An evening out

"Where are you going?"  "Who are you going with?" "What time will you be back?"
If those words bring back memories of younger days of your parents queries as you left "their" house, you have gone back too far.
Believe it or not, those were the words that my daughter accosted me with as I was about to leave for an evening out.....talk about the tables being turned!!
Oh well, it's nice that she still cares about her mum's whereabouts, although I would have told her anyway.
So where was I off to?  The Frank Collymore Hall to see The Good-Will Military Band of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.
They were performing solo, as well as with our local Royal Barbados Police Force Band, The Barbados Defense Force Band, and The Barbados Cadet Corps Band.  I was looking forward to a musical extravanganza of combined stylings.
I enjoy the sunset concerts at the Hall. It's always a nice evening out and I get the opportunity to see lots of folks that I won't normally see, and meet new folks too.The concert started a little later than the 7pm scheduled time, but after the opening remarks by the Ambassador to Barbados for the People's Republic of China, His Excellency Dr. Xu Hong, the concert was on the way.
When  the Chinese Military Band walked on to the stage and took their places, I knew I was in for an unforgettable treat.

Smartly attired in green uniforms with white shirts and green ties, with clean shiny shoes, they exuded professionalism all around.  Clarinets, Saxophones, flutes, horns, trombones, oboes, xylophone all came together in a well timed and precise performance.

Commencing with the national anthems of both China and Barbados, the evening's programme  continued with numbers like Hey Jude, In the Mood, Mambo No.5, Tequila, as well as Beat It and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, among many others. The star of the band was a young man who thrilled the crowd with his Michael Jackson dance routines, and received hearty rounds of applause.

What's with these conductors?  They all seem to be comedians.  Mr. Conductor spoke no English, therefore had an interpreter, who he teased as he translated.  He had a flair that engaged the audience, and we loved him.  When it came time for the combined bands to perform, they played as one. It was very interesting to see the Chinese Band playing our local calypsos and Bajan melodies without a problem. Mr. Conductor was even dancing and swaying to our local music as he conducted.
A good time was had by all (on and off stage), as I saw many heads bopping and feet tapping all around.
The rousing standing ovation at the end of the performance was testimony of the audience appreciation, and it was well deserved.
What a lovely evening of wonderful music, I could not have asked for more.

Now some background information from the programme:
"The Military Band of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China was established in January 1948.  As the principal band, it participated in the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China in 1949, playing the National Anthem for the first time. The PLA band now has 360 members  divided into three symphonic bands.
Serving as the national ceremonial band, it has performed more than 7,000 times over the past 60 years for occasions such as state visits, National Day celebrations, the handover ceremonies for Hong Kong and Macao, the Beijing Olympic Games, the Shanghai Expo, the Guangzhou Asian Games, etc.  It has always been the nation's leader in wind music development.
The PLA Band is hailed as China's Leading Team in Wind Music by media both at home and abroad."

The evening's event was sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in collaboration with the Ministry of Family, Culture, Sports & Youth. After 35 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between China and Barbados, last evening's  goodwill musical exchange between the military bands will go down in the annals as an educational, enjoyable and memorable experience.


 Here is my programme (I folded it in half to fit in my bag on the way home).

 Now the close up photo has a crease...sorry about that!

Fogging

Here on the island, we have mosquitoes, especially in our rainy season, which happens to be now.
It is imperative that you keep your surroundings clean and try  to alleviate all places where mosquitoes can breed. To this end, I'm always cutting grass and shrubs, making sure my plant pot saucers are not brimming over after watering, checking garbage items, tossing anything that may be construed as  a receptacle for water, since mosquitoes are very clever creatures, and extremely clever at hiding.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the PITA mosquito that is causing all the problems here.
It prefers to feed on humans, and does so even in the daytime.
The mosquitoes spread dengue fever.  Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes.
In its efforts to reduce the high prevalence of mosquitoes around this time of the year, the Ministry of Health (Vector Control Unit) has instituted an island-wide program of fogging.
What is this fogging that I speak of...let me explain.
Fogging entails using a fogging machine on a truck which then drives through all the districts on the island disbursing the "fog."
Announcements of the fogging schedule are aired on radio and tv, as well as advertised in the local daily news. There is also a vehicle with a loud speaker that comes around the day before the fogging is to be carried out, announcing the times and the rules to follow during the fogging procedure.
These include opening windows/doors for the fog to penetrate the building. Persons with respiratory problems and asthma  (like me) should exercise extra caution to protect themselves from inhaling the fog, and children should not be allowed to play in the fog.
Still want to know more about the fogging?
What do you think is being used to fog the mosquito-ridden areas?  Give up?
Malathion....yes, that's what I said.
Malathion is an organo phosphate insecticide used for mosquito control. It is used in conjunction with diesel fuel to fog where there is an infestation of mosquitoes.  Yes, you read correctly.......malathion mixed with diesel fuel.
Mind you the fogging only attacks adult mosquitoes. It causes no harm to the eggs which I learned can last 3-5 years without water.
So where does this leave us?  We are fogging the adult mosquitoes only, which in my opinion only seem to fly away from the fog and head to safer ground.  I have never seen a pile of dead mosquitoes anywhere after a fogging exercise.
Yesterday evening when I heard the loud speaker announcements for my area, I knew I would be closing up my windows and doors extra early today before the fogging exercise began.....who in their right minds would want to have that putrid smell in their homes.....invading everywhere and everything........making you gag and splutter uncontrollably....giving way to shortness of breath and bad feels........
Looking out from my patio I see that they are on time, and they begin at 4.30pm as announced..

