Issue # 7 - The March Here (or should that be 'The Easter Punny'?)

Buenos dias!

Well, we've just returned from a well earned end-of-winter break in Puerto Rico and St Croix - details of the trip are below. We've got a few pages for you to scroll through this month - might even take you up until lunch time! We've also (hopefully it works) added links to some of our photo albums in Facebook so you can see more pictures (if you want to). You don't need to belong to Facebook to do this, just use the links.

Read on!

Pics from the Last Rugby Game…and Mud bath
As promised, we managed to do a few dodgy deals with the media over here and secured a couple of never before seen pics of Rugby BVI style…

Beach party at Lavaflow.
As we sometimes spend a little bit of time at the beach, we get to know the lifeguards quite well.
One of them (Steve) had a birthday the other week and it was a beach party at Lavaflow beach which is a very nice little beach that not many people go to. They don’t go because it’s a bit of a trek down to the beach and most people here are predominantly lazy.
It was an evening event so, after dinner we bundled up the kids and headed for Lavaflow. From the top of the hill we could see a fire down on the beach so with torch in hand, we headed for that. It was all very cool. Nice hot fire on the sand. The stars were out. Plenty of drinks. Hot food even! Jake and Sam found someone’s Marshmallows and had a lot of fun roasting them in the fire (with Michelle and Aimee supervising) and delivering them to all in attendance. Eventually all the running around and having fun became a bit too much for Jake and he promptly curled up on a mat on the sand and went to sleep. Sam was having a ball and no way was she going to sleep! Luckily the next day was a holiday so they could have a sleep in… and an early night too! We eventually dragged ourselves away and took the kids home to bed. But it was a good time and we really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17559&l=134c8&id=766998601

Sport
The Rugby Review
Nothing new to report this month. Everyone is still getting over the bumps, bruises and hangovers that the last two games presented us. However, there is talk of a Caribbean Tri-Nations being held over the next few months. BVI, St Kitts and St Maarten are trying to arrange something. Watch this space.

The Tennis Serve
Sam has moved up a level with her tennis and now goes on a Thursday after school with kids who are a little better than the beginners group the kids had been going to. Same Coach. Jake will continue with the beginners group for a bit longer. The attention span of a five year-old doesn’t quite cut it at the next level.

The Soccer Shorts
Dave has been asked to Co-coach the Cedar School Under 7’s soccer team. This starts in April so hopefully we’ll be able to bring you some results from that in the next issue.

The Surf Report
Jake continues to improve and is now catching waves on his own without too much trouble. There are some other kids a few years older that are really good and Jake sees himself following in their footsteps... or should that be wake?

Sam has a few attempts on the board but seems more content with the boogey board which she is mastering.

Michelle has had to work a couple of long weekend days so hasn’t had the opportunity to build on her ability. If the surf doesn't hang around much longer, it might have to wait until next winter. There is seldom any surf here in the summer.

Dave has been making the most of the ‘reasonable’ swell that has hung around for the last few weeks. The dumpings are becoming fewer and the decent rides are becoming more frequent. Maybe he’s starting to get the hang of it!

The Big Swell
On Wednesday 19 March a big swell was forecast for the North Shore of Tortola. The surf beaches of Josiah’s and Cane Garden are on the North shore. The local surfies are all barring up and looking forward to the biggest day of the season to date (apparently it’s been pretty sad this season). 12 to14 foot waves are predicted. There might be a few sickies pulled that day. Dave might just go and watch to see what develops. Those waves might just be a little too big for him at this stage.

And you know what? They were huge. A few of the surfies from the Rugby club and around the place that Dave knows were all out in force with crazed looks on their faces and drool running down their chins. This is the biggest surf seen here in a long time. Dave checked out the surf beaches and they were all 'going off' apart from Josiah's which was too big and rough for anyone to try and surf. For more pics, check out Dave’s photo’s on:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18519&l=21586&id=766998601

View of josiah's from our house - normally it's flat.

Our Easter Trip
Intended route:
Tortola - St Thomas (USVI) by ferry. St Thomas – San Juan (Puerto Rico) by Seaplane. San Juan – St Croix (USVI) by Seaplane. St Croix – St Thomas (Seaplane). St Thomas – Tortola (ferry).

