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Athens of the North’s unfinished republic

10th May 202510th May 2025 funtime65

And Happy Republic Day to the 149 out of the 193 countries free of monarchies and a shout-out from Athens of the North’s unfinished republic.

Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, has long been a contradictory city.

Auld Reekie, on account of the smell in the Old Town.

Or the Athens of the North, styled to reflect the part The Scottish Enlightenment played in European culture in the Middle Ages.

Which is to take us to where we are today, Calton Hill atop and looking over Edinburgh’s Old and New Town.

Scotland’s Parthenon

And where we are joined by a hundred-strong group of fellow Our Republic supporters.

In front of Scotland’s National Monument, known colloquially as ‘Edinburgh’s Disgrace or ‘Scotland’s Folly.’

The columns which were built to resemble the Parthenon in Ancient Athens.

The memorial stands in tribute to the Scots Fallen from the Napoleonic Wars.

And it is poignant to be here in the week that’s in it when we marked 80 years since Victory in Europe.

Edinburgh’s Grace

Appointment at the Palace: Holyroodhouse

But Edinburgh’s Disgrace? Well, the columns were erected out of public donations which ran out.

Meaning that it remains unfinished.

There is of course something beautiful to the unfinished.

As only the divine creation could be considered complete.

Unfinished symphony: La Sagradia Familia

Which would account for Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

There is of course a symbolism too about an incomplete work such as in the Martin Luther statue in Washington DC.

Which will only be finished when true civil liberties have been achieved.

Friends across the water

The same might be argued for Scotland’s National Monument and its aspiration to be The Athens of the North.

On a day when God shines sunshine on Edinburgh we stand at the Monument’s pillars.

And hear the argument for a republic and the abolition of the monarchy.

The Scots cite the Declaration of Arbroath, the template for the US Constitution and Robert Burns and A Man’s A Man For ‘A That.

And brithers be and sisters too as Catalans, Bahamians and Jamaicans take the stage and sing and rouse the faithful.

Redemption song

We bring the curtain down with a rousing anthem, Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry, sung with gusto by Rue Cooper.

And wish the Jamaicans well for their Autumn referendum to give themselves the right to instal their own head of state.

Rue knows her audience and adapts Robert Nesta Marley’s words to accommodate Calton Hill, Edinburgh.

And bathed in the light we consider Athens of the North’s unfinished republic.

And promise to build a new future and return here when the work is finally all done.

Caribbean, Countries, UK

Windrush Windies change

22nd June 202323rd June 2023 funtime65

Seventy-five years ago Jamaicans were lured from their island in the sun to dark, drizzly Britain beckoning the Windrush Windies change.

Now, of course, we’re all saving like mad here in Britain to get out to Jamaica.

Of course, this observation is in no way to diminish the ignominy done to those who answered ‘the motherland’s’ call.

Only for large swathes to then be told that they had no right to be here and must go ‘home’.

Jamaica, of course, has been reflecting on its relationship with the UK and whether it wants to retain the King as head of state.

Probably didn’t help then to have two entitled and bejewelled young white people thrust on them in an elevated vehicle.

A Windies welcome

It has always struck me in my journeys through the West Indies and dealings with Caribbean representatives.

Just how easy and welcoming they are with white Brits.

Because can you imagine the furore if the roles had been reversed.

And Britons had been enslaved and then exploited in the Caribbean?

Well, the Scots Highlanders were taken from their crofts.

And had forced labour inflicted on them as indentured servants.

As did the Irish which was then also under British rule.

Scotland and Ireland: Me and Michael in Barbados

Of course, the Scottish and Irish experience, as stark as it was, was not on the scale of the slavery the black African had to endure.

And it was conflicted with many of our own acting as overseers and benefiting hugely from the degradations of black slaves.

Something, it is shameful to say we refuse to remove in the statues of slave apologists and in street names.

Now, I’m relieved to have discovered that not all Scots were exploitative.

