Condo owners hurt

March 9, 2005

Dear Sir,

I refer to the article in your March 7 newspaper referring to comments made by Minister Horton on property sale curbs to non-Bermudians by Bermudians.

The article states that Mr. Horton said: ?The number of Bermudians, both black and white, owning houses in the top end bracket which have been affected by the policy change was minuscule compared to the number of houses throughout Bermuda. The numbers owned by black Bermudians can be counted on the fingers of two hands.?

This is indeed true but what he neglects to mention, which affect thousands of black and white Bermudians, is that the new policy does not allow Bermudian condominium owners to sell to a non-Bermudian any longer. I quote from the new Policy Statement: ?However, non-Bermudians can no longer obtain licenses to acquire condominium units in the designated developments from Bermudian owners...?. Mr. Horton is either unaware of this or he has conveniently forgotten to mention it.

It is amazing to me how a labour government, supposedly acting in the best interests of its people, can disadvantage Bermudians and give a huge bonus to non-Bermudian homeowners.

Trimingham?s memories

March 9, 2005

Dear Sir,

I must compliment you on the tasteful arrangement of your front page today, announcing Trimingham?s closure. No lurid headlines, just their dates, which said it all.

You won?t be able to print all the tributes which may flow in, but perhaps you will feel inclined to squeeze in a couple of little human interest stories. Trimingham?s was a big part of all our lives.

In the 30s, I used to lean my bike against the verandah and walk in followed by my Springer Spaniels. There was never any comment on the dogs.

All the staff were friends, Jim Kealy, Dicky Divall & Fred Aeschliman. Even in the darkest days of the war, the store featured the best of European merchandise. Mabs Curtis managed to bring in some special silk for my wedding dress. Many of my wedding presents were Bermuda-made cedar items, which are still family treasurers. After the lights had gone out in Paris, Madame Cecile Cooper was still able to get wonderful little handmade French baby clothes.

On one occasion when my late husband was shopping for perfume for me, while sniffing a bewildering number of bottles, Eldon Trimingham (Senior) crept up & whispered in his ear: ?Get the cheapest one, Jim, they all smell the same.?

Let us hope this is not the end of an era and that all other Bermuda retailers will carry on this fine tradition.

What would God think?

March 2, 2005

Dear Sir,

Firstly, just to let you know I am a born and raised Bermudian.

Secondly, with respect to the Bishop of Bermuda?s judgment regarding Holy Trinity Church and its residing minister, it was reported on the news that the Bishop ?decided? that both Holy Trinity Church and Hamilton Parish need a change. Can you or anyone else tell me, sir, does he have the right to make this decision without hearing from the church?s congregation? Is the Bishop a one-man-show for the Anglican Church or should such decisions go before a church board or other special group?

I do not know the ?ins and outs? of such situations, all I do know is that I began attending Holy Trinity Church three years and haven?t looked back. I have a very challenging life and staying on track is difficult, but Holy Trinity Church has been steadfast in my life and has given me a new and firm foundation to rebuild on.

I guess when folk move up the ?ladder? in life (be it business or the church), such upwardly moving people often lose touch with the everyday souls on the lower ?rungs?. Such persons need to get out and meet the everyday folk on a regular basis to get a feel for what?s going on ? then, consider what decisions need to be made. That is what a wise and compassionate person would do.

What would happen if my child were suddenly told that I could no longer be her mother? Surely a magistrate would wish to consult her and hear how she felt before deciding what would be best for her. And that?s the same here. I wish my voice, questions and opinions to be heard. I want to know at the end of the day, that the entire matter has been handled correctly within the church and its congregation. Only then will I have peace of mind. I also can?t help but wonder what the Lord thinks of all this.

And by the way while I?m at it, Abraham Lincoln said, ?Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man?s character, give him power?.

Punished for success?

March 6, 2005

Dear Sir,

During his Lenten Sermons, Canon Tilson is giving the Holy Trinity Church family a background on the Anglican Church - its history and beliefs. This past weekend, his theme was the Bible and its central position within the Anglican faith, urging us to read it every day. I confess to not doing so regularly, but following the difficult announcement he made later in the service regarding his resignation from the Parish, I felt compelled to do so.

The four Gospels and the Acts each refer in detail to the jealousy that the High Priests and their associates displayed both towards Jesus and to his Apostles. Wishing him dead, but not wishing to be directly responsible, they put Jesus before Pilate and Herod, neither of whom could find fault. Their further protests led Pilate to hand Jesus over to be crucified.

As then, so now? A better example of Christian ministry than that practised by Canon Tilson would be hard to find, anywhere. It makes me wonder - ?Are the High Priests trying to get the Minister of Immigration to play the role of Pilate?? If so, we can understand clearly the nature of the current situation - Canon Tilson?s ?crime? has been simply that his ministry at Holy Trinity has been too successful.

Don?t forget UBP?s failings

March 6, 2005

Dear Sir,

Dr. Grant Gibbons, leader of the Gibbons opposition party, is not in a position to criticise the PLP Government. His Gibbons opposition party was responsible for a lot of problems facing the Government. Ever since 1985 the UBP Government Finance Ministers, including Dr. Gibbons, allowed our contributory pensions scheme to be plagued by problems since its inception. So much so that the records show that there was approximately $3.3 million in lost revenues. About 1,300 employers and self-employed persons accounted for the contributions in arrears, which in 1994 amounted to $3.8 million, under Dr. Gibbons, leader of the Gibbons Opposition Party and others, including Dr. David Saul.

Not all reasonable precautions were taken to properly safeguard the collection and the handling of public monies in the context of the Social Insurance Department, which will cause many senior citizens to lose out on getting what is due to them. This should have been corrected if Dr. Grant Gibbons and those who had control had in place a system that produced consolidated financial statements. The past UBP and the now Gibbons Opposition Party are one and the same - hypocritical.

To tip or not to tip

February 24, 2005

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to the letter from ?An American Guest Worker? about my recent column on tipping, a letter that I was disappointed to see in given its policy of not publishing letters containing personal attacks written under pen names.

I fear my anonymous critic may be suffering from a sense of humour failure. I did not say, nor do I believe, that the professions I mentioned in my article are beneath me. I do not blame the waiter for the ambience of the restaurant or the quality of my food. I do not blame the gas station attendant for any lines I might wait in. I do not blame teenagers for being teenagers or having the initiative to get a job and earn some money. And I certainly wouldn?t criticise anyone who is working hard to support a family.

I always tip in restaurants (even where the tip isn?t automatically included) and at gas stations and occasionally in grocery stores too.

That the United States has the most neurotic and extroverted citizens is a fact cited on the CNN Money website (see http://money.cnn.com/2001/10/07/pf/tipping/). And while I do not consider Canadians to be cheap (as I explained, I had never even heard that stereotype until I moved here), I know many Bermudians who do.

I might be a bit of a snob, though, I?ll give him that.

The argument that small restaurants cannot pay their staff more because otherwise that would stymie business growth and employment is nonsense. Plenty of other small businesses whose staff don?t deal with the public or who aren?t in tip-worthy professions seem to manage just fine. Why should restaurants be any different? Moreover, as a customer, it makes no difference to me whether I pay that 15 percent as a mandatory tip or in the cost of the food. Strip away the insults and it appears that the letter-writer and I simply disagree on the reason for tipping: I believe it should be for rewarding good service, he believes it should be for making up the wages of some service-industry staff who are not compensated properly by their employers.

That said, I wonder if our American guest worker tips the staff in his local McDonalds or Wal-Mart back home?