Before we headed away on our trip, we were invited to a small gathering at a friends new house to …sort of… break it in. We did that fairly convincingly and got home at a reasonably late (or should that be early?) hour – just a teensey bit worse for wear.
Up early the next day (groan!) and we make it to the ferry dock for our 9:30 ferry to St Thomas. As expected, it departs at about 10.10. We have a 12:30 flight from St Thomas so should have plenty of time. The ferry zips across to St Thomas and we expect to clear customs etc in pretty quick time. But alas, it cannot be. Two other opposition ferry companies have pulled a swifty and radioed ahead of us to book into the customs dock. We have to wait until both vessels and their passengers have been cleared before we can even dock. So, we circle Charlotte Amalie for about an hour and a half watching the clock count down towards our 11:45 check in time. The Seaborne planes leave from directly next door to the ferry dock. As we cruise around the harbour we see the planes being loaded and readied for departure. For once, we hope ours is late... Michelle managed to make a call to them on her Blackberry, explaining that we are but 50 metres away and hope to be there soon (“Look out your window” she says, “that’s us on that boat waving at you!”

She manages to Check us in over the phone (providing accurate weights for the family and the bags). We need to be at the plane by 12:15 latest. It’s now 12:20. Eventually (at 12:26) we are allowed to go ashore. We race thru to immigration and customs, clearing both in record time, arriving at the plane at 12:29.57. Few!!!!! That was way too close for comfort. We take off on our little seaplane and head for San Juan (Puerto Rico). We didn’t fly very high and got a good look at the various islands that we passed. On arrival, Michelle is suddenly overcome with all of the stress and pressures of recent events (one of which just might be the night before – but I never said that!) and lays down on the dock with head over side offering the fish some food much to the delight of other passengers and crew.

San Juan

Anyway, made it. Found our lodgings and had a good look around. We spent a day in Old San Juan which is full of historic buildings and forts…. and kites (it’s a tad breezy there). We spent a day at a pool and another day shopping in the biggest mall around (Plaza Americans). Sixty five million shops… and Michelle has to go to all of them. Well, she has been a little starved of shopping I guess. Just as well there was a movie theatre to occupy Dave & the kids as Michelle went to one shop twice and spent an hour and a half there the second time!

Sam asked a waitress in a restaurant whether the Easter Bunny came to Puerto Rico. “Si!” was the reply. And the very next morning, that crafty bunny had visited our hotel. Although they didn’t get to do the usual Easter Bunny hunt, the kids were pretty happy.

We rented a car for a couple of days and, after spending an hour finding our way out of San Jaun, (one way streets and many highways - if you miss the turn you're stuffed!), we spent one day at the Rain Forest which, once we worked out that you actually drive around most of it instead of walking, was quite good, despite the torrential rain. The waterfall was very cool (literally) as Jake will attest.

In fact he will attest to something else as well. On one of the forest walks he was overcome with the need to do something other than a number one. Three seconds notice doesn’t really cut it and he was walking funny for the remainder of the trip to the nearest public convenience, and Michelle will attest that that was a messy job – hence Jake’s adventure into the waterfall for a bit of a wash…

We also spent a day driving around the island on the way to a city called Poncé. Well, with a name like that, it’s worth a look. We decided to take the scenic route. Bad call. Three hours and lots of hills, bends, corners, missed turns, rabid dogs, stray goats, trash very little in the way of scenic bits, we arrive in Poncé. It is a very nicely laid out small city, especially when compared to the rat race of San Juan. It was even easy to find our way around. We took the obligatory ‘Ponce’ photo’s, had a look around and headed back via the motorway – only an hour and a half and lots more scenic!! Although, we had a similar event to the previous day. “Sorry Jake, there ain’t no toilets on this motorway either.” Same deal as before. Zero notice. Maybe the water wasn’t so good for drinking or something… Another clean up job on the side of the road and two very grumpy parents.

