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Barbados Underground

407 thoughts on “Barbados NOW on LOCKDOWN


  1. John
    April 3, 2020 10:17 AM

    The virus may not have been manufactured …. but …. it’s spread has been.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    If somebody has willfully spread the virus, somebody else is going to retaliate!!

    …. and not in tweets!!


  2. So fast Mr Blogmaster, you are moving on…having NOT made your point 🤣

    Of course Trump, Bolsonaro and a host of other conservatives voices shout down climate change … so your point in context of this is what: that scientific voices are not heard. Really!

    This started when you asked “should the scientists develop a strategy to better influence the system?”…how does the fact that the current POTUS and his political party being climate deniers, negate all the heavy influence of scientists under the previous administration or how their studies and work influenced Greta Thunberg at 16 to be invited to address the UN on Climate Change!

    Are they not many anti-vaxxers out there who decry the validity and efficacy of vaccinations with their political syncophants… is it not the heavy influence of scientists with their own political synchophants who counter that!

    I simply say to you that scientists are fully vested in most deep political fights..the doc’s argument about their (or his) influence conveniently overlooks the reality that there is a continuous nature of who’s up and who is down…science is always there and always used as fit for purpose to influence.


    • @Dee Word

      Because if scientists become active in the political parties for example they stand a chance of leading the thinking of the political class.


  3. @VC
    I am not surprised, I will be surprised if there are no altercations among those in the queues. Everyone accepted the original curfew, they knew they would be inconvenienced but it was in the country’s best interest and they would still be able to go to the Supermarket and purchase their groceries. When you give people 8-10 hours notice that this shopping is being curtailed that is a recipe for disaster. I read where some Supermarkets were going to be open early to accommodate Health care workers and immediately I thought how about those workers whose shifts overlapped the “early” hours that the Supermarkets was supposed to be open for them?

    BTW there was a rumour making the rounds that there was more to come, ah wonder if some people (politicians) knew in advance and took advantage of that and stocked up prior to the announcement.


  4. @ David BU at 12 :11 PM

    “Leading the thinking of the Political Class?” Why? These are two distinct skill sets. Their diverse approaches and contributions to the functioning of human society are equally essential. Scientists, as understood in this blog ,think linearly. The politician usually has to think non-linearly. The latter has many constituencies to satisfy and must factor these into his decision making.


    • @Vincent

      Agreeing with you. It means there will always be tension AND the political class winning the final argument.

      >


  5. This government has FAILED miserably, a cluster fcuk and cockup all rolled into one, people have to look for food now if they can’t get supermarket delivery and they and their CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY….imagine going 2 weeks without food.

    On a sad note, am sure many loved Bill Wither’s music as much as i did.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8184937/Lean-On-Me-Lovely-Day-singer-Bill-Withers-dies-81.html

    “Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time – including Lean On Me, Lovely Day and Ain’t No Sunshine – has died from heart complications his family said in a statement. He was 81.”


  6. My lord! This thing has backfired! They should have definitely given people more notice! The huge crowds at the supermarkets may very well speed up the spread of the virus. People are practically on top of each other!

    Major mistake! Should have been anticipated.


  7. The lockdown presents and opportunity for representatives to do what they were voted in to do, serve their constituency. Right now they aren’t and some weren’t doing anything as Ministers anyway.

    What some don’t understand is many citizens don’t have the luxury to buy in bulk because of a number of reasons; the way they shop, their financial situation, lack of storage space. This is why the supermarkets seem overrun everyday.

    I visited Cheapside market to day, was in and out in under 20 mins. Meat, ground provisions and vegetables. Zero stress.

    Unfortunately we have adopted the american lifestyle of shopping in supermarkets and buying processed or ready done foods, many will not see Cheapside as an option. We therefore have to find a way to organise supermarket runs.

    30 constituencies, 14 days.
    Using a seven day cycle, lift the curfew on four constituencies per day (8 -12 and 12 – 4). Those with smaller populations can double up (St. Andrew, St. Joseph).
    Distribute specific arm bands for constituents who intend to go out. Police will check arm bands and control access to stores.
    Organise the ZRs and transport board to transport to specific supermarkets, pharmacies etc and back
    I doubt Ryan can mess this up


  8. And of course here is someone reviving the cousins from the Palace talking UTTER SHITE from as far back as 2018, a wicked sentiment they all still hold…they can’t stand that the African population is exploding….according to them it will endanger wild life…the nerve of these bloated self-serving clowns….steupppss..

