We nearly got away with it. It was a fairly quiet Christmas holiday on our roads until yesterday (28). Despite the dreadfully bad start no serious road accident was reported …. until early Wednesday morning. I was hopeful the RCIPS’ Christmas Cracker was now working. Maybe people realised drinking and driving is not such a good idea? Wrong. At 2:20am a car travelling on the Linford Pierson Highway collided with a tree that somehow had got in its way. Two people are in hospital, and one (the driver) is in serious condition.

We now have to get through New Year’s Eve/Day. PLEASE be careful. Don’t be another statistic.

It was sad we did have a death last Monday (26) when a teenager, Justin Henry, was drowned after cliff diving at Pedro. This is not the first time swimmers have got into difficulties at this spot. It was only last July two students from St. Matthews University got into difficulties in exactly the same spot. Luckily the RCIPS got there in time to rescue them. Mr. Henry was not so lucky. His companion was rescued and is recovering in hospital.  There are now recriminations that the RCIPs did not act quickly enough. However, it does make me wonder why people ignore all the warnings and learn from past experiences in this area. It’s not just these persons who are risking death but others who have to risk their lives in trying to rescue them. Our condolences go out to all the friends and family. What a horrible end to 2011.

A warning to all who attempt to do business in a bar. You never know who is watching. Local businessman, Aldo Gianne, claims he was insulted and threatened by another local businessman, Lee Webb, when he was attempting to do business in the West Bay Road Havana Club Cigar Lounge on Sat. 26 November. A lawsuit has been filed by Gianne against Webb.

The Gospel of St. Luke has been translated into Jamaican patois for the first time with mixed reviews. With the King James Bible version celebrating 400 years and the complete Holy Bible having been translated into 392 different languages with a total of 2,287 Portions/Testaments/Bibles (according to UBS World Report) so why not also translated in Patois? If you wanted the Bible in English and you lived before 1881 you had only one version, the one executed by King James. Whilst there are differences in all of the versions no translation changes the major doctrine of Christianity. The deity of Christ, virgin birth, salvation by grace alone – and all the rest – are still intact. As long as the Jamaican patois version stays within this doctrine I applaud it.

I was annoyed to find on Monday (26) when I went to retrieve my post from my postal box in George Town that four Christmas cards I had posted – three to UK and one to USA – had been returned to me for insufficient postage. I had posted SIXTEEN cards to UK and USA. They were all the same cards taken from the same package with same greeting and picture. Twelve had been WEIGHED and posted at the main post office in Dorcy Drive and the other four had been posted a few days afterward at the post box outside Kirk Supermarket in Eastern Avenue. Those were the four that had been returned to my postal box. All sixteen cards had had the same postage stamps attached according to their destination.

The only two explanations I can offer is that not all the post office weighing machines are calibrated exactly the same. Or, the season to eat and be merry spilled over to those Christmas cards and they did actually weigh more. Despite this, the overweight as recorded by one of these machines, must have been very minute and Post Office – hallo – it is CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! You won’t have to worry next year. Like a LOT of others I shall be sending my Christmas cards to friends abroad by electronic mail. It is quicker, less trouble and almost free. Mr. Scrooge at the Post Office, you are the loser. I hope you got some enjoyment at my expense but it won’t happen Christmas 2012. Has the Cayman Island Post Office noticed what is happening to the postal services in the USA and UK? They are
LOSING customers. Be nice to the ones you still have, especially at Christmas!