The great British belly

 So off we go with the second blog of the year, SWMBO and I have just returned from ten days in Barbados, our first proper holiday since our Safari two years ago and first visit to the island since before Covid.

There are several theme's to expand on but the one which captured my interest was the ability to study a cross section of the UK population, and understand the challenges facing the NHS now and in the future.

There were huge beer bellies, chain smokers of a nature I had not experienced for years, and tattoo's a-plenty and that was just the women. It is clear the population has an obesity challenge, and it extends further than Birkenhead, where thunder thighs are a common sight amongst young girls and probably genetic.

There is much talk of the elderly bed blocking in our hospitals, so why I wonder does the Government not reintroduce the Nightingale hospital programme and use then to free up main hospital beds. Student nurses can train on the job under the supervision of an old fashion Matron and its a win-win situation

Kenneth Williams eat your heart out!

Crispy seaweed

Barbados has had a few changes since we were here last year. They have a lady as prime minister who the locals think is making a difference although the roads have not had too many repairs so far. It seem that all the taxis and boogie buses are new or have had a make over. They are all shiney white now and don't show signs of crash damage. The journey fee has gone up from $2 bds to $3.5 though. Oh yes, and the Coconut Court beach bar has had a makeover.

Some things remain the same. We had no winners again at the races, and have visited a few favourite restaurants again. It has rained, it's sunny and blowing a bit. That has all contributed to an increasingly tricky seaweed problem on the South coast. For all their efforts to clear it in the morning it is always back the next day. By choking the oxygen it is forcing the sea life elsewhere which is a pity.

Still it remains a good place to chill for a few days and this year it will be golf free as the Sir Gary Sobers tournament has dropped Apes Hill. Three three remaining courses do not really merit the entry fee. Hey ho I have done it twice so time to look for something new.

Lazy day

Our final port of call is St Lucia. Now without being big headed, we have sailed out of Castries, done the helicopter, done the airports, the catamaran trips and the booze cruise. We have played golf, done snorkelling trips to the Pitons and seen turtles do their thing at 3am. Each adventure will be in the blog history too.

So probably best to stay on the ship and get squiffy. We tried, but I think all the booze is low alcohol, so off to bed to look forward to our week in Barbados.

We have both decided we prefer dry land holidays to cruising but we have done pretty well all of the Caribbean now, so time to search for new challenges.

Spice of Life

After the sadness of the early part of the year, we are starting to get back to normal, and what better way than to revisit the Carribean. We have booked a few days cruise followed by a week in Barbados.
There is no golf involved this time round which is no bad thing as my swing is awful at the moment. so its a good time to clense body and soul. The Sir Gary Sobers is on next week but they have dropped Apes Hill so the festival is not as appealing as it has been.
So we flew out yesterday with Tui. There were some last minute seat problems so we got upgraded to Premium. There were huge benefits we did not appreciate. Fast track check-in and priority security clearance gave us ample opportunity to visit the free airport lounge. When we landed we were first off the plane, taken straight to a coach and bused directly to the cruise ship. No queuing here either so we were on board less than an hour after landing. Looks like Premium might be the way to go!

We are now on Grand Anse beach courtesy of the reggae bus, the chaos of first morning breakfast forgotten, and the dress to impress night is in front  of us.

With that thought in mind I am off for a dip.

Grantley Adams

The first day of our Barbados holiday has been interspersed with Apocalypse Now flashbacks.

On the flight over I finished reading Fredrick Forsythe's book, The Kill List. Not his best but a reasonable read. Anyway when, during the finale, the SAS pathfinder team leap from a C-130, they predictably do it to Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries.

Didn't think too much of that until we were at the beach bar last night and a fellow guest had a t-shirt on with the slogan ' I love the smell of napalm in the morning'.

The final thing that made the connection is me lying on the bed with the ceiling fan going round and round and reflecting on the past 24 hours as I write this blog. Very strange.

Anyway we are here, have a good room and been out for supplies. Now its time to hit the beach and get some rays before the serious business starts on Thursday. The hotel is pretty busy, lots of repeat visitors and SWMBO is chilling out. Rock and roll!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

We have finally docked in  Barbados after a week island hopping in the Eastern Caribbean. Technology is suddenly so much better.

On our first day we were at sea as we travelled towards Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Next morning we were met by a friend of SWMBO's mum and her daughter. The daughter lives on the island so we got a locals view of the place. Hidden beaches, local bars and local drink. The painkiller cocktail was very yummy. Our tour ended at about 3pm when we joined the school run  to pick up her 13 year old daughter. They are looking to move after 5 years there as the 13 year old has outgrown the place and needs some local mates. All good things come to an end sometime, usually for the sake of the children.

Next day saw us in St Martens an island that is half French and half Dutch. Our visit was confined to the Frencb half and beach time took priority. As well as our modest sized cruiser of 1200 people there was a Windjammrr with 170 souls andtwo mega ships with 10,000 people between them, all docked side by side. It was as if Canary Wharf had been laid on its side and towed to sea!!

Day three saw us burnt like lobsters and it was on the menu too. We were in St Kitt's where the weather got the better of us and curtailed our expedition . We missed the port bus to the beach we wanted to go to and the taxi fare was prohibitive so we chilled in a bar and watched island life go by.

Antigua allowed me the pleasure of a round of golf. Borrowed clubs and fast running fairways did not see me hotel form but it was a reasonable round. I played with a married couple to whom I appeared invisible, such was their self importance. Sadly you do get people like that in a golf club but I engineered him to end up at the bar so silver linings, and all that.

Antigua will be on our returns  list to see the English harbour and Nelson's dockyard.

Our final stop was St Vincent although I am not sure why? Not too much to offer but was probably in the itinerary as a government requirement.

So all in all a good seven days made all the better now we are in Barbados and havens England beat Italy and Spurs beat Man City. The cricket did not go too well though!

Father of the Bride

On Friday number one daughter, Rebecca, got married to her long time sweetheart Jon, at a lovely service in Great Budworth, Cheshire, and later there were drinks and merriment at Arley Hall near Knutsford.

The bride looked wonderful, and I got to make yet another speech. This one was in English and a clip of it is here.

The bride made her own speech, something which is at odds with the formal wedding protocol, but the rule book seems to have been ripped up in all walks of life these days, and as she had been planning the event in her mind since she was six years old, who were we to deny her moment.

The lucky couple are now in Barbados on honeymoon, I am sure they are having a wonderful time