Hester hears everyone's talking about Dale Butler's frank interview with columnist Tony Brannon in The SUNshine tabloid last week. While some still-in-shock UBPites are convincing themselves, at least, about a coming `white flight', Mr. B reveals it's not a race thing at all! The outspoken PLP MP declares in the bizarre interview that the Island will soon become so pricey for all Bermudians there'll be a mass exodus: "Ten years from now we are going to leave here with our savings and go and buy a house in, say, Florida, and rent our homes out to the exempted companies.'' His doomsday prediction goes on to envision our hotels and guest houses existing only as exempt company housing complexes ("ex-hotels'') with tourists increasingly preferring the cheaper airfares to the "looser more fun'' islands to the south of us. He had "no comment'' when asked if David Allen was beating his head againts a brick wall.

My, My, Mr. B! Hester's wondering how all this gels with the PLP's election promises of A New Bermuda for us all to live in? Does he not buy into the Premier's Throne Speech pledges of a "glorious future'', "rebuilding Tourism'', "affordable housing'', "fairer, more equitable society''...etcetera. Or does he know something we don't? Nevertheless, Hester thinks she'll give The People's Party just a while longer before she goes condo hunting in Orlando.

Hester's heard about biting the hand that feeds you, but what should she make of this? She hears poet/autograph collector extraordinaire and talk show regular Lee Edmead is horrified at his canine sidekick's uncharacteristic behaviour at a recent cheque presentation.

Armed with a $1,200 cheque, the proceeds of poetry night, Edmead and Buttons showed up in their Sunday best to hand it over to Thelma Trott for the Matilda Smith Williams Seniors Home. However, things turned ugly when the Gazette's photographer asked Edmead to pick up the usually mild-mannered Buttons so he could be in the photo too. When Mrs. Trott reached over to pat the lovely doggie he bit her sharply on the hand! Needless to say, a shocked Mrs. Trott took the money and ran. Meanwhile, Hester hears Buttons has been sent to the doghouse.

Hester has another BTC story for you...it seems `tis the season to be jolly!' does not ring true for our disgruntled friends at the phone company. She hears waiters at the Fairmont Southampton Princess were peeved that only half the number of BTC staff booked for the annual Christmas do showed up. What's more company CEO Lorraine Lyle rather coincidentally flew out that day for Canada where she's spending the holidays. She's told over 200 were confirmed by management for last Saturday's bash, but only about 90 turned up. Hester's not sure if one worker she bumped into was joking when he said "it's a boycott''.

But then nothing surprises her about BTC these days. PS: Some Belco staff were apparently none too happy about their company do either. She hears they were told they'd have to fork out thirty bucks to take a guest this year and they got only one free cocktail.

Things were decidedly more upbeat at Hester's company do, also held at the Southampton Princess, and there was a pretty good turnout of Gazettees and their dates. However, there was one damper, albeit beyond management's control. Several staff members decided to treat themselves to a night at the five-star resort, booking their rooms well in advance.

But to their dismay, upon checking in and going up to drop their overnight bags off in their supposedly luxuriously appointed suites, they found they had not been cleaned at all; not even the beds had been made up! Management did try to make up by offering discounts, but Hester can't help wondering, does this happen often? Personally, Hester thinks that unless they're willing to go all out, like, for example, XL (which gave away hundreds of dollars in door prizes and splashed out on a James Bond theme complete with special effects and open bar), companies ought to give up the Christmas party thing altogether and give their staff the cash instead.

Hester's among those feeling the blues over Bermuda Cablevision suddenly pulling the plug on its popular music channel VH1, replacing it with of all things a stupid food channel.

The company suspiciously explains the rights are no longer available to it (without saying why) which gives fuel to rumours Hester's now hearing that the company may soon find itself without the rights to quite a few more channels because it hasn't been paying for them -- according to the operators of those channels.

What Hester wants to know now then, is, are the poor subscribers being charged for the channels? She hopes DOGS Minister Terry Lister's new consumer rights bill will help rectify the situation, because she's getting very tired of greedy monopolies.