Our Caribbean dream

And surely the Murtys, who made their name onto the Building Wall in Bridgetown, Barbados were benefactors.

I have an open invitation, well I am on the wall alongside the Fentys (Rihanna’s people) to return to research my family’s place in Bajan history.

Of course retracing your roots can often uncover secrets.

As I found out when I researched my own family tree and discovered that a great-great-something grandparent had another family.

Seventy-five years ago there was a Windrush Windies change which blew our way in the UK.

It is undeniable that we are a better and richer society for those who answered our call in our hour of need and their descendants.

And it is to their eternal credit that despite what we have inflicted on them over generations they welcome us with open arms in their islands.

So Vive La Revolution Jamaica when you inevitably follow Barbados in cutting ties with the British monarchy.

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD

Countries

Crosses we bear around the world

15th April 202215th April 2022 funtime65

It’s a truism to help us on life’s journey and never more so than today when we consider the crosses we bear around the world.

Now we’re not going to get all heavy on you… we hope to lighten your load in this space.

But it is intriguing to see how the rest of the world marks Jesus of Nazareth’s death in Jerusalem 2,000 or so years ago.

On a hill in Jerusalem

This is my son, my beloved: Jesus on the cross

And that hill which we might remember from the Bible is Golgotha in Aramaic, or the place of the skulls, or Calvary in Latin.

Eerily the Jerusalem mound where Jesus and the two robbers were crucified is shaped like a skull.

Join the pilgrims in the Holy Land (get there early) on the walk up the Via Dolorosa and go through the Stations of the Cross.

I’ve been practising all my life (Lourdes, Fatima, the Camino, the Via Francigena, Medjugorje and all stops in between) and God willing, will get there.

When in Rome

And, of course, when in Rome and on Good Friday, the Pope takes centre stage.

Francis leads a torch-lit procession, the Via Crucis from the Colosseum to Palatine Hill.

And yes, it wouldn’t be worth a denarii without stops for prayers at the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross.

Francis also likes to carry a cross at least part of the way. Of course he does.

Good Eggday Jamaica

Yes, it would probably work better as Good Fryday but I won’t let the facts get in the way of a good Easter story.

No, our Jamaican friends bring a new spin on the Easter Egg story with this Good Friday tradition.

You add an egg white to a glass of water before sunrise on Good Friday.

And then look at it as the sun goes up to see if the white settles into an image that may hint at the future.

Now, if only they’d tried this at the Last Supper.

And Judas is carried out in Trinidad & Tobago

Further down the Caribbean and Trinidad & Tobago zoom in on the treacherous Judas Iscariot.

With their stuffed clothes effigies, the Bobolees.

And that’s when the Trinidandian and Tobagonians go to town on them with sticks.

It’s not just Judas though with other hate figures getting stick too.

Carrying it too far in the Philippines

And isn’t it always the case that someone takes it too far.

We’ve all seen them, at this time of the year, on our TVs…

Those have-a-go-heroes who literally get themselves nailed to the cross to show their devotion.

The Catholic Church discourages this practice but still the zealots of Pampanga persist.

Oberammergau

And not forgetting too God’s own children of Oberammergau in Bavaria in Germany.

With this year being particularly special as the ten-year iteration of the Passionspiele will go ahead.

After it took an abeyance two years ago because of Covid.

Yes, they are all crosses we bear around the world.

Caribbean, Countries

Beardie Burns and the Caribbean

25th January 202225th January 2022 funtime65

Were The Scots Bard alive today he’d be liaising with the West Indians too… I give you Beardie Burns and the Caribbean.

But let’s rewind a second… beardie you say?

Well, the Beard Liberation Front are positing the view that Rabbie was rough aroon the chin.

And the clean-shaven look was manufactured to appeal to polite society.

Whether or not that was the case, we do know Burns was seriously considering decamping to the Windies.

To get out of his financial problems before the release and acclaim for his poetry sparked a rethink.

Jamaica my day

Twas Jamaica that Burns wrote of in correspondence and verse.

