Bermuda Shorts

Devonshire Parish Council offers new scholarship

A scholarship is now on offer from the Devonshire Parish Council, for any undergraduate student from within the parish.

Council member Kimberley Caines said: “This is the first year the Devonshire Parish Council has done this.

“Considering the economic conditions, we wanted to assist three Devonshire residents with Bachelor’s degrees, either locally or abroad.”

Applicants have until the end of the month to contact the council. Academic standing, financial need, and involvement in the community will all be considered.

“Other parishes offer scholarships, such as Paget and Smith’s, and we felt we should do our part,” Ms Caines said. “We have allocated part of our budget for this year, and I think we will continue with that precedent next year.”

Applications are available at Devonshire Post Office. E-mail dpcscholarship[AT]gmail.com for information.

Island featured in ITV’s ‘Long Lost Family’

A UK television series tracked down a London woman’s long-lost brother to Bermuda 50 years after he was given up for adoption by their struggling mother.

Jeannie Elgar, now 69, was eight when her younger brother Geoffrey was sent to live with a foster family.

She recalled being told that he had gone to Fiji with a Mr and Mrs Smith, aboard the HMS Orion.

Armed with only this information, the May 5 episode of the ITV series ‘Long Lost Family’ traced Mr Smith to Bermuda.

Despite the lack of details, the show’s team eventually tracked him to an Arthur and Edith Smith who had resided on the Island.

After eight months, they found a Bermuda woman whose father, Robert Smith, was Mr Smith’s foster brother.

Ms Elgar learned that her brother had lost his life in 1979, aged 34, in a power boat accident.

The episode shows Ms Elgar meeting Robert Smith in Bermuda.

She said: “I was quite devastated to think that he had been dead all those years, but now I know what happened and I won’t go to my grave wondering if he was all right and had a good life.”

Useful website: www.itv.com.

The Reefs challenges Stephen Colbert

US comedian Stephen Colbert has been challenged by local hotel The Reefs to try a little harder in this year’s Charleston to Bermuda sailboat race.

A hotel spokeswoman said: “Mr Colbert is quite the funny man and always loves a challenge.

“So, The Reefs has issued its own challenge to him with the prize of a beach party at Coconuts if he wins the race. If he at least beats his time from 2005, we are giving him a five-night stay in a Club Suite to use himself or to give to a fan.”

Host of the spoof news show ‘The Colbert Report’ on Comedy Central, Mr Colbert and his team took last place in the 2005 race.

In his official letter to the TV comic, Reefs owner David Dodwell notes: “Bermuda is excited to welcome you back with our famous hospitality. Sailing 777 miles across the Atlantic is a true test of manhood.”

A self-described non mariner, Mr Colbert grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, where he will join others at the race’s official start on May 21.

Useful web link: www.charlestonbermudarace.com.

Reader’s Digest reprints story of 1975 road deaths

A bizarre tragedy reported in The Royal Gazette more than 35 years ago has resurfaced in the pages of this month’s Reader’s Digest.

The July 21, 1975 issue of the newspaper carried a front page lead headlined, ‘Incredible coincidence in road crash deaths’.

The same story appears in the current Reader’s Digest compilation entitled ‘What Are The Odds?’

In an account that has circulated in publications and on the internet ever since, The Royal Gazette reports: “Erskine Ebbin and his brother Neville were killed almost exactly a year apart after being involved in collision with the same taxi, driven by the same driver and carrying the same passenger.”

Both victims were 17, and both were riding the same auxiliary cycle on the same road.

Erskine was killed on the night of July 18, 1975, near the Packwood Home in Sandys; Neville died on July 30, 1974, on the nearby stretch of Middle Road known as Hog Bay Level.

Both were reported to have collided with a taxi driven by Willard Manders.

According to their father, John Henry Ebbin of Woodlawn Road, Sandys, even the passenger in the taxi was the same in both instances.

Do you know anyone who was involved in the accident? E-mail us at news[AT]royalgazette.bm.

Useful website: www.cracked.com.

Mother issues writ against drunk driver who crashed into her son

The mother of a teenager injured by a drunk driver has filed a writ against the woman who injured her son.

Shakir Amory was riding his auxiliary cycle home when he was struck by a car driven by Angela Ambrosini on March 6, 2007.

The accident occurred on South Road, Devonshire near Brighton Hill.

Ambrosini was reportedly driving home after spending the afternoon at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Her car travelled into the westbound lane and collided with a wall. According to investigators, the car flipped, landing on top of Mr Amory, who was 16 years old at the time.

Mr Amory spent four months in hospital, suffering severe head injuries and multiple fractures. Both his legs and his jaw were repaired with metal plates.

Ambrosini, a marketing manager and voluntary worker, was sentenced to one year in prison for the collision in January.

Shakir’s mother, Roslyn Amory, filed the writ against Ambrosini on her son’s behalf and is represented by law firm Mello Jones and Martin.

Mrs Amory told The Royal Gazette after the criminal case against Ambrosini that she would be filing further action to try to recover her son’s medical expenses.

Team seeks support to fund Habitat for Humanity mission to Zambia this summer

A Bermuda team needs support from locals on its mission this summer to help build homes for African families.

The July 15 to August 3 trip marks the ninth year that Bermuda Overseas Missions (BOM) has sent a team overseas on a “build”.

Approximately 44 people, ranging in age from 14 to 80, have signed up for the mission,.

The work is being done in partnership with the international charity Habitat for Humanity.

Volunteers from Africa will also help build homes in the town of Ndola, in northern Zambia’s copper belt region.

BOM has previously travelled to Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia.

BOM president David Thompson called it “a wonderful opportunity for people to directly experience the hardship in the world, and to help give back by building houses for those in need”.

The group is to hold a fundraising fish fry at Christ Church, Warwick on May 20 in conjunction with Keith’s Kitchen. Tickets, at $20, are available on the night, or by telephone, 504-2114.

Useful website: www.bomb.bm.