[naviga:h2]Bermuda against the world![/naviga:h2]

PEMBROKE DUMP BURNS

March came in with a roar when the Pembroke dump caught fire. Around 30 fire fighters and ten vehicles were bought in to tackle the blaze that sent flames ninety feet into the air and smoke across the island. Senior citizens at the Pembroke Rest Home were evacuated.

Eventually, firefighters decided to just let the blaze burn itself out, and simply wetted the area down instead. The fire burned for at least a week, and at one point students at nearby Victor Scott Primary School had to be sent home because of the smoke. In May, it was revealed that two insurance claims from people affected by the fire were paid.

BERMUDA IN THE WORLD CUP

It may have been a crushing defeat in March, but cricket fans all over the Island made the most of Bermuda's moment of World Cup history. Venues were full of hope for the early stages of the match, as Bermuda took a handful of wickets and gave a respectable show against some of the most revered batsmen on the planet.

By the end of the afternoon, supporters were generally relieved the Island's bats recovered from a nightmare collapse to smash a few late order runs. Bermuda's supporters made their presence felt at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, despite watching their team suffer a predictably crushing defeat.

After surrendering 321 runs in the field, Bermuda's batsmen were mowed down for paltry 78 runs in 24.4 overs. Still, this did little to dampen the spirits of the team's loyal following who cheered and applauded the fall of each Sri Lankan wicket and were delirious every time Bermuda's batsmen hit a boundary.

Bermuda's fairytale World Cup journey ended in the same way it began, with a crushing defeat. A seven-wicket reverse to Bangladesh in the their final group match at the Queen's Park Oval followed equally demoralizing losses to Sri Lanka and India. But on a day when persistent rain showers played a huge role in shaping the result, Bermuda made life difficult for the Asian Test team, drawing praise from both their opponents and their army of supporters.

THE FUTURE OF CLUB MED STILL IN QUESTION

In March, Club Med squatters said they would not move and urged Government to help them fix the area up instead. Around 40 people lived in the former hotel occupying studio, one and two bedroom apartments. There was a suggestion of moving them to the staff quarters of the old Wyndham Hotel, but this was postponed because the quarters were not up to fire code.

Another month passed, and, the squatters hadn't moved. By May they were finally gone, but hadn't moved to the Wyndham Hotel quarters. As the summer heated up, Golf legend Nick Faldo and luxury hotel chain St. Regis were represented during a reconnaissance of the former Club Med resort in St. George's by developers Bazarian International.

A high-powered delegation toured the site in the company of Tourism Board chairman E. Michael Jones, as behind-the-scenes negotiations continue towards sealing a re-development deal that was anticipated to bring a prestigious St. Regis hotel resort to the East End. Late in the year, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown announced that Government was in the final stages of negotiations for a new luxury hotel to replace Club Med.

He said that plans to transform the old hotel were well on their way and that demolition work would begin before the end of the year. But the United Bermuda Party dismissed the announcement as "electioneering — pure and simple".

Shortly, before the election Premier Ewart Brown was staying tight-lipped over whether he was keeping earlier promises to begin construction work on a new hotel at Club Med before the end of 2007.

TAMERRY CASE

March 22: A couple convicted of killing their baby daughter had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal. Maatkari Tamerry, 39, and her husband Dr. Amenemhet Waset Amen-Ra Tamerry, 51, walked hand in hand to freedom after the appeal justices ruled they should not face a re-trial.

The couple was found guilty in 2004 of manslaughter, after prosecutors told a jury that ten-month-old A-Maya died of severe malnutrition and dehydration due to neglect at their hands. Mrs. Tamerry, from Somerset, had already completed a one-year prison sentence before her conviction was quashed. Her husband, a former dentist, was serving a five year sentence, but was immediately released from custody after the ruling.

RESIGNATION OF–WAYNE FURBERT

United Bermuda Party leader Wayne Furbert announced his resignation on March 30. In a tearful speech Mr. Furbert said he was disappointed by the situation but he urged his supporters not to be angry but instead to unite behind the party. And he said he would fight again in his Hamilton West seat at the next election.

Many party sources were correctly predicting deputy leader Michael Dunkley would run unopposed. At the beginning of April, Michael Dunkley was unveiled as the new leader of the United Bermuda Party.

He brought with him a new catch phrase 'The Milkman Delivers'. Mr. Dunkley was elected unopposed. Party finance spokesman Patricia Gordon-Pamplin became deputy opposition leader. During the December election Mr. Dunkley lost his seat.

Statistics

The costs of what Government described as an "ongoing" legal wrangle with Pro-Active Management, the contractor initially hired to build the new Berkeley Institute, hit $1.4 million.

$117 million was allocated to the Department of Education in the budget for the coming year for the Island's 38 public schools.

Just 34 percent of Bermudians had faith in the Bermuda Police Service.

Support for Bermuda's buoyant economy was at its highest point in more than two years. Nearly two thirds of people —- 65.6 percent — described the economy as either good or excellent in a Royal Gazette survey in March.

Another Royal Gazette opinion poll found that just one in five people backed Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess' claims that employees who spoke out against company policies should be fired. People were quizzed during the row over Dr. Catherine Wakely, who was forced to resign after publicly questioning the controversial closure of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital's Medical Clinic.

March 2007 Voices

"They should never have let the waste pile get that high. Every day we would look at it and see it getting bigger and bigger. We all nicknamed it Mount Everest."

– A Pembroke business owner speaking about the Pembroke dump fire.

"At that time it was almost impossible for a black person to get a job. I spent three days without food. I even contemplated suicide. London hit me hard. It was good, because that was growing up. I eventually got a job at the Charing Cross Hotel as a dishwasher."

– Bermudian actor Earl Cameron, 90, speaking of his early days in London, England during the Bermuda International Film Festival.

