Former Deputy Governor Tim Gurney has gone from living in paradise in the lap of luxury to what many would consider hell on earth.

For Mr. Gurney, who left his posting in serene Bermuda this past summer, has now been sent by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to war-torn Afghanistan, where he spends his days meeting with military top brass, Afghan warlords and local government ministers.

His existence is a far cry from the life he knew on Bermuda?s shores, where outside of work he was known for his great love of diving, boating and dining.

Life now is centred around the high security British Embassy compound in Kabul, where home is one half of a small shipping container, meals are provided and his friends consist of a team of armed security guards that rarely leave his side.

Never permitted to go out alone, his freedom has diminished to nil and his workdays frequently begin at 7.30 a.m. and last until at least 10.30 p.m.

And far from having a convertible car from which he can enjoy the warm sunshine, transport is now an armoured vehicle, which he is not even allowed to drive himself.

But Mr. Gurney, who was very sad about his departure from Bermuda after five years working from Government House, is relishing the challenge and the change.

?In a perverse kind of way, it?s exciting and I?m getting experience that I have never had before, but it has certainly been a culture shock,? said the father of two teenagers, who originally hails from the north-west of England.

?When I arrived in Kabul, I realised my life was never going to be the same again. The place was just surrounded by wrecked aircraft, tanks, dust, sand and khaki everywhere.

?I think everything has come as a bit of a shock, but one of the things that surprised me the most was the sheer volume of weaponry around the place and the number of soldiers.

?There are people walking around the streets with rocket launchers ? a lot of them are the Afghan militia. It?s a bit rattling to start with, but you do start to get used to it, strangely.?

Mr. Gurney, as the British Deputy Ambassador in Afghanistan, is the deputy head of mission with the key role of ensuring the embassy is running properly.

?The UK is highly involved in the process of reconstructing Afghanistan after 25 years of warfare, so being involved in that is a large part of my job,? he said.

?However, Britain is also leading the counter narcotics front as 85 to 90 percent of heroin in the UK comes from Afghanistan, so that is something else we are working on. We are working with the Afghan government to enhance their capability in that area.?

But Mr. Gurney is also heavily involved in both the political and military behind-the-scenes work going on, which is aimed at maintaining calm in the nation now the Taliban has been ousted.

There are a number of warlords in the north of the country and the British Embassy and Coalition forces from around the globe are not only committed to trying to keep them apart, but to disarming them, too.

So, after just three weeks of arriving in the country to take up his new role, the deputy ambassador has met two of three warlords already.

But, despite the obvious dangers, Mr. Gurney said, so far, he had not ran into any real dangers.

?I do feel reasonably safe,? he went on.

?The thing I find alarming is when you go to a public event, there are so many people that are armed that if something happened, God knows what the result would be.

?The protection people would be doing their utmost to get us out of there, but the scope for a bloodbath is pretty alarming.?

Mr. Gurney was asked by the FCO in August if he would consider the posting, and after some thought he agreed.

He is expecting to be in Afghanistan for at least a year, but possibly two, although the post could be extended to three under mutual agreement.

For obvious reasons, it is a single posting and not one where his wife Denise was welcome to join him.

Instead, however, the deputy ambassador gets the opportunity to go home six times a year for some rest and relaxation, and probably a little luxury.

?It?s a massive learning curve for me,? said Mr. Gurney.

?Afghanistan is a very complex place and we have to really understand where people are coming from. There are both political and tribal allegiances to consider, but I think the experience in Bermuda has helped me.

?Again, that was about understanding where people were coming from and the cultural differences.?

However, he said his few weeks had been made easier than they could have been as the people of Afghanistan had been very friendly and he said people were very welcoming to the Coalition forces, particularly the British.

?Where there are Coalition forces, people are far more hopeful and they feel much more secure,? he explained.

?They are definitely glad we are here, but where there are no Coalition forces, particularly in the south, people are very uncomfortable and anxious, but the plan is to get the Coalition troops in there as soon as possible.

?It doesn?t really feel like the real world, but I?m enjoying the sense that I?m doing something really worthwhile in helping a country to rebuild itself.?

At the moment, the excitement of his new life is staving off the homesickness, but he admitted that it was a far cry from Bermuda.

?The embassy compound has inside it between 12 and 16 shipping containers, which have been converted into accommodation for two people,? he explained.

?They are painted white and we each have half of a shipping container to live in. It?s kind of like a studio with a bathroom.

?It?s fairly small, so I couldn?t bring very much with me, and it?s certainly not Montpelier (his home in Bermuda), but I guess I don?t spend much time there anyway.?

But to make his stay a little more familiar, Mr. Gurney was allowed to take with him a 50 kilo trunk of personal possessions, which arrived at the embassy just last week.

His pod (container) is now full to the brim with familiar bits and pieces, although he openly admitted that the usefulness of some of his belongings was questionable.

?One of things that I did bring with me to Kabul was a painting that I received from the Government in Bermuda when I left of Tobacco Bay, which is really nice to have with me,? he said.

?I can?t put it up on a wall, but I will display it to remind me of the Island,? he said.

?I have brought a coffee grinder, laptop computer, DVDs, CDs and clothing. Oh, and I actually brought with me my diving gear, which is not going to be getting much use, but I had to have it here. For me, it?s like a comfort blanket.?

And asked what he so far missed the most, Mr. Gurney said it was obviously his family.

However, he said: ?I wake up in the morning and I can?t see the reefs and turquoise water and I still really miss that. And I no longer have a boat or a convertible.

?It?s very intensive living here, but I think it is going to be something that I never really forget. I feel very fortunate to be here to experience it.?