As luck would have it, we found an outlet ‘mall’ on the way back as well… yay… We found some food there while Michelle sprinted off to do the rounds of the Nike, Sketchers, Guess, Levi, and a whole bunch of other label stores. I suspect this place will get another visit next time we pass through San Juan. One thing Dave noticed about San Juan is that the majority of blokes appeared to spend more time and money having their eyebrows shaped and trimmed than any of the women. Hmmm very pretty.

The next morning the car is returned and we head back to Seaborne airlines for the flight to St Croix (US Virgin Islands). On the way we a got an impromptu show from a couple of ‘ladies of the night’ who had just come out of a hotel and decided to put it on for the blokes at the construction site across the street who were whistling and yelling their encouragement. We just happened to be in the crossfire. Jake commented on one of the ladies' ‘funny undies’ and Sam wondered why they were lifting their skirts and being silly. Michelle wished she would look the other way. Dave wished he had the camera.
Anyway, back into the wild blue yonder in the seaplane.

See more San Juan and other Puerto Rico photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19376&l=32859&id=766998601
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19393&l=8abd7&id=766998601

You can form your own opinion on this one...

St Croix
The beauty about travelling by seaplane means you’ll always end up close to the middle of town. This was no exception. We hopped off the plane at Cristianstead and walked no more that 200 metres to our hotel on the waterfront. Kids were happy, it had a pool!
We explored the town, found some food, some beer, something to go with the rum and generally relaxed and enjoyed the views, the drinks and the pool.
The next day we took a car for a lap of the island and checked out a few of the tourist attractions, including the Cruzan Rum Distillery, the Whim Museum (sugar mill) a few beaches and Fredericksted (the other main town). We also went to Point Udall - the most Eastern point of the United States. Wahoo!

Yes, we had to make tough decisions as well...

We found some more food on the way back and settled in for the night – although Jake and Dave popped down to one of the pubs for the crab racing, which unfortunately didn’t happen. We had managed to complete a lap of the island in one day and still had about three quarters left in the tank.

They ain't kiddin' about the burgers. Some good, law-abiding citizens of St Croix...

They did find a place that sold massive burgers. We went there for dinner the next night. Their burgers are the size of car tyres, only stacked three high. Biggest we’ve ever seen. Even the little kid’s burger that Jake had was bigger than McD’s or BK ever put out. Truly! A few of those and you would be well on the way to the 'Big Ass!' So after our feast, washed down with a few rums, we waddled away from there burping and belching but fairly happy.

We visited another Fort right in town which was quite cool to explore, and then caught a wee boat for a 2 minute ride to an island offshore with a nice beach - spent the rest of the day there relaxing and soaking up the sun. Back home the next day after having a couple more hours at the pool (the kids had to make the most of it as there's not too many opportunities at home!). We got off the flight at St Thomas, walked next door and managed to be away on the next ferry within about 10 minutes of arriving. The return travel went so much smoother than on the way out!
Home again. Maybe we’ll go to the beach tomorrow…
For more St Croix pics visit:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19394&l=d8b4f&id=766998601

Weather Watch
The coldest registered temperature on the car’s gauge is now is a bitterly cold 19 degrees. That was on way home from rugby one night. Dave was almost tempted to close the windows and put the heater on, but he didn’t know how the heater worked – or if it worked so he battled on in the freezing cold and eventually made it home.

More Forward Thinking
On Wednesday 12 March, the Principle Works Department decided it was high time that the pedestrian crossings around Road Town were repainted (not that many people actually use them). So, what do they do? At 7:30 am they close off the main street and commence their painting. You may not be aware that there are only two streets that you can drive through to get from one side of town to the other. Both have pedestrian crossings. Both were closed at the busiest time of the day. There are over 12,000 registered vehicles on this island and about 11,000 drive through town every morning and night. Fortunately for us, the school is out of town and away from this madness so that wasn’t a problem. Michelle’s work is also on our side of town so it wasn’t as big a problem for her either. However, there were still a lot of angry people sitting in their cars on this day. Eventually the roads where ‘half’ opened (i.e. one lane) per street and people crawled off to work after spending over an hour trying to get less than one km. You’ve gotta love they way they do things around here.

