So after such a long interlude of silence I’m tempted back to the keyboard. I’m not going to try to fill in the gaps in time and events, to do so would try your patience dear reader and challenge my limited abilities. And times have moved on, no longer Barbados News but a Blog as technology strikes again.
So what’s happened in this last week, let’s start with last Sunday and a life on the ocean wave. It was the Hash Christmas Cruise, a catamaran cruise up the coast with 60 or so runners from the Barbados Hash swapping running for swimming – ably assisted by free wine and beer and a buffet lunch aboard. Needless to say a good time was had by all and especially those who decided to conduct a controlled experiment to see what the quantitative and qualitative difference between drinking on land and drinking on sea was by continuing after the catamaran had docked. Modesty and discretion prevents me from saying much more, though I understand there are incriminating photos out there.
The big topic at our monthly staff meeting was – the staff Christmas party. Good to see that some places have got their priorities right. Given the dire circumstances that the university is in (i.e. it is doubtful that we will get paid over the next couple of months) any party is going to be a minimalist affair. That said, it seems to me important that we have one as we seldom seem to get together socially all going are separate ways. More so at the moment as our Building is a construction site, so with the incessant noise most of us have fled to more tranquil surroundings. We have another 4 months of building work and then we should be able to move back in to our expanded surroundings.
Whilst the university seems to be going down the tube financially on the research work front though the situation looks very rosy. We are starting one research project which looks at the development of climate change scenarios and the affect on water availability and then in February we start another 3 year research project which I am the principal investigator on. This combined with an number of other initiatives means that over the next few years there will be plenty to keep me busy on top of the teaching and other tasks.
There was cause for celebration on Thursday as two of our very close friends came out top (from a field of 75 submissions) in a competition to develop a business plan and access to funding to implement it. They just beat a bunch whose plan was a wedding planning business – a subject which is something of a topical at the moment Chez Cashman, but let’s not go there as it could raise blood pressures! The celebrations moved from them coming around at near midnight to share a bottle of champagne, double excuse here; they’d won and Sara’s Nigeria project report had finally been submitted (XX months late, but that’s another story). We continued on Friday evening when we met up at our favourite beach bar Il Tempio for happy hour(s) and then again on Saturday when we took a picnic to a beach to watch the sun set and drink more champagne followed by rum punch made with sparkling wine; a new twist to an old recipe (and that’s just me). So yes, you are right, life is pretty tough out here and is certainly not for the faint hearted, you need stamina and staying power.