    “Prince William has warned that the future of wildlife is under threat from rapid population growth, as he prepares to welcome his third child.

    The Duke of Cambridge, 35, made the comments at the Tusk gala dinner in London on Thursday night, saying: ‘In my lifetime, we have seen global wildlife populations decline by over half.

    ‘We are going to have to work much harder and think much deeper, if we are to ensure that human beings and the other species of animal with which we share this planet can continue to co-exist.

    ‘Africa’s rapidly growing human population is predicted to more than double by 2050, a staggering increase of three and a half million people per month.”


  9. @Hants
    scary? Sounds like a CYA exercise in underway at all levels, which unfortunately means the apparent cohesion of public levels will now be challenged.


  10. Fellow Canadians

    I am starting a campaign to press the government in to putting forward Keith Sandiford’s name for a knighthood. If we all write a letter to the president she may be swayed. We also need the support of other Bajan-Canadians. He is the greatest living Barbadian historian and public intellectual.


  11. We must not let them do to Keith what they did to Kamau. They see the Diaspora as disposable. Let’s make it happen.

    Fellow???? I am fond of some Canadians.


  12. @Hal

    a Keith Sandiford taught me at school. is it the same one? he was dark skinned and taught English Lit and History.

    i have read Keith Sandiford’s work about the early years of Combermere and even quoted some here.


  13. Greene

    I don’t think so. He taught at Roebuck Street (now the Transport Board) in 1955. He is now in his 80s.


  14. @Greene
    he was a professor at the University of Manitoba…..but… there are two persons with the same name, about a decade apart in age, who are both Barbadians, historians and teachers/professors. The younger one, taught at Cawmere. The one of which @HA speaks is a prolific author, and loves his cricket and wrote extensively on the the sport and its personalities


  15. @ Northern

    The older one also taught at Combermere. Very generous with his knowledge, of which I am a beneficiary. He did not teach me.


  16. Donna
    April 3, 2020 1:22 PM

    John, you really need to give it a rest. Who spread the other pandemics???

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Only looked at COVID and flu flu numbers.

    You should try looking at them but appreciate not many can deal with numbers.


  17. CURRICULUM VITAE

    NAME: KEITH ARLINGTON PATRICK SANDIFORD

    DATE OF BIRTH: 2 March 1936

    PLACE OF BIRTH: Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies

    CITIZENSHIP: Canadian

    MARITAL STATUS: Married (12 October 1963)

    CHILDREN: Two: son (born 1966) and daughter (born 1970)

    ACADEMIC TRAINING:

    Bay Street Boys’ School (Elementary), Barbados (1941-46)
    Combermere School (Secondary), Barbados (1947-55)
    University College of the West Indies (UCWI), Jamaica (1956-60)
    University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1960-64)

    CERTIFICATES AND DEGREES:

    1952 School Certificate (Ordinary Level, G.C.E. London)
    1953 Higher School Certificate (Advanced Level, G.C.E. London)
    1957 Intermediate B.A. (UCWI-London)
    1960 B.A. Honours, History (UCWI-London)
    1961 M.A. History (Toronto)
    1966 PhD. History (Toronto)

    PRIZES AND AWARDS:

    1947 Progressive League Scholarship to Combermere School
    1956 Barbados Government Scholarship to UCWI
    1957 First Year Arts Faculty Prize, UCWI
    1959 American History Prize, UCWI

