Right versus Left, Spanish versus English!

Dear Fellow Earthlings, On the 5th of April 1982 two edicts were sent out to the people of Port Stanley. The first said: "Henceforth all vehicles will drive on the right instead of on the left!" This edict brought Falkland Island drivers in line with most other countries of the world. The second edict, which came out later in the day, stated that Port Stanley would thenceforth be named "Puerto Rivero" (although on the 21st day of April the name would be changed to something else). The man whose surname was Rivero is nobody I would like to describe here. His integrity is questionable, you see. Stanley is named after Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.

Lord Stanley served three times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over their static filled radios Falkland Islanders learned that on this day a hurriedly prepared flotilla of ships had departed Britain and were on their way to the Falklands. I can imagine how surprised many

of the people in the Falklands must have been to learn that military help was on its way! It was common knowledge that many people back in the United Kingdom were unwilling to make the effort to hold on to

the Falklands much longer.

In Port Stanley, the Argentine forces were settling in -- but the weather of the Falklands was much colder than they had expected. For the first couple of days of their military "adventure", it seems the weather had been quite a bit warmer and more pleasant than usual for that time of year. But now,

normal weather (windy, rainy, cold) was back... Having nobody to fight, the Argentine soldiers found themselves just trying to keep warm. Most of them were already eager to go home to Argentina. It was as if they had been sent across 480 kilometers of ocean just to capture a soap bubble -- only to have the bubble now burst, releasing great amounts of blustery, sleety, cold air in the process As for the original residents of Stanley, they were surprised by the stench of so much gasoline and by the smell of the smoke from all of the unfamiliar brands of cigarettes being smoked by the occupying forces, whose numbers now exceeded the entire population of the Falklands. For the locals, they knew

it would be many a day before the flotilla heading their way arrived...

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.