Mallets & Balls

Over last weekend I joined Tom & Emily at Little Bay for something a little unusual - helping out at the Montserrat Reef Project, building reef balls. What are reef balls? They are gumdrop-shaped concrete structures ranging from 4-6 feet tall, built using a pre-fabricated mould that consists of a central inflatable bladder. Right, that was a rather befuddling attempt to explain it, so here's a picture.

Freshly made reef balls.

And on Saturday, we turned up at 8 in the morning ready for some manual labour. With Tom & I not having wielded many a hammer in our lives so far, we embarked on a good start by taking and hammering apart the moulds that were filled in the day before. Each mould consists of three or four panels, and on each panel are small inflatable 'buoys' that give each reef ball it's signature 'cheese' layout. These holes within the structure will allow for water filtration and movement which will aid in coral growth. It also, of course, enhances the 'playground' effect for fish when it is finally put in the sea.

We then proceeded to reset and build the moulds again, for a marine-specific concrete mix to be poured in eventually. Each mould has a central inflatable bladder that gives the reef ball a hollow interior, and this bladder along with the smaller buoys are inflated before the concrete mix is poured in.

Andy & I with a smaller reef ball.

Looking very 'wieldy'.

Reef ball hatching.

The Montserrat Reef Project has been working with the Reef Ball Foundation, a non-profit organisation that specialises in artificial reef technology, reef propagation and public education & outreach; these fibreglass moulds were specially designed and built by the foundation. This project itself has been propelled by the dedication of Emmy & Andrew, the ocean-loving owners of Scuba Montserrat.

I certainly was glad to break out the tools (and muscles, of course) for this worthwhile cause, as well as contribute towards some sort of direct investment of Montserrat's marine future. And given how the corals will take about a year to propagate to reefs, from the time of transplantation, I will just have to come back in a year's time for a dive to marvel at the fruition of this project!

Effort & Legacy

Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of heading over to Isles Bay to have dinner with Gordon and Sylvie Young, who are currently on island for a short break. Gordon is the chairman of The Montserrat Foundation (UK), which, of course, is the charity that has been managing this entire project. After some very fine, exquisite French fare (whipped up by Sylvie herself, no less) - which is certainly a treat in these places - Gordon put on a DVD of Music for Montserrat, a concert which was held on 15 September 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall.

What so special about this concert was that it featured a plethora of famous musicians who previously recorded at AIR Studios in Montserrat, including Phil Collins, Sting, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Carl Perkins and Paul McCartney. Music for Montserrat was arranged and produced by Sir George Martin, and proceeds from the concert were used for disaster relief after a major eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano the year before. These musicians agreed to appear, out of their own pocket, to raise the necessary funds for the sake of Montserrat. Below is a video of the show's finale, featuring a line-up of stellar artists singing Hey Jude. If anyone could have brought the likes of Sting, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and so many more together on-stage to perform at the same time, it would have had to be George himself.

AIR Studios in Montserrat was also set up by Sir George Martin, who himself fell in love with (and still continues to play a huge part in the development of) Montserrat. It's main purpose was meant to be a get-away-from-it-all sort of studio, and saw many famous faces walk through its doors until it was finally destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Over the weekend I had the chance to visit what now remains of AIR Studios, located near the Belham Valley. It certainly looks like a ghost of its former self, but one can still certainly appreciate the legacy and the charm it must have held over its many visitors.

The entrance of AIR Montserrat.

Pool included for all those recording breaks.

All that's now left.

It is a somewhat of a shame that a lot of the island's music legacy as been lost on the young people here today, as I have observed from my classes. If only the government here could put in a bit more effort in restoring that by starting to spread awareness of the pivotal role Montserrat once played in - if not the development then at least the production - of what we would call iconic rock music today, I am sure the young people here would embrace it proudly.

Things like putting the Montserrat Cultural Centre to better, more intensive use would only serve to benefit the island's heritage. The only time I stopped by at the centre, the second day I got to the island, it was completely locked shut and the area behind the centre looked slightly overgrown. Yet the Montserrat Tourist Board lists the Cultural Centre as one of the tourist spots to visit. This place could be a perfect location to continue the legacy of AIR Studios and the Beatles - to set up a permanent, constantly-manned exhibition might be a good start.

