Tourism Sales Brochures. I am too sickened by the results of the House of Lords decision in the Chagos Islands case to be able to write anything coherent on it right now. I'll come back to it when I am calmer.
The past week has been spent chain-sawing the forty-odd thirty-foot-high trees that were blown over on my property. The perimeter fence was damaged by falling trees in eight different spots. You have no idea how long it takes a sixty-two year old man to chainsaw forty trees and then to pull the branches and logs into heaps for burning. I figure I am about three-quarters of the way to restoring the yard to some semblance of normalcy. More on this, with photos, in a later post.
Instead, I thought I would share a light moment with you. A friend sent me three photographs taken at random from the sales brochures of two Anguilla tourism projects.
Meades Bay
Viceroy's brochure labels this as “Meades Bay”. Now, as every Anguillian school child knows, there is no Meades Bay in Anguilla. The Viceroy project is partly built on Meads Bay. It is mainly constructed on Barnes Bay beach. But, this photograph bears no resemblance to Anguilla's Meads Bay. Not the Meads Bay of today, nor of twenty years ago before it was spoiled by all the development on it, nor of fifteen hundred years ago when only the Amerindians lived here.
Point between Private Villas and Resort Residences.
That is the title given to this spot in the Viceroy sales brochure. We all recognise the scene. It is the idyllic look-out point that used to exist at Coccoloba Hotel. It is now buried under about 1,200 tons of concrete.
Altamer Brochure
The above photo is taken from the Altamer brochure. Altamer is built at Shoal Bay West beach. The buildings were designed by Myron Goldfinger. Note the Myron-type buildings shown in the background. Note also the topless girl. She does a great job of covering up the overlaps from Photoshop. The only problem is that there is no such beach at Shoal Bay West. Nor is there any such beach, or combination of beaches, anywhere in Anguilla.
As my friend says, and I agree with him, any connection between these sales brochures and the packages of goods on offer is purely coincidental.
Your blog on the tourism sales brochure is a hoot. I can relate because that's what I do for a living. I might also add that breasts like that girl's are fabrications too. Or maybe I'm just bitter...
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realized you'd also "received" hurricane Omar recently. Hope no damage to your house nor to too many other properties around Anguilla. Had to laugh at your comments on the pictures the development companies have been using for their brochures; isn't it typical the world over!
ReplyDeleteIn a 3 August 2008 article in The Times, London, a writer who's obviously never been here says, "Altamer is a collection of nine fully staffed villas". Did the writer get this from the developer? People who write for The Times don't just make stuff up.
ReplyDeleteIn the next paragraph it says, "Two projects are under way: Fairmont, a golf development in the southeast, has 300 one, two- and three-bed properties (from £805,000 to £1.3m)..." If hiring Warren Bryan to move some dirt around means the project is "under way" and has, present tense, 300 units, well, what do I know? Joyce and Dame Bernice ain hire me to learn them English.
I'll take ham on five, hold the mayo! If I could use photoshop like that, people would flock to my house like a rat on a Cheetoh!
ReplyDelete- Scotty
http://tinyurl.com/5jkx2v
ReplyDeletewww.daft.ie? Is this a joke?
None of the photos are of places anywhere near Long Bay.
How are they going to buy US$45 million worth of property for $7.5 million?
Why do they need to pay 48% interest for the money?
Where do they plan on getting $7.5 million plus 24% interest to pay off investors in six months, in today's lending market?
"Invest in land" -- but they don't seem to own any land in Anguilla. They seem to be asking for unsecured loans.
Yet they say they will have the right to buy the plots of land from the "investor company". Unless they plan to get these "investments" mostly from Anguillians, this company and each of the investors would seem to need an alien land holding licence.
There is a moratorium on new, foreign-owned projects and land sales.
Do they have an option? Do they have anything at all in writing from the present owner of the land?
I see nothing in the January approvals of the Land Development Control Committee that confirms their claim of planning approval. No report of the LDCC has ever mentioned Focus International, Global Development or Global Group.
Or daft.ie
Mr Mitchell,
ReplyDeleteI listened to the honorable Hubert Hughes Opposition leader as he spoke about the delegation to England including the Chief Immigration Officer, PS Merwyn Rogers, and the others, and am lost as to what is happening if what he said is so. Why should the Chief Immigration Officer attend such a meeting when she would not have to say a word and, even if she had to speak on immigration matters, the PS was present? What is the cost that is the allowances per day for these persons? I think that the Chief Immigration should have declined the offer. It really does not sound nor look good if what Mr Hughes is saying is correct.
While on this matter, what is wrong with the immigration department? It is a shame with all the down turn in construction. You can scarcely see immigration out. At least you see them up and down doing their own business. One day I saw the two senior people sitting waiting at Orealie's place in the van waiting for a long time for their lunch. My friend said to me only in Anguilla things like this can happen. The chief should be here taking care of her department. It is certainly in trouble.
This website http://tinyurl.com/5r9pde
ReplyDeletewhich uses the logo of the Imperial Japanese Empire of the 1930s, announced this morning that Baccarat Hotels, Troon Golf and the Blanchards to bring us the Flag Luxury project.
Fairmont Anguilla Founders Launch a Tremendous Success--US$70 Million In Real Estate Sold in Two Hours (PRWEB)
ReplyDelete"The weather couldn't have been better on the coveted island of Anguilla, and neither could the sales generated at the Fairmont Anguilla Founders Launch on May 29-June 1, 2008. An enthusiastic group of future owners, from all over the world, were on hand to select their property at this glamorous oceanfront resort that will feature a Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, one of only 25 in the world. In all, 27 Founders Packages were sold between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, representing total sales during this pre-construction phase at just over US$70 million. This marks one of the largest, most successful, new real estate Launches in the Caribbean in more than 18 months."
Even if they only got a 10% deposit from these people, that's a lot of commitment. I wonder what thely're telling these investors.