Day of leisure

BANK HOLIDAYS are traditionally a day for families and friends to get together and enjoy each other’s company on a beach or picnic spot.
Yesterday, was Easter Monday and it was no different, except for the abundance of kites as is customary for this time of year.
Also as customary, the DAILY NATION visited a few spots to capture the atmosphere.
At Good Shepherd Beach, Fitts Village, St James, Member of Parliament for St Michael West Michael Carrington was hosting the annual family picnic, which began before his tenure but was resuscitated in 2004.
Carrington, who is also Speaker of the House of Assembly, said this year was special as it was also the 56th anniversary of the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
“In keeping with tradition, we are hosting the children and staff of the Nightengale Children’s Home but as it is our 56th anniversary, we have also extended the invitation to the wider DLP family,” he said.
Carrington said they had jumping tents and kite-flying and were working with the National Conservation Commission (NCC) to provide lifeguards should anyone want a swim.
As for the fare, he said it consisted of stews, soups, various meats, rice and peas and macaroni pie, all cooked mostly by himself and his wife, Sandra.
Further north in Bristol, St Peter, the communities of Farm and Burma roads were holding their an annual kite-flying competition, now in its fourth year.
Member of the organizing group, IPL (Important People Liming), Caroleen Stanford, said: “People are always talking about the youth [negatively], so we are trying to get everyone together in one spirit.” 
The categories included: smallest kite, largest kite, most creative kite and youngest child flying a kite. Stanford said they planned to have a jumping tent and activities such as cricket and a three-legged race. 
At Wanstead pasture, St Michael, yet another group was out and about for Easter. This time it was the St James South representative,?Minister of Health Donville Inniss.
“This is our third annual Easter Monday celebration against the backdrop [that] this area should be used for wholesome family activities,” he said.
“I am concerned kids today do not know how to fly kites, so it is a real pleasure to see both adults and children come out to do so.“
We want to encourage youth and their parents to engage in this sport as kites are not as popular as they used to be and we should not lose this Barbadian tradition,” he said.
In addition, the day featured an awards ceremony for the inaugural St James South dominoes competition which saw seven teams from the area competing over two months for the title of best slammers.
Inniss said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the number of women who participated and did well in the dominoes competition.