165+ web files, a regularly
updated Gazetteer, overall an in-depth description of our island's internally
self-governing British Overseas Territory 900 miles north of the Caribbean, 600
miles east of North Carolina, USA. With accommodation options, airlines,
airport, actors, actresses, aviation, banks, beaches, Bermuda Dollar, Bermuda
Government, Bermuda-incorporated businesses and companies including insurers and
reinsurers, Bermudians, books and publications, bridges and causeway, charities,
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environment, executorships, fauna, ferries, flora, former military bases, forts,
gardens, geography, getting around, golf, guest houses, highways, history,
historic properties, Hamilton, House of Assembly, housing, hotels, immigration,
import duties, internet access, islands, laws, legal system and legislators,
main roads, marriages, media, members of parliament, money, motor vehicles,
municipalities, music and musicians, newcomers, newspaper, media, organizations,
parks, parishes, Paget, Pembroke, performing artists, residents, pensions,
political parties, postage stamps, public holidays, public transportation,
railway trail, real estate, registries of aircraft and ships, religions, Royal
Naval Dockyard, Sandys, senior citizens, Smith's, Somerset Village, Southampton,
St. David's Island, St George's, Spanish Point, Spittal Pond, sports, taxes,
telecommunications, time zone, traditions, tourism, Town of St. George, Tucker's
Town, utilities, water sports, Warwick, weather, wildlife, work permits.
By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online
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Thanks so
much for the information on disabled
access you posted on your
Bermuda
Online
website. My husband and I have traveled through over 60 countries around the
world, and 14 months ago we had our first child. Our real adventure has
begun with the birth of Leo. He has severe cerebral palsy. He is now medically stable and we chose to take our first
international trip to a wealthy, tame country because we thought (wrongly it
turns out) that there would be adequate disabled access. We were saddened and
angered to be lectured by a Bermuda bus driver who told us that he could reject
us as passengers, even when Leo was accompanied by two able-bodied adults,
because Leo's foldable stroller was large (it still fit in the container).
The absence of sidewalks was also a problem. I just did a quick search and
found your website. I am working with the Harvard Program on Disabilities and if
you come to Boston one of these days, it would be great if you want to give a
talk at Harvard Law School. If there is anything we can do to help advocate
for access, please let us know. Of course, we are still fighting many battles in
the US, too. Cora True-Frost, Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School,
1525 Massachusetts Ave., Griswold North 102, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, December
28, 2009.
Unfortunately, Bermuda, world's wealthiest country, does not have any Bermuda equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and relevant State legislation, with all their ramifications and repercussions. Nor does Bermuda have any equivalent of the UK's far weaker Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) when compared to the ADA.
I
read with great interest in your Royal Gazette newspaper linked on your
always-fabulous
Bermuda
Online
website how Bermuda's Premier Ewart Brown in Copenhagen joined leaders of
the other British Overseas Territories in calling for urgent action to address
climate change - and how a local environmentalist says Bermuda "must practice
what it preaches." I gather Dr. Brown joined leaders from Anguilla, the British
Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, St
Helena and Tristan de Cunha for the United Nations Climate Change
Conference.
I
have been searching the web for sources and came across the Bermuda
Online site. We (Dr. Robert Brownell, National Marine
Fisheries Service and I) are trying to sort out strandings of whales that
occurred in Bermuda. Two events that seem to be confused supposedly occurred on
15 January 1971 and 15 January 1981. Both are reported to have involved multiple
individuals of goose beaked whales. Unfortunately there have been a number of
other years proposed for the these events. Can you confirm for us if there were
indeed two strandings each on 15 Jan, in years 1971 and 1981? If so, could you
provide references (newspaper articles etc?).
Dr. Potter was referred to the Royal Gazette daily newspaper of Bermuda for any newspaper reports, also the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and, in the case of Tide-ings, to the US Consulate General in Bermuda which was required at that time to have copies.
I've
noted from your excellent Bermuda
Online files how Bermuda 80+% depends on American tourists
compared to less than 20% from the entire rest of the world. I'm personally
so sorry Bermuda, once a truly lovely place, is therefore still so badly
affected by the USA's continuing depression compared to the end of the
depression in Europe with the notable exception of the United Kingdom whose own
ridiculous taxes most notably recently its new 150% Airport Passenger Duty
excesses and 73% gasoline tax rip-offs, attempts to hike the price of liquor to
unprecedented levels when the root causes are the enormous excesses and expenses
of all its legislators and other government cost increases ad nauseam that are
all now the major contributors by far to its own
well-deserved decline from a one-time world leader to a 5th-rate undemocratic
power. But it
has to be said there are also some problems not outwith but within Bermuda that
are adversely affecting both tourism and international business prospects.
Unfortunately, the word has gotten out and has spread like wildfire that Bermuda is playing a race card at
official levels. It has to stop before it ruins Bermuda. When Americans, mostly
white by a huge margin, by overwhelming majority decision can peacefully elect on his merit
at long last a hugely talented black man as our President without it causing any kind of horrific earthquake,
it's high time for Bermuda to get rid of its monumental official government
anti-white prejudices and both elect and trust people from Bermuda on merit
irrespective of color. When this is done, Bermuda you'll once again be a truly
unique place for all the right, not wrong, reasons. Henry B. White (my name
not my color), Baltimore, Maryland 21212, November 15, 2009
Re
your US Military Personnel
assigned to Bermuda until 1995, I lived in Bermuda from 92 - 95. I
was 11 the day I arrived, and 14 the day I left. I remember stepping off the
plane when we first arrived, what I was wearing, and how HOT it was! (Moved
there from Maine.) We were fortunate enough to live in one of the 3 houses
which were located right on the beach, very close to Clearwater Beach. I
have such fond memories of my time there - the island, the people I met, the
things I did...It was just amazing. I talk about it often. Living on
a small island certainly creates a bond between those who shared time there with
you. I do keep in touch with many of my peers from my time there. I
remember the Wharf Tavern, St. George's, Hamilton (shopping along the road by
the ocean where the cruise ships docked), taking the bus around the island, the
moped, snorkeling, the crystal clear ocean water, how warm it always was, etc.
What a wonderful time! Emily Link, daughter of John R. Link, (CDR at
the time), Callaway, MD 20620, November 2, 2009
I
am trying to gain information regarding the state of waste water treatment in
Bermuda. I have come across reference to secondary treatment facilities at
West End Dockyard, but in other places have seen that “there are no wastewater
treatment facilities in Bermuda.” I am wondering if you have a reference
web-site that would describe what, if any, facilities are available? Thank you
in advance for your assistance. Jonathan
Turvey, Senior
Manager, Auditing, Training and ISO 14001 Certification, Holland
America Line, 300
Elliot Ave, Seattle WA 98119, October 22, 2009
Referred Mr. Turvey of Holland America Line to Bermuda's Ministry of Tourism which is the regulatory agency for all cruise lines coming to Bermuda. It will have the authoritative answer to the information he seeks.
Have
just come across your Bermuda
Online website. The photographs of Bermuda, the Dockyard and the
Ships crests certainly brought back some memories. I was stationed on the island
at H.M.S. Malabar from May 1981 until August 1983, my rate was LRO (G), I left
the island as a Radio Supervisor. My family and I had some wonderful times on
the island. One of my daughters (Amy) was born on the island 13 March 1983.
After I left the Royal Navy we went back in March 1989 for a holiday which also
included Amy's 6th birthday, Sunday brunch at the Elbow Beach hotel (brilliant).
If I could I would love to visit the islands once more, you never know, it could
happen one day. If I don't make it memories of the islands will always remain
with me. Ian Macfarlane, Chatham, Kent. ME5 8UX. England,
19 October 2009
I
am writing an academic paper about naval hospital buildings, their staffs'
contributions to medicine and surgery, and new uses for the buildings once they
are no longer naval hospitals. I note your reference to the hospital in the
British base in Bermuda. Could you let me know its date, who built it, and what
it is used for now? A photograph would also be much appreciated. Best
wishes, Celia Clark, University of Portsmouth, 8 Florence Road, Southsea,
Portsmouth PO5 2NE, England, 8th October 2009.
Editor's note: Ms Clark was informed the British base in Bermuda ceased many decades ago and was referred to the Royal Navy for information on who built its Bermuda hospital, now a rest home for seniors.
