Sobers And Other Cricket Legends Charging $100 Per Photograph, $1000 Per Journalist Interview

“The Tour Already Cost Me $15,000, Then I Had To Pay For Sobers’ Autograph”

Well, we have really gone out of our way to make our guests feel welcome, haven’t we?

This type of article is being printed around the world. Such short term thinking. The article could have said “What an honour it was to play cricket with Gary Sobers. It made the trip worthwhile despite everything.”

That’s what the newspaper articles should be saying.

Instead, this is the type of publicity that Barbados is reaping…

“It was a different kind of heartbreak to see the greatest of the greats, Sir Garry Sobers, at 73, and well looked after by life and his achievements, asking for 100 dollars for every picture his fans wanted to click with him,” complained Indian newspaper the Daily Pioneer.

“He should have been thanking his young disciples for having loved him so intensely even 34 years after he retired from a game that has never been slim on heroes.”

Fans said it was not the same on other islands.

“We had photographs with Sir Viv Richards in Antigua and he obliged everyone with autographs. It was only here in Barbados where we have had to pay,” said Kassim Solly.

“We even played beach cricket with some of them in Antigua.”

But Deighton Smith, chief executive of Cricket Legends of Barbados, justified the amounts being charged…

… read the entire article at Super Cricket New Zealand (link here)

Several Hundred New Zealand Cricket Fans And Journalists Stranded In St. Lucia And Jamaica

No Grenada To Jamaica Flights Available For Semi-Finals In Jamaica!

No Jamaica To Barbados Flights Available For Finals In Barbados!

Hey, it’s a good thing that all those stranded potential terrorist-journalists and cricket-loving sheep farmers from New Zealand have their Cricket Visas.

Maybe they can use them for toilet paper so Mia Mottley’s and Noel Lynch’s insult to them will not be a complete waste.

Dreadlock Holiday

The Cricket World Cup in the West Indies has plumbed new depths on the travel front, with New Zealand cricket fans the worst affected.

Having forked out $15,000 a head, around 150 Kiwi cricket supporters will have to watch Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal between New Zealand and Sri Lanka sipping rum in pubs in St Lucia.

Three New Zealand tour groups – led by former test cricketers Gavin Larsen, Stephen Boock and former All Black Allan Hewson – took a calculated guess on the Black Caps finishing fourth after the second round and being involved in the 1v4 semifinal in St Lucia.

But seven wins from eight games has set Stephen Fleming’s men up for the 2v3 semifinal in Jamaica and the small scale travel system in the West Indies lacks the flexibility for last-minute changes.

Larsen said “four or five” of his 40-strong contingent were desperately trying to make their own plans to get to Jamaica, but for the others it was just a case of mass frustration.

“We are going to sit down in a pub in St Lucia and root for the boys, but I’d love for the group to be in Jamaica,” Larsen said.

“It is one of biggest days in New Zealand cricket for many a year and a lot of people have shelled out a lot of money and you can’t help but feel really sorry for them

(big snip)

The media has not escaped the travel nightmare either.

This correspondent was forced to leave Grenada before this morning’s game against Australia because no matter how much island-hopping you were prepared to do there were no seats on flights into Jamaica before the semifinal.

And to make matters worse, Cricket Logistics – the tournament’s organising company for travel and accommodation – claims there are no longer any flights available from Jamaica to Barbados for the final.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden left for the West Indies yesterday morning promising to do his level best to get the small New Zealand media contingent on the team’s charter flight to Barbados should it qualify for the final…

… read the entire article at The Dominion Post (link here)

No Passengers Allowed On Air India Return Charter Sunday – Passengers Will Be Stranded In Barbados!!!

A Cricket World Cup To Remember For Our 800 Indian Visitors! 

Dear Editor,

Please see attached the news release on the situation with the Air India flight to Mumbai, India.

