Finally the symbol of an oppressed colonial past was laid to rest. Nelson statue for years positioned at the top of Broad Street and lately in Heroes Square was removed by the Mia Mottley government on the International Day of Tolerance. History the blogmaster suspects will view this act- delayed though it was- kindly.
Lord Nelson Put to Rest
338 responses to “Lord Nelson Put to Rest”
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Just read Lawson’s comment about my walk up Broad Street. Another “whore” reference, I surmise.
Yuh stinking mudda who whored with yuh stinking drunken fadda.
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Poor LIKKLE Johnnie, loser on two counts. No Nelson statue and no POTUS.
Spending his days and nights crying over spilt milk.
CUHDEAR!
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@ John November 21, 2020 3:43 PM
“So how are the 30 zeroes going to get over the problem that the plaque on the plinth clearly names him as a HERO!!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The same way they got over the problem with the lifeless statue itself. Simply remove the plinth or blot out the jingoistic Latin phrase on the plaque: “Esto Perpetua”.
For nothing in this world is everlasting; not even your god Yahweh which will soon be replaced on Mount Olympus like many before; for the Internet will be Yahweh’s undoing in the new Age of Aquarius.
Every thing must fall at the feet of the Master of Time.
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A simple new “plinth” explaining that he was deemed a hero by the slavers. A few sentences detailing where he was previously sited and how Bajans advocated for his removal on the grounds that we the descendants of the enslaved think him unworthy of the title.
Added context. No need to touch the old plinth. That would be destroying history.
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The problem is it is all over the world in books.
A child can access it on the internet.
The 30 zeroes can’t do a thing about that.
The statue has gone no where because its history is all a matter of record.
The the only thing that has changed is the world will look at the 30 zeroes and wonder at their monumental stupidity!!
… and laugh their heads off!!
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I can go to the internet now and get the account from for example Schomburgk and tell you exactly how the ceremony in 1813 went to actually place the statue on its plinth exactly where it was.
I can even give you the time of day it took place!!
The same narrative contains the contents on the plinth naming Nelson as a HERO and PRESERVER OF THE BRITISH WEST INDIES.
Any little child can do it!!
… and laugh at the foolish psuedo adults and 30 zeroes!!
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Maria Marshall could go and look up the information and next time she meets with the leader of the 30 zeroes she can ask why the leader would let the 30 zeroes destroy her heritage!!
Now then I would sit up and take notice!!
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The lady put down an excellent performance at the decommissioning of the Lord Nelson statue. Those in attendance were enthralled. Another reason why the decision to have a ceremony was important. The things the ignorant among us have to be so enlightened.
Signature performance of spoken word artist
By Gercine Carter gercinecarter@nationnews.com
Cindi Marshall’s narration at last week’s historic ceremony for the decommissioning of Lord Nelson’s statue in Bridgetown received a rave response from the crowd gathered in National Heroes Square.
The level of applause at the end of every segment of the presentation left no doubt about the extent to which it resonated with the audience. For the 24-yearold Barbadian spoken word artist and poet, it was a moment in time she will never forget.
That it afforded an opportunity for her talent to be exposed to an international audience among whom there were many who identified with the sentiments conveyed in her masterful piece of writing and expression, has given her much satisfaction.
In a candid interview with the Sunday Sun recently, Marshall confessed to being “conflicted” when she was first approached about the assignment by the National Cultural Foundation, considering Nelson’s fame or notoriety according to the diverse views expressed by those who wanted to see the statue removed from National Heroes Square and those who were opposed.
Marshall admitted mulling over the task requested of her, weighing her personal views against the perceptions of others.
“I thought, ‘I have to present a balance of this man that I detest.
He did nothing for black people in Barbados; why should I have to write something good about this man?’” But she also reflected on the adage “the best persuasion is a balanced argument” and on her commitment to honesty in her work. She, therefore, embarked on research to get the British picture of the man recorded in British history as a courageous and astute naval commander. This she weighed against the Caribbean and Barbadian perspective of a notorious Englishman abhorred for his role in the trans Atlantic slave trade, while also considering the many calls for a demonstration of true Barbadian identity and independence by taking down the statue.
She confessed that “all along” she had regarded Nelson as “just a statue of someone I guessed was important”.
“It was only when I started interacting with people who had knowledge of the actual history of who this man was that I was like, ‘Why is this man in Heroes Square’. I said ‘Who gives me permission to care about removing this statue, when up to last year I was saying it is just a statue. Why are we getting so upset about it?” which is a view she expressed in her piece read at the decommissioning.
