EVEN THOUGH he was robbed and cut twice on the body by cutlass-wielding thieves during one of his many visits, Lyall “Mac” McFarlane has not allowed this to stop him from coming to Barbados twice every year.Yesterday when Gregory Burnettand a host of Barbadian friends rolled out the red carpet to celebrate with MacFarlane and Anne, his wife of 40 years, there were two great reasons to toast this couple. Firstly, it was their 50th visit to Barbados in the past 25 years, and McFarlane’s 70th birthday.These faithful ambassadors, who hail from Surrey, England, are well known in local circles, and especially to management and staff at Silver Sands Resort, Christ Church – their holiday spot for the past 23 years.Barbados means so muchto this couple that they always spend their Christmases here, and without fail return each May, in time to celebrate Mac’s birthday. The couple’s love affair with Barbados began in 1985, when they set foot on Barbadian soil for the first timeto attend a wedding. “We immediately fell in love with the island. On that first visit we stayed in Sunset Crest, St James, and later at Inn-On-The Beach.“We soon met a lady – Pat Woods – who was the then general manager at Silver Sands Resort. She told us to try that hotel and we’ve never gone to any other place since,” a smiling McFarlane stated.The couple’s daughter Karen also decided Barbados was the picture-perfect placefor her to exchange her wedding vows in 1993.Ann and Lyall spend three weeks here every December, and four weeks spanning May and June.A former employee of a flight catering company at Gatwick International Airport, McFarlane disclosed that the friendly nature of the staff at Silver Sands “is the reason they keep coming back”.“They are our friends now, and we encourage as many people as we can to visit the island. In fact, we frequently wear Silver Sands T-shirts. It is our way of promoting the hotel and the island.“When we come, we visit friends from all over. We’ve also visited all the attractions, and sailed on every catamaran. We mainly come to chill out, but we always visit Oistins Fish Fry each Friday night, as well as Hercules Bar.“The attack never stopped us from visiting.Not once did I think about staying away, becauseI love the island too much.“That was the only such incident of its kind over the years. “Barbados is filled with friendly people.I especially love it when I arrive at the airport. All the Red Caps recognise me because of my many visits, and they are very friendly.”McFarlane, who together with Anne were honoured by the Barbados Tourism Authority, on their 25th visit, believes the island’s development over the years has robbed it of its virginity.“We loved the open fields and greenery. We do not see as much of this as we did years ago. There are now many condominiums and hotels,”he pointed out.For the happy couple, however, there is no love lost. Barbados is still their favourite place in the whole wide world. Their dedication is found in the fact that they have already booked their flight for their return visit here in December.“We’ve already made our travel arrangements for winter and will be back on December 28. We always travel on Virgin Atlantic and, of course, we will be back at Silver Sands Resort.The McFarlanes return home next Saturday.
