Fisherpond House

Meeting your husband’s boss for the first time can be a nerve racking experience. You try on five different outfits, do your make-up twice, practice your smile in the mirror (friendly but not flirty, formal but relaxed), and leave the house feeling like you are embarking on World War II, rather than being taken out to lunch! 

Barbados, where my husband’s work has brought us, has a wealth of beautiful plantation houses set in rolling fields of sugar cane. Our lunch rendezvous took place at one such house, whose antiquated decor was mirrored by the classical ambience and formal service. We took tea in a perfectly manicured garden and I felt as if we had gone back in time to a forgotten world where men were men and women were ornaments. My husband’s boss and his wife arrived, and to my delight, she wore a dress and hair-do almost identical to mine. The surrounding rushes swayed in the wind around us like fans at a U2 concert.

After tea, we were led inside the grand house in which delicate music wafted from a grand piano, caressed by a woman in the corner. The mahogany furniture surrounding us was swathed in flowers, which I later learnt the owner, a professional florist, had designed himself. Upon a central table was the focus of the day – a buffet lunch on a bed of flowers. Their delicate smell lulled me into a false sense of security and I had to check myself to ensure I kept up appearances with the big boss.

We helped ourselves to the buffet starter using shiny silver serving spoons. I forced myself to hold back as I instinctively wanted to try every single morsel from the colourful feast lain out before me. The cucumber salad had been massaged with a delicate sauce that transformed it into something exciting and unknown. Green peas belied their reputation by exuberating pinazz in a dish of pearly, white rice adorned with freshly picked herbs. The main course was a fusion of traditional Bajan and English foods – marvellous macaroni cheese, racy rice and flying fish in a delicate batter. There was also a whole table dedicated to sweets. Despite being as full as a hot air balloon before it takes off, I just had to sample the naughty deserts that beckoned me to give in.

The food, ambience and company were surprisingly good – and my fears melted away. A wonderful Sunday, on which I entered a fragile, forgotten world of grace and wonder.


Fisherpond House

Josef’s restaurant

Dinner at Josef’s restaurant was one of my favourite evenings on the island and I would whole-heartedly advise you too to escape to this magnificent cliff top restaurant. I was lucky enough to sit at one of the tables on the cliff edge where turquoise waves crashed against time, fire lanterns danced before my eyes, and I was left lost in the moment. If you visit I would strongly advise you to request a table overhanging the water’s edge to ensure you witness the theatrical backdrop in its full glory. 

At Josef’s restaurant in St Laurence Gap, there is something on the menu to suit everyone’s pallet from gourmet dishes which fuse European, Thai, Caribbean and Asian flavours; to freshly caught fish – the chef’s speciality. There is also a mouth watering sushi menu which my husband and I dined on under the stars. The sushi parcels contained thinly sliced fresh fish capturing the magic of another, underwater world.

Our waiter appeared on stage at all the right moments, ensuring our wine flowed and we were completely looked after. When we couldn’t decide which mouth watering desert to try he offered us an extra one free of charge. This was the pearl in the oyster from a restaurant I felt had already given us a lot for our money.

Josef’s restaurant is a restored Barbadian home on a cliff edge, and its magical gardens and gazebos can be used for special events. On this occasion, we arrived just after the restaurant had finished a wedding party, leaving us to relax in the tranquil twilight feeling like the stars of the show. I have to say that if my husband and I had decided to get married abroad this would have been the perfect setting.

During my first visit to Barbados, this evening has stayed with me as one of the most romantic experiences my husband and I encountered. We are now lucky enough to live on the Island, and plan to return to Josefs again and again.

It is easily found right in the hub of St. Lawrence Gap, where most of the Island’s bars, clubs and restaurants reside, and the atmosphere is electric; however, once inside Josef’s you will feel a million miles away from everything.

Experience this cliff edge restaurant, sample the delicious sushi parcels or delicious fresh dishes, whilst watching the fire lanterns dance beneath the stars.

Josef's restaurant

Moving to Barbados Baby!

Being new in any country is a challenge which brings you insight, confidence, paranoia, and fear. It is a situation which is full of juxtapositions, but if you embrace the adventure it could be one that helps you grow. Barbados has reminded me that dreams are possible. It has brought back teenage ideologies, because this is an island of opportunity where you can be free from the big city rat race, stop ‘surviving’ and start to look around.

For me, Barbados has woken past dreams and made future desires seem in reach. I have met so many expats who have come here and made millions often working in fields they hadn't even worked in before! I met a lady who started her first bar here with no experience whatsoever, and it is now one of the most successful bars on the island. I met a guy who went from being an estate agent in London to being one of the most successful construction company owners in the world. Another lady I met worked as an insurance underwriter, but realised her dream of being a singer by performing in the bars and restaurants here in her spare time. She has now brought out her first album.

This island is small, yet it is full of successful, interesting people who work hard and play harder. When I first arrived I was welcomed by a long standing ex-pat to, in her words, 'Never never land' and I thought my gosh I have come to the right place! There are only so many people and only so many places to go which means meeting people here is fast. A few nights out on the West coast’s ‘2^nd Street’ and you’ll soon know who all the ‘usual suspects’ are.

Of course, as with all good things there is a flip side – you can’t go anywhere on the island without bumping into someone. Locals and ex-pats describe ‘island fever’ – an ‘ailment’ that can only be avoided by leaving the island at regular intervals. I would explain ‘island fever’ as paranoia and, sadly, I have met some people who seem to be destroyed by it. These people tend to be mainly women ex-pats who find the size of the place – the ‘everyone knows your name’ situation overwhelming.

My blog will tell you about the places I like in Barbados, and the things I don't like. I will take you on my journey and reveal the secret parts of Barbados, the places that are ‘off the beaten track’, that I have been lucky enough to discover. It will be an impartial account of my experiences of Barbados.

I hope my blog helps newbies and visitors, find their way around the island and settle in more quickly. I would love for locals to comment on the places I have been or advise me of other places I should check out. If you have suggestions of what you’d like me to write about that would be very welcome too.

I would also like this blog to help me stay in touch with England. The opportunities that surround me here are partly born out of gaps in knowledge and experience here compared to the likes of London. With big city experience, being surrounded by less competition more possibilities arise. However, I would hate to lose touch with the latest trends, ideas, scenes and music that is taking off back home and around the world.  It would be great if folks back home could leave comments on the latest music tracks, or trends that are rocking their world.

Meanwhile I hope you guys find this blog about the ‘rock’ that is Barbados interesting and eye opening. Perhaps it will even inspire you to come and visit.