Musical echoes
A Beaconite recently heard what she believes to be one of the first plays of the Virgin Islands’ territorial song at a government event. The song, selected by legislators at their last sitting, is familiar to the reporter, who heard it played at many campaign events for the National Democratic Party last year. It has changed slightly from election time: instead of “Oh, British Virgin Islands,” the song is now “Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands.” The reporter is pleased with the change, but one thing did bother her about the new recording. She can’t tell if it’s just the memory of the older version or if a backing vocal track was left unchanged, but she could swear she still hears a hint of the old “Oh, British Virgin Islands” in the newer version of the song.
Falling for skating
On Saturday, one Beaconite went skating for the first time as she reported on the new rink at U.P.’s Cineplex (see page 4 of the Weekend & Culture section). When she entered the rink, she was the only adult there. All the other patrons at that point were children, causing her to feel a little out of place — especially when she realised that she needed a training device to help her out. By the end of the evening, however, she had dispensed with the trainer. This didn’t come without a price, though: She fell several times, but she is thankful she left without a scratch. It also helped her pride when she was joined later in the day by other adults, some of whom had similar difficulties. As soon as her body has recovered, she thinks she might try skating again.
Small acts of kindness
One Beaconite, who moved here a few months ago, has found that the Virgin Islands to be a very hospitable place. People are neighbourly, almost always willing to help each other out. On Saturday, the Beaconite’s cell phone lit up and he saw a co-worker’s name appear on the screen. But it wasn’t his co-worker on the other end of the phone at all. It was a stranger who had found the phone at Rite Way and wanted it to be returned. A few days later, the same Beaconite was walking down Main Street when a cashier at a local shop flagged him down. She smiled when he entered the store and held out a dollar bill. “I charged you too much the other day,” she said.
Puzzling reception
A Beaconite who frequently writes about business in the territory spends a lot of time in reception areas waiting for managers, supervisors and other officials to see him. Waiting rooms tend to vary a lot. Retail stores’ back offices and manufacturing companies usually don’t have a lot of spare space, likely because they don’t see a lot of visitors. Many of the territory’s trust companies, by contrast, feature lavish waiting areas with comfortable chairs and magazines such as Robb Report, Yachting Magazine and other periodicals targeting wealthy clientele. Yacht charter businesses usually have a spare chair with a sailing magazine, or at least a nice view of the vessels docked outside. But the Beaconite was pleased last Thursday by what he saw while waiting at a businessman’s office. The reception room table had the usual assortment of magazines, but it also held several wooden brainteaser puzzles for clients to solve while they waited. Though the Beaconite likes puzzles, he was afraid of taking something apart that he couldn’t solve by the time the businessman was ready for the interview.
Festivals of times past
A Beaconite was pleased when a reader recently sent a link to a YouTube video titled “August Festival — late 1950s or early 1960s.” As promised, the video depicted an earlier version of the territory’s August Emancipation Festival, which was first held in 1954 in remembrance of the United Kingdom’s Aug. 1, 1834 Emancipation Proclamation. Not surprisingly, the event was much different back then: It appeared to feature more donkeys than trucks, for example. The Beaconite noticed, too, that the dancers back then wore more clothes, and traditional forms of music were more prevalent. He enjoyed the window into Festivals past, and he encourages other residents to view the video by searching its name on YouTube.
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