Rum

Saturday 30th January 1988

We walked to the Post Office by a new route, passing the huge sports stadium and finally crossing a lot of grassy vacant lots and damaged derelict buildings. We posted our cards, me handing in my bag as usual because I had my Ricoh KR-10 Super SLR camera. Despite three bag searches they have failed to find Declan’s camera.

We walked past kiddies rolling tyres like hoops with sticks and others flinging stones at birds with their catapults. We walked through an area of poor houses and wrecked cars where women were sweeping the dirt floors as usual.

Back at the hotel we washed clothes and sat in the sun. We chatted to Paul who was a postman from Belgium. In Belgium there was a scheme that allowed people to have a year off work while an unemployed person did your job and you got their unemployment benefits. He was taking this opportunity to travel.

At 12:00 hrs. (as traditional on a Sunday!) we went to the bar down the road with Paul and drank over a crate (24 bottles) plus 6 more bottles of Victoria beer. The waiter seemed miserable and hostile at first but got happier and friendlier as the afternoon went on.

We ate our evening meal in a rough local café where they served draft Victoria beer in plastic jugs. The fish was excellent. On the way back we stopped at the Hotel Lido where they were closed for beer but open for rum!

Two litres of rum later we were extremely intoxicated. Paul had a race with Declan in the hotel swimming pool before chatting to an extremely effeminate looking youth. Unfortunately, Declan had exceeded his safe alcohol limit and wanted to fight the world. He turned on Paul, calling him a wanker, and pushing him backwards.

Paul warned that there was no need for this and tried to defuse the situation before slamming a cracking head butt into Declan’s nose, knocking him flat on his back. He retreated to our room with a bleeding nose, and we were fast asleep when the police arrived to investigate the fracas. Someone had called the police in response to the short-lived fight. The local rum is dangerous stuff, and in Declan’s case injurious to his health!