He had the offer of a role as a bookkeeper.

But would a beardie Bard have been seduced by the island to the south named the Bearded One after its low-hanging plant?

I know this bearded Bard (Edinburgh Fringe 2002) was, on his trips to Barbados.

I have, in fact, been long intrigued by the Caribbean from a childhood love of cricket and their music.

Caribbeans to my door

Me-me and Dee-Dee at Crop Over in Barbados

My friends in the Caribbean have been throwing their arms open again to us now Covid is easing.

We all know about the new Virgin Atlantic out to Barbados.

And the good people at 02 Beach Club Barbados and the Sea Breeze Beach House and the South Beach Hotel are keen to show us their wares.

As I’ve mentioned here the Bajans’ most common question to visitors is what’s your favourite Caribbean island.

A challenge if ever I heard one.

Island hopping

And with Tobago tucked under my belt and Jamaica and its many Scots links, and 60th anniversary of independence this year, I’m away island hopping.

With Montpelier Plantation & Beach on Nevis (sounds Scottish yes) coming calling.

I heart Belize: Central American delights

And Aruba (Aruba, Aruba, Aruba), Dominica and the Central American side of the Caribbean in Belize too.

It’s no coincidence that the Scots (and Irish) left a big footprint in the Windies and continue to do so.

So on today, his national day, we celebrate Beardie Burns and the Caribbean.

America, Asia, Caribbean, Countries, Europe, UK

Craig Sera Sera

18th October 2021 funtime65

Craig Sera Sera, that’s a wrap from the 12th Bond.. and he’ll sure miss those exotic missions.

So which countries has 007 visited most, other than England where he works?

Well of the 50 he’s been to, Italia would seem to have been his favourite with the spy having touched down in Il Bel Paese eight times.

Pasta Master

Venice: And let’s catch a gondola back to Padova

Rome, Venice and Como have inevitably been stick-on locations for any filmmaker and international man of mystery.

And this time it’s the European City of Culture for 2019, Matera, which is getting its place in the sun this time.

With its houses. built into caves, cobbled streets and high arches a dramatic backdrop for the opening scenes.

And Felice Giorni for Matera with the town’s mayor, Raffaello De Ruggieri, predicting its association with Bond will be worth $20 million to the local economy.

In truth this is probably the highpoint of the movie, and all before the credits and Billie Eilish’s disappointing dirge of a soundtrack.

As Daddy’s Little Girl rightly pointed out the best bits were the locales.

Live and Let Spy

With Britain and America enjoying that much feted special relationship it is unsurprising that The Oo Es of Eh is his next favourite stop-off.

And we particularly enjoy his forays into Florida and its keys… whose pleasures I had to put off on the outbreak of Covid but where I intend to fulfil just as soon as.

Ski another day

Like an Alpine skier: In the Austrian Tyrol

Next up might be less predictable, Austria, but then we have to remember its stunning snowscapes and Bond’s love of winter sports which of course we share.

Although we have never seen him on the slopes of Soll while we have enjoyed skiing alongside some dapper fancied-dressed folks.

And we look forward to seeing a penguin-suited Bond on the piste some time soon.

For Bond anoraks it’s an easy question but which is the only country in a film title?

The spy who came in from the Red

Yes, the old Soviet Union, or Russia as we knew it in shorthand.

And as well as the titular film From Russia With Love, Bond turns up in Fabergeland another three times.

Turkish crossroads

It has been the crossroads for espionage since first the first looked out over each other at either side of the Bosphorus.

And, of course, Istanbul, has been an ideal backdrop for Bond’s adventures… and yours, and mine with three films taking in Turkey’s biggest city.

Three’s a charm

And among those countries where Bond has a trio of visits is Hong Kong, Spain, the Bahamas, Scotland, his homeland and Jamaica where Ian Fleming penned the books.

And the West Indies’ biggest island is where we first fell in love with Bond on the Laughing Waters beach in Ocho Rios.

