Interesting isn’t it?
The year we bury our Father of the Nation is the year we turn 50.
So what now? How do we continue to remember him?
As ALHCS Deputy Principal Rita Carty, pointed out to students, we have at least 4 things to keep us reflecting. And seeing that you’re in this school of Xploring Anguilla, I’m passing them on. They’re not all tangible but are certainly profound.
When our children ask, “Who is that a statue of in the Post Office?”
When our grandchildren ask, “Why is that man’s name on the Social Security office building?”
When our great grand children ask, “How come the park is called the ‘JRWP’?”
When our great great grandchildren (you livin’ long mi son…lol) ask, “What’s the reason for the 2nd of March holiday?”
I believe after last week we can all answer those four questions! (If not…smh…you need licks!) Furthermore, maybe we should not even wait until they ask; you think we should teach it as a part of an Anguillian Life course from Primary School, you think we should talk to our children about it in our homes? You think?
I think those will be great great great great ways for all of us to Xplore Anguilla!
Great big oak trees come from small nutshells.
Let’s Xplore the small nutshell of a great Anguillian, James Ronald Webster, as authored by Rita Celestine Carty (2017):
JAMES RONALD WEBSTER
THE FATHER OF THE NATION
James Ronald Webster is the Father of the Nation. He was the leader of the Anguilla Revolution which culminated in 1967 with the separation of Anguilla from St. Kitts-Nevis. This is why we celebrate Anguilla Day on the 30 May every year.
Mr. Webster grew up in St. Maarten where he inherited a lucrative estate from a Dutch couple. When he returned to Anguilla, he was appalled that the island lacked the basic necessities of electricity, surfaced roads and running water. He, along with the other revolutionary leaders, vowed to make it a more habitable place. The main problem was that the island’s development was being neglected by the administrative authorities in St. Kitts. It was felt that Anguilla needed to separate from that union and chart its own path to development.
Mr. Webster emerged as a dauntless revolutionary leader at that time. In the ten years following the Revolution, Ronald Webster remained stedfastly at the helm guiding Anguilla into its new identity. He later served as Chief Minister of the island in the periods 1976 – 1977, 1980 – 1984.
Anguilla benefitted from Mr. Webster’s dedication to the cause of self-determination and the island embarked on several improvement initiatives resulting in paved roads, electricity, running water, better infrastructure – all of which were missing before the Anguilla Revolution. Mr. Webster is also responsible for the establishment of the Social Security system in Anguilla.
Even in his retirement from active politics, Ronald Webster continued to urge Anguilla’s people to build a positive and autonomous nation.
Mr. Webster passed away on 9 December, 2016 at 90 years of age. A week of mourning will be held in Anguilla to mark his passing. On Tuesday, 10th January, school children and other organizations will line the streets as Mr. Webster’s body is taken on a slow processional tour of the entire island. On Wednesday, 11 January, Mr. Webster’s body will lie in state at the House of Assembly.
On Friday, 13th January, Mr. Webster will be laid to rest in a mausoleum on Pope Hill, the first of its kind in Anguilla.
Anguilla owes a lot to Mr. Webster and the people he led. May his soul rest in peace.
The man Anguilla is mourning………”The Father of The Nation”
James Ronald Webster…….solo………on the James Ronald Webster Park.
There he was, in his small frame, walking alone in the centre of the big open grassy landmark. The crowds had gone home and only a handful was in a hundred feet or more radius of him, including me. I knew it was a pic I HAD to take. With all my zoom, the honour was mines to capture and with my all memory the moment is mines treasure.
We mourn his passing but celebrate his life and seek to emulate his love for country- Xplore Anguilla’s great people.
Mornings are great almost anywhere in the islands. Regardless of the weather or atmosphere, mornings are glorious…beautiful….pure.
Why? Many will say, (after inhaling and exhaling deeply and with pleasure on face), it’s the fresh Mornin’ Breeze!
Of course, (I’m fully biased), Anguilla’s Mornin’ Breeze is the bestest!
Yep, I can already hear the mumbling from locals and visitors alike.
Local: “I live here all the time and can enjoy the island any other time of the day. NOT ME waking up 5 O’clock in the marnin’! ”
and
Visitor: “I flew here to relax and sleeping in is a MAJOR part of the plan”
LOL
BOTH: “You go ahead and enjoy it for all of us Avenella.”
LOL
Because it cannot be bottled nor paused for later indulgence, in a word form attempt, here’s what ya’ll missing.
Waking up to it makes you despise your bed, makes you wonder why you weren’t outside before, makes you grateful for life- one more time. An exposure to scents, sounds, sights, textures and even tastes that are only made privy to early risers, are its dividends.
