I would like to take this time to send this message to all the families and friends of those who died at Campus Trendz on September 3, 2010.
I can understand you loss in a way, since I too have lost a child and two wives. But no one can ever really know that hurt that we feel deep down inside which we do our best to live with in hopes that the hurt will subside.
All of you have my deepest sympathy, and know that this is a day that even though I am not in Barbados, I will remember for as long as breath remains in my body.
May the Almighty continue to ease the pain in your hearts, and remember that they are only really gone when you no longer can remember them.
We were all sent here on this earth to perform a task by the Almighty. And when that task is complete, we are then given our wings to come on home to be with Him in peace, no longer having anymore trials and tribulations.
At a time when business transactions worldwide are done at the click of a mouse, the local public sector is following suit by making some of its services available from a virtual platform.
However, a few of these services are still fragmented and according to Business Development and Operations Officer with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, Rodney Taylor, government must play a leading role in the rationalisation and integration of all the “disparate pieces of government” into a seamless mechanism.
He made this observation earlier this week during the general interest forum of the Caribbean ICT Roadshow at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Taylor said a streamlined government was critical to the country’s advancement as an information communication technology hub.
“This [streamlined government] is something that the CTU has been advocating. If we are to advance as an information society, government has to play a leading role in this effort. In addition to the cost savings that can be realised, it would serve as an impetus to drive a lot of activity in the private sector to develop the industry further,” he added.
Quoting from an institutional framework document produced by Atos, an international information technologies company, Taylor said the objectives outlined in the report are: to support the national strategic ICT plan; coordinate and support government’s e-government activities; nurture information proficiency, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship; provide a secure information environment; and to develop human resources capacity to enable socio-economic and cultural development.
The report also outlined the Barbados situation, and found an ICT sector that: had several IT departments in government at different stages of development; a lack of coordination among departments; cost redundancies, duplication and wastage in the region of $1million a month on Internet connectivity and telephone line service based on the requirements of offices; and insufficient ICT skills.
In light of these deficiencies, the CTU Business Development and Operations Officer said the document also offered suggestions on how the situation could be addressed.
One of the ideas put forward in the company’s governance model for the institutional framework for the country, Taylor said, was a Government minister with direct responsibility for ICT development and the establishment of a national ICT steering committee, as well as an ICT agency management committee.
He added: “The ICT agency would give strategic direction through policy, legal and regulatory framework and I believe the agency best suited to carry out the function at this time is the Data Processing Department. It [ICT agency] would also be responsible for national strategy, policy formulation, programme implementation and coordination and developing partnerships…”
During the official opening ceremony, Minister of Commerce and Trade, Senator Haynesley Benn, noted that whereas government was a champion for the efficient and enabling ICT environment, innovators and current practitioners in the development of the local ICT sector also had to play their part.
“I am, therefore, making a plea for our private sector ICT companies to embark on mentoring and incubation programmes for young students or fledgling youth businesses.
“Until we do these things, we may lose the opportunity of unearthing a young brilliant Barbadian who has the capacity to develop software or hardware products, a new smart phone, reader, application or some technology that is capable of undertaking a particular function in half the time or at a far lesser cost than now obtains.” he underlined.
The commerce minister said the challenge for Barbados and the region was to see the importance of embracing digital technologies as the “compelling way forward for our further progress”.
The ICT Roadshow, which has as its theme Harnessing the Power of Innovation: The Engine for ICT-Enabled Development, ended yesterday with a Cyber Security Forum and an IXP Forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Scotiabank has received recognition as Global Bank of the Year from The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication.
The bank was also recognised in seven other categories, including Bank of the Year for the Americas. This is the first time a Canadian bank has been recognised in either category.
Financial institutions are judged by The Banker on their ability to deliver shareholder returns and gain strategic advantage.
“We are honoured to be the first Canadian bank to be recognised as Global Bank of the Year,” said Rick Waugh, CEO of Scotiabank. “At Scotiabank we pride ourselves on our ability to earn a strong return on capital while staying true to the risk management culture that has been a driving force of our success for more than 180 years.
“Scotiabank has a strong track record of delivering superior results and at the heart of that success is our culture, which is rooted in our values and good business judgement,” Waugh added.
Scotiabank was also recognised by the magazine as Bank of the Year in Canada, Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Turks and Caicos and the British Virgin Islands.
