Looking forward to next time

October 29, 2008

Dear Sir,

Please allow me a bit of space in your newspaper to commend the Bermuda Sea Cadet Association for the fantastic 'Fish Fry' they put on recently at Christ Church in Devonshire. When first approached to purchase a ticket by a work colleague, one Philip Woodcock, I must admit I was somewhat sceptical. So often the 'fare' provided at these type of functions is substandard and one is left to console oneself with the thought that at least one is contributing to a worthy cause.

I am pleased to say that this was not the case with the Sea Cadets, first of all it was well organised and the cadets who were assisting looked quite smart in their uniforms. Now the meal itself was absolutely sumptuous, the fish was succulent and came with a rather generous portion of fries, topped off with dessert and a soft drink indeed it was a meal that Dolly Pitcher herself would have been proud of. Top marks go to chef Keith DeSilva and his team who did a fantastic job as well as chief officer Keith Battersbee and his association for organising the event. I look forward to the next one and would encourage all to support it!

RECMAN

Smith's

We need habitat restoration

November 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

Good people, lend me your ears! (The washed ones anyway...) Watching the escapades over the Southlands property put me to thinking about rampant development, sustainable development and the plight of Bermuda's remaining woodlands. After weeks of sifting through local natural/unnatural history, plus the sustainable practices of some ancient/modern societies and the fates of their less prudent neighbours, it was left to take a ramble through the bramble to confirm my suspicions as an armchair naturalist. (As well as finding that damn cat...)

Now, I've come to a possible proposal of my own. It can be summed up in one word, offensive to some, starting with the letter 'F', and that word is forestry. Now, before some well-meaning people throw me into a dog it with a pork chop tied to my neck, let me explain.

Our woodlands are a junkyard. (Is that a second pork chop I see?!) If you love miles of Allspice, Surinam-cherry, toxic Oleander, Mexican pepper and all the rest of the imports, welcome to Xanadu. All crowded in together in tangled, spindly thickets. Oh, and I must thank the genius who brought Kudzu to our shores... (To all property owners along the South road with a green carpet crawling over your trees, please now, not next week, now, either get some garden gloves on and start uprooting, or call Ag.& Fish before your private property goes public! If that happens it will be too late, that stuff is a killer, make no mistake.)

It's hardly surprising with all that tangle, that a property developer can wheedle a concession here and there now is it? There are no great cedar forests anymore being fed from above by the droppings of countless seabirds. The cedar feel first to the shipwright's axe, then to the blight, and the poor cahow fell to the cooking pot, the dog, cat and rat. So what can we do? Picture new woodlands. At the heart of each is an extensive zone of endemics restored and shielded by the 'working' woods surrounding them. This area also has cedars, but intermixed with a large variety of other valuable trees given sufficient space for proper growth without the artificiality of a parkland. Let's look at some of the... In place of casuarina, the Paulownia. A fast-growing timber tree that also fixes nitrogen in the soil. Unlike the former, it is friendly to understorey plants and provides a good mulch of nutritious leaves.

Grind up the Mexican pepper as mulch, (remember to send in the goats a few weeks later) and replace with something useful like the Barbados-cherry. It also produces an abundance of flowers as well as a tiny berry with a vitamin-C content that will knock your socks off. Plus, a nutritious seed. That's man, bird and bee doing a highland-jig!

Feral Oleander can do better service by going through the chipper to provide mulch for an almond tree. No complaints from the beekeepers there. Fiddlewood? Not a trash-tree if given half a chance. Very bee friendly, and with proper cutting, an excellent source of clean burning firewood. Not to mention, if cut and seasoned properly, not a bad grade of useful timber. (Any enterprising mason out there take note. When Bermudians wake up to the existence of the Finnish/Russian masonry heater as an efficient, virtually non-polluting replacement of the traditional, smoky wood-gobbling fireplace, somebody is going to be making out like a bandit...)

