Earwigs
The hot topics of conversation at Government House and indeed across all Stanley, and possibly extending into Camp are The Airbridge and Earwigs.
I won’t elaborate in the Airbridge just now, but perhaps later.
Why earwigs. There are lots of the little creatures. At home, they tumble out of the outdoor electric sockets when the covers are opened, but here, they peep out of nailbrushes and loofahs to mention just two personal bathroom items. How many earwigs make an infestation? I suppose that the absolute number varies by location. A round dozen would qualify in a food shop, but not under a stone in the garden. It has made me careful when taking a shower.
Then there is the urban myth of one of these aptly named Arthropods crawling into your ear whilst you sleep. Perhaps that is why they are called earwigs?
Mind you, in over 30 years, I have only removed one insect from an ear canal, and that was a moth. In the doctors’ huddle at the Government House the clinical experience was much the same; none were earwigs. Now, daddy– longlegs, that is an entirely different matter …..