The Banker’s Bank of the Year Award is in its 12th year. The magazine is the world’s longest running international banking magazine, recognised as a leading source of information on finance and investment around the globe. The magazine is a key source of data and analysis for the banking industry and is read in more than 180 countries.
Almond Beach Resort, which closed its doors on May 1 last year, has raised tens of thousands of dollars from the sale of property ranging from household items to vehicles and boats.
The two-day public auction, which concluded today, included other items such as tiles, crockery, linen, beach chairs, cutlery, lighting fixtures, soaps and plumbing equipment.
President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, Patricia Affonso-Daas, told Barbados TODAY this afternoon, that contrary to what people thought, the items put on the auction block were not from the hotel’s rooms.
“These were the items in stock which the hotel was planning to use … in excess; nothing from the hotel itself,” added the BHTA head. (EJ)
The Sheriff controlled the town on Sunday.†Roger The Sheriff Skeete and Louis Venezia claimed their first victory for the season in a Subaru Impreza WRC S12 in the exciting Valvoline Rally.
The event served as a great appetiser for the imminent June Rally.†Despite some challenges, including the rain which fell in the afternoon, the Barbados Rally Club successfully ran all 10 planned stages at two venues in the north of the island.†Nearly half the 37-car field which left the 9 a.m. start at Automotive Art, Welches, missed at least one stage, so were not included in the overall results; those who completed two-thirds of the stages, however, collected valuable points towards the BRC’s Virgin Atlantic-sponsored Class Championship.†Skeete was a happy winner.
“It was an excellent day. The launch control was working great, we had some clean runs and I built on that. We got the overheating issues from the last event sorted and used today to try some more set-up changes,” he said on Sunday.†Paul Bourne, winner of all three previous events for the year, was an early casualty in the Ford Focus WRC07, as he reported himself on the new LIMElive Facebook page.
“I was the first to go, only 10 or 15 seconds into SS1 when the problem started. The problem persisted into SS2, prompting the decision to retire after the stage. It turns out, after some checking by Brett and the crew, that the alternator was overcharging which caused the control box to shut the systems down.”
Skeete was not having it all his own way, however. Fastest on the first two runs up Hangman’s Hill, he twice had to give best on Dark Hole to Neil Armstrong and Barry Ward in their Suzuki SX4 WRC. Their challenge ended on the last stage before lunch, however, with a possible misfire, which caused a cautious Armstrong to pull off the stage, so he was no longer in the overall running.†With Armstrong second on all but one, Skeete was fastest on the five afternoon stages, to claim a winning margin of 66 seconds over WRC-2 class-winners Roger Hill and Graham Gittens in the Toyota Corolla WRC.
Third were Josh Read and Mark Jordan (Toyota Starlet), who had prevailed in a thrilling four-car battle for two-wheel-drive honours, which was settled on the day’s very last stage.†Reunited with his RB05-winning co-driver Max Ferri, Roger Mayers was fastest on stage one in the WR Starlet, with Ian and Robert Warren (Suzuki Swift) second and Read third. While Read asserted himself on stage two, Mayers retained the lead by just eight-tenths.
Mayers was fastest on the three remaining morning stages, building a margin of 10secs over Read by lunchtime, with Rhett Watson/Sean Corbin (BMW M3) third and Warren fourth.†Watson topped the two-wheel-drive times on the afternoon’s first stage, as did Daryl Clarke and Russell Brancker (Honda Civic) on stage eight; they had earlier missed stages, once when the bonnet blew up and smashed the windscreen, and were continuing with no screen and wearing protective goggles.
Read and Mayers were second and third behind Watson, Read clipping a second off the leader’s advantage – and that pattern continued, Read benefitting from the damp conditions, faster by nearly 5secs on stage nine to bring the gap down to 2.19secs. Both pulled out all the stops, Read faster by 2.26secs to win by seven-hundredths.†Read said afterwards: “We really could not match Mayers’ pace in Canefield, but when the rain came with three runs in Dark Hole, it worked much to my advantage and I enjoyed it.”
Mayers added: “I had the upper hand on Josh in the dry, but he took back out the time in the wet. The range of conditions has shown us all the areas we have to work on.”