Or Sean Connery to be more precise, even if you were a red-blooded bloke, you actually wanted to be him.

And be with Ursula Andress.

There was much fuss too about Daniel Craig with his take on coming out of the water, ripped and in a pair of budgie smugglers.

Only thing is a budgie has more charisma.

Craig Sera Sera… whatever will be, will be.

Caribbean, Countries, Culture, Food & Wine

Jamaica? No, she came of her own accord

15th October 202115th October 2021 funtime65

And apologies for the old schoolyard gag: I took my wife on holiday to the Caribbean… Jamaica? No, she came of her own accord.

You see nobody needs a second invitation to Jamaica.

Unless, of course, you’re me.

And herein hangs a tail with me being off in another corner of the world when the first invitation came in.

I had sent a colleague to Orlando at the same time the second invitation came in and I had to stay back in the office to cover for him.

My old buddie Kevin Gleeson was the beneficiary of that mix-up.

Going back to that old joke (groan) and our friends in Yeah Mon Island are shining the light on the romantic side of the island.

Social island

Jamaica reached out across social media to invite followers to share their special romantic memories.

And understandably Negril Beach, one of the best beaches in the world was namechecked.

Rockhouse was highlighted as one of Negril’s most scenic dining venues.

Overlooking the volcanic cliffs on to the brilliant Caribbean Sea. Also named as an ideal spot

While the Martha Brae River through Jamaica’s breath-taking greenery is another favourite.

And the Rio Grande River is a fave boating route, specifically along the aptly named ‘Lovers Lane’.

Strawberry Hill Forever

Strawberry Hill Hotel is just as beautiful as it sounds, with beautiful views of Jamaica’s Blue Mountains.

And it was the location of choice for musical legend Bob Marley’s romantic getaways, set in 26-acres of vivid mountaintop gardens.

From Bob to Bond and GoldenEye, the home of Ian Fleming was named the ultimate proposal spot.

The resort was designed as an idyllic retreat attracting artists, writers and musicians from around the world.

With beautifully appointed villas enclosed in a lush jungle of tropical plants and trees.

Montego Bay

Now Jamaica seems to have the copyrwright on lyrical names (and a good few Scottish and Irish ones too).

And few are more recognisable than Montego Bay.

For foodies, the Sugar Mill Restaurant at the Half Moon counts the Queen and John F. Kennedy amongst its previous guests.

And for you lovebirds (no, not those two icons… I don’t want to end up in the Tower)

There are secluded spots for a proposal such as the candlelit overwater Sunset Gazebo.

So Jamaica? No, she came of her own accord. Of course.

Caribbean, Countries, Culture

Sandals Jamaica I dig it

4th September 20214th September 2021 funtime65

They’re the best pools, where you don’t have to swim and just drink in the pool and play volleyball. Sandals Jamaica I dig it.

The volleyball is the favoured entertainment of the American visitors.

And if you ask nicely they’ll let you join in.

Be prepared to high five after every winning point.

Pool Sandals

Of course the Sandals pool allows gentle swimming.

Preferably to the bar in the middle.

Or up to your room if you’re lucky enough to get a swim-up room.

As tempting as it is to spend your entire holiday on the hotel grounds.

And enjoy the restaurants, bars, pools and sea, an island of fun is waiting just outside the gates.

Mine was, and is, Barbados but Sandals is part of island life right throughout the Caribbean.

Integrating your holiday between your hotel, your activities and your day trips will enhance your Caribbean getaway.

And pacing.

Constant refills

So while there are refilled comp mini-bars and Champagne, make sure to refuel at the breakfast bar.

And if you’re out limin’ (pre-drinkin’) then plenty of water.

And dance it off at a Mas (a music party).

At the end of your day out (and you’ll snorkel, swim or do water sport of your choice) you’re back at the Sandals gates.

And drowsy of head (and rum) you’re awakened.

And with a jerk you put your arms straight out and hands together in a volleyball dig manoeuvre.

Set for pool volleyball

You’re replaying your pool volleyball match from the morning.

