Category Archives: Barbados Culture and Lifestyle

Barbados culture and lifestyle

Reviewing “The Mountaintop”

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Mountaintop-gale-theatreIt’s always a treat to see a great play – and we certainly saw one last Thursday at the Frank Collymore Hall. The Mountaintop by Katori Hall is about the last night of Martin Luther King’s life. Here’s Stephen’s review of The Mountaintop on the Bajan Reporter site – and here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite: “The finish has to be seen to be believed. Often plays falter to an obvious ending, whereas The Mountaintop breathes life and energy and guarantees a level of entertainment not usually associated to two-handed plays.”
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Pre-Election Primping?

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Everywhere you look there are people tidying up the road and long abandoned road repairs are finally being taken care of. Last November, there were roadworks near our house, abandoned just before Christmas and leaving a section of road with virtually no surface. There was also a big hole at the entrance to our street.

Pre-Election Primping 1

The entrance to our street as it looked for a long two months.

Last week, there was a flurry of activity and it’s all been repaired – at least that’s one tangible benefit of all the political posturing.

Pre-Election Primping 2

And here’s the new improved version

 

Anything like that happening in your neighbourhood?

Things to do in Barbados #45 – Celebrate Valentine’s Day

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Barbados is a popular wedding destination, which also makes it a great place to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Whether you want to walk along a romantic beach or treat yourselves to an expensive dinner for two, there’s always something to do on this day. Everywhere you turn, the island is decked out in red and white. Today’s photo is a heart spotted at Lantern’s Mall on the South Coast. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Barbados Elections 2013

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Barbados Elections 2013So the long-awaited date for the 2013 Barbados elections has been announced – it’s February 21st. Barbados has a long, long history (more than 350 years) of Parliamentary democracy. While what’s now the USA was largely frontierland (with the exception of Virginia), Barbadian politicians were making their own laws as part of the Barbados Assembly, which held its first meeting in 1639.

That long history shows through in the conduct of elections. Sure there’s some name-calling and haranguing from the hustings. There may even be a couple of ads that would fall foul of Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority, but by and large, it’s a civilized business, with none of the dirty tricks we have seen in other places. (Remember Al Gore?). This is true of the electorate too. They may get heated about their party and may even have tiffs with those on the other side, but there’s none of the violence we see in places like Jamaica.

And there’s one more good thing about elections in Barbados – the election period is short and sweet. The date was announced yesterday and in four weeks’ time it will all be over and back to business as usual. That’s good news for those of us who are not politically inclined.

40 Years of Chefette

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Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year? The other day I headed down to Mall Internationale and was stunned to see a Burger King sign. Yes, we’ve got another international franchise and it should be open in just a few days. Frankly, I don’t think we need it, because we have something even better – Chefette.

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The local food chain has just celebrated 40 years of providing delicious fast (well, fast-ish) food, catering for the Bajan love of all things chicken, along with a bariffle of accompaniments and other options. You can’t beat the value or freshness of the salad bar either.

Everyone has their favourite Chefette moments. I remember going to the now defunct Holetown location and being able to lie on the beach (which is also disappearing). That’s hidden behind a hoarding now.

And for the last 6 years it’s been the place to be for our daughter’s annual birthday party, as well as a place where you can get a tasty snack at any time of day or night. That has come in handy a couple of times when the girls and I have eaten at places where the cuisine, though tasty, was far too nouvelle.

So while Burger King might have some short-lived novelty value, I’ll be sticking with Chefette, which in my opinion has some of the best fast food of its kind in the world. What about you?