Rat Count
The season is back on! Dave was sitting out the back the other day when a furry little critter makes a bee-line directly toward him, under his chair and off into the garden on the other side. Dave thought the rat might scurry off once he’d spotted Dave, but no. He just said “Afternoon!” and carried on his way.

The trap was subsequently set next to the main rat thoroughfare and Dave popped inside for a minute. On his return, bait was gone. Trap still set. Not happy. Next, the good old Rat Poison is laid. We will monitor the consumption of the bait over the next few days. And voila! The rat got too greedy. Not only did he eat all the rat poison, but he had another go at the trap… whack!!!! Clock another one up for the good guys.

We had a visit from the International Rat Commission the other day. They had issues with our scoring system, in that the Rats sat on Zero despite several near misses and successful attempts at stealing the bait without being caught. They also felt that leaving a Rat ‘doo doo’ on an unsprung trap was worth at least a bonus point.

We deliberated (ha haa!) their grievances and have since recalculated the tally to date.

The official score is now Us: 5 Rats, a bird and half a snake to Rats: 2.5

Cows
We had some cows visit the other day, which was quite timely. Dave has been working away out the back trying to establish a garden out of the rock pile with limited success.
The cows were sitting about looking like they owned the place and were in no hurry to move anywhere soon. The neighbor’s girlfriend had scurried away and locked herself indoors so she wouldn’t have to confront these wild beasts. Maybe she should have, because by the time Dave arrived home, they had eaten the neighbor’s prize rose which he was watching daily as it’s sole bud was about to bloom. They also ate his new palm tree and his ‘Birds of Paradise’ plant. Dave chased them up the hill with bucket and spade in hand.
The amount of manure produced by four cows was plenty to get started with. Dave managed to fill a large paint bucket (20 litres?) with some other deposits still to be collected. So, once he’s managed to get rid of all the rocks and stones, the soil might even be half decent enough to grow something.

Next Issue
In the next issue we’ll bring you … something. We'll look into the Soccer Shorts, check out the Tennis Serve and might even make a last desperate attempt at a surf report - that's if there's any surf. We might have to make it up, but there’ll definitely be something for you, promise!!!! In the mean time, just watch this video clip over and over...

Issue # 6 - The February Fables

Pusser's Rum, Jagermeister & Kahlua - that'll do it...

Sorry for being a bit late this month folks. We had the 2nd rugby match on Friday night. Then Saturday was a little bit slow for some unfathomable reason, and on Sunday we went to the beach and then got invited to a beach party for one of the surf life saver's birthdays and today is a holiday so we thought we might head to the beach for a change. But despite all that, we are finally in the position to present to you the February edition. We have a couple of updates on various ‘hapnins’ as well as a few other bits and pieces to keep you entertained for a bit.

Don't forget that you can click on the photo's to make them larger and better to view - especially 'Spidey'.

Also, previous updates can be found over in the Archive section up on the right.

Enjoy the read, and we’ll catch you at the end of March, or thereabouts.

SPORT

Surfing
There hasn’t been much in the way of swells around here of late, which is probably a good thing for us ‘grommets’. We usually end up getting smashed by the bigger stuff and it’s good to have a play in the small waves and get some time on the board as opposed to under it. As the winter draws to a close, the swells abate also. We’ll keep at it for as long as we can and hopefully resume where we left off at the end of this summer... unless a few storms come through and stir up the water a bit.

Jake continues to surf quite well. Sometimes he struggles paddling against the rip and gets frustrated as he floats backwards, but once he’s out and then up on the board he seems pretty happy. One ‘real’ surfer was impressed at how easily Jake stands up (and stays there) and even commented that he was a ‘natural’surfer.

Sam prefers to keep on her knees at this stage when on a surfboard. She can ride a wave holding her arms out in a ‘crucifix’or ‘flying’ as she puts it, while on her knees, so the balance can’t be too bad. She’s a little wary of the some of the larger waves, which look even larger when you are lying prone on a board and looking up at them.

