12th June 2026
”We reach!”
I always thought all West Indians said this when they were announcing “We’ve arrived!” but my local linguistic consultant tells me it might just be Trinis. Views from Bajans, Jamaicans etc are welcomed. But the message is clear: we’re back. We’ve never been in Barbados at this time of year before – on the cusp of the dry and wet seasons – and unsurprisingly everything looks very thirsty. A good message from our wall calendar:
Pollards Mill is still a relative oasis of greenery, but even here the grass is parched, and the whole place somehow looks different – the colour palette under hazy skies is definitely altered. It’s fairly hot but we have the usual lovely breeze, and it’s not humid – so, perfectly manageable and no mosquitoes 💪🦟💪
In hot, dry weather we’re used to birds dipping their beaks in the pool – grey kingbirds love swooping down for a sip or two, and a green heron made a couple of passes yesterday afternoon. We weren’t, however, expecting this little fella, who has ended up in the drink every day since our return on Tuesday:
Despite his bedraggled appearance he’s very much alive. I found him in the skimmer basket in the corner of the pool when we arrived, and have humanely rescued him and set him free three times so far:
Why he keeps diving back in in broad daylight is a mystery – perhaps his echolocation is waterlogged. I have no objection provided he’s completely constipated – that’s a triumph of hope over experience if ever there was one (see ‘Bat out of hell’, 5.3.25). Hmmm. My patience might start wearing thin if he’s back today.
We’ve settled back in with a new artwork from the resident genius for the ‘blue wall’ of undersea paintings in the kitchen/dining room, plus the obligatory caffeine courtesy of one of our generous winter guests:
As usual, the unexpected popped up to occupy us pretty much straightaway, and we’ve been kept busy, not helped by currently juggling the demands of FOUR properties which we’re trying to progress one way or another. I’ll spare you the detail, but after 48 busy hours we threw our hands in the air and decamped to happy hour at our (other) happy place, the Barbados Yacht Club:
I swear the drinks are getting cheaper, especially when you get two rum and gingers for the price of one. The familiar feeling of wellbeing rolled over us like a breaking wave… Right! Hungry now after a swim and a sundowner. Off to Worthing Market food court, where for a moment I thought I was back in Florence on my trip there a couple of months ago:
We resisted the Bajan-Italian fusion cuisine without difficulty, settling instead for a delicious local fish wrap and a Banks under the magnificent fig tree. Oh yeah – we’re definitely back! 😎 🇧🇧
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