BARBADOS’ CHATTEL HOUSES FIND NEW LIFE

Chattel House: Barbadian slang for a small , movable house made of wood. The term harks back to the country’s plantation days when a plantation owner housed slaves in these houses, which were designed to move from one property to another. Today, the island is dotted with colorful – and, today, charming – chattel houses. The article below, published in Barbados’ The Nation newspaper, tells more. –Jane

An east coast Barbados chattel house in need of TLC. Photo by Jane Hoyos

THE CHATTEL HOUSE is back, even though it never left.

The houses are being demolished, yet more are dotting the landscape.

People are moving out of them, yet they are filled with business.

And this, says Senator Professor Henry Fraser, is the renaissance of the chattel house.

So while the old, dilapidated, termite-infested chattel houses are dismantled, Fraser notes, there is a resurgence as people now see them

as business places, some located in upscale neighbourhoods, as day care centres and tourist attractions.

“It is one of the elements of the Barbados tourist brand,” Fraser stresses.

“We have historic houses, warehouses, shop houses, lighthouses and mansion houses. It is one aspect of the visual heritage of Barbados.”

So called chattel house villages have been established in St Lawrence Gap, one on the West Coast and one on the grounds of historic Tyrol Cot, in Codrington Hill.

What makes the chattel house dynamic is its value of adaptive reuse.

Earthworks pottery finds inspiration in Barbados' chattel house design. Photo by Jane Hoyos

They can be turned into any sort of business – a restaurant, a barber shop, a hair salon or a day care centre.

“All these adaptive reuses of chattel houses mean that somebody can, with a modest outlay, acquire a business place. This is the renaissance of the chattel house,” noted Fraser, as he told a story of a matriarch and patriarch who moved their chattel house from St Philip to Christ Church, passed it down to their son, who passed it on to his daughter who now, not only calls it home, but has opened a hair salon in it.

“So there are multiple architectural, climatic and economic reasons why the chattel house architecture is a whole rich story of a people,” he noted.

But despite this, he noted the wooden structure was still seen, in some quarters, as a relic of the past, slavery, the dark century of 1838 to 1937,the plantation society, poverty and pre-independence.

“An architect friend of mine once told me you are not appreciating the aspirations of people who want to move from 1 000 square feet to a big house of 3 000 square feet and the chattel house is just not satisfying people’s middle class and professional aspirations,” he noted, with a touch of humour.

“Some people,” chipped in international photographer Bob Kiss, “see them as representative of a difficult past.

“There are some who see the chattel house as a vestige of slavery and I think they are absolutely wrong.

“The chattel house is a song of freedom!” he stressed. And the evidence is there. Lovingly tended houses at Carlton, St  James; Wildey, Brittons Cross Road, Brittons Hill and Villa Road in St Michael; Pilgrim Place, Christ Church and Around TheTown, Speightstown – that one almost a century old.

Some have been so well maintained that they now proudly display Barbados National Trust plaques.

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IN BARBADOS, TAPAS IS TOPS FOR SOUTH COAST DINING

If the Three Tenors had collaborated on a restaurant instead of  “Nessun Dorma,”  they might have founded the popular new Tapas in Barbados.

Instead, three Italians well-known in the Barbados restaurant scene collaborated to make beautiful food together.

Barbados' Tapas serves tapas, of course, as well as full meals.

Located on the new boardwalk on the south coast, Tapas occupies the two-level space Aqua once had. It’s one of the most stunning sea-front locations on the island.

Generously portioned tapas run about $14Bds apiece ($7US). I've had everything listed here and many other tapas … there's always a party in my mouth at Tapas restaurant.

Aqua offered diners an elegant, quite posh space … that remains so for Tapas as well.  But Tapas isn’t really pricey. Four of us will order every tapas plate that strikes our fancy (and then hoard our favorites when the waiter brings them) and still have spent less than $100US for the table. Paired with a good bottle of white wine, dinner is a true Barbados bargain. (And believe me, paradise doesn’t come cheap.)

Tapas Owners

The trio of Italians behind Tapas is comprised of Alfredo Giovine, from the wonderful Mama Mia; Franco Parisi, formerly executive chef at Lone Star; and, from Dolce Gelato, Franco Diamanti, who makes the best gelato in the Caribbean – at least that’s what my finely tuned sweet tooth tells me.

