🎶 “I am sailing…”🎶

5th August 2025

We’re on a musical roll! Did anyone catch Rod Stewart’s recent Glastonbury set on TV? (I know some of our faithful followers were there in person) Hats off to the guy – still rockin’ at 80, no doubt boosted by his large entourage of 80s-era female backing singers 😎. His rendition of the classic final number ‘Sailing’ brought a tear to my eye, as it was one of the first singles I ever bought with my own pocket money way back in 1975 – 50 years ago, FFS. Ridiculous.

So – after months of deliberation (and agonising about the vast expense) we finally bit the bullet and made the decision to ship a load of stuff across the ocean to Barbados. Very appropriate given that Rod’s album featuring ‘Sailing’ is called ‘Atlantic Crossing’. The ins and outs of this decision and the complications which come with it were set out in blog post ‘The shipping forecast’ on 23rd November last year, when we kicked the can (or shipping container) down the road. We didn’t know then that before the year ended we would lose Nicola’s lovely Dad, which has naturally brought a lot of sadness but also the need to sort out her parents’ home and its contents.

When the family did their own Atlantic crossing from the West Indies to Kent in 1980, they shipped all their possessions. Among these are several lovely pieces of furniture made of exotic tropical hardwoods such as mahogany and the wonderfully grained ziricote, a dense and heavy timber native to Central America. Family lore has it that these particular pieces were crafted from a tree felled in the jungles of Belize in the late 1960s when they were living there. We knew that these – and other treasures from the Caribbean such as paintings, books and even a 100 year old model of a sugar steam engine made by Nicola’s grandfather – would find a natural home in Pollards Mill. Wonderful though the property is, it sorely lacks things that are personally meaningful to us and which build a sense of home. Throw in a number of well-loved things from the house in Wales we sold last year, plus the opportunity to take some of our other personal possessions, and the case was made. We sail on the morrow!

With a following wind and a smooth passage through the labyrinthine Bajan customs system, our container should arrive at Pollards soon after our return in a fortnight’s time. Stay tuned for updates in due course…

PS I couldn’t resist joining in the fun and making another trip to the local dump and recycling centre. This is my 8th carload so far, very modestly stuffed compared to previous excursions:

I know my father in law would approve, as according to Nicola’s mother it was his favourite place in the whole world. Mine too. Well, maybe. Ask me again in two weeks…