Top Secret Welding Project at Enighed Piques Interest of Curious Passersby

 

When Samuel began constructing this dome-shaped structure at his Estate Enighed shop, people had questions.

It’s hard to hide a secret project on St. John when it’s very big and you are constructing it alongside one of the island’s busiest roads.

St. Johnian Neville Samuel has had more than a few questions about the 15-foot-high, igloo-shaped structure he has been welding in front of his Enighed welding shop on Southshore Road near The Marketplace.

Samuel knows he will be getting even more questions about the month-old welding project growing in his welding shop yard across from the Wastewater Treatment Plant as he begins to cover the aluminium ribs of the structure with sheet metal this week.

The St. Johnian artisan has had some witty responses to the inevitable questions of passersby who have watched the 20-foot diameter frame and structural elements form a half-sphere and asked what it is going to be.

When Samuel put the round cap from a gas cylinder on the top of the dome at one point, some of his answers became a little ribald.

From giant breast to giant brassiere to giant Jello mold, Samuel has entertained the curious with suggestions about what it is while obfuscating the top secret facts about the project.

It may be presumptuous to accept attempts by Samuel to offer serious answers about a project he  acknowledges he is constructing for the private compound of a very wealthy, controversial and eccentric island property owner who is very intent on maintaining his privacy.

In fact Samuel’s mystery client showed up on foot to inspect the project on Friday, January 18, and simply hailed a cab to get back to town when he was done checking out the project, Samuel said.

The curiosity of passersby may be further piqued when Samuel begins to paint the structure a very shiny metallic gold and eventually cuts it in half to be reassembled at its new home – from where it will continue to be visible to almost all of Cruz Bay.