CHANGES are the Major Irritant of the Week.

I'd been away from Bermuda since the end of August. It's always interesting to come home and see what changes have occurred. When you live abroad you don't want things to change very much. You want everything to remain relatively familiar.

The first sign of change came for us in the immigration hall. Former Premier Jennifer Smith's portrait had been removed from its former place of glory on the wall behind immigration officers. I was somewhat alarmed to see that her picture had not been replaced with that of the current Premier Alex Scott.

For me this spot above the immigration officers has come to represent who is in charge of Bermuda. It means you are entering this island under the watchful eye of X. Therefore, it is ironic that the former Premier's picture has been replaced with advertisements for two large insurance companies. So that's who's in charge these days. What does that say about the direction this island is headed in?

Moving away from the airport (finally), we were pretty shocked at the damage caused by Hurricane Fabian. I understand that a lot of the foliage has grown back, but you can still see the scars left behind.

Back at home, trees are still uprooted in the back yard, having fallen inches from the den windows. For the first time ever, you can see houses across the road from the ground-floor windows. Our wedding china barely made it through the storm.

We had it in some plastic containers in a garden shed outside. During the storm the shed blew apart, but through an amazing coincidence a tree crashed down on our exposed boxes and prevented them from also being blown away.

ONE thing that hasn't changed in Bermuda is the sense of community. We really felt this when we went with my mother to pick up a few things from the grocery store. We'd forgotten what it was like to actually know the people around you.

In Boston we got used to a certain sense of anonymity. You hardly ever go somewhere and see someone you know. When you do see someone you know outside of work or school it's an amazing coincidence.

At the grocery store it was strange to know people again. A man stopped to ask my mother for advice. Friends of ours were packing the shelves. Other friends were cleaning out the liquor section.

We had to get used to the slow pace of life, again. Bermudians think island life is fast-paced and frenetic, but really it isn't. It can be stressful, but fast, never. On the ride home, I kept wondering why my mother was driving slower than the average snail.

Before we got going we had a debate about seat belts. Seat belts? No seat belts? What does it mean if you have none in the back seat? How can you get the seat belt clip thingy out from under the seats? At lunch we waited forever just to get a sandwich.

At home, over dinner, we found that even my parents had changed. I sat down in my usual spot at the dinner table and my mother said: "No, your father sits there."

"But dad always sits there," I said pointing to the head of the table.

"Nope, now that you and your sister are gone, we like to sit facing each other."

Oh how sweet, but yet somehow mildly disturbing. "But dad's been sitting at the head of the table for at least 28 years."

She shrugged. I sat in his old seat, gingerly. When he came in, I jumped up. "Dad, do you want to sit here?"

He shook his head. "No, I sit here now."

I sat down again. "Are you sure you don't want to sit here?" It was a very strange meal.

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays.