Upon the reintegration of the St. Anne Islands we have received garrisons of the joint Imperial Forces, consisting primarily of Kadorian troops, In addition to our Royal St. Anne Islands Defence Forces, the garrisons protect this far-western corner of the great empire. Some readers may still remember the impressive procession of troops entering Cape Meredith through the Eleanor Stafford Bridge through downtown Covington and to the Fort Willow Naval Base, like it was yesterday.

The garrisons are under the central command under the Joint Commander Rear Admiral Theodora J, Cornell, RKN, in Charlottetown, Cape Meredith, and are stationed also at Fort Willow Naval Base (Covington, C.M.), Iris Point JFB (Iris Point, C.M.), Maple Valley Air Force Base (Brampton, C.M.), Aberdeen Collinswood Naval Base (Collinswood, C.M.), Northminster Naval Base (Northminster-Stonebrooke, Trilliana), Palmerstown JFB (Palmerstown, Trilliana), Millstone Naval Base (Woodlawn Point, Trilliana) and Stillwater JFB (Stillwater Island, Trilliana).

Joint trainings are fairly frequently done and one can see them in action at the Iris Point JFB.

Unlike the RSADF, which falls under the command of the Governor-General and is subject to the Islands Council's legislative mandates, the garrisons report to Ladyton; the stationed troops however may not act as the enforcers of imperial laws or to wage war on the Confederation, in accordance with the Letters Patent establishing the Confederation and other  fundamental constitutional documents of this Confederation, as well as the Status of the Forces Agreement in place.

One of the major "sticking points" in debates leading to the reunification of the St. Anne Islands as a confederated imperial dependencies under Her Cairen Imperial Majesty was the matter of laesa maiestas, or Lèse majesté. In all six mainland countries lèse majesté remains a felony and technically (though rarely has been invoked in recent centuries) punishable by death penalty. In reintegrating the islands under the umbrella of the Empire it was one of several (and very small number of) mainland laws that would apply to the islands, as proposed in the original declaration between the representatives of Ladyton, Vintesse, Quirinelle and the islands.

The campaign leading to the islands-wide vote on the referendum for reintegration often centred on this issue. Many feared that the laesa maiestas law would lead to a destruction of freedom and human rights for the islanders and only produce a new colonialism under yet another repressive colonial master. What they had missed entirely was the historic context of the laesa maiestas and how it is interpreted and applied in the context of the Caerelan legal system (which has always been the source of our islands' jurisprudence at least in theory and formality).

A recent court case in the state of Trilliana clearly illustrates the spirit of the laesa maiestas law and its application in the Caerelan legal tradition.

In The Crown (Trilliana) v. Stamford (in the Superior Court of the State of Trilliana for the County of Northaven, Criminal Division, case 07U2911) a police constable working for the Trilliana State Patrol was accused of mistreating a suspect in custody while she was held at the Northaven Regional Judicial Facility. The criminal case was initially brought to the court by the Office of the Comptroller General for Trilliana, acting upon the said suspect's lodging of a formal complaint. Miss Allison Marisol Glendale, a "super star" solicitor with the Northaven District Attorney's Office, tried a new approach inspired by the old mainland legal customs: instead of prosecuting the rogue police under the pre-reintegration legislation, Criminal Justice Reform and Law Enforcement Accountability Act, as usual in hope of getting a small felony conviction (which would automatically result in the offending police constable's permanent loss of employment, as convicted felons are disqualified from serving in the TSP for at least 12 years after the conviction is spent) she pursued the case under the laesa maiestas statute, immediately moving the hurdle of appeals to the Imperial Privy Council for its final adjudication, instead of the normal process through the Trilliana Supreme Court and then to the  Federal Court of Justice. This, obviously, was a novel and untried approach and Miss Glendale had made a major gamble on this case.

She argued that while a prisoner is under the Crown custody, a constable acts as a personal representation of Her Caeren Imperial Majesty herself to that prisoner. Thus by the behaviour and demeanour of the accused constable a disgrace is brought upon the Crown and her reputation. In the principle of "actions speak louder than words," the prosecutor continued, the constable not only brought shame to the monarchical office, but also harmed one of her subjects through senseless violence. Honour being one of the cardinal values in any government institution, there would be no incentive for the police force or the fellow constables to cover up and sugarcoat the antics of the rogue cop.

In the end the Court ruled in the prosecutor's favour, and the case now stands as a powerful tool to prevent such evils from infesting the constabularies throughout our islands. In our legal system, the laesa maiestas statute holds those who act on behalf of the Crown to a very high standard of honour, chivalry, stewardship and integrity. As such it keeps government officials (especially low-ranking bureaucrats and police officials) from misusing the powers that have been entrusted upon them in the name of Her Majesty in the protection and care of her subjects and her lands.

Since that day, travellers to and from any of the six mainland countries have had to endure what has come to be known as the Marywater stop-over.

Upon the approval of the cross-straight passenger and cargo flights there were some considerable concerns raised from representatives of the said countries, ranging from quarantine matters to fears of alleged influx of cultural corruption. Quirinelle, for that matter, has taken it one step further and banned all CSAI-registry aircraft over its territorial air. After some discussions a consensus was reached to create a singular port-of-entry airport and ancillary facilities (including a trade and economic zone, cargo warehouse zone, and a small neighbourhood of hotels and businesses primarily serving the travellers while on stop-over). Thus the Marywater International Airport was rapidly constructed inside the Marywater Air Force Base of the Royal Trent Air Force. This is the only airport that is entirely surrounded by a military installation. Also inside the vast air force base adjacent to the airport was built the Marywater Friendship and Trading Region (MFTR), a small town about the size of the city of Woodland, Many large corporations and entrepreneurs have since opened their mainland bases-of-operations there, thanks to the favourable tax and regulatory policies; however, this is a town that is also landlocked inside a fortified military base.

The 'stop-over' itself also poses a major inconvenience and extracost to many business travellers. Normally the process of customs clearance and quarantine of the aircraft and passengers take 4 to 6 hours, necessitating the connecting flight to arrive at a passenger's intended destination late in the day or even the next day -- and it is only if the connecting flight would depart Marywater at a convenient timing. A few travellers who know their ways around would rather ride a train from Marywater city centre (20 miles south of the airport) to nearby major cities.