Yes, that is the fog being dispensed in the neighbourhood adjacent to mine.


Here it comes, enveloping everything in its path.

It'll be coming 'round the mountain when it comes.........

There are men on the back of the truck keeping check on the proceedings.

Here are the children that have been warned NOT to play in the fog, and also a van driver trying his best to drive faster before he is enveloped in the fog.

Not sure what purpose the helmets are serving, but the respirators are indeed necessary for a job like this.

Here is another lady running away so she is not caught in the fog.....run....run...run.....

Mosquitoes or not, I never want that chemical circulating in my home.
I guess in retrospect, fogging is the lesser of the two evils, since we would not want a dengue fever epidemic here on the island. The fact remains that dengue fever is the world's fastest growing mosquito-borne disease. We have to keep on top of the situation, so as not to contribute higher numbers to the worldwide death statistics for this disease.
Over the years, this is the only way that the Ministry of Health has been fighting the mosquitoes, along with house to house health inspection, which isn't done that much anymore.
I'm always in mosquito attack mode at this time of the year.....there is always a large can of BOP (local insecticide) and an electrical mosquito swatter at hand to combat those PITA's.

It's just one of those days

When I woke up this morning, I realised that the weather was not conducive to my plans for the day.
Before going to bed last night, I had decided that I would work in the garden, but that was not to be.
What do you do when you're all set for gardening, and it's cloudy and rainy outside?
Looked around for my sidekick to see if he wanted to accompany me outside, and look where I found him........
all snuggled up between some of my indoor plants....all rearranged to suit his body contours.

 Why are you bugging me now?

 Going outside?  Now? Are you crazy? It's raining outside.....NO we cannot walk between the raindrops you crazy woman.....who does that?

I like lying here all cozy and warm....please go away....

Mr. Brownberts was having none of my folly today....he did not want to go outside, nor disengage from his idle position. I was dismissed with his closed eyes.
What else can I take care of.....oh yes, an indoor task on my "To Do" list.
I decided to clean my pantry, so I set about removing all the foodstuff and checking expiry dates while concocting menus in my mind for the items that needed to be used soon.
After a thorough cleaning and careful repacking, the pantry was just right.

After handling food all morning, I was a bit hungry, it was almost lunchtime..... time to fix lunch.
I made a big pot of vegetable soup, complete with dumplings made from cassava flour given to me by my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago.

Vegetable soup with veggies, chick peas, potatoes, fresh herbs, and cassava dumplings.

Guess who came to investigate while I was cooking.......he ran back out of the kitchen before I could snap a photo of him.

One job down, many more to go......the list is ever changing.

Give a dog a bone......

Many of my friends know me so well, that they try to keep in my good graces by buying gifts for Brownie.
Not really, they all love him too. After all he does have his own personal fan club....seriously.
Now he has even more friends world over that send him ear rubs and cuddles and belly rubs, and he's loving it all.
Here is an example of what I'm talking about........a friend traveling home to Barbados recently, made sure that Brownie's treats were safely ensconced in his luggage.

The Original Smart Treat - Total Oral Health Solution

Helps control tartar and Plaque

My boy loves them. Look at him go.....

They are shaped like toothbrushes.......and do make his breath fresher.
I cut each one in thirds and he has one as a treat once a week.

Give a dog a bone? Not necessary.  With treats like these, who needs a bone?

One of my favourite places

Even though I live on an island, and I'm surrounded by beautiful sea and sand, one of my favourite places is a lovely plant nursery in the north of the island.
You already know the drill by now.....that's right......come on, say it.......I'll help you....."Saturday is girls day out" so......yesterday was Saturday, so.......come on............. out with it........I know you know.........."The girls were out together having fun."
Yes, we visited one of my favourite places on the island.......Caribbean Plants.

Now, I must tell you that I can easily get carried away at this nursery, but I was a very good girl. I walked all around taking photos, and chattering away with the two guys who work there.
Let's wander around and see what there is to see, shall we??
No need for me to say anything......the plants say it all....please enjoy.

It's like a jungle in there

Would you be able to choose just one?

Kinda hard isn't it?

And here is Baje, who INSISTED that I include his photo in this post.

Are you tired yet?  Save some energy to view these lovely pots.

Are you carried away yet?