Warren is another with work to do: “We have a very troubling brake problem, as the brake pedal went to the floor at some point in almost every run. We have to use the break now to definitely rectify this.”
Returning to competition, and replacing the injured Logan Watson in the BMW M3, Trevor Manning and Derek Edwards finished ninth overall and second in SuperModified 12.
Manning said: “We took the day pretty easy and settled into the car later into the day. The car is really reliable and only took a tank of gas and a change of tires when the skies opened. We will be doing King of the Hill and Rally Barbados, and we may just see more of Electric Micey than Micey!” (RB)††
Over the last 25 years, I believe our small company has been a model corporate citizen on Barbados. We have no outstanding debt to either Government or the private sector, yet next week we will be forced to go cap-in-hand and beg our bankers for an overdraft facility.
Simply to be able to cover our expenses, while we await several VAT refunds totalling over $32,000, which have been overdue for as long as two and a half years.
We are told that all the claims have been approved, but are ‘warned’ not to call the VAT office, to chase when payment will be paid.
Of course, we have tried to approach Government discreetly by writing to two Ministers with responsibility for either VAT or small businesses, but weeks later, neither have bothered to respond.
Recently under a banner headline in one of the media outlets entitled’ VAT Division not taking full blame’ VAT division Auditor, Ryan Wiltshire, attempted to spread the blame onto another Goverment department, stating ‘it was up to the Treasury’.
Frankly, we are not interested, as already it is a burden to prop up as clearly unsustainable huge civil service that has been completely isolated from the reality of operating in the real world of commerce.
And it is almost adding insult to injury when you see Government workers driving around in taxpayer funded luxury SUV vehicles.
Rarely a week goes by without hearing one Minister of another spout the importance of supporting small businesses, which are deemed globally as the best vehicles for economic recovery and employment generation.
Sadly, this appears only to be more political rhetoric and it is probably best to cease and desist at this time, as few out there believe you anymore.
Owners of Honda vehicles are being urged to check their chassis numbers to determine if their vehicle is among those being recalled for defective airbag inflator mechanisms.
The Japanese motor company is recalling 1.4 million of its Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States to replace the front passenger airbag inflators made by Takata.
The defective Takata inflators are at risk of exploding in a crash, spraying metal shrapnel into passenger compartments, and likely causing serious injuries.
The bad inflators have already resulted in the largest series of auto recalls in US history, covering 50 million inflators in 37 million vehicles.
Already, more than 500 Hondas in Barbados, with model years from 2001 to 2015 are to be recalled, according to the dealer for Honda Motors Barbados, Platinum Motors.
The company has launched a marketing campaign urging owners to examine their vehicle’s model and chassis number.
But so far, only approximately 300 vehicles have been repaired, the service manager of Platinum Motors, Leslie Alleyne told Barbados TODAY.
Car owners can verify the status of their vehicles through the www.HondaBarbados.com website or via calling Platinum’s service department at 621-4209/10, he said.
“We have done a couple of campaigns already to let people know about the recall andto have their chassis number checked to see if they are affected . . . . The problem is that we don’t have contact information for everyone so we have dealt with who we have found,” Alleyne explained.
“We have been very proactive and dealt with the many vehicles that we had contact information for, and those that have responded to previous marketing efforts but our problem is that we don’t have contact with all of the rest of the owners because . . . vehicles would have changed hands sometimes two and three times,” he continued.
Platinum Motors is to launch a major marketing campaign within a few weeks in an effort to have all the remaining inflators replaced, Alleyne said.
This past year my husband and I did a lot of downsizing in preparation for a move from a nine-room house to a five-room house. Part of our downsizing also was simply a recognition that we were at the age when we did not want to continue all the upkeep a large home and a big yard required. At 70 I decided life was too short to spend precious moments taking care of so much “stuff.” In the middle of our downsizing we also decided to move over 350 miles from one state to another to join our youngest daughter and her family.
Putting our house on the market, we began selling, giving away and simply discarding a lot of items accumulated over a lifetime. As we prepared for the move, we stored the boxes in our garage. On the day of our move my husband looked at all we had boxed up and ready for the move and he said,
As I reflected on my husband’s life I realized he has not accumulated a lot of wealth or possessions. Yet, I believe he has many treasures in heaven.
