Welcome to the October issue of Baileys' BVI Adventure! If you are new to this and haven't caught up on our previous hair raising stunts, then check out the other two instalments by clicking on the title in the column on the right.
Well, another month has whizzed by. We've now hit the five month mark. Time flies when you're having fun... or dodging traffic! Which brings us on to first topic on the agenda:
Surf at Josiah'sPrangs, Dings, Near Misses and things that go crash on their own…
It’s official. The BVI has the most crap drivers per capita in the entire history of the world. It (driving) really is something to behold.
A friend of ours got trapped in a narrow road/driveway thingy with an oncoming car (driven by locals) who refused to pull over to let her through. She couldn’t pull over any further or she would roll down a bank. After a lengthy standoff she got sick of mucking about and drove ahead anyway. In the process she ‘apparently’ put a little scratch on the other car. As it was very minor she carried on her way and thought nothing of it.
A few days later the local constabulary call her up on the phone and invite her down to the Police Station. She duly appears and is asked to sign a statement that says it’s all her fault and she will pay all damages to the other car (which somehow managed to be quite a lot more than a little scratch). Our friend is a lawyer. She, of course, refuses said offer and then tells her version of events and pointed out the minor damage and the state of the car prior to this horrendous accident. The Policeman looks blankly at her and basically says “Sign it or we can make your life very difficult.” He went on to explain that because “She” was a lawyer (and obviously very rich) and “they” were poor (and local) that it is right that she should acknowledge her guilt and pay for repairs to their vehicle rather than have to appear in court were the judge would find in “Their” favour anyway. In the end she agreed for the insurance to cover limited damages but refused to sign any acknowledgements.
Another friend, when this story was being told, said “Oh, you’ve just be DWW’d.”
“What’s that?” we asked.
“Driving While White…”
Josiah's - no that isn't Jake... or Dave...
Our mirror
As I said earlier, the driving here is something special. We are constantly avoiding oncoming cars and people will pass you even when you are indicating to turn right.
One morning we were out driving to a birthday party when an approaching car just missed us. Unfortunately the following car didn’t and our mirrors connected.
And just like the sound effects in an old Batman movie “Scream! Crack!! Smash!”
We pull over to assess the damage. Our mirror is still intact but the surrounding casing took a hammering. The other driver – a little old lady with a bible in hand (I kid you not) claims that she was in the right as Dave picks up the broken bits of glass that used to be her mirror. Dave pointed out that the car in front managed to miss us but she must have been even further across to the middle of the road so we didn’t think she was that innocent after all. However, in our infinite generosity we suggested that we take care of our own vehicles and leave it at that. We’ve yet to hear from her or our impartial fellows from the police for that matter.
It’s official. The BVI has the most crap drivers per capita in the entire history of the world. It (driving) really is something to behold.
A friend of ours got trapped in a narrow road/driveway thingy with an oncoming car (driven by locals) who refused to pull over to let her through. She couldn’t pull over any further or she would roll down a bank. After a lengthy standoff she got sick of mucking about and drove ahead anyway. In the process she ‘apparently’ put a little scratch on the other car. As it was very minor she carried on her way and thought nothing of it.
A few days later the local constabulary call her up on the phone and invite her down to the Police Station. She duly appears and is asked to sign a statement that says it’s all her fault and she will pay all damages to the other car (which somehow managed to be quite a lot more than a little scratch). Our friend is a lawyer. She, of course, refuses said offer and then tells her version of events and pointed out the minor damage and the state of the car prior to this horrendous accident. The Policeman looks blankly at her and basically says “Sign it or we can make your life very difficult.” He went on to explain that because “She” was a lawyer (and obviously very rich) and “they” were poor (and local) that it is right that she should acknowledge her guilt and pay for repairs to their vehicle rather than have to appear in court were the judge would find in “Their” favour anyway. In the end she agreed for the insurance to cover limited damages but refused to sign any acknowledgements.
Another friend, when this story was being told, said “Oh, you’ve just be DWW’d.”
“What’s that?” we asked.
“Driving While White…”
Josiah's - no that isn't Jake... or Dave...Our mirror
As I said earlier, the driving here is something special. We are constantly avoiding oncoming cars and people will pass you even when you are indicating to turn right.
One morning we were out driving to a birthday party when an approaching car just missed us. Unfortunately the following car didn’t and our mirrors connected.
And just like the sound effects in an old Batman movie “Scream! Crack!! Smash!”
We pull over to assess the damage. Our mirror is still intact but the surrounding casing took a hammering. The other driver – a little old lady with a bible in hand (I kid you not) claims that she was in the right as Dave picks up the broken bits of glass that used to be her mirror. Dave pointed out that the car in front managed to miss us but she must have been even further across to the middle of the road so we didn’t think she was that innocent after all. However, in our infinite generosity we suggested that we take care of our own vehicles and leave it at that. We’ve yet to hear from her or our impartial fellows from the police for that matter.
Some very fine workmanship went into this as you can see. Nice lines.Neighbor’s prang
The next door neighbor also had an accident later that week. He was coming around a bend in the road when another car coming the other way braked and skidded across the road into his car. The other car was driven by the mother of kids in both Sam and Jake’s class (small world). Our ever-present police arrive and do all their bits and pieces but nothing has been heard from them since, which is not uncommon we are told. The reason being that it doesn’t involve any locals so they don’t care.