As
a Scottish avid web browser and mature student of aviation history I write
to say how thrilled I was to find Bermuda's
Aviation history and Pioneers on your brilliant and comprehensive Bermuda
website. It deserves a special international award for the enthusiasm, time,
patience, perseverance, photographs and energy that went into it and how well it
is maintained and updated. How truly mean your Bermuda Government's Department
of Civil Aviation is not to link or refer to it. Nor does the DCA show any of
the facts or figures or accounts on its website that the author Forbes show on
yours. Bravo for giving such a unique and factual account of how Bermuda, a tiny
island of only 21 square miles, blazed such an an amazing aviation trail in the
1900s. Paul Watson, Aberdeen AB10 1SH, Scotland, UK,
October 3, 2009
I write to
compliment Bermuda for having a decent and equitable way of handling taxes on
your homes. I have a nephew working in Bermuda. I gather from your excellent Homes
in Bermuda web file that the taxes on Bermuda homes, whether single-family
or flats or condominiums don't get arbitrarily jacked up when they change hands.
But here in rip-off Britain they do. In my area of the UK, the Highland Council
is the regional tax authority and levies the Council Tax - equivalent to your
land tax. People who have been here since the 1990s pay their Council Taxes at
the 1993 evaluations. But those who buy in say 2009 will pay a far higher rate.
Their tax rate automatically goes up when a house is sold, even when no
improvements have been done. Newcomers don't just pay higher taxes than 1990s
residents on their homes, they also have to pay higher prices for their
water (now averaging over £1 a day now just for water, supplied solely by
Scottish Water, a government entity) and their waste water/sewage. This two-tier
system, instead of one uniform system, ought to be
illegal. It is discriminatory, unfair, not democratic but autocratic. But then no one
can ever claim accurately that the UK is or ever has been a democracy. Plus, your house taxes in
Bermuda are less than half ours here in Inverness. Richard Mackay,
Inverness, Scotland.
Editor: I can confirm Mr. Mackay's remarks are correct.
Re
your Bermuda
Online, I
am a radiologist constantly combing the web for information about internet
speeds in foreign lands because I can do my work from afar that way. The
information is rare and your web page was a welcome reprieve as you do such a
nice job informing the world as to the capabilities of Bermuda in being ‘wired.”
Thanks so much!! I would ask if you know of any hotels or resorts on the island
that offer broadband with downloads speeds of anything approaching the 6Mbps
that BTC offers. I could actually work with most speeds over 3MBS. Thanks
again! James Fleckenstein MD, E Plus Cancer Care, Nashville, TN,
September 9, 2009
Comment:
I think the Bermuda
Online
website is brilliant! I
was born in Bermuda on 19th November 1984 to Fiona Baxter and left around the
age of 18 months old, I haven't been back since but Bermuda Online helps me
learn about the little place that feels like home. Thank you! Tizzie-Elizabeth
Baxter, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3NQ, England, August 19, 2009
Note: Hope you can come back soon to our island once your home.
I
read with huge dismay in your excellent Bermuda
Online
files on the City of
Hamilton and St.
George's how your government wants to get rid of the Corporations of
both Hamilton and town of St. George. Why! In both the UK and USA and I believe
in Canada too, important cities and towns have always had their own mayor,
councillors and aldermen or equivalent. St. George's had its own system of
governance before the Bermuda Government itself was formed. For Bermuda to
invite folk from Admiral Sir George Somer's historic town of Lyme Regis in
Dorset, England, to the Town of St. George for its 400th anniversary only to be
greeted by government-wanted abolition of the historic form of administration of
the town, is an insult, not an invitation. If part of the reason was to make the
town and city more transparent to the public, I suggest you start with your
government which with its total lack of Freedom of Information and Right to Know
makes a complete mockery of democracy in Bermuda. Cindy Marsden,
Farnborough, Hampshire, England, 27 July 2009.
I came across your
Bermuda
Online site whilst I was researching information about Sir
George Somers. The reason being is my daughter is a direct descendant of
Sir George Somers. Unfortunately, my daughters father Benjamin Summers died some
years ago. However, I am hoping to explore the Summers family tree with my
daughter further. I intend to visit Bermuda with Talia my daughter and her Uncle
Henry Summers and was curious to know if there are any special ocassions or
events relating to the history of Sir George Somers that would be of interest. I
look forward to hearing from you. Claire Dinmore, Poole, Dorset, England BH12
3LD. 21 July 2009
Note: Written to with information and links.
I
am a Bermudian teacher working for the Ministry of Defence, in Northern Germany
at one of their schools. I have been a regular visitor to your
Bermuda
Online web site over the years and I would like to take this opportunity to
thank you for preserving and constantly adding to such a detailed history of the island. I am
continually fascinated by the content and enjoy the photographic glimpses of the
past. All the best with your endeavours. Sincerely, Russell David,
Bishopspark School, BFPO 22, Germany. 18 July 2009
Thanks
to the link from your terrific Bermuda
Online I read in
the Royal
Gazette newspaper
how visitor spending plunged more than 45 percent in the first three months
of 2009.
I
am taking this opportunity of dropping you a quick line to say what a
pleasure it has been to relive my time spent as a resident of Bermuda by
reading your Bermuda
Online
web site. From 1978 to 1982 I was the Supply Officer, Royal Navy, HMS Malabar, who
had his office at the entrance to the dockyard. My home was at Prince
Alfred Terrace, Ireland Island. The memories have come flooding back, as not
only did I have the pleasure of representing the island at field Hockey, at
various events, both at home and abroad, but I have a life long affinity
with Bermuda, as it is the birth place of my son, Charles. I even still have the
Royal Gazette sports match reports, edited by David Pethan, who at that
time was part of the finance department of the paper. It is my intention
to visit the island in the not to distant future. Maybe we could meet up?
Again thank you for affording me the opportunity to reminisce. Kind regards, Barry
James, Gosbecks, Colchester CO2 9PS, England, 22 June 2009.
Dear
Bermudians, I have been to your wonderful island 5 times in the past and would
like to visit again. However I was put off by the fact the local government
has accepted these Guantanamo “detainees”. I can’t imagine what would
possess you to do such a thing. To me its seems like a marketing blunder of epic
proportions! Perhaps it’s time to strongly express your opinion to your
government. Until these people leave the island I will travel elsewhere I’m
afraid… I’m sorry. Brian Kelly, Warwick, NY USA, June 15, 2009
My
family and I used to be regular Bermuda visitors and were planning another
vacation there. But I read in your daily newspaper that Bermuda's political
leader had no authority or right to ask for or agree to accepting those released
by the US from Guantanamo. Under no circumstances will any of us ever go again
to a country or stay at its guest accommodations where known terrorists, now
forbidden for cause to ever enter the USA again, are given official shelter by
an arrogant and clearly greedy foreign entity looking for handouts in return for
accepting, without proper authority, our nation's rejects who were trained as
terrorists. Unfortunately, it reflects equally badly on our own President,
Secretary of State and government for either not knowing as they
should have, a huge and unforgivable oversight, or deliberately and
maliciously overlooking the fact that Bermuda is not an independent country as
the State Department well knows but a British Overseas Territory with
Bermuda not able to make decisions like this, only Britain (in the same way as
local politicians in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Croix do not make
international decisions about their islands, only the USA does). Our State
Department completely failed to comply with normal protocol and consult
beforehand with the British Government in London, or with the British Ambassador
in Washington DC or the British Governor in Bermuda who represents the British
Government. It seems our Republican US Consul General in Bermuda must have
played a leading role in this debacle, should accept the blame and be replaced
for the
international offense and concern caused. Kevin A. Jackson, Montview Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15218, June
14, 2009.
Greetings.
I am researching certain aspects of Bermuda's maritime history from 1804 to 1811
for publication. I came across the following entry for 1810 May 4 in your "Bermuda's History from 1800 to 1899." 1810.
"A Royal Navy Captain
of H.M.S. Swiftsure jumped overboard, "in a fit of temporary
derangement" and was drowned, off the Bermudas." This was Captain
John Conn, I would very much appreciate knowing the source for this piece of
information, if it was published in the local press, and if any further details
are available. Professor Clive Caplan, 133 Guilford Avenue, Oakdale, NY USA,
11769-1915. June 12, 2009.
Britain's Royal Navy in the UK will have the complete information, what is now shown in the captioned website is an extract.
I
found your story about a Luscombe airplane on Bermuda's
Aviation History and Pioneers web page. The caption states "2008.
June. Wing Commander E. M. Ware's old Luscombe 8a Silvaire(1946) in pieces in a
Bermuda garden" and "Can somebody find it a home until it can be
restored as an exhibit. Don't let go to the dump. Combining the parts from the
Luscombe at Colin Plant's house with this fuselage would make a fabulous
exhibit." I am restoring a 1947 Luscombe 8E and would like to find out what
happened to that Bermuda Luscombe. Did it find a home or end up in the
dump? If you are still looking for someone to restore it let me know.
Thanks, Greg Murray, Napa, CA 94558, May 25, 2009.