I caught up with Alfredo one night and asked why, without any advertising, Tapas has been doing so well since its mid-August opening.  As Norah Jones music mixed with the soft music of the waves in the background, Alfredo told me he thinks that Barbadians and tourists alike were hungry for something new and affordable and that word of mouth keeps the place full ‘most every night.

I’m pretty sure Franco and Franco and Alfredo were all born with the restaurant gene. The food is effortlessly good, rare for a restaurant that just opened. The place also feels good; if you’re a local it’s a place “where everyone knows your name” and if you’re a guest to our island, you’re quickly made to feel at home.

In his heavy Italian accent, Alfredo told me, “The restaurant is my home. I feel like people come to my home. At 17, I work receiving tourists at the port (in his home town in southern Italy). I end up taking everyone home for a meal with my mother and father.”

The Food

If you’re at Tapas for tapas, you will start your evening eating tapas and finish eating tapas, not stopping until you’re full.

But you can also order off the full dinner menu for a more traditional dining experience. Starters run from a light and satisfying Beef Carpaccio on rocket salad ($11.50US) to the adventuresome Pan-Fried Goat Cheese in a Panko Crust (with pumpkin, delish!) ($11US) to a hearty Parmigiana (layers of baked eggplant, tomato, and Parmesan cheese) ($9.50US).

I’ve not had the New Zealand Rack of Lamp (with warm pepper and olive salad and spicy potato wedges) but friends who have rave about it ($28US). I have had the Fish of the Day – local fish such as king fish, flying fish, snapper, mahi mahi (which we call dolphin here) – pulled out of the sea just a couple of hours before being blackened or grilled, as you wish, and paired with mango salsa. Now is that a tropical-paradise meal to remember?

I don’t know about you, but it’s enough to make me break out in song.

Tapas, along Barbados' new boardwalk on the south coast.

Tapas: Hastings Main Road, Highway 7. Telephone: 246-228-0704.  Call well ahead to reserve a seaside table. Otherwise, walk-ins are more than welcome. All major credit cards accepted.

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Interesting story about Relationships and Departures in Barbados

If you could leave your current life behind for three years to live in Barbados, what do you think you’d treasure most about being on a paradise Caribbean island? The slower pace, smaller scale, and easier lifestyle? The warmth of the sun?

The music of the waves and gentle wind in the palms as you sip your rum?  Awakening each morning to the mind-blowing blues of the sky and sea?  Or perhaps the windsurfing, surfing, cycling, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and sailing?

Greg and I had dinner last night with an American family who has lived in Barbados for three years and is now moving back to the U.S.  They’ve become good friends of ours. I will miss them so much, particularly Sharon, who’s become such a dear friend.

Sharon taking photos in Barbados: never enough.

We’ve been crowding in a lot of togetherness as they count down their last few precious days in Barbados. Last Monday they came over to our place – we live in the St Lawrence Beach Condos in the St Lawrence Gap (where I rent out Barbados vacation rentals) – and strolled down the colorful Gap to the casual Southern Palms restaurant on Dover Beach.  The family is a regular at Southern Palms on Monday nights, when a band called the Redmen plays country music.

Peter came to Barbados on a 3-year contract as an executive with an international firm. Sharon, a physician, took a hiatus from her practice to be here.  Their son was 11 when they arrived; no longer a kid, he’s a mature 14 now with a deepening voice and young man’s confident gait.

As we sat in the warm evening air next to the Caribbean Sea dangling over rum drinks while awaiting dinner, I asked each member of the family what they’ll miss most about Barbados.

Peter said he has valued the business environment in Barbados because he’s been able to form relationships with people that in the States are far more difficult to form because of the more competitive corporate culture that prevails there.

Sharon said she’ll miss our day-to-day friendship, which included excursions through the island together.  She and I have prowled this island in her Subaru, fooling ourselves we were taking the “scenic route” when actually we were hopelessly lost; visiting an illegal “suitcase merchant” for party dresses; indulging our shared penchant for new cleaning products at Carter’s hardware store; and taking photos of the mind-blowing physical beauty all around us, which we land-locked Yanks can’t get enough of.

