering the number of representatives on Council, it’s good to find out whether and how it works, or doesn’t work on another Island.

 

Other subjects like Sustainable Development and EU Assistance for Development were also discussed at the meeting.  The Falklands have benefited from EU funding and St. Helena can also have funding for projects from the EU.  Accepting the money does have its pit-falls, as Falkland Islanders and Tristanians know.  Strings attached and regulation thwarted the Abattoir project and FIG ended up funding the much-needed project.   Ditto for Tristan da Cunha, who decided to fund a JCB for themselves because the EU process time-consuming and complex.  SHG doesn’t have the luxury of a huge budget that could absorb the cost of an abattoir but it could benefit from lessons learned by the experience on the Falklands.

 

An important area of discussion centred on the OTC Environmental programme.  All of the Islands have benefited by sharing information about, amongst other things, Rat Eradication and the removal of non-indigenous plants, etc.  That means plenty to talk about, as some of the funding for these programmes comes from UNESCO, for example.  The wise use of these funds is a common concern amongst the OSTs that receive money for environmental projects.

 

Currently, the UK Overseas Territories have been buffeted by seismic activity and hurricanes.  Disaster Preparedness was certainly h hot topic of discussion at the Consultative Council Meeting, given the events in the Cayman Islands.  When the 2001 hurricane hit Tristan da Cunha, HMG granted £75,000.00 towards damages that amounted to nearly £2Million.  Better preparation might have lessened the amount of damage.  However, the level of support after a disaster is important as well.

 

The UK Overseas Territories Consultative Council meets once a year but it is the contacts made at those meetings that have a lasting affect.  Above all, friendships and professional relationships forged at these meetings makes it easier to keep in touch throughout the year.  When you think of how isolated some of the territories are, then it’s a minor miracle when so many representatives can get together in the same place.  It is the meaningful conversations and the sharing of ideas that helps melt away the miles and draw the OSTs together.

 

COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

 

Health and Medical Services Committee, Monday, 27 September 2004, 1215, Gilbert House

Fisheries Committee, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 0800, Liberation Room, Secretariat

Historic Building Committee, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 1030, Archives Building

Public Meeting, Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 1700, Court and Council Chamber, Town Hall

Executive Council, Thursday, 30 September 2004, Government House

Standing Finance Committee, 01 October 2004, 0800, Liberation Room, Secretariat

 

 

FIBS NEWS DIRECT: 27 SEPTEMBER 2004

 

HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE REPORT:

 

A locum Dentist will be coming to the Islands to catch up on the backlog of patients.  Director of Health Services, Norman McGregor-Edwards, reported the news this morning.  He told the Health and Medical Services Committee that he hopes the Locum will be arriving in early October for four weeks to reduce the current waiting list, which has crept up due to one of the dentists being off ill.  It’s not known when the dentist will be back at work and Camp dental visits have been cancelled.  But he said these will be reinstated as soon as possible.  It isn’t known where the funds for bringing down a locum dentist will come from but the Director told the Committee that the issue was maintaining a service that would otherwise collapse.  Lay member, Jason Lewis, put forward a paper to the Committee, asking why he would have to wait seven weeks for his dental appointment, unlike the four weeks mentioned in Penguin News.  Members of the public had expresses concern to him about appointments being cancelled at short notice and then re-arranged for months in the future.

 

FIDF FUNDRAISER: Corina Goss - CG