When I first arrived there were three. But the global recession, coupled with falling revenues and changes in the way people, especially the young, acquire their news, sadly led to the closure of the weekly Mid Ocean News in 2010, and now the shuttering of the twice-weekly Bermuda Sun.
On Wednesdays and Fridays the routine was pretty much the same. In the morning I'd pick up a copy of the Bermuda Sun and retire for an hour to a comfortable seat, either outside on the patio enjoying the fresh air or, if it was too hot or too breezy, then indoors on the sofa in the lounge or in the quiet sanctuary of the den.
And there I'd sit and read the latest news from 'the competition'. It was always a treat, a small block of time when all other distractions were ushered from the mind to allow undivided attention to be given to the newspaper at hand, with coffee and chocolate chip cookie in the other.
Oh, the chocolate chip cookie. Well yes, a rare indulgence that always accompanied the ritual of flicking through the newspaper where I'd particularly enjoy the more offbeat, community-driven news, together with a raft of social opinions and commentary acting as a window on the patchwork of differing views and issues of the day.
When news broke that the Bermuda Sun was to close, it was sudden. The farewell edition of the 50-year-old newspaper rolled off the presses just a few days later.
Now, less than two weeks later, I am missing those twice-a-week relaxing mornings when I could quietly sip coffee, munch on a reward cookie and read what the island's other newspaper voice had to say. That voice is now silent.
Often, it is only when something we had taken for granted is gone that we truly appreciate what it meant to us and the pleasure it brought. The Bermuda Sun has set. My thoughts go out to those who lost their jobs. I salute all who worked there and did so much to make it an eagerly anticipated treat to read.
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