    1960 British Commonwealth Scholarship to Canada
    1963 Province of Ontario Graduate Fellowship
    1968 Canada Council Grant
    1973 University of Manitoba Research Grant
    1979 University of Manitoba Research Grant
    1980 University of Manitoba Research Grant
    1985 SSHRC Research Grant
    1986 SSHRC Research Grant
    1987 Meritorious Service Plaque (Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitoba)
    1990 University of Manitoba Outreach Award
    1991 Multicultural History Society of Ontario Award of Excellence
    1991 University of Manitoba Merit Award for Excellent Teaching
    1992 Barbados Cricket Association Award for Contributions to Cricket History
    1992 UM/SSHRC Research Grant
    1992 University of Manitoba Merit Award for Outstanding Service
    1993 Meritorious Service Plaque (Barbados Association of Winnipeg)
    1995 Combermere School Heritage Award for Contributions to the Combermere Community (Presented by the Combermere School Old Scholars’ Association)
    2000 Black History Month Committee (Winnipeg) Award for Lifetime of Achievement and Contribution
    2001 Community Service Award (Caribbean Millennium Community Project Committee) for Outstanding Service to the Caribbean Community for More Than 25 Years
    2002 Combermere School Old Scholars’ Association Award
    2004 GOLD CROWN OF MERIT (GCM) awarded by the Government of Barbados “in recognition of his contribution to education and community service”.

    TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

    1955-56 Teacher, Combermere School, Barbados
    1955-56 Lecturer, Modern History, Barbados Evening Institute
    1962-64 Tutor, Modern British History, University of Toronto
    1964 Lecturer, Summer Session, University of Toronto
    1964-65 Lecturer, York University, Toronto
    1965-66 Lecturer (part-time), University of Toronto
    1966-70 Assistant Professor, History, University of Manitoba
    1967 Instructor, Summer Session, University of Toronto
    1970-82 Associate Professor, History, University of Manitoba
    1982-98 Professor, History, University of Manitoba
    1998 Adjunct Professor, University of Winnipeg
    1999-2002 Senior Scholar, University of Manitoba
    2002 Professor Emeritus of History, University of Manitoba


  18. John
    April 3, 2020 4:50 PM

    Donna
    April 3, 2020 1:22 PM
    John, you really need to give it a rest. Who spread the other pandemics???
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Only looked at COVID and flu flu numbers.
    You should try looking at them but appreciate not many can deal with numbers.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Assume the flu flu spread is natural.

    The differential is remarkable.

    Some thing unnatural about the spread of COVID!!

    Simple to see.


  19. @HA
    you can confuse anybody…lol
    First you tell @Greene, you don’t think the elder taught at Cawmere, but at Roebuck, now you are telling us he did?

    I have no idea, for I met him for the first time just before 2000, as I recall the pending Y2K discussion we had, and talk about cricketers. He is an authority on cricket, particularly the BCL and the WI teams of the 50’s and early 60’s. A visit to his University office after, yielded he also wrote on topics to History in and of West Indians.


  20. @ Northern

    Apologies. Combermere used to be in Roebuck St, in the building now occupied by the Transport Board. That’s where he taught.


  21. @Northern

    Believe it or not i understood exactly what Hal meant. Cawmere used to be where Transport Board is before moving to Waterford. so Hal was was trying to tell me this Sandiford taught at the Roebuck Street Cawmere and not at Waterford. It is a Cawmere thing lol


  22. :

    Great Britain and the Schleswig-Holstein Question, 1848-64: A Study in Diplomacy, Politics and Public Opinion (University of Toronto Press: Toronto and Buffalo, 1975).

    Cricket and the Victorians (Scolar Press: Aldershot, 1994).

    Combermere School and the Barbadian Society {with EARLE H. NEWTON} (University Press of the West Indies: Kingston, Jamaica, 1995).

    Cricket Nurseries of Colonial Barbados: The Elite Schools, 1865-1966 (University Press of the West Indies: Kingston, Jamaica, 1998).

    At the Crease with Gary Sobers: His Partnerships in Test Cricket (Cricket Lore: London, 2001).

    CASSIUS: From Wharf Boy to Role Model — The Life and Times of an Extraordinary Barbadian (Winston Yearwood: Bridgetown, 2001)

    25 Years of Pride & Industry: The Barbados Association of Winnipeg, Inc., 1977-2002 (Barbados Association of Winnipeg, Manitoba: Winnipeg 2002).

    The Three Ws of West Indian Cricket: A Comparative Batting Analysis {with ARJUN TAN} (Univers de Presse: Houston, 2002).

