2009 saw my first cricket tour with the ‘Barmy Army’.
The tickets had been booked well in advance, whilst staying in on a Saturday nights watching rubbish TV was painful at the time but in hindsight was well worth it. After travels to Australia and numerous home and away days enduring the pain of being a Newcastle United supporter, me and my best friend were to embark on yet another sporting adventure.
Arriving in Barbados was an insight into a different world, as for the cricket itself this is a blurred memory in the haze of the Caribbean sun and many glasses of rum punch. Having baked in the heat in the main stand in amongst the Barmy Army for the first two days of the test series it became apparent something was lacking from our experience. I will be honest and say cricket is not my big sporting love; although it is the ambience in the stands coupled with singing daft songs and meeting an eclectic range of fans that appeal to me. It was apparent that we had the latter in abundance for the first few days in the Kensington Oval. Although looking across the green at the party stand and all that entailed was where I’d rather been. A hot tub, DJ, dancers and artificial beach, this is what I had come all this way for.
The decision was made after days sat roasting in the crowd that we could not refrain any longer and a day in the party stand had to be done. Arriving at the ground at around 8am we paid our £70 and were one of the first in to what was to be our playground for the day. Being sensible soon went out the window with ice cold bottles of Banks lager being supped without a care. We were soon floating around the hot tub in rubber rings and drinking rum from a coconut whilst jostling for the attention of the Sky TV camera man. After several more drinks and a boost in confidence that it brings we were beckoned on stage by the Caribbean dancers. What followed was a pair of milk bottle white, Northerners bustling past a burley security guard and instantly bopping around on stage with as Billy Ocean called them, some Caribbean Queens. We graced that stage for the most of the day dancing, waving flags and unbeknown to us being screened back home to all the friends and family.
I can recall all that dancing being thirsty work and with the dancers needing a break we made our way off the stage bumping into a small man in a white suit. It wasn’t till second glance we realised the little man that we bumped into was cricketing legend Brian Lara. What followed was a drunken conversation, rubbing his head and him leaving with an offer to play for our local team.
Once we returned to our sun loungers with yet another rum punch we noticed our phones had went into overdrive. The text messages from back home had flooded in after our impromptu TV performance, friends and family back in the parish had not only witnessed our live dance as part of the coverage of the game but thanks to the joys of Sky Sports News the pair of us were now being screened on an hourly basis across the nation.
Our Barbados Tour had many other memories
from talking to (a post text message scandal) Kevin Pietersen whilst he was
fielding about his wife’s exploits on some celebrity dancing on ice programme
to actually sharing a beer with the England squad to mark the end of the
Tour. The people we met, both locals including
the police man who hid his glass of rum when we asked for a photo and the many
English fans, the experiences of our all too fleeting stay in the Caribbean will
forever stay strong in the memory although it was on our return when I saw the
footage and heard the distinctive West Indian twang of Michael Holding commentate
on our stage presence by stating; ‘The BA flight must have just landed…look at
them white pasty bodies’.
Gavin Ferry
Memory added on October 30, 2012
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