Once the research turned up a rounded picture representing the different views on Nelson, Marshall eagerly proceeded to put pen to paper, and her creative juices flowed.
She wrote the 24-page narration, which was divided into segments, just five hours before she was due to present it at the ceremony and admitted doubts began to surface about “whether it was my best work and what would be the public response” once she had completed it.
As it turned out, the content in many ways reflected her own thoughts and, judging by reactions, also captured other people’s views about the Nelson story she so poignantly expressed and caused emotions of many to be stirred.
In the segment entitled Remembering Our Heroes,
she wrote: “Now dat we tek down Nelson, what gine happen? What gine change? Just because ya put make-up pun a pig don’t mean he ain de same . . .
“But if our children see us celebrate foreign history, while we barely acknowledge our own. If we continue to hold respect for foreign heroes under the guise of remembering our past while letting our heritage disappear into the shadows right under our nose, will the coming generations ever really know freedom?”
Writing since 2013
Marshall has been writing performance poetry since 2013, though she said: “My primary school teachers will tell you I have been writing poetry itself longer than that because I used to draw pictures and put poetry on the back.” That was during her early days at the Hilltop Preparatory School, but the Harrison College alumnus said, “I hit my stride in my final year at the Barbados Community College.”
She earned a degree in linguistics with a minor in communication studies from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, where her final year thesis was written on the use of nation language in spoken word and poetry. Though she had given fleeting thought to the medical profession while at school, mentors such as noted spoken word artist Adrian Green had already made their impression, influencing her leaning in the direction of that specific area of the arts.
In her first foray into performing poetry on stage, she failed to make it past the quarter-finals in the Spoken Word category of the NIFCA competition. But her impressive performance did catch the eyes and ears of the judging panel.
Her piece entitled To Those Who Complain About Brain Drain performed at the NIFCA 2017 gala pricked ears because of the bold way in which she addressed the issue of Barbados’ brain drain.
“Young people don’t just get up and decide they want to leave. Sometimes it is because we feel we have done all we could here and we have met resistance in trying to change the status quo to fit the jobs that we want as young professionals coming out of university,” she said with regard to the views expressed in that piece of writing.
“At first I wanted to leave too. But it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to want to stay and say, ‘This is Barbados; this is my home.’ I want to work doing the thing I love, but I want to do it here at home. I didn’t think that the voice of millennials was well represented,” she said.
Last June, together with three other young Barbadian poets, Marshall travelled to South Africa and performed at the Free State Arts Festival in Bloemfontein.
“Going to Africa was a defining moment for me as a poet,” she said. So impressed was her mother Celestine by the first piece she wrote after returning to Barbados, that she advised Marshall to start documenting her work so that it could be accessed by other people apart from those who followed the open mic sessions at which she performed.
Marshall released Cindicated, an eight-track compilation of all the things she had written after returning from South Africa on September 8, her mother’s birthday.
Sad moment
Sadly, her mother did not get to hear it. On February 24, Celestine was diagnosed with stage four cancer, to which she succumbed on March 11.
Marshall honoured her mother who “made me the poet and person that I am” by adopting the stage name Cindy Celeste.
Her parents may have had early reservations about Marshall’s decision to choose a career in the arts, but the spoken word artist told the Sunday Sun: “If I decide that I am going to make it doing spoken word poetry, I am going to make it doing spoken word poetry some way, somehow. It might not be two years from now; it might be five, but somehow it is coming.”Nation
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Adrian is obviously proud. Preach it!
Change in mindset must be sustained
What we are about to dig into is not only relevant to the Nelson statue debate, but is also relevant to our personal lives and to general history as well. We are talking about the relationship between internal changes and external changes. In short, it is a cyclical relationship. Internal change leads to external which leads to internal change which leads to further external changes.
Consider it with this analogy. If a person wants to lose weight, they start with an internal change, a change in mindset or a new decision. That internal change leads to new habits and behaviours, external changes which can be seen. For instance, a change in eating habits or beginning to exercise will cause external changes in their body. Those external changes are not only due to the external changes made in eating and exercise. They are due to the internal change of mind or consciousness which led to the changes in the physical realm that the rest of the world could see.