Riteway mirror
A few days later Dave had popped into the supermarket to get some milk or something. He pulled up beside a car and got out, as one does. As he closed the door he heard a “Thud! Tinkle!” (More batman sound effects). He turned around and saw that the glass had fallen out of the mirror of the next car! “I didn’t even touch it!!!” he says.
Dave then looks about casually to see if anyone has spotted him and just to make sure it isn’t a set up then gently nudges the broken mirror with his foot under the car that it fell off of. He decided that he could get into the supermarket, get the stuff and out before the owner came back. And he did. Phew!
Ratscore:
3. (Plus an additional “Bonus’ bird). Some dopey Starling-type bird decided it would like the peanut butter in the trap. It is no more…
The “Big” rat is still out there however. He’s a clever and gutsy rat. Clever because he somehow manages to get the bait without getting caught, and gutsy because he had the cheek to crap on the trap at the same time (and it’s set fairly lightly too!). We’ve now got three of his friends. Will he be next?
Videos & DVDs
There are a couple of video rental places in town. It isn’t uncommon to get a rather amateur-looking pirated copy from these places. Piracy on the seas might have died out over the last few hundred years but there seems to be plenty of pirates living on the island selling DVDs and the like. There is a guy who sits outside the local supermarket with his little display of DVDs for all to see and buy. A local shop also stocks them and sells them over the counter ‘as new’. They even have a ‘specials’ box where the DVD’s are $5 or $10 each. Not that we would get involved in that sort of carry on but we watched a suspect copy of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 soon after our arrival here. Shrek 3 was also floating around at the same time and it only got released to the theatres in May!
Partners in crime. Jayden (Birthday Boy) & Jake
The next door neighbor also had an accident later that week. He was coming around a bend in the road when another car coming the other way braked and skidded across the road into his car. The other car was driven by the mother of kids in both Sam and Jake’s class (small world). Our ever-present police arrive and do all their bits and pieces but nothing has been heard from them since, which is not uncommon we are told. The reason being that it doesn’t involve any locals so they don’t care.
Riteway mirror
A few days later Dave had popped into the supermarket to get some milk or something. He pulled up beside a car and got out, as one does. As he closed the door he heard a “Thud! Tinkle!” (More batman sound effects). He turned around and saw that the glass had fallen out of the mirror of the next car! “I didn’t even touch it!!!” he says.
Dave then looks about casually to see if anyone has spotted him and just to make sure it isn’t a set up then gently nudges the broken mirror with his foot under the car that it fell off of. He decided that he could get into the supermarket, get the stuff and out before the owner came back. And he did. Phew!
Ratscore:
3. (Plus an additional “Bonus’ bird). Some dopey Starling-type bird decided it would like the peanut butter in the trap. It is no more…
The “Big” rat is still out there however. He’s a clever and gutsy rat. Clever because he somehow manages to get the bait without getting caught, and gutsy because he had the cheek to crap on the trap at the same time (and it’s set fairly lightly too!). We’ve now got three of his friends. Will he be next?
Videos & DVDs
There are a couple of video rental places in town. It isn’t uncommon to get a rather amateur-looking pirated copy from these places. Piracy on the seas might have died out over the last few hundred years but there seems to be plenty of pirates living on the island selling DVDs and the like. There is a guy who sits outside the local supermarket with his little display of DVDs for all to see and buy. A local shop also stocks them and sells them over the counter ‘as new’. They even have a ‘specials’ box where the DVD’s are $5 or $10 each. Not that we would get involved in that sort of carry on but we watched a suspect copy of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 soon after our arrival here. Shrek 3 was also floating around at the same time and it only got released to the theatres in May!
Partners in crime. Jayden (Birthday Boy) & JakeBirthday Parties - and still they come…
Both Sam and Jake appear to be regulars on the “Party Circuit” these days. There is seldom a weekend that doesn’t involve a party for one of them, sometimes both (at different locations). Still, it’s good to get out and about and meet new people, as well as catch up with other ‘Pros’ on the circuit.
Weather Watch (22)
Well. Despite it being summer here (and the rainy season) over the last few days the rainy season has won. It’s been persisting down for three days straight and the temp has plummeted to an icily cold 22 degrees!!! Freezing. We even donned our cold weather tee-shirts and stuff! And guess what…. It was 24 in Waimate today! I hope you are feeling sorry for us (thought not!). We might be doing it hard at Xmas in NZ! (More on that below).
Sports Section
(No self respecting ‘Bloggist’ would have a Blog without a Sports section)
BVI Rugby
Excitement mounts for the “DR Tour”.
We’ve been getting serious of late. The new coach has had us out doing proper rugby stuff, like tackling and mauling and things. Unlike the usual game of touch that we play each Tuesday and Thursday. Apparently the BVI team has not really trained or prepared that much for upcoming games in the past. We even got sent an e-mail outlining what we would be doing at training the three weeks prior to the trip to the Dominican Republic. There were a few raised eyebrows at the last entry on the outline – “Thursday prior to leaving – Team dinner (no alcohol).”
The game is on the Friday so I can see where he’s coming from but he may have misread some of the team’s commitment in that regard.
A wee story:
I was told of a previous tour to the Caribbean Sevens where the BVI was duly represented. The night before the tournament the management told the players that they weren’t to get on the beers that night. It was a big tournament and one in which the BVI should do alright.
