Watching the Governor present interactive whiteboards to the Education Department of the Government of Anguilla, I reflected that in his thirty three years with Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service he must have seen a thing or two and had some adventures along the way.

Andrew George working hard in the Office 24 August 2007

I thought I would find out more about Anguilla’s ninth Governor, who has now been in office for one year.

His Excellency’s reaction, on being asked if I could shadow him for a day for an article for this newspaper, was to say that there might not be enough incidents in one day and I had better shadow him for a week to find something interesting to write about!

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1952, the second son of Walter, a civil servant and his wife Madeleine, Andrew Neil George studied Politics and Modern History at Edinburgh University. He had a “brilliant” history teacher at school, “which was why I did history at university. He made it more interesting.” Andrew joined the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1974. After a stint on the West African Department Desk he was posted to Bangkok for the first of two postings to the Chancery, the political section of the Embassy. It was while he was in Bangkok that he met and married his wife, Watanalak.

Andrew and Watanalak at the Parade of Troupes

“We met when she taught me to speak the Thai language. Her parents were a bit unsure of me at first but came around in the end. I suppose it was the fact that I had a steady job that did it!”

This ‘steady job’ saw Andrew posted to Canberra, Australia, as First Secretary and later to Asuncion, Paraguay, as Ambassador. He was later sent to Jakarta, Indonesia, as Commercial Counsellor, interspersed with postings to the various desks of the Foreign Office in London. Prior to coming to Anguilla’s shores, he was Head of Health and Welfare in the Foreign Office’s Human Resources Directorate.

Andrew likes the people of Anguilla. “They are straightforward, confident in themselves and others, egalitarian, I like that. There is no exaggerated deference. They do not intrude too much.” This last observation I witnessed in action at the recent Summer Festival, where Andrew and Watanalak were able to wander about taking photographs and enjoy the fun un-remarked by most of the local population. “When I was in Paraguay it was more unequal between the rich and the poor. The President might put on jeans and invite people to a BBQ, but everyone knew who was boss.”

My week with the Governor started with his presentation of Promethean Interactive Whiteboards to the Education Department of the Government of Anguilla. Later on in the week Andrew was pleased to find that this piece of news made the front page of The Anguillian.

Monday morning at the Governor’s Office usually incorporates the Monday Morning Meeting. This is a chance for members of staff, both UK based officers and their Government of Anguilla counterparts working at the office, to meet and discuss the coming week’s events and is a lively and friendly interaction.

Tuesday morning saw the weekly meeting with the Police Commissioner. This week, as the Commissioner was away, the Acting Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Illidge Richardson joined Andrew and his senior staff to brief them on events on Anguilla.

On Wednesday the Mayor of Amsterdam visited Andrew. Job Cohen, Time Magazine’s ‘European Hero’ for his stand on the murder of film maker Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam by an Islamist in 2004, “came for a chat” and stayed for 20 minutes before flying off to Curacao. Andrew was intrigued enough in his visitor to look him up on the internet and to mention to his Executive Council colleagues the next morning that he found it interesting that the mayor was appointed, not elected. Information on this colourful individual can be found on http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/amsterdam_mayor.html .

Later that afternoon Andrew invited me to join him on a walk along Cove Bay beach.

Andrew and Watanalak effectively live their lives on a compound. “A week can go around and I never go out. I have to make a concerted effort to leave it.” Favourite haunts are Long Pond Bay at weekends for a longer walk. “This is spectacular, though I was bitten by a dog there once!” and Windward Point, with its hundreds of Turk’s Head Cacti and beacon high up on the hill. “I spread myself around” he says with a chuckle, but admits he has not visited all of the beaches yet.

For me this walk was a chance to find out more about Andrew, the man, rather than Andrew, His Excellency, the Governor of Anguilla. This was a chance to find the answers to those burning questions we have all wondered about!

A man known for his sweet tooth, what is his favourite dessert? Without hesitation he tells me it is his wife’s mangos and sticky rice, made with coconut milk. He also likes the Thai food at Hibernia restaurant in Island Harbour.

An ardent soccer fan, he supports his home team, Hibernian (known as Hibs), Bromley and Arsenal. This list puts him in direct opposition to Terry Alloway, the Head of Governor’s Office, who is an ardent Tottenham Hotspur fan, Arsenal’s arch rivals!

I ask what Andrew’s ‘ideal’ day would be. “You mean if I could do anything, anywhere?” I nod. He thinks about this for a moment with a frown creasing his expressive face. At length he says, “A long walk in the morning, a football match in the afternoon – Arsenal of course, an exceptional team – and a nice dinner in the evening with a good wine.” I smile as I realise that simple pleasures are often the best.

“I’m not good at sports but I swim and play golf. However, one or two shots each round only are worth remembering!” he laments somewhat ruefully. Does Andrew fish? “No, as a child in my father’s home town of Banff, I had a line and a worm but it was not successful” he sighs briefly and then adds, “I like boats though. On my arrival [on Anguilla] I was able to tour on Dolphin (the police launch) which I liked very much.”

As a Scotsman how is Andrew’s Scottish Country Dancing? The recoil to this query is immediate! “I was made to do it at primary school. There were no girls, only boys!” he shuddered. “Few people do it in Scotland nowadays and then only at weddings so it seems fake, besides I am not one for dancing, so I don’t do it.” This was said with finality but then he mused, “I used to go to disco’s as a student on a Friday night though!” This last was said with a roguish grin and his trademark twinkle in his eye. “ I did learn some basic Thai dancing once but my daughter is the one who has the mental training and ability to do that. My son is musical; he plays the guitar and piano. I suppose he takes after my mother who played the piano.” Madeleine, Andrew’s mother died when Andrew was eight years old.

To Be Continued…..

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