Bermuda 2019 - Day 2

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

Our second day in Bermuda was wonderful.  After a lazy morning at the guesthouse - there a several other couples staying here, one from Norway - we had lunch at Coconuts, the restaurant at The Reefs. The weather was amazing and the view from the restaurant was beautiful, with the hotel perched along the top of the cliffs:

After lunch, we went into Hamilton and did some window shopping - and I bought a tie since I left mine at home - before taking the ferry across the harbor to return to the guesthouse and a snack and cocktail.  The highlight of the day was the welcome party for wedding guests at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club on the Hamilton waterfront. The bride, although from Newport News, has lived in Boston for a number of years and the groom is a Boston, native, so the bulk of the guests attending are from the Boston area.  That said, about 15 of us from Hampton Roads are down for the event.  The party was great fun with drinks, food and a DJ who got the place dancing up a storm.  Today, Barry is doing hair for the bride and bridesmaids - his gift to the bride - while yours truly will be lounging at the guest house pool.  The wedding is this afternoon and we will be dressed in "Bermuda formal.:  More photos from the party, including Barry with the bride to be:

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Bermuda 2019 - Day 1

We traveled to Bermuda for the wedding of a young woman the husband has known since she was a child.  Amazingly, our flights on American Airlines were on time - the first leg we even arrived early.  There are a small number of folks from Hampton/Newport News - most of the guests are from Boston - so we will have our own group within the larger group. We are staying at a lovely B&B not far from the wedding venue at the Coral Beach Club.  Attire for the wedding for men will be "Bermuda formal": tuxedos except with Bermuda shorts (yes, I will post photos). The welcome dinner Friday evening will be at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

After settling in and having our first cocktail, we joined friends from Newport News for dinner at the Ocean Club at the Fairmont Southampton - shown in the photo above - one of the grander hotels on the island. Today, we plan on lunch at The Reefs - a fabulous hotel once owned by dear friends, the husband of the couple having passed away recently. The afternoon will likely involve a ferry ride into Hamilton and some shopping since I managed to leave part of my outfit for Friday evening at home. I will also try to get some beach or pool time in - the B&B has a gorgeous pool.

Blogging, it goes without saying, will be reduced during this trip.  A friend is staying at our home house/dog sitting while we are away.

Bermuda Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage

The Reefs - a Bermuda hotel once owned by friends

Equality has finally won out in Bermuda as the island nation's Supreme Court struck down bans on same sex marriage.  Sadly, as is the case in a number of Caribbean island nations - although Bermuda is in the Atlantic Ocean - ignorance embracing and reactionary religious beliefs were for too long allowed to deprive others of civil rights.   The husband and I were in Bermuda as part of a cruise in 2015 and found the country to be beautiful and an attractive destination but for its legalized discrimination against same sex couples.   What was the most ironic is that the country desperately wants in increase is tourism industry which has declined due to the growing popularity of cruises yet had a "Not Welcome" sign of sorts for LGBT tourists - a group that has been documented to stay longer and spend more than straight tourists.  The Royal Gazette looks at this welcomed development:

A gay couple have won a landmark legal ruling that paves the way for same-sex marriage in Bermuda.

Bermudian Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé, Greg DeRoche, embarked on their fight for equal rights after the Registrar-General rejected their application to marry on the island.

They took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to marry.

Yesterday a packed courtroom in the Dame Lois Browne-Evans Building erupted into spontaneous applause after Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons ruled in the couple’s favour.

“The common law definition of marriage, that marriage is the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, and its reflection in the Marriage Act section 24 and the Matrimonial Clauses Act section 15 (c) are inconsistent with the provisions of the Human Rights Act as they constitute deliberate different treatment on the basis of sexual orientation,” Mrs Justice Simmons said.

“In so doing the common law discriminates against same-sex couples by excluding them from marriage and more broadly speaking the institution of marriage.

“On the facts of this case the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage.

“Same-sex couples denied access to marriage laws and entry into the institution of marriage have been denied what the Human Rights Commission terms a “basket of goods”, that is rights of a spouse contained in numerous enactments of Parliament.”

