Hi, all. I have been reading this forum for a while and have gathered some good information here. I'm wondering if anyone who is on the island now can give a report on Bernadine who has the rum stand up beside Paradise View. When we were there a couple of months ago, we stopped by a couple of times and she either wasn't there or was sleeping each time we stopped. I'm hoping that she's ok and would love to hear if anyone has seen her lately.

I saw her in January. She is doing very well. She said that donations were a little less than usual for high season and of course, there are ALWAYS more kitties that need help.

We visited with Bernadine in mid February. She's fine.
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/s...zpsz2eogacc.jpg

Does she get the cats spayed and neutered with the donations, or is it merely for food?

She does have them spayed and neutered as money allows, of course, their food comes first. She lives very fugally in one of the little stores there in the shopping row.

I saw her last week (I need to do a trip report) and she was well. We had a lovely visit, I brought her some cinnamon bush from my parents, my dad flirted with her, and we purchased a metric ton of liquor. As many others are, she was concerned about things getting slow after Easter and we talked a bit about local issues. But she's good, she has two new cats that she's taking care of - her cats have a great life - and is the same lovely Bernadine we all know and love.

We are hoping to visit with her soon. Always pick up a few large bags of cat food at Grande Marche to help with feeding the cats. She is such a nice person. St. Martin is a much better place because of people like Bernadine.

She absolutely gets them spayed and neutered. They are also taken care of for fleas and ticks.

We saw her as well, recently. She's really a special lady who truly lives for her animals. She's dedicated herself to their well-being. Anything anyone can do to help her is appreciated many times over. And she remembers everyone! Special lady.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

Thanks to all for news of Bernadine. We weren't able to go to SXM this year..we were in Guadeloupe..scuba diving/work and we worry about how Bernadine is doing. Knowing we couldn't see her she sent us a card dated Feb. 16th....
"Dear Jim and Judy, I have received your package via your friends..(SXM Norm) and thank you all for the nice thoughts. Here lots of changing, just by me lots on construction. I do not like it but that's progress.
Hurricane Gonzalo left me with lots of repairs to be done.
As we are early in the season I have to wait and see how the shop runs..money wise..but besides, all is well. All the furry friends are ok..just 2 more to the family.When I look at the calendars of Canada, to me that's life. Peaceful, clean and all nature, just my kind of life. Work is good so take some time and enjoy life a little and hope to see you soon all in SXM.Give my love to Judy. All the best for the new year, love Bernadine"
Some thoughts of mine..I hadn't read much about Bernadine after Gonzalo but by her note she obviously had more problems from damage than we knew. As for Canada..among other things we send her calendars that show Canada and one time as we were sitting at her picnic table enjoying a drink together she remarked about how nice Canada looked in the pictures and maybe she could move to Canada and set up her rum shop. I replied that she probably could...for about 17 hours until the police showed up! She was stunned when I explained to her how much are lives are regulated here. The other things Bernadine didn't know is our life, here, 30 miles east of Toronto - the largest city in Canada is anything but peaceful, clean and nature. But, that's our choice and Bernadine would be shocked if she knew how much pleasure we get out of sitting with her, overlooking Orient Bay, and just enjoying the simple life. As for her life, I personally wish it was a little more secure for her so she didn't have to worry where the next dollar/euro is coming from so she can look after herself and feed her critters.Actually I got that in reverse..Bernadine looks after her critters first and if there's anything left over it will be for herself.

Nice post Jim. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> And it's a pleasure to be special delivery mailman for you to Bernadine. I hope all who read this will, on their next trip, stop by and buy some rum or hot sauce, or something from her stand. She does have one of the best selections of Ma Dou Dou Rum of anyone on SXM other than the factory. It's not the cheapest price, but you can be well assured that those extra buck or two support a wonderful lady and the critters she takes care of.

And, maybe bring her some food for her cats...or for her if you are so inclined!

We are visiting in July and already plan on visiting Bernadine, cash in hand. She is part of the reason we love visiting the island so much.