One of the more ‘senior’ members of the team reacted with “Get f#@&ed!! If I want to have a beer I’ll be having a beer!” and stormed out of the hotel not to be seen again that evening.
The next morning at about 8 am, the team was gathering in the lobby prior to going in for breakfast. Our hero comes staggering through the front door and before the Coach could open his mouth he said “Don’t worry boys I’ve just won the first two games for us.”
“What do you mean?” he was asked.
“They’ve been out with me and I’ve stitched them all up”. Sure enough, staggering behind him were two very drunk and disheveled looking rugby teams. The BVI convincingly won the first two games against some very sorry looking opposition.
RWC Quarter Final # 1 – A million Poms, three Aussies and Sir Richard….
There we were… at Castaways, 9 am on a Saturday to watch Aussie thrash Pomgolia in the 1st Quarter Final. The place was packed with Poms. There were about four Kiwis and three Aussies. Richard Branson arrives and takes a seat without any pomp or ceremony. He has a place here and often (or maybe sometimes) appears at similar occasions around town. Anyway, you all know the result. The three Aussies were devastated. The Poms blew the roof off of the pub with their celebratory noise. Us Kiwis felt a little sorry for the West Islanders. There’s no way we would be losing at the Quarter Final stage…
Quarter Final # 2 – A bunch of Kiwis and a lippy (and annoyed) Austruckenfalian barman…
We took the kids out to Mulligan’s in the afternoon so they could play on the swings and trampoline and generally run about while we watch NZ beat France. We all dressed in our All Black colours and headed out to the pub. Upon our 2:55pm arrival the barman (an Aussie, still with tears wetting his shirt) comments that there must be a blackout because all of the people in the Pub were wearing black. He starts supporting France – because no one else was. We all had a few beers, ciders and wines and were in quite a jubilant mood by half time.
By the end of the game, the only noise to be heard was the barman cackling away. There was a stunned silence from everyone else. Did we really just see what we’d just seen? Off we sloped… just like the All Blacks. Home in disgrace.
Semi Final #1
Poms v France. Every Pom in the island is at Castaways today. Three Kiwis and a Taffy decide to support the French. It looked good for a while, but alas, nothing is going right for us this year. The Poms are through and the noise in the pub is unbearable. We slink out the side door and go home… again
Semi Final #2
A foregone conclusion. We elected to go to the beach instead.
Final
Refer to DR Tour report (below).
Women’s Rugby
The new Rugby Development Officer has been taking his role seriously. Women’s rugby is on the rise. He’s keen for a 15 a side team. We aren’t sure that he’ll get that much interest, but who knows! We were having a few ladies come out to play touch on a Thursday night. Now there is a ‘Ladies Night’ on Wednesdays. The first night is tonight (10 Oct) so we’ll see how that goes….
They have had 18 girls there for 3 weeks in a row. Pretty good effort considering the blokes could only get 12 to their training the night before the DR tour. They have improved heaps in that time - and there certainly was plenty of room for improvement that’s for sure – Michelle was getting very frustrated! By the end of the 2nd practice she was not holding back in telling them what to do and where to go – it seemed to help and made for a more enjoyable 3rd practice. There are quite a few obviously sporty girls that only need a little guidance (as well as a few that still don’t know what they are doing but enjoy the run and laughs) so we’ll see what happens.
The Coach thinks Michelle has a lot of skill and potential and sees her as the ‘Fly-half’ (well, he is a Pom) given her obvious experience and ability to read the game. We watch with interest, as she continues to claim she will not play contact rugby!
Kids Sport
Sam is also playing touch rugby after school on a Thursday – coached at school by the RDO. The kids all seem to enjoy the game and in time I guess they will become quite good at it.
Saturday mornings for the kids are now either Soccer (at 8 am) or Touch Rugby (at 9 am). We’ll see how we feel when we wake up I think… Maybe it will just be a sleep-in all round.
We have also got the kids taking tennis lessons at the Sports club of a Friday late afternoon. The club has a Pro Coach who takes a group of young kids for an hour each week. Dave enjoys it because he can sit up in the clubhouse with a sly Carib (Beer) in hand while watching the goings-on on court. Michelle heads for the gym to throw a few weights around (Dave does that during the daytime now that the kids are at school). After the first session there was a marked improvement in style and results. Maybe Tennis pro’s in the making?
Both Sam and Jake appear to be regulars on the “Party Circuit” these days. There is seldom a weekend that doesn’t involve a party for one of them, sometimes both (at different locations). Still, it’s good to get out and about and meet new people, as well as catch up with other ‘Pros’ on the circuit.
Weather Watch (22)
Well. Despite it being summer here (and the rainy season) over the last few days the rainy season has won. It’s been persisting down for three days straight and the temp has plummeted to an icily cold 22 degrees!!! Freezing. We even donned our cold weather tee-shirts and stuff! And guess what…. It was 24 in Waimate today! I hope you are feeling sorry for us (thought not!). We might be doing it hard at Xmas in NZ! (More on that below).
Sports Section
(No self respecting ‘Bloggist’ would have a Blog without a Sports section)
BVI Rugby
Excitement mounts for the “DR Tour”.
