A Limey In Bermuda

On Vacation

I'm taking a few days off. I've written a couple of posts that will appear while I'm away, however, so keep checking back for those. Comment moderation is now turned on, so although you'll still be able to leave comments,...

Cup Match Caption Competition Winners

Like Cup Match itself, this week's caption competition is now over. The winners were: First: Mandy - Somerset colours? That's gotta warrant an arrest. Second: Prospect - *licks lips* Break me off a piece of THAT! Third: SmokingGun - "That's...

Broadcasting Rights And Wrongs

This year, Cup Match was televised live and in its entirety for the first time. Inter-Island Communications Limited, parent company of Hott 107.5 FM and the company that won the rights, are to be commended for offering this. Although it...

Grand Theft Common Sense

Several weeks ago, a fan of the computer game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas wrote a piece of software (known as the Hot Coffee mod) that lets players view hidden sex scenes in the game. In the uproar that ensued,...

Marketing Gone Wild

A spokesman for $hampain Entertainment, on the decision to call the after-Cup Match party "Girls Gone Wild Cup Match Style": "When it was named, the titled raised a lot of eyebrows, but we want to separate ourselves from the product...

Cup Match Caption Competition

A special caption competition this week, in celebration of Cup Match. Enter your best caption for the picture below, which I snapped at last year's game. Photoshop entries are also welcome and should be emailed to me. Winners will be...

Comment Moderation Test

I have turned on comment moderation temporarily, for test purposes. Submitted comments will not appear until I have approved them. But please keep commenting, or it won't be a very good test! Update: Test complete. Moderation has now been turned...

TypeKey Support And Comment Moderation

I've just made a couple of small enhancements to the site. First, I've added support for the TypeKey service, which provides blog readers with a central identity for posting comments on all TypeKey-enabled sites. While you will not need to...

Ouch

In an interview with RG magazine this month, Julian Hall takes aim at, well, just about everything. On Jennifer Smith: "I certainly wasn't within Jennifer Smith's circle, didn't want to be either because I really couldn't handle the vacuity. I...

Open Mike: Animal Cruelty

Another opportunity to talk about a subject of your choosing. First comment sets the topic for debate. Update: Simon asks: "Why does Bermuda treat its animals so badly?"

Storm

The thunderstorms returned to St. George's last night. I was waiting with my camera.

Fried

A huge thunderstorm broke over St. George’s early this morning. It was one of those storms where the thunder sounds more like small explosions than the ominous rumblings I’m more accustomed to. My wife, who got out of bed to...

Caption Competition #12 Winners

This week's caption competition has now closed. The winners were: First: Full Fullish - Gary: “I think the important thing is this report, that analysis, that investigation that’s what that investigation will raise. And that’s the whole aspect of it,...

Iraqi Women's Eroding Freedoms

When George Bush went to war in Iraq, one of his justifications was the need to bring freedom to the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, if those who are writing the new Iraqi constitution have their way, one group of people could...

Public Access To Information

The Government has just published a discussion paper on its proposed freedom of information legislation. The purpose of this discussion paper is to consult the public on the Government’s proposals for public access to information (PATI) legislation. Also referred to...

Weekend Caption Competition #12

BELCO CEO Garry Madeiros may have appeared in one of these caption competitions before, but following last week's blackout, I thought it only fitting that he should feature for a second time. This time he's brought along executive vice president...

Downsizing At The Bermudian

The Bermudian Publishing Company today announced that it would be downsizing its operations "in order to remain viable for the future". As a result, The Bermudian magazine will move to four issues per year, The Bermudian Market Digest will cease...

March Madness

Opposition Senator Bob Richards was absolutely right to point out the insanity of three members of the Cabinet participating in the march for affordable housing earlier this week. The march was a protest against the government. Clearly, members of the...

The Worst Of Bermuda Awards 2005

Royal Gazette Opinion, Thursday 21 July 2005 As The Bermudian celebrates 15 years of the Best of Bermuda Gold Awards, here in this cold, damp cave, away from the balloons and the back-slapping, your bitter columnist nurses his bile. Passed...

"We Were Wrong"

Last Thursday, buried in the news of the blackout, a politician apologised for using race to divide the electorate. Criticising some members of his party for "trying to benefit politically from racial polarisation", he said the party had not effectively...

Fumbling

So, Garry, any truth to those reports that you failed to act on a recommendation to install fire suppression equipment in the switching room that caught fire? “I think the important thing is this report, that analysis, that investigation that’s...

Caption Competition #11 Winners

This week's caption competition featured a rare display of unity between Bermuda's political parties. The winners were: First: Tiger Bay - Hey Wayne I hear you got power AND water!! Can I come over and take a shower? Second: kenneth...

Anti Suppressants

One of the most startling pieces of news in the weekend newspapers was the Bermuda Sun's revelation that the switching room in which Thursday's fire started had no fire suppressant system. "I am not sure, based on this particular incident,...

The World Beyond Our Shores

Royal Gazette Opinion, Saturday 16 July 2005 Last Friday, the Royal Gazette did an unusual thing. It put a foreign news story on the front page. The story, of course, was the terrorist attack in London, in which at least...

Weekend Caption Competition #11

It's Friday again, so it's time for another Limey In Bermuda caption competition - blackout or no blackout! Enter your best caption for the picture below. PLP backbencher Derrick Burgess and UBP Deputy Leader Wayne Furbert forgot about partisan divides...

Blackout

Early this morning, a fire in the switching room of BELCO's main power plant in Hamilton resulted in the loss of electricity to most of Bermuda. My wife first noticed something was wrong at around 5am. The air-conditioner in our...