However, as we all know, it is easier to start a new diet and exercise regime than it is to stick to it. Many fall off the wagon because while the external changes in diet and exercise, the visible changes were made, the internal changes, the invisible shifts in consciousness necessary to make the visible physical changes meaningful and long lasting, were not complete.
Losing weight requires a combination of internal and external changes. It is the internal changes that often initiate and sustain the external changes.
And without the sustained efforts at internal change the external changes are often meaningless and short lived. To expect that moving Nelson’s statue would change Barbados overnight is like expecting a diet to change your body overnight. To say that, “Nelson move and nutten ain’t change” is like arguing that you went on a diet for a day and nothing changed, so therefore the diet is useless. It is the internal change in mindset that led you to go on the diet, that led us to move Nelson.
But for that diet, that move to have meaningful and long lasting effect, the change in mindset must be sustained and nurtured. The diet, the removal of Nelson, are not the result we are looking for. We want a long lasting change in mindsets which results in consistent, sustainable and healthy weight loss or consistent, sustainable and healthy shedding of colonial dead weight, both internal and external.
Many people never stick to their diet or exercise because the results, the changes are not obvious to the eyes or seem slow to come. They are like people who criticise the removal of Nelson’s statue as changing nothing. In order to properly change your diet in the first place requires an understanding and appreciation of the link between diet, weight and health. Without an understanding and appreciation of the links between art, culture and consciousness the removal of Nelson’s statue will not be appreciated.
Furthermore, without an appreciation of the links between internal conditions and external conditions, the need to address and transform national consciousness will not be appreciated. Many still feel that the external and quantifiable economic conditions are separate and distinct from the less obvious and tangible social, cultural and psychological conditions. Just as there are people who don’t realise that it is not enough to take the external steps of changing your diet and exercise, without also changing your inner mindset
about food, eating and exercise.
Even after the emancipation of the enslaved Africans, even though the formal situation changed, the implicit social, emotional, psychological and cultural conditions lagged behind.
Therefore emancipation yielded little material benefits to the formally enslaved. We must learn these lessons of history.
Internal transformations are prerequisites for external transformations. External transformations may also provide the impetus for internal transformations, but the completion of an external transformation does not necessarily mean that the internal transformation is complete.
For the umpteenth time, the removal of Nelson’s statue is not the cause of any change. It is a result of and an indication of a cycle of internal and external changes in and about Barbados. It is also hopefully a prompt towards other external and internal changes in and about Barbados that will leave this nation further transformed and reformed from its colonial origins and lead to a greater and stronger national consciousness.Adrian Green is a communications specialist. Email: Adriangreen14 @gmail.com
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“We want a long lasting change in mindsets which results in consistent, sustainable and healthy weight loss or consistent, sustainable and healthy shedding of colonial dead weight, both internal and external.”
it’s NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN if ya continue to PROMOTE, SUSTAIN AND MAINTAIN the same damaging, corrupt colonial system created to destroy AFRICAN PEOPLE….now being MAINTAINED with Black people’s taxes and driven by corrupt governments, agents of colonialism….unless it’s all DISMANTLE…it will remain a lose, lose for the majority black population.
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Adrian, my soul brother! A better communicator than I will ever be, has again written the column I wish I had written. Great analogy. Maybe now John A will get it.
A sustained and concerted effort – like the twelve step community programmes I have been suggesting similar to an Alcoholics Anonymous programme complete with mentors or a buddy system to keep us going.
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WURA-War-on-UNovember 22, 2020 6:32 AM
“We want a long lasting change in mindsets which results in consistent, sustainable and healthy weight loss or consistent, sustainable and healthy shedding of colonial dead weight, both internal and external.”
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My suggestion, burn all books about Nelson!!
Here is a sampling of a few free ones on the Internet … you can search for more at the bottom.
If you do search you will find another 4,029
Better get cracking before little children figure out how to make a mess of the monumentally stupid 30 zeroes.