This inconvenience may, however, be at its end soon. Since the start of the direct Iridianavia Violet flight from Covington-Newcastle to Maainuorvedoor, travellers are able to save up to half a day by making a connection at Maainuorvedoor to an international Novarian Airlines flight to Ladyton, Jenilow City, Miralene or Nevrayapurh. Maainuorvedoor is only about 100 miles west of the eastern border of Novaria over the mountains. The capital of Recathea, the ancient nation of fierce warrior nomads has centuries of close historic and cultural ties to Novaria. Though a nonstop trip from Covington-Newcastle to Maainuorvedoor takes 9 hours and 50 minutes, the time required for customs clearance and connection is less than an hour at the Maainuorvedoor airport.

The Government of Kadoria last week announced that its aviation authority will open the Fremantle Reedsbay International Airport, one of the busiest airports in that country, to a maximum of 10 flights each day (which would most likely be taken up mostly by Cairen Southern, Fremantle being its headquarters hub). This is expected to dramatically reduce travel time to the west coast cities of the mainland, with the estimated flight time between Covington-Newcastle and Fremantle Reedsbay being just under two and a half hours.

Yet my recollections are not merely of mine alone; they are our shared heritage through time and space. The first settlers who gallantly fought for their faith against all odds until they made that life-or-death decision: to commit their future and sacred honour to a band of space explorers from trillions of miles away—then landed 400 years ago establishing the Mayspring Colony, which would later become Fort Willow, today our capital Covington. My faint memory is also that of Lady Elizabeth Mary I, the Duchess of Covington, who led her people to literally rebuild their own country on a foreign soil in the midst of far-flung galaxy.

When I was only but a lowly bureaucrat in Covington, I had come to know Miss Molly Maitland, our neighbourhood spinster. She was about 190 years old but she still had that youthful innocence of a schoolgirl—yet with an aura of wisdom that could only come from a long time of learning and maturing. Every day Miss Molly would sit in front of her house exactly at 7 a.m., right besides her roses. Then she’d smile at everything and offer a prayer to the heaven; then her seven cats would come to her feet. Miss Molly fed her cats, and they’d purr in an impressive symphony. To me, she is one of the reasons why I embarked upon this mission.

Our journey so far has been long and arduous, yet our quest is entrusted to each and all of us—not just in the names of various entities we happen to represent—but above all, of Her Majesty and her own people, including those whom we love dearly.

Eternally grateful for the Divine Providence and Empress Hermya II, who granted them this western corner of the Isle of Sapphire and adjoining nine western islands as our new refuge, our ancestors worked hard to establish this land. Our story is their legacy. We must continue telling the story not merely as a shallow observance of “traditions” even as we betray them in word and deed. Our story, in no way, is untainted. Four centuries later, our people have seen much strife. We know that idealism and faith alone do not produce perfection. We learned the lessons; we accomplished, failed, and accomplished again in relentless optimism and resilience. Time and time again we’ve squabbled and struggled for petty reasons like a herd of cats (even though there is no such thing as a herd of cats) fighting over a small plate of stale cat food. Perhaps many of us who are old enough can remember how our small country achieved peace after centuries of painful wars, invaders, foreign occupations, unrest, infighting and hatred. It is too often, too easy to forget our story when in despair, trials and mishaps. Yet our continuing quest is entrusted upon each and all of us—whether we once worked in the state office buildings of Mayspring, the grandiose edifices of the Lillian Heights under our Governor or First Minister, in the academia on the Newcastle campus, or the military bases in Iridia Bay or Charlottetown—in this state of exile far away from our home we must unite stronger under the Crown and our flags. Perhaps the mayor of Covington, Emily Flanagan, spoke of it better than I can. “It is the sacred honour to uphold our hopes in the midst of happiness and trials alike, to guard our rich heritage and the wisdom of our history, so we may always remember and draw from the profound well of our journey over centuries.”

It is our story that we must remember and continue telling anew: after all these years, we achieved a lasting peace—only when we remembered our faiths, our roots, our heritage, our history, and our hope. Zhalve’v reuthistam, may blessings be upon us as the Eternal Light through our hearts splendidly illumines our paths.

It has traditionally been thought that the native tribes of what is now the State of Cape Meredith came from the west riding on the Florentine Current. After all, legends of both Liledecans and Ashineans speak of their ancestors riding the waves (or orcas) when they fell on the planet from wandering stardusts.

Recent discoveries in archeology and linguistics however confirm what many people have long thought: the indigenous nations of our islands came from the same ancestral source as the Recatheans.

Today, the connection between the eastern highland of Recathea and our Maritime Far West appears too far-fetched; yet the Recatheans settled in their homeland not until 1200 years ago. The ancient nomads in their former days of glory  travelled across the continent riding horses and at one point the Recatheans traded widely, building a large empire spanning from what is today northeastern Quirinelle to Chen Avitsen in the south. Subtle similarities in the festivals of the Liledecans or the cosmology inherent in the ancient Ashinean lores are strikingly similar to those of the Recatheans even to this day, despite the vast differences in their living environments, the former on islands and oceans, the latter on the steppes and deserts. The remnants of Recathean cultures are also found in neighbouring countries and to the east.

Of course, when we trace all cultures to the primordial beginning, we all reach the same root. Therefore this recent discovery may not ultimately be significant. Yet, this underlines the far reach of the ancient Recathean empire. Today's humble existence of Recathea is only but a shadow of the days of the glorious Three Empresses -- Aclare Val Seyen, Merihar Val Seyen and Agudfel Tal Seyen. By the time of Agudfel Tal, most of the Recathean Empire in the south was lost to the unrest generally attributed to pandemic diseases, only to be later conquered by the Cairen Empire. The Recathean Empire continued its reign over much of the north until the death of Agudfel Tal. The empire began  weakening after the enthronement of her second-eldest daughter Kwaliskaal Tal. In the end, fourteen provinces of what was thought of as the "Recathea proper" seceded 200 years ago to become Adzomgar; it was the end of Recathea's era as a true empire. Ultimately Recathea came under the sphere of Cairen rule, and has come to be thought of as part of the Amazonian region. Though Recathea's sovereignty emanates from the Seyenic House of Trehhaabt, they consider Her Cairen Imperial Majesty as the "Empress of the World."