We’ve been getting serious of late. The new coach has had us out doing proper rugby stuff, like tackling and mauling and things. Unlike the usual game of touch that we play each Tuesday and Thursday. Apparently the BVI team has not really trained or prepared that much for upcoming games in the past. We even got sent an e-mail outlining what we would be doing at training the three weeks prior to the trip to the Dominican Republic. There were a few raised eyebrows at the last entry on the outline – “Thursday prior to leaving – Team dinner (no alcohol).”
The game is on the Friday so I can see where he’s coming from but he may have misread some of the team’s commitment in that regard.
A wee story:
I was told of a previous tour to the Caribbean Sevens where the BVI was duly represented. The night before the tournament the management told the players that they weren’t to get on the beers that night. It was a big tournament and one in which the BVI should do alright.
One of the more ‘senior’ members of the team reacted with “Get f#@&ed!! If I want to have a beer I’ll be having a beer!” and stormed out of the hotel not to be seen again that evening.
The next morning at about 8 am, the team was gathering in the lobby prior to going in for breakfast. Our hero comes staggering through the front door and before the Coach could open his mouth he said “Don’t worry boys I’ve just won the first two games for us.”
“What do you mean?” he was asked.
“They’ve been out with me and I’ve stitched them all up”. Sure enough, staggering behind him were two very drunk and disheveled looking rugby teams. The BVI convincingly won the first two games against some very sorry looking opposition.
RWC Quarter Final # 1 – A million Poms, three Aussies and Sir Richard….
There we were… at Castaways, 9 am on a Saturday to watch Aussie thrash Pomgolia in the 1st Quarter Final. The place was packed with Poms. There were about four Kiwis and three Aussies. Richard Branson arrives and takes a seat without any pomp or ceremony. He has a place here and often (or maybe sometimes) appears at similar occasions around town. Anyway, you all know the result. The three Aussies were devastated. The Poms blew the roof off of the pub with their celebratory noise. Us Kiwis felt a little sorry for the West Islanders. There’s no way we would be losing at the Quarter Final stage…Quarter Final # 2 – A bunch of Kiwis and a lippy (and annoyed) Austruckenfalian barman…
We took the kids out to Mulligan’s in the afternoon so they could play on the swings and trampoline and generally run about while we watch NZ beat France. We all dressed in our All Black colours and headed out to the pub. Upon our 2:55pm arrival the barman (an Aussie, still with tears wetting his shirt) comments that there must be a blackout because all of the people in the Pub were wearing black. He starts supporting France – because no one else was. We all had a few beers, ciders and wines and were in quite a jubilant mood by half time.
By the end of the game, the only noise to be heard was the barman cackling away. There was a stunned silence from everyone else. Did we really just see what we’d just seen? Off we sloped… just like the All Blacks. Home in disgrace.
Semi Final #1
Poms v France. Every Pom in the island is at Castaways today. Three Kiwis and a Taffy decide to support the French. It looked good for a while, but alas, nothing is going right for us this year. The Poms are through and the noise in the pub is unbearable. We slink out the side door and go home… again
Semi Final #2
A foregone conclusion. We elected to go to the beach instead.
Final
Refer to DR Tour report (below).
Women’s Rugby
The new Rugby Development Officer has been taking his role seriously. Women’s rugby is on the rise. He’s keen for a 15 a side team. We aren’t sure that he’ll get that much interest, but who knows! We were having a few ladies come out to play touch on a Thursday night. Now there is a ‘Ladies Night’ on Wednesdays. The first night is tonight (10 Oct) so we’ll see how that goes….
They have had 18 girls there for 3 weeks in a row. Pretty good effort considering the blokes could only get 12 to their training the night before the DR tour. They have improved heaps in that time - and there certainly was plenty of room for improvement that’s for sure – Michelle was getting very frustrated! By the end of the 2nd practice she was not holding back in telling them what to do and where to go – it seemed to help and made for a more enjoyable 3rd practice. There are quite a few obviously sporty girls that only need a little guidance (as well as a few that still don’t know what they are doing but enjoy the run and laughs) so we’ll see what happens.
The Coach thinks Michelle has a lot of skill and potential and sees her as the ‘Fly-half’ (well, he is a Pom) given her obvious experience and ability to read the game. We watch with interest, as she continues to claim she will not play contact rugby!
Kids Sport
Sam is also playing touch rugby after school on a Thursday – coached at school by the RDO. The kids all seem to enjoy the game and in time I guess they will become quite good at it.
Saturday mornings for the kids are now either Soccer (at 8 am) or Touch Rugby (at 9 am). We’ll see how we feel when we wake up I think… Maybe it will just be a sleep-in all round.
We have also got the kids taking tennis lessons at the Sports club of a Friday late afternoon. The club has a Pro Coach who takes a group of young kids for an hour each week. Dave enjoys it because he can sit up in the clubhouse with a sly Carib (Beer) in hand while watching the goings-on on court. Michelle heads for the gym to throw a few weights around (Dave does that during the daytime now that the kids are at school). After the first session there was a marked improvement in style and results. Maybe Tennis pro’s in the making?
10km Race
7 am Saturday. A sunny day with a temp of about 28 degrees. 17 nutters line up for the race. It’s a best of two series. Next one is on 3 November.