https://www.questia.com/library/history/military-history/military-figures/horatio-nelson
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson: Selected full-text books and articles
FREE! The Life of Horatio, Lord Nelson
By Robert Southey; Ernest Rhys
J. M. Dent & Sons, 1906
Read Overview
FREE! The Life of Nelson: The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain
By A. T. Mahan
Little, Brown, and Company, vol.1, 1897
Read Overview
FREE! The Life of Nelson: The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain
By A. T. Mahan
Little, Brown, and Company, vol.2, 1897
Read Overview
Inspiring Leadership: Learning from Great Leaders
By John Adair
Thorogood, 2002
Librarian’s tip: Chap. Nine “Nelson”
Read preview Overview
FREE! Great Men and Famous Women: A Series of Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Lives of More Than 200 of the Most Prominent Personages in History
By Charles F. Horne
Selmar Hess, vol.2, 1894
Librarian’s tip: “Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)” begins on p. 279
Read Overview
Nelson and Mission Command: Edgar Vincent Analyses the Spectacularly Successful, and Surprisingly Modern, Leadership Strategy of Horatio Nelson. (Cross Current)
By Vincent, Edgar
History Today, Vol. 53, No. 6, June 2003
Read preview Overview
Decision at Trafalgar
By Dudley Pope
J. B. Lippincott, 1960
Librarian’s tip: Includes discussion of Horatio Nelson in multiple chapters
Read preview Overview
Search for more books and articles on Horatio Nelson -
Oh sh!te, they got films too!!
Earliest one dating from 1911.
More recent ones have been made.
Try this one from 2005.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302575/
Better look to shutdown Amazon and Netflix!!
Remember RPB’s wisdom on Mr. Harding!!
Mr. Harding can’t burn!!
Nelson can’t burn!!
The little children don’t only have the internet, they can read books about him or watch films!!
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@ John November 21, 2020 10:43 PM
“Maria Marshall could go and look up the information and next time she meets with the leader of the 30 zeroes she can ask why the leader would let the 30 zeroes destroy her heritage!!
Now then I would sit up and take notice!!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The same MM of mixed heritages can also use the same Internet (the modern electronic version of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (bad) could also allow her to ask why the European -mainly the British in the case of Barbadoes- invaded a little island and almost eliminated all the physical evidence that there was a ‘thriving indigenous Amerindian society including temples to their god(s).
The invaders after wiping out the indigenous populations- mainly through the spread of the imported infectious diseases- even had the effrontery of building European witchcraft houses of sin called churches on top of those very temples as they did with the desecration of the houses of worship in the Inca Empire.
Maybe it’s simply a case of payback time (Karma) for what the ‘English (and their slave trading Jewish mercantile friends from Brasil) did to the indigenous people of Ichirouganaim.
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@ Donna
We will never agree as I am well aware that you can take down and put up 100 statues and it CAN NOT change history. The emblems of history must co exist both good and bad. They show the history that has brought us to where we are today. So Bussa will stand at Haggatt Hall and Nelson will stand at the Museum. Again I say next time you pass by Bussa pay close attention to the broken shackles. These are also symbolic and are meant to say that removing the shackles from one’s hands and not removing them from the mind is pointless. The sculpturer made this point several times at its unveiling. As a people more can be gained from embracing history than trying to destroy it. Again I draw reference to both Antigua and St Kitts as prime examples of how this was done. I also will ask again what has improved for the people of Iraq since the removal of Saddam’s statues? Must say though it was a perfect distraction by the goverment from the real issues like the economy. KUDOS to their PR Team. I guess next they will move to same sex marriages.
As the saying goes you may have the last word.
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@John A
You are wrong. It is the same reason confederate statues were removed in the Southern USA and other symbols. It is a tactic to repurpose the psyche of an abused people.
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@ David.
It will change nothing. What should be done is people should be taught to remember the past ensure it never happens again and then rise above it. The USA has removed statues and black people are still being harassed daily by police there. The problem can not be addressed by trying to change history. It can be changed though by pursuing true equality in all sectors today and not in history.
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@John A
How can you know for sure? We cannot continue to bemoan the fact Black people are affected by the vestiges of the past and do nothing to try to enfranch our people.
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@ David
I hear and respect your view but I see it differently. Yes we must better our selves and seek equality but in the present and future not the past.
Instead of removing those statues in the USA you know what I would like to see happen? I would like to of seen black businesses open in these high trafficked tourist areas by the statues and make money off them. In other words get economic payback from them for their families and future offspring. To me that would be the greatest victory.
As i said that’s just my view and I appreciate the view of others as well but there is no more rewarding a pay back than an economic one. .
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John A,
The crux of the column is that these changes do not occur overnight. For the upteenth time -the removal of the statue is not an attempt to change history. The facts will not change but the meaning will. History will now be told from a different perspective. It is obvious that you cannot see beyond immediate dollars and cents which does not always translate into long term SENSE.
