Skip to main content

Dispatches from the Front

One love people.

The weather here in Antigua has yet to dip beneath 30 degrees. As a result I am pretty much a limp rag doll for much of the time but Lisette is absolutely loving it!

We've been watching pelicans fish each morning and flying fish jump from the water (prior to getting eaten) as well! You'd think they'd learn but alas they don't.

One surprising side affect of arriving in Antigua is that both Lisette and I have gone from not sleeping at all to developing some strange offshoot of sleeping sickness. Our favourite catchphrase of the moment is "I'll just have a little snooze" - we're averaging about 20 hours sleep a day at present

Lisettes ability to make friends in all places as ever knows no limits - we got to go to a *very* lively Antiguan church with Roxanne (one of the girls that works here) as a result of one of Lisette's "friendly chats".

Despite that, to our surprise the Antiguans as a bunch don't seem to be the most cheerful people going - one is rarely greeted with a smile... As a result a new game has been formulated called "make an Antiguan smile" - it's actually quite easy to play and remarkably rewarding!

Yesterday we went on a "Catamaran" boat (we think) to Great Bird Island. We then felt a little robbed when we discovered not a single bird on it at all! We did meet a friendly family from Darlington though.

One heart,

John and Lisette

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Be ye here

Working out where to go on holiday has always seemed like slightly hard work. How do you choose? Do we go to Italy? We've been before. Do we go to France? They'll only want us to wear Speedos at the swimming pool. So where shall we go? We were delighted when we discovered a friend in Belfast, who had recently had a baby, would be up for a visit. A mutual friend of ours, was also planning a trip back to Ireland from where he lives. We've known each other for 25 years now, and have travelled before as a group. Why not get the band back together and spend some time in Ireland this summer? That was the thought, and so the Reilly family made plans. Passage was booked on the Liverpool to Belfast ferry. Grandma Reilly kindly leant her car to the Twickenham Reillys, so that myself, Lisette and the boys could roll Northwards and over the Irish Sea to Ireland. We were leaving an English summer that was that rarest of things: warm and sunny. The week before we'd left, Twicke...

Cable Cars and Credit Cards

I proferred the binbag. "All the rubbish; in here please". Conor turned to his right, "Una, will you climb in now?" Una grinned and mimed throwing objects into the sack. "There's my hopes and dreams right there Conor." Conor, Una, Lisette and I have known each other for half our lives. Well; Conor's not quite there - he's the elder statesman of our group. We met when we were working for British Airways as students, and living in Hounslow's finest dodgy digs. Since that time we've been scattered to the four winds; Una to Ireland, Conor to Switzerland. Lisette and I, well, maybe 3 miles tops to Twickenham. In seeking a mutual meeting place we found ourselves reaching for the logistically logical location: Italy. (I know; like a stepladder where you least expect it.) In keeping with how we first got to know one another, luxury accomodation was not our priority. We decided to camp. Can there be a fuller way to challenge your fear of...

Father's Day Advice

When I was 16 years old, my father gave me a piece of advice that dramatically changed me. His advice changed my interactions with the world. I rather doubt he thought it would have such impact, but change me it did. Having finished my mandatory schooling, I had recently started attending sixth form college. I was taking A-levels in Maths, Computer Science and Economics. I found I took to the former 2 subjects like a duck to water. They weren't a struggle, they were interesting and I had a natural aptitude. For want of a better phrase, I could "do it". However, Economics was a different kettle of fish. It did not fit in my head. I could not grok it. I sat there, in lesson after lesson, listening hard to Terri Wilcox explaining Keynes, Monetarism, supply and demand. Occasionally she deviated and talked about her beloved Blackburn Rovers. It did not go in. Not the Economics and certainly not the football. At the end of each sentence uttered I found myself more bewilder...