A note of thanks

Dear Sir,

The cast of Up with People departed Bermuda on Sunday as we concluded out first tour of the Island in ten years. Despite highly unusual and uncooperative weather patterns, we are excited and gratified by what we have accomplished together during the past two weeks.

Mother Nature did her best to dampen our finale at Snorkel Park. I know many of you planned to be in attendance for the show. Like most of the Island, we were pummelled with torrential rain and pounding winds for about an hour at 4 p.m. which proved too much for our lighting and video equipment rendering them unusable. As scattered showers continued into the evening we reluctantly made the decision to cancel the show due to overall safety considerations for the cast and audience.

But as luck would have it, around 7.30 p.m. the weather cleared just as a number of host families and diehard audience members arrived. Knowing we would be out of daylight by 8.30 p.m. we made the spur-of-the-moment decision to run 45 minutes of the show. At 7.45, the cast took to the stage with full sound and costumes and entertained approximately 500 people. The rundown included 'Sound of Peace' which the cast performed with children from the St. George's Prep School choir. The cast was able to even perform, with approximately 20 of our Bermudian alumni the special medley we put together for the tour including two vintage Talbot Brothers songs. It was a wonderful spontaneous experience for everyone that I am sure will be remembered by all and a true testimony to the can-do spirit Up with People and Bermuda share.

Here are a few of the highlights from the past two weeks for which we all, sponsors, UWP alumni and members of the cast can be proud:

¦ Five days of community service projects across the island

¦ Physical Abuse Centre

¦ Keep Bermuda Beautiful

¦ Habitat for Humanity

¦ Lefroy House

¦ WindReach Recreational Facility

¦ Sunshine League

¦ Casemates Barracks

¦ Maritime Museum Keep

¦ West End Correctional Facility

¦ Meals on Wheels

¦ Special preview performances

¦ CedarBridge Academy

¦ St. George's Native Festival

¦ Movie night at the Arboretum

¦ City Hall

¦ Meetings with Bermuda leadership

¦ Governor Sir Richard Gozney

¦ Premier Dr. Ewart F. Brown

¦ Minister Col. David Burch

I am also happy to report and we have interviewed nearly two dozen young Bermudians who are interested in travelling with future casts. Two are even trying to join Cast B 2009 which begins rehearsal in just two weeks. The Bermuda legacy will continue! While we have all left the Island we will continue to be represented here by a vigorous and energised contingent of UWP alumni who will become our stewards in Bermuda and will maintain our new Bermuda charitable status. Thank you again to the people of Bermuda for all you have done to make this tour a remarkable success. It was wonderful to reestablish the connection and bond between Up with People and the people of Bermuda. We look forward to being back within the next two to three years. Sincerely,

Phil Worcester

Premier must go

June 1, 2009

Dear Sir,

Ewart Brown must go (maybe into show business). The money will still be flowing in from the tax payers. Does Paula Cox sign blank cheques? The sidekicks will rally, after all, they are getting theirs. Every nationality in the world must be here, even "the Taliban"" who knows? These people are even working as cashiers, salespeople, etc. New GP's everywhere, being used as private cars. So called foreign experts coming in, who can't even solve their own country's problems. Why not bring Dennis Watson home to work? All the building going on, who knows what's under this volcano. There will be an explosion in more ways than one. Stop the greed.

H.J.W.

Pembroke

We'll be judged by Brown

June 25, 2009

Dear Sir,

Dictator: A ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession. The last time that I checked, Bermuda was not a dictatorship. It is true that we have a voice that represents us and that is meant to be the voice of the people as a whole. This voice is a voice that we depend on to lead us, it is a voice that we should be able to trust whenever we hear it. The person this voice belongs to is a person that should work selflessly and with the safety of the people in mind. With the recent events involving the four Chinese men who were detained at Guantánamo Bay, I am not so sure that the voice about whom we are supposed to feel so confidently about is one that could be heard. The person we so greatly depend on was not dependable.

Dr. Brown's independent decision to allow these men to be invited into our homeland was deceitful and had no support from anyone at the time but Sen. Burch. Dr. Brown failed to inform the Island, his own Government, and the United Kingdom about this possibility, thus raising many eyebrows as to why. I am not going to make inferences or assume why Dr. Brown was so quick to allow these men to Bermuda. The point that he keeps trying to avoid, is the main point that the protesters and the people have been trying to make.

The protests were not against having these men in Bermuda nor were they about trying to get the men out of our country. The protests and the anger are directed towards the Premier's actions as a leader, as the voice. The fact our leader felt he did not need to inform the public, let alone his fellow party members demonstrates that he has no concern for the people's opinion, that the selflessness that is an eternal asset and necessary quality for a leader was not present.

