HILL  ISLAND TRIP JUNE 14/09

Excellent!-- A+-- Absolutely fantastic Trip --Great, yes, Great! especially in the company of Gandhi, Sheiks, Belly Dancers etc.--What a wonderful interlude in our lives!-The most entertaining and relaxing holiday!

These are some of the comments we received. The whole trip was fabulous as the weather was fine, the food good , the entertainment that kept us laughing as we danced to the music of Country and Jazz music etc. Every night we had a different entertainer and the final night we were "The Stars". We performed skits, song and dances that we thoroughly enjoyed. We learned "The Coal Miner's Dance" from our Japanese friends and "Brown Girl in the Rain" from our Jamaican friends.

Those of us who were early birds saw an abundance of wild life---- Seven deer frolicking in the sunshine, a huge turtle sitting peacefully on a rock, a snake searching for his meal .The natural beauty that surrounded us calmed us and made us feel part of Nature and brought peace to our souls.

Our first outing was to Limestone City, Kingston, where we had lunch at the waterfront, browsed along the unique stores and then we were off to visit Old Fort Henry. Once inside the wooden gates, we entered a realm of 18th Century military life with precision military demonstration by the Fort Henry Guards.We saw people dressed like the civilian population--school teachers, soldiers etc.We were impressed.!

The next day we visited the beautiful Fulford Mansion. George invented  and patented "The Pink Pill for Pale People" He.made his millions selling this pill all over the world. There are 35 historic rooms still preserved today.

The following Day we boarded the bus for the 1000 Island boat cruise. The view was breathtaking as we passed some of the houses that  the rich Americans owned. Then we were off to the Casino. After eating a good lunch there, we headed for the slot machines. Some won but the majority lost! Alban was one of the lucky ones.

The evening was hectic as we rushed from room to room borrowing stuff to complete our costumes. We laughed our guts out to see Anthony as a female(he seems to have lost his Hips somewhere) and Marina as a male. They did a wonderful job of performing   "A. Packet of Pins"  Our Jamaicans  friends dressed in Jamaican costumes  told jokes and did a song and dance. In between Nelson brilliant playing,  dancing girls in Egyptian Costumes including a eunuch (Alban with a sari and balloons for boobs) a Sultan and his retinue trouped out while Rudy the M. C. dressed in a Egyptian costume announced the arrival of a special visitor---Gandhi ( Carl Menezes) he certainly looked like Gandhi except a well fed Gandhi. It was hilarious to see our Japanese colleagues shout Gandhiji, JaiHind! We ended the evening with a Marionette Show.

My grateful thanks go to all those who helped to make our outing successful. Thanks go to Edward and Violet for the Line Dancing, Alban for the Bingo, Maxima and group for the 7-UP item Theo for his jokes Roque and group for their vote of thanks Anthony and Marina for their "Packet of Pins", Rudy, Nelson Madusha, Hilda , Lira Farida, Fred,Jules, Carl and all those who participated.

We had Fun! Fun! Fun!

Barbara- Trip Coodinator