Oh – and the American holidays; only a fellow Yank understands the tender childhood memories triggered by a roasting turkey and cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.

The son said his favorite part of Barbados is his friends at school.  He’s formed deep attachments at his all-boys school in Barbados, where, by the way, he’s far ahead his equivalent grade in the US educational system.

Even though they’ve enjoyed other aspects of Barbados, including sailing in Barbados, none of them mentioned those things. It’s the friendships they’ll miss most.

Warm breeze enveloping our table and the Redmen crooning, dinner arrived.  I guess I wasn’t surprised by their answers. When it comes down to it, what matters more than the people we treasure?  It’s as true in a tropical paradise as anywhere else.

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Great TBT Article on Whales sighted in the waters around Barbados!

April 25th 2011

For the past few weeks, Barbadians have been staring out to sea. However, it’s not boats that have caught their attention, but the antics of one of Mother Nature’s biggest marine creatures frolicking in the island’s waters. The article below is from yesterday’s The Nation News here in Barbados, written by Heather-Lynn Evanson.

Humpback whales have been making spectacles of themselves and have left Barbadians oohing and ahhing on beaches, in boats and behind binoculars.

Whales playing off the coast of Barbados. Photo by Heather-Lynn Evanson

Photographer Mark Harris was one of those who was fortunate not only to see them as they swam around, but to witness the amazing spectacle of them breaching at Drill Hall and, to top if off, get it on camera.
“It was a Wednesday, and I was looking to shoot some surfing,” Harris recalled. “And then I saw them jump just off the Savannah Hotel. And then they just stayed and played for about 15 minutes. They were huge and pretty close to shore.”
His reaction?
“Wow! And then it was focus and shoot! I felt happy to see them,” he added.
Since then, the photographer has been able to watch them as they played at Parlour and Cattlewash on the east coast and at Silver Sands, Christ Church.
His photographs have been greeted with amazement. Many commented at the sight of the 50-foot long creatures breaching so near to the island. Others have expressed disbelief at how close they were to shore.
As recently as last week Saturday, the marine creatures were spotted as they lazily swam past Drill Hall beach again. Word of their arrival spread as quickly as the latest gossip with people relaying positions to each other via cellphone.
And even though they barely broke the surface of the water, the sight of the creatures, which can weigh as much as 79 000 pounds, was enough to command the undivided attention of those on the beach.
In the last three weeks, there have also been reports that some boat owners have had close encounters with them, with one captain reporting that his boat was bumped.
Marine biologist André Miller, who is also a diver, has himself been getting up close and personal with the whales. He and other divers are among the fortunate few who have been able to sit among the whales, on the Barbados Blue boat, as they frolicked in the water.
“They have come right up to the boat. We love it,” he enthused.
He revealed the pod of three or four whales is made up of at least two females and a calf and the biggest is about 50 feet long.
Meanwhile, Professor of Conservation Ecology at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Julia Horrocks, said the sightings around the island have been relayed to the Eastern Caribbean Cetacean Network through UWI.
“The underside of the tail fluke varies from white to black,” she explained. “Each humpback whale’s tail fluke is different and can be used to identify individuals. Tail fluke photographs are matched to international tail fluke databases as a means of tracking movements.”
She said estimates suggested there were about 11 000 humpbacks in the western North Atlantic population. They spend most of the year in the rich feeding grounds from the Gulf of Maine to Iceland.
Many then migrate to spend the winter months – December to April – in the warmer waters of the Caribbean, not feeding but living off their blubber.
It is here that breeding and calving occur and escort males, competing to breed, can often be seen following females, while mothers are frequently seen with calves.



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Interview with Shontelle from Barbados

Initially discouraged from going into show-business by her more academic and business-minded parents, Shontelle spent much of her adolescence representing her native Barbados in international swimming and track-and-field events while also enjoying a lengthy stint as an army cadet. Nevertheless, as time went on - with her delivering A-grade after A-grade at school - Shontelle’s love for music became difficult to suppress. And, with her aunt being popular Bajan singer Kim Derrick, she began writing songs for other people while still in her teens. 