Today, the Confederation of the Saint Anne Islands and the Dominion of Recathea are very close allies. With the new nonstop Iridianavia Violet flight from both Covington-Newcastle and Lantzville to Recathea's capital Mainaavedor, an increasing number of travellers have chosen to fly to many Novarian and Arcadian cities through Mainaavedor rather than through the time-consuming mandatory Marywater stop-over.

In mainland media sometimes Imperial Security Intelligence Service (ISIS) is mentioned and frequently portrayed with such a glamour. But very fwe know that ISIS exists in the Confederation of the Saint Anne Islands.

In our little country the formal name of ISIS is the Federal Administration of Interior Security and Intelligence Services, an executive agency that reports to the Federal Public Safety and Civil Defence Commission (PSCDC) and ultimately to the Islands Council. More commonly, it is referred to as ISIS-W (for West).

Although ISIS-W is not under the federal Department of Military, it is a uniformed service consisting solely of commissioned officers. In time of war and declared emergency ISIS-W serves as part of the Royal St. Anne Islands Navy and in pursuant to the Imperial Letters Patent may be activated for unified service of the Empire.

In peacetime ISIS-W closely collaborates with its mainland counterparts, with many of its officers receiving education and training at some of the most prestigious military colleges in Kadoria and Novaria.

The origins of today's ISIS-W can be traced to the legendary Fort Yaple Volunteers Corps, a group of undercover soldiers that included loyalist Mereditheners and many aboriginal volunteers from the Liledecan and Ashinean tribes. Their extensive work in intelligence and counterintelligence ultimately resulted in the fatal weakening of the northern occupation forces and led to the islands' freedom and eventual reintegration with the Empire. In recognition and honour of their achievements the Fort Yaple Volunteers were the first to be formally commissioned into the Imperial Armed Forces years prior to the actual reintegration.

Being an agency of the Islands Council government, however, from time to time has created perceived problems. Perhaps the most well-known of such problems occurred during the administration of the former prime minister Allison Leeland, which eventually led to the prime minister's disgraced resignation.

ISIS-W is headquartered in Charlottetown, Cape Meredith.

In addition to the Liledecans there are two other recognized indigenous nations in the State of Cape Meredith that are party to the Treaty of Port Elizabeth of 2952. They are the Ashineans of the western coastal region and the Madigans who inhabited the Willow River Valley.

Linguistically the Madigan and Liledecan languages are closely related, while Ashinean is totally disconnected from either of the former both lexically and grammatically. For instance, both Liledecan and Madigan are agglutinating languages with a verb-object-subject sentence structure, but Ashinean is a subject-object-verb language with use of prepositions.

The Ashineans appear to be related more closely to the aboriginal peoples of the islands farther to the west and north, particularly to the Matnl Nation in what is now the State of Trilliana.

Indeed, the word matnl is strikingly similar-sounding to the Ashinean word meot-nlle, which means priests in modern usage. This is consistent with the widespread historical notion that the ancestral homeland of the Matnl people (today's Anniston, Trilliana, our federal capital) is one of the holiest places on the planet. Even to this day many people who live in the mainland simply refuse to visit Trilliana believing that it is the legendary island of Avala where the elevated spirits of the deceased dwell in pure happiness (thus last year's failed marketing campaign by Tourism Trilliana: "Trilliana. 100 percent happiness." It was quickly pulled after having received many complaints).

On a related topic, it has long been believed that the name of the city of Anniston originated from one of the earliest settlers from Wales, who once saw a beautiful island in the middle of a pristine lake (today's Altar Hill Island and Anniston Lake) and exclaimed that it must be the island of the mother goddess ("Ynys Ddon" in Welsh, anglicized to Anniston). A small yet growing number of linguists, historians and archaeologists however contend that it is merely a popular urban legend, and propose an alternative explanation:

Anniston is a mishearing of the Matnl phrase en-Nesta-lun, from en (originated in or from), Nesta (angel), lun (home, place or land), "a place given by angels."

The Liledecan Nation is one of the major aboriginal nations of the Saint Anne Islands. The Liledecans are primarily concentrated in the southern coast of Cape Meredith along the Meredith Bay, and in the highlands of eastern Cape Meredith. More recently, a growing number of Liledecans began to live in and near the Brampton-Maple Valley metropolitan area.

In the language of the Liledecans, their land is called aLilueditamar aMul (the official Liledecan name for Cape Meredith is aLilueditamar aeGudin aMul) or the "Land of the Stardust Daughters." In the ancient mythology of this seafaring nation, the Liled ancestors were descended from the spirits of asteroids that fell in the far western end of the ocean, from whence the Liled people travelled, riding sea dragons.

Today, there is the Confederated Liled National Council (CLNC) as the central self-governing organization for the Liledecans in the Confederation of the Saint Anne Islands. The head of CLNC is the 197th Liled Queen, Aemuktikelen Sseumhavedin Samhfovale Ly-uGistanisle (also known more commonly as Dr. Emily K. Samhfovale GCWD PhD), since her coronation this past winter. By imperial protocol, relevant letters patent, the Treaty of Port Elizabeth and federal laws, the Liled Queen and her royal family are given a legal standing similar to that of a grand duchess. Additionally, the Liled Queen is automatically conferred the title of the Dame Grand Commander of the Most Serene Order of the Westerly Dominions, which was instituted by Her Imperial Majesty Celestia III upon the Islands' reintegration into the imperial sphere as the highest honorary order for all imperial dependencies west of the mainland.

Together the Liledecans comprise the largest aboriginal group in the State of Cape Meredith (12 percent of the state's population) and the second in the entire Confederation. The word Liled comes from liliaa (starlets) and ued (girls/daughters/offsprings).

In the heraldry of several cities and counties throughout the Confederation of the Saint Anne Islands one can see a stylized oar, painted in distinct colours and shown with a pair of long sashes tied to its neck.

The ceremonial oars are also used like the ceremonial maces in some municipal councils, civic organizations and also in the Cape Meredith Parliament and in the Islands Council.

