Anguilla Local News

Sandy Island may revive as Anguilla's place to relax on a Sunday afternoon. . . .

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 February 1, 1999 - Site Map - Click to enlarge pictures

Sandy Island Comes Alive

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On January 17, 1999 a crowd of 200 people ventured out on the free water taxi to enjoy the launching of Sandy Island BBQ.

The island now has a large shady pavillion, with a bar and BBQ restaurant, to complement the reef-protected beach and lagoon. Very protected swimming here, and a fun boat trip out as well. The menu consists of ribs, chicken, fish, crayfish and lobster, with prices from US$14 to $28. Drinks are priced from $2 for a Coke to $6 for a Pina Colada.

There is live entertainment every Sunday, featuring the Musical Brothers plus Frankie Rogers on Saxaphone. They play uptempo Caribbean favorites, such as "Hot, Hot, Hot".

Open noon to 4pm, 6 days a week (closed Saturday), live music on Sunday. Free water taxi from Sandy Ground, perhaps from Meads Bay later (call to confirm). Telephone: 1-264-497-8780.




News Tidbits from Anguilla

The Casino Trip. Link Ferries and Lightning Casino present a night of dining and gambling in St. Maarten. All inclusive price of $75 includes return boat fare, departure taxes, transport to/from casino, buffet style dinner, unlimited drinks, and $50 in casino chips. The boat leaves Anguilla at 7pm and departs St. Martin at 1am. Identification required. Advance reservations required: 497-2231 or [email protected] by email.

Roots, Inc., the company that operatoes Body and Soul fitness center, now offers accommodations on Sandy Ground beach and a fax and email service for visiting yachtsmen! Susanne has a 1 bedroom studio for $100-$125 per night and a single room as well, both tastefully decorated and tropical. These are right on the waterfront, next door to the Dive Shop. Telephone: 1-264-497-8364, email: [email protected]

Looking for Midwives. Jan Tritten from "Midwifery Today" magazine is putting on a conference on midwifery in Jamaica in December 1999. Her goal is to get midwives together from around the world, but especially from the Caribbean. She would like to invite a midwife on Anguilla, although she can only donate the conference fee and hopes that some local group can help with transport and a place to stay. Contact can by email at [email protected]



New PCs Donated to Computer Club

[Click to enlarge] Thanks to a generous donation, the Anguilla Library Computer Club has eight new Pentium-class PCs. The donation came from Dave Thomas, a software entrepreneur who has purchased a villa in Anguilla, with shipping donated by Bob and Mary Ann Green, and set up done by all the club volunteers, including Tyler Close, a young computer engineer who won the Engineering Prize of Canada and decided to spend the money living in Anguilla and thinking about his next invention, an object-oriented database. On a single Sunday, club members set up the eight computers, added network cards, connected them together and to the Internet, and installed educational software.

Because the club now has dependable CD-rom and Sound capability, they have been able to offer new experiences to the children who use the lab: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, American Heritage Talking Dicitonary, Toon Talk programming game, Sim Tunes from Maxis for creating musical art, and Blues Clues puzzle adventures (the most popular).

To keep the noise level down, they installed headphones on each system instead of speakers. To protect the Win95 software from eventual destruction by eagerly enquiring hands, they installed Storm Windows, a security system that allows you to lock the Windows configuration and the desktop. One older system is a designated "crash and burn" machine, where students can experiment, install software, and get into the innards of Windows 95.

The lab is located in the back of the Arts and Craft building, next to the library. The club is currently open Mondays 3:30 to 5pm for those 12 and older, and Thursdays 3:30 to 5pm for younger children. Admission is $2EC per visit. The lab is also used by Information Technology students from the high school. Visitors welcome.

Directions: from the airport parking lot, take the only exit and turn left. Continue straight past Island Car Rental and the National Bank. Turn left at Alberts Market, go past the library, turn left past the Dept of Education, and drive to the back.




Visitor Feedback

Every day brings new email messages about Anguilla. Here is an interesting message that came in recently:

Thu, 17 Dec 1998 8:31:19 -0800
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thanks!!

Thanks for your advice through our previous e-mails and phone calls on Anguilla. I also gathered a lot of information through your fabulous web site. Thank you for all of your valuable information!

My husband and I travelled to Anguilla mid November and we have never had a better trip! We stayed at Cap Juluca, which in our opinion, is the finest in the Caribbean. What a great beach, service, food and activities! Their staff is unparalleled.

We also enjoyed Mango's, Blanchards, Oliver's and Luciano's for dinners outside Cap Juluca, with Mango's being our favorite.

Scilly Cay was a lot of fun with their live music on Sunday as well as tasty rum punch!! We also ventured out in a jeep to see the beautiful Shoal Bay.

I was surprised at how friendly the people are. Even though I heard that through the various travel forums, I was still surprised at how nice and helpful everyone was.

We hope to come back next year!! Hope all is well with you and your family.

Read more email from visitors.




Agricultural Fair 1999

[Click to enlarge] January 89-30, 1999 was the annual Agricultural Exhibition in Anguilla. The show is like a small "county fair" and is held on the grounds of the Agriculture Department, which is up Coronation Blvd toward Koal Keel restaurant.