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A LONG PROCESS. IF THERE IS NO FOLLOW UP ACTION, THEN THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT IS DONE TO ENLIGHTEN AND UPLIFT THE MASSES.
For a idea of a different perspective of the same events and how much it can matter, think about the Trayvon Martin case. Essentially the same facts but different perspective. From Trayvon’s perspective Zimmerman was threatening him by following him. When he circled and attacked he considered that he was actually defending himself. Zimmerman and co. would say he never touched Trayvon and that he therefore was attacked and was entitled to defend himself.
Both sides accept that Trayvon struck first. The facts are the same but the conclusion is different depending on the perspective. Each man thought he was “standing his ground”. I think you know whose perspective won and what great consequences ensued.
Same thing with Columbus and co. saying that Columbus discovered the New World. That is how it appears in the white man’s books. Are those the words Native Americans would use?
In both cases, Columbus arrived on the same shores. THAT IS THE FACT. But what that arrival meant would be told differently by both parties. And the way the story is told has a great impact on the psyche of both. Italians and Americans of Italian descent puff up with pride and feel themselves superior for having accomplished some great feat. That has a great impact on their self-confidence and their belief that they can do great things.
You are just determined not to understand, I think, because of the money that was spent.
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I would prefer not to relive trauma every day. When I see these things I enter into the times through my imagination and feel the pain of my ancestors. So do many others. You are obviously not of the artistic and creative temperament. I cannot even watch the movies or listen to the poetry anymore. It takes its toll on me.
Just understand that some of us feel better. We who do not see all of life in dollars and cents.
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@John A
To support the comment here- the change who want to see must be triggered by change to mindsets. It will not happen because you are able to say so.
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@ Donna
I respect your opinion and am entitled to mine as well. We just have different views of the way forward. I see people bettering themselves by economic growth, as that is the only tool that can move people to better homes and an improved standard of living. Do you think when tourism started in Barbados black taxi drivers gathered around Nelson by chance? No they did so as it was a place they could make money. Look all over Europe and see how major tourist destinations use their history to better their people’s lives. Rome to me is one of the best examples. Here you have the colosium where slaves were taken and fed to lions for the simple entertainment of the Romans. Yet today it draws in millions for those that now feed off it. Same can be said for many other areas all over Europe. My way is not to destroy but to embrace all aspects of our past while ensuring those Barbadians who want to can benefit from them financially.
Let me give you a classic example of where we have failed. One of the major questions tourist ask is ” which restaurant can I go to and have a real bajan meal?” You ever stopped and realised how few restaurants on the island they are doing this? Not talking about food vans I mean proper sit down restaurants representing our local food and it’s heritage. Why do you think that is?
Now let’s look at the success of the old Bajan bus tours which started with one bus and now have several. While everybody was buying large air conditioned coaches like the ones see in Orlando, one local entrepreuner decided he was going the opposite way. He went into our history and recreated the old Bajan buses with the wooden rails and canvas sides. I only mention this to show how history can he used to profit from. As I said remove the mental shackles and anything is possible. I can also tell you of another bajan who while charter boat fishing companies were buying the Bertram 38 ft boats, went the other way and decided he was going to carry people fishing the traditional way in the small Moses type boat. He offered both day and night fishing and last time I spoke to him before covid, he was fully booked for last winter. Embrace our history and don’t fight it their is money to be made by our people if this is done properly. I am not saying to forget it or not to enlighten people about it, but i am saying let our people gain economic benefit from it in the process.
Anyhow it was nice chatting with you but am on the way out. Will get back to you later if you have a reply.
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People will adapt to whats going on around them just like animals when their environment changes. , foxes up north turn pure white in winter to blend in with the snow , the camel has grown longer eyelashes, to protect it from the sand, and in canada our oppressed have been able to grow palms on both sides of their hands.
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What Ms. Mockley should be saying to the workers is “We got this”.
There is a severance fund that will ensure if in the event the employer is unable to pay the GOB will pay the workers 100%.
It will then seek reimbursement of 25% from the employer.
However, the employer sounds like it will pay the 25% the GOB will seek from it after it has paid the workers the 100%.
So atleast the workers will have some money in their hands while they are waiting (interminably??) for the GOB to come up with its 75%.