Direct To Music City

The American city of Nashville is considering starting a weekly direct flight to Bermuda. A guest visit to Bermuda from Metro Councilman-at-Large Adam Dread over the July 4th weekend started as a discussion on Nashville’s Passenger Bill of Rights as...

Marching For Affordable Housing

On Tuesday 19 July, a group called Families United In Action is organising a march on the House of Assembly to protest the lack of affordable housing in Bermuda. The march starts at noon at Albuoy's Point. Everyone is encouraged...

The T-Word

In the wake of the London bombings, the BBC has been catching some flak for its use of the word "terrorism". The BBC's editorial guidelines state that its journalists should "try to avoid the term, without attribution". It's a policy...

Open Mike: The Criminal Justice System

World of Warcraft has more appeal than blogging right now, so while I'm questing and slaying in an effort to get my character to level 40, you'd better talk amongst yourselves. First comment sets the subject for debate. Choose wisely....

The Pragmatic PLP

PLP backbencher Wayne Perinchief thinks the speed limit should be increased. Or more accurately, he thinks the official limit should be increased to the speed at which people can already drive without being stopped by the police. He's absolutely right....

Caption Competition #10 Winners

This week's caption competition featured Minister of Works and Engineering (and ex-cannabis smoker) Ashfield DeVent during his recent appeal for Bermudians to conserve water. The winners were: First: Smokey - Hmmm.....How can I make this into a bong? Second: Two...

The Water Shortage

As the worst drought in over 50 years grips Bermuda, suddenly water conservation has become the issue du jour. One side of our tank is now empty. In the two years I’ve been here, we’ve never reached that point before....

Don't Widen The Channels

According to an unscientific poll that's been running on this site, an overwhelming majority of readers do not believe that Bermuda should widen the channels into its harbours in order to accommodate larger cruise ships. Mega Cruise Ships Should Town...

Triminghams Employees Start Blog

A new collaborative blog, TrimsCrew, has been started to help former employees of Triminghams keep in touch with each other. Actually, it's been running since April, but I've only just discovered it. Visitors can leave comments or apply to join...

Best Of British

Following the terrible attacks in London yesterday, the blogosphere has been full of messages of support for the Brits. This is one of the funniest.

Weekend Caption Competition #10

This week's caption competition features Minister of Works and Engineering Ashfield DeVent during his recent appeal for Bermudians to conserve water. Winners will be announced on Sunday. Part of the OTB Caption Jam.

The London Bombings

It’s tempting to suggest that today’s terrorist attack in London would not have happened had Tony Blair not supported George Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Tempting, perhaps, but it would be wrong. Truth is, ever since 9/11 London has been at...

Missing The Point

Matthew Taylor doesn't get it. Writing in today's Bottom Line magazine about the impact of technology on privacy, Mr. Taylor raises some valid points about the ability of blogs to fuel the rumour mill. Unfortunately, he then ruins it by...

An End To Racial Politics

Royal Gazette Opinion, Thursday 7 July 2005 Imagine if every MP in the UBP was white. Suppose for a moment that, when questioned about the lack of black faces in his party, Grant Gibbons shrugged his shoulders and said that...

UN Publishes Independence Mission Report

The United Nations has just published the report of the visit to Bermuda by its Decolonisation Committee earlier this year. It tries to be even-handed, but as might be expected from a body that refuses to accept that some colonies...

So Much For Zero Tolerance

I was driving home on Monday evening when I came to the bridge in Flatts Village by the aquarium. You know, the one that has not one, not two, but four signs on it saying "No Fishing". As often seems...

Interview With The Limey

The July issue of The Bermudian has an interview with me on page 76. So don't flick through a copy in the grocery store this month, go and buy it. But for the benefit of the Canadians and those living...

Popping Out

It's amazing the stuff you can find on Google. This lunchtime I thought I do a quick search on Google Video for anything to do with Bermuda (actually I did it here, which only returns those results which are playable)....

Speed Limiting

A government-funded trial in the UK has just concluded that more than 1,000 lives a year could be saved by fitting speed limiters to all cars there. The satellite-based system will monitor the speed limit and apply the brakes or...

In Pursuit Of An Admission Of Negligence

A couple of weeks ago, Michael Dunkley criticised the state of medical care in Bermuda, citing the anonymous blog Bermuda Medicine in support of his claims. The blog recounts the failure of local medical services to tell its author that...

Caption Competition #9 Winners

This week's caption competition featured the KEMH calendar girls. The winners were: First: Martin - Sharon Naninni looks surprised as missing rectal thermometer finally turns up at KEMH Open Day. Second: Adjustah - "Mom?!!" Third: Amin Swan - KEMH's assisted...

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Good and bad news on the cruise ship front. The bad news is that Transport and Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown now wants to park an ugly 950-foot cruise ship stuffed with 2,500 passengers right outside my front window. That’s...

Digging Through The Archives

One of the things that has long frustrated me about the Bermuda Sun’s website is its search feature. Not only does it rarely return the articles you’re looking for, but the results screen is difficult to read too. Frankly, it’s...

Open Mike: The Party System

Another chance to talk about a subject of your choice. First comment sets the subject for debate. Update: Martin asks the question "Is the two party structure the right political framework for Bermuda?"

Supporting The Troops

In an article in yesterday’s Royal Gazette (alas, unavailable online), the wife of a Bermudian marine in Iraq urged people to support the soldiers even if they don’t support the war. A similar call has been made countless times since...

Weekend Caption Competition #9

Is it Friday again already? Enter your best caption for the picture below. Feel free to alter the wording on the banner. If you'd like to submit a Photoshopped entry, email it to me and I'll post it up here....