Antigua, Barbuda, God and Cricket

i have to confess that i arrived on Antigua and Barbuda with very few preconceptions. it was sort of an afterthought addition to the itinerary. it was on the way, so why not stop, i think went the logic. i suppose that is the way to see it. i certainly would never make it a main destination, of course it has beautiful beaches, but then so does every island in this region. St Johns, the main city, hasnt got much to it, and even the nature doesnt have the sort of jaw dropping attraction that other nearby islands can offer. furthermore, there are clear pockets of serious poverty that my eyes need readjusting to after the obscene wealth of St Barth.

but the island has one redeeming feature, and that is friendly people. Actually, the people I have encountered across the region have generally been open and friendly, but perhaps the lack of other excitement here draws me to them more? or perhaps i just have more time to talk to them, as we have relaxed itinerary? I am actually not sure, but several times my father and i find ourselves striking up conversation with interesting characters. the locals, even the ones who look like teenage hooligans with their trousers half way down their asses in imitation of North American rappers, are polite and well spoken. on an uneven street in St Johns, my father struggles with his cane, and seeing a group of young teenage guys waiting for him to move out of the way, tries to hurry his pace. The boys see this and immediately step up, helping him and saying "easy there pops" and "slow down pops, we're not in any hurry." another time, in the dockyards, he got tired and i left him sitting on a bench under the tree whilst i went along to see the rest of the sights. I came back 30 minutes or so later to find him in the same place, drinking his second or third pint with some local ladies in their 60s. they had just seen him sitting alone and struck up conversation. several people we talk to are very happy to talk about their island and their culture, which seems to pivot around two key topics: God and cricket. this is a God fearing country. People go to church here. In fact, that is precisely what they do on Sundays: they get up and go to church for hours. the rest of the day is spent with the family in a close circle, eating and taking care of the kids in the extended family and so on. all that is of course, utterly foreign to me, but it is the way of life here. it is a deeply religious country where such matters are not for sarcasm or jest as they are in Europe, and even young guys who look like thugs seem convinced by the power of the almighty. But if anything can come close to God in the hearts of the locals, it appears to be that most colonial of English sports- Cricket. i have never understood why anyone would find this game of any interest, to be honest it bores me to tears, but its power is felt throughout the whole Ex-British island area. Everyone i meet bombards me with questions about so and so who played for Nottingham or Leicester. i politely nod and pretend i have a clue what they are talking about when in fact i know nothing on the subject. As the afternoon approaches, the empty fields in the country fill with youths, all dressed in nice colonial cricket whites, batting their hearts out. people come and watch.

Antigua and Barbuda might not have some of the eye catching exotic sights of the other nearby islands, but it is in its own way most exotic, as the local customs are so familiar, and yet so utterly different to my own. and it is in these moments that i am indeed glad we made this stop on our journey.