Heroes, Heroines, Elmo & a Pirate

Here's a conundrum for y'all.... what do Elmo, three kites, soca music, a pirate, BELCO bird (the local energy company's mascot) and a lone jazz saxophonist have in common? Why of course, they were all part of Bermuda's Heroes' Day celebrations today at Fort St. Catherine's beach. To be honest I don't think it's supposed to make sense so I won't waste any time trying to explain it. But it was something to do on an overcast public holiday and I even managed to get some new tan lines. Bonus. 


As for the actual heroes, three more were named to join, up till now, Bermuda's only hero of Heroes' Day, Dame Lois Browne Evans.  Dame Lois broke many racial and gender barriers as the island's first female lawyer, black female MP and female Attorney General, so I guess she was a pretty hard act to match and indeed it's taken a few years to find some. At an official ceremony yesterday, the roles of trade union pioneer, Dr. E. F. Gordon; political, social and economic trailblazer Sir Henry Tucker and civil rights champion, Dr. Pauulu Kamarakego (Dr. Roosevelt Brown), in shaping modern Bermuda were recognised when they were inducted as national heroes.


Meanwhile, in honour of heroes closer to home, a number of father and son teams came together for the first-ever Father’s Day Barbeque Cook-off, which the organisers hope will become an annual event. A team from Flamz Bar & Grill brought home the bacon. Arguably with their too-hot-too-handle grilling skills, these contenders have done just as much to shape modern Bermuda as any politician, with an emphasis on the hips and belly. 

My hero award this week goes to HSBC (never thought I see the day I'd be saying that) following a corporate social responsibility project that is actually making a difference. Following an in-depth restoration project the bank helped open another acre of the beautiful Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve to the public. When you've only got 21 square miles to explore, another acre of adventure is a welcome addition. The reserve is home to my favourite beach, the imaginatively titled, Long Beach. I've leave you with a long (panoramic) photo in it's honour...

Whirlwind romance

Blogging hell!! Where does the time go? It's been 12 days since my last post and I don't even know how that happened - no vacay excuse or whirlwind romance (despite the title of this post) to blame this time. Just the usual heady cocktail of cocktails by the harbour, gym, tan, laundry, however as this isn't the Jersey Shore, there's also sadly been some work tucked in there. Boo. 


Since I last posted two of my close friends from home have had babies, which has got me thinking that I might never be able to have children. Panic not parentals, I'm joking I hope! Although as this blog is supposed to be my baby and my inability to feed it with posts and tend to its cries for attention has got me a little concerned that I may be a commitment-phobe. 


I am however once again in the throngs of my love affair with my island. We are like a celebrity couple, this time each year we renew our vows of undying love for each other before the winter brings it's inevitable rock(y) fever patch. Since we last spoke, summer has arrived in all its glory. My third, how did that happen?! So I'm fully versed with the way it works. Hence forth, no point ever spending any time on my hair, trying to dry myself after a shower, getting antsy about those pesky ants or even feigning mock surprise to find mould on any item of my summer wardrobe. These pursuits are fruitless and just detract from the pleasure of a warm summer evening's run along the little lanes with their pastel pink walled edged with white icing and passing the sands of time with a good read on one of the many the bitchin' beaches. 

Yes me and Bermuda are back in our honeymoon phase and appears there is more than two of us in this relationship. A lot more than two if this CNN.com article has anything to do with it. It list Bermuda alongside Fiji, French Polynesia, Italy and Bali as a hot honeymoon destination due to its combined "close-knit community feel and exotic flavor". In case you don't believe me (or CNN.com) about the beauty of Bermuda in full summer swing, check out this slide show that the site featured only last month.


This charming honeymoon pic of Lori & Johnny Inguanzo enjoying their honeymoon in Bermuda was entered into Elbow Beach hotel's recent Facebook page comp. All together now, arrrrhhhh!

But before the honeymoon comes the whirlwind romance, or to be more precise the start of hurricane season on June 1. Bermuda's stormy season lasts right up until the end of November and if the forecasts are anything to go by we are in for a rough ride! Multiple sources are predicting a busier than average season. The official US forecast, issued last month by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was for 12-18 named storms, with 6-10 becoming hurricanes and 3-6 growing into major systems. 


