Great service!

September 6, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am writing to give praise where praise is due. In recent months I have been to the Immigration office in town several times and have been very impressed with the staff in the office.

The two women currently working there are friendly, polite, efficient and generally a pleasure to deal with! It is so nice to go into a Government office and get such great service! Keep up the good work!

HAPPY CUSTOMER

Warwick

Link rates to car size

September 13, 2004

Dear Sir,

Following up on the subject of ‘larger cars', I am delighted to see that the negative aspects of this move are being put forward and discussed, even if the ‘car is already out of the garage'. That it is still being promulgated that ‘small cars are no longer available' is nothing but dealership propaganda, Europe is teeming with them.

If larger cars are ‘a fait accompli', I would like to suggest that licensing fees be revised: Class H should start in the $3,000 to $5,000 range, Class A should be free, Class B 50 percent of their present cost, and Class C at 75 percent, thus the cars that will cause the most havoc to and on our roads would subsidise the desirable smaller cars.

The thought of roads being widened is appalling, both for the sake of locals' ‘quality of life' and the appeal we still hope the Island will have for visitors. Every local should notice again and contemplate on the delights of our roadsides … the old stone walls, the vegetation growing beside or tumbling over … to lose any or all of this would be a tragedy. I drove over Brighton Hill yesterday, something I do regularly, and for the first time in a long time, took time to notice how lovely it all is; it slowed me down a little too, a bonus.

CONCERNED

Devonshire

Community treasures

September 6, 2004

Dear Sir,

It was heartening to see letters from Chris Gibbons and Maurice Hankey acknowledging the contribution that Tommy Aitchison has given to the community with his unsurpassed cricket knowledge. His compassionately written tributes to those Bermudians who served this country in wartime will also be greatly missed as well as his concern for social issues where, in Letters to the Editor, he had the courage, and strength of his convictions, to sign his own name.

At this time, I would also like to pay tribute to his wife, Lois Kempe Aitchison. It was a privilege for me to be fortunate enough to have Lois play the piano to accompany ballet classes that I taught many years ago. It would be correct to say that Lois would rank among the finest concert pianists who accompany professional ballet company classes anywhere in the world. Her musicality has been a gift not only to generations of children who have benefited from music lessons but also to those who have attended churches where Lois played the organ.

It is with sadness that we learn that as seniors, in their late eighties, they can no longer afford to live here. Lois and Tommy deserve to be respected as treasures in this community and honoured for the many years they have given of dedicated loyalty, commitment, talent and wise counsel to this Island.

SALLIE SINGLETON

Southampton