Ghauts & Scuba diving

This weekend gone has been a busy one, and as I now settle back into this mid-week post I can see my arms slightly reddish from a bit too much exposure to the sun. On Saturday, a group of us - Doug, Mel, Rob, Dan and myself - went on a hike in the north, starting from Drummonds heading to Rendezvous Bay and going via Silver Hills. What was meant to be a rather straightforward undertaking quickly turned into somewhat of an intrepid bush hike as we somehow veered off the trail, stumbled onto a farm and then proceeded to edge our way slowly down a steep slope into a valley before clamouring down the entire length of a ghaut on our hands and feet.

At this point we were beginning to wonder if we were truly lost, but by some fortuitous chance we came across two men who were building a goat fence, albeit in the seemingly most random and remote location as where we were. They, however, did seem to know the local geography well and managed to point is in the right direction - this time following yet another different ghaut down the valley, towards the sea. The aim was to reach Crystal Beach, a rocky beach along the north coast purportedly containing crystals.

And crystals we did find! Well, nothing too grand, but crystals nonetheless - they were embedded in some form of limestone. Following the coast, we continued on to Rendezvous Bay, the only white sand beach on the island. The water was pristine and nothing short of relieving, after our long detour.

My return to the summit of Silver Hill.

Carib or Arawak ruins, perhaps?

At the summit of Silver Hill, we spotted what appeared to be ruins of some sort - two monoliths strangely sticking out of the tree canopy. While I can't profess to know much about Caribbean history, I did hear that the earliest evidence of humans in Lesser Antilles arc of islands dates all the way back to 2,000 BCE in Antigua - which is right next door from Montserrat. This area certainly has seen lots of human history.

Dan being a bit of a geology nerd.

Attempting to reconcile with the trail.

At some point, the trail we were trying to follow disappeared, and no amount of consultation with Doug's hi-tech GPS tracker could point us back in the right direction. We crossed a farm gate and, after avoiding a potentially irate cow looking after a calf, arrived at a steep side of a hill overlooking a valley which, we reckoned, would lead us to the ocean.

Rolling hills and valley.

A rocky respite.

At a scenic rocky outcrop.

After pushing our away through some low but thick vegetation, we arrived at a dry ghaut that was bordered by a goat fence on the east side. Which, I suppose, was good news - that meant someone had been here previously before on foot to build these fences. Although, considering how remote where we were, it seemed like a massive effort to go through just to make sure a few goats don't accidentally wander off.

And just as I was pondering on that point, we ran into that pair of fence-building farmers.

Mel expressing some rocky love.

The intrepid five.

Familiarizing myself with more local flora.

And finally, two-and-a-half hours later, we finally heard faint sounds of splashing waves. At the end of ghuat we emerged at sea level, on a rocky beach that was Crystal Beach. From there, we followed the coast west-ward and arrived at neighbouring Rendezvous Bay. This beach is only accessible by boat, or a hilly 30-minute trek from the port in Little Bay.

First stop: straight into the sea.

The cliffs which cut Rendezvous Bay off.

My little spot of paradise.

On Sunday, Mel, Philippa and myself returned to Little Bay - not for more walking though, but to get our sea legs in shape with a boat dive with Emmy and Andrew, a couple who run a diveshop on the island called Scuba Montserrat. We went out to Rendezvous Bay (again!), but anchored off about 400 metres form shore for our dive and a spot called Rainbow's End.

As I don't have an underwater camera, I didn't get any pictures from our dive, unfortunately - but it certainly was a beautiful sight of corals, fishes and a couple of sea urchins. At 45 feet, one tank lasted pretty long, and we managed to clock just above an hour for our dive.

After returning to shore, we headed over to the nearby beach bar for some lunchtime beers to finish off the weekend - for me, at least - I was completely knackered. Here is a map of the trail we took for the trek on Saturday, taken off the GPS.

In other music-related news, the Montserrat Youth Choir will be having their inaugural performance on Cultural Day, 12 March. Montserrat Secondary School celebrates the annual cultural day with a parade from Salem, with students dressing up in cultural costumes representing all the countries which the student population derives from. There will be a UK contingent, and I have agreed to 'choreograph' a ceilidh-style Scottish reel routine for the parade.

The parade will then end at the school itself, where there will be a varying range of food and merchandise being sold to raise funds for the school. I almost thought I might be cornered into preparing some Singaporean-type cuisine for this, but thankfully I was spared. Not that I have the slightest inkling on how to whip up chicken rice, laksa or char kway teow! (I make a pretty damn good carbonara meatball pasta though.) And finally, There will also be a 'concert' of sorts, with students performing different artistic routines derived from different cultures.

Come next Tuesday, I will be meeting with the Rotary club here in Montserrat to see if we can raise even more funds for instrument donations - which is in itself a positive development. On the other hand, my order of music books from Chappell still hasn't arrived, and it's been nearly three weeks. Very frustratingly so. The postal system in this region really needs a big kick up the bum!