Dave hasn’t done a lot of running lately, although he did run home from town the week before the race just as a tester. Other than that, rugby training and gym work is all he has done. Anyway, back to the story. The race starts and Dave decides to stick to a steady pace all the way just to make sure he does actually finish. The course loops through town and back to the start/finish at the Sports club. By the time the runners get to the halfway turnaround point, it is starting to get hot (into the thirties now). At this point the organizers conveniently place a Chilly Bin full of cold water and wait for it…beer! You’ll never know how hard it was for Dave to pick a bottle of water out of the bin…
In the end he finished in a relatively average time of 51 minutes 29 seconds (which probably isn’t that bad considering the conditions). The winner did 36. Maybe he can crack 50 in the next one.
Hair styles of the Carribean
Hair grows pretty quick here it seems.
Michelle had a new ‘do’ – straightened believe it or not! It lasted for the rest of the day until she played touch then the curls came back – damn humidity! The look could not be recreated the next day again though so its back to the Fro!
Sam wanted it all cut off as it was getting too hot to cope with and it ended up being cut to shoulder length & she’s very happy with it.
Dave and Jake just got haircuts but Dave got an additional Eyebrow trim too! He didn’t think he was quite the Dennis Healey look-a-like or Sam the Eagle, but let her do her bit anyway.
DR Tour Report
Friday 20 October, 9 am. The BVI national team gather at the Beef Island Airport where tour shirts were issued and departure formalities undertaken prior to the flights to the Dominican Republic. We walked out onto the tarmac to our plane (no air bridges here!), which was parked in front of Mr Branson’s wee jet. He spends quite a bit of time down here it seems.
After a stopover in San Juan (Puerto Rico) we board for Santo Domingo. Flying over the country was similar to flying over Canterbury. Quite flat with plenty of farming going on. The cities, however are quite populated. With about 9 million in Santo Domingo (where the game was to be held).
Our ‘guide’ from the local Rugby Union meets us with a bus at the airport and immediately stops at the first bar/bottle store he sees. In an effort to put us off our game, he is obviously keen for us to get on the beers before the game, which is in about four hours! We cotton on to this and just buy water and the like and get back on the bus. On the way to the hotel we are given a bit of a tour of some of the main historic places along the way (without the bus stopping). DR is famous for baseball players like Sammy Sosa et al, and Christopher Columbus lived there too, apparently.
We get to the hotel in time to watch the World Cup play off for 3rd and 4th – and get a bite to eat (with more water).
Michelle had a new ‘do’ – straightened believe it or not! It lasted for the rest of the day until she played touch then the curls came back – damn humidity! The look could not be recreated the next day again though so its back to the Fro!
Sam wanted it all cut off as it was getting too hot to cope with and it ended up being cut to shoulder length & she’s very happy with it.
Dave and Jake just got haircuts but Dave got an additional Eyebrow trim too! He didn’t think he was quite the Dennis Healey look-a-like or Sam the Eagle, but let her do her bit anyway.
DR Tour Report
Friday 20 October, 9 am. The BVI national team gather at the Beef Island Airport where tour shirts were issued and departure formalities undertaken prior to the flights to the Dominican Republic. We walked out onto the tarmac to our plane (no air bridges here!), which was parked in front of Mr Branson’s wee jet. He spends quite a bit of time down here it seems.
After a stopover in San Juan (Puerto Rico) we board for Santo Domingo. Flying over the country was similar to flying over Canterbury. Quite flat with plenty of farming going on. The cities, however are quite populated. With about 9 million in Santo Domingo (where the game was to be held).
Our ‘guide’ from the local Rugby Union meets us with a bus at the airport and immediately stops at the first bar/bottle store he sees. In an effort to put us off our game, he is obviously keen for us to get on the beers before the game, which is in about four hours! We cotton on to this and just buy water and the like and get back on the bus. On the way to the hotel we are given a bit of a tour of some of the main historic places along the way (without the bus stopping). DR is famous for baseball players like Sammy Sosa et al, and Christopher Columbus lived there too, apparently.
We get to the hotel in time to watch the World Cup play off for 3rd and 4th – and get a bite to eat (with more water).
The three touring Kiwis. The BVI's answer to Keith Robinson, Chris Jack and Kevin Mealamu.
Soon after that we head off to the ground. It was supposed to be at Olympic Stadium (a fitting setting for such a big game!) but ended up at the main university where the bus driver got ‘lost’ somehow, making us late for the game. These latinos and their crafty tricks weren’t about to put us off!
We walk into the university and see some lush grass on the right where some baseball was happening. Our guide says, “No, no. You guys are over here” and points to the left.
We see a rather sad looking soccer field (with extensions on the goal posts) that had little grass and plenty of hard looking clay/sand interspersed with rocks, glass and bits of wire. Nice. Not only that, there was a 12 foot wire fence around the ground between the playing area and the crowd, of which there was one. Maybe they were expecting a riot. The field itself has a low concrete wall at one end approximately 2 metres from the try line (there is no dead ball line – just a wall).
A couple of the opposition lads, Juan and Tu
The opposition team was selected from the three clubs in DR and they looked like fairly big boys. Me being selected at lock and being the second tallest in the forward pack illustrates our size (or lack thereof).
The game kicks off and we immediately go onto attack. The DR guys are very excited and we drive at them a couple of times to sort them out. We score quickly from a tap penalty. 7 – Nil. By now, the entire forward pack is missing plenty of skin from knees and elbows.
We are killing them in the forwards, mainly due to the tight scrum and the fact that we actually know what we are doing. Soon enough punches start flying and the locals are getting testy – mainly because they aren’t getting any ball. We run in two more tries before half time. 17 – Nil.
