Living as a Scotsman in Barbados

This post is part of the world blog surf day, make sure to read it to the end to find the link to the next participating Expat blog. If you would like to step back and read the post my one followed on from, then head over to  Golden Prague and read about a German now living in the Cezech Republic.

Living as a Scotsman in Barbados, is at times a fairly huge culture shock for me, but at other times it can strangely feel like I’m back home in Scotland, which is kind of weird.

For example the other day I walked down to my local shop, which is called the Montrose supermarket, hey Montrose is a little town only a few miles down the road from where I lived in Scotland.

I ventured into the Montrose Supermarket and I bought a few cakes that were made by a bakery company called the Dundee Bakery. This is now really making me feel like I’m back home in the North East of Scotland, because Dundee is only 50 miles away from my home city.

I come out of  the Montrose Supermarket with my cakes made by the Dundee Bakery, and I carry on walking for a mile or so and I walk past a complex of shops named after the city I come from in Scotland called Aberdeen. I feel there must be plenty of North East of Scotland roots in my neighbourhood in Barbados from days of old. Maybe the stretch of beach at Oistins where I sometimes walk to, to eat my cakes, should be renamed Aberdeen Beach, now that really would be too much!

Whenever I get homesick for Scotland and believe me it does happen from time to time, because there is no place in the world like home. I jump in the car and head over to the Parish of St Andrew and go and spend some time in the Scottish District. Which was given its name by the early Scottish settlers on the Island, who felt that it reminded them of home. Which I can empathise with because it is a truly beautiful part of the island, where you get some amazing views and it is of course the most hilly part of the island.

I may be over 4000 miles from my home in Aberdeen and Scotland but sometimes it feels like I’m not so far from home after all.

If you have enjoyed this post and I know you did, please head over to Romancing Italy, where you will find Bev who is a Trinidadian that is now living in Italy. I know you will enjoy what she has got to say.

March 27, 2009 | Filed Under Barbados According To Me | 15 Comments 

The Dark Underbelly of a Paradise Called Barbados

Because I have been travelling quite a bit recently between Barbados and London, I hadn’t been keeping up to date with local news as much as I should have.

I had of course heard that a couple of female Canadian tourists had been mugged and beaten on Long Beach on the 28th of February. In fact the woman were severely beaten with a piece of wood and left unconscious.

One of the women Terry Schwarzfeld suffered serious brain injuries and never regained consciousness. A friend of the family confirmed that Schwarzfeld died at the Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus Wednesday March the 18th.

The police thanks to a $20,00BDS reward have supposedly caught the killer, who is a 24-year-old local man. But that one wont be answered until he has been proven guilty in a court of law! What surprises me is that they never rounded up a few Guyanese and blamed them!

Is Barbados really a paradise like Caribbean Island, well sometimes it looks like one and feels like one, but at other times for me it has a dark and dangerous underbelly just like most other places in the world.

I have personally walked along Long beach numerous times and what I liked about it is was the solitude of the place and peacefulness, but what you always find at these quiet beaches in Barbados is that there is always somebody lurking in the bushes or in the trees that makes you feel a little bit uneasy and keeps you guard. I normally have my Staffordshire Bull Terrier with me and she seems to scare the hell out of the Scum and for very good reason, they aint as dumb as they look. But I have to admit my bite has been known to be as bad as my Staffies!

If David Thomson, the Police or anybody else in Barbados can answer me, why is it that every time I go out my door, I have somebody trying to sell me cocaine, weed, girls or are begging money off me, “any bad habits”. Does that sound like paradise to you, it doesn’t feel like paradise to me.

I will give it to you straight I have never had so many offers of people openly coming up to me in broad daylight and offering to sell me illegal things in my life and that includes places like Glasgow, London, New York, Paris. The druggies and vermin in these places are discreet because they don’t want to be caught by the cops and sent to jail.

It makes me wonder about the police force and for that matter the politicians in Barbados are they just totally useless or are they getting a cut of the drug dealer’s money? I for one am not too sure about the answer to this, but nothing in Barbados would surprise me.

I know for a fact that the tourist industry is taking a big, big, big hit in Barbados this year, and anybody that can read can go online and see the amount of complaints that tourists are making about feeling uneasy and in danger when on holiday in Barbados.

