BEST WEEK EVER:

It’s definitely a joint accolade this week for CWSA, VINLEC, the ET Joshua Airport, Public Health workers and the Rapid Relief Team. Tropical Storm Matthew gave us a pounding last week, bringing back terrible memories of the havoc wreaked during the December 2013 flooding. Vincentians were battened down, expecting the worst, BUT were pleasantly surprised that we came out of it reasonably well. CWSA reported minimal damage to pipelines across SVG, and the preemptive move to shut off water supply in certain areas meant that we didn’t have to suffer through days of muddy water coming through our faucets. {{more}}There were minimal power outages and when the weather had subsided, VINLEC trucks and technicians could be seen out and about doing the necessary fixes. The ET Joshua Airport was saved from flooding, thanks to the Rapid Relief Team and other public sector workers installing sand bags. And last, but by no means least, our public health workers had Kingstown looking almost back to normal by Friday – drains had been cleared, mud hosed down and the city was heaving with the usual end of month hustle and bustle. A standing ovation for all those involved!

Runner-up:

Imagine the scene: you’ve been swept out into the Caribbean Sea after experiencing engine failure, a tropical storm is raging around you, and there isn’t a speck of dry land in sight. Time to say your prayers because you’re about to meet your Maker, right? Luckily for three Vincentian fishermen, this was not the case. After being reported missing last week Monday, the trio were rescued in Martinique waters a few days later – as confirmed by SVG Coastguard officials on Thursday morning. It must have been a nerve-racking situation, but according to Mason, “dem Vincy don’t back down from nobody!”

A pet dog and its goat companion met a shocking end last week. High winds, brought on by Tropical Storm Matthew, blew down a live wire from a nearby pole into the yard of a Questelles family. Unfortunately, the animals died after coming into contact with the wire.

Their owner, Zamarro Pompey, was understandably saddened to have lost them, but is nevertheless thankful that it wasn’t a human life.

Reina McDonald may just have to change her nickname from ‘May May’ to ‘Cheeky,’ after flashing her bare buttocks to journalists, and having a photograph of her posterior posted on a news website. She has since apologized to the nation for the incident – citing stress over her son’s four-year prison sentence as the cause. Most people hide their faces when they don’t want their photos taken by journalists, or even flip them ‘the bird’. But bending over to show the world exactly where the good Lord split you? No, ma’am!

…I’d ask the Minister of Health to take a closer look at the way some medical professionals treat their patients at hospital – especially the maternity ward. If he did a poll of 100 women on how their experience was giving birth at the MCMH, is he confident that more than 50 per cent of these women would be satisfied? Call me a cynic, but I’m willing to bet the satisfaction rate would be less than 40 per cent. Too often, women can be heard complaining about the inefficiency of maternity nurses and the lack of bedside manner on the part of many doctors. This, by no means applies to all doctors and nurses, but a shake-up is long overdue. Vincentians deserve better.

Media Watch

We’re in the month of our Independence, and it’s going to be interesting to see just how many media houses take the opportunity to showcase the positive side of SVG – the things that make us proud to be Vincy – instead of the usual doom and gloom that pervades the news every week. And I’m not just talking about the week running up to October 27 – we should be celebrating all month long, because we have much to be proud of, whether in the diaspora or right here on local soil!