Bridgetown on The Tradewinds Brief

Miss Violet: On De Prime Minister's Warning, De Young Man Remanded, De Oistins Question, and What a Society Owes Its Children

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0400

Good morning to every reader. I am Miss Violet. I shall be more brief today than I was yesterday because I have a Sabbath School class to prepare for tomorrow and a granddaughter who expects me at four o’clock for tea. But there is much to address, and I shall address it with my usual directness.

I. On the Prime Minister’s Warning

Prime Minister Mottley has said, publicly this week, that “the world is sliding backwards.” I wish to commend her for the clarity of this statement, and I wish also to say the following to my readers:

Bajan Bugle: De World Is Sliding Backwards, Mottley Says; A Young Man Remanded for Stealing a Key; and Oistins Needs a Rethink

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400

Saturday morning in Bridgetown. Bajan Bugle here. The coffee is strong, the news is mixed, and the Prime Minister is, in her measured way, warning the world to pay attention.

Here is what is on the desk.

The Prime Minister: “The World Is Sliding Backwards”

Prime Minister Mia Mottley used the phrase “the world is sliding backwards” in remarks this week on the state of multilateral affairs. She was referring to a cluster of concerns — retreat from climate commitments, the fraying of international law in the wake of Ukraine and Gaza, the weakening of institutions that took seventy years to build and are unraveling in seven.

Miss Violet: I Shall Speak Plainly About De Reparations Figure, De Burning, De Children's Helpline, and What Is Expected of Us Now

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:30:00 -0400

Good morning to every soul reading this. I am Miss Violet. I have taught in the schools of Barbados for forty-one years. I retired from teaching but I did not retire from noticing, and I have observations I intend to share with you this Friday morning, whether you wish to hear them or not.

Sit up. Pay attention. I shall not repeat myself.

I. On the Reparations Figure

Barbados has, this week, received the long-promised quantified figure for reparations owed to this nation for the system of slavery under which our ancestors were held, worked, and buried. The figure has been published. It is, as one would expect, substantial.

Bajan Bugle: Reparations Finally Have a Number, Canon Massiah Rests, De Burning Is Back, and De Children Is Calling De Helpline

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Good morning from Bridgetown. Bajan Bugle here, looking at the week’s happenings with the raised eyebrow of someone who has seen this particular sequence of events approximately forty-seven times.

Let me walk you through what is worth noticing.

Reparations Finally Have a Number

Barbados now has, for the first time, a quantified figure for reparations owed for the brutal system of slavery. The long-awaited tally has been released. This is, on any measure, a significant moment. It took the better part of a decade of technical work by the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the University of the West Indies, and a constellation of historians, economists, and legal scholars.

The Bajan Bugle – Thursday, April 9, 2026

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bridgetown dispatches — Barbados knows its history less and less, the Fish Festival needs reform, and Barbados Pride is about to remind Jamaica who runs regional cricket.