They change their scrum at half time and this time we don’t push through them so much. It could also be something to do with the fact that we are absolutely knackered. But, anyway, we carry on. The game gets more and more violent as we eventually come down to their level and give them a few clips around the ear. There is no score in the second half and the Ref calls the game a couple of minutes early after one of the DR players takes a swing at him. Very ugly in the end. Two of our players are sporting perfect sets of teeth marks – one on the back, the other on his arm. But we won, and I now have my first full international cap. Just waiting on my IRB contract now…
The game kicks off and we immediately go onto attack. The DR guys are very excited and we drive at them a couple of times to sort them out. We score quickly from a tap penalty. 7 – Nil. By now, the entire forward pack is missing plenty of skin from knees and elbows.
We are killing them in the forwards, mainly due to the tight scrum and the fact that we actually know what we are doing. Soon enough punches start flying and the locals are getting testy – mainly because they aren’t getting any ball. We run in two more tries before half time. 17 – Nil.
They change their scrum at half time and this time we don’t push through them so much. It could also be something to do with the fact that we are absolutely knackered. But, anyway, we carry on. The game gets more and more violent as we eventually come down to their level and give them a few clips around the ear. There is no score in the second half and the Ref calls the game a couple of minutes early after one of the DR players takes a swing at him. Very ugly in the end. Two of our players are sporting perfect sets of teeth marks – one on the back, the other on his arm. But we won, and I now have my first full international cap. Just waiting on my IRB contract now…
This guy is not an Australian. He's from DR, and his name is Wellington.
Afterwards it is customary to wander down to one of the local street bars for the after match. No showers or anything, just straight on it.
And we get into the social part of the weekend and mingle with the opposition and lie about how good they were etc over several Presidentes (the local brew). And lo and behold, it’s only $1 for a one litre bottle – woo hooo!!!! Not many of the locals speak English so it was an interesting evening. We did manage to escape and get back to the hotel by about midnight for a shower before we went out again. A long night. Sleep in Saturday.
We wake up Saturday morning, most of us with our elbows and knees securely stuck to the sheets. After extricating ourselves we have breakfast (or was that lunch) then spend some time around the pool recovering and applying copious quantities of iodine to the many grazes and scrapes that we had.
And we get into the social part of the weekend and mingle with the opposition and lie about how good they were etc over several Presidentes (the local brew). And lo and behold, it’s only $1 for a one litre bottle – woo hooo!!!! Not many of the locals speak English so it was an interesting evening. We did manage to escape and get back to the hotel by about midnight for a shower before we went out again. A long night. Sleep in Saturday.
We wake up Saturday morning, most of us with our elbows and knees securely stuck to the sheets. After extricating ourselves we have breakfast (or was that lunch) then spend some time around the pool recovering and applying copious quantities of iodine to the many grazes and scrapes that we had.
Where Mrs Columbus lived
We are soon back in the bus and off to watch the WC final. The Saffers are excited. The Poms a little quieter and the rest of us not really giving a rotund rodents rectum. Before we left BVI we received an e-mail from the DR organiser saying the following (and I quote):
“RWC FINAL - Saturday we reserve a great bar whit 2 projectors and air conditioning to see the RWC final whit a lot of cervesas.”
Despite the spelling he was correct. A LOT of Cervezas! Happy Hour prices for these massive one litre bottles of Presidente. We got to practice our Spanish, eg “Senor, tres cervezas por favour!” (As opposed to asking for a Goldilocks special, I just asked for three beers instead).
The game itself was only watched intently by the Saffers and the Poms in our team while the rest of us soaked up the hospitality, as it were… Saturday night was much the same as Friday although we did manage to have a bit of a team dinner at a restaurant near Senor Columbus’ family home/castle.
Sunday started off looking good but the rain came and settled in for the day. So we did too, in the hotel bar by the pool (under cover). Not much sight seeing today, although a local did take us to a popular restaurant down the street for dinner. Everything was looking just dandy until we ordered some beers. No beer here. You should have seen the faces, and then the abuse our guide got. Imagine a rugby team with no beer. Criminal. Anyway, they managed to save the day (a little) by obtaining several jugs of sangria which needed to be refilled more than a couple of times throughout the meal. The meal was nice though!
On Monday we checked out of the hotel and went to Boca Chica. Apparently ‘the’ beach to go to. The fact that the taxi driver drove us through some really dodgy looking places close to the beach and then deposited us at a place where he said “You’ll be safe here” put us a little on edge. However, it was a nice enough beach – real touristy with people selling crap jewelry, watches and painting all over the show. We settled into a beachside bar and had a few quiets while soaking up the sun (for about 10 minutes). The rain came back and we retreated under cover once more. After a while we caught a taxi to the ‘aeroporto’ and headed back home via Puerto Rico.
It was a fairly long weekend but a lot of fun.
“RWC FINAL - Saturday we reserve a great bar whit 2 projectors and air conditioning to see the RWC final whit a lot of cervesas.”
Despite the spelling he was correct. A LOT of Cervezas! Happy Hour prices for these massive one litre bottles of Presidente. We got to practice our Spanish, eg “Senor, tres cervezas por favour!” (As opposed to asking for a Goldilocks special, I just asked for three beers instead).