Michelle even! Yep, Michelle took Dave’s board out on last Saturday for a play. Initially she was happy just catching the waves and riding them while lying down. She moved on to getting to her knees and then tried standing a few times with mixed results. She got a few good face plants in – much to the delight of Dave and the kids but, to her credit, stuck with it.

Dave has been making the most of his time during the week to get out and get some time up on the board. He has started standing for longer now and is reasonably happy with his progress. Look!!! Some photographic proof!

After just having come through a massive barrel at Josiah's...

Multisport (no, that isn’t a misprint)
Michelle was selected (pleaded!) to participate in a triathlon a couple of weeks ago. She was to do the bike leg – 20 km, which was fine, apart from the fact that she didn’t have a bike. A bike was located, repaired and she was off for her one training ride, the week before the race. The training ride went OK so she was reasonably happy about competing. She even did a couple of sessions on the bike at the gym during the week for good measure.

Top: "The Team" - Cath, Liz, Michelle

Bottom: After a tough 20km on the bike.

Starting at 7 am on a Saturday morning probably isn’t everyone’s ideas of fun, especially if you happened to attend a Stag night the previous night – but that’s another story that won’t be re-told here. It was a girls team and they did pretty well, coming in at 8th place overall, out of 14 teams. Michelle’s bike was a mountain bike with knobbly tyres so her 45 mins for 20 km was pretty good really. The only people who passed her were real ‘guns’ with the flash road bikes. There is a mini tri coming up in May, so if we can get a bike organized, Michelle might do the whole thing… or not. We’ll see.

Rugby
The boys have been training hard since resuming after Christmas, although the numbers at training have been poor. The girls have had more at their sessions. But those that have been there have benefited from having a ‘real’ coach and we’ll see the results shortly.

Jake still has the Friday afternoon session with ‘Miss Lavender’ and Dave. There are about eight kids who attend this and they are progressing well, when they actually decide to turn their ears on. Well, they are all 5/6 year olds so we can’t expect too much.

23 Feb 2008.
BVI vs University of Michigan – Game One.

3pm – Sea Cows Bay

Stop Press: OK, the Sea Cows Bay venue became suddenly unusable. Two days before the game, the Government Sports people in their spiteful infinite wisdom decided to dig up the ground and turn it into a softball diamond. Over half of the turf was removed and all that was left is rock, shells, broken glass and hard packed sand. They did the exact same thing two days before the last home game here in June last year. And the real kicker is, they won’t play softball on it anyway. So the game has been moved to Capoon’s Bay (our regular training ground) just around the corner from……. Yep, Bomba’s.

BVI Team before the game

A warm winter Saturday afternoon in the BVI. One would normally expect to be lazing at the beach on a day like this. Our Michigan visitors arrived in the area the night before the game – straight out of minus 20 temperatures in their winter. It’s probably the first time that Dave has ever applied sunscreen before a game. He only had two beers the night before as well. Must be getting serious. Well, it is an ‘International’ match. Due to the size of the pitch the game will be 12 a side. No loose forwards. Dave is selected at lock…. Yay….

But wait. There’s another change in plan. The visitor’s baggage gets lost on the way and the game is delayed until 7pm. Some slick negotiations with broadcasters and sponsors mean the game can go ahead and be streamed around the globe on all of the top sports broadcasters as planned.

The opposition finally arrives and it is soon deduced that they are a young and reasonably fit side. We learned later that the oldest player in their side was 23. Dave being the most ‘experienced’ in the BVI side had at least three or four years on this guy. Despite that, the BVI scores a try from a slick blindside move straight from the kickoff. As there are no goal posts, it’s just tries without conversions or penalties.

Some big hits go in, mainly from the BVI boys. They needed to unsettle their visitors from the start. The game turns into a bit of an arm wrestle for a while with both sides threatening the line but no tries. After some concerted pressure on the opposition line Dave scoops up a loose ball and dives over for a try. Two minutes later, Dave is out on the wing ‘covering’ when the ball is spun wide and he sprints, with blistering pace, not seen before in the BVI, around the opposing winger and scores in the corner. Dave is feeling decidedly jaded at this stage. Halftime is up. Time for a break.

