Well dear things, after my last unrelenting tale of woe, ably accompanied by loud gnashing of teeth and a general outpourings of sorrow, I did promise a more upbeat letter this time round but it’s hard, honestly the price of butter and my back hurts and when are we going to have another fine day and... (No, no, no, all positive things I insist. Ed)
Actually I’m pleased to report we do have a lot to be more positive about. Now the previous builder has been turfed off the site, we are cracking on with my dear Kitty as project manager. Words like ‘water’, ‘duck’ and ‘take’ spring readily to mind.
She is not only supervising often 4 separate teams of contractors... electricians, plumbers, builders etc she is also the assistant stone mason. She has been hauling buckets of cement up to the stonemason. All day long I hear the delightful Glen shouting “Miss Kitty... girl size bucket please”. She can’t lift a full bucket but, can manage two thirds of one which is some undertaking for someone who weighs in around a 100 lbs soaking wet. I do my part too of course... by shouting along with Glen if she didn’t hear first time... well, one likes to do one’s bit, you know.
So the net result is the second Beach house is coming along nicely. We need a kitchen and doors and of course it needs painting but it’s certainly looking like a house now, so start planning your visits to your very own Caribbean property. It will be ready by July. Also the foundations have been built for our little Boat house so work on the actual house should begin on that soon too.
More good news: after I had been here for all of 3 weeks I started to realise this life of painting and relaxing wasn’t going to be enough for me. It’s a great theory but in practice I knew I wouldn’t be able to hack it. When you are on holiday you wish it could last forever but if someone says ‘all right then you can stop here now forever and do nothing’ it spreads panic through the system... or at least it did through mine.
Then as sometimes happens in life, a bit of serendipity arose. A lovely friend from my days at dear old Ogilvy (who seemed to be in charge of the world and knew everyone, in every far flung corner of the Ogilvy empire) suggested I got in touch with Ogilvy in the Caribbean which is based in nearby Trinidad. I didn’t know there was one... but there is.
So I called Inglefield/Ogilvy Caribbean, a delightful day in Grenada with the charming Tony Inglefield ensued, where we solved most of the world’s problems except how to wipe out Jordan... the girl not the place. A return match in Trinidad and we signed on the dotted line, so I am now a proud board member of the company and thoroughly enjoying myself and doing ads again. My old boss, the wonderful Dick Hedger, always said “advertising is a bloody good trade to be in Matey. Nothing fancy, it’s like being a bricky really but, you can always pick it up again if you want to”. How true Dick. What they say about Ogilvy is also true. It’s the ‘Hotel California of advertising’... you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave! I’m told Rory Sutherland the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy London has left 3 times and ended up back there every time. Rory, a tip Matey, they attach a tracking device to your left leg, you have to get that removed before you do a runner.
I also have a second job now too. Well not really a job. It’s one of those jobs where frankly you are a bit embarrassed being paid to do it all. It’s how I imagine I would feel if I played rugby for Harlequins... shuffling in the queue outside the finance director’s office looking somewhat shamefaced as I collected my enormous cheque after each match. (And... by the way, skip this bit if you aren’t a rugby fan or are a foreigner as you won’t know what the hell I’m talking about... yes I know there are many other reasons why I would look a bit shamefaced if I played for Harlequins but we’ve put all that behind us now and you can’t stop being a fan just because things go a bit wrong... OK a lot wrong but we’ll be back).
Anyway the job... I suppose it’s a bit like the poacher turning gamekeeper... but I am now a client for the first time in my life. I am the jolly proud Marketing Director of Horizon Yachts, which is a very successful yacht charter and sails... sorry sales company based here in Grenada. We are just about to add a motor sales division too so if any of you would like to buy a yacht or a Motor yacht just give me a call. Or you could just charter a yacht for a week and then come and stay with us for a week in MoonfFsh Beach Houses. Perfect holiday me thinks. We will supply you with a Skipper and a chef if you like and you can sail up to the Tobago Keys... which confusingly is nowhere near Tobago... but apart from a bit of a cock up on the naming front is one of the ‘Holy Sculpter's finest pieces of work.
Talking of the Holy Sculpter, Easter beckons. For most of the year, Bathway Beach is a quiet little corner of the island, apart from Sundays when it gets a bit more lively and families congregate on the beach for picnics and ‘oil down’ cook ups. Sometimes our Rasta chum I-Free even plays a gig which is great. However at Easter, Bathway Beach lifts up her petticoats and displays her festive charms and the whole of Grenada responds by turning up for Easter Sunday and Monday too. Well I think it’s a bit of an over claim by the locals to say the whole of Grenada comes up here because long and glorious as the beach is and few in number as the population is, they couldn’t all fit on the beach. Anyway, not to nitpick, the point is that it’s a lot of fun with bands and loud music and dancing and a real Caribbean experience... so we are told.
So we will be joining in the fun and we hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend too. Our only regret is that we will not be seeing any of you but, hopefully that will be rectified one day soon and at least we will be thinking of you... and will raise a glass of 'Dark and Stormy' to you all.
A very Happy Easter to you all.
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