    The Caribbean Millennium Project: Impact of Caribbean Immigration on the Development of Manitoba 1950-2002 (Caribbean Millennium Project Committee: Winnipeg, 2002).

    75 Years of West Indies Cricket, 1928-2003 {with RAY GOBLE} (Hansib Publications: London, 2004).

    Cricket at Kensington 1895-2004 {with CARLISLE BURTON} (A & A Printing: Bridgetown, 2005). Reprinted and updated Cricket at Kensington 1895-2005 (Bridgetown, 2006).

    A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora (Hansib Publications: London, 2007).

    Some Barbadian Canadians: A Biographical Dictionary {editor-in-chief and main researcher} (High Commission of Barbados to Canada, Ottawa, 2010).

    Sir Garfield Sobers: The Bay Land’s Favourite Son (J. W. McKenzie Booksellers, London, 2019.

    II. CHAPTERS IN BOOKS:

    `Gladstone and Europe’, in Bruce L. Kinzer, ed. The Gladstonian Turn of Mind (University of Toronto Press, 1985), 177-96.

    `100 Years of Organized Cricket in Barbados, 1892-1992′, in Sir Carlisle A. Burton, Ronald G. Hughes & Keith A. P. Sandiford, eds. 100 Years of Organised Cricket in Barbados, 1892-1992 (Barbados Cricket Association: Bridgetown, 1992), 5-9. Reprinted, in slightly revised form, in The Journal of the Cricket Society (Autumn 1992), Volume 16, Number 1: 16-21.

    `Profiles’, Ibid, 53-128 {with RONALD G. HUGHES}.

    `Imperialism, Colonial Education, and the Origins of West Indies Cricket’, in Hilary McD. Beckles, ed. An Area of Conquest: Popular Democracy and West Indies Cricket Supremacy (Ian Randle Publishers: Kingston, Jamaica, 1994), 1-14. Reprinted in Cricket Lore (January 1998), Volume 3, Number 4: 23-29.

    `Innovations in Manitoba’ {with NICK CUMBERBATCH & HAROLD MARSHALL} in Vincent D’Oyley, ed. Innovations in Black Education in Canada (Umbrella Press: Toronto, 1994), 98-107.

    `Cricket in the West Indies: The Rocky Road to Test Status’, in Hilary McD. Beckles, ed. A Spirit of Dominance: Cricket and Nationalism in the West Indies (Press University of the West Indies: Kingston, Jamaica, 1998), 16-44.

    `Introduction’, in Brian Stoddart & Keith A.P. Sandiford, eds. The Imperial Game: Cricket, Culture and Society (Manchester University Press, 1998), 1-8.

    `England’, Ibid, 9-33.

    `Rt Excellent Sir Garfield St Auburn Sobers’, in Francis W. Blackman, ed. For the Love of Country: The National Heroes of Barbados (National Cultural Foundation of Barbados: Bridgetown, 2001), 129-142.

    `Cricket and a Crisis of Identity in the Anglophone Caribbean’, in Adrian Smith and Dilwyn Porter, eds. Sport and National Identity in the Post-War World (Routledge: London & New York, 2004), 128-144.

    `Apocalypse? The Rise and Fall of the West Indies’, in Boria Majumdar and J.A. Mangan, eds. Cricketing Cultures in Conflict: World Cup 2003 (Routledge: London & New York, 2004), 82-98.

    III. MONOGRAPHS:

    A Black Historical Calendar (Published by the Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitoba, 1973; revised and reprinted, December, 1974; considerably expanded and re-issued, December 1980. Revised and reprinted by the Caxton Press, Winnipeg, 1981. Expanded and updated, December, 1985; revised and reprinted, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2007).

    Practical Ideas For Classroom Teaching (Published as a pamphlet by the Department of History, University of Manitoba, June 1990).

    The Barbados Association of Winnipeg, Inc: A History (Published by the Barbados Association of Winnipeg, 1992).

    Everton DeCourcey Weekes: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 1995). This is Pamphlet No. 29 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Clyde Leopold Walcott: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 1996). This is Pamphlet No. 33 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 1997). This is Pamphlet No. 37 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Gary Sobers: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 1998). This is Pamphlet No. 42 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Wesley Winfield Hall: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 2001). This is Pamphlet No. 61 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    The Caribbean Seniors of Manitoba 1977-2002: A Role Model for the Younger Community (Published by the Caribbean Seniors of Manitoba, 2002).

