Author: The Reads

We are under the storm. Somewhere.

Friday

Friday was an unusually hot and airless day.

But by the late afternoon we began to feel the forecasted steadily strengthening breeze.

By 7.30pm we we were experiencing a strong constant wind and the sea was starting to get more agitated.

As the wind grew stronger we could see all around us little signs of precautions being taken. Along the beaches furniture, particularly brollies, being removed. Many houses had their storm shutters closed.

An eerie quiet everywhere.

During Friday Irma’s anticipated path shifted west over central Cuba, so closer by 100 miles. It meant we were likely to feel more of her affects over night.

Here in Cayman we are on the edge of her cone of effect, all of the predicted tracks have her pulling north only glancing past us and then hitting Florida full on. But storms are notoriously hard to predict accurately a shift west or south, even of only 50 miles, would bring us further into the maelstrom and the the predictions are that as she hits the really warm water in the northern Caribbean she once again will intensify.

So we have watched the news and kept checking the websites compulsively all week. Every quiver, every change of path scrutinised and speculated on.

At the airport Caymanians and expats alike have been greeting friends and family from all over the Northern Caribbean and Florida as they flee ahead of the approaching tempest. Refugees seeking safety. Citizens of the most powerful nation on Earth sheltering here on the one of the smallest and lowest lying from a storm the size of France.

We have watched the news as Hurricane Irma has hit other islands, near identical to our own home and only a relatively short distance away.

We have seen houses and lives blown to pieces, communities washed away and devastated.

Whole countries gone.

Barbuda the first island stuck has been levelled, 90% of all buildings and infrastructure gone. The place all but uninhabitable and they, dear God, are waiting for Hurricane Jose in a couple of days!

Governor Gus Jaspert of the British Virgin Isles must really wonder who he annoyed. He was only posted to the Caribbean in May and already his territory has been wiped away. He has declared the islands a disaster zone and a state of emergency. Not I imagine what he thought he would be doing three months into a new job!

His peer Governor John Freeman of Turks and Caicos in the hours before the storm hit made a broadcast that made me choke and tears well up when I heard it. It still makes me shudder when I think of it.

Hunker down, stay where you are … Nobody can get to you either – people are, for a little while, on their own.

Turks and Caicos, like its sister Barbuda, has been devastated.

The resemblance to Cayman of these islands and people not just a passing trick of the light but the result of shared roots and history. The people and patterns of speech so closely related to the people we meet and greet everyday as to make strangers seem familiar.

But today where they are marked by horror, traumatised, we are touched by the guilt that comes from a sense of relief, ‘spared thank God‘.

Our hearts and prayers go out to them.

I’ve said before that prayer is everywhere here it marks all gatherings. My amazing Caribbean melting pot of a staff have been teaching me how to pray properly. Encouraging my baby steps. This week I got a big Amen and ‘yes Lord’ as I touched a chord.

Dear Lord,

It is not for us to understand your plan but to trust you and your design for us.

As Hurricane Harvey passed us last week we thanked you for sparing us, even as we remembered and prayed for all those who were affected by the hurricane and rains in the Texas.

Today we watch Hurricane Irma. We pray once again for those affected, for those souls on Barbuda, Puerto Rico, Haiti the Bahamas, Turks and Cacaos, Cuba and the Virgin Islands and all of Florida.

We pray for those on islands already impacted and those who are waiting.

We pray for friends and family who are affected, for strangers who lives have been blown apart or washed away.

Lord like the disciples on the Sea of Galilee who cried out in fear at the sight of the storm we ask you calm the tempest carry us safely in your arms.

In Jesus’s name.

Amen

Tomorrow is the 10th September and the peak day of the Hurricane Season.

Two months down and two to go as we watch storms swirl around us. One has to wonder what else this season holds? What other monsters lurk out there? Will we stay lucky as we play roulette with Mother Natures wrath?

This could be ‘Lee’. This depression has 40% chance of forming a named tropical storm in the next 48 hours…

Saturday

Cloudy skies and a stiff wind this morning. The clouds are scudding by at a rate of knots. We now know Irma ran along Cuba’s northern facing cost rather than moving inland.

We are safe this morning.

Overnight it was very blowy. All the streets and gardens look like they have been swept clean by careful gardeners while we slept.

The sea is very rough this morning but Irma has had other targets in mind.

So today we are all well here.

Biggest storm in the Atlantic in recorded history and we were there… and I was worried about hurricanes…

Thank you to everyone who is thinking of us.

