Thursday, March 28, 2024

FLYING FISH & COU COU: Politicians and hurricanes

Date:

Share post:

Is there anything to the name of a hurricane and its ferocity, or lack thereof?
This question came up when we discovered that the first storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season will be named Arthur.
We immediately thought if this storm turned out to be like the former Barbadian leader of the same name, what a hurricane it would be.
After all, the former Prime Minister was not easy. He was a focused, determined leader who went after what he thought was right for Barbados and his party with a single-mindedness that one either loved or hated.
So if the storm named Arthur turns out to be like Owen Arthur – be prepared for strong winds, steady rains from an organised weather system.
To be fair to the former Prime Minister, we researched the impact of other storms with the same name of local politicos to see what damage they did.
Interestingly, of the 76 hurricanes retired between 1950 and 2011 because of the widespread damage they caused, four had the names of local politicos. There was David in 1979, Dennis in 2005, Noel in 2007 and Irene in 2011.
If we wanted to stretch this name game even further to include names close to those of well known politicos, we could cite Tomas in 2010 and Sandy in 2012 for former Prime Ministers Tom Adams and Sir Lloyd Sandiford, who was affectionately known as Sandi.
Looking at hurricane names which were not retired because they made little impression the first time around, we found one – Chris.
Of Hurricane Chris in 2012, The Weather Channel states, “To refer to Chris as an ‘overachiever’ may be a bit of an understatement. While Chris was no threat to land, it became the 2012 Atlantic season’s first hurricane on June 21, at a latitude of roughly 41 degrees north, no less.
In other words, it came out of the blocks early, looked impressive but failed to live up to what hurricanes are expected to do. Cou Cou couldn’t help wondering if and how this performance mirrors that of Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler. You decide.
BCA concerns
There is apparently some disquiet among some stalwarts of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) as to the direction of the sport here.
From what Cou Cou has been told, they are questioning if Kensington Oval should be part of the grand merger with the Wildey Gym and the National Sports Council to form one united entity focused on national sports development or, as the oldest established sport on the island, go it alone.
It is our understanding that these particular members are pointing to the amount of cricket being played at Kensington Oval under the management of the cash-strapped entity Kensington Oval Management Inc. as a possible indication of even leaner times to come.
And they have been claiming that Government’s failure to make the agreed annual lease payment to the BCA for a number of years is another reason why all members should turn out to meetings to deal with the issues confronting their sport.
A note from one of the BCA stalwarts was seen by Cou Cou. It asked other members:
Have you read the BCA’s latest annual report (2012 – 2013), which indicates at page 76 an outstanding amount of $4 391 775 owed by Government to the BCA via the Kensington Development Corporation?
Is it not time to summon an extraordinary general meeting to deal with this matter and to ask Government to either pay up or return management of Kensington Oval to the BCA?  Who is guarding the guards?
Only time will tell.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

BDF to conduct simulation exercise on April 2 & 3

The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) will conduct a Mass Casualty Simulation Exercise from Tuesday, April 2, to Wednesday,...

Barbadians reminded to file taxes online as filing season starts

The Barbados Revenue Authority (the BRA) is advising that tax filing season for 2023 begins on April 1 this...

Minister Abrahams’ statement on Ismail Patel’s passing

Below is the full statement by Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams: I was saddened to...

Water bills for March to include February charges

A few weeks ago, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) informed customers in parts of Christ Church and St....