Whilst spending a week shadowing His Excellency, the Governor, Mr Andrew George, I took the opportunity to find out more about the ninth Governor of Anguilla.

Andrew at the Cove Bay

Andrew’s favourite films are Lord of the Rings which he describes as “faithful to the book” and the 1974 film noir directed by Roman Polanski, China Town, described on Wikipedia as “part mystery and part psychological drama.” The film won the Academy Award in 1975 for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. “Not a moment is wasted” says Andrew.

“I am reading Jude the Obscure at present by Thomas Hardy. I find I read less serious things as the years go on. I like the Inspector Rebus novels of Ian Rankin and have them all. They capture the atmosphere of Edinburgh as a city. It is upmarket to tourists but he shows the underside of Edinburgh very well. Did you see the film Trainspotting?” I shake my head. “That showed the same underside of the city. I liked John Le Carré in his heyday, when he wrote Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley’s People, but recently he has been struggling.” He sighs, “Anguilla needs a bookshop. I like bookshop browsing in London.”

Andrew’s father Walter, now a frail 87 but a recent visitor to Anguilla, was a member of the Gordon Highlanders Regiment of the British Army during the Second World War. As such he and sons Peter and young Andrew wore the Gordon tartan which is navy blue and heath green check with a thin yellow line, wide check interwoven around the main check. Tartans denote clan (or extended family) membership. As a George, he is entitled to wear the Gunn tartan, blue and green check with a thin red line check, interwoven as before, as the George’s are a member of the Gunn Clan. Nowadays tartans tend to be worn only at weddings and special events.

It is likely that when Andrew is seen out and about on island when ‘off duty’ he will have a camera in his hand. He enjoys photography but says, with engaging candour, “I am happy to take snaps. My wife took photography at university but I was too stubborn to learn. I do things my way. I’m a typical male!” He gives me a happy grin.

I ask if he has visited any of Anguilla’s islands. “By helicopter I visited Sombrero Island which is bleak; fascinating with the waves washing over it. It is so barren but there are the nesting Brown Boobies and Black Lizards living there. It is like a lunar landscape yet until recently people lived there.” He shakes his head in amazement.

He mentioned the helicopter; had he travelled on one before? This question opened up a fascinating insight into some of Andrew’s experiences with the Foreign Office. Whilst stationed in Thailand, Andrew had been transferred by helicopter to Cambodian refugee camps on the Thai border by the Thai military. Part of his job was to monitor UK Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and charitable organisations at work there. Diplomatic relations had been broken between the UK and Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975 and were not re-established until 1989. In 1991 the British opened a new British Embassy in Phnom Penh and Andrew played a central role in helping to set up the new mission. At one point he found himself on a street corner negotiating to buy cars for the embassy with cash at the side of the road!

Andrew with Wilhelm Bourne the Attorney General and Stanley Reid the Deputy Governor

I asked him about some of his other jobs and found that when he was the Assistant Head of the Republic of Ireland Department, he was minimally involved in the early peace negotiations. As Counter Proliferation Department Section Head he assisted a United Nations Special Commission on Iraq appointing weapons inspectors looking for weapons of mass destruction and gave instructions to the UK Mission at the UN in New York. “In career terms I had more responsibility and it was more interesting than before,” he reflected. At his last position at the Foreign Office’s Health and Welfare Department he had “an interesting three years” overseeing a change in the staff’s Healthcare Contract. “The old system was outdated, with too many staff and St Thomas’s hospital [which provided the healthcare for all British Diplomatic Staff and their dependents] was resistant to change.”

I ask what he likes about his job. I was not in the least surprised to hear his reply to this question, “The continual challenges in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

Coming back to the present on Anguilla, I ask about the donation he recently made from the Foreign Office’s Delegated Funds, to the Scouts to fund two scouts to attend the 100th Anniversary of the Scouting Movement at the World Scout Jamboree in England. Did he think it was money well spent? Andrew thinks for a moment, “In principle it is a good idea. I was a scout myself. I am awaiting the Scout Leader’s Report [on the trip] and then I will know if it was worthwhile.”

Thursday began with Executive Council. “One day we’ll have a proper table in here!” Andrew remarked looking disdainfully at the makeshift table used for the meeting at the beginning of what was to be a marathon session lasting over four hours. Later he attended a British Citizenship Ceremony at which eleven new British Citizens were created. Andrew is surprised that people do not make a fuss and take photographs. “They treat it as a routine affair” he says. However, what annoys Andrew most is when people who could afford to dress well come for the Ceremony in scruffy attire, while those who are not so well off have made an effort. “It is disrespectful” he asserts. Both he and his Staff Officer, Joe Legg, who acts as Master of Ceremonies, make the effort to look smart. Those who turned up for the Ceremony on 30 August were all appropriately dressed, although none used the cameras they had brought along.

Andrew has a huge sense of humour, remarked on by several of his colleagues. He joked to me, as he was explaining the running order of the Citizenship Ceremony, that he thought some dry ice would be a good idea for him to enter through when he was announced. Then reflected that perhaps this might not be a good idea as he was entering stage left and that signified the entrance of the devil!

So what is it like working with Andrew? I asked his Personal Assistant, Ms Lauretta Fleming, for her opinion. “He’s cool,” she said with a wide smile, “not stiff and easy to work with.” I wonder how many of Anguilla’s Governors have been so described! I spoke to Stanley Reid, Anguilla’s Deputy Governor and asked him the same question. “It is very easy to work with Andrew as he is willing to listen and hears you out, which is important in a relationship. He makes you aware of how he views a situation and aware of the context of that situation.” Since coming to office Andrew has integrated the work of the Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Office. “Being one team is essential to do a meaningful job in terms of working and supporting Andrew, particularly as I stand in for him when he is away from the office” Stanley continues. “There is a great sense of inclusion in the decision – making process [in the office]. Apart from that Andrew is very observant and has a great sense of humour. Like me, he does not take himself seriously.”

At the end of a very busy week, which included attending a Dinner hosted by the Soroptomists and a farewell event to mark the retirement of public servant, Evalie Bradley, in addition to making preparations to visit his son, daughter-in-law and new baby in Japan, Andrew had a well earned rest! I reflected that for a person who claimed that there was little to write about in his life, he had given me quite a lot!

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