Regards

Chay Davis

Consultant – Corporate Communications,
Barbados Tourism Authority,
P.O.Box 242,
Bridgetown
BB 11000,
Barbados
West Indies

Tel: (246)-427-2623
Fax: (246)-426-4080
email: chayd@visitbarbados.org
website: http://www.visitbarbados.org

Saturday April 21, 2007

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE BARBADOS TOURISM AUTHORITY (BTA), PREPARED ON BEHALF OF ITS PARTNERS, INVOLVED IN BRINGING THE AIR INDIA CHARTER TO BARBADOS

Air India, which will arrive at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) tomorrow at 11:30am, has announced that it will be unable to accommodate passengers on its return leg to Mumbai, India, due to the unavailability of crew.

The decision to cancel the return flight, which was due to leave tomorrow at 4:30pm, was made by Air India after it was found that there was an insufficient number of cabin crew to provide the expected standard of service for passengers on its 20-hour long haul flight.

Persons who paid for their flight will be refunded and are asked to contact their booking agent for details.

Any inconvenience is sincerely regretted.

“Any inconvenience is sincerely regretted”

Good Lord!

I could write for hours about our Bajan bigwigs who toured India and the Middle East arranging for this disaster. All the talk about long-term tourism benefits to Barbados from the new well-heeled upper middle class in India…

But I think I’ll just let our Barbados Free Press readers say a few words in our Comments section.

Take it away, good citizens of Barbados…

The Bystander – Thoughts On Cricket, West Indies Team And Brian Lara

I am not a cricket fan

There. I said it and now the whole world knows it. Maybe that’s a good thing right now. Maybe an impartial observer, or better yet, a bystander like me, can take a look in from the outside and offer one or two thoughts on the game, the W.I. team and Lara.

Over the last few days (weeks maybe?) I couldn’t help but get a little caught up in the game, after all, it’s taking place in my backyard. Of course, my attention was only switched ‘on’ whenever any of the games involved the West Indies. Figures, huh? I can hear you now: “The Bystander is a ‘fair weather’ friend: When all is rosy, The Bystander is your best friend, pals for life even!” No, that’s not true. Even when the West Indies are (or were) winning, I was never a keen follower of the team, nor the sport. Heck, I barely know the names of the players.

Today Was Different

During the course of the day, I listened to the radio, I checked the latest scores online and I was a little happy, no, I was excited to learn that the W.I. had scored 300 runs (forgive me, for I am not well versed in the language of the game.) I can’t remember the last time the W.I. had ever managed to achieve that amount, or something even close to it. Excellent, I thought, the team has finally remembered how to play the game and what a game it was today! I sat at home later on in the evening, glued to the television, watching the last remaining moments of an amazing match.

Remember, I am not a cricket lover, so for me to sit in front of the telly watching the game, it must be worth watching! And today I couldn’t help but watch and hope the hope that the W.I. would defeat England at the famous Oval. But in the end, it simply was not meant to be. My heart sank a little and I felt sad as a result of their loss at the hands of England, who in the end, had barely won by 1 run and 1 wicket (again, forgive me if my cricket terms are a bit off.)

But something else happened today. For on this day, the W.I. team fought valiantly (in my humble opinion.) Knowing fully well that they weren’t going to make it any further, those boys went out there like warriors and fought the good fight. It is a strange feeling, being proud of a team I know little about. Strange that I’ve never been to the Oval, the old or the new.

As for Lara, what can a non-cricket fan say?

I used to think that although he was without a doubt, one of the best and most talented the game had ever seen, that he was not made of ‘captain material.’ Whenever I read about him (especially the Hollywood-like celebrity life he enjoyed) he never struck me as an indvidiual who could lead the W.I. team to victory or even consistently decent play. Strange then how I felt bad for Lara when I read that he got knocked out of the game so early and how the West Indies, his team, lost in the end today. I felt bad for Lara. Sportsmen like him, like to go out with a bang when it’s their last game. Lara may not have been able to do that today, but the team sure went out swinging and fighting. I can only hope that he is proud of them today and that they are all proud of each other.

Well done, West Indies (and Lara) well done.

Read the original article and much more at The Bystander 

New Zealand Journalist – “Hopefully Had My Last Experience With LIAT Airline”

“Expecting Grenada to Barbados in 30 minutes. Silly us!”

Note to wealthy businesspeople with penchant for aviation; if you set up an airline in the Caribbean that regularly runs on time and doesn’t change destination mid flight, you’ll make a mint.

