Anguilla News: October 1996
News reports from on the island, as they were posted to the Net:
The Public Fruit Market
The public fruit market is a fun place to shop for tropical fruits and
vegetables. You will find it in The Valley, across the street from the
Anglican church.
Restaurant Reopens at Cap Juluca as "Eclipse"
Cap Juluca's restaurant is reopening November 4th as Eclipse,
under the management of West Coast chef
Bernard Erpicum
whose
original Eclipse
in Los Angeles is a
popular spot
with food lovers and
celebrities,
and is reportedly co-owned by Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Seagal, and Robert Shapiro.
The Maunday's Bay restaurant has been completely
rennovated, has a new kitchen, and features a wood-burning
oven in the bar for roasted fish and pizza.
The cuisine in California-Provencal, a light style. The menu
will include eggplant risotto with filet of striped bass,
roasted red snapper, and breadfruit salad. Erpicum has worked
in LA since 1968, most notably with
with Wolfgang Puck at
Ma Maison. We will report more as soon as we try it.
Dawn Richardson Wins Scholarship
Dawn Richardson of North Hill, daughter of Joyce and Euroy Richardson,
has been named Government's 1996 Island Scholarship Winner. She has just
completed the two-year 6th form at Albena-Lake Hodge
Comprehensive School, where she sat and was successful at
the Cambridge A Level Examination in English Literature and History.
Amber Woodley Wins Essay Prize
Amber Woodley of Blowing Point is ten years old and attends Road Primary school.
She recently travelled to Barbados as a finalist in the regional
"My Caribbean" essay contest. The essay theme this year was
"My Country's Undiscovered Treasures". Amber was declared second runner-up
and received a US $500
scholarship. Here is her winning
essay:
Anguilla, My Island, is one of the smallest of the Leeward Islands in the
Caribbean Sea. It is a small coral limestone island with an area of
35 square miles. Thirty-five white sandy beaches and crystal clear
waters make this lovely island a treasure in itself.
Many of these beaches are small and very little is known about some of them.
This is the main reason why tourists who come to our island go out to find
them. They like these beaches because they are quiet and secluded.
Another Treasure which is not fully discovered is the Pre-Columbian history of
our caves. As far back as 1868, the remains of a Giant Rat (amblyrhizer) was
found in three of our caves, namely, Gavanagh, Fountain and Pitch Apple Hole.
The rodent was said to be 300 pounds and as large as a bear. It is said the
rat was not meant for such a small island. It probably got here by holding on to
a branch and drifted into Anguilla. This rodent was used for meat by the Amerindians.
Many other interesting things were found in the Fountain Cave. These include
fourteen or more petroglyphs and an Arawak God named Jocaha. Many
openings branch off from the main room; no one has yet discovered where they
lead to or what is at the other side of them. One reason is that the openings are
very small. I believe there are many things waiting to be discovered.
Evidence of Arawak occupation on the island was found at Rendevous Bay and
Sandy Hill Bay. The Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society now has
a collection of pottery shards, several uncompleted vessels, carved stone,
idols, and tools from these sites. We know that Arawaks usually settled by the
sea coast so it is possible that more about the Amerindians will be discovered
near our beaches in time.
We have folk stories, songs, dances and children's games that are
unique to the island. These are hidden treasures because they are not
written down or recorded in any form. Instead they are passed on by
word of mouth from parent to child. You will have to come here to find such
treasures.
Anguillans are warm friendly and Hospitable. Therefore our greatest hidden
treasure lies within our people.
Insteel Construction from Modena
Modena Concepts Ltd. of Anguilla held a reception today to
launch their first project using the Insteel 3D Panel Construction System.
Guests toured Larry Stott's new home, noticing how cool the western
bedroom was, due to the insulating value of the foam core of Insteel
panels. There are many benefits claimed for this construction system
but the one that most interested the audience was hurricane resistance.
Insteel buildings survived Hurricanes
Andrew, Luis and Marilyn without any structural damage.
Question from a Reader
The email always brings interesting questions:
I wonder if there is any way that I could rent a small motorboat
for a period of time to see some of the less accessible sites of
your beautiful islands. I am myself an avid snorkeler and diver,
and a competent boatsman.
Never having heard of anyone renting out their motorboat, I
asked around. The results were conclusive: it is very unlikely
that you could rent a motorboat in Anguilla without the owner.
There are two reasons for this. First and most important is
that there are treacherous reefs everywhere, including at
the entrance to the harbours where most boats are moared.