    J.D.C. Goddard: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 2002). This is Pamphlet No. 71 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Sonny Ramadhin: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 2003). This is Pamphlet No. 73 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Notes on the Caribbean (Published by the Caribbean Seniors of Manitoba, 2004).

    Roy Edwin Marshall: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 2005). This is Pamphlet No. 90 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Some Famous Black Inventors (Published by the Caribbean Seniors of Manitoba, 2006).

    Alfred Lewis Valentine: His Record Innings-by-Innings (Published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Nottingham, 2006). This is Pamphlet No. 94 in the ACSH `Famous Cricketers’ Series.

    Heroism & Slavery (published by the Caribbean Community Cultural Centre: Winnipeg, 2007).

    IV. SCHOLARLY ARTICLES (appearing in refereed journals):

    `The Great Victorian Prison Experiment: A Critique’, Proceedings of the Second Annual Northern Great Plains History Conference (University of Manitoba, 1967), 59-64.

    `A Comment on the Origins and the Establishment of the British Civil Service Commission’, ibid., 74-75.

    `The British Cabinet and the Schleswig-Holstein Crisis, 1863-64′, History (October, 1973), 18: 360-83.

    `British Historians and the Schleswig-Holstein Crisis’, Canadian Journal of History (December, 1974), 9: 293-309.

    `W.E. Gladstone and Liberal-Nationalist Movements’, Albion (Spring, 1981), 13: 27-42.

    `The Victorians at Play: Problems in Historiographical Methodology’, Journal of Social History (Winter, 1981), 15: 271-88.

    `Cricket and the Victorians: A Historiographical Essay’, Historical Reflections (Fall, 1982), 9: 421-36.

    `English Cricket Crowds during the Victorian Age’, Journal of Sport History (Winter, 1982), 9: 5-22.

    `Amateurs and Professionals in Victorian County Cricket’, Albion (Spring, 1983), 15: 32-51.

    `Sport and Victorian England: a Review Article’, Canadian Journal of History (April, 1983), 18: 111-17.

    `Cricket and the Victorian Society’, Journal of Social History (Winter, 1983), 17: 303-18.

    `Victorian Cricket Technique and Industrial Technology’, The British Journal of Sports History (December, 1984), 1: 272-85; reprinted in the Australian Cricket Journal (1985-6).

    `The Professionalization of Modern Cricket’, The British Journal of Sports History (December, 1985), 2: 270-89; reprinted in the Australian Cricket Journal (1986-7).

    `Cricket and the Barbadian Society’, Canadian Journal of History (December, 1986), 21: 353-70; reprinted in the Australian Cricket Journal (1988-9).

    `The Peculiar Economics of English Cricket Before 1914′, {with WRAY VAMPLEW} The British Journal of Sports History (December, 1986), 3: 311-26.

    `The Elite Schools and Cricket in Barbados: A Study in Colonial Continuity’, {with BRIAN STODDART}, The International Journal of the History of Sports (December, 1987), 4: 333-50. Reprinted in Hilary Beckles and Brian Stoddart, eds. Liberation Cricket: West Indies Cricket Culture (Manchester University Press, 1995), 44-60.

    A Study in the Administrative Technique of an Effective Headmaster: Combermere School under Major Cecil Noott, 1946-61', {with EARLE NEWTON}, Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs (March-June 1988), 14: 41-57.Combermere School under G.B.R. Burton (1897-1925)’, Journal of Caribbean Studies (Spring, 1989), 7: 99-113.

    `The Birth of the Professional Cricketer’s Benefit Match’, The International Journal of the History of Sport (May 1991), 8: 111-23.

    `The Roots of a Great School: Combermere’s First 200 Years’, The Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Vol. XVI 1993: 16-31.

    `County Cricketers’ Benefits and Testimonials’ {with WRAY VAMPLEW}, The International Journal of the History of Sport 16 (March 1999), 87-116.

    `Cricket, Culture and the Barbadian Identity’, Culture, Sport, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2 (Spring 1999), 81-107.

