Island in the sum

The blog has been quiet over the past two weeks because Nick and I have been dodging volcanic ash on our way to and from the beautiful island of Antigua.
It was our second visit and once again we found a lovely island with exceptionally cheerful and friendly people.
I was very impressed at the efforts that the Government of Antigua is making to protect the island’s environment. Not only are the roadsides a lot cleaner than those we have here in Babergh,(although there is still some fly-tipping!), but also a good deal of legislation has been put in place to ensure that development is sustainable and that precious areas of vegetation are protected. One hotelier we spoke to told us of the difficulties he had whenever he wanted to build anything at all, and he said that he was unable to cut back areas of mangrove around his lagoon because of the threat to wildlife. Would that our planning laws paid more attention to conservation!
Antigua is the home of Viv Richards and cricket remains a passion with the locals. As a result it was difficult to avoid the progress of the 20/20 Championships. We enjoyed a hair-raising return to the airport because our driver was very ‘tuned in’ to the semi final between Pakistan and Australia. The closing moments, when Australia won by a very few runs, took place when we were about 10 minutes from our destination!
Despite the charms of the Caribbean, like Robert Browning, I realise that there is nothing in the world like an English spring. Our apple tree looks simply stunning at present. However, it was lovely to see the bougainvillea in bloom, to buy local pineapples from a roadside stall and to get some real warmth into our bones after what has seemed a very long and cold winter.