January 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

I wish to give the Masterworks Foundation a heartfelt thanks for hosting the ?Arts for All Extravaganza?. Hats off for a job well done in organising this creative event! My daughter was so proud showing off her wonderful crafts she made during the ?Zig-zag? workshop. I hope to see this event again in the near future. Keep up the great work making art more accessible for all ages and backgrounds.

Planning for the future

December 27, 2005

Dear Sir,

I have been following the HSBC/Bank of Bermuda proposal for their new HQ in the former Trimingham building and I must say the revised plans are rather interesting. There certainly seems to be little interest in preserving Hamilton?s traditional tourist shopping district. In the recent article there were a few points addressed that seem to be rather defensive on the part of the Bank.

1: ?Prevent urban sprawl?? Setting a precedent of building office towers on Front Street will hardly avoid this and this approach is a little extreme. Hamilton is built on a hill, if they want an office tower why not build it in the back of town where they can help invigorate the neighbourhood and the building would appear ?normal? from the harbourside.

2. ?Bermuda is a premier international business and commerce jurisdiction.? So at the expense of all others, meaning tourism and service industries related to it, tourism and local commerce must give up a significant and major tool it desperately needs to help rebuild? Saturdays and Sundays will be dead space in the new Bank District. And during the week the office workers will tie up all restaurant seats so our tourists will have to stay on the ship or at their hotel to get a meal.3. ?23 objections represented approximately 0.03 percent of the population??

In my book when the City of Hamilton makes an objection it is doing so on behalf of the hundreds, if not thousands of individuals, companies and interests of the City. And as Hamilton is the capital of Bermuda it therefore is representing to a degree the whole of Bermuda. The fact is that many many people had no idea about their ability to object in the first place, let alone where to send their objections. This is not necessarily a sign of approval. And regarding the other business establishments not saying anything, if I had a loan out from my bank I think I?d keep quiet too.

4. Seven storeys tall - ?in exchange for areas lost to provide better pedestrian experience in the city?? The walk way will better serve the employees of the bank as a faster way to enter various areas of the bank. As these walkways will not have any shops then the tourist will find them some what useless. Tourists like small shops that they can poke about in, not blank alley ways that take them from one side of a bank to the other. Besides it?ll really just become ?Smoker?s Alley?.

5. An additional 230 square feet of speciality retail has been added to Reid Street? This is roughly the size of a good sized bedroom. Not a huge concession to garner a seventh floor.

The truth is I?m not set against the bank having a fancy HQ on Front Street. Just not in that particular area. Bermuda needs diversity. Once the Bank gets approval to build seven storeys then every single building in the area will be allowed to apply to do the same and soon we will have one big office block in our core tourist shopping/dining area. And they?ll all go to the bank to get a loan to build. Hmmm.... maybe that?s what they?re banking on.

We are in for trouble

January 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

Wake up Bermuda. What happened to good old Bermudian morals and values? Yes indeed, times are changing and I am not sure if most of what is changing is for the good of our nation. I was travelling home yesterday at around 5.15 p.m. and decided to travel east along Parsons Road to avoid the heavy traffic of the city. Minding my own business and what I saw next left a very uncomfortable feeling inside of me.

I saw a group of white T-shirt youths with big gold chains sitting outside a store called ?Park Side Variety? or something along those lines and there were about 20 or more of them. I then observed a white van that had stopped in front of me and about three or four of the group which had covered their faces with helmet visors and scarf?s and whatever else, went towards this van and proceeded to beat the occupants of the van. At 5.15 p.m. it is still daylight, so this incident went on in broad daylight!

There were plenty of witnesses and spectators I might add. I then saw the same group that was beating the occupants of the van run up the hill that?s located beside that same variety store. I was left feeling angry, sorry for the occupants and very confused. I was confused because I wonder whose children they were. I have children of my own and more than likely I know their parents. Do their parents know what they do and do they even care?

I ask Bermuda is this what?s desired for our future, because this is our future. This mentality is our future and if you don?t believe me then I was educated even more this morning when a young lady at work showed me a site on the internet that had photos of a pre-teen party that was held in May, 2005. These are preteens; pre-teen to me means 11-12 year?s olds, right? If you take a look, there is a young girl lap dancing! Wonderful! There are also our young boys dressed like thugs using gang related signs. Great!

Wake up Bermuda and do something, Spend time with your children and find out what they are up to or we are in for a lot of trouble and I mean big trouble. I am tired of hearing Government and others talk about it, there needs to be action. What happened to loitering laws? Pick them up, yes and if mine is there they go too? Enough is enough. There are too many children being left to raise themselves, find their delinquent parent, that?s right, the ones in the crack houses that have chosen to leave their children. If I had to raise mine, they need to raise theirs. Get help and get with it or lock them up, keep on them, make their drug using life hell.

I know there are instances where parents are doing the best they can and the cost of housing is a factor and I am not talking about them. There are many situations that come upon us without warning and it is hard. That is still no excuse not to find out where your children are. I think they need to get another Paget Island, that might work, but I am not sure if it should be used for the children or the parents at this point.