The use of the decorated oars traces back to the several indigenous seafaring peoples of the Grand Florentides, where a chieftain often led a boat or a group of boats with a raised oar as a symbol of authority. To this day, each aboriginal nation and its subdivisions have their own ceremonial oar in unique designs, and indeed, there is a central registry of such oars in each of the three states of the Confederation. In the State of Cape Meredith, the task of maintaining such a registry is under the jurisdiction of the Cape Meredith Institute for Heraldry, an agency of the Cape Meredith Department of Cultures, Heritage and Education (DoCHE).

The Meredithan language is in danger of extinction within the next 10 years, predicted Dr. Genevieve Angford, a professor of linguistics at the University of Cape Meredith-Newcastle.

Meredithan is a curious mixture of the mainland Cairelan language, English, French and some of the state's indigenous languages, especially Coastal Liledecan. It developed as a trade jargon as settlers from Telluria and Vintesse began communicating with the local aborigines and with each other. Eventually the Church of the Province of the Saint Anne Islands (now the Church of the Florentides) started offering catechisis classes in Meredithan, and then many parishes began their worship services in Meredithan. Many words and grammatical features are primarily derived from the scholarly language of the northern Vintesse two to three centuries ago. This differs widely from the Raihiralan Caerelan spoken in the mainland, which is derived from the aristocratic-military language of southern Arcadia and eastern Trent. For example, Rayati in the mainland becomes Reuthi (pron. Re-yue-thi, with a voiced TH as in THis) in Meredithan, while the northern Vintesse dialect today pronounces Rayati as though it is spelt Reyezi.

The crisis of the Meredithan language began as the foreign colonists occupied the Florentides during the last century (and their policies of suppressing our languages in favour of forcing theirs), and continued as the islands' isolation from the mainland peaked after the communist revolution.

Today, only about 10 per cent of the state's population speaks Meredithan as their first language, most of whom are isolated in the mountainous regions of the Meredithan Ridge as well as on the southern coast near the Interbay Mountains.

The Cape Meredith Cultural Commission last year approved a multi-million dollar, state bond-backed grant to establish a Meredithan-language radio station at the Cape Meredith Public Broadcasting in Brampton. Programming in Meredithan is scheduled to go on air by the first of Kerea this year. The University of Cape Meredith-Maple Valley will expand the Meredithan language instruction this coming school year.

Reuthi K'reinart!

Many words and grammatical features of the Meredithan language comes from the mainland Caerelan dialect of northern Vintesse.

• Reuthi: hi, hello, salute (literal meaning: I behold the sun within thee; cognate with Raihiralan word Rayati).
• Reuthisti: (more familiar) salute to you (addressed to one person).
• Reuthistam: salute to you (addressed to more than one persons).
• Reuthi k'Reynart: Hail the Empire
• Reuthi k'Reynaz: Hail the Empress
• Quyn: good, well.
• Quenvenisti: welcome or thank you (to one person).
• Quenvenistam: welcome or thank you (to multiple persons).
• Quenvenistam uy Caef eMerediti: Welcome to Cape Meredith (lit. Welcome in/thank you for being in).
• Most Meredithan nouns are melinic, while a smaller number of nouns are chelanic. This is similar to how most Swedish words are 'en' nouns while some are 'ett' nouns.
• Le: the definite article for a melinic noun in singular form (similar to li in Raihiralan).
• Lle: the definite article for a chelanic noun in singular form (similar to lhi).
• Lem/Llem: the definite article for plural nouns.

It is a great time of year to visit Charlottetown.

Charlottetown is said to be (by its residents) the "oldest city" in Cape Meredith. The reality is that it is the oldest settlement by the mainland-origin immigrants. The City of Covington was incorporated six years earlier than was the City of Charlottetown, thus making the latter the second oldest incorporated city in the state.

In 3017 the first group of settlers from Trent arrived in the Iridia Bay and founded a camp on the southeastern shore. Later the camp had come to be known as Fort Charlotte, then Charlottetown.

The city to this day retains the charm and atmosphere of the old Trent, with its over 300 buildings still remaining and on the Cape Meredith Register of Historic Places (source: Cape Meredith Parks and Recreation Commission, Heritage and State Museums Division). Since its founding, Charlottetown was a viable trading post thanks to the natural harbour. Today the Port of Charlottetown handles about 40 per cent of seaborne cargo traffic and is the main cruise ship terminus for the Kadorian cruise liners (source: The Greater Charlottetown-New Fremantle Port District Authority).

Charlottetown is home to the venerable Wavely clan (was the Waverley, related to the shipping magnate from Trent), and is where the headquarters of the Waverley-Stearns West Group PLC (parent company of the Waverley Marine Transport and the half-owner of the Cairen Southern STARS Regional Airways -- well, the other half is owned by the Waverley-Stearns Co. of Trent.) is located. The Waverley remains the city's largest employer, hiring nearly a quarter of the city's population (822,291 est. 3328). Another major business is Waverley-Stearns-owned Stella Transportation Incorporated, one of the largest trucking and intermodal carriers in the entire Confederation.

The city had gotten some media attention lately due to the flashy -- and somewhat controversial -- campaign by Miss Chloe Wavely for a vacated seat in the Islands Council, our federal legislature that meets in Anniston, Trilliana. A distant heir to the Waverley family wealth and influence, Miss Chloe -- oddly enough -- spent her fortune to fight her pro-mainland opponent, Catherine Lister-Darlington, with a "defend our islands from outsider business takeovers" platform. She lost narrowly in the recent election, but she vows to run again.

When in Charlottetown, be sure to visit the Union Park. It is the city's largest and most beautiful park with gardens and an outdoor sculpture museum.

Sunrise in Cape Meredith is often called one of the most beautiful in the region. From Covington-Newcastle area the rising sun is seen over the Autumn River and Helene River, above the mountains to the east. Amidst these mountains is Lake Foss, which is such a beautiful place that the new $2 coins now has a picture of the lake on the reverse.

