"THE DAY" HAS ARRIVED

The big day has arrived!

Today our baby daughter married her love in an elegant and relaxing ceremony in a beautiful backyard setting.  

We wish them all the luck in the world.  Although, I must say - I have a feeling that they will not have to rely on Lady Luck for a gamble on happiness and love.  This looks like the real thing to me.  In a very short space of time, they seem to have found a recipe for success.

In my opinion there are certain foundational prerequisites to a good marriage.  It starts with respect, kindness, and realistic expectations. In addition, partners need to learn the skills of a healthy give and take, giving fair consideration to issues that present, and always try to empathize with the other point of view.  Putting the partnership needs above self needs will help  in reaching mutual goals.  

Trust is a cornerstone:  being able to place yourself in the hands of another, and look to the future with faith in a positive outcome. 

Resilience is a necessity - our journeys in life do not always lead to paradise. Partners need to learn to overcome obstacles with astute and practical problem-solving. Expect the unexpected, accept what can't be changed, deal with what you can, and move forward even if they are only small steps at a time.  

Sharing experiences and mutual goals is important.  Equally important, though, is holding onto your sense of self by setting personal goals and embracing your own values and beliefs, remembering that this is a right for the other person in the relationship as well.  

No relationship will stand the test of time if there is no forgiveness for mistakes and slip ups.   Stubborn, narrow opinions of what is acceptable, or possible or right will serve to stultify and stagnate.  Competitiveness and defensiveness also have no place in a successful marriage.   Flexibility in thought and deed, and the art of compromise should feature consistently.  Empathy is a natural soothsayer.

In the main, a marriage is constantly evolving and, therefore, needs constant work and attention.  Each partnership is special and will need unique components and approaches over time.  There is no how-to guide, no specific recipe for success.  

So to the newlyweds - choreograph your marriage dance:  put your dancing shoes on, listen to music, find your own rhythm, and dance the night away, forever in each others arms. 

We are truly happy that they have found each other.  We will enjoy watching on the sidelines as they start this wonderful new adventure together.   

Wishing you both true happiness and love to last a lifetime.

GOT THE T-SHIRT: "I SURVIVED A BERMUDA BUS RIDE"

 

Public transportation.  Gotta love it anywhere in the world.  In my opinion, London's bus rides are the best, followed closely by any major city in Europe.  In Peru and Ecuador - you take your chances with an erratic schedule and a busload of chickens and produce.  Ontario - what can I say - mainly redundant because of awkward timetables and long routes getting you nowhere.

Here in Bermuda, given the policy of only one car per family, bussing is an everyday occurrence for most islanders, and has become at least a weekly event for me.   The buses are clean, sometimes air conditioned (hear my sigh), and trundle past my stop with clockwork consistency.   Another plus, the routes cover the whole island, so there are few places inaccessible. 

Why not use the car you might ask?   I will hang my head in shame and whisper that I have not yet bothered to get my driver's license.  So the car sits sedately under a shady tree on weekdays, hence necessitating the bus drives.  My excuse is that finding parking can be a shrieking experience, or at least enough to make grown men cry.  Very little to be found except at grocery stores and even those become golden on weekends.   The narrow lanes provide hair-raising moments of stress - see photo below.  The winding roads and proliferation of s-bends have the ability to stop your heart when some daredevil on a scooter decides to pass the car coming towards you.  And for the life of me, I can't seem to find my way anywhere - I never seem to know where I am. Navigation never being my strong point.   

Second question - why is there a t-shirt?  Photo above should be self-explanatory.  However, there are additional reasons:  For one - the bus stops themselves are often nothing more than a blue pole (signifying a bus journey into the capital) or a pink pole (to let you know that you are on your way out of the city).  If you are lucky, those poles are placed strategically at a bus shelter, where the bus driver pulls out of traffic to let passengers climb on or off.   The more common approach is a stop with just a pole - placed on the edge of the road.  Often, this means that you have to stand very still and lean back slightly so that the bus doesn't scrape you as it rumbles off.  Beware of carrying large parcels at these spots as they can quite easily be knocked about as the bus leaves.  

Bus drivers are obviously very skillful - they manage to hug the sides of the road, brushing against shrubs and plants, hovering just inches from rock walls.  They miss the trucks on the other side by the other inch left available. Their speed is either full steam ahead, or zero when they come to a jolting, lurching stop for passenger drop offs and pick ups.  I quickly realized that the usual practice of anticipating your stop and getting up while the bus is still moving could have you swinging from bars, seemingly practicing an embarrassing pole dance move.   No one does this manoeuver here - we all wait patiently until the bus has come to a complete standstill before making our way down the aisle.

All in all, I am impressed with a small island's ability to move its people around so efficiently!

  

LOVING THE GINGER BEER HERE

In the past, I have always liked the occasional ginger beer, but here on the island it has become my staple request at pubs and restaurants.  Gosling's Ginger beer is an island made beverage that has been brewed to perfection.  It is just the right amount of spicyness and sweetness that tastes great, and is a welcome relief from my usual and boring diet coke.  Now if only the pubs would go for the diet ginger beer too.  Never mind - I now have my own stock of Gosling's diet ginger beer in our fridge.    

Apparently Gosling's - our famous distiller of Black Seal Rum - brewed the ginger beer especially for the island's national drink - the Dark 'N Stormy  - a highball cocktail made with dark rum and ginger beer, served over ice and a slice of lime.  A nice drink and something I would order on special occasions - but prefer the pure ginger beer, which goes down easily every time.

Ginger beer's origins date from the colonial spice trade in the Orient, and the sugar producing islands of the Carribbean and it has stayed popular in Bermuda ever since then. 

And why, may you ask, is it called ginger beer?  Well, according to my sources it is a beverage made from extracts of roots and plants - just like all the other beers!

Cheers everyone.