The second half continues in the same vein as the first with the game moving up and down the field. The BVI team is feeling the pinch as the young visitors continue to run, and run… and run. However, old heads prevail and the Michigan side is closed down at every opportunity. More pressure on the opposition results in a couple of quick tries to the BVI much to the delight of the jubilant, and slightly tipsy crowd. In fact the crowd is getting more jubilant by the minute as the temporary bar that the club has set up peddles their wares in quick fashion. Well, it is warm here you know.

A small section of 'Groupies' in the crowd...

The Michigan guys, never giving up, have another crack at the BVI line but fail to penetrate and they resort to chipping over the top. One of these kicks should have resulted in a try but after re-gathering the ball it is lost forward on the way to the line. A missed opportunity to get back into the game. The BVI capitalize on this and score a couple more tries before the game ends. A convincing win to the good guys 45 - 5. The bar is drunk dry before the masses head across to Bomba’s and then into town for a night of celebration. Heads now turn to next Friday for the follow up game. Can the BVI team make it two – zip? In fact, can they get out of bed with their battered and bruised bodies?

Post game photo with the opposition

29 Feb 2008 – Game Two.

6 pm – Capoon’s Bay

Friday night footy returns to the BVI!
The BVI side to start this week is a little different from the “A” team that started last week. In an effort to develop as many players as possible, this game will include more ‘social’ players. Dave isn’t a big fan of this as it means that those who are out to play it hard will have to work that much harder. Although it is hoped that, given the opposition is a varsity side that has been let loose in the Caribbean, that they will have been on the booze for the entire week and may not possibly be on their best game. We will soon find out.

Well, if they had been on the booze all week, you couldn’t tell. They were fired up and keep to get a win over the BVI. They must have learnt a thing or two last week. Right from the start they were into everything and giving it a really good go. The BVI side however could be guilty of being a little over confident after last week’s result. After defending the line the BVI managed to turn over the ball and score a long range try at the other end. The UoM came back a few minutes later and evened the score after a slick backline move. The first half was a fairly torrid affair with the locals having some issues with the referee who didn’t seem to understand what offside was and also had some aversion to any sort of rucking whatsoever. Dave decided to educate him on this art but ended up getting penalised once or twice for his efforts. Dave then subbed himself for 10 minutes before things got ugly. The BVI halfback did the same. The halftime score was three tries to one.
The half time entertainment was the BVI womens’ team playing touch. Michelle’s side narrowly went down and there was some really good play and the crowd was happy. But, funnily enough, they always are when the bar is open.

The second half started with more control imposed by the BVI. Dave was back on but still not happy with some of the decisions. Regardless, he took a quick tap about 10 metres out and scored amongst the opposition forwards. That was followed by another great try from the BVI forwards. UoM struck back with a try against the run of play before the BVI closed the game out with a couple more strong tries to the delight of the crowd. The UoM played their best but in the end were outsmarted and outplayed by the more experienced BVI team although UoM had the last say in the game scoring the final try. Final score Seven tries to Three (or 35 – 15). A fairly solid result and most of the boys are now missing skin from elbows and knees, which is normal here as the ground is never very forgiving, but at least it had grass on it.

After the game the heavens opened and torrential rain came down turning the place into a mud bath. Did someone mention mud bath? You should never mention mud bath when the womens team is in earshot. Everything turned to custard as they all raced out and started mud wrestling and rolling around in the mud. And now the crowd was really buzzing! Eventually the girls grabbed and mobbed as many people as they could and a large number of people were now covered in mud. (We'll endeavour to obtain some footage of this carnage. Bare oops I mean bear, or beer with us).

Celebrations

Time for Bomba’s – after a swim in the sea that is, to wash the mud off. There are no showering facilities at the ground. A good night was had by all and Michelle and Dave were a little quiet the next day.

Due to a technical hitch (the camera sucked the big fat one) we can’t show photos from this match just yet, but hopefully in the next few days we will be having talks with some of the other international media organizations that were in attendance and we’ll burgle some pics from them.


