Court heats up
A Beaconite hates to use this forum to complain. But this is a matter of life and death. Well, extreme discomfort, at least. For the past three weeks, the air conditioning in the upstairs room of the High Court building has been broken. Fill the room with about 40 people and things tend to get a little uncomfortable — as if everyone were stuffed inside of an enormous wool sock. True, the guards were nice enough to set up several oscillating fans. But the fans make it difficult for the reporter to hear soft-spoken witnesses during a trial. He hopes the problem will be resolved soon.
Looking for birds
Last weekend, a Beaconite was hoping to take photos of birds for the newspaper’s Facebook Bird Photo Contest. However, he found a snake in a tree instead. At first, the Beaconite thought it was a stick. Then it started to move. The reptile was three to four feet long and slithered to the ground once it realised it was being watched.
Celebrity sighting
After work on Friday, a Beaconite and his family went to the Mine Shaft Café for dinner. As the family was seated, a man and woman were shown to their seats. “Wow, look at the view,” the man said. The Beaconite’s wife recognised him as actor Tony Shalhoub, who has played in movies like Men in Black and on the television series, Monk. Mr. Shalhoub was with his wife, actress Brooke Adams. She has performed in several movies, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The Beaconite was tempted to ask for their autographs, but decided to let them enjoy their dinner in peace.
Being resourceful
On Monday morning, a Beaconite stepped out to get a drink. That’s when she noticed that a large beach umbrella had been set up in the road in front of the Beacon office. She soon realised a LIME technician was working under it fixing cables. The umbrella was designed to protect him from the hot sun. The worker explained a bit about his job, and the Beaconite returned to the office with some information she might use someday.
Stuck in the road
A Beaconite rescued a baby chicken last weekend while taking a walk near his home on Virgin Gorda. The Beaconite saw the chick flapping on the ground and heard it peeping loudly for help. Only on closer inspection did he see the bird tangled up in a cactus branch. The chick was impaled with the cactus needles so severely that it could not move. The Beaconite was able to free the chick from the painful predicament and return it to an area filled with other chickens.
It’s a bird. It’s a plane…
On Friday a Beaconite was driving behind a man who was cycling into Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. Suddenly, he saw an object fly through the air, narrowly missing the cyclist. At first, he thought it was an American football. Then he realised it was a coconut. The Beaconite pulled alongside the cyclist, who was fully aware that he was almost hit: He thought at first that someone threw a rugby ball at him, he said.
Healing views
On a recent media tour of the new hospital, one reporter couldn’t help noticing the beautiful view of Road Harbour from inside the sea-facing patient rooms. Seeing the hills of Tortola and the harbour below will no doubt be therapeutic for future hospital patients, some of whom will have private rooms in the seven-floor facility. The Beaconite is in no hurry to get hospitalised, but she can imagine that once the new hospital is open, there will be plenty of people lining up to get medical care there.