The game itself was only watched intently by the Saffers and the Poms in our team while the rest of us soaked up the hospitality, as it were… Saturday night was much the same as Friday although we did manage to have a bit of a team dinner at a restaurant near Senor Columbus’ family home/castle.
Sunday started off looking good but the rain came and settled in for the day. So we did too, in the hotel bar by the pool (under cover). Not much sight seeing today, although a local did take us to a popular restaurant down the street for dinner. Everything was looking just dandy until we ordered some beers. No beer here. You should have seen the faces, and then the abuse our guide got. Imagine a rugby team with no beer. Criminal. Anyway, they managed to save the day (a little) by obtaining several jugs of sangria which needed to be refilled more than a couple of times throughout the meal. The meal was nice though!
On Monday we checked out of the hotel and went to Boca Chica. Apparently ‘the’ beach to go to. The fact that the taxi driver drove us through some really dodgy looking places close to the beach and then deposited us at a place where he said “You’ll be safe here” put us a little on edge. However, it was a nice enough beach – real touristy with people selling crap jewelry, watches and painting all over the show. We settled into a beachside bar and had a few quiets while soaking up the sun (for about 10 minutes). The rain came back and we retreated under cover once more. After a while we caught a taxi to the ‘aeroporto’ and headed back home via Puerto Rico.
It was a fairly long weekend but a lot of fun.
Bar and beach at Boca Chica
Virgin Gorda
While Dave was away on the DR tour Michelle and the kids went over to Virgin Gorda with another family. They stayed in a great place and enjoyed the beaches, snorkeling & climbing on & through the rocks (at the famous ‘Baths’) once again – a beautiful place. The only downer was Sunday morning after having one too many wines the previous evening – its amazing how quickly you get dehydrated here and how little wine it takes to bring on a hangover (although Michelle did probably have more than normal combined with the couple of rums to follow!).
The kids also spent half of two days at a couple of private pools – I literally could not get them out. Sam really wants one of our own but, funnily enough, doesn’t seem to understand that it would cost a lot more in rent!! They are both very confident in the water & Sam has suddenly learnt how to dive really well!
We had a nice four days off, with no BD parties for once and it was very hard getting back to work and school on Tuesday.
Pets
Sam (in particular) and Jake really want a puppy – we recently found she even wishes for one after she complained that her wishes never come true. We asked what she was wishing for and she said she couldn’t tell us as otherwise it wouldn’t come true – we convinced her to tell us and then realized why it hadn’t come true! Shame its unlikely to come true now she’s told someone!
Michelle wouldn’t mind having a pet but realizes that here is probably not the best place, especially since we are not planning on staying here that long and when we do go away for the occasional weekend, not to mention three weeks at Xmas – what on earth do we do with it then? There is an Animal shelter that I’m sure would help out if required but that doesn’t seem fair. Speaking of the shelter, they recently had a litter of 18 puppies that had been found abandoned to give away – golden lab crosses – very cute. We saw one at Mulligan’s on that black day (mentioned above). The lady that had it was actually going away for three weeks and Michelle thought we could look after it but Dave was adamant – there was no way he was going to have a dog – who do you think would be left to look after it and clean after it etc etc being the one at home each day – no way, jose??!!
We left it at that, then this week Michelle was offered another very cute homeless puppy – the girl knew we had two kids and I agreed that they would love it but if I took it home with me I would never be forgiven! She assured me that my husband had said it was ok, as did the rugby coach. I knew it could not be true so had to turn her down. I came home and told Dave about it and he did in fact hear about some “puppies” but said he had thought it was a joke – yeah right – not something to joke about if the kids are near! Needless to say we are still without a pet and dare say will be for some time. The kids are dying to see Millie at Xmas – not sure how easy that will be!
Xmas
Speaking of Xmas, we are definitely coming home & now have tickets back again at the end of it (which caused a huge dip in the bank account I might add!). For those that are around and would like to see if they can catch up with us, our general plan at this stage is:
Tues 18 Dec arrive in Christchurch, stay in Rangiora to around 22/23rd, then off to Waimate for Xmas & Sam’s birthday (Boxing Day for those that have forgotten!). Back to Christchurch and probably through to Kaikoura on the 27th. Head across Cook Strait on New Year’s eve (lunch time via Soundsair) for New Year in Wellington. Leaving Wellers on the afternoon of the 3rd Jan (having just over 2 weeks in NZ, despite 3 weeks off work!) Please let us know if you’re going to be around at any of these places while we are there so we can arrange to catch up!
Help!!!!
We will be staying with family in the South Island but will be looking for a bed (or two) in Wellington if anyone can help us out. We will also be needing a set of wheels (while in ChCh & to/from Waimate, as well as in Well) so would be grateful if anyone has a spare set to lend us. If we could borrow a half booster seat that would be great too (Jake will need it – we don’t have one here as we left it in Well airport when we left!). We will happily return the favour at any time!
A fishy tale...
While Dave was away on the DR tour Michelle and the kids went over to Virgin Gorda with another family. They stayed in a great place and enjoyed the beaches, snorkeling & climbing on & through the rocks (at the famous ‘Baths’) once again – a beautiful place. The only downer was Sunday morning after having one too many wines the previous evening – its amazing how quickly you get dehydrated here and how little wine it takes to bring on a hangover (although Michelle did probably have more than normal combined with the couple of rums to follow!).