Perhaps one of the best known sunrise-viewing spots in the state is the Aubin Riverside Park along the shore of the Heather River (which is called the Meredith River once one sets a foot on the other side of the river) in Port Elizabeth. This is only about 500 feet from the site of now infamous, proposed-yet-never-materialized Meredith Bay Casino and Resort (Who was behind this project? None other than Chloe Wavely, the president of the Waverley-Stearns West Group PLC and mediocre occasional political candidate). It was the beauty of the landscape that ultimately worked against Chloe this time. Though eclipsed of late by the nearby Brampton/Maple Valley twin-cities, Port Elizabeth remains to be a historic city of importance and is rich in heritage.

Whether in Newcastle or in Portel (How many people whom you know do actually call that town Port Elizabeth?), the sunrise is preceded by a magnificent show of a morning sky changing colour from a dark shade of navy blue to a light purple to a nearly white sky blue. In Cape Meredith sunrise appears to be earlier in a morning due to the time zone (45 minutes behind the western continental time) and latitude so during summer the sun could rise over Newcastle as early as 3:35 a.m., and during winter, as early as 6:52 a.m.

"Busting at the seams" is how the situation at our northern border crossings in recent couple of years. Since the lifting of the travel ban in late 3325 and reopening of the Eleanor Stafford Bridge to the public, the cross-border traffic has increased by an astounding 20,000 percent. Until that point the only people who could cross the bridge were select government and military officials.

The opening of the Queen's Crossing Bridge (C-305) between Point Valerie and Westport in 3326 has somewhat alleviated the traffic problem, but with the bridge being 100 miles from the Covington, it has been costing trucking companies extra money for fuel and wages. Passenger transportation is also reaching the capacity as the railroad companies on both sides of the border struggles to increase service frequencies within what is feasible by the customs and immigration officials.

In 3325, there was only one round trip cross-border train service, that consisted of one car detached from the rest of the train at Willowwood and pulled into Covington over the bridge by a little locomotive. It was next to impossible also to obtain a travel permit to be allowed on that train. Today, there are an average of 5000 passengers a day travelling north, and 3500 passengers travelling south, on buses, trains and private automobiles.

With the reintegration of the islands into the imperial sphere, travel restrictions have been greatly relaxed (especially within the Isle of Sapphire; going to the continent is another issue altogether) and cross-border commerce has entered into a boom phase. With the proposed introduction of the Standarized Authorization For Expedited Pre-Approved Sojourns across the Sapphire (SAFEPASS) program that allows pre-screened travellers to freely travel within the Isle of Sapphire and visit the other side of the border for up to 72 hours at a time without additional permit or restrictions, we are all looking into a massive increase of travel in both directions.

So the current state of affairs is that everything's awfully inadequate. There are only four land ports of entry along the Willow River to the north -- Point Valerie, Covington, St. Helene and Woodland. The latter two are small ferry terminals for a boat carrying no more than 100 passengers at a time. The Eleanor Stafford Bridge that links Covington to Willowwood was built over 160 years ago and is quickly deteriorating due to the strain on the structures caused by more cars and trains.

At the land border checkpoint at Covington now it is not unusual for a passenger to wait up to 90 minutes Cape-bound, or even worse for an Infra-bound traveller, up to three hours. No one believes this scenario is acceptable, but everyone seems to have a different idea as to how to solve the problem. People on the both sides of the river are not very happy with the idea of another bridge that may result in more traffic, more noises and urban sprawl spreading northward into Willowbrooke County, which still retains a very rural character.

As part of the upcoming construction of the Safira express passenger rail, Safira and the Cape Meredith Department of Highways, Transportation and Aviation (HTA) will build a sensibly designed bridge that will be capable of handling heavy rail and motor traffic without sacrificing the aesthetics of the landscape. HTA has recently awarded a contract for the design of this bridge to Liza Flavia & Associates, a highly reputable international architectural firm. The planned bridge will be located approximately half a mile west of the existing Eleanor Stafford Bridge with its southern bridgehead near the Mayspring State Office Complex and Fort Willow State Historical Park.

There appears to be nothing in this state more sensational these days than the continuing political ambition of Miss Chloe Wavely. Many still have a fresh memory of her recent bid for a seat in the Islands Council, our federal legislature, that resulted in a massive failure for her and a better chance at winning for her primary opponent.

She is not quitting any time soon, however.

Having regrouped, Chloe Wavely just announced yesterday that she will be running for the soon-to-be-vacated mayoral seat of the City of Charlottetown (the present mayor Rachel Szonqt is retiring upon finishing her term this year). Already gossip-seeking busybodies in the local media are taking over the airwaves in anticipation for yet another episodes of the Misadventures of Chloe Wavely.

Somehow she had become someone we all poke fun at. But Chloe is no court jester.

"In the middle of the journey of my life, something unexplicable spoke to my heart," once she said, when we were at a reception put together by the WAMP in honour of the state's civic leaders. Chloe Wavely, an heir of the local shipbuilding and marine transport magnate who is better known by the company name Waverley-Stearns Holdings West, was in all respects your dream party girl. She lacked nothing since her earliest memory, and indeed her parents did everything within their means to shield Chloe from the world's evils and sufferings.

She was raised on best food money could buy, went to an expensive private school, and she was given one expensive, pure-bred fluffy cat on her birthday every year.

Yet, Chloe couldn't find her life meaningful. Nothing really satisfied her even after parties, not even her cats.

One day she wondered why her grandmother just died. She had never heard of death then, except through lectures and textbooks in a rather theoretical manner.

A few nights later she had a vivid dream -- and it was not a nightmare. She realized then, that it was wrong to assume that sufferings didn't exist or it could be easily hidden away by sugar-coating and whitewashing over it. Then it became her avocation to do something about sufferings.

Now this, I hope, explains why she is suddenly in the public scene raising funds for various causes and running for public offices. She is not doing this for her own ego or just for an excitement or publicity. A profound change she underwent is something most people fail to notice amidst tabloid journalism and broadcast gossips.

Earlier today I had to run errands over in Covington, and I was waiting for a southbound train back to Newcastle. I was kind of tired and also made a bit of extra money so I thought I should spoil myself a bit by buying myself a Cape Panorama ticket -- with a designated seat in the lounge car. Sure, it cost me an extra $7.50 for what is only a 15 minute ride from Covington Central to Newcastle, but it's an experience that counts, not?

