Barbados observed its 54th anniversary of independence on Monday, November 30th. In Anguilla, the Bajan community celebrated the occasion with several activities including a Bingo Night on the previous Saturday (November 28th), a church service on Sunday morning (November 29th) and a food festival in the afternoon, which led into the night.
Many Bajan food items were on display and for sale. These included Bajan souse, cassava pone, coconut bread/sweet bread, pumpkin conkies, cornmeal conkies, fish cakes, macaroni pie, sorrel, and Pine Hill juices. Apart from the Pine Hill products, other food items manufactured in Barbados were on sale including: Shirley biscuits, Sodabix, Licia, Eclipse, and Dippers products.
At the food festival, The Anguillan spoke with Bajan native, William Bourne, who jovially said: “We pride ourselves in our ability to cook, and we want to show Anguillians how great we can do that. This is our chance to showcase our culinary talents.” He said that, regrettably, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they were unable to get in the famous Bajan flying fish, which is a renowned delicacy in Barbados — and this was rather pitiful because flying fish is plentiful in Barbados at this time.
When asked if there was an official Barb
ados Association in Anguilla, Mr. Bourne answered: “Not really, but we are thinking about establishing one. I met with someone in July, and from the way he spoke I could tell that he was Bajan. In speaking more extensively with him, we decided to pool all our fellow native folk together. Right now we have about 44 Barbadians on record, and we will soon officially launch our Association.” Mr. Bourne said that once the Association is organised, they will make such food festivals an annual event, along with other activities, to highlight the celebration of Barbados’ independence.
According to the website barbados.org, “After the first English settlement at Holetown in 1627, Barbados remained a British colony until achieving independence from Britain on November 30th, 1966. That first independence ceremony was accompanied by the raising of the Barbados national flag, and the playing of the national anthem for the first time. November 30th is celebrated as Independence Day, and it is a national holiday in Barbados.”
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
