Please hold the mouse pointer on each picture to bring up some text. The pictures aren't as bright as it actually was out there. That's APS camera's for you!!

This was the holiday of a lifetime! Wonderful weather, wonderful scenery, friendly people, gorgeous Caribbean Sea to swim in every day and a fantastic wedding to top it all off!

I arrived late afternoon on Wednesday, 1st May. After booking into Shells Guest House I joined a few of the others for a drink in a bar by the beach. Then we went for a meal at the Islands only American 'Western' style restaurant, the "Lucky Horseshoe" which Christina dubbed "Blazing Saddles"!! The food is lovely but the service was a bit erratic each time we visited!

Thursday was our day out on the Catamaran "El Tigre", we were meant to depart at 10am but it was changed to 2pm. After breakfast, I had my first swim in the gorgeous sea and we spent the morning relaxing on the beach. We then hopped on one of the many white mini-buses (seating approx. 10 people) to Bridgetown. When we got there the heavens opened and it poured down! Luckily they don't last very long so it wasn't too much of a problem. We waited by "Bridge House" (same as my home address... if only I could transport my home to Barbados!!) on the quayside as everyone else turned up. We departed at around 3pm and made our way up the west coast of the Island. This was just heaven! Lying on the boat gathering sunshine and a bottle of beer! After an hour or so we pulled up near the shoreline and donned our snorkelling gear. We were hoping to see and get near to some turtles but alas, they never showed up. Still, snorkelling in the Caribbean is not to be missed. The water was so clear it was easy to see the corals and fish going about their daily business in the reefs.

After the snorkelling, we moved further up the coast and anchored about 500 yards off the beach by the exclusive 'Sandy Lane' resort. Here we swam, chatted, more beers, rum etc. and Alex went Ski-ing. We had dinner and just hung around for a couple of hours.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE !!!!

I'm glad we ended up going on the later trip as it meant we saw the sun set and travelled back in the dark with just the twinkle of lights from the Island for navigation. As Barbados is very near the Equator, it gets dark pretty much the same time every day, 6.30pm, 365 days of the year. They don't have the long summer and short winter days we're used to in England.

After the bus ride back to Worthing, Richard and I had a quick drink in 'Carib' before going back to Shells and a sleep.

Up at 7.30am Friday morning for breakfast in Shells; coffee, orange juice, toast and marmalade before meeting up with the others on the beach. Richard gave me a book to read. Now, those of you that know me know I am not a bookworm by any stretch! The book "Tell No One" by Harlan Coben had me hooked! It's a thriller about a married couple in their mid-twenties who went back to the same lake every year that they had visited since they met when children. This time they were attacked and he was left for dead while his wife was murdered. With the killer behind bars, an image of his wife appeared on his computer eight years later. Was this a sick joke or just the beginning of a frantic few days? If you want to find out, you'll have to get the book for yourself!! I spent most of the day swimming, sunbathing and reading the book.

In the evening myself, Alex, Christina and Robert went for a pizza then later on Richard, Robert and I went to Bar Sol in Lawrence Gap (a popular strip of restaurants and bars). We met up with Carla, Sincs, Ross, Lara & Steve. After a few drinks, Richard, Robert and I went back to Shells for a light bite to eat. The accommodation may have been a tad 'simple' but the restaurant is excellent!

Saturday... today is the big day; Zoe and Sean’s' wedding. This was also the day of the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea! Luckily, with Barbados being 5 hours behind the UK, the kick off was at 10am local time and the wedding at 5pm so plenty of time to do both! Up early again and breakfast at the Lucky Horseshoe.

Back to my room to don my England shirt before meeting up with Ross, Steve, Sincs & Johnny back at the Lucky Horseshoe for the game. We all wanted Arsenal to win (though none of us supported either team) so at least there were no disagreements there! After a fairly even first half, the 2nd half was much better all round and Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners. Back to the beach for a swim, a wonder up and down the shoreline, more sunbathing and more book reading before getting changed for the main event. I met up with Ross, Lara, Steve & Alex in the lobby of the hotel where Christina and Robert were staying and we all then hoped on a bus for the short ride to 'Splash' were the service and reception was being held.

After a short time we all settled at our tables and Sean and his best man took their position at the 'alter' as we waited for the bride to arrive. Zoe came in with her brother on her arm and Carla, Phoebe, Vic and Leigh as the bridesmaids behind her. Zoe looked stunning, and the bridesmaids weren't bad either! Zoe took her place and the service began. What was interesting was that the bride and groom faced the congregation with the vicar stood in front of them with his back to us. In England it's the other way around. Whilst the vicar is an important part of the service, surely the bride and groom are the focal point and should be facing everyone? This was the first wedding I've been to where I could actually see the bride and groom's faces. As the service proceeded with the beach and sea behind them, Zoe looked like she was about to burst into tears of joy at any minute and Sean looked somewhat out of place in his suit! Something was missing ....... ah, yes.. his red baseball cap!

