O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers, Thou are the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times. Woe the hand that shed this costly blood – Mark Anthony, Julius Caesar Act III Scene One (Shakespeare).
VERY OFTEN WE HEAR a lot of talk that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart does not talk, but he makes sense whenever
He spoke recently to the report of a panel headed by Professor Eudene Barriteau, principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, that triggered some heated words between Keith Mitchell, the Grenada Prime Minister, and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron.
What he had to say should be taken very seriously by those politicians who are against the WICB. His take was that “West Indies cricket cannot be run by any politician”.
Lest we forget, the attempt at political federation was shattered after four years by the withdrawal of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The two countries are presently at odds over financial and immigration matters.
Prime Minister Stuart is not alone on the issue; Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda shares his views.
I would like to remind readers of the famous speech of the late Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Eric Williams in which he said that one from ten leaves nothing.
There is usually some disagreement over fishing in someone else’s territorial waters. And if the prime ministers cannot reach an agreement on such matters, how then can they fix West Indies cricket?
The West Indies Cricket Board was right in rejecting the Barriteau report.
Please tell me if the board was not doing anything right, how could the West Indies have won three world tournaments in one year – the Under-19 World Cup, and the men’s and women’s World Twenty20?
Please take the advice of Mr Stuart and leave the cricket to Dave Cameron and his team. The politicians are in today and out tomorrow.
Moravian T20 cricket
The grand final of the Rev. Rudolph Holder Tape Ball T20 Cricket Competition will be held today between Mount Tabor and Dunscombe Moravian at the James Bryan Pavilion, Market Hill, St George, at 7 p.m.
Mother’s Day luncheons
The Barbados conference of the Moravian Church will hold its annual Mother’s Day luncheon on Sunday at the Lester Vaughan School, Cane Garden, St Thomas from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
•Vauxhall Methodist Church will hold a Mother’s Day luncheon on Sunday at the Sea Rocks Dome, Barbados Beach Club, Maxwell, Christ Church, from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
Patronal festivals
The feast of title and patronal festival of the St Philip Parish Church concludes this weekend.
Youth Night is tonight at 7:30.
Tomorrow a chain prayer with the parish family will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On Sunday, there will be Eucharistic services at 7 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. with the preachers being the Rev. Trevor O’Neale and the Rev. Merlene Lucas, respectively.
Evensong will take the form of a festival of music at 6 p.m.
•St John’s Parish Church is celebrating its 180th Anniversary and patronal festival this week. The feast day service is tonight at 7:30.
Panel discussion
The annual panel discussion presented by the St Peter Parish Church Men’s Fellowship Association will be held on Wednesday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the church. The topic will be Same- Sex Relationships; the State and the Church.
Annual luncheon
The St John Parish Church will hold its annual luncheon on Sunday, May 15, at Sunbury Plantation House from 12 noon.
Fun day
Holy Innocents Anglican Church will hold its annual fun day on Whit Monday, May 16, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the rectory, Ayshford, St Thomas.
Death
It is with great regret that we learnt of the death of Rev. C. Vincent Belle last week Wednesday at the age of 100.
Fr Belle was a former school principal and education officer before he was ordained in 1975 as a deacon and the following year as a priest. He was diocesan secretary and parish priest of All Saints, St Silas and St Alban’s Anglican churches. He was also assistant priest at St Peter’s Parish Church.
He will be buried in St Mary’s Churchyard on Monday following a requiem mass at 2 p.m.
This column expresses its deepest sympathy to his children.