Mornin’ Breeze comes to the just and the unjust. It’s packed with emotional and spiritual vitamins that are yet to be discovered and discerned. Physically, it revvs all your engines from hair strands to toe nails.
If you think Anguilla is ‘Tranquillity Wrapped in Blue’ during working hours, well there gotta be a triple blessing of it early in the morning. And there’s no telling what you will behold on an early moring:
walk on the beach…..
traipse through the bush path……….
roadside run……..
Any of those seals it forever!
And as the remnants of the Mornin’ Breeze slips away and Anguilla is downgraded to the mundane of regular ‘Tranquillity’, for some of us too soon we forget the gloriousness and beauty and pureness of the Mornin’ Breeze and before long we are back in our beds trying to put mind over matter, knowing that spirit is willing and flesh is weak, to convince ourselves to wake up at 5am the next morning, God spare life.
It’s worth it, come let’s Xplore Anguilla’s Mornin’ Breeze!….tomorrow marnin’ ok!
Active. Dormant. Extinct.
Those are the three states a volcano exists in with their Big, Bold & Beautiful selves!
In the summer of 2014 Xplore Anguilla was active, then dormant until now, and it maybe extinct in a couple hundred years…who knows?
But for this soft blog reawakening, I’d like to inspire and challenge you.
Hopefully, the inspiration will come through a portfolio of local pics that I’ve been posting on Whatsapp over the past few weeks, along with a couple making their debut here. It’s captioned:
Small. Colourful. Beautiful.
Here’s the challenge:
Can you give me the location of each pic? Yes, yes, yes, (SMH), if you’re the first to name all correctly you will get a big, brown, delicious Banana Nut & Raisin Bread! LOL.
Get out & Xplore Anguilla!
It’s Xplore Anguilla’s last post for the 2014 Summer!
Having saved the BEST for last, I give you HIGH CLIFF!! So with sturdy shoes on foot and cameras in hand….let’s Xplore Anguilla!
Travelling east on the Long Path road, then taking the first pitched right after the gas station is the turn off to this spectacle. The pitch road will demote to dirt and then shrink in width. On reaching Long Pond Bay, with Long Pond on its left, the scenery begins its upgrade and excelling of expectations.
High Cliff at sunrise is a diva! If a pod of whales entertains that’s a bonus. At sunset it’s a hunk! The hues God skates across the sky engulfs the eye and mind. Once children are tagging along, the ‘fun police’ (Tafari Banks) must be on duty too, sometimes for the safety of some highly adventurous adults, lolololol.
Regardless of when you go, the higher the wind, the more High Cliff is going to show off and wow you! The fresh, very salty, revitalizing ocean sprays love kissing guests. We found this out with a tropical depression in our area this week. It was a 5:30am run, on which a visiting native from Atlanta confessed (southern accent in all), ‘If I had your number, I would have called you and cancelled this trip last night. But boy am I glad I came. This is the best!’
To fully capture High Cliff, I divide it into 4 parts and then put them together in my mind when the walk is completed.
Sunrise at Long Pond Bay
First, after safely parking the vehicle in front of Long Pond Bay, the stroll moves towards the beach and then to the coast along the right. If the sea isn’t cleaning itself, the shell pickers will ‘hurry slowly’ (Antonio Christopher). The constructive or destructive waves rolling into the bay, acting like red lights, compel you to stop and watch them work building up or breaking down of the beach. Then the geo and its beautiful wave cut platforms and embedded blow holes suddenly appear around the first bend! And then persons light apologies for not previously accepting my invitations and confessions for initially not really wanting to come along, start to trickle out. LOL. Huge adjectives start rolling, like the waves, off the tongue………Amazing! Wow! Cool! Oh Man! Awesome! Fabulous! This is crazy! Is this Anguilla?
The middle part which I call ‘The Drop’, kind of sneaks up on you and when it comes into full view, then the apologies and confessions totally gush out! Nothing like it in Anguilla! Beautified at its base by more wave platforms, which are the only waterfalls we have in Anguilla (lol), The Drop is majestic! Beware of the blow holes located directly over The Drop, a small person can easily fall through!
The Drop
The third leg also strikes awe with extremely jagged rocks close to the edge, a picturesque collapsed arch with St Martin in the background and pink sand Dropsie Bay waiting to serve as a chill out morning picnic spot with bush tea and Johnny cakes or chilled beverages if it’s an evening rendezvous.
Dropsie Bay
The anchor leg of the trip, is a stroll on the dirt road, to the parked car enjoying the stunted skewed vegetation, the view of Long Pond and mostly the company of friends. I have taken several hundred persons to High Cliff over the years and 99% were OVERwhelmingly ecstatic they made the trip!
