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!
