Orwellian experience
A Beaconite reporting on the cruise pier project was told in October that even though the Tortola Pier Park was planning its grand opening for Dec. 22, the completed portions of the park would be open to the public starting Dec 1.
Therefore, he found it odd that a government official said she had to escort him around the facility when he visited on Dec. 2. The Beaconite was taking pictures of the construction progress when he turned to find TPP Marketing Manager Meslyn Allan standing about 10 yards behind him watching him. Ms. Allan greeted the Beaconite and was very cordial – she even provided him with some basic information about the construction works – but she informed him that she had to accompany him while he was in the park. The Beaconite asked why he had to be accompanied given that the park was open to the public and was teeming with hundreds of unescorted cruise tourists and other people, and Ms. Allan replied, “Because you’re a member of the media.” The Beaconite continued taking pictures without any objections from Ms. Allan – she mostly walked several yards behind him and talked on a cell phone – but he found the whole experience rather Orwellian. He didn’t have any special access to parts of the development that were closed to the tourists or other members of the public, and thus he feels he should have been treated the same as them.
A hot topic
A Beaconite who has been covering the Paris climate change talks this month was interested to see that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator movie actor and former California governor, has weighed in on the debate. Mr. Schwarzenegger wrote on his Facebook page that regardless of whether one believes that climate change is really happening (it is), investing in renewable energy is still the right thing to do. Pointing out that fossil fuels are a finite resource and that burning them causes poisons to be released into the atmosphere that we all breathe, Mr. Schwarzenegger called for people to agree on a planned phase-out of fossil fuels, rather than becoming “like the last horse and buggy salesman who was holding out as cars took over the roads.” The reporter hopes that people take on the challenge.
A little help
A Beaconite who spent an awesome weekend on Anegada covering the Lobster Festival wants to thank the staff at The Lobster Trap and Neptune’s Treasure for helping her find a last-minute hotel room. While she found everyone on the island to be friendly, the employees at these businesses went above and beyond to help her out, and she greatly appreciates it. If she hadn’t been able to spend the night, she would have missed visiting the iguana sanctuary, and who wants to miss out on iguanas?
Fix your seats, please
A Beaconite who commutes to work each day recently caught a bus that needs some repairs. The vehicle, which is usually packed with passengers, is spacious, but the Beaconite noticed that some of its seats were either loose or lacked seatbacks. Since this issue appears to be a safety hazard for passengers, some of whom were complaining about the inconvenience, the Beaconite hopes that the bus owner will fix the seats as soon as possible.
Tart battle
On Saturday during the Elmore Stoutt High School Christmas Concert, host Dylan Penn got the audience talking about tarts. Between performances, he asked attendees which flavour they prefer. Overwhelmingly, they chose coconut. Pineapple took second and guavaberry third. But the fourth-place flavour – guavaberry wine – was new to the Beaconite covering the show. She hopes she gets to try a guavaberry wine tart before the holidays are over.
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