BERMUDA AND NEW ENGLAND IN SPRING - BERMUDA #2

Thursday 25 May 1995 Bermuda

As things have turned out, there was little time to write up this journal while we were on Bermuda. I was there on a business trip combined with a conference, so meetings, conference sessions, entertainment, shopping and plain fun all took the time I usually set aside each day to write. What follows is an amalgam constructed from detailed entries, rough notes and combined memories.

The breakfasts at the hotel were very good – heavily American oriented and most mornings they had the really crisp and tasty bacon that we miss in Australia. Gary arrived the day after we did. We thought he would be blown away by his experiences in the USA on his way across from Wagga Wagga in Australia and by Bermuda. Of course I should have known better. It was his first overseas trip, apart from a holiday in New Zealand and two visits to the subsidiary companies in Papua New Guinea.  Never very overtly enthusiastic about new experiences at the best of times he is always almost aggressively disgruntled when he is ill at ease or uncertain what the appropriate action is. When we met for a drink we got the impression that his room was small and dark and only found out a couple of days later that, whilst it did not have the sea views or large veranda that we had with our room, he still had a balcony and the room was about the same size as ours.

A dainty scooter ride

Of course, once we settled him in and showed him around he was, while still not enthusiastic, but clearly enjoying his experiences. He and I hired a couple of scooters, a very popular form of transport around the island’s narrow roads, on one of our free days. We explored most of the accessible areas – not too difficult as the main island (really 8 islands joined by bridges) is only 22 miles long and 2 miles broad at it’s widest point. Sitting near St Catherine’s Fort at the northern tip of the island, sipping a local beer in the warm noonday sun he said he was still finding it difficult to come to grips that he really was here in Bermuda, half way around the world from Wagga Wagga.

St Catherine's Fort

He was included in a dinner party ( a fish barbecue) given by Gareth and Carol at their house – Gareth being an old acquaintance from SAfrica now heading up our host’s operation in Bermuda. Gareth’s man from Johannesburg, Johan and wife Jenny were there as was a man from Rio Tinto London office – Jeff and wife Judy. Carol seems happier here in Bermuda than she was in England when we last saw her there but the children were a little weird, we thought. They behaved impeccably, but in a very adult way. Gareth says Mark has had a difficult time settling in what is his fourth environment in about two years. I felt for him, especially in the light of what Matt has told us about the problems he had resulting from our moves around the world. It is rather strange in the light of these kind of experiences that I have tended to see all my moves in my childhood as having a positive outcome in that it created a degree of independence and ability to deal with change which I might not have had otherwise.

The weekend was basically free because of the weather. Trips to snorkel on the reefs and to go fishing had to be cancelled, but that left more time for Rab to shop, which was fine as far as she is concerned. She used to thoroughly enjoy fishing in Zimbabwe on Lake Kariba, but is less keen on sea fishing, having a deep distrust of deep water – and a morbid fear of seasickness. Hamilton is a pretty town in a pretty island. The houses all have white roofs but are painted in bright colours and all are built over underground reservoirs where rainwater is collected off the roof, since there is no natural water source on the island. Historically the paint used on the roofs was whitewash - mixture of lime and water which was intended to disinfect the water. People are now using acrylic paint which lasts much longer but are having problems with their water supply which is tending to develop some interesting bacteria down there in the dark.

Cruise ships anchored across the bay

Hamilton the main town was very neat and well kept. One of the most striking aspects of the town being that the visiting cruise ships literally parked in the main road. On the one side of the road were these massive vessels towering above the palm trees that lined the road: on the other side were the brightly coloured shops, most built in old colonial style. Disembarking passengers simply walked down the gangway of their ship and across the road to look for souvenirs. These were of higher quality than many destinations and a block or two back there were some very good, high quality shops, aimed at the wealthy visiting businessmen and their partners, rather  than the passengers on cruise liners. Aiming to fit into local customs and dress I acquired a pair of Bermuda shorts and long socks, the formal business dress being a collar and tie worn with a blazer (with brass buttons usually), shorts, long socks and black shoes.

The main street in Hamilton

The Rugby Union World Cup was being held in South Africa in May and June and the opening game between the then current World Champions and the host country – South Africa – was played while we were in Bermuda. (The final of this series was the basis of the film  Invictus released in 2009). There was great interest in the games among the expatriates living in Bermuda and many of the people attending the conference but alas, Gary was not one of them and he had arranged a meeting with the auditors which clashed with the game so I never saw South Africa beating Australia. It is a strange problem anyone has who changes countries of domicile on the subject of sports loyalty On the one hand the country of birth exercises a strong pull, but on the other there is the country that took you in and is now looking after you very nicely.

What the welldressed man wears in Bermud

The conference was, as conferences go, fairly good. Many of the papers regurgitated old knowledge, some put forward interesting new ideas – and were rejected by the old hands as being impractical. “We have never done it that way” I have always defended attendance at these affairs, not so much for the papers, but because it is often the case that contacts are made which can develop into long term mutually beneficial arrangements. (My good Swedish friend Lars is a prime example. We met at a conference in the Seychelles in about 1985.)

Rab has acquired some rather nice goods there and we also bought a matching pair of good looking gold watches which we thought would make excellent reminders of what has been a happy week. We also had a photograph taken at a Moongate. I was taken aback initially with thoughts of the film Stargate which I had watched flying over and the Bermuda Triangle. Was this some way of time travelling or moving to a parallel universe. It turned out to be more prosaic – they were ‘fashionable’ at one time, imported  by the British colonials from their native China. But it was said that it was regarded as good luck for newlyweds to step through the gate. Even though we were not exactly newly weds, we were happy to step through. Every little helps.

Going for the extra luck