Oh and we have another picture for the album. A family shot. This time of Katia, Irma and Jose. Siblings. Harvey’s children. The Children of the Storm.

As I say we are under there somewhere looking up waving at you to say we are well.

But here is the kicker…

We have been here before.

We do indeed reside under a restless sky.

It was a wonderful summer. I spent loads of time with Victoria and the kids, with friends and visitors. A time to play, rest and unwind.

I did spend time working but at my pace and without the sense of dread and impending panic I have known for the last few years.

Holidays used to be about trying to catch up or get ahead; data crunching; policy writing; filing; all of it a waste of time, none of it ever helped anyone. Least of all my pupils but there was always a pressure to get it done!

Not this year! The work I have done has been useful and productive. So much so that I was actually prepared for the start of the school year. Not only did I feel prepared for the start of term but for the first time in years I was ready and raring to go!

Looking forward to it.

I have had none of my usual anxiety dreams the ones I have come to associate with the last couple of weeks of a break. None of the nerves, none of the foreboding! Just a sense that this is going to be a good year!

For years the last nights of any holiday have been marked by one particular recurring dream. One that I wake up from every time, actually force myself to wake up from, wound up and worried.

In my dream I am back at school. More accurately back at boarding school and The Mount House.

All my friends, no, more than friends we lived together and grew up together, have left and I have had to stay on to repeat the sixth form and my ‘A’-Levels.

I just stand there in the lobby of my boarding house. Alone. There is no one there just me waiting for the new term… There in front of me is the big old oak table where Paul Holmes, our House Master, used to put the post but there are no letters for me.  I’ve been forgotten.

You know I can still smell the furniture polish and the claggy mud on the floor of the changing room. A metallic clay smell. 

It has been more than twenty-five years since I left Bethany but I could still walk the mile from my old boarding house, The Mount, to the main school with my eyes closed. I remember every step, every turn, every rise and fall of the path. We used to walk it morning noon and night. In rain, snow, sunshine and in the dark. I used to walk the whole route while reading a book and never had to look up and never a missed step.

Thanks to Raaaaay the cook, he was deaf and rolled the ‘a’ in his own name with a nasally flat quality, I to this day can not eat overcooked pasta or stand the smell of boiled minced meat and the smell of school canteen Bolognese still affects me physically!

I do however have very fond memories of the tea. Great metal teapots on the table with teabags the size of pillows stewing in them. On a cold wet evening or first thing on a frosty morning they made the mile trek from The Mount to the dinning hall worthwhile, warming your fingerless glove covered hands on the pot in the morning was heavenly.

Yes I went to school in a Dickensian novel. OK the fingerless gloves were a fashion thing but other than that a proper old-fashioned British boys boarding school where we called each other by our surnames.

The new boys were ‘plebs‘.

Brothers carried the monikers ‘major‘, ‘minor‘ and for some poor sods ‘minimus’.

The Prefects had their own common room, where by ancient decree the Masters could not enter without permission. I think they stayed out because the place was a health hazard, but we loved it.

The Boys used hide in the bogs and smoke while the teachers lurked about outside trying to catch the ‘giffers‘. At least I think that’s why they were lurking around the boys toilets.

Maybe now looking back at the Victorian monochrome memories of childhood with modern more cynical eyes the Masters motives were not so innocent. Not the harmless cat and mouse I used to think it was. 

Yes, some of the Masters were sadist pricks (Chaz and Dave) but the majority were thoroughly decent chaps who not only made school bearable but memorable and fun too.

The colourful nicknames we gave them still make me chuckle, Bomber, Fritz, Grabber, Axe, Hammer, Bernie, Waggles, Monkey and Gut.

I still tear up when I recall Richard Ashlin’s death during the Great Storm of ’87. Bloody good bloke and story for another day.

We had a sailing club, tuck boxes and letter writing. Exiates at the weekend and had to polish our shoes and boots the old-fashioned way with brushes. Everyday.

Yes, there was institutional bullying and I am ashamed to say that I, in turn, played my part in that sad tradition. Not to the extent of some and thankfully not for long but Collison and Thurley have every reason to hate the young me. Sorry lads, genuinely.

I will always remember the comradery fondly and oddly the musty dog piss smell of wet duffel coats as they steamed, drying on the radiators on a rainy dark winter evening.

Oh and the mortar shell, mustn’t forget the UXB. Oh how we laughed when it didn’t explode. The sort of hysterical, ‘I can’t believe we are still alive’ laugh that follows a near death experience. Thanks Gregory. You dick!