    `Shooting Hoops Against Darwin’s Athletes: A Barbadian Response to John Hoberman’, The Sports Historian (November 1999), Vol 19, No.2: 84-111.


  23. @Northern, and you should have gotten that nuance as well🤣… As those of us who have many cawmere friends know (was just ‘drinking’ with two famous ones and their Kolig bro) that School was also at the Garrison!

    And too re Keith Sandiford the younger he is a prof in US now…cant recall the School…and the elder Sandiford also wrote a historical a/c of the Combermere School.

    I was gifted a copy many years ago!

    I gone.


  24. I was at the Walk Mall at Welches, St. Thomas this morning at about 10:30, the people shopping at the big box store which name I can never remember, and at IMart were in orderly lines about 6 feet from each other. A good number had brought their umbrellas to shield themselves from the heat of the sun. The parking lot was almost but not quite full, as some people had parked in the lots of the nearby fast food place, and hardware store which were both closed, so I was able to move around without any close encounters of the COVID-19 kind (I hope). I wanted to buy some fruit as I was running low, but because of the long lines I left without buying anything as I know that 2 weeks or 2 months without fruit won’t klll me. i do have some green and yellow vegetables on hand and some ground provisions which I bought from a village shop as well as some frozen cassava and sweet potato which I grew myself in the rainy season.

    Little Johnnie picked up 3 or 4 necessities from the shop in the village where we were both raised.

    My mangoes ripen starting the second week of May, and it is a very, very generous tree. Small fruit but very sweet and mellow.


  25. @DPD

    met an oldster at our reunion one year and the man told me i didnt go to the school i went to the garrison. so i asked if you went to the garrison why you come to our reunion to which he replied, “Cawmere at the Garrison, youngster.” we had a right laff but then i had to listen to a half hour of reminiscence.

    do you know how many HC and other old school fellas and ladies come to our reunion? man, plenty. say they are jealous of our camaraderie lol. lots of drinks and shiite talk


  26. John
    April 3, 2020 4:55 PM

    John
    April 3, 2020 4:50 PM
    Donna
    April 3, 2020 1:22 PM
    John, you really need to give it a rest. Who spread the other pandemics???
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Only looked at COVID and flu flu numbers.
    You should try looking at them but appreciate not many can deal with numbers.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Assume the flu flu spread is natural.
    The differential is remarkable.
    Some thing unnatural about the spread of COVID!!
    Simple to see.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++

    All the experts advising Trump revising their models and guesstimates.

    How those crazy predictions passed them is beyond me.

    Trump probably straightened them out.

    Once you have experience with numbers you just get a feel for them.

    Trump is a boss at numbers!!


  27. God is a Bajan!

    Our leader is well again. She looks better than ever.

    I’m sure she’ll lead us through this difficult time.


  28. @HA
    appreciate the clarification….I guess then it turns out that both Keith Sandifords taught at Cawmere.
    My grandfather went there, but pre Roebuck, I think he told me where Queen’s College used to be. Or was it as @DIW noted, at the Garrison?


  29. @ Northern

    Opposite Queen’s Park. Yes, both taught at the old school. But it is Keith, the elder, that we must press for to be knighted in recognition of his huge contribution, not only as an historian, but as a community activist and public intellectual. Bajans tend to treat the Diaspora as out of sight, out of mind, until they want a Gatherin’.


  30. In California with twice the population of New York 285 people died from COVID-19.

    In New York, 3,218 are dead.

    10X.

    California is a port of entry from China.

    I don’t know the difference in numbers entering through California vs New York but there is a month between the first case being reported in California and the first reported in New York.

    If numbers of travelers explain the difference then one would expect that most people from China entered the US through SFO and LAX.

    California reported its first case on 26 January, 5 days before the Trump ban.

    It was the third case in the US.

    The first case in New York was 1st March, 2020, more than a month later.

    New York exploded thereafter.

    California did not.

    The first case in Italy was 31 January, 2020.

    In Spain it was 31 January 2020 followed by disaster.

    In England it was 22 January 2020.

    In Taiwan it was 21 January 2020, 5 deaths so far.

