deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

“Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, island country lying within the Lesser Antilles, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It consists of the island of Saint Vincent and the northern Grenadine Islands, which stretch southward toward Grenada. The island of Saint Vincent lies about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Saint Lucia and 100 miles (160 km) west of Barbados. It is 18 miles (30 km) long and has a maximum width of 11 miles (18 km). The larger islands of the Grenadines associated with Saint Vincent are Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau, Mustique, Prune (Palm) Island, Petit Saint Vincent Island, and Union Island. The Tobago Cays, just to the east of Mayreau, have been designated a wildlife reserve.”

“The name Saint Vincent originally applied to the mainland and the group of smaller islands associated with it. After the attainment of independence in 1979 the multi-island state was renamed Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The capital and major port is Kingstown, on Saint Vincent. The country is a member of the Commonwealth.”

Since it is a member of the ‘Commonwealth’ that means the King of the country is King Charles II, the monarch of the UK. Representing the King is Dame Susan Dougan, the Governor-General.

Historically “Various attempts by the English and Dutch to claim the island proved unsuccessful, and it was the French who were first able to colonise the island, settling in the town of Barrouallie on the leeward side of St Vincent in 1719. The French imported Black slaves to work on plantations producing sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton and cocoa.”

The British captured the island and drove out the French during the Seven Years War which was finalized in 1763. The British abolished slavery in Saint Vincent in 1834.

In 1979 a new flag was designed by a St Vincent native that included the coat of arms. It was a triband of blue, gold and green with the coat of arms in the middle.

But, in 1985 there was an election and the winner, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell became Prime Minister. He did not like the existing flag and decided he wanted a new one. A contest was organized and conducted but he did not like any of the entries. A graphic designer from Switzerland was hired to create a new flag. He was told, ‘Modernize the original flag but keep all of the same colors.’

After the collapse of the West Indies Federation in 1962, efforts began that were aimed at creating political union among different groupings of the federation’s former members, but the efforts did not bear fruit. Most of the islands sought independence individually. Independence for Saint Vincent was achieved on Oct. 27, 1979. Shortly thereafter, the political entitybecame known officially as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The new government was formed as a constitutional monarchy and became a member of the Commonwealth. The country held its first elections in December of that year. The Saint Vincent Labour Party, the ruling party of the time, won the elections, and its leader, Milton Cato, became the first prime minister of the independent country. Cato, a Caribbean nationalist, favoured closer links with the relatively centrist governments of Trinidad and Tobago and of Barbados.

“The colours and symbols of the newly designed flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The blue epitomises the sky and the sea, while the gold represents the colour of the islands’ sand, the sunshine, and the “bright spirit” of the islanders. The green symbolises the country’s plentiful vegetation, as well as the vitality of Vincentians. The three diamonds evoke the nicknames of Saint Vincent as the “Gems of the Antilles” and the “Jewels of the Caribbean”. Their arrangement in the shape of the letter V is a subtle allusion to the first letter in “Vincent”, while its placement on the marginally lower part of the centre band indicates the geographical positioning of the islands within the Antilles.”

[Two side notes]:

A Catholic Priest who was sainted for his work with the poor. I would imagine you have seen thrift stores that were called ‘St Vincent de Paul’. All of their profits go to help the poor.

We have actually visited one of the islands. We sailed into Mustique on a working sail boat. Going into a local restaurant we sat by a certain well known grumpy Irish rock-n-roll star…