Yes there were some real laughs, an unreality born of 250 bored boys boarding together. But the thought of an extra two years there is just too much!

This year there was no dream. I didn’t go back. I wasn’t stood in the front hall of The Mount. Alone. Forgotten. This year I was looking forward to the start of term.

I welcomed everyone back twelve days ago and we set about unpacking.

One of the realities of living and working in the Caribbean is Hurricane Season. From the beginning of June to the end of November the danger of a hurricane hitting is a reality.

Our schools are built to be public shelters in the event of a disaster. In term time we have to be able to switch seamlessly from school to shelter with 24 hours notice.

Back in June we mothballed the school prior to the summer holiday exodus. We just have to pack everything away as a precaution in case there is a hurricane and the school has  to open as a shelter. 

Clearly this has implications on how we resource and manage our schools and hurricane preparedness is part of our curriculum. Its a fact of life but for the next two months we will be watching the weather closely and following how each storm system over the Atlantic develops.

Ready to run.

During our set up week we were watching Cyclone Number 9 wondering if we would have to repack everything just as we finished setting up.

Cyclone Number 9 was predicted to become Tropical Storm Harvey and then a hurricane of the same name. Its track had it entering the Southern Caribbean and passing close by or hitting us directly. Predicting the track of hurricanes is not an exact science there is all sorts of room for uncertainty.

However it tracked westward and stayed south. We were lucky, it passed 150 miles south of the Cayman Islands. It swung past and we had a few days of very heavy rain and high winds but nothing too alarming.  When it made landfall in Venezuela it was barely a category 2. Bad. But a miss for us.

In truth, after that, we dismissed Harvey we thought he was done and then it got up to the Gulf of Mexico and exploded.

You have seen the news. When Harvey reached the Gulf of Mexico he went on the rampage and devastated swathes of Texas!

$16 billion of damage and 50 dead. We were lucky but they have paid a huge price.

Hurricane season 2017 is in full swing, two months down and two to go. The peak of the season is next week, 10th September, but this is a statistical misnomer as lots of the real monsters come late in the season growing huge as a result of gorging on all the energy (heat) stored in the sea at the end of the summer.

We currently have four storms systems swirling around us. It is like living on a mythological Greek island surrounded by a wall of storms. 

Watching Wonder Woman in the cinema here last month the audience just looked at the Amazons’ Island and went ‘yep, been there…‘ 

Cyclone Number 10, Irma, is a bit of a worry. She is heading west across the atlantic, already a category 3 hurricane and 1500 miles of growing to go.

She would be beautiful if she was not so scary.

The models have her shifting north and running up the east coast of the States or turning back into the Atlantic but the same models also say there is a good chance she will barrel straight into the Caribbean. As I said it is not an exact science.

Oh and then hot on her heals is Cyclone Number 11 or Jose to his friends.

Still, not as stressful as waiting for OfSTED to call. At least with hurricanes you know that they are mindless savage monsters intent on destruction. OfSTED claims to be about school improvement.

I digress. Storms aside it has been a really great start to the term and school year.

It was lovely welcoming the staff back and even nicer having all the children back filling the place with noise and life once more.

Last week also saw the official welcome for our new cohort of Cayman education staff. As a Principal I was invited to the briefing. The morning provided an opportunity to meet key personnel from the Ministry, Department of Education and catch up with my fellow school Principals. There was a lot of information for our newcomers to take in but the backdrop to the session reminded us all why we are here and why we work so hard to provide a world class education.

Its been hard work this last couple of weeks but rewarding.

And come the weekend we went for a dive…

Today we had our first family dive. Cissy, Paul, Stephanie and Euan joined us for a two tank dive at Eden Rock.

Victoria and Poppy both swam through the mysterious caves! As we swam through Victoria thought she saw a shark silhouetted in the cave exit ahead of us. I shook my head and made the sign of a 'T' for tarpon.

Admittedly it was huge nearly 2 meters long. Certainly bigger than Poppy but not a shark unfortunately! Darn those pesky fish.

We were rather spoilt with sightings of two turtles, a stingray, hagfish and a squadron of about 20 squid. The water was stunningly clear.

'I don't know where dad is". Surprise attack from above.

A wonderful day out for the whole scuba gang.

Poppy has discovered Instagram and the art of the selfie…

Living like the Instagram Generation, blue skies and sunshine!

Victoria, James and Poppy had a trial dive a couple of weeks ago and inspired by the experience they decided that they wanted to get their PADI Certificates.