Maybe I am misunderstanding.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/11/20/hotel-to-pay-workers-25-for-now-looking-to-nis-to-remaining-75/
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I agree with john A harry’s bar should be re-opened
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@ John A
Your contributions are one of few of quality on BU. People do not come from Europe and North America to eat in imitation Michelin restaurants. They can do that at home. They want the Barbados experience, one reason why Oistin’s is so popular with Brits..
The problem is the Bajan middle class want to pretend they can get a Michelin meal in their local restaurants too. They are world class. It is a huge and confusing contradiction.
When I come to Barbados I do not want what I get in London almost everyday, like greasy chicken and McDonald’s. That is why I go to Mustor’s. -
“After a severance payment is made to an employee, the insured employer of the severed employee is entitled to claim a 25% rebate from the NIS Severance Fund.”
So the employer is saying to the employees that it cannot pay the 100% severance, the COVID regulations of the GOB shut it down.
However it will pay them 25%.
It is saying to GOB, we can’t do no better after COVID.
We kept the employees employed as long as we could with no revenue, paid the NIS all required monies to insure the employees earnings but now “de dawg ded”!!
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Did the removal of Nelson’s column make regional or international news?
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Oistins is popular but not with everyone or it is something they have to do. Many tourists default to foods they are familiar when visiting the islands.
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§1631. Declaration of national emergency by Executive order; authority; publication in Federal Register; transmittal to Congress
When the President declares a national emergency, no powers or authorities made available by statute for use in the event of an emergency shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies the provisions of law under which he proposes that he, or other officers will act. Such specification may be made either in the declaration of a national emergency, or by one or more contemporaneous or subsequent Executive orders published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.(Pub. L. 94–412, title III, §301, Sept. 14, 1976, 90 Stat. 1257.)
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@Hal
All is not lost let me give you an experience I had in February when some friends from the UK were here. My friends wife likes flowers so we went to Huntes Nurseries. It was close to lunch time so when we were leaving the owner said,” it’s around lunch time if you want some good Bajan food go short there by that lady house.” Well my friends love the local food so we went. I can’t remember if it was called Velma’s or something like that but the food was amazing! When they are here on the South coast we usually drive all the way to Belleplaine to get some bajan food at a place there. Both of these entities are owned by black business people who have held on to the past and are making money from it today.
Tourist revert to what they know because they are not exposed to anything else. The bake potato by them is offered to them here. It’s not only here either I remember one night in Grenada a few of us were there at a hotel on business and a taxi guy heard us wondering where to go for dinner with some good local food. Well my friend we end up at a place called Mammas on the way to St Geroges, run by this massive local Grenadian lady. When we asked for a menu we were told no menu it is like buffet. Well we had a large bold of white rice and about 10 side dishes. From Conch to maniku to shrimp, goat you name it. I talking bout a little hole in the wall with about 6 tables. Well you know I never went Grenada without going there after that! The special and a glass of home made lemonade please Mamma! By the way the first night we went there the other 5 tables were all filled by tourist.
Point is there is money in our heritage.
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@ John A
I know what you mean. I have said here before, the Brits love Oistin’s and will do things Bajan for the experience. That is a cultural thing. They will do the same thing in Spain. Bermuda, or the US. It is who they are.
What they do not want is local big wigs interfering with the layout and cuisine in a false belief they are making the place more attractive.
I remember one Friday night a group of us left badly prepared food at Almond in Holetown to rush off to Oistin’s just for the experience. The funny thing about that is that one of the girls in the group pulled a local boy, which we teased her about.
English people do not travel to Barbados to eat English food or hear about the Westminster model of government. They come to experience Barbados.
Same thing in other islands. There was a guy next to the Careenage in Grenada, who used the front room of his home as a restaurant, again it was hugely popular. It had reached the point when you had to book a table. I believe he is now dead, sadly.
Our tourism officials have this idea that what they think tourists (travellers) want is what they really want or need. We can buy rum in our local supermarket; we can buy sweet potatoes in the local shops and we get sunshine during the summer.
What these officials often fail to understand is that many of the visitors who come to Barbados work in Britain with black people who make suggestions to them. They watch television and read. What I cannot understand is that a lot of these officials do tourism studies in the UK. The people who come and return each year know us better than we think.
A few years ago a young white journalist wrote a story in the Sunday Telegraph about the sewage on the south coast in Barbados and people on BU tore in to her. They wanted to know what she knew about Barbados.
In fact she knew a lot. She was (or is) a yearly visitor, her father lives in Barbados, or did at the time, and when in the island she is a member of a regular walking (rambling) group, which includes senior people in publishing.
