Goodbye, BBC Caribbean
One Beaconite woke up on Friday morning, turned on the radio and was disappointed to hear the news from the BBC Caribbean Service: It was the service’s final broadcast. The broadcaster calmly read the news as usual, before advising listeners of the service’s closure after 70 years. Having reported on the BBC’s announcement in January, the Beaconite was aware of the closure, which was due to deep cuts in the United Kingdom government budget. While the Beaconite understands that times are difficult economically, he will miss the morning broadcasts.
One question only?
A Beaconite found herself grateful for the intervention of another journalist this week at a press conference. Shortly after they arrived, members of the media were informed that Communications and Works Minister Julian Fraser, with his busy schedule, would only have time to answer one question from each reporter. All the reporters were disappointed — what if they had follow-up questions? — but one reporter spoke up. He said that in a press conference, media members should be allowed to ask several questions each, and that to be limited to just one was as bad as not being able to ask any questions at all. An aide left the conference room and soon returned with good news: The minister had heard the complaint and agreed to answer multiple questions.
Lending a hand
A Beaconite, who is grateful for all sorts of assistance from the territory’s lawyers, was happy to be able to provide assistance to an attorney during a court recess this week, when the lawyer asked to use the Beaconite’s computer to check the outcome of a hotly contested match in the Cricket World Cup.
Marmalade showdown?
Last week, a Reporter’s Notebook item reported that William Tacon had dropped by a sample of his homemade marmalade for Beaconites to try. The report prompted responses from fans of another well-known marmalade maker: Roger Harris, a frequent Beacon contributor, sells his marmalade to raise money for charity. Like Mr. Tacon, Mr. Harris was kind enough to bring a jar of his marmalade by for Beaconites to try. The marmalade was made with grapefruit, orange and lemon or lime. Just as Mr. Harris’ fans had said, it was absolutely delicious. The Beaconites wonder if it’s time for the Virgin Islands to host a marmalade contest.
OMG!
In case you didn’t know, OMG means “Oh My God,” LOL means “Laughing Out Loud” and FYI means “For Your Information.” The abbreviations were officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary on Friday. A Beaconite who texts faster than she types was happy to see that the words are now official, which means she will no longer feel guilty for using improper terms when texting her friends. Still, she probably won’t use them when she writes her articles.
Credit card users beware
Joycelyn Murraine, president of the BVI Banking Association, is warning the public about a common credit card fraud. As part of the scheme, a scammer pretending to be calling from Visa’s “security and fraud office” calls and asks about recent purchases that were never made, Ms. Murraine said in a statement. Then the scammer asks for the three-digit security number on the back of a credit card. Ms. Murraine said that no one should give out that number. “Instead, tell them you’ll call Visa or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation,” the banker advised.