The kids also spent half of two days at a couple of private pools – I literally could not get them out. Sam really wants one of our own but, funnily enough, doesn’t seem to understand that it would cost a lot more in rent!! They are both very confident in the water & Sam has suddenly learnt how to dive really well!We had a nice four days off, with no BD parties for once and it was very hard getting back to work and school on Tuesday.
Pets
Sam (in particular) and Jake really want a puppy – we recently found she even wishes for one after she complained that her wishes never come true. We asked what she was wishing for and she said she couldn’t tell us as otherwise it wouldn’t come true – we convinced her to tell us and then realized why it hadn’t come true! Shame its unlikely to come true now she’s told someone!
Michelle wouldn’t mind having a pet but realizes that here is probably not the best place, especially since we are not planning on staying here that long and when we do go away for the occasional weekend, not to mention three weeks at Xmas – what on earth do we do with it then? There is an Animal shelter that I’m sure would help out if required but that doesn’t seem fair. Speaking of the shelter, they recently had a litter of 18 puppies that had been found abandoned to give away – golden lab crosses – very cute. We saw one at Mulligan’s on that black day (mentioned above). The lady that had it was actually going away for three weeks and Michelle thought we could look after it but Dave was adamant – there was no way he was going to have a dog – who do you think would be left to look after it and clean after it etc etc being the one at home each day – no way, jose??!!
We left it at that, then this week Michelle was offered another very cute homeless puppy – the girl knew we had two kids and I agreed that they would love it but if I took it home with me I would never be forgiven! She assured me that my husband had said it was ok, as did the rugby coach. I knew it could not be true so had to turn her down. I came home and told Dave about it and he did in fact hear about some “puppies” but said he had thought it was a joke – yeah right – not something to joke about if the kids are near! Needless to say we are still without a pet and dare say will be for some time. The kids are dying to see Millie at Xmas – not sure how easy that will be!
Xmas
Speaking of Xmas, we are definitely coming home & now have tickets back again at the end of it (which caused a huge dip in the bank account I might add!). For those that are around and would like to see if they can catch up with us, our general plan at this stage is:
Tues 18 Dec arrive in Christchurch, stay in Rangiora to around 22/23rd, then off to Waimate for Xmas & Sam’s birthday (Boxing Day for those that have forgotten!). Back to Christchurch and probably through to Kaikoura on the 27th. Head across Cook Strait on New Year’s eve (lunch time via Soundsair) for New Year in Wellington. Leaving Wellers on the afternoon of the 3rd Jan (having just over 2 weeks in NZ, despite 3 weeks off work!) Please let us know if you’re going to be around at any of these places while we are there so we can arrange to catch up!
Help!!!!
We will be staying with family in the South Island but will be looking for a bed (or two) in Wellington if anyone can help us out. We will also be needing a set of wheels (while in ChCh & to/from Waimate, as well as in Well) so would be grateful if anyone has a spare set to lend us. If we could borrow a half booster seat that would be great too (Jake will need it – we don’t have one here as we left it in Well airport when we left!). We will happily return the favour at any time!
A fishy tale...
Jake and Dave went fishing the other day at their favourite spot by the airport. The fish were biting again - hungry for that resturant quality squid that we were offering. About 10 fish were caught in about an hour so Jake was pretty rapt at his fishing prowess.
We were on a ferry dock and a big ferry came in carrying about 80 workers from one of the new resort developments on a nearby island. Just as the boat was pulling in Jake landed another fish (about four inches in length) to many raucus cheers and whistles from the men on the boat. A few of them came over once docked and patted him on the back amongst plenty of laughter and joviality. One guy however, came over to Dave and said that he was lucky he wasn't in jail. Dave thought he was talking about the undersized fish and laughed at him. He was serious and was talking about fishing without a permit. Recently a bloke from St Thomas was caught fishing from a boat in a reserve and was jailed for a year and fined about $35,000. I read it in the paper and thought that there must have been a little more to it, but who knows.
Sitting on the dock I had a mental image of Jake and I being led away in handcuffs. Off to to jail in our orange jail suits, Jake with his cuffs and sleeves rolled up, red bandanna and Dirty Dogs on. It wouldn't be too bad as we can see the jail from our house although Jake would need a box to stand on to see the house and wave to Mum and Sam from his cell - or maybe he'd get the top bunk. Anyway, we managed to avoid the old Bill and scarpered before we got knicked. We'll check with the powers that be regarding a permit next time.
A final wee story:
One of the Prison big wigs was having a few dignitaries in for lunch a while back. He'd got one of the prisoners to drive him into town and back for something and then he had gone to the lunch leaving the prisoner with the car, and a set of keys. A little while later during the lunch one of his underlings slipped into the lunch and whispered in his ear, "That bloody prisoner you were with had a set of prison keys!"
"What? Has there been an escape?" says the Boss looking worried.
"No, but they've eaten all the bloody icecream from the kitchen!!!"
On that note, that ends the October issue of the Bailey’s BVI Adventure. We hope you have enjoyed the read. We certainly had fun doing all (or at least most) of it.
Next Month!!
Stay tuned for the not to be missed November issue which will include even more riveting over-sensationalized journalistic misreporting, such as:
- Halloween
- The Rat Count!
- The Footy update (in our sports section)
- A feature story on our first official visitor(s)… maybe. Who could it be?
- And for all you boaties – a boat section.