Second, Anguillans are passionate about two things: the boat
and the vote. They aren't likely to chance a stranger
smashing up their boat. The best way to explore the coast line
and the offshore cays is to
could contact one of our experienced charter captains such as
Junior
(264-497-4456) or Shawn (264-497-4040).
Evan Webster's Country Music Concert
Evan Webster of Island Harbour has wanted to be a
country and western singer since he was a child.
Evan has recorded a CD in Nashville
entitled "It's About Time". Evan
wrote all the songs, including the title track, the moving
Anguilla, It's So Serene and Detour.
Elite Productions is producing a concert of Evan with
the Anguilla Country Starts and Friends for 8PM Saturday, October 19th, 1996
in Landsdome Bowl, The Valley. For more information, contact
Elite Productions, Box 230, Island Harbour, Anguilla, BWI, 264-497-4671.
Big Robbery at Fair Play
Police report that the Fair Play Jewelry Store was robbed
of US $74,000 in goods over the weekend. A reward of US $5,000
is offered for any information leading to the recovery
of the goods or the arrest of the perpetrators.
Little Girl with Hole in Heart
Little Denesha Pogson will celebrate her 6th birthday in
a New York hospital this year. The Anguilla Rotary Club has
arranged for critically-ill Denesha to receive surgery to
repair the hole in her heart. Air travel was provided by
the American Airlines Advantage program for children in need,
arranged by Millie Hodge, the local American Eagle manager.
Carol Neuss, president of Anguilla Rotary, went with Donesha and her mother
to New York, where they were put up at the Ronald
McDonald House on the hospital grounds -- like a 4-star hotel for kids
awaiting surgery, with every conceivable toy.
In other good news, Mensah Richardson, who was sent to Florida with
his mother Joan for orthopedic treatment, is being fitted with
braces for his knees. Surgery will not be necessary.
News Items
The HMS Argyll was visiting Anguilla recently and her
crew of 183 enjoyed Anguilla's beaches, restaurants and bars,
and played softball against local teams.
The scuba shop in Island Harbour, Anguilla Divers, reopened
recently with new owners and a new dive boat. The new owners
are Freda and Wim Haagedoorn of Belgium and Jane and
Richard Herbert of the USA. The newly reopened shop is a
PADI International Dive Shop with PADI certified divemaster
and instructors. They run two dive trips daily on their
new boat, The Adventure. It was built by Glenn Richardson of
Island Harbour and was custom designed for diving in Anguillian
waters. It is captained by Terence Webster. For more information,
call 264-497-4750.
A group from the Chamber of Commerce in Guadelope visited
Anguilla recently for one day. The team visited various
sites around Anguilla where they might be interested in
infrastructure investments (water, port, power, etc.).
Anguilla is hosting a large number of visiting travel agents this month, checking
out the local hotels for their clients.
The House of Assembly has approved a EC $7 million loan
from the Caribbean Development Bank, which will be used
for the improvement of the Sandy Ground road, among other projects.
Cap Juluca is doubling the size of their gift shop.
Anguilla Rums is a new business in Sandy Ground that is
going to blend/bottle custom Anguillian rum products.
Allamanda Beach Club continues to upgrade their location on Shoal Bay with
more lavish gardens, Zara's Restaurant featuring Shamash, and a more elegant path to
the beach.
Some of the older PCs donated to the
Anguilla Library Compuer Club
are starting to die, victims of age and our harsh climate. We would
love some new donations. Why not bring your old laptop with you
when you visit this winter?
The road to Jobsie Bay
has been improved and regraded, making it
useable by passenger cars. There is still one bad bump where you turn sharply
left and toward the sea, up away from Long Pond. I suggest you have your passengers
get out while you drive over it. Coming from The Valley to Sandy Hill, turn
right after the radio tower and the Tropical Flower wholesale.
Fund Raisers
There will be a
recital of classical and jazz music at the the Ruthwell auditorium on
Friday Oct 25th at 7:30 PM
to raise money for the music department of the Albena-Lake Hodge
Comprehensive School. It will feature distinguished
musicians from the University of the Virgin Islands as well as
local pianist Leonard Vanderpool.
The local Dominican community is throwing a dinner party on November 9th
at beautiful Paradise Cove at 7 PM to celebrate the anniversary
of Dominica's independence. Entertainment includes
traditional Dominican dance and music. Proceeds to benefit the
St. Mary's day school building fund.
Do Hotels Put a Surcharge on Phone Calls?
In Europe it is common for hotels to put a large surcharge on
any long-distance calls you make, sometimes up to 600%.