I promise to update the blog with additional pics ever so often. THANKS for trusting me to lead you on an online xploration of Anguilla! The journey was enriching but will only be considered a success if it motivates you to visit one of the many spots showcased. Your comments on and offline were/are sweetly appreciated. Until next time, (with a tear from the iHat, iPhone and i), it’s over and out. Xplore Anguilla!
The View from On Top South Hill
It certainly is the most photographed site in Anguilla. And no matter how many times you’ve seen it, it is always beautiful. It always wows. If there’s not a cloud in the sky and the sea is like glass…..it wows. If a hurricane is nearing and the rough seascape is turned up green, yeah green……it wows. Even if there’s a ground sea, piles of beached moss and snowy like froth on the pond….it still wows!
This panorama from on top the South Hill overlooking the Road Bay and North Hill is photogenic. The frames for the eye to capture are sweeping. From the cays to the pond to the houses, shipping lane, ship wrecks, hillsides, vegetation, piers, the beach, the list rolls on.
For me this route has always been a treasured slow drive while gapseizing (looking around not minding my own business…lol). When leaving the western end of the island and a picker-upper is needed, a drive along the South Hill will do the honours. Or if you just feel like having an imaginary sea bath, this one way street enabled by its scenery, turns into fantasy lane. Do not take this route if you are in a hurry, because you will meet at least one slow poke gapseizing…..smh…..lol…..just take it easy….remember, ‘more haste less speed!’
It is hard to imagine now, but yes, it use to be a two way street, without safety railings! It is usually serene and uncongested but, if boat race is going on below! Then that’s another story. Parking is like sardines! Arguments galore! The village air comes alive with a jollification of boat racing involving man, woman and chile! Most of whom are peering through spyglasses or have super human eyesight because they can accurately tell you which boat is which from all the way Prickly Pear! I serious.
Locals and tourists are compelled to pull over, stop, look, and, nowadays, selfie with Xplore Anguilla’s best view as their backdrop.
Next week is our final week of xploring the summer’s best chill out spots and it will feature the overall best, The Best in Show!
iHat on Sandy
The fun of xploring Sandy Island revs up with the boat ride that departs from the small wharf by Johnnos (if you don’t have your own boat) in Sandy Ground. We used to hop aboard Happiness but Bliss does the job nowadays. Which ever boat, Jo Jo (El Capitan)ensures the ride is an exciting one!
Sandy Island
Sandy Island’s circumference is a quick 400m dash on the inside lane, or a brisk 4 minute walk. But if you walk Sandy the way it should be walked, it would take at least 40 minutes. Sandy beckons an inquisitive leisurely strooooollllllll.
The breeze on Sandy is unprocessed! Each whiff is clean off the sea above before chasing to the sea below! Always fresh!
The Excellent restaurant food. The Best hammock in the region. The Lovely pink sand beach. Appeal if you want but that’s enough descriptive, highly subjective and hard circumstantial evidence for Xplore Anguilla…………case closed………..it’s Paradise!
The eel, visible from anywhere on Sandy, strikes a singular strong pose as it markets the beauty of its coastline from the end of Shoal Bay to West End.
Hey, even on a rainy day Sandy does NOT disappoint!
I believe there is minute reason why catamarans can journey international waters and cover thousands of miles of treacherous water and enjoy this gem and many islanders have not made the 7 minute sail over just a few miles of rolling waves. SMH
Well, I visited Sandy yesterday which served as my summer vacation trip overseas. I am now refreshed, rested and ready to get back to teaching the ‘three Rs’. Why not let one day at Sandy do the same for you too? Xplore Anguilla!
Modena Villa is Xplore Anguilla’s supreme villa.
Xplore Anguilla has mainly dished out spots which tout moun and sam can enjoy. This one though is just a tad high end…..oooookkkkaaaaaayyyyyyyyy……..it is pretty high end!
But hey, if you got the disposable income and you want the finest villa in Anguilla that money can buy, and btw it is for sale or rent, then Xplore Anguilla and check Modena out in The Cove.
What can you expect?
Unparalled uniqueness and modernity. Exquisite architectural features indigenous to Modena. Dubai rivaling amenities. Tranquility. Oooooooooooooooh Tranquility. ‘Tranquility wrapped in Blue’.
Disclaimer: Pictures below vaguely capture any of the above.
So xplore Modena and its four bedrooms, plus a royal master bedroom and its……….well its EVERYTHING, except: a submarine, helicopter and yacht. But the concierge can have them booked in seconds, literally.
Feast on some interior pics (the iPhone not responsible for the first two).
Spiral glass staircase
Impressive, I know. Serious shoppers welcomed. Now some exterior shots.
Close enough to and far away enough from everything, Modena is Xplore Anguilla’s best villa.
Coming later this week: Best Cay and Best View!
Xplore Anguilla 