tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319222485310325416.post4003996534920435855..comments2018-12-31T14:51:46.589-08:00Comments on Mighty Sparrow AZ: Grenada - "Morne Rouge Beach Club" or "BBC" ?Graham Johnstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212686774232180103noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319222485310325416.post-11836553547780260342018-12-31T14:51:46.589-08:002018-12-31T14:51:46.589-08:00Hi Graham, 2 years later and I just saw your reply...Hi Graham, 2 years later and I just saw your reply to me. How's that for a delayed response in this present day techno world?<br />I'm so glad you took an interest in the Morne Rouge aspect of Grenada. I never understood why the Aquatic Club was named Morne Rouge Aquatic Club...because it clearly was on Grand Anse Beach and not on Morne Rouge Beach. The West Indian Broadcasting Station (WIBS) was situated on the hillside heading towards Morne Rouge Beach, but again, it was on that side of the hill facing Grand Anse! I recently started communicating with a fellow in Holland who passed through Grenada in 1967 with his regiment which had just concluded 2 years service in Dutch Guiana as Surinam was then known. He and his fellow soldiers spent enough time that one day in Grenada they managed to tour a bit and he took a photograph from the highest range, where Fort Frederick and Fort Matthew are situated, overlooking St George's harbour. The photo included the slightly lower range named Richmond Hill where my family home and my grandfather's clinic "SALUS" was located. This Dutchman, as a result of his ship's stopping at Trinidad, Grenada and Barbados en route to the Netherlands, developed an interest in Caribbean music and we now havet located a couple of the old band members of an orchestra and combo group called The Maestroes of Grenada" who have a couple of their songs on YouTube and are doing some research on the history of the band. Hope this gets to you sooner than your reply to me did. LOL <br />Happy New Year 2019! <br />George A Soltysik, Grenada expat in Milton, Ontario, CanadaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03793594560302762990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319222485310325416.post-2386307113791986722016-09-20T09:35:46.792-07:002016-09-20T09:35:46.792-07:00Hi George, thank you for being able to clearly rel...Hi George, thank you for being able to clearly relate those correct details regarding that BBC question. I am really pleased that you took the trouble to furnish me with the facts, now I am able to picture things correctly in my mind. You mention Umbrella`s, our last visit was 2012 so I suppose it was not yet open. The Coyoba had not been built either when we used the beach cottages at “The Riviera” in those early 70s. Since first posting my 1/7/08 blog I was always trying to discover more on this subject. During that time I at least did come up with a nice colour picture postcard showing Aquatic Club on Grand Anse. It included the following separate notes :-“Ruined structure seemed to have signposted - “THIS IS AFRICA” &<br />“Site had been demolished in 1978 when I was there). <br />Those ruins were there when we stayed at Riviera around that time also. The only other info of interest I could find is the mention of a “tender bid re Aquatic Club” a Government Gazette at University of Florida site http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00076858/00031/3j?n=dloc<br />Thanks again for your help. Best wishes from London --Graham JohnstoneGraham Johnstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212686774232180103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2319222485310325416.post-48024355448861516022016-09-18T08:43:49.988-07:002016-09-18T08:43:49.988-07:00"BBC" (Bob Blanco's Club) was opened..."BBC" (Bob Blanco's Club) was opened on Morne Rouge Beach in the late 1960's by Bob Blanc a.k.a. Bob Blanco whose father - a building contractor - originally from Dominica may have made his money in Aruba as did many other Grenadians. There is no connection between "BBC" and the Morne Rouge Beach Club also known as Morne Rouge Aquatic Club or simply Aquatic Club which was located on Grand Anse Beach just about where the Umbrella's Restaurant and Bar is presently located. The Slinger family - under the care of Dudley Slinger during the late 1940s through to early 1960s - owned and operated several interests including the Aquatic Club, the Santa Maria Hotel (featured in the 1957 film "Island In The Sun", later known as the Islander Hotel) and the Grand Hotel on upper Lucas Street in the late 1940s through to the early 1960s. Dudley Slinger or "Uncle D" as he was known on a children's radio program produced by him and his companion Olive Moore at the West Indies Broadcasting Services (WIBS). He was a gifted musician and loved to play classical music on his baby grand piano every night, his favourite piece being Tchaikovsky's Concerto # 1. He resided for many years at the Grand Hotel and then lived out his final years as a resident of the Islander Hotel until his death in 1967.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03793594560302762990noreply@blogger.com