Barbados is generally known for being one of the top ten holiday destinations in the world, a perfect balance of sun, sand, sea and of course, sailing.   It however, also, fast becoming one of the premier sporting destinations, offering world class golf, horse racing, cricket, polo and tennis and in addition to this pretty impressive line up, there is also exemplary motor sport.   

Our newly built ‘Bushy Park Race Track’ recently played host to the hugely popular English television show ‘Top Gear’.  In addition to the full compliment of presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and The Stig.  Special guests included Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton and hugely popular Rally Champion, Ken Block.

Flying cars abounded during some spectacular displays of drifting and the roar of the Mercedes Formula One engine filled the air, this was no ordinary motor event.   Guests were treated to the unimagined sight of Lewis Hamilton flipping his car whilst representing Barbados in a quick game of car football and retaliating by nudging a sideways Jeremy Clarkson into a home goal!  

We have since spent several lively cruises with our guests reliving those moments and debating our favourites, which, for us, has to be the sight of Lewis Hamilton gleefully spinning donuts in his Formula One Mercedes, you could almost see that car smile!  

We got quite a shock the other day, when Shane Ritchie and his lovely family joined us for a days sailing.   

The evening before, we had spent a quiet evening at home watching him on television so you can imagine our surprise when he casually stepped onto 'Second Chance' the following day, we nearly had to pinch ourselves!

As most of you probably know, Shane plays  'Alfie Moon' in EastEnders and after he joined the show in 2002, he was lauded for injecting humour into a series that some were being to find quite serious.  His character was instantly a huge success.   

Subsequently this role has won him several awards including Best Male European Actor and the prestigious Rose D'or Festival, which is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment broadcasting.   He also won the award of 'Most Popular Actor' at the British National Televison Awards in 2005.  As well as being a very talented actor, he is also great fun and we had a lovely time with him and his family and really enjoyed having them on board.

We were very excited to be able to host a cruise for Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings, who are two of the three members of the group 'From the Jam'.  The only one missing was Mark Brzezicki who is a former member of Procol Harum, (think  'A Whiter Shade of Pale'), Ultravox ('Vienna', who hasn't swayed to that?) and The Cult, ('She sells Sanctuary', which spent twenty-three weeks in the UK Top 100 back in 1985).   

Bruce Foxton, was one of the founding members of The Jam, along with Paul Weller.  The Jam performed from 1977 until their breakup in 1982 and had eighteen consecutive 'Top 40' singles in the UK. Including classic favourites such as 'That's Entertainment',  'Going Underground', 'A Town Called Malice' and 'Eton Rifles'.  After The Jam, Bruce persued a solo career until joining the group 'Stiff Little Fingers'.   Russell Hastings, ironically, spent several years performing in a Jam tribute band.  He shocked audiences worldwide with his powerful and passionate interpretation of the Jam's songs so it seems only fitting that he is now the lead vocalist for 'From the Jam'.  We had a great time with these gentlemen and their families, who cruised with us twice while enjoying a quick Caribbean break before the start of their upcoming UK tour.