We like tourists, but then want to deny them their experiences. -
@ Hal
I remeber the other place in Grenada and its a Conch Roti at the Nutmeg Restaurant on de ” car -reen-age” as the locals call it.
Lord I hungry now I going and look in the fridge! Lol
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You people are so binary. of course tourists- not only from the UK, CAN, US, Caribbean want to sample the culture on offer, the point is that it is only one of many things we have to develop. There is Oistins, martins bay, Moon Town etc. We get that.
Steuspe
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It is really amusing to see how much our natives on BU cling to the Nelson theme. The reader almost believes that there is no such thing as 50 percent unemployment rate. In general, the COVID19 crisis has shown very clearly that our most valued tourists and expats are responsible for at least two thirds of the gross national product – not the theorists on BU, not the recipients of the big Barbados deep welfare state, not the many bureaucrats and not any other natives.
At least our most valued government of justice and prosperity is doing everything to bring our tourists back. Very well.
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I was waiting for my flight out of toronto one year and I noticed all these partiers also waiting and thought to myself the island is going to be fun this time then the call came for the flight to jamaica , all the fun people left and I was left with a load of gray and blue haired senior citizens and some returning locals .Now knowing that covid treats the elderly and black populations more harshly it is not out of
the question your gonna lose a few regulars. Its time to attract a younger crowd Two thirds of your tourists remember when the dead sea was only sick. -
“Now knowing that covid treats the elderly and black populations more harshly it is not out of
the question your gonna lose a few regulars.”Lawson…stop spreading false info…..at least 79% of whites ARE DYING in the US from the plague, it’s even worse in Europe, because of the smaller black population,s it’s a killing machine for whites ….meaning yall are dying like flies..i truly hope the vaccine works or ya will be reduced to 2 or 3% of the world’s population by 2022 instead of the 12% minorities that ya are right now…
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We will have a parade without Nelson statue this year. One for the historians,
GETTING SET FOR BIG PARADE
POLICE and military personnel were busy yesterday conducting rehearsals and preparations for next Monday’s Independence Day Parade in The City.
For the 54th anniversary of Independence, celebrations will take the form of a Salute To The Nation involving presentation of the National Independence Awards in National Heroes Square on November 30, from 8 a.m.
Governor General Dame Sandra Mason will be presenting the awards, while Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley will address the nation.
The Barbados Regiment will provide the Guard of Honour, while the other troops on parade will be the Flag Orderlies and the Massed Band of the Royal Barbados Police Force and the Barbados Defence Force (BDF).
Also in attendance will be new Chief Justice Patterson Cheltenham; Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley; the lone living National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers; Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith; Chief of Staff of the BDF, Colonel Glyne Grannum,
and specially invited guests. -
Waru you self medicating again??? that’s what I am saying old white people ….your tourist base are getting hit hard by covid , couple that with the black populations ( not everybody can be Mr Sisnett) Diabetes, morbid obesity , sickle cell anemia. russian roulette and the relentless pursuit of a Darwin award taking many early, Barbados will lose some of its regular customers I know a few you wont see again myself . Its time for a new direction. Health care costs are going to skyrocket even with vaccines the insurance industry is not going to get caught off guard again for any type of insurance , travel insurance for seniors may be prohibitive for white or black seniors you need a new schtick.
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This piece was submitted by Grenville a couple days ago.
Difficult Conversations – Part 1.
The statue of Nelson has been removed from the centre of our city. The Prime Minister must be congratulated for removing it in as dignified a manner as could be expected.
I do not believe that the statue will be re-erected any time soon, since that may only enrage our activists. Theirs is the only voice that appears to matter in modern Barbados.
Our political leaders keep asking us to have difficult conversations. But they do not engage any other view but that of their activists. That is not the path of maturity.
THE ONE VIEW.
Our enslaved fore-parents were not allowed to discuss any view, not approved by the plantation owners. Citizens of countries led by despots are not allowed to discuss any view, not approved by the despots. In both instances, people who are forcibly shackled to one view, become mentally enslaved.
In Barbados, any attempt to discuss a view that differs from Government approved activists, is met with unrestrained insults and false accusations on our government controlled television, print media, and social media spaces. These actions are meant to damage reputations, and intimidate others from expressing a similar unapproved view.
QUESTION EVERYTHING.
