The Falkland Islands have become surprisingly diverse

What springs to mind when you think of the Falklands? You might imagine the wild, windswept landscape, sparsely populated by the sheep-farming communities that have made the Islands their home for nearly 200 years. Those of my vintage will recall grainy television images of the war in 1982, Margaret Thatcher’s subsequent visit, and grateful islanders speaking to her in accents that sounded like a mixture of West Country and Kiwi. And those fortunate enough to have visited (I’ve had that privilege several times) will recall the sheer Britishness of the place, with a Victorian cathedral that wouldn’t be out of place in rural Somerset, pubs to help weary travellers just off the plane from Brize Norton feel at home, and a supermarket by the harbour selling items that Sainsbury’s might stock.