So this week they signed up for a three day course. Over the weekend they spent their time studying and on Monday they had a day studying the theory with a instructor.

A trip up to West Bay and Lantern Point on Tuesday and Wednesday for two days of training and testing with Divetech followed.

I am very proud to say that all three passed!

Quite a big step for all of them…

We had a meal out just after we first arrived here and I ordered the Cayman style coconut fish it was delicious. Unfortunately I have not been able to find it since. So I decided to give it a go myself, turned out to be quite straightforward.

I used swai, a relatively cheap white fish, rolled it in flower, then egg and finally desiccated coconut and shallow fried it… like I said easy. I served it with coconut rice, a green salad, guacamole made with fresh local avocado and a simple salsa. It was really yummy!

Well boys week is over. I packed Adam back on the plane. But not without a little drama I might add. First his flight was cancelled. But worry not the airline had a later flight it just meant flying to somewhere slightly further west in the States than he had initially planned. He took off after the short delay only to get caught in a storm and then have his connecting flight delayed. He was then diverted again and had to make an extra connection somewhere… I am told he eventually got home but it sounds like it was a bit of trek.

In the meantime I tidied up the house and got down to some school work. I had three days to myself before Vic and the kids got back so I put them to good use getting the shopping in; changing the beds; cleaning and going to work.

Monday arrived and I collected my brood from the airport.

Shattered but happy to be home. We had a couple of easy days as they got over their adventures and found their feet once again before John, Natalie and Chloe arrived.

I’ve known John since my first day at university and he is James’s Godfather and I am his daughter Chloe’s Godfather. I think that makes them God-cousins or something… Anyway we are close and I have missed them while we have been here especially my Chloe (John not so much…).

As an aside here we are when Chloe was just new! A day out in Rock Cornwall. I have lost track of how many times we visited this beautiful little spot.

True to form John had spent months researching places to eat. His objective was to eat ‘authentic and local‘, you have to say this in a deep authoritarian slightly posh voice to get the full effect. So we did.

The Heritage Kitchen in West Bay and The Big Tree Bar-b-que were our favourites serving unpretentious high quality local food like rice and beans, fried fresh caught fish and jerk meat. Simple food cooked well. He was very pleased with his discoveries and obviously at having introduced us to local fare that we otherwise would never have found on our own.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it is the same food we serve everyday in the school canteen or that he did not get the chance to try a proper fish fry or swanky but he seemed happy none the less.

We took our guests sight-seeing but on the whole we had a happy week on the beach relaxing and spent the evenings cooking. John is a really good cook so it was a chance to get him to teach me some really nice vegetarian recipes for when Tamsin visits at Christmas…

We spent most of the ten days in or on the water in one form or another either at Smith’s Cove; chasing sea turtles at Spotts; snorkelling the wreck up on Seven Mile Beach; Natalie and I diving; canoeing in the mangroves or lunching at Hemmingways.

We did head over to Kaibo for the beach bar-b-que and had a wonderful evening under the stars where Chloe, despite being horrified that we grown ups all got up and danced, joined in the dancing!

A few months ago, at a loss what to get Chloe for her 16th birthday, I promised that when she came to visit I would take her for her first dive. It was time to make good. I extended the invitation to James, Poppy and Victoria who all said they would like to go too! So we all headed over to Sunset House where they all spent a couple of hours in the pool before heading out to sea for their collective maiden dive!

I tagged along to watch and see how they got on and to generally share the experience.

It was like watching ducklings. The four of them waddling around with tanks strapped to their backs it was hilarious! I half expected one of them to turn turtle at any minute and lay there on the floor with their legs kicking feebly in the air. But no they all managed to get to the sea.

I don’t mind saying being responsible for sending your children and god-daughter on their first dives is a little nerve-wracking. You know one of those things that sounds cool when you suggest it but as they all sink out of sight beneath the waves you re-evaluate!

I followed along on the surface. Given they were only going down to 40 feet they were close enough that in the event of a calamity I could reach them.

From above watching the poor dive instructor with the group it was like watching him trying to herd cats (or cat-fish at least). As he tried to keep the group together and they shot off hither and yon distracted by all the shiny fish! Unlike herding cats on land under water they can go up and down as well adding whole new dimensions to trying wrangle them!

As it turned out they had a blast. 

When they all surfaced safely 45 minutes later they were babbling happily, as high as kites with the excitement of what they had just experienced! They all loved it.

Status as the cool Godfather firmly intact! 

