Winnie the Pool, where are you?

4th January 2025

Way back then in October, an eon ago it feels like, in the sweltering heat we had a decision to make.

Ideally the budget was set aside for solar panels … but politics politics. There is a monopoly in energy supply on the island. Barbados Light and Power supplies the whole island. They offer a “buy all your solar generated power and sell you all the power you need” deal and of course there is a significant price differential. In addition they don’t need any new customers as they have enough sunshine power. There is no middle option where you can use your own electricity and “sell what you don’t need”. The only alternative is to go completely off grid but we have been led to understand that the battery infrastructure is not available to make that option viable.

So when the pool maintenance team said “your pool is very old and the surface is deteriorating. We have to run the pool pump 24/7 and are using extra water to clean it, have you considered renovating the pool?” We had a decision to make. We knew the pool was old. The bottom step of the ladder into the deep end rotated 90 degrees in a charming “ I’m going to throw you in the pool” kind of way and the hand rail was broken in the shallow end leaving a discoloured sort of stumpy remnant. So we knew things needed fixing, but complete refurbishment was not in the short term plan. It seemed to make sense it’s sort of sustainability in a different way … using less water and less leccy. The pool had been our lifesaver and sanctuary in those first frantic weeks. Lurching from one issue to another diving into the pool after downing tools at 4.30pm kept us sane.

Like all big decisions we slept on it. We agonised, it sounded expensive, very expensive. The guy came highly recommended, the quote came in. He seems to think he could do it by the time the first guests arrived. What we needed was our friend Wyn … our pool expert (well the designated wielder of the pool net). No what we needed was to make a decision, and we did.

The pool Oct 2024. To be continued …..