Thank you to all who viewed the blog, taking visits to my musings beyond 2,900 🍹. It's not what I would call viral. Still I am grateful for small mercies. So I will continue my shout-outs to those who visit from different countries. This time it's for the visitors from South Africa and Saudi Arabia 👋.
This is the month and today (July 26) is the day of "National Significance" when we remember Barbados' own #BlackLivesMatter movement of 1937, which I highlighted last year to little traction. Obviously it was not a fashionable theme then. After a month of unrest in the USA and solidarity from others around the world, it came to prominence. In Barbados, we still need to have a discussion on race relations since wealth imbalances continue based on race and concomitantly class.
This month though I want to encourage. Illness due to COVID-19 continues to run rampant in many countries of the world. Health services are under pressure to cope with the cases. In Barbados, to date we've had 94 recoveries of 104 cases with 7 deaths - and no new deaths since April. There are currently 7 persons in isolation - including a 10 year old boy, his teen brother and their mother. All current cases are imported cases. To date there is no evidence of "community spread'. We are asked to wear a mask in public spaces and to maintain a distance of at least 3 feet.
The entertainment community over the last few months have done several collaborations to encourage those on the front-line and those who are restricting their movements. I featured one by Edwyn Yearwood in April. Today, I will share a few others:
Beautiful Barbados - a cover of a classic Merrymen hit of a bygone era and a great showcase to invite visitors to Barbados to take up that Welcome Stamp and live here for a year while working away from home 😉:
Beautiful Barbados with Melinda Hughes and friends - Come Back to Beautiful Barbados [TravelMedia.i.e., May 2020]
Then there is the encouraging collab featuring the voices of some of our popular entertainers:
This is Who We Are Final [NCF, June 2020]
If there is still any doubt about the outcome of our fight with this disease, make no mistake:
We Got This - 25 Voices. 14 countries. 1 message [Vibe Barbados, May 2020]
Then to encourage farming we have this anthem - penned by one of my fave Crop Over festival artistes and it's right for the times. If all else fails, we need to feed ourselves:
The Farmer's Anthem - A World of Farmers [NCF, June 2020]
And for final recognition:
Alicia Keyes - Good Job (Robin Hood Relief Performance) [Alicia Keyes, May 2020]
Until next time...
