Caribbean musings #8 The naked truth: is life better without clothes?
Remember when you were a child and summer was about turning on the sprinkler and running around the garden with nothing on? Remember the way the soggy grass squeaked under your feet and how wonderful it felt dashing from the warmth of the sun into the shade of the trees? Remember how happy and free you felt? Because it was summer and the sky was blue and it felt better to be naked than have clothes on your body. Well that's how my children feel most days. Because where we liv
Caribbean musings #5 Pieces of me
There's something about living away from home that, for me, presents a constant search for my place, the little piece in the giant puzzle where I fit in. I'm not just talking about the role that I play. Although it's no doubt true that working or volunteering can give you a sense of value and add meaning to the population-space that you inhabit. No, I'm talking about a more shallow version of identity. That wavering, transient me that is always changing a little bit - flexibl
Caribbean musings #4 "Behave! Or you gonna get some licks."
A few months ago I sat in a church hall just outside Bridgetown. My nine year old daughter was taking part in the Barbados National Primary Schools Speech contest and had spent quite a bit of time preparing a speech on the subject of Cricket (the subjects were randomly assigned). When one of the other contestants, a girl about Lila's age, stood up and said she was going to talk about corporal punishment, I was filled with curiosity. 'Have you ever seen a small child throw the
