Friday evening blues

Today, I'm taking a break from writing a 'technical' type post as I'm not in the mood to think too much! So please excuse me for my Friday evening mood....

It seems like not long ago when I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s (yes, I've passed them all!) and living in Trinidad, Friday after work couldn't come fast enough so we could hit the nearest or most popular watering hole. In these parts, we call it 'liming' i.e. hanging out. We literally counted down to 4 o'clock (desks packed up and put away by 3.45 p.m.) watching the hands on the clock tick as the last few minutes took forever to go by.

Culturally, in case you've never heard about Trinidad and Tobago (yup, two islands but one country) or our people who are called 'trinbagonians', let me give you a little education on just why we are the #1 'limers' (people who love to hang out and have a good time) in the world! In 4 words - "it's in our blood!"

If you can't tell by now, I'm reminiscing about my former life as a 'limer' (someone who hangs out very regularly) as I sit here on my bed firmly committed to writing this WA blog on a Friday evening no doubt. Pandemic aside, the people of our country relish good food, great company and an ice cold beverage - regardless of the day of the week. From Sunday to Sunday, you

can find bars, lounges, restaurants, roadside 'rum shops', mobile food trucks teeming with our beautiful, cosmopolitan people just out having a good time with family and friends...and guess what? We don't have to conceal the bottle in a brown paper bag when we're in public!

This just might be an indirect plug for Tourism, but I'm really just loving my people and what makes us different. In a year-old article by Discover TT, they provided a guide to lime and party in Trinidad like a local! Don't get me wrong, it's not all about the party. We work damn hard, but we just 'fete' (party) harder! Our two-day annual Carnival celebrations are the toast of the Caribbean and touted to be the best in the world. In an article by the Smithsonian magazine, Trinidad Carnival was said to make "Mardi Gras look like a Veterans Day parade"! Need I say more?

The last year has been torture for the people of my country, whose free spirit was literally held in a vice grip by the Covid-19 virus and the ensuing health protocols. Things took a turn just after Carnival 2020 in February - which in itself was a saving grace for thousands of revellers as there will be no celebrations in 2021. We hold on to that memory for dear life to take us through to 2022 - fingers crossed!

So, as I wind down my blog, I will leave you with a few photos from my personal Carnival 2020 journey - just to give you a small taste of the glorious wonder of our festivities. I wonder what niche or Jaaxy keywords could be generated by this post? There might be a business idea in here somewhere. What do you think?

Cheers!

Maria