Did You Know?

4 PREFACE Back in 2016 I was asked by Vic Fernandes if I would create a series of radio talks on the heritage of Barbados for his radio station Capital Media HD 99.3 FM. I created two dozen brief talks, and they ran for a few months in the afternoons, to “catch” the attention of folks driving home from work, or having their first rum punch! Again, in early 2020, Vic suggested I begin a more comprehensive series, to bring the attention of Bajans, especially younger people, to our history. It was agreed that the talks would cover the complete spectrum of historical events, people, places and cultural heritage of Barbados, and I was at liberty to choose the topics, for five-minute presentations of Did you know? It would be aired three times a week, at breakfast, lunch and driving-home-from-work time. And they must be light hearted, with some humour, if possible, and geared to the younger audience. I began with a talk on our only living National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers, whom I had presented almost 30 years ago for his Honorary Doctorate at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in 1992. I could almost have re-written the talk from memory as I knew his story so well. I then proceeded to give two talks on the very early history of Barbados, to set the scene, as it were - The Names of Barbados and Barbados was Once a Colonial Power. Vic then suggested that we follow the agenda planned for the big We Gatherin’ programme designed by government to bring Barbadians home to celebrate in the year 2020. So the rest of the talks, from February through December, followed parish by parish, beginning with St. Peter. Then, as we continued over Christmas and into the new year, another wide miscellany of subjects were covered, many central, important themes in Bajan history, but other topics completely unknown to most Barbadians. We were truly bringing our history – major matters and minor mysteries - to a wide audience. Sir Henry Fraser in Bathsheba