I do not care about the Premier's possible ulterior motives, I do not care what the benefit was, because from where I stand, it seems as though this situation could only benefit one person, the decision maker.

People of many races watched and participated in the protests to do with this whole situation. The no confidence vote seemed to be a strong one from many people's perspective. I have never seen so many people be so passionate about something in Bermuda. It was incredible to see people from all over the Island coming together to voice their opinions, for it seemed that no longer could their voices be known through the Premier. Some tried to twist these protests as a racial protest again the Premier. If you truly believe that those protests were about race, go back to the videos and just listen. Listen carefully, look at the diversity, race was not mentioned. This is about the Premier's way of dealing with the situation, not his race. The man who is meant to be in communication with the people went silent when it came to this issue.

The success of the protests seemed to be almost forgotten when the debates that took place on June 19 began. It was not so much the debates that pushed the protests into the dark, as it was the Premier's apology for his actions; an apology that Dr. Brown could not give to Mr. Butler moments earlier in privacy, yet he was able to when the media was around.

What does this say? Is it honest? So as soon as someone says that something like this will not happen again, it really won't? Ask yourself how many times have you heard something like that, how many times have you said that. Now that Dr. Brown has won his debate, hopefully he will not deceive the people because he has a lot to do to gain the trust back of the people and to prove that he can be the voice we so greatly need. People always say that no matter the type of person you are, you will always be associated with the people that you are around. Dr. Brown is the person that we will be judged by.

CAITLIN GORDON

Concerned Bermudian college student

Smith's

Where are Police patrols?

June 9, 2009

Dear Sir,

Police presence? What a laugh! Tourists and locals are being robbed. Road rage and speeding is increasing not decreasing. Road deaths are increasing not decreasing.

Buses and large trucks (water trucks, Works and Engineering, cement trucks, etc.) are driving at crazy speeds and crossing the lines into oncoming traffic. These huge vehicles are weapons and they need to slow down.

When are we going to actually see a Police presence every day? Not just once a month, here and there.

The Police need to be out there "nailing" these people daily!

The courts need to heavily increase the fines and licences need to be taken away.

It is a privilege to be able to drive, let's take away their privileges. There have to be consequences for these offences and the public needs to know that they are there if they don't abide by the rules of the roads.

Let's get the Police walking in pairs once again on the streets of Hamilton (not just on Front Street for show); all streets.

Get the Police bikes out every day in all parishes.

We are only going to see more deaths, more robberies and fewer tourists if this is allowed to continue.

We have had three road deaths in one week and one person in critical condition? How many more do we need before something serious is done? Why can't the Governor step in and work with the Government Ministers to change some of our laws and implement them asap?

SERIOUSLY CONCERNED CITIZEN

Sandys

Price for marina

June 8, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to respond to the building of a marina at Spanish Point Boat Club. Although I live here in Boston, I still hold a resident address, in Spanish Point, Bermuda. So I am able to vote in Bermuda elections. I do not disagree with the building of a marina at SPBC. I think the members of the boat club should have somewhere to put their boats and be able to get to them easily. Now if the boat owners want something, they have to give something, everything comes with a price.

In return for a marina at Spanish Point, here's what I would like the boat club to give up, and only if they give these things or give back to the non-members/people of Spanish Point.

{1} They, the members, give up all moorings in Stovell Bay/Peter Tucker Bay.

{2} Encourage and see to it that Government dredge Stovell Bay to allow the people of Spanish Point somewhere to moor their boats, the black people of Spanish Point that used to moor their boats in Boss's Cove/Stovell Bay cannot moor their boats in either of these places anymore. It's a terrible thing to give up so white people can distance themselves from us. We own boats also. We would like somewhere to put our boats too.

{3} The boat ramp that is in the car park of the SPBC should not be in the control of SPBC. When I wanted to launch my boat, I was told that I would have to go to the Boat Club to get permission to use the ramp.

If I am not mistaken, that ramp was built by Public Works Department, with Government funds when Government stopped people from using Stovell Bay Beach from storing and launching their boats because it was an eyesore to white people of Spanish Point, we the people/boat owners agreed to move, and not to put our boats back there in exchange for a boat ramp to be built for us to launch our boats.

That ramp should be put back to the people of Spanish Point. We are not saying that the members of the Boat Club cannot use the ramp, as they are Spanish Point people also.

{4} The Boat Club should dismantle that horrible looking boat dock, and dredge Peter Tucker Bay.

I am not trying to play the racecard here, all I'm saying is that there are black and white people living in Spanish Point. Why shouldn't we all be able to enjoy the same things in the same area, why should some of our Spanish Point residents, have to go to Dockyard to moor our boats, what we fail to realise most is that we are all Bermudians.

ROBERT SEAMAN

Boston, Massachusetts