The Continuing Saga of the AO Shirley Sports Ground

(a typical example of how things are done in the BV)

About four years ago, the BVI Government decided to erect a proper state-of-the-art international standard athletics track. A venue was identified and an eight foot high block wall was promptly erected surrounding the entire area. The next thing they did was knock down parts of the wall so that they could get trucks and things in to actually do some work there.
The ground selected was the national Cricket oval. Except the cricket oval had just been deemed useless as the Government had decided to build an indoor basketball stadium on the edge of the oval – which would have been fine if they had put it four metres to the left, but they didn’t. The cricket ground is now four metres short of the international standard for cricket and is therefore useless. Had they not done this, some of last years world cup would have been played here. There will be no more international cricket in the BVI.

Anyway, building starts on the track and things are looking good. The track surface is nearly complete when it was measured and found to be four metres short. Hmmmmm, let’s try that again.
The track is then rebuilt, only this time, they don’t put any camber on it and it fills up with puddles. OK, maybe we should get some expert help in to do this.
Said international expert help arrives and the track is laid, measured and is looking just dandy. Hmmmm, why don’t the lights go?
Aha! The contractors building the track have severed some of the cables leading to the lighting towers. But no trucks can come in and cross the track to get to the light towers. Right, lets bash down sections of the block wall again so the trucks can get in from the other side of the ground. The walls are bashed. The trucks come in. The lights are fixed. The walls are re built.
Hurrah! The track is finished…. But what about a grandstand and maybe some facilities for changing, showering and possibly even a toilet? We recently learn that planning will soon start for this. Can you believe that? They hadn’t even ‘planned’ for any of that. It will be interesting to see what develops as there isn’t a lot of room for a grandstand… unless the walls come down…. Now there’s a thought. But at least the track looks good...

Further, it was planned that Soccer/Football matches be played on this ground. The Rugby club is also ever-hopeful. Upon closer inspection of the ground by FIFA - soccer won't be played there unless a lot of work goes in. The rugby club aren't quite so picky, but we'll see how we go. We should mention that when they laid the turf, it was laid in approx half metre squares and left. The resulting effect was that due to the heat and the sun, all of the sods of turf shrunk leaving large gaps between them all. The turf will need to be relaid. They will also need to remove the underground irrigation system that isn't actually underground. The sprinkler heads that are laid throughout the field all poke through the ground and are about 2 or 3 inches above ground level making it treacherous for anyone to run around on it. Ho hum...

If you look close enough you can see a hole in the wall in the right foreground. Also, note the basketball stadium to the left.


A Clown surfing at Josiah's (not Dave...)

Visitor’s Report
We regret to inform readers that sadly, due to a sudden bereavement our visitor’s were unable to travel. We offer our sincere condolences and hope that they might make it another time to sample some of the delights of the BVI.

A recent rugby club party that we attended... including an eight foot beer bong.

Rat Count.
We haven’t been hunting rats this month, but the neighbor did borrow one of our mouse traps and was successful. So I guess when can take half a point for that. That makes it 3 Rats, One Bird and half a Mouse to the Good guys. Oh yeah, and the neighbor found a dead snake on the driveway, but we can’t claim responsibility for that.

Spidey
This critter was found in one of the boys’ runners at rugby the other day. He was just putting his foot in when he saw a hairy leg poking out. Nearly soiled himself! It was a Tarantula which are reasonably common around here, but you hardly ever see them. They pretty much keep to themselves and hang out at different bars and clubs than what we frequent.

He decided that the shoes were too small, and he needed another three pairs anyway.

