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3 weeks ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
Unbelievable as it seems, my Cayman Islands High School graduating class will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. One warm summer’s night in 1985, we all sat in folding chairs on the top of the large cistern betwixt two buildings, wearing our caps and gowns.
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1 month ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
If I’ve ever wondered what the heights of laziness might look like, I believe I reached them this week. This wasn’t a surprise realisation – I’ve become an expert over time. It takes skill and patience to commit to such a discipline. I’m a hard worker when it comes to my company – and meticulous about the details – but I see everyday tasks as a challenge.
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1 month ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
When my best friend Lynne and I went on vacation, I always used to write almost daily about our experiences and email the reports to friends and family. I think it started when we took a trip on Cunard’s QEII in 2000. Only 25 years ago, and yet technology was nothing close to what it is today. I had to go to the ship’s business centre to type out the email, then send it, with our cabin number in the subject line.
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1 month ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
I’ve had to have a number of medical tests over the last month. Just in case you didn’t see the billboards I plastered all over town, I have psoriasis. It first showed up when I was in my 30s, but we weren’t initially sure what the little patch of red skin was about. Back then, there was no full-time dermatologist on the island, so I went to see a doctor who ‘dabbled’. She said it might be psoriasis. To be sure, she could simply punch a small hole in my scalp and take a sample to be tested.
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1 month ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
The past week has been a bit of a learning experience. I’ve endured the perfect storm of my best friend and housemate, Lynne, going away on vacation; having a visitor come to stay; and suddenly being solely responsible for 10 cats, four ducks, and a cavalcade of chickens. We’ve always split the duties of looking after the animals (although, if I were being honest, it’s usually more 30/70 in my favour), but now, it was all on me.
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2 months ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
Having issues with one’s car is a rite of passage that all of us get to experience at some point in our lives. The moment you’ve got those keys in your hot little hands, it’s time to start vetting mechanics as one would lawyers. The same criteria apply: You want someone who is very knowledgeable, not too expensive, and can quickly get you out of a crappy situation. Sure, I’ve had my share of engine and bodywork problems over the years. Sometimes it was due to just bad luck.
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2 months ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
Am I the only one who finds that certain items chronically go missing in my house? I realise there’s always the classic sock hostage situation – where two go into the dryer, and one comes out. It’s like a wormhole opens up in the machine at some point in the run, but only one sock can get through before it closes. I sit and think about how it all unfolds (see that expert pun?). This portal suddenly appears and hones in on a single Hanes cushioned crew, which it sucks into its vortex.
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2 months ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
This week, as I struggled to get my medication into the dreaded Day/Night pill holdall, I wondered how we’d made such advances in technology, yet no one had built a better blister pack. There seem to be stages with taking meds. At first, it’s just a little bottle that you carry with you in your bag. Then you upgrade to the pill box, which has the days of the week stamped on the top of each receptacle.
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2 months ago | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
In case you didn’t know, it was the Season 29 finale of the reality show ‘The Bachelor’ on 24 March. Speaking as someone who would rather drive glass shards into her cankles than watch a moment of that programme, I boggled that it has been nearly 30 seasons of insipid singles trying to find love (and fame) in front of the camera, warts and all.
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Mar 24, 2025 | 
caymancompass.com | Vicki Wheaton
It’s hard to believe, but in August my family will be celebrating 50 years in the Cayman Islands. We moved here in 1975, and fell in love with the place – as so many do. We first stayed at the old Holiday Inn (now the site of The Ritz-Carlton), and I remember the chairs in our rooms with white PVC pipe frames and lime green material.
