Dancing in the streets after the game was for everyone! Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
I cannot express the delight at my decision to attend Sunday's ICC World Cup match at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Waking nice and early, friends and I made our way towards Bridgetown expecting much confusion having bought tickets online. I had arrived at the office Saturday for collection and the place was firmly closed. The capital was fairly quiet and we managed to get a parking space that did not entail a long walk to the cricket grounds.
From Pelican Arts & Craft Centre on Princess Alice Highway to Fontabelle Road and Kensington, there were vendors of food, glorious food already doing their ting - from grilled fish and chicken to cutters (sandwiches); from peas and rice and stewed pork to roti. Having had no breakfast, we stopped and munched, downing same, and stocked up with bottled water. The sun had already begun to show promise of a scorching day. Once near the Oval, with relative ease we got our tickets from the various ticketing booths. We were set to go.
Security was not as horrid as earlier reported, the obvious changes required to make this World Cup a Caribbean success certainly coming to the fore. Once in the stadium, it was all about, wow!
Higher prices
Food and drink concessionaires were ready. Prices are high, of course, but they had to pay dearly to have their booths and gave the red-light (with some misgivings and rightly so), for vendors outside to do their thing. The spirit of sharing was definitely in the air. Okay so a Banks Beer at a rum shop cost under BD$2 (J$60) and here they were BDS$7 (J$210). But hey! Dem share, we share. A cutter that normally costs BDS$4 (US$2) was BDS$10 (US$5) but, dem share, we share. A plate of local food normally costing BDS$12 (US$6) cost BDS$20/25 (work this one out!) but if dem share, we share. So nothing could stop us from enjoying what the facilities had to give, and at the end of the day, everybody did a roaring business.
What a beautiful cricket ground. I was in awe. Tickets had been reduced to US$25 for some stands, later on at 11:00 a.m., free entry began with some 'stipulations' we really could not see what they were, except perhaps no 'street dwellers'. The place was a mixture of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. There were Irish, English, Australians and South Africans and then, of course, a heavy load of Caribbean people from all walks of life. Indians, wearing Irish hats, showed Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh flags. Australians had their kangaroos with Irish scarves around their necks.
Tourists sported a mass of false dreadlocks with the Jamaican colours. Caribbean people wore whatever anyone cared to give them, plus. Faces were painted. Noise makers hung around necks. Indian drums made mass through the corridors and so did horns, bugles, cymbals and anything that made noise, including the floors of the temporary north stand where we sat. The party stand below was filled to capacity and blocks of East Indians cheered for Bangladesh. The Irish were in full swing for their team from the land of the blarney stone.
Irish to the core
Hotel Manager Loreto Duffy-Mayers (third left), had her voice heard! At right: Dreadlocked Mexican Irish all over de place!
Our group having met up with another crazy bunch headed by Loreto Duffy-Mayers, Irish to the core, having not lost one ounce of her Irish accen firmly entrenched in Barbados for some 30 years or so. We had a whale of a time. Loreto is one of the strongest proponents of eco-friendly sustainable tourism, heading the rebuilding/ remodelling of Barbados' famed green hotel Bougainvillea, purchased recently by Almond Beach Resorts. She certainly left her manager's hat firmly on her desk with one huge Irish green and white striped one taking its place. With that came the Irish way of enjoying that is so close to us Caribbean people - a cooler filled with ice, nuff rum and Coca-Colas. Our choice of vodka and orange (needed the Vitamin C), was accepted, however. Corn-beef cutters, with some great Bajan pepper sauce hit the spot every now and then, as did the amount of sun block required to keep the scorching sun from making us personally edible!
The cricket match was fire. The Irish having eaten craw in Grenada a few days before, put an obvious Leprechaun hoax on the favourites, Bangladesh tigers, ending the game with a chicken walk around the Oval to the screams, shouts, music and noise of all.
After leaving the stadium, beautifully costumed street dancers and Tukk bands (Bajan cultural band with drummers, people dressed as donkey and shaggy bears) took to the streets. There were open bars with much out flowing of the elixir of our islands (rum) and certainly nuff food to soak it all up.
The day endedwith island party fever. Creed, colour, race, all the hostilities of the world were out in space somewhere and those here, on this little rock on Earth, enjoyed the mere wonder of island hospitality. This day without a doubt was the true essence of real Caribbean cricket.
Rosemary Parkinson, green with envy, was last seen trying to hook herself on to the anchor chains of the cruise ship taking cricket lovers to Grenada.
Chicken grills were rampant.
Fish was being fried or grilled all the way to the Oval. - Photos by Rosemary Parkinson
