So…I’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing while we are here & one memory is rather painful… or more itchy than painful.

I had gone to Shirley Heights which is an old naval lookout over English harbour now a bar & restaurant famous for Sunday nights. People gather from late afternoon to watch the sunset over the stunning view. I used to do this often when I was a nanny also with friends then later on with my own family. A steel band plays during the afternoon replaced by a Reggae band after dark. The Pina Coladas there are simply the best and the atmosphere fantastic.

Anyway, I was up at Shirley Heights with my friend Catherine looking for a lift down the hill when I needed to wee, so ducked behind some bushes. I must have squatted on some nettles as I got stung all up the tops of my legs & on my bum!

We went  in search of some supper & ended up at the corner house whose speciality were Roti  which is a veg & meat or chicken filled pastry rather like a pasties  ( the meat was probably goat ) The corner house was owned by a family who had a son at the school I helped at so I knew them. When I mentioned nettle stings the owner went out & cut me an aloe leaf section & told me to rub it on the affected area!!  Catherine & I were I stitches! I could hardly tell him where the stings were.

( aloe plant )

The little boy from the corner house was named Ared. He’d be about 26 now.  One day at school aged about five he bit another child. The teacher punished him by taking away his name. She said he was to be called MOSQUITO all day as mosquitoes bit. He cried out,” Oh No teacher Lisa give me back my name! Don’t call me Mosquito! “  “Give me my name back” It worked.

I remember watching a Rasta wash in the sea rubbing sand over his skin then rub in aloe; they have the most amazing skin. There was a sweet Rasta boy at the school called Hawkeye. I have the most amazing photo of him. I saw him again when he was a teenager.  He’d be in his twenties now. His mother Tracey carved Calabash pods & sold them. She cut some in half and made handbags. I bought a few as presents. Tracey was a gardener at Tree House a lovely wooden house built around a tree. It was a health & beauty salon & my friend Catharine was the hairdresser there. The owner Liz sponsored Hawkeye at school and later did the same for his little sister Cleo.   

Since I lived here, Antigua yacht club has invested in several sailing dinghies & a sailing program for children so local children get the chance to learn to sail as well as those of visiting yachtsmen here for a few months like we were.  It’s so good to see children who otherwise might not get this opportunity having fun.

I’m in a lot of pain. My neck is so bad that I can hardly move. Added to that I have a sore throat. When we arrived back at Falmouth harbour yesterday, I popped into other hairdressers as tree house has closed at a health salon. I met a Scottish girl & had a very deep tissue massage & she showed me some stretches which will help my neck. When I get home I’m going back to the Docs. I can’t afford to keep having massage therapy privately so have a self-referral form for the physio. My X-ray showed nothing more than normal ware & tear but I’m going to insist they look for the cause of all this pain. Maybe I’m grinding my teeth again & need a gum shield like I did when Jess was a baby. I had chronic earache & after months of anti-inflammatories, turned out I was grinding my teeth in my sleep!

Tricia who owns the hairdressers has suggested a girls’ night out while I’m here. I chatted to her yesterday like two days had passed not twenty two years.

While I was talking to the massage therapist, I noticed a man grinning at me in the mirror while Tricia cut his hair. I blurted out my hellos then kicked myself. I had planned to be very cool and say, “Sorry but I don’t remember you.  “Before we got here, Roddy was talking to an old friend who asked if they knew each other when the other man came up to them. The man said of Roddy “He used to work for me.  “True,  Roddy was first mate while this bloke was skipper but they had been friends. So bloody condescending. I vowed to look at him & say “No, I don’t remember you “ like he was so insignificant (I remember everybody!) But instead found myself smiling & saying hello & exchanging a peck on the cheek! So much for my revenge! I guess I’m just too nice!

The girl doing the massage is from the same part of the west coast of Scotland as hubby. She told me that her uncle & father were running one of the boats out here.  Telling hubby later he put two & two together & realised who they were! As twenty-one year olds the uncle, another lad & hubby delivered a twenty seven foot boat from Mallorca to Florida.  It was his first delivery & they had next to nothing on board, He’s told us stories of cooking rice in sea water then rinsing with a tiny amount of fresh water. Washing the dishes by dragging them behind the boat in a bag. Running out of cigarettes (they all smoked then) and finding a wet scrunched up pack in a pocket & trying to dry it out!

One night while hubby was on watch there was a massive lightning storm & he was terrified & one of the others had to take over. I’ve met him now was able to ask him about it finally as we’ve always giggled at Roddy’s story.   

MONDAY:

We all went to Shirley Heights last night. You have to pay to get in now! What a rip off! But the sunset was beautiful.

The view from Shirley Heights with English Harbour in the foreground & Falmouth Harbour in the distance.

We are going to have a big clean & tidy up today & use the laundrette for sheets & towels. We have a small washing machine on board & can put a load on when the generator is on. We make all our own water with a desalinisation unit – amazing isn’t it? So we don’t have to ration the water on board.

 I’ve just heard on the local VHS radio news that there will be a choir singing at Temo Sports which is where Roddy & I met. I think I’ll drag the family out to hear some seasonal singing as it doesn’t feel very Christmassy! We still have to do our present shopping for each other – either today or Christmas Eve as we are going off for another few days! Help! Joe just wants biscuits so that’s OK!!!

I’ve been reading some of your Blogs when I can. Thinking of you all & hope your Christmas preparations are going well xx