Words don’t often fail me but today was almost one of those rare occasions. However, I have pulled myself up from those depths all of us face at some time in our lives.

This missive today is from a man grieving from a family death but it still packs a punch from me that I hope will floor a boxing champion!

The Annual Rotary Christmas Tree Lighting that has always taken place, as far as my memory tells me, has been in the centre of George Town; right outside The Law Courts, and long before Heroes Square came to be.

How many of you remember the bent Christmas tree? That was part of the charm, until Rotary decided one fatal year to replace it with a metal one!

Even worse, despite the appeals to get the centre of George Town back to its rightful place, the centre of life here on Grand Cayman, and stop everything disappearing to Camana Bay, government have done the unthinkable.

Government have uprooted this year’s Christmas Tree to outside the Government Administration Building!!

The reason given to me by a distinguished, past President Rotarian, and now confirmed by a Government PR: “Work to add new features to Heroes Square ahead of the next National Heroes Day ceremony in January 2020 began today (Saturday, 30 November 2019).”

The tree lighting was to take place Monday Dec 2^nd!!!!!!!!

It has now been moved to outside (I presume its outside but the release doesn’t actually say outside) the Government Administration Building!! From what I know of government’s planning it could be in the Governor or Deputy Governor’s Office!

Who on God’s name decided to do this now? Why not wait until after the National Heroes Day ceremony? Or is it so damned important the square must be beautified up before our heroes are honored? Do you think they would care?

The insanity to execute it now when there is a holiday approaching – CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

As for our bees. They are dying everywhere.

Bees are one of the most important pollinators. Protecting them is critical to human survival!!!

Why are they dying in their hundreds along the Seven Mile Beach? Government doesn’t know.

If they do, they aren’t admitting it.

The suspect? Government’s Mosquito Research and Control Unit’s aerial spraying!!!! Remember only a few months ago they actually ran out of spray?

What are they using now?

We don’t know, but another government department, the Department of Environment, is talking to the MRCU. The DOE told CNS “the situation was serious and that they had raised their concerns about the deaths”.

“The concern is sufficiently serious to merit looking into, and we plan to work collaboratively with MRCU to do some rigorous fact-finding,” said Fred Burton, manager of the DoE Terrestrial Research Unit.

Thank God for Fred.

He does care.

He is one of my heroes. And so is my wife, Joan. She would tie herself to the Christmas tree in the Town centre to stop it being uprooted. Unfortunately, it wasn’t allowed to be rooted back there this year.

When you drive through town this Christmas you will have to be diverted out of the centre to see the Nation’s Christmas Tree. Or go to Caymana Bay. There you will find one along with all the many other businesses that have moved there.

Hopefully, there aren’t any dead bees laying on the ground there or under their beautiful Christmas tree.

The madness lies with Government.