We
recently visited Bermuda and your
beautiful Botanical Gardens. We were fascinated by the Garden for the
Sightless. Can you please tell me something about the history of the garden -
whose idea was it, when it was created, any background information? I am an
ophthalmologist from Australia and think that there should be more of
these gardens. Minas Coroneo, Professor & Chairman, Department of
Ophthalmology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, May 24, 2009.
Re
your Bermuda
Online, relatives of mine who live in Bermuda (St Georges)
celebrate their golden anniversary in August and I would like to give them a
suitably special or exotic plant or shrub. Could you perhaps suggest something,
and also let me have the name and web address of any nurseries you can recommend.
Thank you for any help you can give. Tom Haddon, Uplands Road, Saltford,
Bristol BS31 3JJ, United Kingdom, 20 May 2009.
I
was reading your Bermuda
Online post on
the website titled “
I
write as a UK parent with a son working in Bermuda for a multi-national
insurance company. I have to say I hope he leaves soon. I'm appalled by
the racial climate in Bermuda and the nastiness of your government to your
hugely internationally respected and only daily newspaper. None
of the present generation of white Bermuda natives or those who are not local
but work there to contribute hugely to your local economy had any part in the
racial injustices of the past. Is Bermuda really a British Overseas
Territory international business centre or a sleazy tax haven run by an
absolute dictator? You may have been reading of
the horrible revelations in the UK's Daily Telegraph (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
of how UK Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament have been milking the far-too-patient British public
for far too long, complete with detailed facts and figures on cooked
taxpayer-paid expense reports. That newspaper does what a free press in a
democracy is supposed to do. No British Government, even when whipped by the
free press, would ever dare take the action your Premier Ewart Brown has taken
against the RG for not going nearly as far. Your government seems so spiteful,
anti-newspaper, anti-business and anti-tourism in comparison, especially since
the recent hits on Bermuda as a "grey" tax haven. The Daily
Telegraph has not had its government advertising stopped and its access to
government restricted or denied out of spiteful racial malice.
It continues to have the same access as other media to all government
sources of information. The UK pretends to be a democracy, it isn't and
never has been, it's an autocracy compared to the USA, Canada, Australia,
etc. But it is far more democratic than Bermuda which has become a
dictatorship with a British Governor clearly too feeble and to unwilling to act,
just as the US Consul General in Bermuda is too feeble and too unwilling to act. It's
my guess the present Bermuda government would go crazy with rage, racial riots and
vendettas if the Royal Gazette tried to find out in Bermuda what the Daily
Telegraph has done in the UK, namely, expose some Cabinet members and Members of
Parliament as
corrupt thieves. But is is surely time this
happened in Bermuda as well. Too much has been covered up for too long, you have
no Freedom of Information or Right To Know rights as other countries do to act
as checks and balances. It's about time you did, if you want Bermuda to be
regarded as a decent place by the international community in business and
tourism. Jane Simons, Great Russell Street, London
WC1B 3DG, UK, 14 May 2009.
I
read with great professional interest in your excellent Bermuda
Online, in your aptly named
Newcomers to Bermuda web file, that in
2009 Bermuda signed a series of similar Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs)
with Australia, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany,
Iceland, Greenland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. These supplement the
TIEAs already signed with USA, UK, etc. More yet are planned. You
stated that these TIEAs are part of a joint
campaign by the parties to stop tax evasion and will enable the authorities to
access information about anyone seeking to evade payment of tax on income and
capital investment and help disclose assets that have not been reported in their
home country. I'm curious to know how the Information
to be exchanged, said to include information on beneficial ownership of
companies in the whole ownership chain; settlers, trustees and beneficiaries of
trusts, and information held by banks and financial institutions, will work in
practice. I know you said the process
will enable tax authorities in Bermuda and all the countries mentioned above to
access information about tax evaders and disclose any assets not reported in
their home country. Is it really going to be a two-way deal, with Bermuda
volunteering the information to foreign tax authorities? If so, how will the
Bermuda Government get that information? Or will it actually be a one-way deal,
merely with the IRS in USA, etc. having the legal right to access all bank,
trust, finance etc. corporate records in Bermuda for those deemed by the IRS to
be suspected of tax evasion? Pray tell. Richard
Johnson, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15218,
USA, April 16, 2009
Suggest these questions be put to Bermuda's Minister of Finance who negotiated and signed the TIEAs. Interesting questions! Good luck in your quest.
I
write as a Briton hugely impressed with quality, quantity and variety of your
astounding Bermuda
Online. I've
been considering a partnership with a friend from the USA in the prospective
purchase of a home with some sea frontage in Bermuda and really like the way
you've dealt with the matters of costs and systems in your Bermuda
Homes report. I also noted how you dealt so adroitly with how Bermuda homes
don't have mains water or waste water or sewage systems but have septic tanks.
Speaking of sewage, you must be so truly thankful you there in Bermuda don't
have the sewer-rat system we in once-Great Britain now have here, which is so
disgusting. I refer to the fact that from 1 December 2008 every property in the
UK must have a Home Report paid for by the person or family selling the
property. A Home Report is a new document designed to provide buyers with more
information about homes they are thinking of buying before they submit an offer.
It is part of a series of measures said to be introduced across Europe reflected
in legislation to help cut out carbons emissions and tackle climate change. The
Home Report is reputed to provide a measure of the overall energy efficiency of
the home and its environmental impact and is required whenever a building is
built, sold or rented out. The property's performance is rated in terms of
energy use per square metre of floor area; energy efficiency based on fuel costs
and environmental impact based on CO2 emissions. You or more likely your selling
solicitor will be required to have a copy before your home is advertised for
sale and to make a copy available to interested buyers of your home. The Home
Report includes three separate reports; the Property Questionnaire; the Single
Survey; and an Energy Report. Bermuda, keep to the American way of doing
things. They don't do things that way. Don't become as horrible and
bureaucratic as our irresponsible government is here. Kind regards, T. H.
Davis, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5HP, England, April 4, 2009.
First
I must compliment you on your incredible
Bermuda
Online website! What an amazing wealth of information—and
clearly a trusted source of unbiased material.
Question:
Re your www.bermuda-online.org/wheels.htm
I have relatives in Bermuda who own a car. I am Canadian with a valid
driver's licence. Am I legal to drive their car during a visit? I know visitors
are not allowed to rent cars but are we allowed to borrow a car and drive it?
Thanks very much. Alexandra Eadie, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 29, 2009.
Bermuda's policy is to allow only Bermudians or residents with valid Bermuda Drivers' Licenses to drive automobiles in Bermuda, not visitors with non-local drivers' licenses. For further details visitors should check the Bermuda Government's Transport Control Department referred to at the top of the above-captioned website.
Re
your website on St.
George's Parish and the former Club Med, I have been looking for
information as to why the Club Med actually closed. There is a great deal of
information about attempts to reopen but no information about why it closed. I
understand it was damaged by Hurricane Emily and then repaired but no details
are given as to why it closed. I have heard number of rumors ranging from the
property was trying to set up a nude beach, which was denied to the property,
also it only wanted operate seasonally and the lease did not allow for that. Do you have
any insight? Also do you know why it closed as a Holiday Inn or Loews? Or was
the simply property (leasehold interest) sold? Christopher Cylke, REVPAR
International, Inc. 4 West Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 504, Fort Lauderdale, Fl
33301, March 27, 2009
Christopher Cylke is Senior Vice President of this consulting group focusing on the hospitality, tourism and recreation industries. Replied and suggested only Club Med can give an authoritative reply.
Can
Bermuda
Online verify if the radio station ZFB 1230 am is currently on the
air in Bermuda? Since Nov 1999, they have been airing The Salvation Army
radio program, Wonderful Words of Life. However, we have not been
successful in reaching the radio station. We would appreciate any status
information you can provide. Thank you! Janet Kelly, The Salvation Army,
Radio Ministries, 1424 Northeast Expressway, Atlanta GA 30329., Phone (404)
728-6700 ext. 485, Fax (404) 728-1398. March 27, 2009.
I
remember checking the Bermuda
Online
site as far back as 1997 (I think). I just referred to this site again
for government information and once again I am so pleased with the manner
information is made available for all who wish to be informed. Thank you once
again for being so consistent in the upkeep of relevant information. This is
still one of the best reference sites for information on
My name is
Kota Inoue, and I am a sales staff member at Sumitomo Corporation, Tokyo Japan.
