On the court
When passing through Huntums Ghut in recent weeks, a Beaconite has often noticed the recently refurbished basketball court being put to use. She is happy to see it. Creating free spaces for the public to enjoy is vital to a society, she believes. She is glad to see that the refurbishment of the court was part of the “Entrepreneurial Zone” project that opened in Huntums Ghut last month. She has noticed that kids and adults alike have been enjoying the basketball court and its new bleachers. The area is a great example of a “third place” — meaning a place separate from work and home that people can enjoy — that is widely accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds. The reporter hopes to see more such spaces made available for the public across the territory. Perhaps a skate park, for example? Or more walking paths around Road Town? But she is especially excited about the long-promised opening of a public library in the capital.
Like a baby’s… cheek
A Beaconite often uses this space to speak ill of the territory’s roads — as he is allowed to do, mind you, given that he suffers on them just as much as anyone else. But he would simply lack principle if he failed to mention Joes Hill’s new coat of thick, smooth tarmac. Oh, yeah: This is the good stuff, baby. Like black gold. Of course, untold amounts of oil were used in the asphalt’s production, but everyone can’t be an environmentalist. And, of course, the road is likely to wash away again in the next heavy rain, but everyone can’t be a realist either. For now, he’s so tickled by the recent topcoat that he can barely remember the near miss caused by the paving machine apparently running out of asphalt and leaving a long pothole between the new surface and the old road. That was hair-raising. Seriously, though, the new road surface reminded him of how much safer smooth roads are in braking situations. Without the wheels skipping all over the place, you can actually slow down properly. Now, all government needs to do is figure out the drainage situation. The reporter suggests aqueducts. Waterfalls caused by heavy rain could be directed into a sort of elevated ghut, transporting excess water to Road Town and supplying residents with water. Think about it. All this talk about water, however, reminded the reporter — whose public supply has been shut off much too frequently in recent weeks — to run down the mountain real quick to buy another few gallons to get himself through the weekend.
Get a grip
So, the opposition is in opposition to the opposition again. A Beaconite cannot help but wonder how effective opposition members would be if they were actually in opposition to the government rather than each other? Former opposition leader Ronnie Skelton told the Beacon this week that he was “stabbed in the front” by new leader Myron Walwyn. Florid language for an ex-opposition leader who was not exactly front and centre in publicly opposing the government when he had the chance. Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley must consider himself lucky indeed as he surveys the turmoil across the aisle. And on top of that, former deputy premier Lorna Smith brushed off the humiliation of being abruptly fired and returned to the government ranks within five months at a much-reduced role as junior minister for financial services. It remains to be seen if the premier’s promise of creating her a minister-of-state role will meet with Governor Daniel Pruce’s approval. As the musical chairs play out in the House of Assembly, the cost-of-living crisis grows, the minimum wage stays the same, and gun crime continues to explode.
