Day 12

An early morning trip into Bridgetown (the capital of Barbados) was planned for this morning. Unfortunately our best laid plans didn't take into account one of our tour party getting up to bake a cake! Keen to impress in tonight’s “Come Dine with Me”, Henry “Mr Kipling” Axon had already borrowed a whisk and various cooking utensils from some fellow guests and was busy sponge making. He may have mastered the mixing bowl but he certainly hadn't worked out how to cook the cake. The would-be master chef called upon the master cake eater, Mr Castle, for some timely advice. Once again on this tour the academic elite had been undone by a simple Fahrenheit v Celsius temperature problem. Henry would have baked the cake quicker leaving it in the tin on the balcony rather than at 200° Fahrenheit in the oven! Some wisely advice (at the cost of a large slice of cake) from Mr Castle saved the day and we could eventually get on our way.

For $2 (70p) you can hop on a bus and travel anywhere on the Island. If you choose one of the yellow, privately owned ‘reggae’ buses you are promised a cultural experience of loud music and a pumping bass. You also take your life in your own hands on a white knuckle, horn blasting, traffic weaving experience through the streets of Barbados! Ignoring the state owned, tranquil blue buses, Danny ‘bus conductor’ Tomlinson immediately waved down an already crammed yellow tin box on wheels. Ignoring all other traffic it stopped immediately at the side of the road and beckoned our party on board. Miraculously we managed to squeeze (and I mean squeeze!) six of us on. Friends are made very quickly in such crammed conditions, fortunately we were unable to see where we going and at what speed. As is typical on this Island, the tattoo faced, grim looking, gangster impersonating conductor turned out to be a totally friendly chap who couldn’t have been any nicer, halting the bus at the right stop and then taking the time to point us in the right direction for the Kensington Oval.

The group were soon back together (a little shaken up but culturally wiser) for a tour of Kensington Oval, the national cricket stadium in Barbados. Our tour guide Linus, was happy to take us out onto the wicket much to the surprise of the group who wished they’d brought a bat and some stumps! In the changing rooms several of the lads were keen to try the ice bath (minus the ice of course), whilst Josh Woodward was caught stealing toilet paper from the away changing room – apparently it was simply to blow his nose!  This of course led to other ideas and we were inevitably delayed a short while trying to track down lads who had returned to the toilet, keen to use the same ‘throne’ as Kevin Pieterson!

From the ground it is only a short walk into the city centre where the group stumbled upon a huge bustling metropolis of market stalls, run-down buildings, exclusive boutiques and of course plenty of food & rum shacks. The boys were keen to search out presents and fake sunglasses whilst Messer's Rowe and Castle were happy to sample some of the local delicacies – notably barbecued pigs tails!

After another roller coaster bus journey back to the apartments, it was soon ‘all go’ once again as our four chefs for the night busied themselves in their respective kitchens, for the final “Come Dine with Me”. Henry’s cake had turned out fine (miraculously!) and balconies were quickly turned from a sea of drying clothes, empty cartons and other debris into fine dining eating establishments with table cloths, flowers and delicate candles (if only they’d put as much effort into their batting and bowling). Burger and chips was the crowd favourite with 3 of the chefs producing their own versions with a collection of toppings from cheese, to bacon and salsa. Cameron even made his own burgers much to the delight of his roommates. The winner though was ‘Mr Kipling’ Axon who, in addition to a delicately iced cake, also created a fine Cajun chicken main course, following a steak starter. Maybe we should forget cricket tours and focus on cooking trips instead! An early night was encouraged ahead of tomorrow’s final game…we need all the help we can get.

WALLY OF THE DAY: Henry Axon for delaying our leaving time by 30 minutes so that his cake could finish baking!