Falklands census reveals quality of life 04.04.12
22A census of the Falkland Islands - the first official count of inhabitants for six years - is to take place later this month.
It will include civilians -- but not forces -- based at the Mount Pleasant military complex.
At the last count there were 2,955 people resident on the British Overseas Territory. Most were incomers, with fewer than half (1,339) born there.
It is 30 years this week since the armed invasion by Argentina, which still lays claim to the territory. Since the 1982 conflict, peace and prosperity have brought a steady growth in population.
The figures will also reveal the exact number of ex-military who have decided to live permanently 8,000 miles from Britain in the South Atlantic.
At least 50 are known to have settled there, almost half former Royal Marines whose corps has a long connection of service in the islands.
One of the most successful has been a former commando who with his wife now runs the islands' biggest building supply store on the edge of the capital, Stanley.
Ex Green Beret Jimmy Moffatt (59) served a one-year tour of duty in 1977. After he left the forces he decided to emigrate back to the Falklands with his wife Angela and baby daughter Kelly.
Two years after moving to a remote farm near Goose Green they were placed under house arrest at gunpoint and later witnessed the fierce battle as the Parachute Regiment defeated a much greater enemy force.
After liberation, the family moved to Stanley: " We came into town in 83-84 and the whole place was buzzing," he recalled.
"It needed a lot of work to clean it up and there was a new vibe about the place."
With his wife and business partner, Angela, Jimmy rode that vibe, importing tools and building materials and building a business based in the old British Army sergeants' mess that is now the biggest of its kind on the islands. "Lifestyles" supplies everything from sofas to split pins and employs seven people.
He attributes much of his success to the "can do" spirit instilled during his time in the Corps.
Like most locals the Moffatts do not obsess about the threat to their future from Argentina, believing the likelihood of another invasion is just too remote to worry about.
Looking back on a life she embarked on 32 years ago, Angela says simply: "One word sums up living in the Falkland Islands and that is paradise."
"Every day you wake up in paradise. It's the most wonderful place to live. The freedom that we enjoy now is thanks to the Task Force that we'll be forever grateful to."