James and Poppy have asked to do their PADI qualifications on the back of it.

Oh and Poppy turned 12! So we took her out for lunch at Al Frescos. Poppy loves the lasagna there…

We saw John, Natalie and Chloe off on Sunday it was great seeing them!

This week Castaways began drifting back from their various adventures…

We headed up the island to Tiki Beach and the Red Sail Sports where we rented a couple of Wave Runners. The chaps gave us a quick ‘safety briefing‘ which was more about keeping other people alive as opposed to us.

He pointed out three large buoys about 1/2 a mile from the beach. One marking the north end of the jet ski run, one the middle and the other the southern end about 1 and a 1/2 miles apart. Three miles in total, running from the top end of 7 Mile Beach down to the Westin Hotel.

We climbed onto our boats and at five miles an hour headed out from the beach to the appointed area. Once out in the designated channel we opened up the throttles.

The things moved like rockets. Torpedoes. Totally mad just zooming along inches above the surface of the water the slightest waves sending the wave runners jumping into the air.

I clung on each time the machine jumped it nearly threw me off. It was everything I could do to hang on.

I was not so much riding as hanging on for dear life. Griping the handlebars just held the throttle down causing the machine to go faster and faster. The wave-runner shot over the water at 25mph, 35mph until we hit 45mph. 

The three mile course took a little over four minutes to cover, running out of road, I managed to force myself to let go of the the throttle.  I eased it back and managed to slow down! It was a total act of will it went against all instinct.

After a couple more wild runs I relaxed enough to be a bit more in control. Turning was a case of leaning to one side or another rather than steering. Steering just led to wild overstear!

By the end of the half hour we were racing each other, zig-zagging across each others’ wakes to catch waves and jump, skidding into turns and spinning around doing doughnuts!

It was great fun hurtling along Seven Mile Beach, completely crazy, I spent the whole time giggling like an idiot.

When we finished our legs were like jelly and they ached so much from hanging on! We hobbled around like old farts for the rest of the week.

For Adam’s final dive of the week we went to Sunset House and swam out to meet Amphitrite. The fish on the Reef were amazing some of the best we have seen all week.

We had a spot of lunch and headed for a walk around Camana Bay. Where we headed up the observation tower for a view of the whole island.

James, Poppy and I have had a great week out of Grand Cayman. Although we are without Matthew and we are missing him. 

Don’t feel too sorry for him though as he has a friend with him who is visiting from the Uk. They are probably having a right old knees up! They have been diving, jet skiing, eating out and going to the pub. 

The photos are of the church where my sister got married (inside and outside), my beautiful sister and handsome new brother in law, George, Poppy and my nieces Alice and little Daisy. The other bridesmaid photo also has the three youngest bridesmaids, Poppy, Alice and cousin Vienna. 

We arrived into Heathrow on Tuesday at midday after an 11 hour flight. 

We were picked up by friends who live near Heathrow (thanks Debbie and John) and spent a couple of hours with them and Stephanie at their house. 

We then dashed off to Cyprus on Wednesday morning at 5am to get to Cyprus for my sister’s wedding. There was a villa party that evening followed by the Wedding the next day. It was a traditional Greek wedding. It was translated into English too. 

Then we went to the beach on Friday, Water World Aqua Park on Saturday followed by a lovely evening meal at the restaurant where the wedding venue was, courtesy of George, my new brother in law (thanks George, very kind of you) then we went home (to my mum and dad’s house in Bournemouth) on Sunday. 

We got back early hours of Monday morning. We have done one trip to Tescos and brought lots of bargains (everything is soooo expensive in Grand Cayman) to take back. We have met friends in Bournemouth yesterday, it was great to catch up. I am meeting a friend for lunch today. 

We travel back to London on Saturday evening to stay with my aunt near Richmond before leaving for Heathrow on Monday morning as we have friends coming to see us in Grand Cayman on 13th July. 

We are having coffee with one of James’ friends in London (we are squeezing that one in between his friend’s and our busy schedules on Sunday) and meeting Poppy’s old school friends in Richmond on Sunday. Sorry to our Ford and Wilkinson families in London and all our ‘London’ friends but as we are without transport and only in the UK for such a short time we are finding catching up with all of you a bit tricky. 

I know this is a busy time of year so we’ll just have to keep using Facebook to catch up. We are also sorry that we can’t catch up with the Read family in Cornwall.

 However if anyone who live nearby Richmond thinks they might be about and be able to pop to Richmond on Sunday evening then we will be there.

Love to you all. X Victoria.