Hilda Cox-Bullen
Stabroek News
February 22, 2004
"My day is so different from my husband's, [Ambassador Roland Bullen] because I don't have a typical day. My days vary because of my role, and I don't go to office, so I don't have a structured day...
"I awake at four/four-thirty; I don't get out of bed, but I am quite alert and around and so on. I would say I get out of bed at around six o'clock.
"What I tend to do is watch the repeats of the local news that I may have missed from the night before, and I stress local and not international, because I come from a television background and so that's why I watch with an interest and from a different perspective. I would flick from one to the other, and then I may catch some international news as well. That is the time that I really get to watch a little television...
I try really hard to fit the gym in three times a week, so if it is a day that I am going to the gym, I would get up and get ready for the gym.
"I sort of mull around, I check my diary very early in the morning; it is very important for me to check from early, so that I won't miss anything. Then as Roland said, we make sure we have breakfast together, usually around seven-twenty. After that, if I am not going to the gym, I go through a series of phone calls...
"Then I may have meetings, sometimes at the embassy where I may be sitting on a committee, or I may have to meet one of the staff for any given reason. I also have meetings with various groups and organisations based on the things that I'm involved in...
"I try at some point during the day to get on the internet to check e-mails, and that is when I get to read the international and regional papers. I read the Barbados newspapers every day, even if it's midnight...
"My role is basically a supportive role, more like a partner in leadership and assisting with post morale. I have to interact with the different communities, the first and foremost being the US community... Then there is the international community, like the OAS, the UNDP, other agencies and other missions and then the local community, which can be either charitable organisations, the NGOs and the people of Guyana...
"I have to take care of the management of the residence and maintenance. I am in charge of an effective household staff, I have to prepare accurate inventories and accounts of the home. I have to ensure that the home serves as a hospitable setting for official entertaining, I also have to ensure that it serves as a family home and a visitors' residence. Then I take all of the above and ensure that it is done in accordance with our security procedures or precautions...
"Entertaining and attending events and functions comes with the territory and takes up a huge chunk of your time; it is not all fun at times.
"So in my day setting priorities is really of paramount importance, therefore I must examine whether it is appropriate or necessary for me to join various organisations...
"I would normally go to sleep at eleven some nights, [but] that depends on whether I have to write a speech for the next day."