Blogging Around Barbados: BIM Has A Tough Day, Downtown Smells, and Sir Roy Says “Make Sure Your Local Merchant Has Dark-Enough Skin”

I have been lazy lately and didn’t post this last night even though I promised the others that I would put something up. Didn’t even get to church on Sunday let alone to the big ceremony. Too tired. My other BFP friends caused enough trouble yesterday, so today I’ll have a look around near and far to see what might be seen…

Is There Anybody Out There?

Our friend BIM at Is There Anybody Out There? blog had a rough day at the PTA fundraiser. Drop over and cheer her up!

Nothing Like The Smell Of Urine Downtown! It Smells Like… Victory! (But Not For Decent Citizens)

Got a little carried away with one of the lines from Apocalypse Now as the war to see who owns Bridgetown continues. So far the tourists and business people are being defeated by smelly drug addicts, criminals, lazy bums and the mentally ill that society has abandoned – all politely called “street characters” by The Nation News.

See the story in The Nation News: Keep Out Vagrants!

Sir Roy Says “Make Sure The People You Do Business With Have Dark Enough Skin”

Yup – that’s pretty well what Sir Roy Trotman, the general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, said in a church service Sunday. (link here)

Sir Roy, you are so 1960’s. You wouldn’t like my son at all – his skin is much too light for your racial standards. I like him just fine, though.

Cricket World Cup Barbados – How Are Those Ticket Sales? When Will The Election Be Called?

Barbados Election Date Linked To Ticket Sales And Other Feel-Good Factors

Mixed reports are coming in from all over the place about ticket sales and hotel reservations. We have heard that some hotels are full while others are a little worried. Can anyone let us know about how bed & breakfast homes are doing? We know one place that was booked up a year ago with deposits, but I don’t think that they are typical. (Time to raise the rates… You know who you are! 🙂 )

From CricInfo.com comes a story of slow ticket sales, with a “public relations nightmare” being predicted by the managing director of Round Hill Hotel in Montego Bay. (Hey… If a Jamaican hotel manager doesn’t view that country’s crime statistics as his worst “public relations nightmare” – he’s not playing with a full deck.)

Who’s right and who’s calling wolf? Nobody knows for now… but the truth will become plain long before the party ends in a few months.

To Call A Snap Election… Or Not?

You can bet that the BLP government will be looking at the apparent success of Cricket World Cup very carefully as they decide whether or not to call a snap election soon after the last CWC fan leaves the island.

Much like that period between waking up in the morning and remembering what a great party you hosted last night and then walking downstairs to realize that the mess will take the rest of the week to clean up – the BLP will call the election to capitalize on the short-term feel-good memory of the Cricket World Cup before the reality strikes, and people start wondering about how long it will take to pay for the party.

From CricInfo.com…

Slow sales for World Cup tickets

January 21, 2007

With just 50 days to go until the World Cup starts in the Caribbean there is concern over dwindling ticket sales. The problems with some nationalities needing to obtain visas is believed to be playing a major part.

Applicants who require visas must either reach their nearest office or mail their passports along with $100 and join a long waiting list.

“This is the worst public-relations nightmare that the Caribbean has ever created for itself,” said Josef Forstmayr, managing director of Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

George Goodwin, chief executive officer of the local organizing committee in Antigua and Barbudam, added: “Ticket sales are not going as robust as people had originally hoped.”

However, Chris Dehring, the chief executive of the World Cup organising committee, was more upbeat: “This event has faced so many challenges that at this stage, everything is full steam ahead,” he told The Miami Herald, “the little hiccups are simply rolled out.”

… read the full article at CricInfo.com (link here)

A Sticky Wicket For Cricket Event – Miami Herald

Less than two months before the Cricket World Cup opens in the Caribbean, the region’s officials are worried that attendance may be far lower than anticipated.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Six months ago, the main concerns over the Cricket World Cup revolved around venue preparations and accommodations for the anticipated tens of thousands of fans expected from around the world.

But 48 days before the opening ceremony of the biggest-ever sporting event in the English-speaking Caribbean, the question is: Will they come?

”Ticket sales are not going as robust as people had originally hoped,” said George Goodwin, chief executive officer of the local organizing committee in Antigua and Barbuda.

Sales are even lagging in Jamaica, where the overall organizers of Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 are headquartered.

SPECIAL VISAS

The slow ticket sales, lack of local excitement plus ill feelings over the requirement for a special visa good for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region are threatening the success of the March 5-April 28 tournament…

… continue reading this article in the Miami Herald (link here)