A Limey In Bermuda

Punishing Excellence

I was shocked and saddened - but not entirely surprised - to hear that the work permit of Rev. Alan Tilson, minister of Holy Trinity church in Hamilton Parish, is not to be renewed. Rev. Tilson was the minister who...

The Bermudian Blogosphere

In the beginning, it was lonely. When this blog started life back in August 2003, it was one of the first Bermuda-based blogs to come into existence. Since then, the number of blogs written by Bermudians, expats living in Bermuda,...

Don't Give In To Customs Officers, Consumer Group Urges Government

Consumer group Shoppers Sans Frontiers is urging the Government not to give in to disgruntled customs officers after the latter issued a 21-day strike notice earlier this weeki Asked whether it was reasonable for Government to be using part-time staff...

Rating System

I've got a favour to ask. As you may have noticed, I've introduced a rating system for the posts on the site. I've done this for two reasons. First, to help me understand the stuff you like and the stuff...

The Good And Bad Of Ashay

Royal Gazette Opinion, 24 February 2005 Last week, a concerned parent sent me the student workbook used to teach the Ashay Rites of Passage programme at Dellwood Middle School. The school had repeatedly refused my requests to see the curriculum....

Dental Dilemmas

The Dental Board has filed an appeal against a decision by a Board of Inquiry allowing English dentist Dr. David Thompson to continue working in Bermuda. "It's common knowledge that English dentists are extremely poor compared to their North American...

He Must Have Been Sat On The Loo

I was shocked to read in today's Royal Gazette that there is only one officer in the Police complaints department. I rang up to complain, but no-one answered the phonei

Relating To Our Youth

Jon Brunson and Gina Spence-Farmer are asking for Bermuda's young people to include them in their activities. “Invite us to your youth nights, your meetings, your performances, anything,” Mrs. Spence-Farmer said. Rumours that the pair have since been invited to...

Free Mojtaba And Arash

I'm lucky enough to be living in a country that tolerates criticism of the Government. Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad are not. These two Iranian bloggers have both been deprived of their liberty by the Iranian government for expressing opinions...

Budget In Brief

Ernst & Young have a good summary of the salient points of today's Budget here. Alternatively, if you suffer from insomnia you can read the full thing here or here. I was particularly interested to hear that "Government has made...

Lost Dog

I'm not in the habit of relaying personal messages, but this is for a relative of mine: LOST DOG. Missing from Knapton Hill, 8 month old smooth Border Terrier bitch (small and brown.) Please call 293-2095 with any information about...

In The Spirit Of Openness

I have been able to get hold of a copy of the student handbook for the Ashay Rites of Passage programme. I will comment further on this once I have had chance to fully digest it myself. However on the...

Spamming The Tourists

The Government may be breaking the spirit, if not the letter, of its own Standard for Electronic Transactions. According to today's Royal Gazette, "The Department of Tourism are filling the e-mail in-boxes of nearly 240,000 potential visitors with an interactive...

Under Pressure To Pink Up

Royal Gazette Opinion, 17 February 2005 When it comes to tipping, I'm with Mr. Pink. In the classic opening scene of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs the would-be robber is sat in a cafe eating breakfast with his partners...

Editing Without Due Care And Attention

According to the online edition of today's Bermuda Sun, Cecil Brangman thinks the "Police still aren't doing enough to [prevent] wreckless driving". Sam Moniz, however, believes parents and police can "prevent wreckless driving through education". I think we need more...

Black History Month

It's Black History Month again. Established in 1926 by Harvard scholar Dr. Carter G Woodson the event is celebrated in the US - and Bermuda - every February. I have to admit, I find it slightly puzzling that what seems...

Out Of Date

The Shelly Bay MarketPlace does it again. After successfully selling me a September 2002 copy of Um Um magazine last year, today I almost picked up a copy of The Economist that was on sale next to one of the...

Extreme Homes

A UK television production company is looking for a Bermudian home to be featured in a new television series. Pioneer Productions is working on a series that has been commissioned by US cable channel Homes and Gardens Television (HGTV) called...

The Irony Point

While this has never been an entirely serious site, my increasing use of irony in recent weeks seems to have confused some people. I had hoped that my ironic posts would be readily distinguishable from the more serious ones, but...

Determining Self-Determination

The UK Government has announced that its preferred method for Bermuda seeking independence is by way of a referendum. In an exclusive interview with A Limey In Bermuda, Premier Alex Scott was furious¡ "This is just another example of the...

Selling The Rock

I can’t quite decide what to make of the legislation introduced by the Government last week which bans Bermudians from selling property to non-Bermudians for the next five years. I’ve always thought it odd that an Island with such limited...

The Withered Old Hag In The Attic

Royal Gazette Opinion, 10 February 2005 One of the greatest things about Bermuda is its tax code. There’s no income tax. Payroll tax is laughably low. And arguably more important still, residents are spared the agony of filing an annual...

Grading The Schools

In recent months there have been a number of suggestions as to how to fix Bermuda's underperforming public school system. In July last year a Royal Gazette editorial suggested that Bermuda should look at the education reforms being conducted in...

Insurance For The Masses

President and CEO of the Argus Group, Gerald Simons, has reported a massive response to his company's new health insurance plans, which were announced last week. Rumours that the new policies have been modelled after ones available in Ontario, Canada...

Another Day, Another Public Transport Stoppage

The Ministry of Tourism and Transport has asked the public to please not inconvenience the BIU by demanding a bus or ferry service between 10.30am and 2.30pm tomorrow (Tuesday 8 February), when the Union will be holding another general meeting....

Never Say Never

I always swore I would never join a gym. I find most physical activity unpleasant, but school rugby aside, nothing has ever seemed quite as unpleasant as working out in a sweaty room full of strangers and having to take...

Irony Alert

Bermuda's police are reporting an upsurge in the number of attacks committed using irony. Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith said at a press conference today: "We are increasingly concerned about this problem. Irony is a particular dangerous weapon as most of...

Burch To The Rescue

I would like to apologise for the error in my column today, where I said that I had observed an "either with us or against us" attitude among some Bermudians when it came to discussing ways to achieve racial equality....

It's Time To Put Ideas First

Royal Gazette Opinion, 3 February 2005 In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George Bush issued a challenge to the countries of the world: "You're either with us or against us in the...

Schadenfreude

The Premier’s popularity has been on the slide since the Bermuda Sun conducted the first poll on his performance back in November 2003. But today marks the first time that those who disapprove of his performance outnumber those who approve....

Own Goal

The imminent banning of three members of the Devonshire Cougars from international and possibly domestic football is welcome news. The trio, who have been training with the national squad, produced invalid results in a drug test last week and refused...