Yes, Hester is back. What with all the excitement of the General Election, several round the world trips and various other distractions, your favourite diarist just couldn't find the time to write. But a few things happened recently that she just had to pass on ...

Riding into Hamilton a couple of Sundays ago, Hester was intrigued by a sign at some roadworks at the Spurling Hill lights entitled "Excessive Trucking Zone".

That begged the question of what constituted a trucking zone (it looked remarkably like a road) and ... how many trucks were required to make it excessive. One? Five? Ten? None, possibly, since that's how many were there when Hester drove by.

But there's plenty of scope for these signs for other activities:

Excessive talking zone: De Silver Fox's People's Talk Show" or, better yet, the House of Assembly.

Excessive drawn match zone: Cup Match

Excessive people smuggling zone: The Airport

Excessive 'new' zone: The New Alex Scott and the New United Bermuda Party

Excessive stuck in the past zone: Kingsley Tweed

And perhaps we should file Bermuda in the excessively rich zone. Surely only here can you witness supermarket check-out girls laughing at a superstar's modest taste.

Hester was perusing the shelves of White's Supermarket in Warwick on Sunday when she spied film star Michael Douglas browsing at the magazine rack, looking decidedly understated in his blond rinse. His presence was then noticed by the check-out girls whose whispering grew into outright derision when they saw him drive off in a Peugeot 306. "A Peugeot! Ha, Ha, Ha!"

I don't know what they are paying these girls but if Hester ever runs short of readies she will consider applying.

Somehow Hester doesn't quite imagine businessman John Jefferis spends much of his time hanging out in Court Street.

But the businessman, who famously took over the running of the Stonington Beach Hotel just before radically and lucratively renegotiating his offer, was seen making a leisurely exit from PLP headquarters on election night looking decidedly pleased with himself.

And who was Mr. Jefferis seen leaving with? None other than Tourism Minister Renee Webb, who also looked extremely content.

One hopes for the taxpayer's sake that Mr. Jefferis wasn't making the most of Ms Webb's post-election bonhomie to again renegotiate his deal.

Pity the Marine Police. When everyone else was having a good time on land and sea over the Cup Match weekend, they had to work on what must be the most active boating weekend of the year.

Hester watched the boys in blue cruise into a popular boating spot where there was all kinds of blatant alcohol consumption in a public place going on.

Admittedly, stopping boaters from drinking over Cup Match could have caused a waterborne riot, but what did the officers do? They insisted that a pirate-flag-bearing barque, breaking the law by not having the Union Jack at the top of its mast, re-jig the pecking order of its insignia.