Greenhouse Project in Montserrat

We have all missed the Friday and Saturday morning market with our favorite vendors and the socializing.

A new public market is being built and the operation of a vegetable greenhouse has started. With government assistance, farmers will make the transition form traditional to protected agriculture.

This is great news: we will have, once again, a reliable supply of locally grown fresh food in Montserrat .

Click here for the full article.

Additional evacuation in Old Towne

An update to last weekend's news, Governor Deborah Barnes Jones has signed the evacuation Order which will force some 50 households to find accommodation elsewhere further north.

Dome growth at the Soufriere Hills volcano and various computer modelling scenarios prepared by scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) prompted officials to warn more households in Old Towne of possible extension of the already extended Evacuation Zone, in the southern half of Montserrat.

A release on Tuesday last week from the Emergency Policy Group (EPG) which is a level up from the Volcano Executive Group said, "Scientists at the MVO briefed the Emergency Policy Group (EPG), informed them that the dome at the Soufriere Hills Volcano is still growing on the western side of the crater."

According to the report, the Scientific Advisory Committee's (SAC) computer modelling has shown that further areas in the present safe zone could be impacted by pyroclastic flows and surges.

The result of the upgraded information, coming after residents on the southern side of the safe zone had attended meetings on the issue, is that "the authorities have determined that further areas in the safe zone would need to be evacuated."

The map, up to weekend, had not been drawn but the release mentioned that residents in the areas south of Bishop Lane, next to Alford Dyett's house, and south of the roundabout in Old Towne "are asked to be prepared to move at short notice."

There were plans for disaster officials to make house to house visits with the affected residents on the weekend.

Meanwhile amidst all the speculation, the release sought to counter and calm residents higher up in Salem. "However, it is unlikely that residents of Salem will be evacuated," the release said.

From Anne-Marie: I am trying to locate an accurate map of the area in question.

MTB Derives Beach Clean - Up

As part of its efforts to improve the tourist product, the Montserrat Tourist Board (MTB) is preparing to embark on a general clean up of Little Bay, Carrs Bay and Lime Kiln Beach.

The clean up will include among other things:
- Pruning of Trees
- Removal of garbage, debris and acacia trees
- Planting of coconut palms and Oleander plants
- Installing of garbage bins

The Tourist Board is asking everyone to be mindful of the efforts being made to rid the beaches of unsightly garbage and to make them more attractive. Your support is needed in helping to keep the beaches clean. Please be responsible for your own garbage and use the bins provided at all times.

“As we have been forced to live in a smaller portion of the island, this is a time more than ever when me must be mindful of our environment and how it is kept. The beaches are a small part of the whole, which we are encouraging everyone to keep clean. Your support can help to control the many unwanted pests – rats, mosquitoes, cockroaches among others- which have become so prevalent in our society”, comments Ernestine Cassell, Director of Tourism.

During our Tourism Awareness Launch in 2005, Ms. Yasmin White prepared a very appropriate poem, Cleanliness is Next to Godliness, to reflect the pride and the need for keeping the island clean; in repeating one of the verses from this poem we hope this will help to cement what the Montserrat Tourist Board is trying to achieve.

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”,
That’s what this emerald symbolises:
So, Mon’srat, for ever loved and bless’Sparkles clean, green – a recipe for progress.
Beauty frames her verdant complexion,
While she transcends her former appearance.
Litter free, what a glorious heritage!
Cleanliness is next to Godliness!”

Price cut on our home!

I have indicated before that the reason we are selling is my husband’s health. He is now hospitalized. We have decided to sell as soon as possible. We are dropping our bottom price way down. Yes, we regret not accepting the high offer we received during the auction, but that is hindsight.

As you probably know, our home is rented until May 2008 and we are still making upgrades. The electric built-in wall oven, the microwave and the side-by-side (ice water and ice cubes through the door) refrigerator and the washing machine are being replaced this week.

Please re-visit the website for our home at http://www.montserrat-caribbean-villas.com

If you wish to obtain a mortgage in Montserrat, we can put you in contact with the manager of the Bank of Montserrat.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions or wish to make an offer.

Regards,
Anne-Marie Toliver