Centenarians & Reports

I finally had the chance today to get my hands on a copy of the Montserrat Reporter, which had a two-page spread about the jubilee celebrations as well as an entire page dedicated to photos from the recital. An online version of this article can be found here.

Yesterday was what I would expect to be my last pan gig with Volpanics. Cupid called me up at lunchtime yesterday asking if I would be able to play at a centenarian's birthday party. It was a really nice, familial reception of relatives and close friends (which you would certainly accrue after 100 years!) and the governor Adrian was there to present the queen's birthday card.

According to Adrian, this was his 6th 100-year-old party he's attended in Montserrat since he took office slightly over a year ago. Not too bad, if you consider this island's population of only about 4,800.

Performing at the Lookout Community Centre.

Another stunning Montserratian sunset.

Graduation at MSS takes place on next Wednesday, and the principal has requested for the Montserrat Youth Choir to perform. Looks like I'll be kept busy to the very end! Certainly looking forward to it though.

News & Weather

Two and a half weeks on from the jubilee recital, it is now getting coverage on local papers and newsletters. Click on the above image to enlarge the photo and to read the article.

And now I am back in Montserrat after a blazingly quick week in London - only once more will I have to transit through the chaotic mess that is Antigua's airport! I always breathe a sigh of slight relief when the FlyMontserrat plane lifts off from Antigua's tarmac, leaving behind the throngs of American tourists and Boeing 777 jets, making the intrepid 20-minute flight across azure waters before Montserrat looms into view. Peaceful, relaxed, tranquil and everything it's been made out to be - all visible from the sky.

But this is it now - slightly less than three weeks left of paradise isle before it's back to the big smoke. On some good news, however - the job interview back in London was a success and I will be accepting the offer to start in St John's Prep School in September.

Montserrat is at it's hottest I've ever experienced so far, and with no A/C in my house the fan has become my closest friend and companion. The weather now is significantly hotter than what I first remembered when I got here in January, and I'm slightly surprised by how varied the temperature can get given this island's close proximity to the equator.

Things have slightly taken a lull at school as well, with exam period now in full swing. The end of term is nigh!