‘Everything that He commands’
A Beaconite attending the Baughers Bay launch of Omar Hodge’s campaign for re-election arrived to find Virgin Islands Party candidates singing along to a religious song while a television display showed each of their photos in turn. The Beaconite was briefly unsure, though, of the subject of the adulation, as Premier Ralph O’Neal’s image appeared on screen as the lyrics described people “who are willing to do everything that He commands.” Of course, the rest of the lyrics quickly made the subject unambiguous — hence, the capital “He” in the previous sentence, which referred to God, not Mr. O’Neal.
Basketball diary
A Beaconite had the opportunity to watch some of the Summer Jam basketball series in Virgin Gorda recently, and she was very impressed. All the players were fast and entertaining to watch. Some players seemed to intuit where their teammates would be when they passed the ball, while others seemed able to leap surprisingly high or steal the ball from an opponent without actually having to touch it. Despite her appreciation for the sport, the Beaconite has to admit she doesn’t really understand basketball. In fact, when the game is played really well, despite having played herself for a whole season in primary school, the reporter has trouble following exactly what is happening, as she tends not to be able to spot aspects of the game more complicated than run, pass and shoot. She can tell who wins, though, and wishes the best of luck to the players as they move into the end of their season.
New agricultural policy?
A Beaconite recently attended the launch of Dr. Kedrick Pickering’s re-election campaign at a rally in the Sticket and walked away a little confused. To emphasise a point about the efforts he makes for his constituents in the Seventh District, Dr. Pickering used a metaphor that seemed to lose most of the audience. “My colleague in the House, Minister [of Education and Culture Andrew] Fahie has a saying he likes to use from time to time: ‘Only hen who lay egg can cattle,’” Dr. Pickering said.
He paused for a moment, but the crowd was silent. “You all didn’t get it,” Dr. Pickering said. “You all didn’t get it. Only hen that lay egg can cattle. I can lay egg tonight, I can cattle.” There were some cheers, but the crowd seemed more engaged when the veteran legislator changed topics, unveiling his proposals to grow the economy.
Paying online
Some Beaconites don’t particularly enjoy walking to the BVI Electricity Corporation office each month. So they were glad to learn that the BVIEC is planning a new system to allow customers to pay bills online. The initiative is to be launched on Monday, according to Government Information Services. Beaconites think this is a great idea, and hope that other statutory boards and government agencies will come on board. Besides reducing paperwork, the initiative probably will help ensure that more bills get paid in a timely manner.
Oops
Lately, election candidates have been hanging banners and signs around the territory. At least one of them, though, could have used a proofreader. A sign for Omar Hodge says, “The People’s Man: Proyects.” Beaconites hope Mr. Hodge got a discount.