The end of an era for @caribsurf.com
The curtain is coming down on @caribsurf.com. After nearly three decades of connecting the region, the pioneering Caribbean-wide email service will be permanently turned off on 30th September 2026, at which point all accounts and data will be deleted. In the mid-1990s, the internet was beginning its transition from a niche tool for academics, researchers…
Bishop Wilfred Wood
Wilfred Wood is a Bajan Anglican priest who became the first Black Bishop of Croydon in 1985. He was a leading anti-racist campaigner and advocate for racial justice in Britain for four decades, from 1962 to 2002. Bishop Wilfred retired to Barbados in 2003 and continues to live there. On 15th June 2026 Bishop Wilfred…
Barbados Standpipes Map Project
Standpipes are another symbol of disappearing Barbados culture. Public water standpipes were introduced across the island in 1861 following a devastating 1854 cholera epidemic. The 1854 cholera epidemic in Barbados was a catastrophic public health event that caused 20,727 deaths. The epidemic exposed severe deficiencies in sanitation, housing, and water supply and served as a…
Transitioning a WordPress site built using Avada Page builder to a native WordPress site built using Ollie Pro
This post about transitioning to the WordPress Ollie block theme is part of a series where we share our learnings on managing a hobby website. It’s intended for WordPress hobby website administrators. Key Takeaways BajanThings is built using the Ollie Pro theme. We are huge fans of Mike McAlister and Patrick Posner the team behind Ollie. Ollie…
Hon. Alderman Doreen Madolin Weatherhead: 5th Nov 1931 – 5th Feb 2026
Doreen Weatherhead was a formidable woman – who was proud of her Bajan heritage. She is a former Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Councillor who served her Pembridge Ward for 47 years. She was also my godmother. My mother – Dorothy Burton (nee Boyce) – and Doreen met while taking…
Lay-off Cuba
Reuters reports that US President Donald Trump has intensified his rhetoric against Cuba during a White House interview with its US National Affairs Correspondent, Daniel Trotta: Trump: “You know all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba… I do believe I’ll have the honor, of having the honor, of taking Cuba.“Trotta:…
Operation Carlota – Cuba’s secret flights to Angola via Barbados
Fifty years ago on 7th November 1975, Cuba launch Operation Carlota using Seawell airport as the first refuelling stop on the long flight east from Cuba to Angola transporting elite Cuban troops in support of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which was facing external aggression aimed at thwarting independence. These flights…
W/O Derek Davies – A Bajan Specialist Gunner with 224 Squadron RAF Coastal Command
Derek Sewell Blackburn Davies joined the RAF on 3rd September 1942, serving for nine months in the RAF regiment. He received aircrew training as a specialist air gunner receiving his wing in April 1944 and was then posted to 224 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command joining the crew of F/L Merrington flying in B-24 Liberators hunting…
Moving from Google AdSense Auto Ads to Google AdSense Manual Ads on BajanThings
This post about Google AdSense Manual Ads is part of a series where we share our learnings on managing a hobby website. It’s intended for WordPress hobby website administrators. This post was updated in September 2025. In this latest iteration we use the WordPress Plugin AdInserter by SpaceTime. We are fans of AdInserter and have…
Bygone Barbados photographs held in the UK National Archives
The National Archives UK have a wealth of bygone Barbados photographs. They formed part of the Colonial Office photographic collection – some of which have now been digitised. This collection of bygone photographs of Barbados held by the National Archives UK, in the Barbados album, is an amazing resource of 372 Barbados colonial photographs. Here…
Advertisements
BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…