But we're ready for ya! According to local insurer, the Argus Group, Bermuda's residents do a good job of making the necessary preparations to lessen the blow of hurricanes in terms of damage to people or property. The closest we came last year was the mighty Igor but we were lucky that it was downgraded to a Category 1 storm before it reached the island rather than the Category 3 that had been expected. 


I end with another tribute to Bermuda's island charm to woo wedding guests and honeymooners alike. Either that or a serious statement about the state of the local education system. Rose-tinted specs or prescription reading (and spelling) glasses required, you decide...

Wreckless Abandon

Some news in yesterday's Bermuda Sun that caught my eye (as anything film related does after my work with the Bermuda International Film Festival earlier this year) was that local TV production company, LookBermuda, is going to make a film exploring one of the island's many shipwrecks. The Mary-Celestia, a blockade-runner that sunk in mysterious circumstances during the American Civil War and now lies off Bermuda's south shore, is to be the subject of the documentary, which makers hope will wash up on the likes of National Geographic or PBS.

The wreck is one of Bermuda's most historic as it sunk in 1864 but has been the subject of extra interest ever since January when a corked bottle of wine was discovered in its bow. Some people will go to extraordinary lengths to get their hands on wine from a good year!

It's hoped that the film will really cement Bermuda's place as a must-do for divers and give the tourism offensive some buoyancy. The island is certainly a wreck mecca, with over 500 in its waters. I've been lucky enough to visit two, The Lartingdon and the Cristobal Colon, and it definitely beats the murky waters filled with sunken taxi cabs and pinball machines of Stoney Cove in the UK, where I did my BSAC training. Many of the wrecks are partially intact so you can actually visualise Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio once walking their decks. What's also great is that the history of many of the ships' skeletal remains have been extensively research so get an education as you dive (and a nifty certificate after telling the wreck's story so you can impress your friends with how much you learnt!).

Apparently most of the ships met their fate as a result of the 200 square miles of coral reef surrounding the island rather than the infamous Bermuda Triangle's influence.

This got me thinking of other things that have been lost at sea on their passage to Bermuda. Hmmm... sense of style. I've just returned from a much-needed break to Montreal and being in a city once more reminded me of just how un-cosmopolitan I have become in my dress-sense. Now Bermuda is no Banana Republic and has a sophisticated corporate community as an international business hub but still it is a hot and sweaty sub-tropical island after all so standards do drop. There's also a lack of choice and the expense involved updating one's wardrobe locally to contend with. I find myself kicking back in my Havianas most of time (outside of the office that is) but as durable as they are they don't quite cut it in the city when everyone else is donning posh little pumps and it rains for three days straight. I also lack any kind of jacket that isn't of the bright and shiny waterproof kind. I was definitely a fish out of water on the chic Quebecois streets.

And another thing that has failed to successfully wash up on Bermuda's shore is a sense of urgency. Oh yes, spend a week in civilisation and you realise just how much you've got used to being on island time. I'm not just talking about the Atlantic Standard time zone but the laissez-faire attitude of the locals. I noticed this most when waiting for my bus back to the airport at 5am at a stop 5 minutes from my guest house. Montreal peeps know its visitors have planes to catch and everything runs to time, works as it should according to the website and leaflets, and gladly accommodates your luggage. You notice the difference when you land in Bermuda for the first time and can't find any information about how to get out of the airport to save your life and even if you did you realise that the bus timetable was not designed with the flight schedule in mind. All logic and reason was sucked into that triangle along with many a shipping vessel or aircraft (as recent negative coverage of the current tourist bus fiasco will testify!).

Although I have to admit I'm as much a sucker for Bermuda's charm as I am a stickler for improving its inadequacies. You know you're in Bermuda when you pile into a taxi with all your bags, realise you haven't got any money, make the driver wait while you queue for a cashpoint and he still smiles and calls you honey. If you were in London, your bags would be in the middle of a puddle on the pavement. I have to say I also find it a much more pleasant experiencing being lulled to sleep by the chirping of a thousand tree frogs than the sounds of inner city life, inner city pressure - the boom of the street being power washed at 12.30am, the smashing of a Smirnoff bottle outside your window and sirens splitting every moment of serenity. Oh yes, paradise does have is undeniable pull factors...