I think of the hundreds he has baptised, the baby dedications, the weddings and the funerals he has conducted. To him, these were not just formal ceremonies but opportunities to share God’s love and rejoice with those who rejoiced and to weep with those who wept.
But I think the one of the greatest things he did was to minister to those in nursing homes – the forgotten ones. He not only visited them, but he spent quality time with them. Watching him interact with the residents of the nursing homes was always a proud moment for me. He took such time to ask about their family, where they lived and worked. After one visit he always remembered their name and many times the names of their grandchildren. Their eyes would light up when they saw him. Sadly, many who had once been very active in their church found they were forgotten after a few weeks in a nursing home.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
That did get me to thinking. As the moving company began loading the truck with our possessions, I wondered:
If I could see the treasures I have in heaven, would they fit in a duffel bag or would I need a pickup train or a semi-truck to hold them?
Posted in Aging, Christian Life, Family Life, Uncategorized, Word of God	| Tagged Aging, downsizing, Heaven, Moving, nursing homes, possessions, treasure	| 4 Replies
Today we put our house on the market. It has been a busy few months as we began the process of downsizing preparing to move from a nine-room house to something much smaller.
My experience in this process of deciding what to keep and what to sell, give away or throw out has been an interesting one. Döstädning – Death Cleaning
At times I have felt relief as I began to see the freedom I would have when I did not have to spend so much time cleaning and dusting and moving “stuff” around. Relief as I look forward to the day my washer and dryer is on the same living level and I do not have to climb up and downstairs to do the laundry. (Or, in my case, my dear husband does not have to do that.)
Other times I have felt some sorrow as I parted with items I have enjoyed over the years. But how many Isabel Blooms can one house have? (For my readers who are not familiar with Isabel Bloom, check out their website at isbloom.com
Perhaps the thing I will miss the most is my garden. This garden was built by my husband with love for me. The Garden that Love Built
It has been so much fun to watch this garden grow from a couple of trees and a few hostas plants until now the entire back yard is one beautiful garden.
Downsizing and moving to a smaller place was what we originally had planned. However, in the middle of these plans our youngest daughter who lives with her family nearby announced they are moving to another state for a job opportunity for her.
Although we have six children (one is deceased), 20 grandchildren (three are deceased) and our ninth great grandchild is on his way, our children are scattered all over the states. Missouri, West Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina and Michigan. This daughter was the only child near us. So – moving to a smaller place suddenly has taken on a harder decision.
Where do we go? At our age we do not want to live without any family nearby. Which child gets the blessing (or the curse) of having us live close by? ♥
As we begin the process of deciding exactly where we will call home it is a stressful time hoping to find a place we will really love. But it is also an exciting time as we look forward to a new home and making new friends.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
Posted in Aging, Family Life, Gardening, Memories, Retirement, Uncategorized	| Tagged downsizing, Faith, Family, garden, Isabel Bloom, Retirement, Trust	| 9 Replies
I love to read the Gospel of Mark. His story is full of action. More about what Jesus did rather than what He said. This week as I read once again how His disciples seemed to simply not “get it” I thought:
They saw Jesus take a few fish and a little bread and feed a multitude. And He did this not first, but twice.
Besides the miracles of feeding the crowds that followed Him, He also had calmed the violent storm by merely speaking to it. He had healed a man who had spent years naked living among the tombs and cutting himself with stones. He had raised a young woman from the dead.
Yet as they rowed across the lake once more and Jesus began to try to teach about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders by telling them to beware of the “yeast” of the Pharisees, they immediately thought they were in trouble because they had forgotten to bring any bread with them.
Yet, what is my tendency when I get sick, when trouble comes, when I feel weak mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually?
Just like the disciples, I often forget what I have seen my God do – and I start to worry, to get all upset at the situation.
When my girls were growing up, I am sure I made mistakes in my parenting. But even so, I was a good mother. I saw that they had food to eat, clean clothes to wear, a comfortable bed to sleep in. I worked hard to provide not only their material needs, but made myself available to listen to their concerns, to play with them, to support them in their efforts in life.
I really hope I have food to eat tomorrow. I hope mother doesn’t forget to wash my clothes this week. I’m really afraid Mom won’t buy me the new shoes I need.