I am in charge of exporting Japanese car to Bermuda, and I would like to study
the Bermudian market as much as possible. Your homepage Bermuda
Online has
been very helpful to deepen my understanding of the market. About the content in one of your other pages, Bermuda's
Personal Transportation Options for Residents I would like to ask a
question. From your information, I learned that the only one vehicle per
household is allowed in Bermuda. Your information says there are 47,000
registered vehicle in Bermuda, and the break down for the number is 14,500
motorcycles, 22,600 private cars and 1,800 trucks. I suppose the
regulation is for private cars only. Therefore, there are 22,600 households in
Bermuda? Also, what is the grouping for the rest of 8100 vehicles? I would be
very grateful if you could answer to my question. I will be waiting for your
reply. Best regards, Kota Inoue, Sumitomo Corporation EHWHZ section, Tokyo, Japan, 13th March 2009.
Replied giving basic details and also suggesting he contact Bermuda's equivalent to the DMV in USA states, the Bermuda Government's Transport Control Department (TCD).
As a Scot -
one of the many I gather who thinks your Bermuda
Online is
Bermuda's veritable Bible of reliable and always up-to-date information not
covered by other sites - I congratulate you on such a comprehensive and
rapidly evolving website that I consult often. I also have a question to ask. Why is it that
British insurance companies that have or have transferred their domicile from the United
Kingdom to Bermuda are authorised and regulated by the UK's Financial
Services Authority (FSA), as they say on their websites? It was
always my understanding that the FSA's remit covered only the operations
conducted in the UK. See the websites
of the excellent companies Catlin, Hardy Underwriters, Hiscox and Lancashire as
cases in point. Bermuda is fortunate to host them but they
all note they are authorized and regulated by the FSA, without any provisos
re non-UK operations. Shouldn't this be made clear? As they are
Bermuda-registered shouldn't the Bermuda Monetary Authority, not the FSA, be the
relevant government authority and regulation agency? Any comments? Bertram Forbes, Inverness,
Scotland, 8th March 2009.
Editor's note. Interesting question. Perhaps the best people to ask in the UK are the members of the Treasury Select Committee - and in Bermuda the Monetary Authority. Wikipedia and the FSA websites seem to indicate only UK operations, not those elsewhere in the world, are regulated by the FSA.
I
am in the process of writing brief biographies of the war dead of the village
where I was born, Norton Nr Evesham Worcestershire, England, with the
intention of displaying them in the local church or library. I think it is
also appropriate to include the crew of a Royal Canadian Air Force Wellington
bomber which crashed onto the village 1st March 1945 shortly after taking off
from nearby Honeybourne. Amongst the crew was Flying Officer J/43783 Frank
Scott, the son of Arthur Havelock and Rena Scott, Tucker's Town, Bermuda.
I would be very grateful if any of your Bermuda
Online readers
could provide me with any additional information or a photograph of him. Yours
sincerely, A. W. Stephens, 22 Brookedale, Harvington, Near Evesham,
Worcestershire, UK, 23 February 2009.
I
write as a proud Canadian, with my own coterie of friends and fellow-travellers
who feel the same way. I sincerely
hope someone from Canada will want to fly our flag with both
your truly excellent Bermuda
Online and the
government folks in Bermuda Tourism. Once, many Bermuda hotels and tourist
properties used to have Canadian reps. I was one of those who answered their
calls. I accept what you say, that only a very small number annually of all Bermuda's business
and tourism visitors come from Canada but, as you also state, the plus
factors, seemingly as yet unexploited, are many. Yes indeed, they include that
because Canada's banking systems and economy generally are in much better shape
overall than the USA (with over 90% of Bermuda's business visitors and tourists
traditionally coming from there), there ought to be considerable scope,
especially now, for far more potential from Canada. I believe Bermuda
should be spending just as much, if not more, in Canada as it is in New
York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington. Also, as many Bermudians go to
universities in Canada as they do in USA and more Bermudian cabinet ministers
were born in Canada than in USA. Yes, in 1996 a teenager Canadian tourist
visiting your island was raped, sodomized and murdered by Bermuda men in the
most brutal way that has happened to any woman anywhere in the world and her
parents received only a nominal sum by way of compensation from your government.
But that was 13 years ago and hopefully Bermuda has paid the price and learnt in
all ways from that. What can and should be done by Bermuda to attract and retain
significantly more Canadian tourists to Bermuda, to have the same numbers from
Canada as the governments of Antigua,
Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia etc., all so much further away from Canada than
Bermuda, claim? They all say that somewhere between 15% to 25% of their
visitors come from Canada, compared to Bermuda's mere 5% or so. I gather there
were more tourists to Bermuda from Canada in 2008 but it seems they made little
difference in actual percentages of Canadian visitors. I know we Canadians are known as
TACs because we are careful with our money but I don't think it is solely
because Bermuda is very expensive compared to the Caribbean. Elaine J. Mackay, Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada, 18 February 2009.
I've
enjoyed reading your expensive Bermuda
Online articles on every aspect of Bermuda for quite some years now.
My wife and I try to visit at least once a year and we've been doing this now
since 1987. It's become an event before each visit to brush up on anything new
and search around for something new to explore. We're coming back this June
along with 6 others and the topic of Club Med has come up, we all remember the
building from previous trips. We all watched the implosion last August and again
as a one hour special on the Discovery channel a week or so ago. I've
read your articles on Club Med and have one question.....when was the building
constructed and when was it first opened for business? I have searched quite a
few websites and unless I overlooked it, no article has mentioned a construction
date. Can you give me a figure? Paul Poleski, Bayport, New York
11705-1315, February 17, 2009
Although
I've just begun to explore your wonderful Bermuda
Online site,
a question arises you may be able to answer if you would be so kind. The second
entry at Bermuda
History 1900-1951 is about Sister Jean de Chantal Kennedy. One of the
Bermuda books you cite her as having written is about one of my ancestors,
Hezekiah Frith. Would you know what became of Sister Kennedy? Thank you so much
for assisting me however you can. William Brewer, Owego,
NY 13827, February 17, 2009.
Editor's Note: Mr. Brewer was informed that this wonderful lady who wrote such fascinating books on Bermuda's history is believed to have relocated some years ago to a Sisters of Charity retirement home for nuns of her order in Wellesley, MA.
FYI,
I just checked with USA3000 (2/11/09) and they have cancelled their service
entirely to BDA this season. The announcement is not on their website
yet, but the agent I talked to said a memo just went out about it.You might want
to update your own Bermuda
Online website.
Which, may I add, is an excellent product. I will soon be doing a post on
Bermuda (we were there for the triangle challenge last month) and will be
linking to your site. Congratulations on having created an extremely useful
resource. Steve Blakely, Galesville, Maryland, USA, February 11, 2009.
Editor's note: Steve Blakely has been exploring the Chesapeake Bay for 30 years. He docks Bearboat, an Island Packet 26, in Galesville, MD
We
would like more detailed information on whether Bermuda is handicapped
accessible for my husband who uses a 3 wheel motorized scooter to get
around. Will he be able to use the scooter while in Bermuda? Will we be able to
get to a local beach during our stay? We have planned a cruise to Bermuda but
are not sure that it will work with his physical limitations and the information
we saw on another website. Any information you can give would be great as we
want to be sure to have a safe, enjoyable vacation. Susan Romanoski, 1 Danube
Dr. Niskayuna, NY 12309, USA, February 1, 2009
Editor's note: Referred to our Bermuda Facilities for Handicapped and Disabled which states imported motorized scooters for visiting handicapped must be licensed and insured in Bermuda if they are to be driven on public roads - and for more information, the Bermuda Government's National Office for Seniors and Physically Challenged (NOSPC).
I
just found the Royal Navy Crests
Walls at Dockyard part of Bermuda
Online. Well done on creating a permanent record of Bermuda’s history!
I drove round the dockyard with my mother last July and was sorely disappointed
at the state of the crests (and of the Malabar office building where my dad used
to work). Your pictures have the crests in remarkably good order. I
presume you took them a while ago or have they been recently fixed up again? I
was in HMS Arethusa in 69 and thought we painted our crest too but I did
not see it in your pictures and did not specifically look for it on my drive I
must admit.
Editor's
note: This author took the Dockyard Ships Crests Walls photos in November 2008.
I
wanted to say thank you for the information and photos about NAS Bermuda on your
Bermuda
Online website. They brought back wonderful memories. I was
stationed there from 1989-1990 as a Navy Journalist at the base radio &
television station (it was located directly behind the hospital and the two
buildings were actually connected by a breeze way).
Bermuda
Online and
its US Military Personnel
Based in Bermuda to 1960s. Wonderful sites for a wonderful island. I
would like to supply more info if you'd like on Kindley AFB during my two years
there. I also have a "squadron history" book from my father (Capt.
Russell A. VerNooy) on the 53rd Weather Squadron that flew the WB-29s during the
early 1950s. I can add more names for you and a lot of information on our
perceptions at the time. I attended both Cavendish School (still have photos of
the Maypole events and students) and Lyceum in the 1951-1953 timeframe. What
would you like from me? Russ VerNooy, Plymouth, MA
02360-7751, USA, January 22, 2009.