    New York is a month behind.

    An argument could be made that the genie was released from the lamp at two different times.

    It could also be argued that the health services in differing places are differently capable.

    There is also the argument that the population demographics, age, sex, smokers is a factor.

    The differences in times between California and New York is cause for concern.


  31. The first case in South Korea was 20 January, 2020, 6 days before California reported.

    South Korea has 177 deaths in a population of 51.5 million.

    California has 285 deaths in a population of 40 million.

    New York is 10 X.

    Pause for a moment and think!!


  32. What about India?

    First case reported 30 January 2020.

    Population 1.3 billion.

    China population about the same.

    India seems to be on another planet.

    The outbreaks appear targeted.


  33. @John
    continually searching for something which makes sense? too many arguments? too many unknowns. How can CA and NY be so different? Gotta sep NYCity from NYState and look beyond China arrivals and festivals.


  34. John,

    Los Angeles population density is 8,000 per square mile.

    New York city has a population density of 26,000 per square mile.

    You are focusing on numbers, how could you miss this, which is the most critical one for contagion?

    It was obvious from the beginning that New York city was highly vulnerable to this, due to the population density.

    Any area of density is vulnerable.

    There is a warning in the for all countries too. I mean all. Read between the lines.


  35. India, Taiwan, have some sort of immunity perhaps?

    California has more contacts with China so maybe largely immune?


  36. Crusoe
    April 4, 2020 3:28 AM

    John,
    Los Angeles population density is 8,000 per square mile.
    New York city has a population density of 26,000 per square mile.
    You are focusing on numbers, how could you miss this, which is the most critical one for contagion?
    It was obvious from the beginning that New York city was highly vulnerable to this, due to the population density.
    Any area of density is vulnerable.
    There is a warning in the for all countries too. I mean all. Read between the lines.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    India, Taiwan?


  37. Naples is more densely populated than Milan.

    Barcelona vs Madrid? Similar populations, not sure of sizes.


  38. @Northern, I don’t know the full chronology (I should search that Sandiford book with all this time on hand) re locations but due to my years in Bajan scouting I can add a little tidbit…

    There is (certainly used to be) a plaque on that old QC site validating it as the founding location of Bdos first scout troop… And which school had that distinction of first patrol and troop: Combermere.

    Ipso facto… It was once located right there also !

    Maybe your granddad was one of Lord Baden Powell’s early Bajans scouts!


  39. @ Hal April 4, 2020 2:26 AM
    “Opposite Queen’s Park. Yes, both taught at the old school. But it is Keith, the elder, that we must press for to be knighted in recognition of his huge contribution”

    What is this talk of Knighthoods? I hope you are not serious.

    The younger Sandiford went to Combermere, we were in sixth form together when I did modern studies. He got a scholarship to one of the Universities in Puerto Rico. The last time I saw him was in the area near ST.Mary’s Church. At that time he was a professor of English at Louisiana State University. Told me that I should leave the island, that any one who exercised critical thought ran into trouble.


  40. John,

    Apart from naming cities, what is your point? All of those have a quarter or less the population density of New York. A couple far less than even that.

    But well done naming countries, cities.


  41. David,

    Seeing as we cannot do so the at the physical one, I will follow DR.GP who has gone AWOL and call it, the BU Rumshop, rum and coke for me please.

    Doorlys or Cockpur, none of that bourgeoisie stuff for me please. I am a simple fellow.

    While you are at it, pour one each for Yardfowl and Bonnie Peppa. Good time to remember them.

    Thank you Sir.


    • @Crusoe

      Wishing all the best to you and family. The blogmaster prefers a little brandy these day.


  42. Sigh!

    To @ John Soliloquy… Re “20 patients on 1000 bed Hospital ship in New York.”

    And this is to tell us what?

    The hospital ship is supposed -according to published reports- handle non Covid19 patients…

    That only 20 cases have been so far transferred is a big deal why?

    And why are we nitpicking this type of non- issue.

    Why don’t you ask why your stable genius FIRED the INDEPENDENT watchdog Inspector General of the Intel Services!

    Firing the FBI director was egregious …BUT we moved on … now this career civil servant whose role is to investigate and report on infelicities WITHOUT any political favor being terminated because he reported against the POTUS.

