Richard Coles formerly living in The Lea, Kibworth Beauchamp writes about his new home in the

CAYMAN ISLANDS

It is now nearly two years since we came out to the Cayman Islands. They are three Islands situated south of Cuba and west of Jamaica in the truly beautiful Caribbean Sea.

The sea around Grand Cayman is particularly clear because the absence of hills means that there is little rain water running off the land. Scuba diving is the number one tourist attraction and I soon got "certified" as they say! Like anything else it ceases to be scary once you have been taught properly but, nevertheless, you have to stick by the rules if you are to enjoy it to the full. The marine life and coral reefs are heavily protected by marine conservation laws which contain enormous penalties ($5,000,000) for serious breaches. You can see parrot fish, grouper, yellow snappers, angel fish and, of course, the world famous stingrays at Stingray City. This is the only place in the world where you can snorkel and dive with wild stingrays, some of which are four to five feet across. We have a power boat and love to go across the shallow North Sound, inside the coral reef, where the swimming is wonderful and very safe. We don't forget the large cool box full of food and, of course, the cold beer! Our fishing trips have not proved to be quite so fruitful, but we did have the tremendous thrill of hooking a 170lb marlin which was released back into the wild being under the 300lb limit.

At the beginning of 1994 Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip paid a visit to the Island on board the Royal Yacht, Britannia. I was very fortunate to be involved in many of the official engagements, including the official welcome and farewell. The visit lasted two days and the highlight was undoubtedly the Banquet hosted by Her Majesty on board the Royal Yacht. It was quite an experience for both Karen and me and, of course, an Honour for the Country.

Since my appointment I have had the opportunity of travelling to a number of different countries on official business, including a trip to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean during November last year, when I attended the Commonwealth Law Ministers Conference. Karen and I went, on a private visit to Peru earlier this year. Tourism has only very recently started up again in that country following the terrorist activity. We were able to take the train to Machu Picchu, South East Peru. This ancient city, discovered around the beginning of the century, must be one of the wonders of the world. It was built around 1500 AD entirely by hand some 12,000 feet up a sheer mountain surrounded by jungle. Truly an amazing feat of engineering.

I work in the main Government Building in George Town which houses offices of all the Government Ministers and the Governor himself. Once you are working in an air conditioned modern office, you really could be in any city in the world. Because the Island is most well known for its banking and financial services it is this area that occupies a considerable portion of my time. You will all have heard of the BCCI collapse from which a number of prosecutions have already been successfully concluded. This case is, however, likely to last for a good many years yet, both in criminal and civil proceedings. As a Member of the Executive Council I attend weekly cabinet meetings with other Government Ministers and the Governor. The Legislature has four meetings annually which usually last between two and four weeks depending on the number of Bills being introduced and other business. I have a close working relationship with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and with the Department of Justice in Washington. Cayman is still a Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom so we have many strong links with the British Government.

Visitors coming to stay with us have been plentiful since we arrived and we really do love to see friends who are holidaying in the Caribbean (I can't believe I actually said that!).

I hope the Tigers have another good season and look forward to watching them this year in the Cup Final at Twickenham - this time I hope with the right result.

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