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I love $2 bills.

In fact, I love one particular $2 bill so much that I framed it and gave it a name. It's called the Billy Feakins $2 bill and I cherish it. I shall remember the day I earned it, how I earned it and the immense amount of pleasure I received as a result of earning it for the rest of my life. It hangs in a place of honour and I smile every time I look at it. That's how important my Billy Feakins $2 bill is to me.

I wouldn't have a Billy Feakins $2 bill if I didn't play golf. There is, of course, a little story behind this particular $2 bill but suffice it to say that the magic of sport, and the related bragging rights of a $2 victory, have meaning to me beyond measure.

I've said before that, in my opinion, the world is significantly better off with sport in it.

I'm convinced that without sport to occupy us, we would have even more incidence of war in our world than we already have.

To put it somewhat crudely, sport is basically civilized war and should therefore serve to satisfy our natural human instinct for fighting.

That's why I support Government's significant expenditure on cricket and football. I believe that a society is much better off when there is easy access to a good, and diverse, sporting programme.

Of course, the way the amount allocated to any given sport is spent needs to be carefully monitored, and I trust that the cricket and football allocations are subject to such scrutiny.

One doesn't have to play sport to enjoy sport.

Spectators can receive as much pleasure from sport as do the participants.

As I sit writing this, I have one eye on the Liverpool/Manchester City football match. There are 50,000 spectators or so in the stands, not to mention the TV audience.

Affiliation to a team or a club can bring as much joy and meaning to a supporter as playing brings to a participant.

At the end of the day, what it all boils down to, is the pleasure derived from a well played match and the good-natured bragging rights at the end of it.

Junior golf

The Bermuda Junior Golf Association is working hard to attract young Bermudians to the sport of golf. It is my understanding that there has been significant growth in the numbers of juniors now enrolled in the BJGA golf programme.

The juniors need to be encouraged to continue playing golf. Golf teaches us important life values such as honesty and integrity, while at the same time demonstrating that our own individual progress in life is really a function of just how hard we are prepared to work for it. Golf should not be allowed to drift backwards in Bermuda. Recently, concerns have been raised about increased costs of playing at Ocean View and Port Royal.

Sadly, golf, like most sports in Bermuda, needs some financial support in order to remain viable for the average Bermudian.

Despite the tough economic times we are facing, I'd like to think that Government will continue to see value in supporting a wide variety of sports in Bermuda. Everybody should have the opportunity to have a Billy Feakins $2 bill in their life. After all, as we all eventually learn, it is usually the little things in our lives that bring ever-lasting meaning to it.

Since sport is very often the vehicle that brings these important moments to us, let's all work together to ensure we enjoy a healthy and diverse sporting programme in Bermuda.

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