The real story behind the Falklands’ 'Malvina’ hotel
SIR – As the owner of the Malvina House Hotel, I must reply to Alan Holbrow’s letter (February 26) to set the record straight on two accounts.
Firstly, “Malvina” has nothing to do with the Argentine name for the islands; it is a girl’s name created by James Macpherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossianic poems. It has its origins in Gaelic. The house was built by John Felton in the 1880s and named in honour of his youngest daughter, Malvina Nathalia, who was born in 1881.
Secondly, I would argue that our hotel is the best in Stanley – there is nothing “supposedly” about it.
We are currently in the middle of a large refurbishment programme. As part of this, we are renaming the hotel and will be seeking local people’s suggestions.
Tom Swales
Stanley, Falkland Islands
SIR – As an Anglo-Argentine, I deplore the confrontation on the Falklands question. Let us not forget almost 200 years of friendship since Canning recognised the fledging Argentine republic.
Over many years, successive British parliaments were instinctively hostile to the Foreign Office’s desire to pursue negotiations with the Argentine government. MPs were actively lobbied by the unelected Falkland Islands association, with mainly commercial interests at stake.
Nicholas Ridley, a Foreign Office minister, came close in 1980 to settling on a leaseback formula but was unable to get the support of a jingoistic Parliament.
Parliament’s misguided patriotism contrasted sharply with its general lack of support in other areas of policy, such as right of abode.
Arnold F. Peters
Nelson, Lancashire
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