St Lucian Carol Singers

Last night, several car loads of people came down our road, stopped outside Catherine's house and sang loads of traditional carols. They were from the Church of the Nazarene in Castries and the group included my friend Mary. They gave me a large delicious slice of banana cake to take home and eat!

Holiday in Martinique

Here, at last, at the pictures. I apologise for the fact that they end rather abruptly on Sunday afternoon, but after all the partying, food and drink I was too exhausted to take any more pictures!

Here are Julius and Maurice looking down into the water before we set off. It was arranged that Julius would stay, with me, at Francois' house so that I would have someone with me who spoke English.

We left Castries harbour on Friday afternoon. These are two of the large cruise ships in the harbour.

Here are Catherine and Andrina on the ferry. Andrina (on the right) looks happy enough here but both crossings were very rough and she was sick in both directions. I was fine - I like a rough sea!

First stop was at the home of Luciana, Andrina's mum. He she is on the left of this group. Andrina is wearing the yellow T-shirt. Photo taken at picnic area on Saturday.

This is the inside of Francois' house, where Julius and I stayed. You can see the French influence here.

After breakfast on Saturday we were taken on a tour along the west coast up to the north of the island. We stopped finally at a viewpoint from which we could see Dominica as a shadow on the horizon and then turned round and headed back the way we had come.

We stopped at a little bay with blackish sand for those of us who wanted to have a swim. I spotted this little old bridge across the road.

At around 1 pm we arrived at Case Pilote, a small town with an 17th century church, the oldest on the island.
Our feast was to take place in a small picnic area between the town and the beach.

Pulled up on the shore nearby was a gommier - a traditional Martinican fishing boat. During WW2 the residents were forbidden to leave the island so those who wished to fight for France escaped in these boats to British-ruled islands like St Lucia and made their way to France from there.

First there was the obligatory long period of chatting and drinking before preparation of the meal got under way.
Once it did, the visitors were in for a big surprise - a truly traditional Martinican feast!

First the tables were covered with fresh banana leaves. Bread, soaked in water and squeezed out by hand was then crumbled over the leaves to make a base for the meal. (Note the ubiquitous bottle of Martinique rum!)

Delicious seafood was added - shrimps, saltfish, octopus, crayfish, tiny crabs still in their shells, and lots of yummy sauce. Plates are considered superfluous, the traditional way is to eat with one's fingers straight from the table!

After the meal Maurice insisted on taking this picture of me - in case, he said, people didn't believe that I'd really been there! Beside me is Marie-Ange, a tiny lady with a huge grin that frequently erupts, transforming her face.

In the evening Raymond barbecued for us to a background of traditional music. Here is Francois teaching Serge some traditional dance steps.

Sunday lunch was another feast, this time at Serge's house. This was just the first course, and beautifully presented. An elderly gentleman took a fancy to me at this party so we pretended I only spoke English, which he didn't. OK, except that I had to remember not to understand anything the others said to me in French!

At the end of the meal Michel collapsed onto Charles. I felt like that for most of the time !!

Merphi's Graduation Ceremony

Last Sunday was Merphi's graduation from Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. We were all very proud that out of 700 graduating students he had been chosen to be Valedictorian and to give the closing speech at the graduation ceremony. He was nervous but very well prepared. I had felt sure that his speech would be a resounding success - and it was!

Maurice had taken Merphi down early as the graduands had to be there for 1.30. I collected Catherine at 2 pm and we drove over to the College. As we walked down through the grounds we saw the graduands waiting for things to begin.

We made our way to the area where the ceremony would take place - a car park covered with a collection of marquees that looked like something developed by NASA! Maurice was keeping seats for us, all we had to do was to find him.

This is part of the platform from which the ceremony would be conducted - very grand!

Merphi with Catherine and Maurice before the ceremony.

Maurice is holding not a red cushion but a file containing a back-up version of Merphi's speech in case he mislaid his own copy!

A pensive moment for Merphi before he takes his place for the ceremony.

The whole ceremony was broadcast live by St Lucia Television (HTV).

The 700 graduates processed into the arena, followed by the faculty staff in their gowns. Two of the Deans wore mortar boards, one of them looking as though he had been born with it glued to his head. The other, the Dean of Merphi's Division, had hers fixed to the back of her head and looked as though she'd been walking through a strong wind to get here!

A small section of the audience of 2,000. My seat was on the end of the row in the sunshine. I don't know where Catherine was at this point but you can see Maurice three seats in.

The guest speaker was Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of St Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies in Trinidad.

His theme was 'What is Development?' and he spoke about the necessity for well-qualified young people to gain experience overseas BUT then to come back to St Lucia and give back something to the island that had nurtured them.

These are thoughts very close to my own heart.

Sadly I don't have a picture of Merphi actually delivering his speech. He was right at the end of the programme and it was dark by the time he made his presentation. I did take photos but the flash on my camera isn't powerful enough and they didn't come out.