You
have a terrific Bermuda
Online, and great Guest Book. In yesterday's inauguration
speech, President Obama said: "And those of us who manage the public's
dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our
business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust
between a people and their government." It is time to tell our politicians
that this is the attitude we're looking for in our leaders." So why, then,
in the UK, are MPs tomorrow going to vote to change the law to keep their
expenses secret after all, just before publication was due and after spending
nearly a million of UK taxpayer's pounds and seven months compiling the data. Is
it because they want to keep autocracy not democracy in their government and
opaqueness instead of transparency? And why does the Bermuda Government have to
follow the UK's bad example, instead of the USA's? J. P. Waterman,
Baltimore, MD, January 21, 2009
Thanks
to your Bermuda
Online and its link to The Royal
Gazette newspaper, I read with huge interest that in the new
Administration's report on tax havens it states
the 100 largest US corporations have a combined total of 229 subsidiaries in
Bermuda, with the GAO stating 83 of the 100
companies have at least one subsidiary in there. It was revealing to read
Citigroup has 19; Wachovia 18; ConocoPhillips
17; Chevron 16; Merck 14; Caterpillar
13; PepsiCo 13; AIG 5; General Motors 3; Bank of America 2; AIG 5, Merrill
Lynch 2; and Morgan Stanley 2. From my own quite extensive knowledge of US
corporations which have practised corporate inversions in tax havens, many
others are obviously not reported here. It is significant that senators have
estimated abusive tax havens and offshore accounts cost the US government at
least $100 billion a year in lost taxes and the US Treasury is quite rightly
clearly dissatisfied by the GAO's methodology with the latter's Deputy Assistant
Secretary for International Tax Affairs Michael Mundaca having expressed his
concern. I bet the Obama Administration will shortly be preparing the
legislation to effectively cancel or limit all Federal funding given to US
corporations headquartered offshore. I hope the Bermuda public will not regard
this as anti-Bermuda, merely to ensure the USA funds onshore corporations as a
matter of priority and encourages corporate deserters to return, possibly with
tax inducements, to stimulate our economy and help put our citizens back to
work. Only with a healthy economy and long-term prospects for employment
security will we be able as a nation to once again return to vacationing in
Bermuda, to resume the statistics you quote of Americans being your best
customers by a margin of over 85%. Arthur B. Anderson, Seattle, WA, USA,
January 21, 2009
What
a top website you are running. Bermuda
Online contains such a wealth of information - one could hardly
ask for more! I came upon your website as an Australian Chartered Accountant who
is looking for a sea-change. I found an advertisement for an accounting
job in Bermuda in a local Australian website. This caused me to research
Bermuda. It will be much appreciated if you will forward me details of the
website addresses of recruitment agencies servicing accounting and finance
professionals. Sincerely, David Elliott FCA, Chartered Accountant, 45
Rembrandt Street, CARINA, Queensland, Australia 4152, January 20, 2009
With
one of the many unique aspects of your superb Bermuda
Online website being comparisons in costs
of living and costs of
homes, I thought it would interest you to compare Bermuda with various
parts of the USA, your main tourism market by far - about 75% based on your
findings. The median household income amounts for each city are based on
my personal late 2008 estimates given the statistical data supplied by
their states. Their median home values for the third quarter and annual prices
are based on economic downturns estimates for January 6, 2009.
Again, thanks for your terrific Bermuda website, I believe the only one of its type in the world to date in its honesty, accuracy, objectivity and impartiality and intended to give pretty much all the information every visitor needs to know instead of just some. Anthony B. Foster, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA, January 7, 2009
Fascinating information, much appreciated, a lot of thought and time went into this I know, thanks very much.
I
simply can't let December 2008 go by without thanking you unreservedly for
Bermuda
Online being the top Bermuda information website for both
general and specific information. It is of huge benefit to every tourist,
professional newcomer and business visitor. I know I've gained hugely from your
always up-to-date information on every aspect. You cover Bermuda superbly and
professionally from A to Z. If there are ever Bermuda Gold awards for being such
a good ambassador in every way for Bermuda, you'd win them all, congratulations!
Don Saunders, 21 Shaftsbury Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M3T 3B4, Canada,
December 21, 2008
Congratulations
Bermuda
Online on being Bermuda's biggest asset by far as a constantly reliable and updated impartial and purely factual website information
on Bermuda from A to Z. With websites like yours to set such a fine
example, Bermuda's relationship with the new President Obama Administration here
in the USA should be a smooth one. Yes, there are issues to work out and I
expect in due course all those US entities that have undergone corporate
inversions in Bermuda will no longer be eligible for any US defense contracts.
I'm told there will also be some major changes in the US-Bermuda Tax Act 1986.
Very likely too, American taxpayers will no longer have to bear the burden
carried for so long of subsidizing insurance losses incurred by Bermuda-based
but mostly American owned multinational insurance corporations. We here in the
USA need every cent we can get to fund our new Administration almost bankrupted
by failed economic policies of the past and we have to come up with new ways to
create more employment with long-term prospects. But I hope that in other
respects there will not be much pain and Bermuda will benefit from renewed
healthy income from American visitors. I'm giving you my new address from January
20, 2009. Ron Perlman, Lachine Court, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA,
November 21, 2008.
I
read with some concern in your excellent and unique Bermuda
Online that your Bermuda bank savings are not guaranteed at all by
your Bermuda Government. To help protect and not hurt Bermuda as an
international business jurisdiction in this time of world economic uncertainty
and bank failures I recommend your government agree to do what the American,
British, German, Irish and many other governments of world trade centers have done, namely guarantee the
savings of your bank depositors. I believe in view of the World Bank's review of
Bermuda as the wealthiest country on earth your government should at least match
the new FDIC guarantees of US$250,000 per account, and not follow the
unfortunate new UK-British guarantee of only £50,000 sterling per account, so
paltry in comparison. Should the complete lack in
Bermuda presently of any similar to the USA and UK , etc. bank
deposits/depositor insurance guarantee/warranty worry international investors
with Bermuda bank accounts and Bermudians/local residents, especially if Obama
gets on the presidential toilet from 2009 and craps on Bermuda as an
international business center/ tax haven? Hope this will be taken seriously. Anthony J. Johnson,
Maiden Lane, New York, USA, October 6, 2008.
Many
thanks for your insight into the Astor house at Ferry Reach, St.
George's Parish. I think that you are most likely correct - local
architects were selected because they understood indigenous building techniques
- and besides, it would be hauling coals to Newcastle. A local firm would have
also understood local ordinances and how to gather the requisite permits -
besides, for all the building that went on between Vincent and Helen Astor over
the course of their 25 year marriage, they rarely worked with an architect a
second time. As per your suggestion, I will contact the Bermuda National
Trust - I am very grateful for your attention to my questions and I do hope you
will contact us when and if you come to New York City. If not for individuals
like you, my work would be diminished a good deal, and a good deal lonelier.
Kind regards and thanks, Derek Ostergard, New York City, USA, September 30,
2008
Mr. Ostergard very kindly contributed his knowledge as an art historian to add valuable new information to the former Astor estate mentioned in the captioned Bermuda Online separate website.
I
have recently spent a fair amount of time with Bermuda
Online. It is a well designed and comprehensive site. Very impressive. I
am involved with a renewable energy company in Stamford, CT, USA and we are very
interested in the Bermuda market. Through your site I've learned of
Belco's interest in this area (large scale renewable energy projects) and the
high cost of electricity on the island in general. I also found information on
new business creation with regards to Bermudian ownership rules &
regulations. At first glance, our business would not fit Belco's SOI for
large projects nor does it fit the category for the small business. Do you
have any suggestions for obtaining information on starting a medium sized,
energy related business on Bermuda? Regardless, great site. Sincerely, Tony
Eason, Tern LLC. P.O. Box 207, Westport, CT 06881, USA, September 29, 2008.
Thank
you for offering and maintaining a thorough and professional Bermuda
Online
website. Lately, my wife and I have been wondering whether a trip to Bermuda
would suit us. Thankfully, your site anticipated our initial questions and
concerns about climate (especially humidity), and presented the information in a
useful and informative manner. We will return to the site to further
explore what Bermuda has to offer. Again, kudos for providing this service. Dennis
Fitch, 734 Glenwood Drive, Ashland, Oregon USA, September 4, 2008.
