Blogs from Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda, Central America Caribbean

Another busy day today. After breakfast Margaret took Gary and I up to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. It would have been a very strenuous uphill walk so we were glad of the bus ride. The volcano as always was shrouded in cloud - I haven't managed to catch sight of the ominous dome that bubbles up and every so often collapses creating all sorts of havoc. There we watched a film all about the volcano's activities since things got going in July 1995. Astonishing footage of eruptions, enormous black clouds of ash and the city of Plymouth in a state of emergency as everyone is told to evacuate. I have been hearing various personal tales of the volcano and the aftermath of it's explosions and expulsions, but this film put everything into context for me and ... read more

Well after Tuesday's quiet beachy reflections Wednesday was a much more active day. I had a morning appointment with the Minister of Education, Colin Riley and having talked through the options with Margaret (who's looking after me and the other guest, Gary at Olveston House supremely well) I decided to try out the bus to get to the Government Headquarters. It all worked very well, you just wait at the side of the road for a minibus with a green number plate starting with 'H' and flag it down and tell them where you're heading. There's one main route going from Olveston/Salem to the North so the buses just go up and down and during daytime fairly regularly. It cost me 3ECD (East Caribbean Dollars) which works out at about 70p. I sat up with the ... read more

Today was my real introduction to Montserrat with a special tour, but starting off with a very encouraging meeting. I met with Herman Francis, the Minister of Culture in the morning and was very impressed to discover that his work was also very much hands on as he runs various school and community music groups in the evenings and a weekends. I can't imagine there are many other ministers of culture around the world who are so closely involved and dedicated to their ministerial cause. It was also good to find out that there are a variety of music groups that have been running for some time and a fairly substantial selection of instruments available (though some looked rather worse for wear - there was even a very old looking banjolele!). There is 'Small Beginnings' a ... read more

This is my first trip across the Atlantic and my first tropical expedition. Even more exciting, it is a trip with a purpose and has come about due to the marvellous connection between the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Sir George Martin. Little did I realise during my teenage Beatle obsession that I would not only meet their producer but put on a big show in his honour and now be instrumental in setting up an scheme he came up with to bring music education to the island of Montserrat. So I'm quite amazed and delighted to be here, staying in his house on that very island. What a journey! Yesterday's travel wasn't too bad. An 8 hour flight from London to Antigua was just within the outer limits of my comfort zone; I ... read more