We are doing the next generation a grave disservice. We should allow them to question anything, and discuss any evidence in support of or opposed to any idea. If that happened, they would tend to converge to what is true, by evidence and reason.
Why don’t we give them the space to unshackle their minds? Why are only activists allowed at the table of conversation? The answer is always the same. Activists have staked their professional reputations on claims that are easily proven to be false. Therefore, they must not allow those claims to be questioned.
NELSON MUST GO.
Our activists decided that Nelson must represent every damaging social and emotional legacy of slavery. Their problem was that there is an abundance of credible evidence, to show that Nelson was a brilliant and accomplished man, who consistently tried to do what was good and right, regardless of the cost. Many times, doing what he thought was right hurt him financially.
Nelson was perhaps the only person at that time who treated all races the same. Any enslaved person who swam to his ship was freed, hired, paid, trusted, and promoted the same as any other sailor.
Nelson developed a hatred for slavery, and probably freed more slaves outside of the US than any other person at that time. Nelson was perhaps the only known truly non-racist and non-white supremacist in an age where almost everyone else was.
By doing what he thought was right, Nelson did have his haters. He was hated by the slave-owning planters, merchants, and politicians of his time – and the activists of ours.
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.
Our activists first criticised Nelson as a symbol of colonialism. When that strategy failed to convince the Government to remove the statue, our activist historians decided to smear Nelson’s reputation by inventing history, confident that our politicians would be too intellectually lazy to check.
Nelson became a racist, white supremacist enslaver of black people – without evidence. When that did not work, Nelson became a mass murderer of thousands of enslaved Barbadians – also without evidence. Our politicians simply believed this madness, and moved with haste to remove the 200-year old statue.
What happened to having the difficult conversations? Why were activists not asked to provide any credible evidence for their lunatic claims? The answer is always the same. As long as activists serve a purpose, their political masters will shield their view from scrutiny – by making that view Government policy.References:https://researching.wordpress.com/…/nelson-the-racist…/https://researching.wordpress.com/…/nelson-the-opposer…/https://researching.wordpress.com/…/nelson-the…/https://researching.wordpress.com/…/nelson-the-mass…/https://researching.wordpress.com/…/27/slavery-2-0-part-5/
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Grenville…ah so glad ya lost that deposit, ya despicable embarrassment to ya enslaved ancestors.
hope they bury ya tied to nelson, underwater….
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On that we can agree.
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@ Grenville P of NextParty 246:
“Nelson developed a hatred for slavery, and probably freed more slaves outside of the US than any other person at that time. Nelson was perhaps the only known truly non-racist and non-white supremacist in an age where almost everyone else was.
By doing what he thought was right, Nelson did have his haters. He was hated by the slave-owning planters, merchants, and politicians of his time – and the activists of ours.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++You too are guilty of distorting history.
Did you know that the Admiral was married to the Nevis-born Fanny who was well connected to the slave-owning planter class of that island and she herself owned a personal slave called Cato?
Did you know that the same Lord High Morality Nelson was widely known adulterer?
If he, Admiral Nelson, was so despised by the slave-owning planters why did the same slave-owning sugar planters paid handsomely for the sculpting, shipping and erection of a statue in his honour before the one erected in London which depicts the presence of blacks aboard his flagship HMS Victory?
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On what basis can Grenville challenge Trevor Marshall on the issue of Nelson? A bona fide historian.
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DavidNovember 23, 2020 9:21 PM
On what basis can Grenville challenge Trevor Marshall on the issue of Nelson? A bona fide historian.
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There are over 5,000 books on Nelson written by many learned scholars, my bet, all contradicting Trevor Marshall and agreeing with Grenville Phillips.
Grenville has simply read enough of them to put himself into a position to challenge Trevor Marshall!!
That’s the basis!!
That’s what books are for, to inform opinions.
If you can find 10 out of the 5,000 books all by scholars far more learned than Trevor Marshall which actually agree with Trevor Marshall then we can have a discussion on the support in the scholarly community as to the correctness of Trevor Marshall’s position.
I’ll bet you can easily find 10 that support Grenville Phillips.
The simple fact that there are over 5,000 books written on Nelson is good enough for me.
I found one blemish in his record referred to in books I have read.
It relates to his decisions when he was in Naples … and nothing to do with Emma Hamilton.
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The challenge Black people have with how our history is recorded is that the source data is most times communicated through the eyes of a white man.
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How do you know all 5,000 books were written by a white man?
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.