So I waited for a train at the Cape Panorama platform, which is separate from the regular commuter trains'.

I waited for 20 minutes for the train, for a 15 minute ride.

Go figure? Well, as I said, it's an experience that counts.

So I struck up a conversation with a rather well-dressed lady. It turned out she was the new general manager at the recently bought out Mariners' Savings Bank, which would soon become Amity Marine. I asked how she felt about as an "outsider" taking over a local, homegrown banking institution, as I understand any kind of "big business" or chain stores are rather rare in a highly relationally based society she hails from.

Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) she alluded herself to a tutor or a governess from a city moving to a countryside having hired by a noble family to watch over their children.

It appears to me that those who come to our little country to start or take over a business do so in a rather benevolent, if not overtly condescending, kind of way. That's more than what some critics in our local media would like you believe; they are not merely money-grabbing opportunists. Yes, they will profit from these arrangements. No, money is not their primary or final motive.

I thought of quoting what she said word by word, but it's a bit difficult so to do because of the way she spoke.

But I shall leave you with this bit of wisdom from this lady: "A bond of friendship and sisterhood means sometimes one must guide the other when she requires help. A bond of friendship and sisterhood means that we are irrevocably bound together as we journey along, and it is when one's strength fails it is the other one's holy duty to exert her strength twice."

A train did then come, we boarded the Cape Panorama 7805. I deboarded in Newcastle, she travelled to Charlottetown, to her new office assignment.

I am pleased to break this news to anyone who has been following the local rumours and gossips from our little corner of the universe: yesterday the legendary, phenomenal, world-renowned Kholinaya finally opened its doors, having completed its over-a-year-long construction of the former Covington Electric Company block.

Of course, people who like to travel to Nevrayapurh or Marenkhe know what the the Kholinaya is. It is an old institution steeped in centuries of tradition that manufactures its own line of super-high-tech products that make one's life easier and more exciting. Do not fret, people -- now we have an access to the vast inventory of Kholinaya's treasures in our own backyard (well, 25 minutes away by train or 40 minutes driving).

Remember people used to shop the Kholinaya in Nevrayapurh and would bring home stuff risking a hefty 300 percent import tax on those gadgets, only to find out that our electricity is different than theirs (thus quickly born was a little garage-industry of making and selling electric converters from ISA-H52 to S4200; unfortunately not many such converters really did their jobs, resulting in many an expensive investments turning into ashes). Merchandise bought at the Kholinaya Golden West Covington will be guaranteed to work here at home, unlike those smuggled models!

The new department store is at 300 N.E. Riverside Way, Covington.

As I left house on Sheffield Street in Clarin Urban District* (unfortunately I no longer live on Aubergine Garden Road, but I'm still local) I was greeted -- as usual -- by a little committee of neighbourhood cats. One orange kitty, two black-and-white kitties, two grey meows and one white one, they'd follow me around for a block until I sit down on the sidewalk and let them climb up on my lap and shoulders.

Sidewalk cats are rather common sights in residential neighbourhoods of Newcastle. Although there is an occasional campaign put together by the County Borough's health department or by the Urban District executive office encouraging people to keep cats off city roads, cats are cats and they love going out on a nice day to play and stretch out in the sun.

In Clarin, perhaps one of the most quiet and less populated Urban Districts in Newcastle, sight of cats everywhere is rather loved among the local residents.

I do not think anyone will ever be able to regulate a cat, in any case.

Cats as we commonly know today in the Grand Florentides came with the early settlers who landed here off the HMVS Mayanna-31 four centuries ago. They brought along with them a large litter and herd of cats as apparently, according to historians, cats were just as persecuted by the rising super-patriarchy where they came from. For some odd reason, superstitious or otherwise, the rulers of the time believed that cats were evil and would burn them on stakes just as they did some of the defenders of the faith.

Cats indeed multiplied, flourished and prospered in their new home. While the mainland and the Florentides already had felines of similar types they were slow to multiply and were somewhat too large for being house cats.

In short time cats became one of the main exports of Cape Meredith, and rest is history.

Even during the time of hostility when the people of the mainland were forbidden to travel to or communicate with Cape Meredith, many children's story books published there (including textbook readers for grade schools!) never failed to mention the Meredithan Cats somewhere inside their covers, often something along the line of a dreamy little girl fantasizing a Meredithan kitten for birthday, or how a thoughtful village constable comforts a lost, frightened little one by saying that the constable station has a couple of pretty Meredithan kitties and she gets to feed and pet them if she comes with the constable. Of course, by the time those stories were written and published there were enough already cats in the mainland, all multiplying on their own, so no one really needed to smuggle any cat into their countries or even mention that those cats are from Cape Meredith -- but the descriptor "Meredithan Cat" stuck mostly because our kitty was smaller and cuter than their native varieties.

Back to my precious sidewalk cats, I am certain that they are now stretched out upside-down on the grass purring and dreaming of butterflies.

(*There are now 15 UDs that comprise the "inner Newcastle" that sort of work like our little city governments for the populous parts of Newcastle; this probably was done by the County Borough Council to discourage further incorporation of new cities in Newcastle by offering the best of both worlds, of being autonomous and having a clear neighbourhood identity while keeping them under the municipal umbrella of the Newcastle County Borough. The City of Wisteria Hills, for example, was incorporated last year and now the County Borough has no administrative authority or taxation power over Wisteria Hills except as contracted with the City of Wisteria Hills. Newcastle had been one of the few unified municipality-county that provided a rather cohesive and efficient administration. The 15 Urban Districts as of 3329-1-1 are: Shelbytown, Aubergine Hill, Marsilina, Ellenstown, Newcastle West, Central Newcastle, University Plains, Landin Creek, Salvia Hill, Flavia, Clarin, West Helena, Floral Valley, Gateway, and Altford. Urban Districts now have a certain degree of autonomy in many areas of administration, allowing a greater level of participation by local residents, though they remain integral part of the Newcastle County Borough. Effective the next Newcastle election, each UD will send one voting delegate to the County Borough Council, while 10 will be elected county-wide at large, and 5 seats are elected from the rural constituencies that do not fall into any of the 15 Urban Districts. The Aubergine Garden Estate is located in the Aubergine Hill UD, just in case you did not already know it.)

