Having visited most of the islands of the Caribbean when they were British colonies and since they were granted independence, I am convinced that Grenada, in the far south-east, is the fairest one of all. Its volcanic origin created wonderfully varied landscapes, from mountainous rainforests down to fertile plantations and a palmy littoral, brightened by bougainvillea, hibiscus, jasmine, orchids…. This is where Alec Waugh’s Island in the Sun, a novel about romantic miscegenation, was filmed with scandalous success.
My partner Diana and I came to Grenada this year for the ninth time. I planned to work on a novel and do some painting, but the very first day my typewriter broke down and somehow the tops wouldn’t come off the tubes of acrylics. Diana led the way to the beach. We kept up with news haphazardly, but noticed the 38th Independence Day last month, when Prime Minister Tillman (‘Uncle Tilly’) Thomas’s optimistic rhetoric was rich in metaphors: ‘Stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and with hands to the wheel, let us build together.’ He promised that his followers could ‘leapfrog pitfalls’. He needed all the optimism he could muster, because a general election is not far off, and Grenada is suffering economically. Tourism is down (Britain’s high tax on long-haul aviation is a handicap); unemployment is up to 30 per cent. Taiwan is dunning Grenada for a crippling old debt. Britain has closed its Grenadian consulate, so applicants for visas have to go to Barbados. Grenada is proud of its Arawak-Carib-Franco-British-African heritage. Independence now can feel lonely. The Queen’s portrait adorns the banknotes and coins of the Eastern Caribbean dollar. But it seemed it might be comforting to to have a specific reminder that Grenada is a member of the Commonwealth.
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