Hester was happy to see Bermudians black, white and other come together to celebrate the 1959 Theatre Boycott in an open letter to Bermuda in last Saturday's edition of the daily.

The letter said: "We the undersigned wish to offer our fellow residents of Bermuda an invitation."

The letter described the significance of the Theatre Boycott as a "watershed event" that made a "momentous contribution" and encouraged the community to take time out on July 1 to do three things: ". Express appreciation to those who brought about that peaceful revolution; 2. Reflect - as families and neighbours - on the lesson learned from this part of our heritage, with a view to moving forward in a spirit of reconciliation, so that we might foster a greater sense of community; and, 3. Celebrate the common humanity of all of us."

A noble cause Hester agrees, but she feels some of the "undersigned" may have forgotten about the watershed event, or perhaps boycotted signing the letter.

While dignitaries such as John Barritt, Gary Madeiros and human rights stalwart Liz Christopher all signed their names, there were glaring blanks above the names of some of those included, most notably, reconciliation diva herself Eva Hodgson.

Others who failed to sign the letter included Walton Brown, Malcolm Eve, Glenn Fubler, Leonie Junos, June Hill, Lizz Pimental, and Bishop Ewan Ratteray. Perhaps these non-undersigned were out tackling social injustices or simply wanted to boycott having their signature in the daily.

Flogging fine wine

Hester likes a tipple like the next gal and knows of Charles Gosling's reputation for flogging fine wine.

She also notices when Charles pops up on our screens or in the newspapers as spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce.

But she has never, and neither she suspects has anyone else, heard of him as a computer guru.

Sure, he fiddles about on his keyboard like the rest of us, but an organisation calling itself the International Association of Business Leaders has described him as one of the top bods in cyberspace.

Last month, the puzzled Goslings' big cheese received a letter from the organisation - mailing address, PO box 13404 in North Carolina in case any of you other computer whizz kids are interested - stating: "During our recent study of millions of information technology professionals, you were noted for your exceptional reputation in your field and the IT community".

The description, Hester hears, has caused a few giggles in the Goslings' IT department.

Imagine his surprise when the outfit - a "prestigious organisation" it says on the letter - offered Charles the chance to apply to the "invitation-only" club.

This is the same organisation The Royal Gazette reported on last month which has been targeting the Bermudian business community by claiming the lucky individuals had been recommended by the Chamber of Commerce - though, strangely enough, no one at the Chamber knew anything about it.

Charles is very flattered, Hester is told, but doesn't fancy shelling out a few hundred bucks of more to join.

Preem blows her top

It seems Premier Jennifer Smith has blown her top with civil servants after a London tabloid got its hands on an official picture of her carousing with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie and the Gombeys.

Two hacks from The Mail on Sunday who were snooping around Bermuda in May for a hatchet job on Mrs Blair, couldn't believe their luck when they asked, all innocently, if Government Information Services had any pictures of the recent bash which Jen threw at tax-payers' expense for the Prime Minister's wife at Camden.

GIS dutifully handed over the picture of Ms Blair, a top lawyer who practises under her maiden name Cherie Booth, dancing with the Gombeys and the Prem and carrying a tomahawk.

GIS agreed to supply the pic - but only if they received a credit, which the hacks were only too happy to give.

The result was a full page number in the right-wing tabloid under the headline "Cherie Booth, QC, Queen of Bermuda" complaining that though Tony's wife was not an elected official or one of the Buckingham Palace brigade, she was feted like royalty while on the Island.

The Premier, who is not exactly known for her love of the press or of sharing information, knew nothing about the embarrassing pic being handed out and, Hester hears, tore a strip off the poor GIS officers.

In future, no pictures are to be released unless it is cleared from the top. Bit late, though.