Where to start? Avocado, Blue Mahoe, Lignum-Vitae... the list goes on. All providing some useful product. Let's not forget the gaps between the trees and the soil beneath it... Farmers can help with soil restoration by carefully timed rotational grazing of cattle followed up by poultry based on the Polyface-Farm method. (I'm not your mother, go read it up!) Good for the forest and us. Until the hoped for day when swarms of Cahows practice their dive-bombing techniques on our screaming selves, I can think of a very good use for all that seaweed everyone keeps gribbling about. You won't find a better plant food once the rain's washed the salt off. Grind it up and get it in there! Your great-grandparents's knew that much.

Rats? Well until the local talent gives up on breeding the uber-pitbull and concentrates on Tyranosaurus-Terrier, we're going to have to rely on a very old and much abused friend. With a proper woodland to get some wingroom in, it's bye-bye to Mr. Rat and hello once again to Mr. Barn Owl. There are some very good owl-boxes on the Internet, get cracking! Look, I could beat this point to death, but instead of sitting on our hands all the time, we have, and have always had an opportunity to have the best of both worlds. Habitat-restoration for our endangered flora and fauna, plus an established bank of increased food, fuel, and construction material produced locally with all the employment that would generate. Oh, and that boys and girls, means an irate crowd that no bulldozer operator will want to face!

GLEN LIMA

Paget

P.s. I couldn't help but notice that an awful lot of Bermuda cedars seem to be lurking around the Western mountains of Maui and the slopes of Saint-Helena, (Typical Bermudians, we just elbow our way in!) I'm sure the Hawaiians for starters, wouldn't mind contributing to our local seed-bank.

Become a blood donor

November 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am grateful for the opportunity through your columns to extend a public thank you to your newspaper for your willing and effective coverage on October 31st of the Blood Donor Centre's need and appeal for blood donors.

Through this article by Robyn Skinner some 92 community-minded people (including the Honourable Nelson Bascome, Minister of Health) contacted us, and as a result we were able to replace our depleted stocks and bring the in-bank supply to a comfortable level. Another very important advantage is that approximately 30 people signed up to become new regular blood donors.

Many factors add to the constant need for new blood donors — e.g. retirement of present donors due to age, certain medications, medical problems, leaving the Island, and other personal reasons. Add to that the increase in the number of major surgical cases and more aggressive cancer patients' therapy (to mention but a few). Put those all together and you can better understand why our need for new donors is urgent and ongoing!

A mere three percent of the local population are blood donors. That is why we continue to urge every generally healthy individual between 18 and 70 to realise the importance of becoming a blood donor. Remember our motto: "JOIN THOSE WHO MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE"

Blood Clinics are held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and donating takes approximately one hour from start to finish. Please call the Blood Donor Centre at 236-5067 for an appointment.

BARBARA D./COOPER, R.N.

Volunteer Nurse, Chairperson & Coordinator, Bermuda Red Cross Blood Donor Centre

Human imperfection

October 29, 2008

Dear Sir,

Why do we look at government and their leaders in utter amazement or shock when they behave according to who they really are; humans who are fallible like anyone else, who are easily influenced by the lust for power, greed, money and the desire to control others which is hinged on envy, jealousy or any other shortcoming that exists in human's imperfection. The reason why the imperfection of political leaders show up so badly is because they are being watched.

RAYMOND RUSSELL

Pembroke

Best meal in Bermuda

Dear Sir,

In this age of economic crisis it is particularly important to get one's money's worth. And I just did. The other night I dined at the new restaurant, Harry's and had the best meal I can remember in Bermuda. The atmosphere is as sophisticated as any New York upscale restaurant. And the food — sublime. I had a side order of peas that tasted like they'd just been picked from the garden.

After my delicious appetiser an intermezzo appeared consisting of fresh figs topped with melted goat cheese. We ordered the house pinot noir which was fabulous and inexpensive and shared four of the very creative desserts. The bill came to no more than any other top restaurants on the island. But the experience topped all other restaurants. I'd much rather ship a few, expensive mediocre meals for one night of supreme dining at Harry's.

BEEN BON APPETITES!

Warwick