We’ve now had our last (hopefully) experience with Liat, the Caribbean airline.

I’m not sure what Liat is supposed to stand for but the variations include Leave Islands Any Time, Luggage In Another Territory, Look Its Another Timezone? the list goes on.

So you’ll be getting the gist that this is not the most reliable airline.

Today we were expecting a pretty standard journey, Grenada to Barbados in 30 minutes. Silly us!

… read the entire article at New Zealand Herald (link here)

Bahamas: Arsonist Torches Opposition Candidate’s Office

NASSAU, Bahamas ((AP) – Fire destroyed the campaign office of an opposition candidate Wednesday in what police said was an apparent arson.

Four fires were set inside the single-story building west of downtown Nassau that houses the campaign headquarters of Tommy Turnquest, former leader of the opposition Free National Movement, Assistant Superintendent of Police Walter Evans said…

… read the rest of the article here. 

Source: Caribbean Splash Waterpark Developer Told “Wait Until After The Election”

Waterpark Developer Matthew Kerins Quietly In Barbados For Secret Meetings

A trusted source informs Barbados Free Press that Caribbean Splash Waterpark Developer Matthew Kerins was in Barbados last week for a series of secret meetings about his waterpark project. Mr. Kerins requested to meet with senior government officials, but in the end met only with an intermediary who delivered a message from the Owen Arthur government…

“Wait until after the election”

The American developer first requested the new meeting early in January of 2007, after he became angry over the Christmas holidays about delays and inaction regarding his land use permissions. According to our source, Kerins feels betrayed that he has paid over US$2 million in “consulting fees” to various Barbados “consultants” and has yet to receive permission to build – especially after a “very pleasant” meeting in 2005 with Mr. Leonard Nurse and Prime Minister Owen Arthur wherein the Prime Minister confirmed Mr. Nurse’s advice to Kerins that the waterpark should be built at Graeme Hall.

Mr. Kerins’ recent meeting had been delayed for a number of months as he presents a real “sticky wicket” for a government facing an election in the next while. There is a popular resistance against the waterpark at Graeme Hall and area locals have collected over 6,000 signatures on a petition against the development. Widespread negative publicity about the waterpark, plus a general backlash against large scale developments in Barbados has made open support for the waterpark political suicide for a government that is on the ropes with many constituents.

Many believe that if the waterpark development was given public approval prior to the election, the area BLP incumbents would not be secure.

Says our source… “They (the government) wish Kerins would go away, but he has, unfortunately, paid all those ‘consulting fees’ and was at one point given assurances by no less a person than the Prime Minister himself. That in itself is another sticky wicket should Mr. Kerins decide he has been unfairly treated.”

As a stopgap, Mr. Kerins has been asked to revise the water use estimates using newer desalination and water-recovery technology, but this is primarily a delaying technique by a government that is trapped between a rock and a hard place. Mr. Kerins has also been advised to keep a low profile and especially to avoid the media.

What Matthew Kerins Does Not Know

Our source also advises that preliminary approval for some additions has been given to one of Mr. Kerins competitors – Ocean Park Marine Aquarium. Ocean Park had requested permission to build a small waterslide and also to construct a major dolphin exhibit. The dolphin exhibit would include shows of trained animals and a “swim with dolphins” feature that has proven to be a major money-maker and tourist magnet at other parks worldwide.

While Ocean Park’s waterslide approval is “on hold” primarily because it would be unseemly to grant approval to Ocean Park while saying no to Mr. Kerins, senior staff at Ocean Park have been told to gear up for the dolphin swim feature.

Says our source, “Kerins has heard the rumours (about the dolphin swim) but he would go ballistic if he knew that preliminary approval has been granted. Have fun!”

Is The Caribbean Splash Waterpark Dead?

Our source states that Mr. Kerins has been told to wait until after the election and that a newly elected government would be in a much better position to grant permission for his project – especially with a revised proposal that includes newer water-recovery technology.

So we asked directly if the Caribbean Splash Waterpark project is dead. Our source replied, “Kerins is on the mat, but only until the next round.”