And practising for the next day’s match.

Although it will be tough as the Americans haven’t left the pool all day.

Jamaica remains my next cab on the rank, and that cab is pointed towards Ochi Beach.

The Butler at your service

Where Sandals Jamaica is offering a stay in a Butler Village Poolside one-bedroom villa suite.

Seven nights luxury included. Travel to Marleyland in June from £2199pp.

Save up to 45% off plus up to an extra £700 booking bonus on select rooms and suites.

British Airways Club World Sale is bookable until September21.

Bring on Sandals Jamaica I dig it!

Caribbean, Countries, Culture

Jamaica green list? Why not?

25th June 202125th June 2021 funtime65

Jamaica green list? Why not? The Caribbean has got the go-ahead from the UK but Reggaeland has been given no respect.

Imagine if everywhere in your neighbourhood gets lifted from curfew and you stay locked down.

The case for Jamaica

Well, that’s what’s happening to Jamaica which was slated to be back on the roster with a case rate of just 14.4.

The first question you’ll be asked by anyone you meet in the Caribbean is what your favourite island is?

To which, of course, you say the island you’re on which won’t be difficult.

The islanders are fiercely proud of their dots in the sea but equally they know that their fortunes are forged by their geography.

West Indian unity

West Indians come together, of course, most famously at carnival and on the cricket ground.

But also when Mother Nature shows her displeasure and batters their islands.

And that was evident again this year with the joint effort to help Saint Vincent after La Soufriere volcano erupted.

So while each Caribbean island who got back on the green list will be celebrating our return there will be sympathy for Jamaica.

Jamaican independence

It is as we all know a big year for Jamaica next year, the 60th anniversary of independence from the UK.

And I’ve got missionary work to do, spreading the Jamaican word back here.

About how independent Jamaica is forever linked to Scotland.

You see that thread run through the Caribbean and I found it in Barbados (green 😊) and Tobago (red 😢).

Island hopping

And I’m making it a life’s mission to check out for myself in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

I’ll see the tracks of the Irish there too and nowhere more so than Shamrocked Montserrat.

Of course, it’s a cause for celebration that some of the most welcoming islands in the world are open again.

But it will only really be carnival time until they all are.

So again I ask the question… Jamaica green list. Why not?

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD

Countries

As Scotland strikes out again to try seize its freedom following the vote for independence parties in the Scottish election, your global traveller is flagging up one Scots-infused country of Empire which did… Jimmyaica.

No, Jimmyaica isn’t my lame efforts at Jamaican patois.

It’s more a recognition of the Scottish imprint on Jamaica (Scots are playfully known as Jimmys) and particularly its flag.

Jamaican flags will be flying even more proudly next year as the Caribbean Island celebrates 60 years of independence and some of you might wonder why it has that St Andrew’s Cross at its centre.

Flags are us

If some of you are tentatively wondering that it might have something to do with Scotland then go to the top of the class.

You may very well be a vexillologist, or somebody who loves flags and have found a link too between the Scottish flag and the Tenerife flag too.

I did when I went out to the Canary Island with CanariaWays and found that they have the exact same flag.

The initial suggestion for the flag was a Tricolour of green (agriculture and hope), black (the struggles of its people) and gold (sunlight).

But that was thought too similar to Tanganyika’s (now Tanzania).

But then you knew that already.

Besides, a missionary from Glasgow, Rev. William McGhie (he’d obviously considered his ain Glaswegians well past saving!) had the ear of the Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante.

The Man of the Cloth persuaded him to embed Christian imagery into the flag.

And so the X of the St Andrew’s Cross found its way onto the flag to mark how the Apostle had lost his life.

Glasgow belongs to I and I

The Jamaican Glasgow on the west of the island is, of course, just one of a number of place names we both share.

Among the others are Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Greenock and ouch… Culloden!

So we’re off… with our official countdown to the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence.

And I’m bringing you this in association with Flag Up Scotland Jamaica which helpfully also seems to want to promote Caledonian preserves – flagupscotjam.

