Thanks, Archives
A Beaconite would like to thank Christopher Varlack and his staff at the National Archives and Records Management Unit for being so accommodating.
The Beaconite needed to spend a decent amount of time sifting through old Island Sun archives from 1967 in preparation for his story about the 50th anniversary of the territory’s first ministerial election, and the Archives team made everything easy. The Beaconite encourages readers to go trawl through old newspaper archives if they get the chance, because it can be quite enjoyable. One of his favourite 1967 headline’s read, “THE LOCH NESS MONSTER Seen by Many Britons.” Another item was what the Beaconite guessed was the 1960s equivalent of an online dating profile: an advertisement that read, “OBJECTIVE: FRIENDSHIP – Young Englishman wishes to contact Island Resident of the opposite sex, any age. Please write to: C.M. Henderson, 211 Forest Drive West, Leytonstone, London E. 11.” The Beaconite encourages female readers to write to Mr. Henderson, to make sure the copy space he purchased all those decades ago pays off.
Coming which winter?
A Beaconite was intrigued when he saw an advertisement at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport for BVI Airways, which promises that the airline is “coming this winter.” For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, BVI Airways is the company that government is providing with a $7 million subsidy to establish direct flights between Beef Island and Miami. The agreement between the airline and government stipulated that flights were supposed to begin by last October, but various issues have led to a delay of nearly six months and counting. The Beaconite suspects that the advertisement he saw referred to the winter of 2016/17 and just hasn’t been taken down yet, but he couldn’t confirm whether that was true because the airline didn’t respond to his question on the issue. Either way, with company officials not setting any timetable for when they hope to begin direct flights, the Beaconite hopes the ad doesn’t foreshadow more delays to come.
Learning curve
On Monday, a Beaconite attended an open house at the BVI Autism Centre. There, she observed some of the clients working with their teachers. Near the end of her visit, she decided to try one of the challenges the students were taking on. The activity involved placing coloured blocks on several rows of numbers and later remembering which colour covered which number. The challenge seemed pretty easy, but after she tried it she appreciated the students’ intelligence. She also thought the teachers did an amazing job.
A hypocrite
On Saturday while covering the Rotary of Tortola’s Fun Car Rally, a Beaconite chuckled at a couple participants who didn’t know how to ride a bicycle. But she felt bad afterwards considering that she can’t ride a bike herself. However, it’s never too late to have a new resolution, so she’s made up her mind to learn before her birthday in July. She plans on starting as soon as possible.
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