Radio interviews & Folk dancing

Last Wednesday, ZJB Radio Montserrat paid a visit to the music classrooms to catch a glimpse of some of the Form 1s in the midst of their music lessons, as well as to give some of my students and myself a quick interview. Students were asked about their impression of the music programme so far and what they hope to achieve from it. We talked briefly about my role on the island, what I have set out to achieve and whether there will be someone taking over when I leave in July (of which there will be someone).

A Form 1 student being interviewed.

Students sharing their thoughts.

Lesson activities written out in old-school chalk.

The radio interview was broadcast on the same day an hour later, which I unfortunately missed. In other news, my exploration and familiarization of Montserrat continues, and last week marked the first time I explored Lookout, a big housing 'village' project meant to relocate Montserratians after the last major eruption in 1995. Lookout has quite a young demographic of residents and is quite a hive of community bustle.

Marguerita Bay, adjacent to Lookout.

I have embarked on another community 'cultural' project, this time with Sujoe Davis - the governor's wife. She originally hails from China and is a well-travelled lady who has, along with her husband, served in many different diplomatic posts with the Foreign Office in many various countries around the world. She is also quite a linguist, who fluently speaks Japanese, Teochew, English, Mandarin, and a smattering of Arabic and Thai.

She has proposed that a Xinjiang folk dance be performed during the St Patrick's Day celebrations, with Cupid - the Director of Culture - singing in Mandarin whilst accompanied by a bevy of dancing ladies. Sujoe herself has choreographed the Chinese folk dance routine, and I have been arranging the music and accompanying rehearsals. So far they have been a good laugh, although sooner or later we'll have to buckle down if we want to get that pronunciation sorted out!

Cupid enjoying a wee tease.

Community-based ensembles such as Small Beginnings and Volpanics commence this month, having broken up for Christmas. Workload will certainly increase, and this, however, has not been placated by a somewhat frustrating lack of logistical and administrative support from the school. I am now considering trying to run after-school activities through a more 'community'-based channel through the Ministry of Culture (of which Cupid does a fantastic job in leading it), instead of trying to run them through the school and, indirectly, via the Ministry of Education.

Ash & Pyroclastics

Yesterday I decided that my free time (so far) would be best spent driving around the island and orientating myself to the island. Montserrat itself isn't big; at 10 miles long and 6.8 miles wide, and more than half of it in the exclusion zone, it is significantly smaller than Singapore. However, it is extremely hilly - most of the populated areas are not along the coast, as there seems to be much less accessible shoreline that I first expected. Therefore a journey from Olveston (where I am, the southern part of the habitable area) to Brades (the de facto capital up north) takes at least twenty minutes.

With it being a tropical island with very little seasonal temperature variation, it is very much like being back in Singapore, except with the climate generally being a couple deg C lower and certainly less humidity levels. A lot of Montserrat does resemble Singapore sixty years ago - very rustic, rural and colonial in some ways.

One of the stops I made during my little island road trip was Jack Boy Hill, a secluded lookout spot in the northeast where I had a partial but picturesque view of the exclusion zone as well as the former airport which was abandoned during the last major eruption. It was quite surreal to see vast portions of land completely covered with hardened pyroclastic flow, rendering the entire landscape a dull grey - very much like a modern-day Pompeii.

A house completely destroyed by pyroclastic flow.

Coastline of the exclusion zone.

I also visited some of the (undestroyed) beaches along the west coast, with a popular one being Little Bay. This area is being redeveloped as the new capital town, with it being one of the more popular areas on weekends where bars and nightclubs open for business. The island's diving shops and facilities are also located here, so I hope to be spending some time there in the future when I decide to take up diving again!

Other practical considerations which I managed to suss out were the exact locations of the only two petrol stations on the island (they must be making a fortune!) as well as where some of the island's schools are located. At present I'm staying very near the only secondary school on the island, where I will be mostly based at. It seems I'll be starting work on Monday - can't wait. There are only so many free afternoons where I can sit on my porch all afternoon drinking beer and enjoying the sun.

View of the beach from Little Bay

You can tell from just exploring the island that Montserrat has come a long way since more than half the population were made refugees from volcanic activity in 1995. Everyone here seems to share a spirit of solidarity, spurred further on by a thoroughly friendly and amicable attitude. When I got out of my car at the supermarket and locked it, a local came up to me and said, "This is Montserrat, no need to lock your car!" Okay, maybe that will take some time getting used to.