Meanwhile, by her early twenties - utilising everything she was learning from her Media Law course at University - an ambitious Ms. Layne was already setting up her own publishing company. With her first major break coming when she wrote the internationally-successful ‘Roll It’ for Caribbean soca songstress Alison Hinds, Shontelle instantly found herself the recipient of numerous prestigious awards in her homeland. Which in turn attracted the attention of New York-based producer/writers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (who additionally happen to be the managers of Shontelle’s childhood friend and Barbados’ hottest musical export, global pop/R&B superstar Rihanna).

With Rogers and Sturken securing Shontelle a recording deal with SRC/Universal Motown (also home to worldwide urban chart-topper Akon), her debut album - the wittily-titled ’Shontelligence‘ - arrives this month. Pioneered by its catchy, sexy UK Top 10 single ‘T-Shirt’, said LP boasts production from the likes of Stargate (Ne-Yo/Beyonce); Wayne Wilkins (Leona Lewis); and Supa Dups (Estelle). Its musical moods ranging from uplifting pop/R&B moments like the motivational ‘Battle Cry’ and acoustic guitar-laced ‘Superwoman’; to the stringy, Sixties-tinged loper ‘Cold Cold Summer’; plus the message-driven reggae chug of ’Life Is Not An Easy Road’. 

Taking time out from her UK arena tour supporting New Kids On The Block, an articulate and talkative Shontelle - who now resides in Westchester, upstate New York - gives ‘B&S’ the lowdown.

Her debut single ‘T-Shirt’

“I really like ‘T-Shirt’ a lot because, when you listen to the song, there’s a lot of elements in there that will definitely appeal to girls. Like even the strongest women at some point can have that guy in their life who, if for some reason you can’t be with him, is gonna have that effect on you -where you’re not gonna feel like going out, hanging out with your girlfriends, partying, or doing ANYTHING. And, if you do miss that person, the best thing to have of theirs is a T-shirt! Because it usually smells like them and you can put in on, curl up with it - and kinda pretend the person is THERE! Also, I reference a lotta things in the song that girls like - like Jimmy Choos. Plus the melody is very catchy. It’s immediate, hard not to get into… Which to me makes it a really good first single. Because, when you’re a new artist, putting out a song that’s very easy to catch onto is the easiest way to get people to notice you.”

How she titled her LP ‘Shontelligence’

“Oh, that’s a really good story! We were actually hanging out in the studio, kinda waiting for things to bubble up - you know, the guys there tend to get a bit silly sometimes with their sense of humour. So one guy somehow comes up with this bright idea - ‘Hey Shontelle! Let’s play a word-game with your name today! Whoever can come up with the most words using your name gets free lunch!’! So they’re like ’Shontel-evator’, ‘Shontel-evision’, ‘Shontel-icopter’... Then my engineer, Al, suddenly turns round and says ‘Yeah, that’s some real Shontelligence there!’... And straightaway everyone in the studio turned around at the same time, and were like ’That has to be your album title!’… So I was like ‘It does sound cute and catchy, but people are gonna be like “This girl is so cocky! Who does she think she is?”!’... But then they said ’No, we think you DESERVE it!’ - because, at the time we were putting my album together, I was actually studying at university. So in the end I was like ‘Yeah, why not?’… You know, everyone else thought it was really clever. So the name just stuck!”

How Shontelle feels about her album musically

“I just think I was lucky to have the opportunity to achieve what I WANTED to achieve. Because, stereotypically, when people know you’re from The Caribbean they expect reggae, soca, ragga or dancehall. You know, it’s been a battle for a while for artists from The Caribbean to break out and show people that we can make ALL types of music, and that we’re not just limited to those specific genres. Basically it hadn’t really ever happened until of course Rihanna burst onto the pop/R&B scene a few years back. And, even when I first got signed to Universal, my album started out just being a collection of reggae tracks. So I basically said ‘Guys, how about giving me a chance as a songwriter to experiment and blend different styles of music, so I can create something more mainstream?’… And basically they said ‘Go ahead’... So that’s what we DID! And while I’m very happy that I did get to include elements of where I’m from - which is the music I grew up with in Barbados - I’d definitely say that, for the most part, my record will come over as more or less a mainstream pop/R&B album.”