Have
been visiting your Bermuda Online (BOL) site for several years, and find it
absolutely fabulous. My wife Margaret & I have visited Bermuda about a
dozen times since 1972, and feel so "at home" with BOL. We even have a
pen pal via e-mail, and are members of FOBA (Aquarium). BOL is a great credit to
Bermuda, and is second to none in its informative capacity for Bermuda's past
and present. We follow the news via The Royal Gazette website, and noted how you
are right up to date with the demolition of the Club Med. Actually, we remember
it from the time it was a Holiday Inn, although we never stayed there. We did
stay at the old Belmont, back in 1972, however, thereafter found comfortable
accommodations in various guest houses and apartments, and have met many real
Bermudians, instead of expat hotel staff. Lately we have been gazing at the
gorgeous photos on Google Earth and other websites. Eagerly looking forward to
our next visit. Best regards, Margaret & Omar Jette, 4890 Cumberland
Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4V2N6. September 3, 2008.
I
have been reading the Royal Gazette
for about three years from the link on your Bermuda
Online
web site. Let me start by saying it was your site that brought me to the
island (Bermuda) three times in the last three years in a row. Very good web
site for information, job well done. I stayed at Munro Beach Cottages
(behind Port Royal Gulf course) two times. Can you tell me what is going on with
this property? I read some things in the Royal Gazette about improvements to the
place and a bid for it. Kay and Dawn at Munro were so nice to me that I want to
know what happen to their place and them. They told me before I left they were
going to sell it. I saw a chain link fence up at entrance when I left and that
is when they told me they were closing the day after I left. Anything you could
share with me about this would be greatly appreciated. Can you recommend another
place to stay on the island like Munro Beach cottages? Would love to stay again
on the island. Derek Blackwell, East Palmetto Street, Florence, South
Carolina 29506, August 27, 2008.
Comments about why the place closed and what it has become will be welcomed here. It had a truly unique place in Bermuda and everyone who stayed there loved it.
Thank you
for such a great Bermuda
Online
resource, also with your British
Army in Bermuda! My great-great grandfather Richard Brackey and
family were in Bermuda with the 42nd Regiment (Black Watch) 1847-1851. They had
a son Richard born Bermuda in 1850 but I think he must have died there as there
is no further record of him. So it's possible that a distant relative of
mine lies mingled with Bermuda's soil. Eva Berriman, 18 Bowtell Dve,
Highfields, Toowomba, Qld 4352, Australia, August 25, 2008
All surviving members of the Black Watch in Bermuda, including their wives and children ( born in Bermuda or otherwise) were transported back to the UK. Suggest you contact the Black Watch HQ in UK, they will have a record.
Thank
you for creating such a comprehensive
data base about Bermuda! As someone who visits the island each
year (I teach a course at BIOS). I was searching in the BOOKS section for a
new book that I just published on Bermuda and did not see it listed. I
wanted to let you know about it so you might include it in your book list.
It is called Coastal Bermuda 10 Walks and 73 Plants...you'll see along the way,
written by me. There was a review of the book in the July 18, 2008 issue
of the Royal Gazette in the Lifestyle section. Copies are available at the
Bermuda Bookstore, BIOS, BAMZ gift shop, Book Cellar, A.S. Cooper, and the
Bookmart. If you have any questions I can be contacted at the address and phone
below. Thanks very much for maintaining such a valuable online resource. Amy
K. Pearson, BioQuill Publishing Co. PO Box 157, Princeton, MA 01541.
Phone: 508 847-9910, August 6, 2008.
I
have looked at your extensive online
resource about working in Bermuda, and I wonder if you have any advice
about this special circumstance. L.A.D. Reporting is a court reporting company
(stenotype court reporters). One of our clients -- a law firm -- is considering
asking us to send a stenographic reporter to Bermuda sometime in the near future
to record and transcribe depositions of one or more persons who reside in
Bermuda. The reporter will be performing work in Bermuda, but will be working
for a U.S. firm (L.A.D. Reporting). I have not been able to find elsewhere
whether any kind of special visa or work permit may be required for this
circumstance. In addition, the Reporter would bring her stenographic
machine (the "writer") with her and would not wish to encounter delays
or penalties. If you have information about "doing business in
Bermuda" where that business is for an American firm, I would greatly
appreciate your insight. Richard Pedersen, Executive Assistant to
Lisa A. DiMonte, L.A.D. Reporting & Digital Videography, A Merrill
Communications Company, Worldwide Court Reporting, Videography,
Videoconferencing and Document Management. One Church Street, Suite 601,
Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA, August 4, 2008.
A Work Permit should always be applied for before anyone who is not Bermudian performs any work or service in Bermuda. (This is stated in our Employment in Bermuda of non-Bermudians).
Your
Bermuda
Online
got it right - as
usual - but Forbes Magazine from right here in the USA is so wrong in this
particular matter! In the Bermuda
Royal Gazette daily newspaper, Business Section, of yesterday Forbes
Magazine was quoted as saying Bermuda was the business jurisdiction of choice as
it had no income tax. Excuse me but it does, it's had it for many years. It does
not call it an income Tax but it is a direct tax on income from employment
for sure, the Bermuda Government tax on income called the Payroll
Tax. See the Bermuda Government's own weblink. Has Forbes Magazine acknowledged its error? Not to my knowledge. Scott R.
Harris, Lachine Court, Upper Marlboro, MD, USA, July 15, 2008.
I
commend you for your wonderful Bermuda
Online
site. My husband
and I dearly love your beautiful island and are blessed to come to
Replied with a website link to the Bermuda Heritage Passport, believed to be still in operation.
On
reading your Bermuda
Online
pages, I came
across the item about television licences. In the UK and Isle of Man, from 1st
April 2008 the cost for a colour set will be £139.50 per year. I don't have a
TV myself, but until recently got a threatening letter, in red ink usually,
about every six weeks. With the aid of an MHK I think I've got those stopped. I
know that one of the teams that go round catching people visited a sheltered
housing complex covered by a blanket licence and intimidated a 90-year-old woman
at 10pm. I have never visited Bermuda as yet; I have the aim to get away from
the Manx winter, which is very dull and windy, to somewhere warmer but not too
warm, maybe in the 60s. But Madeira and Malta sound likely, and cheaper,
candidates! Thank you for providing the pages, they are excellent. John
H Atkinson, Douglas, IM2 5LJ, Isle of Man, July 5, 2008.
I
am an American sailor who has been lucky enough to sail to your wonderful Bermuda
on more than a dozen occasions. While I was there on vacation last week
(a little break after the Newport-Bermuda Race) I was amazed to come to find out
that Bermuda has no plastic recycling facilities. How can this be? I
spent some time touring the BIOS center as well as visiting a number of the
nature preserves and I find it difficult to believe that an island that is so
dedicated to the preservation of its natural resources could possibly have no
way of recycling plastics. I'm sure that this is an issue that's been raised on
more than one occasion, but as a sailor and nature lover I am wondering if there
is anything that I could do to rectify this situation. I am not an
"environmentalist" by training or trade, but I would be more than
happy to do anything I could to help Bermuda retain its natural beauty. I
can't accept the idea that one person cannot make a difference, so please let me
know, if you're able, who I would need to be in contact with to bring this
matter to the attention of those who might be able to do something about it.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. I am a resident of Newport,
RI, USA, hence my deep interest in seeing what I might be able to do among the
local sailing community to rally behind a way to keep Bermuda beautiful. Jay
Sharkey, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, July 2, 2008.
Perhaps it is not so surprising what you consider Bermuda's tiny overall
size, only 21 square miles, and huge population density per square mile. There's
no manufacturing, except for electricity. With 3,400 people per square mile,
where would such a facility go, who would run it, would there be space for it,
would planners approve it and who would want to be near it? Anyway, I suggest
you contact the Bermuda Government's Ministry of the Environment. It might want
to discuss some thoughts with you if you have any suggestions that would or
could suit the local environment.
Re
Bermuda
Online
I write from Newfoundland in my capacity as a member of the organizing committee
for the Winterset in Summer Literary Festival, which is held in Eastport,
Newfoundland, on the second weekend in August each year. Details can be found at
our website http://www.wintersetinsummer.ca/.
For our 2009 festival we plan a program reflecting upon the 60th
anniversary of Newfoundland becoming part of the Canada. As part of that
exploration of writing, we plan to invite a writer from each of three other
parts of the British Commonwealth (Scotland, Tasmania, Bermuda) to talk about
the role that national identity and place has in their writing. We
chose Bermuda because of its strong ties with Newfoundland: the Anglican Bishop
of Newfoundland was Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda from 1839 until 1919;
several Newfoundland families including the Harveys, the Outerbridges and the
Goslings carried on business and had branches of their families in both places;
the Atlantic fishery; J. B. Hand; Sir Francis Forbes. This, coupled with the
hope of the part of your Keith A. Forbes as a Bermudian writer in 1975 and some Canadian and British politicians that Bermuda
would one day become part of Canada, and its decision to retain separate status
within the British Commonwealth, in effect a small island state going it alone,
make Bermuda an ideal choice to be part of this literary festival. Can you
suggest some writers, preferably fiction writers, whose work lends itself to our
discussions and who might be interested in making the trek north next August?
Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Yours truly, Bert Riggs, Head, Archives and Manuscripts, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial
University, St. John's NL, AIB 3Y1, Canada, June 27, 2008.
I
always turn to your Bermuda
Online website first for Bermuda information. I read with great interest and increasing
concern the Royal Gazette story of how a Mr. Palmer who died recently
in Bermuda was found to have had his organs missing from his corpse before his
planned burial in the United Kingdom. I'm distressed to learn that no
satisfactory answers seem to have been given to date. Was it done by your
hospital, as there is a standard policy at all hospitals to remove organs
immediately at death or within minutes afterwards, to give them the best chance
of being re-used? Or is there an illegal trade
in body parts in Bermuda? Or has the Bermuda Government quietly both agreed with
and implemented the 2007 plan backed by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to boost
organ transplant donations by automatically taking organs from the dead, without
the explicit consent of next of kin? If so, is this what folks from the USA can
expect if their mothers or fathers or children die in Bermuda while visiting, to
have remains shipped home minus organs? I gather the policy of "presumed
consent" in Britain means that unless people opt out of the donor
register or family members object ahead on time, hospitals would be allowed to
take their organs. Sir Liam Donaldson, England's chief medical officer, has been
quoted in the British press as saying he too will back the findings of the
British Government's taskforce on organ donation, but wants to go further and
introduce a new system of donation because the shortage of organs is so severe.
Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris, chairman of the All-Party Kidney Group and a
member of the British Medical Association's Medical Ethics Committee, described
the Prime Minister's support as "good news" for patients, donors and
relatives. He said: "I am delighted that Gordon Brown now backs this plan
after the Government blocked my amendment to the 2004 Human Tissue Act, which
would have introduced the scheme." Junior Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said
the proposals could save thousands of lives and reduce medical costs in the
future. He said he had "no problem" with presumed consent, but
acknowledged that some people did, and that an inquiry was being undertaken into
presumed consent by the Organ Donation Task force which would report back in the
summer. He believes that around one thousand lives could be saved per year as a
result of Government proposals into organ donation, which could also result in a
reduction in medical costs as less people need services such as kidney dialysis.
Hal Anderson, Boston, MA USA, June 20, 2008.
I
have just found your Bermuda
Online
portal and US Military Bases
in Bermuda web site while looking for information on Bermuda. My father,
General Jack G. Merrell, commanded Kindley AFB in Bermuda from 1949-1951. I just wanted to
have your correct his rank and the spelling of his last name. He retired
as a 4-star general in September 1972 and the last name is spelled MERRELL.
Thanks for updating this information. It is always interesting to find
things like this. I recently found a photo of my Father that was taken
from a flight tower in England during WWII. My husband and I will be visiting
Bermuda this fall. It is my husband's first time there, but I have been
back 4 times since we were stationed there. Thanks for making this correction. Suzanne
Merrell Wright, USA, June 18, 2008.
Re
your Bermuda
Online, I was stationed at the old US NOB (later the US Naval Air
Station) in Southampton between the spring of 1962 and the fall of 1964. My
rank was ETN3 and I worked at the Tudor Hill, Underwater Sound Lab. Commanding
officer was Com Pinning. Frank Morrison was a Master Chief I first worked
with. This past week I returned to Bermuda on a cruise and revisited the base
locations I remembered only to find them closed and barricaded, which was sad
but things change. I have so many good memories and experiences of Bermuda that
will always be with me. I hope someone I was stationed with will contact
me at my email address shown in your US
Military Personnel in Bermuda file. Gary P. Brown, USA, June 18,
2008.
As
an American, thanks to your excellent Bermuda
Online web pages and your sensitive profile of Bermuda's
veterans, I now believe I understand the difference between our
Memorial Day in May, a hugely emotional experience for many of us, and your
Bermuda Remembrance Day
in November. I'm sure most of my fellow Americans believed you also
have a US-style Memorial Day. I also want to thank you for your tributes in your
US Personnel Based in
Bermuda to our gallant airman, soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coastguard,
many of whom have now died and were commemorated yesterday, Memorial Day, with
much sadness. How truly nice to see them recalled in Bermuda this way. Arthur
Jackson, Augusta, Maine, USA, May 27, 2008.
Re
your Bermuda
Online I think it is appropriate that I link Bermuda and Memorial
weekend together, for it all started with an account of my participation in
a life saving mission flown out of Bermuda on July 21, 1952. The story
appeared in the May 2008 issue of the Air Rescue newsletter. I was the navigator
on an SB-29 which flew 1000 miles out of Bermuda and acted as the Bombardier to
make a night drop of Blood Plasma on the deck of a Swedish freighter to save a
seaman's life. At that time I was a Captain with the Air Rescue Flight based at
Kindley Air Force Base in Bermuda. Because of the story I received two
telephone calls this week from Tom McGrain (navigator) and George Welch
(commander). It had been 57 years since I last spoke to them at Kindley where I
was based from 1951 to 1954 with my wife Rae and my six month old son, Michael.
Two months later we added a boxer pup to the family. Highlight of my tour in
Bermuda was escorting President Eisenhower's aircraft to and from a Bermuda
conference. My wife's highlights were sitting through several hurricanes with
son, Michael., while we evacuated the aircraft to a safe place. The tour
was exciting, the people and scenery were beautiful and friendly and I was
promoted to Major as I was leaving. Now I'm 92 and with Rae, my wife of 60
years live at I retired as Lt. Col. in 1973 after 30 years chock full of
excitement. We raised four children in Louisiana, South Carolina, Massachusetts,
New Mexico, Virginia, Naples, Italy and Utah. I flew 44 missions in WW II and
did a year in Vietnam. I served five years in the Pentagon and a
year in the nuclear test series at Christmas and Fiji Islands. Our best wishes
to the wonderful folks in Bermuda. Hal Susskind, 2602 Deerfoot Trail, Austin,
Texas. May 23, 2008.
Your
Bermuda
Online website is such a gem! It ought to be copied for its
honesty, accuracy, energy and integrity by both all island and mainland
destinations, for giving the whole picture, not just the obvious sales points.
As a UK potential visitor, one who goes regularly to the Chelsea Flower Show,
I'm amazed that Bermuda has never had a garden there. This year, Jamaica is
reaping the benefit with its lovely garden seen by hundreds of thousands of
Chelsea Flower Show visitors as a captive and captivated audience. Barbados has
also been a regular attraction, I believe St. Lucia and Grenada as well. No
wonder they are favourite places for British tourists. Bermuda, perhaps a good
dose of Chelsea Garden Show gardening will help make Bermuda one of the
favourites too, instead of not being listed at all as a favourite place. Kate
Anderson, Palmers Green, London, N13, England, 20th May 2008.
First,
let me say I really appreciate your extensive, amazingly impressive Bermuda
Online website. Wonderful work. Now to my question. I
hope you can help me or at least aim me in the right direction. My wife and I
are avid pedal-bikers/triathletes living in Los Angeles. For our anniversary
this year we're vacationing for a week in Bermuda, coincidentally during the
Tour de France. (My wife grew up spending every summer in Bermuda because her
granddad was a resident.) Do you happen to know if there's a central location on
the island where pedal bike fans will be gathering to watch the Tour de France?
I've been trying to find our though the various Bermuda Cycling and Triathlon
clubs, but haven't had much luck so far. Of course, we'll be able to watch the
Tour at the house we're renting, but we figure it would be much more fun to
watch it at a pub or restaurant with a bunch of fellow rabid enthusiasts. Peter
"Stoney" Emshwiller, Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
90026, USA, May 18, 2008.
Having
studied your particularly informative Bermuda
Online very carefully I write as a prospective professional newcomer
from the United Kingdom offered an opportunity to work in Bermuda, or
Caymans, or Turks and Caicos, or USA in a middle-management capacity for a
Lloyd's underwriter with international offices. I like the prospect of Bermuda
but will not pay customs duties on arrival on my UK-bought laptop, digital
camera, Ipod, mobile phone, clothing and more. I understand some new arrivals in
Bermuda have had to pay more than £250 or $500 on arrival. I gather these costs
would not apply in the Caymans, Turks and Caicos or USA. Are you able to throw
any light on why Bermuda appears to be the only country that applies these
duties on goods on which full UK taxes have already been paid? Lawrence
Bates, Guildford, Surrey, UK, 14 May, 2008.