So where do we start in the story of Jamaica?

Well, how about at Scotland’s lowest point, no not the aforementioned Culloden but Scotland’s failed attempt at an empire of its own, the Darien Expedition in Panama.

Darien’s loss

The Darien Expedition was the breaking point for the old independent Scotland.

The whole nation from king to pauper had put money into the project only to lose more than just their shirt.

Cap in hand a section of the Scottish Parliament approached England to bail them out in 1703…

And the price was union, all of which you can read the whole story of in historian Douglas Watt’s excellent The Price of Scotland.

So where does this take us in the Jimmyaica story?

The Campbells are coming

Well to Colonel John Campbell who refused to allow Darien to put him off making his fortune and who decamped to Jamaica in 1700 and set up a sugar plantation at Black River.

He was by no means the first Scot on the island though.

Oliver Cromwell banished 1,2000 Scots prisoners of war out here in the previous century where they worked as indentured servants.

Others to be exiled included those failed colonialists from Darien, Jacobite rebels, criminals and Covenanters.

All ‘Scots’ look like this: Naomi Campbell. http://www.naomicampbell.com

Campbell’s kingdom has a rich lineage.

And it is said that there are more Campbells here per square acre than in the whole of Scotland.

While his descendants may very include supermodel Naomi Campbell and Costa Rica footballer Joel Campbell.

And the Irish too

I’ve found my own native land’s DNA elsewhere in the Caribbean in Scotland in Barbados and in Glasgow’s bar in Tobago.

My own roots are in the old sod of Ireland and Armagh from where Patrick Murty hailed.

But I dare say that the rambling Murtys managed to get out to Ja as the locals affectionately call their island.

I’ll return to Jamaica’s many Scottish connections and I’ll be happy flagging up Jimmyaica.

As we journey on the road to the independence anniversary.

And I’ll scatter some Irish magic dust on the island too with the links which bind Jamaica and Ireland.

MEET JA ON THE ROAD

Caribbean, Countries, Culture

Rainy Days and Songdays – Jamaica sings Burns

25th January 202125th January 2021 funtime65

Robert Burns’s greatest creations Tam O’ Shanter and Soutar Johnny sit with their tankards in the Burns Monument Gardens.

Alongside them is a carved tabletop map of the world with mini-Burns statues depicting where the poet is celebrated.

On this his birthday it is worth considering that Burns is lauded by as vastly opposing cultures as America and in Russia.

Because he was an everyman, ‘a man’s a man for a’ that’ and all that.

Ode to the Caribbean

But also in the old countries of Empire.

My guys and Burns’ guys in Alloway

Burns, proud Scot though he was, had set his sights on the Caribbean.

And he had agreed to a position as a bookkeeper in Port Antonio in Jamaica.

You see Burns’s wild lifestyle was beginning to catch up with him.

A new start

A hard drinker, he was facing penury while he was impregnating women all over Scotland.

Robert Burns

Although there was one, Highland Mary, whom he wished to take to the Indies.

O sweet grows the lime and the orange, and the apple on the pine, but a’ the charms o’ the Indies, Can never equal thine – Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary

Only for his poetry to take off at home which made him change his mind.

And continue juggling his women.

All of which took its toll, of course, and he died, still beset by money worries, at just 36.

Now if only there had been a digital work abroad scheme for Burns like we have today in the Caribbean.

Scots have left their mark all across the West Indies.

Scots in the Indies

The region of Scotland in Barbados being testament.

Glasgow Bar with owner Karl in Tobago

While any excuse to namecheck Glasgow Bar in Tobago.

Now for the day that’s in it, and your regular feature, Rainy Days and Songdays here’s a site with Burns in Jamaican patwa.

And check out this collaboration between Scots producer Kieran C Murray and Jamaican singer Brinathe 2015 Jamaica Sings Robert Burns.

Oh ye Jamaicans by name, lend an ear, lend an ear!

SLAINTÉ