However his speech was an absolute triumph - it was punctuated by whoops and cheers from the students and the applause at the end was deafening!

Maurice and Catherine were both in tears and I felt very proud to be present at such a wonderful, moving event.

...... and finally it's all over!

The Graduate - complete with trophies!

Hostilities Suspended

SLAPS Spaying and Neutering Clinic

The current spaying and neutering clinic run by the St Lucia Animal Protection Society (SLAPS) with International Veterinary Assistance Inc. began yesterday. These are held two or three times a year in an attempt to cut down on the number of stray cats and dogs on the island. SLAPS has one paid office worker but is otherwise run entirely by volunteers. These people help with fund-raising, cleaning out cages and feeding and ferrying dogs and cats all over the island to and from the clinic.

Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. Here are Bil and Ken.

There is no charge but owners are asked to make a donation of whatever they can afford (minimum $5 - about £1 - per animal) to cover costs. The vets come from all over the world, the ones in our pictures are from the UK. They pay their own air fare and receive free bed and board but nothing else.

These flew in from England on Friday afternoon, set up their equipment on Saturday morning and were operating from mid-day until gone 6 pm without a break apart from a quick snack.

The facilities are primitive compared with those in more developed countries but the island dogs and cats are hardy. Soluble stitches, a shot of antibiotic and home the same evening or next day. Post-op infections virtually never happen and the animals recover quickly.

Funds are desperately needed to run the clinics, publicise them and provide for the other work of SLAPS - rescuing, caring for and re-homing stray animals and raising public awareness in how to care for pet animals. If anyone would like to make a donation, email me and I'll tell you how you can do it.

A turning off the main Castries - Rodney Bay takes you up a track like this.

At the top is .......

..... the SLAPS offices, a rented house in Bois d'Orange close to Rodney Bay in the north of the island.
My car is the little 4 x 4 with its door open. I usually park at the bottom of the track and walk up unless I have animals to deliver or take home.

This is Elaine, who more or less runs the show, with Rodnina (white), SLAPS resident dog. She was found as a stray in Rodney Bay but couldn't be called 'Rodney' because she's a girl.

Also in the picture is Ginger, who was spayed yesterday before going to her new home.

This was taken on the balcony outside the office.

The balcony outside is Rodnina's personal space. You can just see her blue Director's Chair in the corner.

This is the office. The dog trap on the floor was used as a temporary 'bed' for Ginger last night whilst she recovered from her operation, because she was a bit poorly.

There are cages outside for dogs awaiting and recovering from surgery.....

And more cages for the cats inside.

This is the twin table 'operating theatre' - note blocks under desk legs.

Asepsis? What's that?

Neither of the operating tables are out of use for more than a few minutes once the vets get going.

This is a dog castration .......

... and one of the cats from Forestiere having his lecherous intentions removed.

And here are some happy dogs going home!

Family album

This isn't St Lucia! It's Sefton punting on the River Cam on a works outing.

If I could remember where I left my head, I might get up!

Quote of the week

'A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous!'

Fencey Footwork

First the ground on each side of the fence had to be cleared and a small channel dug underneath it.
Then wooden shuttering had to be put in place on both sides to hold the cement that would anchor the fence (and posts) in place.

The concrete was mixed on my drive and carried, bucketful by laborious bucketful, all the way round the garden to fill in between the shuttering.A few hours later the shuttering was removed and hey presto! Fence set in stone! This should be finished tomorrow - then we'll see if it is really dog-proof!

In the blue shirt is Martin, last seen upending a bucket of cement into the wooden mould for the gatepost, and his helper taking a tea break. On the right is Pierre whose home is a tiny wooden shack next to Catherine's bar. Rumour has it that it contains nothing but a bed. Pierre has an all consuming thirst so I guess Catherine will be profiting soon from my fence footings!

Gates Stage 2

My gates have arrived at last! As my drive is 20' wide each gate is made in two pieces and hinged in the middle. They are suprisingly light to move and I only need to open the middle two to get the car out. I didn't expect them to be quite so tall, though - they're about 7' high! All hinges and fastenings, etc. were made here and welded on. Just waiting now for Martin to finish the fence and my garden should be totally dog proof.

Sections of fine gauge mesh were then welded on to the bottom of the gates to stop Fifi and Penny getting through the holes or under the gates.

Tos cleverly found some with a diagonal, rather than square 'weave' so that they matched the design of the main part of the gates. All this was done on site!

This is Mr Tos, Fabian's dad, who made the gates.

I told him his gates and his photo were going to be on the internet and he grinned from ear to ear!

Seventh Day Adventist Crusade

The Seventh Day Adventists are holding a 6-week crusade, currently in its 3rd week, in Forestiere. They have erected a huge marquee, about the size of 3 tennis courts, at the top of our road and bring busloads of people in from the surrounding districts.

Standing room only at the back!

Most of the services happen in the evenings when it's too dark to get good pictures but this one took place yesterday morning - Saturday being, of course, their Sabbath.

More details in my next newsletter.