I
appreciate your Bermuda
Online website & consult it often! One of my books -
(self-published) Pink Sand Poems - is listed in the book section. I
published a second book in 2007 - Bermuda On My Mind - it is also a
collection of poems about Bermuda & I would love to see it listed in the
bermuda-online book section to complement the earlier one. These books are
in the Bermuda National Library & also are carried by A.S.
Cooper's, The Bermuda Art Centre at Dockyard & in Hamilton at Brown & Company
BookMart. Jane Barcroft, Memphis, TN 38117. May 7, 2008.
Your
website about Bermuda
Online has been a wonderful discovery for us. We have linked your
site to ours and want to be sure we have complied with any requirements you have
for such. We have three photos on our site of unknown origin, showing an
abandoned RR station in Bermuda. We would like a comment from someone
familiar with that station to tell us its location and continued existence.
We do not have a date for the photos. Since there is a request on your site for
no attachments with emails, we would like to refer you to the website, listed
below and ask that you go midway down the body of text to find the word Photos
for the link. Thank you for any help you may offer. Mary M. Lehr, 1944 Marsh
Oak Lane, Seabrook Island SC 29455, President, Charleston
Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, April 18, 2008.
Dear
Bermuda
Online. I'm writing from a BBC TV series in the UK called Who Do You
Think You Are?, which traces celebrities' family trees. I'm currently
researching a tree which includes a British Army surgeon who was Principle
Medical Officer to the army in Bermuda in the 1880s. I want to find out whether
he left any trace in Bermuda, although he can only have been there for at most 5
years. But I believe there was a dengue fever epidemic in 1882 which might have
made him more important - or you never know, he might have built a particularly
impressive house! I wanted to run this past you in case you had heard of him, or
could recommend other people/institutions who might have. I've had a look
through your 'British Army
in Bermuda' file. Here's some more information about him: John Ogilvy, born
Aberdeen, Scotland 1831, died Frimley, Sussex, England 1899. Entered the army in
1853 as assistant surgeon, retired before 1885 with the honorary rank of Surgeon
General. Listed in the Army List as Principal Medical Officer to Bermuda, 1882.
Published 'An Account of Bermuda, Past and Present' 1883. I would be very
interested to hear if you have any leads for me, or any further suggestions as
to where else I should go in Bermuda with this question. Jo Foster,
Researcher, BBC1 Who Do You Think You Are? Tel: + 44 20 7241 9322 * Fax: + 44
20 7267 5292, England, 27 March 2008.
I
really admire what you write in your
Bermuda
Online about your island and its media
and am so sorry to hear your legislators are so constantly hostile to your
independent daily newspaper The Royal
Gazette in its search
for news. Even in Britain - not exactly any bastion of democracy despite what it
claims to the contrary - politicians treat the media with respect, not
hostility. Here in the USA, such hostility would be quickly dealt with, by
enforceable laws to prevent that injustice to journalists and their newspapers or other
media. Even when we don't agree with what a newspaper or magazine writes, we
treat it with respect, not hostility. I understand Canada does the same, to be
expected. Your
government needs to be sharply reminded that it owes its bread, butter and jam
to the goodwill of the tourists who visit your shores and the corporations from
the USA, Canada and Britain who have used Bermuda for their corporate
inversions. This is a warning to your politicians, to be circumspect and
civilized to your media from now on
or risk losing the goose that lays your golden eggs. In the jurisdictions
actively competing with Bermuda such as the Cayman Islands, BVI, USVI,
Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Channel Islands etc. governments respect human rights and press freedom laws, have more
class and exhibit no such crassness and frankly such blatantly racial unpleasantness.
If Bermuda is to be seen as a civilized and internationally accepted
international tourism and business center it has to abide by internationally
accepted laws governing codes of conduct to the free press by all including
legislators. David
F. Jones, Maiden Lane, Manhattan, New York, USA, March 18, 2008.
Your
Bermuda
Online
website is very well done and I find it very useful. Thank you for your
efforts. I regularly visit Bermuda and will be there again this June,
arriving on a yacht participating in Newport Bermuda Race. It will be my
sixth Bermuda Race. I have been studying the history of Bermuda during The
Second World War the last few years for a novel I'm writing, it will be my
first. I'm looking for some local knowledge to help me get the facts right.
Could you help me find a local historian or a person with good knowledge of
those times, who could help me answer a few details and general questions, in
order to help me more accurately understand those times and events.
I would like to start an email dialog with them and hopefully talk with them in
person when I arrive in June. I have made numerous attempts to contact others in
Bermuda who I hoped would connect me with an eager local historian but all but
one of my emails have gone unanswered over the last five months. I'm very
concerned about getting Bermuda's history accurate for my novel. I
continue to be impressed with the vast effort and sacrifices Bermudians
contributed during the war, as I dive into the details of this part of your
Island's history. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Dwight
Jennings, Marblehead, MA, March 13, 2008.
I
was most interested in your Bermuda
Online comment that Bermuda is one of
the nine smallest places in the world, in total land area. 21 square miles
or 53 square kilometers, compared to the USA's 9.629 million square kilometers.
Thanks also for giving, as your source, the Wikipedia reference of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_area.
I was not sure whether to laugh or weep at your dry comment that on the basis of
departure tax per square mileage of Bermuda, the cost of the Bermuda departure
tax is now $1.66 per square mile. Calculated on the same basis, what do you
suppose would be the reaction of visitors to the USA and citizens each having to
pay $6.359 million dollars in departure taxes? There would be no more visitors
or citizens vacationing beyond our shores. We'd have another revolution!
Winifred
Rogers, America Street, Providence RI 02903, USA, March 1, 2008.
I read with
great interest on your superb Bermuda
Online site and in your Bermuda's Links
with Great Britain how you are expecting a delegation of British Members of
Parliament in March. Also, you reported on the recent Bermuda Government
Budget proposals. Perhaps not in all respects but certainly so in one
major respect, the British MPs should take some lessons from Bermuda in basic
integrity and democracy. I gather your House of Assembly will be debating its
2008-2009 Budget very shortly, over a week or two, which I'm told includes a continuing
grant in a bigger amount for the local branch of Age Concern. In complete
contrast, the Highland Council, our regional Scottish authority covering an area
of well over 4,000 square miles, gave only six days notice of its intentions, to
Highland Councillors only, not the general public. It then cut out completely
its £98,000 (BD$196,000) budget to Age Concern Scotland and rushed all its
budget into one day. Bermuda is generous in Age Concern grants to its senior
citizens compared to the nastiness and lack of democracy, only arrogant,
outrageous and unfair autocracy, of the Highland Council. Please help spread
word of this around. Well done, Bermuda! I hope this truly shames those British MPs
visiting Bermuda including Scots Sir Ming Campbell, MP of Edinburgh. Bertram Forbes,
Inverness, Scotland, February 22, 2008.
I
am writing to thank you for a wonderful Bermuda
Online collection of information on the history, people and beauty
of the island of Bermuda. Your historical files are treasures. On each of my four visits so far to your country I
have never failed to find and enjoy some new adventure. St
George's is my favorite destination (Hi, E Michael Jones) by far, but the other
villages are quickly catching my favor as well. I plan on visiting again this
year, maybe twice. Daryl Brown, Old Town, ME 04428, USA, January 29, 2008.
I
write to congratulate you on your unique set of Bermuda
Online files on the three American,
three British (Army, Navy
and graveyards) and
Canadian military personnel or units once based in Bermuda. In posting
them you uniquely show aspects of local history and military and social life, of
much interest and value to those once stationed at the former Bermuda military
bases and the friends or family who visited them (as we did). Your files and the memories
and people they invoke give us many reasons to go back to Bermuda on vacation, either
regularly or periodically. Sincerely, Robert A. Blake and family, Providence,
Rhode Island, USA 02903, January 26, 2008.
A
North London resident, I read with great interest in the prominent Daily
Telegraph by columnist Nick Trend an October 20, 2007 article on why travelers
who are already taxed simply for flying out of a British airport have to face
more taxes when they return home. Even £290 (Editor's note, the British
Government's Customs duty-free allowance from 1 January 2008 for residents
returning from North America) won't buy much. Then I read with some horror in
your excellent Bermuda
Online how
Bermuda's Customs duty-free allowance for returning residents is only US$100
(£50) and how so rigorously this is applied in Bermuda that there are customs
duty payment machines at your airport. In case you did not already know this,
there are an increasing number of organizations now world-wide rating tourist
destinations on the quality of their governments based on two things, their
customs duty exemptions for returning residents and the cost to motorists of
petrol at the pumps. Sorry, Bermuda, but you get a failing mark to tourists for
being so mean to your residents. Jonathan Snaith, Palmer's Green, London NI4,
England, January 9, 2008.
Last Updated:
February 8, 2019
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