The charming cottages in so much of our art are based on real structures, some dating from the Loyalist settlement here over 200 years ago.

I have always felt a love for this portion of my country's architectural heritage, and that feeling became even deeper as I restored my auntie's house here and realized the extraordinary level of craftsmanship that underlies these houses.

But while many of them have weathered firece hurricanes, today some are threatened by short-sighted development. I believe that we can promote reasonable growth and economic activity here without damaging our invaluable heritage and environment. And so, from time to time, I may offer commentaries here on issues of historic preservation. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in these issues.

And in the meantime, I encourage you to contribute generously to the fund to purchase a new fire truck to help us protect our mostly-wooden village from nature's other scourge. You'll find information and photos from a devastating fire at myharbourisland.com/fire.htm.