In Anguilla the hotels add 20% to the amount charged by
Cable and Wireless, which is about US $2 per minute to the USA.
Menu of Blanchard's Restaurant
Blanchard's on Meads Bay is one of our most dependable gourmet restaurants.
Below is chef Melinda Blanchard's current menu
(menus of other restaurants).
When we went to dinner there last week we shared three appetizers and
a desert - it was delicious.
Telephone 264-497-6100 for reservations.
- Appetizers
- Corn Chowder with Dill made without cream and loaded with fresh seasonal vegetables...8.00
- Louisiana Crab Cakes made with jumbo lump crabmeat, drizzled with
orange vinaigrette and served with cherry tomato salsa...15.00
- Lemon-Glazed Lobster Dumplings: a tropical version of Chinese pot stickers;
filled with Anguilla lobster, fresh spinach and ginger, and pan-fried with a tangy
lemon glaze...12.00
- Island Coconut Shrimp sprinkled with Cinnamon and Curry
served with Guava Barbecue Sauce...15.00
- Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls with two dipping sauces, sesame and
peanut-lime...9.00.
- Blanchard's Crispy Baby Calamari with a Thai citrus glaze
served on a bed of freshly shredded greens...12.00
- Chunky Gaspacho with Homemade Croutons made with roma
tomatoes, shallots, cucumbers, red bell peppers, freshly squeezed lemon
juice and dill...9.00
- Salads
- Asparagus, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms and Grilled Red Peppers with
lemon-mustard vinaigrette and fresh herbs...9.00
- Grilled Portabella Mushroom on tender leaves of spinach with
shaved parmesan, cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette...14.00
- Pan-Seared Lobster Brochette served over a warm tortilla filled
with seasonal greens, surrounded by avocado-corn salsa and drizzled with
mustard-chive aioli...15.00
- Ceasar Salad tossed with homemade croutons and freshly
shredded parmesan cheese...12.00
- Goat Cheese Salad tossed with red onions, assorted greens,
tomatoes and dijon vinaigrette...14.00
- Blanchard's House Salad with seasonal greens, hearts of
palm, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, kalamata olives
and balsamic vinaigrette...10.00
- Main Course
- Salmon with Honey-Soy Glaze served with basmati rice, black bean-mango
relish and frizzled leeks...26.00
- Jamaican Jerk Shrimp with Grilled Cinnamon Bananas and Cranberry-Orange
Chutney basted with an island sauce made of ten herbs and spices, orange
juice, lime juice and scotch bonnet peppers (Hot-Hot-Hot); served with
tomato couscous...29.00
- Blanchard's Blackened Lobster with Vegetable-Curried Rice; (subject
to availability) locally caught (two pounds) and grilled mild or spicy as you prefer...37.00
- Grilled Filet Mignon of Tuna marinated in a blend of Japanese
teriyaki sauce, sherry and fresh lemon juice and served on a bed of "confetti" orzo;
cooked rare unless otherwise specified...30.00
- Cajun Spiced Grouper with Spanish Onion Marmalade; brushed lightly with
olive oil, rubbed with our mixture of New Orleans herbs and spices, grilled and
served with tomato couscous; please tell us if you prefer mild or spicy...28.00
- Stuffed Swordfish with Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette; a freshly cut swordfish
steak stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, assorted herbs and a little parmigiano-reggiano
cheese; served on a bed of chinese cabbage, raddichio and plum tomatoes with
vegetable-curried rice...28.00
- Grilled Monkfish with Thai Red Curry Sauce; made with tomatoes,
fresh ginger, lime juice, various Asian spices and served on a bed of sauteed
sweet corn, shitaki mushrooms and spinach...26.00
- Chicken Adobo with Mashed Potatoes and Mango Salsa inspired
by the cuisine of Latin America; grilled with a flavorful mixture of shallots,
thyme, oregano, olive oil and lime juice...22.00
- Grilled Tenderloin of Beef basted with a rich Chinese barbecue sauce
and served with portabella mushrooms, roasted shallots and red-skinned
potatoes...30.00
- Mozzarella and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breast with grilled wild
mushroom polenta, tomato vinaigrette and roasted, marinated red peppers...24.00
Shoal Bay Sunset (click to enlarge)
Anguilla Web Sites
Country musician Evan Webster and Rapper Drak have
allowed Julian Niles to put samples from their CDs on a special
music page
of his Anguilla Web Site.