She added: “The applicants are entitled to an Order of Mandamus compelling the Registrar to act in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act and a Declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act 1944.”

Mr Godwin described the ruling as a big step in the right direction and told The Royal Gazette that he and Mr DeRoche would be resubmitting their application to marry to the Registrar-General “within days”.

“It has been a long time coming,” he said. “This ruling, although it was in our favour ... there is still so much more to do in Bermuda.

“Hopefully, this brings forward hope and courage for those who were or are afraid to speak up or come out. This is a moment we are proud of and will never forget.”

Meanwhile, yesterday’s 48-page judgment was welcomed by the Rainbow Alliance who declared the ruling as victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda. The group said “history has been made and love has won”.

Senator Jeff Baron, the Minister of National Security, added: “Today’s ruling affirms that equality is for all — regardless of who you love, what you look like or who you pray to. And equality, when it’s real, isn’t conditional. Let’s acknowledge that there’s a tremendous amount of work to do, right here at home, to move barriers and heal our community. Let’s keep working together, let’s build this community of supporters and champions for equality.

“And despite hurtful attacks let us reach across and engage the most sceptical citizens and show them that Bermudian values; values of love, respect and inclusiveness, can be found in every corner of this island.”

Jamaica needs to take heed of what has happened in Bermuda and end its legalized homophobia.  I'd love to go back to Jamaica, but that will not happen until that countries anti-gay laws change. 

Bermuda Cruise Reflections

Dining Room at Fourways Inn

I have not blogged in days - the longest break ever since I started blogging daily in 2007 - largely because we have been so busy with friends and I have had to do legal work everyday except one.  We are at sea today and will arrive back in Norfolk tomorrow morning.  The trip has been a lot of fun and my impression of Bermuda has been positive even though it needs to catch up on LGBT rights and same sex marriage.  The island is far more tropical than I expected.  The most memorable parts of the trip were dinner at the Fourways Inn on Monday and lunch at The Reefs on Tuesday.  Friends on the cruise are the former owners of The Reefs and the Fourways Inn is one of their long time favorite restaurant.  On Monday night, the husband and I and a young married gay couple enjoyed the partying and dancing at Club Aqua near the cruise terminal at the Navy Wharf.

The original portion of the Fourways Inn was built in 1727 of native coral stone and cedar by John Harvey of Harvey's Bristol Cream fame, who made it his home. The name came from the fact that the residence spread in all four directions and was enclosed within two and a half acres of walled garden.  The property now also includes 10 guest suites.

The Reefs is built strung along a cliff on the southeast side of Bermuda with a beautiful private beach.  The current owner used to work for our friends when they owned the place.  We had an amazing lunch on the terrace with a special menu and spectacular views.  The photos below are of the view we enjoyed.

 

Notice: Reduced Posting

Blogging from now through October 30th may be reduced.  On Friday, the husband and I - and at least more than a dozen friends that we know of - are sailing to Bermuda aboard the Carnival Splendor (pictured above) which leaves Norfolk this Friday and returns on the 30th.  As always seems to be the case when we travel, I find myself inundated with legal work and will be working late every night until we sail (I got home tonight at 8:45PM).  In addition, I will likely be working part of the time while we are at sea thanks to the miracle of satellite Internet which will allow me to check office e-mail, circulate documents, etc. - and post on this blog, of course.

One fun aspect of this trip is that we are traveling with dear friends from Hampton Roads who formerly owned The Reefs resort in Bermuda (pictured below) who have arranged some special dining experiences for us and who will show us "an insiders Bermuda" while we are in Bermuda for three days and two nights.  On the negative side, Bermuda has yet to come into the 21st century and accept gay marriage (same sex relations are, thankfully legal), and were it not for our friends, I would prefer to boycott Bermuda.

As is our practice, a family member will be staying at our home and watching the two Chihuahuas.  I am looking forward to getting away, but dread the craziness between now and when the ship sails on Friday!  I will, of course, blog about our experiences and my thoughts and impressions.