Her song ’Battle Cry’ being used as part of Barack Obama’s campaign

“To me that was a very big deal. Because, while I always loved ‘Battle Cry’ in its own right as a power anthem and for its really inspirational theme, for me the coolest thing about it now is that we actually got a call from Barack Obama’s people saying they’d heard the song, they felt its theme really suited their campaign, and that they’d love to feature it on their fundraising record ’Yes We Can: Voices Of A Grass Roots Movement’! You know, as soon as they told me that, I was like ‘You don’t even have to ASK! You can use ANY of my songs for ANYTHING to do with Barack Obama!’... And then when - on top of that - they told me that also featured on the album were Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Adam Levine, Jill Scott... I could not believe I’d been given that opportunity! Because those are all artists whose music I grew up on, and who I aspire to be like because of the level that they’re at! So that became a very exciting experience for me, and I was like ‘Any way I can be involved in spreading the word and getting the message, I’m there! Call me ANY time!’!”

How she came to sing ‘Stuck With Each Other’ - the theme-song to the new Disney movie ’Confessions Of A Shopaholic’

“What happened is I’d heard Disney were working on a theme-song for their new movie ‘Confessions Of A Shopaholic’. Diane Warren was going to be writing it, and it was gonna be produced by Rodney Jerkins. So then you can imagine my shock one day when they called us and said ’We’ve been deciding on the right singer for the song, and you’ve been chosen’! I was like ‘You’re kidding!’… I mean, first of all Diane Warren is a genius. There was a time when every year this woman would walk away with the award for Songwriter Of The Year. Secondly, Rodney Jerkins is one of the most fantastic producers out there... Then, when they next told me Akon was gonna feature on the song with me, I was like ‘This is like an instant three-punch knockout!’! Because these were three people I’d always wanted to work with! Not to mention the fact that I was always a Disney fanatic! And the fact that all these incredible things are happening for me so early in my career just blows my mind!”

Her family’s early attitude towards Shontelle pursuing a singing career

“My parents - just like Barbados society as a whole back then - were very old-fashioned, and weren’t too keen on the whole entertainment thing. They viewed it as a very fickle sort of industry, and so naturally they were very fearful about a lotta things. You know, especially with me being a girl, they - quite understandably - had a lot of concerns. Whereas my aunt (popular Bajan singer Kim Derrick) would always ENCOURAGE me to sing. She’d be like ‘I know your parents don’t like it, but I’M a singer and I know how you feel. And one thing you’re gonna learn is that you’ll not be happy in your life UNLESS you’re doing what you’re passionate about. And, if you have the opportunity to do something that you’re passionate about, you’ll most likely do it well and be successful at it’... So, you know, she’d always encourage me, despite my parents’ attitude.”

How she eventually decided to become a professional singer

“Despite my aunt’s encouragement, when I was young I wasn’t that confident in my singing and I didn’t really want people to hear me. You know, I was at the kind of age where, if you can’t see other people, you think they can’t see YOU - and that you actually disappear from the world! So for years I’d hide in the closet and sing at the top of my lungs, thinking no-one could hear me… Until one day my mom knocked on the door and was like ‘Honey, just so you know, we can hear you! As a matter of fact, we can hear you from next DOOR! So you might as well just stop hiding in the cupboard and sing in FRONT of everyone!’... And, once she told me that, I was like ’Maybe my mom has a point’… And from there on various things happened along the way that boosted my confidence. My teacher told me I had a beautiful voice; my friends started telling me they thought I sang well… And so eventually I started participating in things like the school choir, to where every opportunity I could find to be onstage - pageants, talent contests, showcases - I TOOK! Which is when I really started to make up my mind that singing was something I could enjoy making a career of for the rest of my life.” 