If you know any other Anguillian musicians
who would like to have a place on the Internet, have them contact
Bob Green at 4079. It can be arranged.
Anguilla's first hotel, Lloyd's Guest House
now has a web site. Lloyd's is a fun place to stay
for those who want to experience Anguilla with the Anguillans. It is charming,
friendly, spotlessly clean, and conveniently located
above The Valley. 264-497-2351.
Sandy Ground Dive Shop Ready for Season
Tamariain Watersports
is now The Dive Shop, Ltd. but is located in the
same place in Sandy Ground, with a deck added out front for divers
to relax and soak up rays. They are
starting their 14th season with all the old faces back.
Douglas Carty, the Divemaster, was the first Anguillian to become a PADI
Divemaster, and he was featured on FOX morning TV last week.
Christine Kay has returned
as the Chief Instructor -- many people on Anguilla have mentioned to me
how easy she makes it to learn diving.
Captain Eddie Hughes in the boat, Lemira Connor in the office,
new co-owner Peter Burling, and original co-owner Thomas Peabody round out the crew.
The Dive Shop is a PADI 5
Star facility. Their dive boat is a 40 foot wide-bodied cat for stability.
It was designed and constructed locally by well-known builder David Carty.
Dives are scheduled daily at
at 9:00 a.m. (deep) and 10:30 a.m. (shallow).
To book a dive or ask questions about diving in Anguillian, call
264-497-2020 or
email to
[email protected]
Computer Club Has New Home
The Library Computer Club has moved its computers and meetings into
a nearby room of its own offered by the
The Anguilla National Trust.
This allows the club to give computer lessons to
younger children who were too noisy for the main lobby of the public library.
The location is across from Ronald Webster Park in the heritage building
with purple doors and cute trim (Photo of new club house.)
The Computer Club
web site now has a
resources page
with lesson plans and software tools that you can download. You could use it
to start up your
own computer club, copying Anguilla's.
If you are visiting Anguilla, please drop in
and see the club any Monday or Thursday around 4PM.
Does Anguilla Have Mosquitos?
All it takes is one mosquito to ruin a nights sleep.
In Anguilla, like all tropical countries, there are some mosquitos, but
the arid climate normally keeps the problem down.
They are worst from June to December,
the rainy season. Tricks:
- Close your house between 4 and 6 PM,
when they are most active.
If you forget and your bedroom is full of mosquitos, spray around the
edges of your rooms and under furniture and in closets with
BOP or another brand of bug spray, close
the room and come back in 10 minutes.
- Rub Johnson & Johnson's OFF on your
arms and ankles before you go out for dinner.
- At night you can burn mosquito coils by the bed, or use the electronic
kind (VAPE wafers and heater, often for sale at Vista). This
sends the mosquitos elsewhere, but does not kill them.
- Light citronella candles or mosquito coils when you sit
on the veranda to watch the sunset (buy them at Vista or Ashleys).
This sends the mosquitos away. OFF also makes a yard spray to
clear the area.
- Mosquitos migrate to dark colors and places out of
the wind. So if you leave your car in the garage with
the windows open, expect to find it full of them!
- Spread Avon SkinSoSoft
bath oil over yourself when you step out of the shower and
before you dry (the odor appears to discourage mosquitos and
you can buy a bottle at Ashley's).
- Plant Neem trees -- they discourages bugs.
Menu from Ripples
Ripples Restaurant on Sandy Ground main road is a popular place to eat and
drink before heading over to Johnnos for some dancing.
They are open daily 12-12 (5-12 on Thursday). 264-497-3380 for
reservations.
Here is there dinner menu (other menus).
- Beginnings
- Anguillian fish soup with cheese and rouille. $6.50
- Gaspacho. Cool and refreshing tomato soup. $5.00
- Fish fritters. $7.95
- Puffy Brie. French cheese all puffed up. $6.50
- Chilli. Beef and beans all spiced up. $6.00
- Buffalo Wings without BBQ sauce. $5.00
- Ripples Salad with poppyseed dressing. $5.00
- Thai Salad. Crispy salad with apple-ginger-lime mint dressing. $5.50
- Quesadilla's. with cheese $5.00 with chicken. $8.00
- Garlic Bread. $2.00
- Fresh Fish and Seafood
- Grilled fillet of snapper with tomato herb cream sauce. $16.00
- Fish Cajun with pineapple salsa and lime. $15.50
- Fish Coco, poached in coconut milk and tamarind. $16.00
- Fish Local with peppers, onions, herbs, local spices. $15.50
- Seafood combo platter. $18.00
- Fish and chips in beer batter. $15.50
- Shrimp, butterflied then sauteed in garlic butter. $18.00
- Conch, cracked and sauteed, like calamari in texture. $16.00
- Lobster and crayfish, split and grilled with lemon. $18.50 per lb.