Dave’s USVI Adventure
Dave headed over to St Thomas last Monday to catch up with his mate Dino, who just so happened to be passing through there on a Caribbean Cruise. Dave had booked a seat on the 6:45 am ferry and duly arrived and did all the usual pre-departure stuff (passports, tax, security etc) and headed through to the Departure Lounge. Presently the room emptied as all the passengers hopped on their respective vessels… except Dave. He was left standing on his lonesome next to a boat that was idling away. Soon a guy who was the Captain came running out apologizing for being late. He had to answer a call apparently. One from someone called ‘Nature’. Anyway, on they hopped and away they went – Dave was the only passenger! After a quick stop at West End to pick up four other passengers, away they went to St Thomas.
Dino was there waiting so away they went for a ….. coffee (true!). After a quick look around a few shops and the odd tourist photo it was time for a beer (well, it was quite hot at that time of the morning!). So they had a couple of beers… and maybe one… or two more then off to catch the boat that was taking them out for a dive trip. Well, not really a dive trip. It was a B.O.S.S. trip – Breathing Observation Submersible Scooter (see website if you want to learn more http://www.bossusvi.com/default.aspx?name=homepage ). It’s like sitting underwater on a small motor scooter with a large fish bowl on your head.
We took the Scooters out for a hoon around Buck Island where there were the usual fish hanging about waiting for the tourists and also a small sea turtle who came over to say gidday. The scooters travel quite slowly so there was plenty of time to look about. After that we did some snorkeling and checked out a few other fish and an old boat wreck.
Then it was time to head back to port. Luckily there was time for a quick ale at the Fat Turtle bar before Dino had to board his Cruise ship and Dave had to get on his little BVI bound ferry.
Dave wandered off and arrived at the ferry dock with 20 minutes to spare before his scheduled 5 pm departure. Upon presenting his ticket at the counter he was informed that the 5pm sailing was cancelled and their last one was at 3:30. However, in true Caribbean fashion, the opposition’s 4:30 ferry was still sitting there and Dave’s ticket was gladly accepted by them. That 4:30 ferry actually left at about 5:10. So, a successful day for Dave over in St Thomas and Dino carries on off into the sunset on his Caribbean cruise.

The BOSS equipment in the background.

Driver’s Licence (Part Two)
Everyone loves a smart arse…
Avid readers may recall the trials and problems that Dave went through to obtain a BVI Driver’s Licence. Yes, four times he sat the test and past on the fourth. Michelle decided it was high time that she got her licence. She has been using a temporary licence (that she renewed every three months) up until now. Michelle arrives at the Department of Transport to sit the test only to learn that there are already enough people waiting to do the test and they close at three, so come back tomorrow.
Tomorrow arrives and so does Michelle. She manages to get the third spot and duly sits the test. Lo and behold, she passes first time! We don’t know any other expats that have done that. So well done smarty pants. Dave’s coaching and advice about the written tests must have been helpful (well, he should know. He sat four tests!).


Full Moon Party at Bomba’s
Full moon just happened to fall on a Wednesday this month. Coincidentally, the women’s rugby team train on a Wednesday. So guess what? Yep, Michelle et al mosied on over to Bomba’s – as they do of a Wednesday evening after training – and checked out the goings on there. As always, there were plenty of tourists in attendance – all sampling the local delicacies like Bomba Mushrooms and the Special Bomba Punch and falling about as drunken tourists do. Michelle refrained from both… or so she says! Although one of the other girls went down pretty quick and had to be assisted home.

Weather Watch
Fairly settled here lately with a few showers (OK, torrential downpours, mainly at night). It might just be starting to get a bit warmer here too as summer nears.

Driveway

Due to popular demand, we have included a couple of video clips of the road down to our house. I've just put the top and the bottom parts in so we can still scare any unsuspecting visitors with the middle bits...

Hopefully it all works OK! Just scroll down a wee bit and you should find them there.

News
Oh yeah, guess what? A Gardener appeared the other day armed with machete and rake. He’s now been once since we moved in. He actually did a pretty good job considering the jungle he was faced with. We no longer need to rope ourselves together when venturing out to find the car and we can now see the sides of the driveway and also the sky as we drive along. Dave has since started work out the back in an attempt to form some sort of garden out in the patio area. It was an overgrown weedy looking waste of space, but hopefully things will improve there over time. Sam has started to grow some squash and Capsicum seeds which will be transplanted if and when they get growing. Dave was given some Papaya seeds the other day and is hoping to do the same. Apparently they are easy to grow here…

Next Month.
We might be able to bring you some news of an Easter holiday somewhere… or not. Our March plans are a little ‘loose’ at this stage. But be assured, there will be plenty in the next issue to keep you entertained for at least 20 to 25 …. Seconds.

Enjoy the vids!!!