I grew up in a household where an abiding rule was that there was never any excuse for bad manners. For my siblings, me and our offspring, commitment to its observance is lifelong.
I had a call during the week from a friend complaining about the epidemic of bad manners sweeping Barbados. The principal offenders, he said, were professional young men who seemed to think it was beneath them to exercise the simple courtesy of greetings, even to friends.
I was fully seized of what angers him since my own angst was raised recently by two displays of bad manners. Some early mornings when I walk to my mailbox to pick up the newspapers, there are people taking their walks and it is always a pleasure to exchange greetings.
There is, however, an exception to the rule. There is a buxom lady who just cannot bring herself around to say a simple “good morning” or “hello”. Perhaps she is concentrating so deeply on shedding pounds off her rear end that she neither sees nor hears me. I will not squander another greeting on her.
Then there is a young man who lives on my street and is well known to my family. For months my wife, a very placid, uncomplaining soul, has said that he passes in his car, sees her in the garden and never speaks. She cannot think of any plausible reason for his persistent “bad manners”.
Two Saturdays ago I was going in to collect my pudding ’n’ souse when he was leaving. He looked straight through me without the slightest acknowledgement of my presence.
A friend seeing me shaking my head told me it is widely known that he has no manners and offered reasons for his “uncivilized behaviour”. At the end of our conversation, we agreed that the mantra that there is no excuse for bad manners is one which all parents should hammer into the heads of their children and monitor its observance.
As a close follower of international news I have noted with great dismay the devastating impact of the current drought sweeping 56 per cent of the continental United States, placing its agricultural lands and produce in great peril. The major crops affected are corn and soya, source products of so much found on local supermarket shelves.
In addition, in a country where much commercial activity is conducted on the many rivers and waterways, the substantial fall in their water levels is severely compromising this mode of transport. This too will add to the basic cost of United States imports, thus pushing up the overall cost of living in Barbados.
Over the pond, the European economic crisis has gathered momentum. Britain, caught up in Olympics hysteria, has slipped deeper into recession as the Conservative/Liberal Democratic government imposes spending cuts and higher taxes. Last week, the country was shocked to discover that the gross domestic product for the second quarter contracted by a further 0.7 per cent.
Now there is a nationwide clamour for the government to relax its tough austerity measures, which are strangling the economy. The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for Britain’s anaemic national growth from 0.8 per cent to a miserly 0.2 per cent.
At the party political level, Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted that there are “profound areas of disagreement” between his majority Conservative Party and the Liberal Democratic minority in the coalition.
This follows concerns openly expressed and a call for a possible rearrangement by the Liberal Democrats about the future of the grouping following a turbulent week, which included a defeat of their proposal for an elected House of Lords.
As our principal tourism source market, the economic news out of Britain is not for Barbados’ comfort and calls for a stepped-up marketing campaign to bolster arrivals.
I am not one to frequent the tents or numerous Crop Over events proliferating at this time of the year. As a lifelong lover of calypso and steel band music, I have avidly followed and enjoyed the growth and development of our festival since the 1980s.
This year the social commentary and musical backing have been outstanding. I have never heard a better backing band than the Festival Band at the Semi-Finals. No singer could ask for more, for whoever put the group together and orchestrated the arrangements deserves our respect and admiration.
I have followed the rise of Red Plastic Bag through the calypso glass ceiling. In one of this year’s classics inviting Queen Elizabeth, head of the Commonwealth, to visit, he says she will see “common poverty, not common wealth”. He and Gabby are a class apart.
I watched the excellent Junior Monarch Finals live Saturday night on TV and am encouraged that the art form is in good hands. Kudos to all!
