Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours, just a friendly wave each morning helps to make a better day....

Ok, the neighbour thing. Who really likes their neighbours? On the surface we're all sugary sweet 'oh yes, we get on so well' - interesting that, the same phrase used by so many just as they are heading to the divorce courts. Here, it's a case of twitching plantation shutters swiftly followed up by 'what are you doing there?'. Then before breath can be taken 'Well, I wouldn't recommend that, oh no, you should really do it this way'. So much so, that our 3 chickens, which we have had for 4 weeks have been moved 8 times - in fact, they must now be entitled to Chickports (sic). Anyway, all interest has been lost in the chickens now, a chicken's not just for Christmas you know, and I am left wondering why I cannot just continue to buy 12 FREE RANGE eggs for EC$7 dollars a week. However, when the first one drops (and, yes why doesn't it break?), I will feel all self sufficient and smug with a touch of eco thrown in too no doubt.

Anyway, back to the neighbours. The main concern here is not you parking 2 inches in front of their house, letting your garden overgrow (a capital punishment crime in Belgium), it's letting your trees grow too high and thereby blocking someone's view somewhere on the mountain.

So, to keep everyone happy we gave all our trees a short back and sides, cleared up the mess - I have 101 logs should anyone be feeling a bit chilly - and everyone can see the sea again, hurrah, clearly it's not as large as I thought it was....

However, one of our more eccentric (ok, completely looney, ex Beauty Queen and clearly beauty does not come from within these days) neighbours tries to find any excuse to send her equally deranged pot smoking gardener down onto our plot. This is cool but a tad alarming when the machete weilding force gets into full swing. So this is how it goes:-

Me (using my best Queen's English): You should really ask me before you come into the garden, you know.

Him: I just chopping.

Me: Cool. You chop away but clear up the mess please.

Him: I just doin' as I'm told. (Hyena laugh follows).

Me: Yes, but if you were told to jump off a cliff, (hopefully this one), would you
do it?

Him: Uuuh?

Me: Never mind. Just clear up will you.

Him: (Hyena laugh).

So today, I have a branches everywhere which I (ok not really me) have to chuck over the mountain myself. Buy hey, all the neighbours can see the sea. Phew.

Island Fever

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about". (OW)


It's great to share positive news on blogs and many of them on Dominica detail its position as 4th happiest place to live compiled by the NEF/Happy Planet Index, Alex Boylan's declaration on CBS News that it was his favourite destination after he completed his 'around the world for free' trip and of course Dominica continues to receive many green accolades and is consistently voted within the top 5 diving sites in the world. All good stuff.

For where we're at, I really like Caribbean Man's blog - www.caribbean-man.blogspot.com as he tells it how it is. Island fever (the need to get off the island for various reasons) was prevalent in Bahrain where we learned to handle it but never really got used to it. Now, Caribbean Man says of Dominica:-

2. Everyone is watching. Met veye is an occupation in this small island. Like your privacy ? Go far into Zion and come down for you shopping and go back up. The alternative is that everyone is going to know you business, whether its true or false. Confidentiality means nothing here. Your bank manager to your next door neighbour has info that has to be shared. And goddammit...them goin share it. Just accept that or be a hermit.

On a positive note I guess you could consider it the ultimate neightbourhood watch scheme, that's cool. Talking of which, Tina tells me that our (not met yet) neighbour is doing daily guided tours of our house. If I arranged a little donation box at the front door, do you think we'd raise enough for the new Shack........