As many locals have anticipated, the final green light has been given for the construction of a new railway upgrade to begin.

The construction, anticipated to take about a year and a half, will allow the new Safira high-speed passenger rail service to safely operate in Cape Meredith. In specifics this means many segments will be either elevated or underground to reduce or eliminate surface rail-and-road crossings. There have been a lot of concerns and oppositions to erecting elevated railway tracks over downtown Newcastle. The final plan rather calls for a sunken, semi-underground track that would parallel the existing CMR line. The proposed tracks would be located between Addington Avenue and Merthyr Avenue, requiring a total of 20 city blocks to be relocated either temporarily or permanently.

The planned start of the Safira train service would be sometime in late 3330. Utilizing the equipment manufactured by the makers of the Silver Vixen super-express train cars serving the southern mainland, the Safira will link the Cape's major cities (planned stops are in Covington, Newcastle and New Fremantle, with alternating trains terminating at either Charlottetown or Rennesport) to the northern parts of the island in under four and a half hours, at a peak speed of 400 miles per hour. It is also speculated that the opening of the Safira would reduce the strain on the Covington-Newcastle International Airport.

The Safira will be owned and operated by Safira Express Transport Ltd. (SAFR), a company established jointly by CMR, Pemberton Covington Railroad, and Infrail Corporation. It will not, according to CMR officials, replace the existing train services such as the Cape Panorama express but rather would add another travel option to complement presently available services.

Aubergines of Newcastle are renowned around the region. Many tourists come to Newcastle during aubergine season and snap up bags and boxes of freshly harvested aubergines from roadside stands and farmers' markets in the county.

Speaking of an aubergine, I cannot fail to mention my favourite: The Rabbit Hole's deep-fried aubergine with grated radishes.

The Rabbit Hole restaurant has won many acclaims and reviews sicne its opening last year near the UCMN campus.

I found an old newspaper article I had saved somewhere. The Newcastle Times-Register, our local daily, praises the Rabbit Hole:

[This article was originally published in the Newcastle Times-Register on 3327-3-13.]

The Rabbit Hole W. 1201/A Miralene Highway (Highway 20-Bypass), Newcastle

Phone: 0897.6801.2001 (No reservations) Open daily 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-midnight No parking lot; CMTransport buses #121, #124 and #146 stop in front of the Rabbit Hole, and it is only about a three-minute walk from the Miralene/Art Institute station. Do not park at the university unless you have a permit. You've been warned. $

By Kaarin Soderstrom

Newcastle Times-Register

The penitential month of Moura arrived and those with a stronger cultural tie to the mainland observe this month in introspection and repentance. In a university town such as Newcastle, this change of season is felt somewhat differently than, say, in Covington.

The UCMN campus, which also includes the independent Cape Meredith Institute of Arts and a small satellite campus of the University of Trent, is full of students and faculty from all over the islands and mainland on any given day. Yet, even for students who hail from as far as Queenstown, Arcadia (I once wrote an article about one girl who came from Queenstown) students are students. They are young, curious, and they have essays to write and exams to follow. The Rabbit Hole is one such favourite haunt for students, and as one may expect, boasts good, substantial food for a great price.

It is at first intimidating to enter this small eatery-cum-bar hidden behind the bamboos and shrubs. From outside the Rabbit Hole looks strikingly similar to an old haunted pub in a rural Arcadian town. But this green patch of bamboos and foliage also function as a welcome refuge for tired and hungry students seeking a brief escape from the studies.

The propriator of the Rabbit Hole, Miss Josephina Chelverton, admits that the entire scene was "copied from the town public house in Avalwood, Arcadia" -- the hometown of her distant ancestor. The Chelvertons immigrated to the Cape over two centuries ago seeking new opportunities here. Avalwood still retains the character of a small rural town in the midst of farms and rolling hills, with the population of only 182 at the last census. "In Avalwood everyone used to be a Chelverton, and everyone knew each other," said Miss Josephina, who was once a student at the UCMN majoring in history. "Here at the Rabbit Hole, I want to recreate that atmosphere--and I think many students from out of town would appreciate that warmth."

With all this nostalgia about Arcadia, one may think the food is about as nostalgic. But do not be misled by the ambiance. The Rabbit Hole's chef, Annette Modrinan, counterbalances the deep-Arcadian ambiance with what she calls the "best of all seven nations" -- or what I may call the fusion cuisine so typical of many such restaurants in Cape Meredith.

The Novarian deep-fried mushroom (which does not use actual Novarian fungi but is made from edible, farmed mushrooms from Woodland) has this distinctively Novarian taste but with a texture that is more reminiscent of a high Trentish cuisine (Miss Modrinan trained in Trent and taught at the CMIA's culinary arts department until a month ago).

Personally I found the quality of the food lacking, and it was somewhat frustrating to find myself eating something that looks like one thing but tastes like something entirely different. But what would you expect? Most students would rather go for the substance at the best price possible, and the Rabbit Hole has got them both.

While Kaarin Soderstrom at the Times-Register praises the mushrooms, I would rather support the local farmers (mushrooms are shipped in from far away.) and at the same time enjoy the homegrown delicacy!

There is no wonder why the Cape Meredith Parliament recently introduced a bill for a resolution calling for the aubergines to be designated the official state vegetable.

Recently I came across an old $1 coin from the 3310s. Of course this being the time when our country was not yet reintegrated into the great empire, so the coins made then too reflected that fact.

Today's $1 coin (and all other denominations) issued by the Royal Saint Anne Islands Mint bears on obverse a profile of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress, whose formal title in our country is the Archduchess of Covington and the Grand Florentides -- with the inscription "CELESTIA III IMPx. R.R." If one sees below her likeness a small picture of a trillium, it was minted in the State of Trilliana at the Mint in Lantzville; a rose denotes the coin's origin as the State of Sainte-Madeleine at the Ville-Marie mint; our own Charlottetown-minted coins bear the image of an iris. The Charlottetown Mint building (310 Cathedral Road, Charlottetown, C.M.) was designated several years ago to be the State Historic Asset.