The only time you seem to see a lot of cops out and about in Barbados is on a Friday night down at Oistins and I personally feel that is because they must get a some free food and drink. I will go as far saying that the politicians and the Police haven’t got a clue about preventing, dealing with or even understanding crime on Barbados and I don’t just mean crime committed on tourists but on local people as well.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, whether you are on holiday in paradise, or in your local neighbourhood, wherever that may be in the world, there are dangerous and crazy people waiting in the shadows to create devastation on innocent people without any regards to the consequences.

All I can say is keep your eyes wide open and be prepared to react in whatever manner possible to protect your own life and the life’s of your family members. My own personal philosophy is to always stay alert and be prepared to do what ever it takes to take out the perpetrator, before they get you. So whether you are in Barbados, South Africa, Ireland or England stay on your guard!

March 24, 2009 | Filed Under Barbados Essential Info | 9 Comments 

Vision in Black and White of Brighton Beach

I have been to Brighton beach a couple of times and I mean the one here in Barbados, not that one in England where I would be freezing my ass off. I must also admit and that it isn’t my favourite beach here in Barbados, in fact I couldn’t warm to the place at all.

But here I am sitting at home looking through a few photos I recently took at Brighton beach and the place doesn’t look too bad. It looks a hell of lot better in picture than I remember it looking when I was there, Is Brighton Beach The Worst Beach In Barbados?

I know Brighton beach is much loved beach by many local people and tourists alike, and that it can be packed at the weekends, with loads of people enjoying themselves in the gentle and warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

I think I will have to pay another visit to Brighton Beach in the near future to give it another go, I think I may have been a little bit too harsh on the place on my previous visits.

The problem with Barbados and it is a fantastic problem, is the fact there are so many amazing beaches on the island from which to chose from. It could be a while till I get around to giving Brighton beach another visit

March 21, 2009 | Filed Under Barbados Beaches | 5 Comments 

Seeking Guidance From the Greatest Book Ever Written

Seeking guidance from the greatest book ever written can only mean one thing and that is of course, opening up the Bible. I may not personally be a regular church goer and in fact I will own up to the fact that in all the time I have been living in Barbados, I have only been to one service and that was for a for a family christening.

I however have visited many churches of many different denominations all over this beautiful island of Barbados. During those visits I have spent countless hours not only admiring the beauty of the buildings, but also sitting down inside reflecting on my life.

It was during one of these recent visits when I felt drawn to pick up a Bible and read it. I was for some reason drawn to Proverbs 27, which I had never read before; I suppose that wasn’t much of a statement because I haven’t really read many of them.

I know there are plenty of people out there that feel the Bible isn’t really worth bothering their precious time with, that it is completely out of date and irrelevant to them. Well I maybe was even one of those sceptics, but if you are prepared to open your eyes, you can find an amazing amount of wisdom, solace and advice in the Bible.

PROVERBS 27

1. Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
5. Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

March 18, 2009 | Filed Under Words of Wisdom | 2 Comments 

I Need To See Clearly, But I Can’t

This week has begun like most weeks for me recently and that is me looking for a new direction for my life here in Barbados. It probably isn’t the most perfect time in my life to go seeking out new challenges or a new path in business. The world after all seems to be in a recession caused by the greed and ambition of bankers in the USA and the UK.

I need to see clearly so that I can focus on figuring out what I want and need to do with my life. I have taken too many wrongs turns in my life and many of those mistakes could have been avoided if I had taken a few steps back from the situation and went with what my head was telling me as opposed to letting my heart lead the way.

I for one am not content with just letting life drift along and seeing where it takes me, I know from past experiences that when you do this, you more often than not, end up at some place you don’t like!

Like many people I sometimes can find inspiration in music and I sure get that from Jimmy Cliff singing, “I Can See Clearly Now the Rain Has Stopped”. The song was featured on the Sound Track of the movie “Cool Running’s” a very funny and inspirational film, which came out in 1993, and was a true story about Jamaica’s first ever bob sleigh team trying to make it to the Winter Olympics.

March 9, 2009 | Filed Under Self-improvment | 4 Comments 

What a Spectacular Sunrise That Tastes So Good

 

You may wonder what the hell I’m talking about with the title of today’s article and of course it can only mean one thing, it is cocktail recipe time again at The Barbados Blog. Today I’m going to feature what was probably the first cocktail I ever tasted many moons ago, called Tequila Sunrise.

