The long wait home

May 1, 2004

Dear Sir,

I saw the letter in today's paper and thought perhaps I'll send in mine as I too felt the life being sucked out of me in the Customs line.

My US Airways flight landed around 12.30 p.m. - I didn't leave the Airport until 2.21 p.m. as I had to stand in the duty line to pay my duty for the entire time! Massed right up!

I was travelling with my four-year-old daughter and a very nice Customs man pulled us out of the resident line and took us along with some other families to an express line that I assume is for people travelling with kids. How impressed was I?

Then I got in the line to pay duty where the fun ended. We, my daughter and I and the other maybe 100 or so other people stood in this line for what felt like forever. For the two of us it was just under two hours. Mmmmssssscccchhhhh. (sucking of teeth)

There were two customs agents working at the registers. After half an hour two more went through the line calculating people's duty to speed things up which in fact didn't. It took less time to fly here. About 20 minutes into waiting my gloomy daughter threw her teddy (could I blame her?) and proceeded to cry and whine much to the dismay of my fellow Bermudians in line.

While I was looking around for a tall building to jump off one extremely kind lady whom I would love to thank again fished around in her bag for a granola bar that my “starving” child flatly refused to eat - naturally. But I appreciated the gesture. I don't know why it took so long - I am sure they have reasons - although I have sat for a while now and nothing rational comes to mind ... but I do know I wasn't the only one chopping up wood for my arc. As I stood watching my daughter re-enact The Exorcist I tried to think of ways to improve the refugee approach - perhaps we could use some of the money collected as duty to invest in a little extra drywall and make half a dozen more teller stations. Or maybe an ATM machine where you can charge it to your credit or debit card.

Whatever they do or don't do they would want to rent a vending machine. Next time I'm going to my happy place at IBC.

NOT OUR FINEST HOUR

Smith's Parish

Improve BA service

May 2, 2004

Dear Sir,

I strongly agree with recent letters. Bermuda desperately needs another UK/European airline. The BA service is poor value. I recently travelled their World Traveller Plus - $1,300 for a little extra leg room but the same narrow seat.

Further insult was the over the top crew person, who, when I asked for one of the newspapers he was handing out, responded “sorry sir, it's one between two” (not even yesterday's Daily Mail for $1,300!). The fact I was travelling on my own seemed to have escaped him - and what a fuss that I should ask.

The attitude and lack of professionalism of many of their staff is really surprising, however, when they have a monopoly what can you expect? I often sense BA think they are doing you a favour by letting you travel with them.

ANOTHER UNHAPPY BA CUSTOMER

Southampton

An excellent edition

May 5, 2004

Dear Sir,

I have been slowly reading your RG Magazine called Bermuda Roots. It is motivating, plus hard to put down, and easy to pick up.

The issue came at a great time as this is Heritage Month. These stories could be used by many; the Education Department, students, history researchers, tourists, the average resident, as I am, and others.

The story on Bermuda Roots could be in any library collection in the world, and free. It gave different people's viewpoints on Bermuda's past, which is related to now. In years to come there will be even more people's viewpoints, as Bermuda is cosmopolitan.

One of the stories written cancelled the slavery story that Bermuda had “mellow treatment of slaves” only. Maybe some were treated “mellow”. The Bermuda Roots story on Mary Prince also showed that slavery in all its forms, “so called mellow” and harsh were practised here. Slavery in any form was bad, no two ways about it. Nowadays because of profit, dividends, mortgages etc. slavery by another name has returned.

Congratulations to all, those not mentioned, the researchers, writers and photographers for a job done very well. I'm sure it motivated more people than just me to read other literature on Bermuda's history, sometimes even taking out the dusty books from our archives.

ROGER & OUT

Southampton

Why persecute them?

May 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

I do wonder which century I landed in when I arrived in Bermuda last year.

I have seen gay and lesbian people, in your newspaper letters, compared to perverts, paedophiles and now (the latest) to animals (May 4). The writer compares a gay marriage to a “human/animal marriage”; I wonder which partner does the writer feel is the animal?

In addition this last letter is rich coming from a member of the Roman Catholic church. Correct me but is this not the church that has actually harboured and hidden men who have sexually abused their congregation?

Point of fact. Openly gay men are proportionally much less likely to be paedophiles/rapists/sex offenders than men in the heterosexual population.

In my experience gay men and lesbian women are honest, hard working and sensitive individuals. Society should be lauding them (as some indigenous African societies do) rather than denigrating, abusing and persecuting them.

ENLIGHTENED

Smith's Parish

Why not a Bermudian?

April 30, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am pleased to read once again The Royal Gazette, but I am amazed to see Bermuda College has elected to go with another American as president.

Is there no good Bermudians you can muster to take the job or are all the good people in the private sector or abroad? After having three pretty good Bermudians in Brock, Hallett and Cook you have to continue resorting to Americans? Give me a break! You can do better than that.

I suggest you would be better off appointing Dr. O'Connell as your new President. At least he is a loyal and devoted supporter of the College who knows where all the skeletons are hidden.

DR. MICHAEL BROOKE

Victoria, British Columbia

Editor's Note: Dr. Brooke was a lecturer at the Bermuda College for six years.

Improve golf courses

April 23, 2004

Dear Sir,

Port Royal Golf Course Golf has been in the papers recently.

Another top quality golf course is needed to help tourism for while Bermuda has many courses only three are anything like “full size” courses (Mid-Ocean, Tuckers Point and Port Royal). While other shorter courses play their part, the “golfer” visitor wants a golf experience and we can't really offer that (while most of our competition does).

I accept golf courses take up land but they do also ensure that green field sites continue as that and are generally successful in supporting their environment. I don't think there is any right or wrong and much depends on how we want to encourage tourism.

What is sadly true is that Port Royal has been in terrible condition for the last six months and every visitor that has played it recently is not going to have happy memories (and will not for the foreseeable future). There was talk of redoing the greens over the last winter but that didn't happen and because of that no seasonal work was done on them - result, the worst greens I have seen in years (and I have played dozens of golf courses in that time). I also do not understand why the tees/fairways and approaches to greens are so scruffy - it's as though no money has been spent.

Further Port Royal employs a number of maintenance staff (I heard 15) yet hurricane damage still exists - large areas of trees down on holes 14 and 17, which are rapidly becoming overgrown. Traps are also very inconsistent where many have rock hard surfaces under the raked sand. What do 15 staff do all day?

If we are not going to maintain what we have in top order we had better watch out for any visitor wanting to play golf has very little quality choice in Bermuda.

GOLFER

Southampton

Safety survey necessary

May 1, 2004

Dear Sir,

Following the tragic death of the little girl, Tyaisha Cox , I would like to use the good offices of your newspaper to ask the authorities what preventative measures they are proposing to lessen the dangers to pedestrians crossing Bermuda's roads.

To me the most fundamental problem lies in the location of pedestrian crossings at bus stops, two prime examples of this are, and there are many more, St. George's main bus stop, outside St. George's Liquors and opposite Grotto Bay Hotel. The latter has a pull-in for the bus, however, any pedestrian stepping out in front of the bus, even though on the crossing, is obscured from the view of motorists approaching from behind the bus.

My suggestion is that agencies such as The Road Safety Council in conjunction with relevant Government Departments should conduct a thorough island-wide safety survey and risk analysis, on the siting/re-siting of all pedestrian crossings, with special emphasis on high-risk areas such as bus stops and schools.

More care and attention by the driving public will certainly help, but until action is taken to make our crossings safer, it is inevitable that such tragedies will continue to occur.

JOHN GREGORY

St. David's