Farmers enter their fresh crops and animals in a competition for awards: pumpkins, sweet peppers, goats, chickens, sheep, beekeeping, ...

There is produce and local honey for sale, or you can buy a souvenir T-shirt. Listen to music, eat barbeque and traditional local food and drink. Enjoy browsing through art and craft booths, even buy some plants or fertilizer.

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School children go on class outings to the fair on Friday to learn about farming and farm animals.

If you want to try local farm products while staying in a villa, drop by the Agriculture Dept and see what they have for sale. There is usually a selection of produce, fruit, honey and rabbit meat.

The official booket for the fair was $5 EC: "Annual Agricultural & Industrial Exhibition". With articles on bee-keeping, jollification, growing broccoli, a recipe for Sorghum Johnny Cakes, and many other topics.

Theme for 1999 is "Farm Today or Starve Tomorrow". Produced by the National Farmers Association and the Deptartment of Agriculture. Read the article on the 1998 fair.


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Weather in Anguilla


Weather Summary Anguilla
Today: 75F 23C 68% Humidity, Showers February 1
Low temp since last news report 73F 22C
High temp since last news report 81F 27C
Low humidity since last news report 49%
Tropical storm web site Link
Five-day weather forecast Link

Although it is raining as I write this, the weather has been mostly clear and nice for the last two weeks. The humidity dropped too, with a low of 49% for the period.



Upcoming Events in Anguilla

The Anguilla Local News has an Calendar for the year showing events, holidays, and activities.

Here are some events scheduled for the next few weeks:

Arts Festival. The Arts Festival is raffling a trip from Anguilla to anywhere in the USA, including Hawaii and Alaska, or from the USA to Anguilla. Tickets are $20 each and are available at most hotels and art galleries. Drawing will be May 1999. Don't forget that the registration deadline for this summer's Arts Festival is fast approaching.

Triathalon. The Optimists Club, High Way Tyre, and Red Lion Distributors announce their second Triathalon Relay Extravaganza. Sunday March 21st at 11am. The three-person teams consist of a swimmer, a cyclist and a runner. Teams can enter in either the "Totally Serious" and "Seriously Fun" categories. Call 497-2369 to register. Ask for Teacher Art.



Updates and Feedback

Updating on Communicating, Re: Paging. Larry Stott notifies us of a change to the paging service in Anguilla:
Starting from 1 February, 1999 Cable & Wireless is introducing Direct Inward Dialing (DID) to pagers on the island. Each pager will now have its own seven digit number. The Central Office Code (COC) of 724 will be used to dial pagers i.e. 724-XXXX (where XXXX is the pager number)

For example, to call the pager number 123 today, you first dial 497-2111 then you enter the 3 digit pager number, 123, and then you speak your message or enter the display digits. After the change, you simply dial 724-0123 NOTE: For existing 3 digit pager numbers you just insert a zero before the pager number. That is, 999 becomes 724-0999.



Web Sites About Anguilla

Telephone White Pages for Anguilla are on-line at this page.

Email addresses:

Sunshine Villas (David Yates):   [email protected]

Value Plus (moved to The Quarter):   [email protected]

Gem Exclusiv T-Shirt:   [email protected]

Bob Concrich:   [email protected]

Villa For Sale in Seafeathers at this web page. Two bedrooms and two baths, with a pool and lush gardens. Sounds like just what you have been searching for.

Bob Conrich has a home page with pictures of Blackgarden Bay.

Villa for Rent at this page: T-House of the Anguilla Sun. Perfect for a couple.



Oliver's Seaside Grill

[Click to enlarge] Many visitors have enjoyed a romantic sunset and dinner at Oliver's Seaside Grill on Long Bay. The setting is special, the food is gourmet continental, and there is live music Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Frankie Rogers on keyboard. The Executive Chef is Leon Carty, who has years of experience at Cap Juluca. After dinner, you can descend the stairs to their Cock Lounge, right over the water, for a final brandy or nightcap.

Owner Oliver MacDonna created his waterfront restaurant on family land in Long Bay village, not far from Malliouhana Hotel. Oliver has spent a long time in the restaurant business before opening Olivers, but his last venture was setting up Brothers Auto Supply in George Hill (which is still run by his brother!).

Telephone: 1-264-497-8780. Email: [email protected]
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Here is an email report from a Dennis Sheehan, [email protected], who thought very highly of Oliver's:

On our recent trip to the island we were pleased once again with the fine dining that awaited us. Yes food is important, even if our main routine is sitting on the beach from sunup to sun down and reading one book after another. Our regular haunts did not fail us, Blanchards, Scilly Cay, Uncle Ernies, Smitty,s, Ici, and Hibernia are all as wonderful as before.

But our biggest surprise and by far our best dining experience was Oliver's. It is one of the finest resturants we have found anywhere, including NYC. Oliver's was so wonderful we returned three separate nights. The food, staff and setting is worthy of Five Stars. We hope to enjoy Oliver's hospitality again in August since he assured us he would be open for the Carnival. Anyone up to fine dining must try it.

