Sir John Swan, a National Hero, returned to politics at the end of April after debating a comeback throughout the month.

The former premier hinted at throwing his hat back into the ring on April 8 if there was support in his constituency of Smith’s North.

The announcement, which was accompanied by a rallying cry to challenge the existing political system, was met with uproarious support.

During a press conference announcing his running, the 89-year-old said: “I had to stop and think. And I decided that we needed independent members who had been able to achieve something in their personal lives and could make a contribution to the political system.

“So, therefore, I will be submitting my name as a candidate for Smith’s North.”

Sir John, who resigned from his premiership in 1995, this year contested the by-election against the Progressive Labour Party’s Lindsay Simmons and the One Bermuda Alliance’s Robert King, the ultimate winner.

The Reverend Canon Thomas Nisbett, Bermuda’s first Black Anglican priest who shaped the island’s Anglican Church, died on April 2, aged 98.

Canon Nisbett, born in 1925, joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church at age 7 and entered the priesthood as a young man.

Returning to Bermuda in 1965 after a mission in Barbados, Canon Nisbett worked his way up to several posts, settling into the rectorship of Christ Church, Devonshire for 22 years.

He challenged the segregation and racism that stratified the Church.

Canon Nisbett also became involved in many social movements, which involved co-chairing the Strikers’ Family Support Committee during the strike of 1981 and speaking out against apartheid.

Many politicians, activists and clergymen spoke to his guidance and empathy after his passing.

Later that month, the Reverend Rachel Marszalek built on the legacy of social progress within the Church after becoming the first woman to be licensed as a priest-in-charge.

Ms Marszalek now ministers at St James’ Church in Sandys and at St Anne’s Church in Southampton.

A business that sold cannabidiol and hemp products went through a legal scare that brought Bermuda’s cannabis laws back under the microscope.

Uplift, which has two locations within Hamilton, encouraged customers to “shop while supplies last” after the business’s owners were warned of a crackdown on their products.

The Department of Customs reminded the business that any hemp products that contained more than 1 per cent of THC was illegal.

Despite being threatened with closure, the businesses remained in operation and the Customs guidance was removed from the Government’s website.

Kalyn Cannonier, a co-owner of Uplift, later vowed to launch a campaign to help those with past convictions for possessing small amounts of cannabis to clear their records.

A coroner’s inquest into the prison death of football star and convicted paedophile Wendell “Woolly” Baxter took up the first week of April.

Baxter, 59, who admitted a string of sex offences against young boys over 20 years, died on July 1, 2017 — just ten days into his 11-year prison sentence.

Prison officers took the stand during the five-day inquest to give their testimony on the night of his death.

Dwight Richards, the Acting Assistant Commissioner, told the court that he had not received any psychological reports or warning of “triggers” in Baxter’s behaviour that could have sparked suicide-prevention measures.

Jonathan James, the prison officer on duty at the time of his suicide, also described to the jury the night of the incident and attempts to preserve his life.

Baxter’s death was determined to be a suicide after a 90-minute deliberation — but Elizabeth Christopher, representing the Baxter family, said it was a missed opportunity to see how to avoid similar incidents.

Magistrates’ Court also cracked down on two band promoters from New Orleans who turned to the news media to speak on the debt they amassed while awaiting trial.

Merrill Boyd and Thaddeus Ramsey, from the Big Six Brass Band, cried foul the previous month after spending nearly a year on island while their money-laundering trial was delayed.

But Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, accused the pair of spinning a “false narrative” for public support — all while delaying their own justice by refusing an early trial date.

The two had their $20,000 bail revoked and were remanded in custody until their trial later that month.

However, on the day of the trial, they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to remove criminal property in the form of nearly $29,000.

The pair’s story captured widespread attention in their native Louisiana, as the pair contacted their families and local news outlets.

Curious amateur stargazers donned protective eyewear and turned to the sky to witness a partial solar eclipse on April 8.

The event, donned the Great North American Eclipse, led to small gathering across Hamilton that afternoon despite the cloudy weather and less than half the sun covered.

The much more spectacular total eclipse was visible across northern Mexico and the eastern side of the US and Canada.