How could you say that? Haven’t I always had good meals on the table every day? Haven’t I always washed your clothes? Haven’t I always bought you new shoes and clothes as you needed them? How could you possible be worrying that I would not provide for you?
We decorate our homes with trees, candles, wreaths. We put out a nativity set and hang up an angel or two. We plan gatherings with family and friends where there will be presents and lots of delicious food to eat. Everything is so neat and tidy – so beautiful. It’s truly a joyous time as we celebrate our Savior’s birth.
Our Christmas cards show scenes of Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus and they look so beautiful and so peaceful. Even our Christmas carols speak of a little baby who makes no crying and of a night where all is calm.
But how far from that first Christmas have we come? Was it really beautiful, calm and peaceful to Mary and Joseph and those who played a role in that first Christmas?
How must Mary have first felt when the angel appeared to her with those amazing words: “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Because we know how the story ends, we think “What an honor to be chosen to bear the Son of God. What great news this was.”
But put yourself in Mary’s place for a moment. How frightening it would be to say, ‘Hey Mom and Dad, I’m pregnant but I’m still a virgin. This child I bear has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Can you imagine the response of her parents to that announcement?
And how would she face Joseph? He would know he was not the father. What would he say? Certainly he would have questions. Would he still marry her? Would he bring her before the community to be stoned?
Mary’s dream of marriage to Joseph and a wonderful life suddenly looked as if it would be shattered.
Her decision was a matter of trust. She responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
How appropriate that the One who would say “I am Bread of Life” would be born in a city whose meaning is “house of bread.” And in Micah, 5 the prophet foretold that the Messiah would come from this small and insignificant town of Bethlehem.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.
Imagine traveling 90 miles over unpaved, hilly trails with Mary in the late weeks of her pregnancy riding on a donkey and Joseph leading on foot. Bible scholars estimate that they would have probably only been able to make 10 miles a day because of Mary’s impending delivery. There could be threats of bandits along the trail. They had to carry their own provisions.
The hardships did not end when they arrived in Bethlehem. We think of Mary and Joseph alone in the stable but it is possible that they shared that stable with others. In an overcrowded Bethlehem they were probably not the only ones who could find no room in the inn.
I can’t imagine giving birth in a cold stable with possibly no help in delivery except my husband who is a carpenter and maybe some strangers who offered help. To lay my new-born baby in a feeding trough for animals.
I find it hard to believe that baby Jesus just laid there quiet and calm. After all, the Bible tells us that He came to “be like us,” to understand our weakness and frailty.
One of the main points the writer of the book of Hebrews makes is that Jesus experienced human life as we know it, so why would He as a baby not have felt the cold, the hunger? Why would He not have cried as all new-born babies do?
Imagine Mary, worn out from giving birth, quieting her baby and watching Joseph tenderly lay him in the manger. Perhaps she thought about the visit from Gabriel and his words about this son she just gave birth to. Perhaps she wondered why, if this boy was the savior of the world, they were sleeping in a stable and he was laying in the place where animals took their meals.
Finally, she leans back on the hay to try to get a little sleep when suddenly the stable is invaded by a group of shepherds straight from the hills where they had been tending their sheep. Pos sibly they did not smell all that pleasant. They no doubt were very excited and loudly proclaiming what they had seen and heard. As they shared the stories of the angels, no doubt Mary remembered her visit from Gabriel. What reassurance to know that others now had heard the wonderful message that this child was sent from God. She and Joseph were not alone in knowing the wondrous news of this birth.
Soon it was time to take the little baby to the temple and present the sacrifices required after giving birth. We can see from the gifts they brought of two turtledoves or two young pigeons that Mary and Joseph were among the poor of the land. Leviticus 12 tells us requirements for this offering.
“These, then are the procedures after childbirth. But if she is too poor to bring a lamb, then she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigoens.
Standing in the temple still reflecting on all the events of the past few days, Mary was again reminded of the importance of her son when a man named Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God, saying
Lord, now I can die content! For I have seen him as you promised me I would. I have seen the Savior you have given o the world.
A sword shall pierce your soul, for this child shall be rejcted by many in Israel, and this to their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy of many others. And the deepest thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed.
How different Mary’s experience of Christmas is from ours. But as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, may we go beyond the bright lights, the food, the music – may we, like Mary, experience the wonder of this miracuous birth. May we trust this Savior and like Mary, may we say