The Carriacou Connection
As I said below I'm off on holiday shortly to the Caribbean island of Carriacou, apparently pronounced carry-a-ko. I say holiday but it's more another step in the never ending wedding plans. J's (The future Mrs G) sister(K) and brother-in-law(S) live there and we are going to visit them.
The thing that I don't get though is that Carriacou is over 4,000 miles away in the Caribbean sea. It has a population of about 5000 and is by all accounts a wonderful place. Why do loads of people from there want to live here, I don't just mean Britain I mean West Yorkshire. I know we have a large West Indian community that came over in the 50's but I keep bumping into people from Carriacou.
A friend of mine has a neighbour from there. I was speaking to the man who owns the dive shop I go to and he was telling me that his barber is from there. A mechanic from the garage opposite him is from there. He has customers who live there but shop with him. In the West Indian carnival that is held every year in Huddersfield one of the biggest groups is from there.
I don't get it? Why would you move from a tropical island to a slightly run down Northern English former mill town? Huddersfield and Halifax are both former rich towns, in the days when the UK could afford to make things many of these things were made in the industrial north. It was the home to the Dark Satantic mills and Charles Dickens Hard Times describe their history perfectly.
Now I agree that many of the Northern mill towns are going through a regeneration but if I were leaving a tropical island I would at least head for London or New York.
I would love to know why West Yorkshire? I'm guessing that individuals will tend to go where they have reliatives or other friends from their own community but what started the connection between Huddersfield, Halifax and Carriacou?
The thing that I don't get though is that Carriacou is over 4,000 miles away in the Caribbean sea. It has a population of about 5000 and is by all accounts a wonderful place. Why do loads of people from there want to live here, I don't just mean Britain I mean West Yorkshire. I know we have a large West Indian community that came over in the 50's but I keep bumping into people from Carriacou.
A friend of mine has a neighbour from there. I was speaking to the man who owns the dive shop I go to and he was telling me that his barber is from there. A mechanic from the garage opposite him is from there. He has customers who live there but shop with him. In the West Indian carnival that is held every year in Huddersfield one of the biggest groups is from there.
I don't get it? Why would you move from a tropical island to a slightly run down Northern English former mill town? Huddersfield and Halifax are both former rich towns, in the days when the UK could afford to make things many of these things were made in the industrial north. It was the home to the Dark Satantic mills and Charles Dickens Hard Times describe their history perfectly.
Now I agree that many of the Northern mill towns are going through a regeneration but if I were leaving a tropical island I would at least head for London or New York.
I would love to know why West Yorkshire? I'm guessing that individuals will tend to go where they have reliatives or other friends from their own community but what started the connection between Huddersfield, Halifax and Carriacou?
posted by gerbil at 10:43 am
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