Shontelle’s relationship with one-time school-friend - and now fellow Bajan pop/R&B songstress - Rihanna

“In Barbados the cadets - a sub-unit of The Army - have a company attached to every secondary school. And it was during my time in the cadets that I first met Rihanna. In fact, I was drill sergeant for her camp! And I remember, even back then, she really stood out! She was taller than everyone else, but she also had these very striking features - those big green eyes. So I remember thinking to myself ’What is this girl doing in the cadets? This is hardcore, and she looks like she’s gonna be a supermodel!’... And one of the things we both think is hilarious now is how, when she was late for parade one day, I made her do punishment push-ups! You know, with us both out here working so hard, we don’t get to go home too often. But, when we DO see each other, we’re definitely like family. And the fact people have already started comparing me to Rihanna - with us both being Bajan girls - doesn’t bother me at all. You know she’s at the top of her game right now and so I definitely take any comparisons as a compliment.”

Her first taste of success, as songwriter of Caribbean soca star Alison Hinds’ internationally-successful female-empowerment anthem ‘Roll It’

“Luckily for me, along the way I was introduced to a wonderful lady called Sonya Mullins, who’s still part of my management team today. She took me under her wing and, very soon after I joined her team, I met Alison Hinds’ manger. He was like ‘I understand you’re a pretty good songwriter. Alison’s putting together her album. Here’s some tracks. See what you can come up with’... So I just remember popping in the CD, this beat comes on that I really like… So I start writing, and in literally 15 minutes the song ‘Roll It’ was finished and done! So I took it to him... And then, to my shock and amazement, I get a call from the studio saying ’You’re not gonna believe this, but we played the song to Alison and she wants to do it!’... So she records it, and suddenly all these things I never thought would happen start happening! All in this one year - my first time on the scene - I win Songwriter Of The Year at The Barbados Music Awards; I win various awards at Cropover (Barbados’ annual festival); a friend calls me saying she’s heard ’Roll It’ in a club in London; another friend calls me saying it’s on the radio in Canada... And I’m like ‘WOW!’!”

How Shontelle hooked-up with Rihanna’s management team - Evan Rogers & Carl Sturken - and got her record deal with SRC/Universal Motown

“I happened to be in New York when I got this random phonecall. I didn’t recognise the number, but the person was like ‘Hello, I’m Evan Rogers. You may have heard of me before. I signed Rihanna to my production company, and we got her signed to Def Jam. We heard your song ‘Roll It’, we really love it, and we’d like to meet you’... So I’m like ‘You’re not gonna believe this. I’m in New York right now, but I leave tomorrow!’. So he’s like ‘OK, can you get on the first train?’… So I hop on the first train up to their studio, and they’re like ’You’re kinda cute. Do you also sing?’. So I bring out the guitar, start playing and singing... And I guess it all went well, because they were like ‘We wanna sign you to our production company. Put together some demos, so we can get you a record deal’... And so said, so done! After a few months, we were shopping my demo to all the different labels; there was a lotta interest out there... And I ended up signing to SRC/Universal Motown! So it was actually all very random. Things just kinda happened by chance, and everything just fell into place. But I’m very grateful that they DID!”

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Barbados Fish Cakes and Bakes

 Fish cakes and bakes, 

Every Bajan does meck.

So when it's time to celebrate

It's Soca fish cakes and bakes

Bajan Fish Cakes

Makes 24

Ingredients

¼ lb. salt fish
¾ cup all- purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. salt
¾ cup salt fish broth
1tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. crushed garlic
¼ tsp thyme
1 tsp fresh hot pepper, finely chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 ½ tbsp scallions, finely chopped
oil for frying


METHOD


1. Rinse the salt fish and tear into smaller pieces. Boil in plenty of water for about 20 minutes. Discard water and add fresh water and boil again for another 20 minutes. Let it cool in the water and save the water.

2. Remove the salt fish and drain in a metal drainer and wait for it to cool down. Once cool to the touch, tear the pieces into smaller little tiny pieces and set it aside. If you hold it between your fingers it separates itself.

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, hot pepper, onion, thyme, scallion and garlic. Add the broth and whisk. The mixture should look like pancake batter. Then add the drained salt fish and whisk again. If the batter seems too thick just add a bit more of the salt fish broth and whisk. If you put too much broth add a bit of flour - just a bit.

4. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom skillet or buck pot.

5. Spoon the batter by the spoonful into hot oil. The salt fish cakes should be fried over medium-high heat turning only once. They should be golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels before serving.


Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
6-8 tbsp ketchup

METHOD


1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Add more pepper or honey as desired

Bakes 


Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 ½ tsp cinnamon, spice, nutmeg
1 tsp salt
½ cup sugar
¾ cup water or milk
Oil for frying


METHOD


1. Mix all dry ingredients together

2. Add liquid ingredients to dropping consistency, stir well

3. Heat oil and fry one. Taste and adjust taste as necessary. Adding more sugar, spice or liquid as needed.

4. Fry remaining bakes until golden brown.

Cherry Tree Hill Barbados

At 850 ft., Cherry Tree Hill is the second highest point on Barbados, after Mount Hillaby. The hill lies right on the border of St. Peter and St. Andrew Parish. The view point lies, less than half a mile from St. Nicholas Abbey, and approximately one mile from Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill. Many island tours stop at Cherry Tree Hill, as it offers some of the best views on the island, specifically of the island's rugged, eastern side. We stopped here during an all day, private taxi tour of the island. There are no actual parking spots. You just park on the side of the road, and enjoy the view. The drive up to the view point takes you through a lovely Mahogany forest. Don't forget your camera and binoculars.

Despite the name, there are no cherry trees here, but rather Mahogany trees.
The story goes that, during the colonial days, the property encompassing the hill, belonged to wealthy plantation owner, Sir John Gay Alleyne, after whom the island's famous Mount Gay Rum distillery was named. He had lined the road leading up to his plantation, with cherry trees. This plantation was none other than St. Nicholas Abbey. Alleyne left Barbados, and went to England for some time, leaving his manager in charge of the plantation. After some time, locals started coming over and picking the cherries for free, which the manager was not pleased about. Every time he chased them away, they would come back. Eventually, he had enough. One day, he cut down all the cherry trees, and replaced them with Mahogany trees, but the original name stuck.
These days, tourists only come here for the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, and the island's ancient limestone mountains. We happened to visit during one of the biggest days of the Mount Gay Rum Regatta, a huge multi day boat race, around the entire island, so we got some nice glimpses of the boats as well. Occasionally, you can see vendors set up on the side of the road, selling hand made crafts and souvenirs. In fact, there were a few when we were there, but we didn't buy anything from them.

I was told that Barbados is a completely flat and forestless island, but this area proves to the contrary. Here you can get a great look at terrain and habitat, not normally associated with Barbados.

Because of its great views, Cherry Tree Hill was also used to film some scenes from the 1957 movie, "Island In The Sun", starring Harry Belafonte.

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Rally Barbados

The SOL RALLY BARBADOS Festival is an International All-Stage Rally and the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event, annually attracting around 100 crews, at least one-third of them from the wider Caribbean and further afield.
From small beginnings in 1990 as a one-day event with only 30 local competitors, Sol Rally Barbados has grown into one of the strongest sporting brand names in the region, with visitors from as far afield as Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is also a major contributor to the island's sports-tourism product.
The event now attracts over 25,000 spectators and has played host over the years to nearly 350 overseas competitors and perhaps 10 times that number of their family, friends and supporters. As well as 100 participants from territories within the Caribbean, more than 200 have journeyed from 21 countries outside the region, mainly from Europe, but also including including Australia, Kenya, New Zealand and South Africa. 
Sol Rally Barbados, which is organised by the Barbados Rally Club, is a two-day tarmac rally which is held in late May or early June, generating over 30 hours of television coverage to approx. 550 million homes worldwide. It is staged over one weekend, with more than 20 special stages spread across the island between Friday and Sunday evenings, with Scrutineering and the LIME King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ the previous weekend.
An extensive programme of social activities allows return visitors and newcomers alike to enjoy the many other attractions Barbados has to offer, while the one-of-a-kind Prize-giving party at the popular Boatyard Beach Club on the Monday after, sees competitors focus on celebrating the experience . . . rather than on their results.

SIMON JEAN-JOSEPH FOR SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2015

Double European Rally Champion, France’s Simon Jean-Joseph, will contest both LIME King of the Hill on Sunday (May 24) and what he describes as “the legendary” Sol Rally Barbados 2015 the following weekend (May 29-31), which marks the 25th Anniversary of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event.