"As a Sri Lankan who grew up in the same sort of position as Bermuda, I can see the value of the International Cricket Council (ICC) giving teams like them a chance at this level because I believe the only way they can improve is to play against the likes of us as often as possible."

– Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene vigorously defending Bermuda's right to compete at the World Cup.

"I want to emphasise that I take this step for one reason only, I want the best for the people of Bermuda and with all this uncertainty it cannot happen."

– Wayne Furbert during his resignation speech, shortly after the majority of the party's 13 MPs signed a no-confidence motion

"The hospitals board should immediately reinstate Dr. Wakely and pay her compensation for the damage and the embarrassment they have caused her. They have violated her constitutional right. Everyone in Bermuda, under the constitution, has the right to freedom of expression or speech."

– Former United Bermuda Party minister Quinton Edness speaking of Catherine Wakely's forced resignation after she spoke out against the closure of the Medical Clinic.

"I remember saying to him very clearly 'you are not in a safe place. Be careful. Watch your back. Michael Dunkley is out to get you'. That was probably in the first quarter after he was elected in January 2006."

– Former United Bermuda Party chairman Gwyneth Rawlins speaking of how she warned former Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert a year ago that Michael Dunkley was "out to get him".

Deaths

Albert (Peter) Smith, a founder of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) died on March 21, aged 80, after a long illness. Premier Dr. Ewart Brown said: "Mr. Smith was one of the brave few men and women who considered that Bermuda needed to have some form of representative Government that reflected the needs of all Bermudians. "He along with people like Rio Richardson and Mose Allen defied considerable odds to breathe life into the Progressive Labour Party."

Shannon Nusum, 20, of Hamilton Parish, became the island's fifth road fatality in March. He was on his way to work at the Bermuda Industrial Union's Credit Union when he collided with a truck on North Shore Road. He spent more than three days in intensive care in hospital before being pronounced dead.

Gladwin Johnston, 77, became the island's sixth road fatality when on the last day of February a motorcyclist ran into him when he was crossing South Road in Warwick. After 21 days in the hospital recovering from his injuries, Mr. Johnston had a heart attack and died. By a tragic twist of fate, his brother Calvin Johnston, 58, Unfortunately, died the same day from cancer.

March 2007 Timeline

March 5: The United Bermuda Party finally went public with its redesigned website after its Internet portal had been dormant for months. Although the rollout was remarkably slow, the website broke new ground in local politics by accepting online political contributions via credit card.

March 8: A $170 million five-star hotel is to be built at the Ariel Sands resort after the scheme won approval from the Development Applications Board. Work on the Hilton Grand Vacation Club was expected to start within 12 months. It was hoped part of the new hotel would be opened within two years.

March 9: Detectives were carrying out new interviews after fresh evidence emerged in an unsolved murder from more than 12 years ago. A team of officers were put on the murder case of Brian Simmons whose body was found dumped in Pembroke Dump with his throat slashed.

March 16: Legendary Bermudian actor Earl Cameron received the Bermuda International Film Festival's Prospero Award for lifetime achievement during the annual Bermuda Film Festival.

Emerging political party The All Bermuda Congress (ABC) outlined a basic platform and possible election strategy. They stressed that unlike the Progressive Labour Party and United Bermuda Party there would be no party whip in the ABC.

Members would be able to vote on matters based on their constituents' needs or conscience — not a party line. ABC eventually decided not to run any candidates in the December election.

Former Cabinet Minister Renee Webb announced she was standing down from politics and would not run in the next election.

A charitable trust set up in 2002 by Bermuda's biggest international company XL Capital forked out $13.95 million to buy property to rent back to XL executives and staff, but only gave $200,000 to Bermudian charities during the same time. The unusual state of affairs was revealed in a financial filing in the US by the multi-billion dollar company.

March 19: Plans were announced for a possible new financial intelligence agency to assist in rooting out money laundering or terrorism financing.

As the Island worked to strengthen its reputation as a responsible offshore financial jurisdiction it would create a new agency that would have summary powers to put a temporary freeze on bank accounts and order documentation checks if it received a report of suspicion regarding money laundering or terrorism financing within the financial sector.

Bermudian artist Bill 'Mussey' Ming, was calling for all the people from his old neighbourhood to come out to see a documentary film about his life, 'Bill Ming: Stories of Wood, Wind and Fire'. The film, directed by British university professor Andy McKay, premiered at the Bermuda International Film Festival.

March 20: Residents of the Leopards Club Plaza were angry that Bermuda Housing Corporation gave them a few hours notice to leave the property and move into the Pembroke Rest Home.

A BHC truck arrived at the Pembroke property first thing in the morning and the 18 residents were told they were being moved to the former Pembroke Rest Home. The surprise announcement caused shock among the residents and emotions ran high.

Some broke into tears when they saw their new residence while others screamed at BHC officials.

March 22: Anti-racism campaigners took to the steps of the City Hall as they honoured the anniversary of the massacre of dozens of people. It was part of a day-long series of events organised by the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) in a bid to encourage people of all backgrounds to fight racism together.

March 24: Two young Bermudians met and shook hands with the Queen. Deshay Caines, 17, and Mario Swainson, 18, attended the Commonwealth Day Celebrations in England, as representatives of Bermuda's Youth Parliament.

March 31: Cable & Wireless Bermuda Ltd. planned to invest $22 million over the next two years in a fibre optic telecommunications cable linking the Island and the US.

And in a statement released on March 30, C&W added that it was likely to drop its plans to buy KeyTech Ltd., the parent company of the Bermuda Telephone Company, because of uncertainty over Government's imminent telecommunications reforms.

The new 800-mile cable was due to be operational by the end of October and had 700 times more capacity than the ageing submarine cable it replaced.