- Lobster fritters. $25.00
- Meat and Poultry
- English cottage pie. $12.00
- Stir Fry Shrimp. $18.00
- Striploin Steak with herbs/garlic $16.50, pepper sauce $18.50
- Chicken Peking. $15.00
- Thai Chicken Curry. $16.00
- Ripples Burger. $10.00
- Pasta
- Pasta Tom in tomato lemon basil sauce. $14.00
- Veggies Pasta. $14.00
- Mushroom Pasta. $14.00
- Spaghetti Bolognese. $15.00
- Paste Ripples with seafood in rich cream sauce. $18.00
- Lobster Pasta. $20.00
News Tidbits
Anguilla is hosting visiting managers of the
Cable and Wireless and
their spouses October 27 to 31st for their annual conference.
57 people are expected in total.
Meetings will be held in Library and Resource Center, which has a
air-conditioned meeting room (about 40' by 60') perfect
for conferences of this size or even larger..
Cable and Wireless is an international communications company
based in the UK that runs the
phone system in Anguilla.
Anguillian Barrister-at-Law Don Mitchell was award the Queen's Counsel (QC)
last week. This recognizes him as a senior attorney who has attained
the highest levels of the profession, and it means he gets to wear special
silks and sit at a special stand inside the regular "bar".
Albert Lake's Elodius Beach Resort is located on Shoal Bay between Milly's Inn
and Shoal Bay Villas. It consists of two 2-story duplex apartments.
Rates vary from $75 to $150. 264-497-3363. Fax 3034.
The Anguilla Beautification Club planted 20 flamboyant trees at the
Valley Primary School recently. The trees were grown from seeds to
around 3 feet before replanting around the school playground. It is
hoped that the local goats will be kept under control long enough for
the fast-growing trees to establish themselves and provide shade.
The Optimist Club opened a 4-day Windball tournament on Thursday
October 24th. Windball is cricket played with tennis balls. Their
goal is to raise money for the playing field in Welches village.
The Optimist's are also sponsoring a Youth Talent Explosion on
December 7th at Landsome Bowl. Anyone aged 13 to 20 is invited to
join this competition--first prize is a Round Trip to Puerto Rico with
accomodations and everyone gets a free t-shirt. m
Tourism Week is November 2nd to 9th in Anguilla. The theme this
year is "Our history makes us precious, our people make us priceless."
Activities include a beach extravaganza on Sunday the 2nd at Meads
Bay with boat races, music, volleyball, domino tournament, fashion show
and more.
There will be a culinary competition on Tuesday, November 5th at Serenity
Restaurant as part of Tourism Week. Gourmet chefs and bartenders from
around Anguilla will be competing for Chef of the Year and Bartender of
the Year. Noon to 6 PM. For more information, call 264-497-2944.
There will be an Anguillian Cultural Festival and Street Fair on Saturday Nov 9th.
4-11 PM. Parking lot of Ronald Webster Park, The Valley.
Taste local foods, fish, and Joe Gumbs soda. Buy local crafts.
Enjoy Anguillian music, poetry and dance.
Anguilla hosted the General Purposes Committee of the Methodist Church.
Twenty-six officials from throughout the Caribbean attended. Members stayed
in private homes during their week stay.
Librarian Russel Reid just returned from meetings of the Med Carib project
and PAHO in Rio. Med Carib is a project to gather medical information into
a regional database. PAHO stands for Pan American Health Organization.
Russel says the meetings were very useful and Brazil was incredible.
Anguilla will host an International Arts Festival and Competition in 1997.
Up to 100 regional and international artists will be invited to Anguilla
for two weeks in late July and early August (overlapping with Carnival).
A competition will be held of art by the participants on Anguillian themes.
The organizers hope to have two prizes, $10,000 US for first prize and
$5,000 for second.
The festival even has a web site.
Anguillian civil servants have received a 15% across the board pay increase,
the first in many years.
More Questions on Moving to Anguilla
Here is another email query that is related to moving to Anguila:
Does your lawyer have email? I have a BUNCH of questions regarding
the benefits of having an Anguillian company, and the legal side
of moving to Anguilla, and don't want to burden you with them...
There are several lawyers with web sites and email.
. . . continue virtual vacation
(preceding month)