He will drive the Intercontinental Shipping/Trinidad Mooring & Launch Services Ford Focus WRC08 entered by Trinidad’s John Powell, who is now unable to compete, owing to business commitments. His co-driver is Jack Boyere, who partnered him from 2002, including sharing both ERC titles in 2003 & ’07.

Jean-Joseph is one of only two Frenchmen to have won the ERC twice – Bernard Darniche did so in the 1970s – and the only one to have won French Championship titles on asphalt, gravel and in the Amateur category. While he retired from competition after winning his third French title in 2011, he is still heavily involved, as gravel crew for double World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier in both his WRC title-winning campaigns.

Joining Finland’s Toni Gardemeister (Suzuki SX4) on a quality entry list that breaks a host of records for the island’s premier event, Jean-Joseph will face a tough challenge from local ace and 13-time winner Roger Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12), Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton (Focus WRC06) and Britain’s Paul Bird – he won in 2013 & ’13 in his Focus WRC08 – and Rob Swann (Impreza S7), who finished second last year.

Jean-Joseph said: “It is with great pleasure that I will participate in Sol Rally Barbados. When I was a professional, I was never able to come to this great event. I must say a big ‘thank-you’ to John Powell for giving me the opportunity to compete in this legendary rally. Having said that, my last tarmac rally was in 2008, so it is going to be tough.”

He started rallying in his native Martinique in the late 1980s, where he drove a wide variety of cars, Citroen AX Sport, Ford Escort RS2000, Opel Manta and Renault R5 GT Turbo, mixing front and rear-wheel-drive. His first major successes came in a Peugeot 309 GTi, winning a hat-trick of Martinique Rally Championships before he moved on to tackle the French Championship.

His first mainland campaign was short-lived. He retired from his debut WRC event – the Tour de Corse – in a Ford Escort Cosworth after engine failure while running inside the top 10, then claimed a handful of class wins in a Peugeot 106, before returning home; an accident in Guadeloupe in a Nissan Sunny GTiR in 1995 left him on the sidelines for six months, but he won four events in a Subaru Impreza the following year, on his way to a total of 25 regional victories by 1997.

Back on the mainland, with what was by now an elderly Impreza, he won the Amateur title in the 1997 Championship, then looked set to win outright the following year against opposition driving state-of-the-art 2wd drive asphalt machinery. A showdown in the final round with works driver Philippe Bugalski, however, left him runner-up.

But he had been noticed, earning a Ford works drive for four WRC rounds in 1999, co-driven by Ireland’s Fred Gallagher, who was in Barbados last year, as Clerk of the Course at Race Of Champions. While they only finished once, seventh in San Remo, Gallagher remembers: “a great driver, who never did get quite the results he deserved.”

Success was soon to come, however. After three top WRC 10 finishes in each of the following two years in selected events (2000, Subaru World Rally Team Impreza; 2001, Kronos Peugeot 206WRC), along with his new co-driver Boyere, Jean-Joseph switched to two-wheel-drive and Super 1600, the beginning of a long record of giant-killing acts.

In a Renault Clio, he earned class wins in the WRC (including at Wales Rally GB 2002) and the French Championship – S1600 Champion in 2003 – then claimed three victories on his way to the ERC title for the first time in 2004. In the next few years, he combined ERC with three outings in the Dakar Rally Raid and development work for Renault and Citroen (particularly on the C2 R2), winning his second European title in 2007 against exclusively 4wd machinery in a PH Sport-prepared Citroën C2.

A water-skiing accident in 2008 curtailed his career for a couple of years, but he burst back as a rally-winner in the 2011 Rallye Terre Auxerrois in a Petter Solberg-run Citroen Xsara, giving Kumho its first major victory, going on to win the French Gravel Championship that year, his last title win.

Sol Rally Barbados (May 29-31) and LIME King of the Hill (May 24) are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 55th Anniversary in 2012; title sponsors are the Sol Group and LIME. Marketing partners are Simpson Motors, Automotive Art and Banks; official partners are Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Port Inc, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Geest Line, the Tourism Development Corporation and Virgin Atlantic Airways; associate sponsors are Chefette, Glacial Pure, Little Switzerland, 104 The Beat, Redline Fuels, REIS, Stoute’s Car Rental, Up Beat Wholesale and West Indies Rum Distillery.

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