Basil !

The Saturday (4 hours behind) morning was focussed on following Twitter for the account of Esher’s clash away at top of the table Richmond. Best not dwell on the result as Richmond secured a 4 try bonus win but taking a swim at half time does help to give some perspective

Taking a trip ashore we were offered a lift by a friendly buggy driver who took us via a tour of the local’s village to the Cotton House Hotel and Endeavour Bay from where we walked back to the waterfront, past the end of the runway.

 

This gave us something of a taste for what is clearly a very well-run island, the driver telling us that there are only 100 indigenous local residents, the rest of the workforce being imported from St. Vincent – after stringent security checks! The island is owned by the property owners and run through the Mustique Company which seems a very slick operation with seemingly good infrastructure and welfare. The moorings at least are very substantial and confidence inducing, worth the price for the peace of mind.

They even have designated private beach picnic and BBQ areas which are booked by the various villas.

Our walk around the wetland reserve was ill conceived because as black clouds appeared there was little shelter from the Manchineel trees which renders rain running off their leaves toxic, causing blistering, then the trail through the mangroves around the lake exposed us to voracious biting insects so we ended up almost running to the end of the trail and the sanctuary of the beach.

Returning to the supermarket, John Cleese gallantly let Lynn go in front of him in the queue for the till on the basis that she had very little shopping only for her to pay by credit card – which is a very long winded process out here – that will have impressed him !!

So, it was off to Basil’s Bar and our reserved table for a meal and the blues band. Quoting from the guide, ‘the Mustique Blues festival is World famous’, so there. In the event, our reserved table had been re-assigned to others (no doubt more influential and definitely richer) and the meal was very disappointing – no shrimps (half the menu) and perversely, no onions!

The saving grace was that the music and ambiance was brilliant although the clientele that were dancing seemed to have enjoyed some additional stimulation. It all made for a very memorable evening.

 

Lynn & Paula write:-

Nick has basically covered our days in Mustique. However we think we should comment on the bar and those ladies (broadly speaking) that were there!

Firstly we both felt out of place as we don’t have the shape of a twiglet. Neither do we have a face, neck or bum lift. Also our energy levels were not artificially enhanced. We did not blend in very well as our spouses were of our generation, and did not smoke very large cigars.   Finally we didn’t prance around the dance floor smoking (something) wearing what appeared to be little more than a pair of pyjamas.  Our comments may seem to be catty but we were merely good observers. Maybe we were one of the few who could still see properly……….

Despite our comments the evening was really good fun due to the fantastic music and the realization that excesses of money clearly does not necessarily enhance one’s life.

Mustique has been a memorable experience!