Different queen
A Beaconite attending the annual Spanish Town Fisherman’s Jamboree
in Virgin Gorda this weekend was amused when he witnessed one spectator break into song. Fishermen were receiving their trophies and posing for photos with Miss BVI Abigail Hyndman when the spectator started singing “God Save the Queen.” He directed his spontaneous performance of the anthem to Ms. Hyndman. The song lasted about a minute as the man, holding his Heineken bottle as if it were a microphone, sang a few verses of the song. If she was surprised by the performance, Miss BVI did not show it. The beauty queen graciously smiled and patiently waited for the man to finish his song.
Polite driver
A Beaconite was up early yesterday morning, hoping to get to the office early to catch up on deadlines. She got a lift from an elderly woman who recalled a time when there were only about 25 vehicles on Tortola. Now there are probably more vehicles than there are people, but the woman still adheres closely to traffic rules. When it was time for the reporter to get out of the vehicle, she requested that she be let off at a crosswalk. “No, I like to pull over properly and not in the middle of the road,” the driver said politely. The reporter believes she was absolutely right: It’s not safe to stop in the middle of the road, even if the practice has become common here.
Standing tall
During the Virgin Gorda Easter Monday Parade, one Beaconite was impressed with a 3-year-old mocko jumbie. Even though the boy was a bit timid and seemed intimidated by the crowds, his mother was right by his side to make sure he was fine. The Beaconite hopes the young parader is able to continue walking on stilts, so 20 years from now the tradition can still be alive and another 3-year-old can take his place.
Moving day
A few Beaconites took time during the holiday weekend to do some much-needed spring cleaning and reorganisation of the editorial section of the Beacon’s office. On Saturday, Beaconites reconfigured their offices to create a new workspace. Saturday’s effort wasn’t as enjoyable as a trip to one of the territory’s beaches, but Beaconites found plenty of time to do that during the rest of the holiday weekend.
Taking a load off
Beaconites saw one mocko jumbie in the Virgin Gorda Easter Monday Parade get a little taller not because of his stilts, but because he was taking a ride on a woman’s back toward the end of the parade route Monday afternoon. Between the heat and and the mocko jumbies’ usual performance antics, the little guy was evidently too tired to finish the parade, and could be seen resting his head on the woman’s shoulder near the Festival Village. “I never saw a mocko jumbie getting a piggyback ride before,” said one parade-watcher as she took a photo near a reporter. Neither had the Beaconites.