There’s certainly been a lot of drama these last few weeks, what with the triple shooting on Court Street, not to mention bottle bombs and a pellet-gun scare at CedarBridge Academy. However, Hector started to wonder what the occupants of a visiting Canadian Navy <$>ship knew that he didn’t last weekend. A sailor was spotted stalking up and down the deck in the pouring rain with a large gun and an even bigger scowl. The apparent focus of his wary look-out? The Sunday brunch crowd tucking into eggs and bacon on the balcony at The Pickled Onion. Maybe not enough Molson was being drunk for the crazy Canuck’s liking.Hector never ceases to be amazed by the Bermudian propensity to march at the drop of a hat but is it really necessary to start getting kids involved and ingrain the habit in another generation? This week saw nursery school kids <$>moving en masse down Church Street from City Hall to Victoria park, stopping traffic — all in aid of the week of the young child. Hector thinks it would be better to be teaching kids to stay out of traffic rather than get in amongst it.

Monday’s spectacle, more normally associated with outbursts of anger prompted one bystander to ask: “What are the kids<$> striking about?” Indeed.HSBC seems to be splashing the cash around the Island, prompting cynics to wonder why they are suddenly in need of buying popularity. Anything to do with that controversial Trimingham’s plan still on the agenda?

However it seems some of the Bank’s international PR efforts are proving counter productive on the home front. Hector’s copy of the April National Geographic had a rather confusing advert (right) about cricket and ballet and how some people like one and not the other. Personally, Hector finds both equally dull but not as boring as waiting in one of the Bank’s long queues.

What Hector gets more excited about is when the advert manages insult a whole Island by not even using finding the right collective noun — and he believes 63,000 other Bermudans (sic) will agree.Hector has already voiced his doubts about Government’s motives in wanting to set up its own TV channel. But frankly the likelihood of any of its propaganda hitting the Bermuda airwaves grows ever more remote based on the shambolic way Government handles its media relations. When not picking fights with the media, Government likes to invite the media to press conferences and then cancel them at the last moment.

Yesterday, which started out as unusually busy Thursday, saw two such media events bite the dust at the last minute in a desperate case of the right hand finally finding out what the left hand was doing.

Notice of the cancellation of a Terry Lister press conference was slipped out via fax 45 minutes before the event from a Government press officer apparently unable or unwilling to operate email or phone. Caught blindsided one annoyed hack rang to complain — only to get voicemail message saying that press officer was out of the office until April 13. So we can add no ability to operate voice mail as well.

Run a TV channel? Hector thinks they would be doing well to successfully operate a TV remote control.