The Tequila Sunrise is a fantastic tasting cocktail, which for some reason I had forgotten about and I hadn’t tasted one for years. It was just the other night when I was down at a hotel bar overlooking the Caribbean Sea, when I noticed it on the cocktail menu and I had thought to myself I just got to have one of those.

For me not only is the Tequila Sunrise a fantastic looking cocktail, but it tastes rather good too, and overlooking the Caribbean Sea, along with the warm Barbados evening air, I would go as far as to say it tasted amazing. For some strange reason the second one tasted even better, as did the third and fourth….

Tequila Sunrise Recipe:

Ingredients:

4.5 cl (3 parts) Tequila
9.0 cl (6 parts) Orange juice
1.5 cl (1 part) Grenadine syrup

Directions:

Use a highball glass and half fill it with crushed ice.

Pour the tequila and orange juice into the glass over the ice.

Tilt the glass before adding the Grenadine syrup, which should be added by very quickly holding the bottle vertical and pouring it down the side of the glass.

The Grenadine will float straight to the bottom of the glass and then slowly rise up  through the drink.

Drink with a straw, and for the girls add some garnish, such as a slice of orange and cherry.

The Tequila Sunrise was given it’s name because of the way it looks when it is poured into the glass, and I can honestly say it tastes magical watching the sun set here in Barbados with your girl, and I think I may get lucky after a few of these later on tonight!

March 7, 2009 | Filed Under Food & Drink | 5 Comments 

Looking For Some Inspiration At the Beach

I seem to have reached a point in my life, where I want more out of life than what I’m currently achieving. I know the only person that can change things, is myself through the power of my own mind and self-determination to improve things.

Like most people I started off 2009 full of hope and enthusiasm that this was going to be a great year for myself. I forgot one simple thing; I never really had much of plan as to what or how I was going to make 2009 such a wonderful year.

So here I am taking stock of things and seeking inspiration for what I truly want out of life. I sure aint getting any younger, but that doesn’t mean I should give up on wanting to be happy and content with what I want out of life or what I’m achieving out of life.

So I’m off to a quiet beach somewhere in Barbados, where I can get some solitude and be alone with my thoughts and try to figure out where I want to go in this great journey called life.

March 6, 2009 | Filed Under Self-improvment | 4 Comments 

Friday Night At Oistins Fish Fry In Barbados

 

I took this shot after a Friday night at Oistins Fish Fry here in Barbados and oh boy what a night, the Marlin was delicious, the Carib Lager was ice cold, it was a warm evening and of course my wife was with me, which helped to make it a perfect evening.

If you have never experienced Oistins Fish Fry in Barbados, especially on Friday evening when things get unbelievable busy and the place is absolutely buzzing, you really should make the effort to take it all in and soak up the unique atmosphere.

What I love about Oistins on a Friday night is the amazing atmosphere and the fact that you get a huge mix of locals and tourists all enjoying themselves with the amazing fish and the live music.

In my mind any visitor that comes to Barbados and doesn’t go to Oistins on a Friday night must be out of their minds….also Saturday night at Oistins is quite good for those that can’t handle the Friday night!  Saturday Night At Oistins Fish Fry

March 3, 2009 | Filed Under Music & Party Time | 4 Comments 

The Good Girl Gone Bad, Rhianna Sure Has Gone Mad

You know something it hasn’t come as a surprise to me that Rhianna has taken Chris Brown back again. He has obviously said he is sorry and that it won’t happen again, and that he has never done this sort of thing before. Sure he hasn’t!

Let me hazard a guess and say Rhianna isn’t the first girl to have received a beating from I’m so sorry Chris Brown! I will take it one step further and say that it will happen again at some point in the near future to Rhianna at the hands of Chris Brown.

I’m sure the publicists of Rhianna and Brown will be working overtime to make sure the public get some bullshit reason for them getting back together so soon after it happened. I get it Brown has had one anger management class and he is now cured!

I have some wise words for you Rhianna, the only way things will change for you is to get some pride, dump that woman beater and move on before you get seriously hurt. You maybe need to go and talk to the legendary Tina Turner who was beaten on a regular basis for years by her husband, who was always sorry and didn’t mean it!

Rhianna don’t waste any more of your valuable time with a nasty piece of work like Chris Brown, move on. Love doesn’t involve getting beaten to a pulp. In a few weeks time you will have forgotten about him and you will both have found new lovers….

March 2, 2009 | Filed Under Music & Party Time | 13 Comments