Barbados being primarily Anglican, the service was fairly typical of what you would see in England. After the service, the photo call and everyone lined up to congratulate the newlyweds. As the sun was starting to go down, the photographer had to be quick with pictures both on the decking as well as on the beach itself. We then sat down to eat and hear the speeches by Zoe's brother, Richard, who started off with a poignant and fitting tribute to their father who couldn't be there having passed away some years before, before recounting childhood memories with his sister. Richard (Boardman), who was the Usher, made a little speech then read out some letters from people who couldn't make it, one notably from Vicky Bruce who was with Zoe and Vic on their travels a couple of years ago when Zoe first met Sean. Sean's best man then made his speech and one anecdote that stuck in my mind was when Zoe first came to Barbados, one of their friends made a mild sexist remark which Zoe took offence to and gave the guy a full-on slug around the face! This impressed everyone as this 'gentle' English girl had just decked a Bajan!!

With the main event out of the way, it was time to party! Zoe and Sean had the traditional first dance; "Sail Away" by David Gray. This was a song close to both of them, particularly during their time apart. The next few hours we just boogied the night away! Most of us left around 11.30pm / midnight. There was such a good feeling of happiness from everyone. This was one of the most enjoyable nights of my life.

Sunday, by comparison to the night before, was somewhat of an anti climax! A bit of a lie-in and breakfast at Blazing Saddles followed by more swimming, paddling around the shoreline, sunbathing and book reading! Almost finished the book now, only a few more chapters!!

The evening meal was back at the pizza and then back to the venue of the wedding for an R 'n B night! There was a live band consisting of around 5 people singing old and new cover songs; "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "Foolish" by Ashanti and "Always On Time" by Ja Rule. Ironically, the last two are from artists signed to the record company I work for! A brief downpour got everyone off the outside tables and onto the dance floor!

Monday was a lot more active. Breakfast, again at Blazing Saddles, was longer than normal as the service was very slow, even by Bajan standards! The reason?.... an overdone scrambled egg. This, apprently, took over half an hour to rectify!!

Then Jo, Alex and I hired a car (a nice little Nissan Micra) and set of for a drive around the Island. We drove through Bridgetown and straight into a secure Coastguard compound...oops!! Quick three point turn and out again! Out of Bridgetown and we were now looking for the Atlantis, a 90 minute submarine tour. Trying to find it proved difficult, it wasn't exactly signposted very well, something we were to find out about driving around the rest of the island! When we eventually found it, it turned out they don't do dives on a Monday! As I was leaving the next day, I had to give up the idea of going on the sub and Jo and Alex booked a trip for Thursday. One ice cream each and then off up the west coast of the island.

We drove past the Sandy Lane resort (where we anchored the previous Thursday on the Catamaran), through Holetown and into Mullins Bay where we stopped off for a break on the beach. The sand was seriously hot! Much more so than at Worthing. We saw a boat that had a glass bottom and asked how much? BDS$30 (£10) for half an hour. So off we went for a quick tour of the coral reefs. It was much like snorkelling but without getting wet. We managed to see a couple of turtles this time.

Back into the car and on up to Speightstown. It was here we decided to cut across the tip of the island in order to find Bathsheba on the Atlantic side. This was meant to be one of the five best views in the world. Again, non existant signposting made it very difficult to find. We cut across and then down the east coast. We did actually drive right past the turning but there was nothing to suggest we had! Still, at least it meant we found another couple of interesting places. With only a couple of hours of daylight left, we decided to give it a go and try to find Bathsheba. After about 20 minutes, we found the right turning point (the one we'd passed earlier) and drove straight there! It was very impressive, though not as impressive as the tag of "one of the five best views in the world" would suggest. But that's just my opinion! We had a bite to eat and had to dodge the rain before setting off for home.

We cut across country and through the interior of Barbados. This is a part of the island I guess a lot of people don't see. Very agricultural. The main crop being sugar cane. Back to Worthing just as it was getting dark! As we had the car, we decided to vist Jane and her sister Fred at their hotel Bougainvillea for the evening.

Tuesday morning I had breakfast at Shells, took the car back to the rental firm then packed my bags. I managed to have a couple of hours on the beach before catching a cab to the airport ... then home.

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This page is dedicated to Zoe and Sean. May you both live long and happy together.