Queen toasts Bermuda in our anniversary year
By Amanda Dale
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The Queen addresses the Premier and other dignitaries at the State Dinner held at the Tucker's Point Hotel last night.
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The warmth of the people of Bermuda was reflected in an evening of relaxed ambience last night as the Queen and Prince Philip attended a dinner in their honour.
The State Dinner to mark the Royal Visit was a convivial, gentle affair as dignitaries joined Her Majesty in toasting Bermuda in the Island's 400th Anniversary year.
In the intimate setting of The Point restaurant at Tucker's Point Hotel, ten circular tables covered in white silk and bathed in candlelight seated the 90 guests.
At Her Majesty's table, the Queen sat next to Premier Ewart Brown and Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe, OBE, while Prince Philip enjoyed the company of Dr. Brown's wife Wanda and Senate President Carol Anne Bassett.
They were joined by dignitaries Diana, Lady Farnham, the Right Hon. Christopher Geidt, Ms Edwina Bowen and Roderick Bassett.
Governor Sir Richard Gozney, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Bermuda MPs and Senators were among the guests seated at the other nine tables, each named after a Bermuda parish.
The arrival of the Queen was marked with a fanfare from the Bermuda Regiment and guests were served Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label champagne.
Introducing the Queen, the Premier said: "After almost a year of celebrations marking this 400th anniversary of the settlement of these islands, I speak for all Bermudians when I say that Your Majesty's visit is a most fitting way to salute those who made this celebration possible."
Dr. Brown said: "Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, the tables in this room bear the names of the Parishes of Bermuda. This is important.
"We wanted you to know that as small as Bermuda is, it is not always easy for us to speak with one voice. Yet, tonight we welcome you in unison and offer our thanks and best wishes for continued prosperity on behalf of my wife and me, and the Government and people of Bermuda.
"Ladies and gentlemen: the Queen."
Following the Loyal Toast, the Queen praised the ingenuity of the Bermudian people over the centuries.
She also reflected with fondness on their friendliness, and referenced Dame Lois Browne Evans' depiction of their "common sense".
Her Majesty said: "Prince Philip and I are delighted to have returned to Bermuda to join you in your celebrations of the 400th anniversary of settlement.
"My first visit to these islands was exactly 56 years ago to the very day and was a memorable part of my first Commonwealth tour.
"In 1609 the storm-lashed crew and passengers from the shipwrecked Sea Venture could not possibly have imagined the future Bermuda. Their preoccupation was with finding a way to continue to the relatively harsh conditions of Virginia where supplies and people were desperately needed.
"No one could have anticipated how Bermudians would repeatedly and successfully reinvent themselves over the following 400 years. In that time, Bermudians excelled among other things as tobacco farmers, traders in salt, privateers and builders of fast schooners."
The Queen, dressed in a pale pink gown and tiara, said her visit of Dockyard yesterday had also exemplified Islanders' prowess in sailing as she met the crew of The Spirit of Bermuda.
"Bermudians can also be proud of their enterprise, whether selling onions and Easter lilies to New York or promoting subtropical tourism, which was known to my grandfather in his days as a naval cadet," she said.
"Tourism in this mild climate and so close to North America remains a vital part of your economic life. More recently, Bermuda has been a successful pioneer of the highly specialised reinsurance business.
"Indeed, in spite of the challenges of the global economy, modern Bermuda has made a great success of these two most competitive industries, relying on some very special attributes."
She said: "On my second visit here in 1975, the Premier, Sir Edward Richards, memorably described Bermuda as having two principal resources: 'A land fetching and beautiful, which we must keep fetching and beautiful; a people renowned for their friendliness and courtesy whom we must keep friendly and courteous'.
"On another occasion, Dame Lois Browne-Evans said: 'Our Bermuda people exercise good common sense of which we have an abundance'.
"Just as Admiral (George) Somers would have struggled to predict the future in 1609, so it would be unwise to predict where Bermuda's natural beauty, friendliness, courtesy and commonsense will lead it next. But one thing is certain: the United Kingdom will continue to follow and support Bermuda's progress to the very best of her ability.
"After 400 years of common experience, we can be confident in placing our faith in Bermuda's future, whatever it may hold."
The Queen then made a toast to Bermuda, in the 400th anniversary year of Britain's oldest colony "Ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you to rise and drink a toast to: Bermuda."
