The Tribune

PETER Nygard is trying to stop everyone talking about him, but wherever he goes he seems to have Bacon on the brain.

At a press conference on Monday, called for 2pm at his Lyford Cay home —Nygard Cay– to announce a $10,000 donation to the Acklins regatta, he showed a video belittling his Lyford Cay neighbour, Louis Bacon. How the denigrating of Bacon should feature in a donation to a sailing race is still a mystery.

But there it was — the fanfare, the adoring fans, the five “lies” of Louis Bacon, a video on stem cells and the regatta donation.

Just to announce a donation it was quite a ceremony.

Although called for 2pm it was nearer 3pm before the show got started.

Apparently, the delay was for the expected arrival of Labour Minister Shane Gibson, who was “only five minutes away.” However, it was eventually learned that for some reason Mr Gibson would miss the announcement.

Someone – obviously from the Nygard staff – suggested that when the great man entered the room everyone should stand and clap.

When he eventually appeared, all stood and – with the exception of The Tribune reporter – clapped, and cheered. He moved to the centre table where he joined Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells, Minister of Agriculture V Alfred Grey, Rev Philip McPhee and entertainer “King” Eric Gibson, one of the moving spirits behind the Acklins regatta.

Each one got up and made a little speech. Rev McPhee thanked Mr Nygard for his recent visit to his church and for marking the reverend’s pastoral anniversary with a personal gift of $10,000.

Then it was time to draw from the dark cupboard Mr Nygard’s secret bogey-man – neighbour Bacon with all his five “lies” and the Audubon Society award, which, according to neighbour Nygard, he didn’t deserve.

Even on his recent pilgrimage to Mount Olive Baptist Church in Grants Town to make his peace with Rev CB Moss, who is a part of the Coalition to Protect Clifton, Mr Nygard had the name of Bacon on his lips.

Rev Moss is against the Christie government leasing Crown land to Mr Nygard.

The Coalition claims that Simms Point, or Nygard Cay, “almost doubled in size” from the 3.25 acres when Mr Nygard bought it in 1984 to its present 6.1 acres. Mr Nygard claims that his land grew by natural accretion, but the Ingraham government did not accept the claim of nature and ordered that all work to reclaim any more land be stopped. The Coalition claims that the “accreted” Crown land is valued between $25 to $30 million.

Visiting Rev Moss to try to get him on his side, Mr Nygard tugged on the reverend’s sympathy by telling the story of his not-so-loved neighbour – Louis Bacon.

“My next door neighbour, do you realize that he’s been trying to drive me out of my beloved place now for 10 years?” Mr Nygard told Rev Moss.

“Do you realize that he’s built his buildings over my space?

“Do you realize that he’s put huge speakers the size of these buildings to try to blast me out of that place?” and so the story continued.

At Monday’s press conference the reporters asked for an interview after the presentation was made. Before granting it he drew his production crew around him to record his words so that no one could “put a spin on them.”

Our reporters also carry their recording crew with them — a small hand held machine, which has caught Mr Nygard’s immortal words:

“Stem cell facility here,“ he scoffed, “there is another silly thing The Tribune wrote as if we are going to do a stem cell facility here as if there is a secret agreement...my goodness how can you stoop to such stupidity who in hell would ever even conceive that it doesn’t make any sense at all to fabricate such a silly story if a stem cell facility and medical

facility (will be built) it’s going to be a grand facility that will be a centre core to attract everyone else to it and it has to be a substantial business that would attract some of the smartest people in the industry, but it needs to be the trophy of the Bahamas.”

When we return to this column next week we shall explain why The Tribune was so “silly” as to suggest that Mr Nygard

had planned the stem cell centre at Nygard Cay.