Back in the 3310s, we were part of the briefly independent Commonwealth of Anasia, and the obverse side of the coin bore the image of different "national heroines" of the time (different depending on denomination) such as Pamela L. Rosen, Elizabeth D. Corbin, and even Allison Leeland, now infamous former prime minister (Allison Leeland began her public service career during the 3290s and served under all past regimes; at the time the coin was issued she was still rather a popular figure).

During the 3280s and 3290s our country had gone through a period of rule under President Elizabeth D. Corbin, whom now many historians consider a puppet ruler for what would soon become a fierce invader and ruthless occupier who would later impose a 15 years of reign of terror (3295-3310). "Beloved Leader Lizzie (or, Big Sister Lizzie, or Gentle Teacher Lizzie)," as Elizabeth Corbin was then often called, appeared to have straightened out many of our islands' social, economic and political problems; she has made much positive contributions to resolving long-standing ethnic conflicts between Tellurian exiles and mainland exiles, and between Mereditheners (most of whom, to this day, maintain a very close cultural loyalty to the mainland nations) and the rest of the St. Anne Islands' populations. At the time, President Elizabeth Corbin also gave Cape Meredith a nearly independent status -- the Autonomous Territorial Collectivity of Cape Meredith -- complete with her hand-picked Governor Amanda Thurston (whose grandparents came from Quirinelle).

Coins minted during this period bore the pictures of President Corbin, Governor Thurston and other "leaders."

As coins tend to last for decades and even over a century, they represent pieces of our history. Next time you pick out a coin from your coin-purse, feel the weight of our state and our confederation's long journey together. You are holding a piece of history, and you too are part of our history that your children and grandchildren will remember many years later.

The central urban area of Newcastle, the area most people would think of as the "City of Newcastle" (which does not exist as an entity now; it is part of the County Borough of Newcastle), is generally along the stretch of lands on the west bank of the Autumn River. The Newcastle Central City Association defines the "Downtown Newcastle" as an area between the river and the Cape Meredith Railway track (the west side of the track is usually called Uptown or University District).

In spring, the Autumn River banks are a treasure-trove of flowers and tree blossoms. Trees such as plums, apples, pears and cherries blossom throughout spring in Newcastle, while the fertile river banks are home to irises and hollyhocks (alcea rosea). Iris is the state flower of Cape Meredith and is widely found throughout the Cape, while the latter is the official floral emblem of the County Borough of Newcastle. Alcea rosea is not a native plant to the Isle of Sapphire (curiously it is rarely found on the other side of the borders, for this very reason) and was thought to be brought in by the second wave of immigrants about 200 to 250 years ago.

The University of Cape Meredith-Newcastle, the oldest public university in the Cape, was originally established as a consolidation of the Colonial Agricultural College with two other schools of higher learning. As such UCMN has long been a repository of information, studies and resources on our state's (and those of the Confederation of the Saint Anne Islands and the Maritime Western region as a whole) botany, agriculture and ethnobotany. The university campus is also home to the Royal Cape Meredith Arboretum (W. 1511 Flores St.), a state-chartered crown institution.

In the land of flowering irises and hollyhocks, spring is full of colours in all their spectral splendour.

In the summer of 3327, a local girl by the name of Lilian Summers was playing in the family garden located in the city of Wisteria Hills (7 miles east of downtown Newcastle), a previously agricultural area that has recently become a rapidly developing suburb.

Lilian one day dag a hope with her shovel to see how deep she could go. "Maybe I can see the other end of the world!"

About ten minutes later and nine feet (72 aqudai) deep she found a small rusty bell that appeared to be either of bronze or brass construction. The bell was covered in chunks of clay and mud so she could not tell. Though dirty the bell rang perfectly, lovely and clear.

One of Lilian's mothers is Dr. Annalise Kathleen Summers, a professor of archaeology at the University of Cape Meredith-Newcastle. Professor Summers took the bell to the campus lab for dating and analysis. It turned out that the bell belonged to a stage wagon roughly 160 years ago during the early era of development in the inland Cape Meredith (previously almost all settlements were along the south bank of the Willow River, or along the southern seaboard; the inland was largely left untouched). The development of the inland area, including what is now Newcastle County Borough, came as a result of the second major wave of immigration to the Saint Anne Islands by refugees from some distant planet who fled their war-torn homes and religious persecutions.

The bell found in Wisteria Hills now is widely speculated as the one that belonged to the legendary wagon driver of the time, Marybeth "Purple Cat Lady" Eglington. It was said that whenever she rang the bell as she drove the wagon cats would follow her because she would always feed any cat she encountered on the road.

To learn more about the story of this bell, visit the new exhibit at the Newcastle Historic Museum at W. 920 Pear Orchard St. in Newcastle city centre.

This year celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Cape Meredith Settlement. As part of our 400th anniversary projects, this weblog is being set up in honour of the historic Aubergine Garden Estate, the home of late Miss Emily D. Fernham.

Today the Estate is a historic asset of the State of Cape Meredith and its upkeep is largely financed by the Cape Meredith Parks and Recreation Commission (CM-PARC). The Estate, located at N. 2929 Aubergine Garden Rd. just 2 miles north of downtown Newcastle, remains to be owned by the Fernham family and the Aubergine Garden Estate Foundation. To visit the Estate one can easily find the CM Transport bus line "Aubergine Garden Road (182)" at Gateway Centre, Newcastle City Hall light rail station, Newcastle CMR train station, or at Miralene-Art Institute light rail station. During peak hours weekdays the 182 can also be boarded from downtown Covington, but it will take longer than travelling via Newcastle by rail.

This present writer has spent much of her youth living on Aubergine Garden Road, so the Estate was within her walking distance.

The Aubergine Garden was originally a farmland where the famous Newcastle Aubergines originated. Over years the Estate also began growing grapes, pears, and other produces. During the periods of foreign occupation by the invading forces, and the following times under socialist regimes, the Estate was under military control often used to supply food for their soldiers.

The garden has always been fruitful, located in the fertile soil between the Autumn River and Helene River. Long before the settlement of Mereditheners the area was a favoured farming and gathering zone among the aborigines. Archaeologists have found remains of several old settlements, some dating back to up to 5000 years.