Government, opposition and Independent senators yesterday praised new Knight of St Andrew Sir Trevor Carmichael – down to his beard.
Leader of the Senate Maxine McClean started the flow of tributes, describing Sir Trevor, a senator and prominent lawyer, as a man who never said no to a request for help, who “built strong relations between Barbados and Buckingham Palace” and who had “a burning passion to make a difference”.
But it was Government Senator Patrick Todd who drew some laughter when he congratulated Sir Trevor “for being proud and confident in himself, his demeanour, wearing his beard”.
Referring to that growth, Todd said: “This takes courage. I understand that in earlier times in Barbados one could not get a job at a grammar school as a teacher wearing a beard and these biases must be frowned upon. We must respect the rights of individuals not to wear a tie, to wear a beard, as long as, of course, they are well kept. . . . These are basic human rights.”
Opposition Senator Wilfred Abrahams said Sir Trevor was one of the few who could “give a whole prayer in Latin”. He described Sir Trevor as “a real Barbadian icon”, “a good guy”, a “scholar without compare” and a man with “a passion” for old Barbados and things Barbadian. (TY)