    Incredible !


  43. John,

    Per above, with one exception where your are correct, Manila. However, there are two issues comparing New York with Manila.

    The first, is whether the deaths are accurately reported as being due to coronavirus as the resources to test or check on deaths are substantially less. The second, the president of that country has given the forces shoot to kill orders for those who breach curfew.

    Quite a difference in approach and what outcome could you then expect, but less infections and deaths attributed to the virus.


  44. @ Robert

    Keith senior should be awarded the nation’s top award. We must not only celebrated second rate lawyer/politicians, but people of outstanding qualities otherwise, such as education and community activism. Keith senior meets all these qualities.
    Keith junior was right about being crucified for developing critical qualities.


  45. Crusoe
    April 4, 2020 7:07 AM

    The first, is whether the deaths are accurately reported as being due to coronavirus as the resources to test or check on deaths are substantially less. The second, the president of that country has given the forces shoot to kill orders for those who breach curfew.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Classification is clearly an issue.

    A person dying from COVID-19 who also has flu or who dies from flu and has COVID-19 or who dies from respiratory ailments is still dead.

    Look at the classification for deaths in New York or any other state online.

    In Manila, people shot by security forces won’t be classified as COVID-19 deaths!!


  46. de pedantic Dribbler
    April 4, 2020 7:02 AM

    Sigh!
    To @ John Soliloquy… Re “20 patients on 1000 bed Hospital ship in New York.”
    And this is to tell us what?
    The hospital ship is supposed -according to published reports- handle non Covid19 patients…

    ++++++++++++++++++++

    DUUUUUH

    Tells us 20 beds needed to be made available for COVID-19 sufferers!!


  47. Seven out of 10 of the top ten causes of death in New York are from Comorbid conditions involved.

    EG, HEART DISEASE the top cause claimed 44K in 2019, FLU/PENEUMONIA, #6 claimed 4,5K.

    HYPERTENSION, #9, claimed 2.7K.

    COVID-19 supposedly account for 3,218 deaths.

    If a person with COVID-19 dies because his/her heart stopped beating, and he/she also has heart disease, how is the death attributed?

    It is possible that if another cause of death is created the total deaths in New York may be no different from normal!!

    https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/newyork/newyork.htm

    FOR SURE CLASSIFICATION OF CAUSE OF DEATH IS AN ISSUE.


  48. “Tells us 20 beds needed to be made available for COVID-19 sufferers!!’ 🤣🤣😂

    You have waaaayy too much time on your hands… that’s the purpose of the ship … to free up beds…so your stating THE OBVIOUS is now the thing! 👍🏿

    BTW I had a vision (dream) last night…strange one too …not sure if that’s my COVID final call …anyhow I said that to segue to: what were your visions last evening? Your post and retort re the hospital ship suggests they may have been over-bearing🤔!


  49. Look at California, HEART DISEASE is the #1 killer in normal times, HYPERTENSION is at #9.

    If you have these conditions and contract COVID-19, chances are you will die … or not!!

    Last time I heard, HEART DISEASE was the major cause of death in Barbados too!!

    So DPD, “Let not your heart be troubled …”


  50. “All this dying talk is morbid!!” @John, yes it is!

    Let’s put a brave face to our mortality… our wicks will go and our candle lose its light…it was bright and lit a path for someone while it burned brightly…That’s all we can ever hope and wish for!

    Nothing to be morbidly consumed about… life is beautiful and sad and must end!

    Out, out, brief candle!


  51. @ Hal April 4, 2020 8:29 AM

    The top local honors are Knighthoods and Dames as far as I can ascertain.


  52. WHAT ARE THE LOCAL TELECOMMUNICATION CARRIERS DOING FOR THOSE ON LOCKDOWN?

    THIS MORNING I RECEIVED THIS TEXT FROM MY CARRIER AND I AM NOT ON A 24HR LOCKDOWN.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    We are committed to supporting you during this difficult time. To help, we have ADDED 10GB of Mobile data to your monthly data plan at NO EXTRA COST. After two billing cycles, your Mobile data allotment will return to normal.
    We are here for you.

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