Bob, sorry but we did not carry a camera, though I wished we had for the setting is breath taking. After dinner, each night , we stepped downstairs to the bar for my ritual taste of the local rum and Diane's glass of wine and gazed off the terrace at the sea. With the glistening moonlight and the call of the surf we found this to be the perfect end to each of our meals at Oliver's, even on the one evening of inclement weather. You must really take an evening to enjoy this fine restaurant which, by the way is owned and operated by an Anguillian who obviously has trained at some of the finest restaurant. Oliver informed us that the chef is a friend from high school that he has known for years. The two have truly created a touch of excellence.

You can always quote me for what I send to you. Your news letter is our main guide to enjoying the island, until we can move there, and even then your letters will remain a certain guide.

Oliver's January 1999 Menu

SOUPS

Anguillian Pumpkin Soup
a puree of local Pumpkin and fresh herbs enhanced with a blend of Coconut Milk. 8.00

Morgan Hill Reef Fish Soup
a combination of local Fish with a blend of Vegetables topped with Pernod, Sour Cream and Bay leave. 9.00

Mushroom and Potato Soup
a puree of mushroom blended with cream. 9.00

Gaspacho
a fresh blend of Tomato, Celery and fresh Herbs enhanced with fresh Mint. - 8.00

SALADS

Marinated Conch Salad
fresh local conch marinated and garnished with plantain chips. 10.00

Garden Salad
mixed garden greens served with our daily house dressing. 8.00

Caesar Salad
fresh Romaine Lettuce tossed with Croutons and homemade Caesar Dressing. 9.00

WARM APPETIZERS

Marinated Sting Ray
fresh marinated sting ray sauteed and served with a caper and tomato herb vinegrette dressing. 10.00

Crayfish Salad
sauteed Island Crayfish in a light herbal butter sauce served on a bed of Baby Greens with a fresh Papaya and Avocado. 12.00

Oliver's Lobster Fish Cake
a blend of Local Lobster, fish and Herbs, pan fried and served with a Bay Leaf Lobster Sauce. 12.00

Poached Island Lobster
Fresh local Lobster poached lightly with a Mango Ginger Sauce. 15.00

Caribbean Seafood Tempura Sweet and Sour
a combination of local Seafood and Vegetables dipped in a Beer batter, deep-fried light golden brown wth a hot Soy Ginger Sauce. 10.00

SEAFOODS

Grilled or Pan-Fried Fresh Salmon
served with Island Herbs and Capers Cream Sauce. 29.00

Grilled Fillet of Grouper
served with Garlic Herbs and Olive Oil lime juice balsamic Sauce. 26.00

Grilled Fillet of Snapper
served with a Lemon grass and basil oil. 24.00

Grilled Whole Snapper (blackened or simply grilled)
served with fresh Lime Juice. 26.00

Oliver's Seafood Compote
a selection of fresh local seafoods cooked in a Lobster Sauce and enhanced with fresh Coconut Milk, served with Pancake Spinach Polenta. 29.00

Crayfish Creole
Fresh Island Harbour Crayfish sauteed lightly and served w ith a Island Creole Sauce with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. 34.00

Fresh Island Harbour Crayfish (blackened or simply grilled)
served with a Lemon Butter Sauce. 34.00

Fresh Caribbean Lobster (blackened or simply grilled)
served with a Lemon Butter Sauce. 25.00 per lb. (When available)

POULTRY & MEATS

Grilled Blackened Chicken Breast
served with a Mango Chutney. 24.00

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Breast of chicken grilled and served in a Lemon Ginger Sauce. 24.00

Oliver's Surf & Turf
tenderloin of Angus, stuffed with Crayfish set in a Guava and Pepper Corn Sauce. 34.00

Grilled Tenderloin
served with Mushrooms and Vintage Port Wine Sauce. 30.00

Sirloin Grilled or Sauteed
served in its own natural juices and caramelized wih vegetables and shallots. 26.00

PASTA

Chicken Fettuccini
Spinash Fettuccini cooked with Fresh Tomatoes Mushroom and Vegetables. 24.00

Pasta Spagetinni
Pasta with vegetables sauteed in Olive Oil herbs. 20.00

Seafood Pasta
an assortment of fresh local seafood sauteed in a Spicy Vodka Tomato Sauce, served on a bed of black linguini. 28.00 (when available)

All our main courses are served with fresh Vegetables of the day.

House Special

Home Style Rock Oven Baked Whole Chicken.
A free range whole chicken stuffed with Gingered Sweet Potatoes and served with a Rosemary Ginger Sauce. Four hours advance notice required - 56.00 (serves 2-4 persons)

Prices are in US Dollars. 15% tip added on. Credit cards accepted.




Stories from the previous and earlier issues.
Auction February 5th! Malt's Plants
Visitor Feedback A Young Artist
Johnny Cakes Art Festival 1999






 
 
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Bob Green

Our villa on Shoal Bay: Bellamare.

And ten minutes away, our villa in St Barths.

© 1999

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Anguilla Local News