Gave Instead Of Lent 38-41

March 29: Gave my legs and body a few extra minutes of rest as they recovered from their soccer exploits.

March 30: Spent the morning and early afternoon at the beach with some staycationing friends and their children. Then gave American Airlines as much time as they needed to deliver passengers to the island. Poor people had had to be transferred from another carrier after missing their initial connection, so were glad to be here, however. Anyway, what's a few extra hours waiting for friends?

March 31: Gave our American visitors a little tour of the islands central and eastern sides and helped them try to connect with those who could help them locate the birthplace of grandparents

April 1: Gave a rib tickle to my little daughter who looked hard enough to see the rabbit coming through her ceiling.

Gave Instead Of Lent 35-37

March 26: Gave prayers for a friend's dearly departed mother, made better for having come after the Stations of the Cross.

March 27: Gave my violin a chance to put me into a violin rehearsal.

March 28: Gave back to one who fed me: cooked a full Jamaican breakfast of ackees (given freely by a friend from her tree on a hill), salt fish, fried dumplings, with some boiled green bananas. While we were well satisfied, I had to give some to another person who had cooked me the same breakfast a few weeks ago.

Gave a mini concert performance, with a dip into a new repertoire, to help the Pre-Twinklers stay in rhythm.

Gave Instead Of Lent 31-34

March 22: Gave up my night's sleep to be at the airport for a family pick up. But, it was worth it to sit in my car in the pouring rain.

March 23: Gave acceptable breakfast service to my house guest, who then appreciated the drive through the bucolic Barbadian countryside to Codrington: he enjoyed seeing stands of mahoganies and other trees, which are very rare on his island.

March 24: Gave thanks to the British for the quirky things they do and did and what they have left behind as traces of their time here as colonial rulers. The post box in a wall is one such sign.

March 25: Gave my morning to searching for my child's school folder, which she left somewhere. Poor dear had brought home another child's. When asked if her folder did not have her name on, she replied "Yes, but it was upside down." The prosecution rests.

Gave Instead Of Lent 27-30

March 18: Gave the students at the Barbados Culinary Institute a chance to impress with their cooking and service, by lunching at the Pom Marine Hotel.

March 19: Gave credit where it was due. I merely grilled a few asparagus, some portabello mushrooms, and tofu. Our housekeeper did the serious cooking of the barbecued ribs and chicken, cous-cous and rice pilau. My wife had arranged the invitations and the lunch time guests did most of the entertaining, including those who stayed or came back for board games in the evening.

March 20: Gave a thumbs up to a buddy who first cancelled his offer of soup, then called back to re-invite us for late afternoon fish soup. Worth the trip to sample his handiwork for the first time: nice fish and some delicious cornmeal dumplings.

March 21: Gave my emotional backing to President Obama to help get health reform legislation passed by the US Congress. Spring is a time for new beginnings.

Gave Instead Of Lent 25, 26

March 16: Gave a hearty applause to Marcos Bhagdatis for fighting off three match points against Roger Federer at Indian Wells, and holding on the 'steal' the match in a third set tie breaker. I love to see 'Mr. Perfection' make tennis beautiful, but looking at the sport as a whole it was great that after injuries and lot of problems last year, the Cypriot showed again that he has 'game' and his rebound up the rankings has new legs (see a report on the match).

March 17: Gave a huge groan of despair when I heard on the radio that the Barbados Secondary Schools Athletics Championships had available only two javelins for the athletes to use, and that was causing much delay in the competition. I have to ask if all the schools and clubs only have two javelins to share. If not, why did the organisers not make use of all or more of those available? A quick Internet check shows a javelin costs in the region of US$150-250. Here is a country so concerned about whether children have dyed hair when participating in athletic events but not concerned enough to make sure that the events can take place properly. Talking about excellence makes no sense if you love to wallow in nonsense, incompetence, and the mediocre.

Gave Instead Of Lent 23, 24

March 14:

• Gave up any semblance of a morning lie-in when a little finger poked me in the face. Have to see that the same as a sleepy hug at midnight.

• Gave Barbados a taste of me as a radio show moderator.

March 15: Gave thanks for the rain that came several times during the night, then for over one hour during the morning. A blessing but not salvation.

Gave Instead Of Lent 21, 22

March 12: Gave hearty applause that the people who serve the 12.30 lunch realised that starting to serve it at 12.20 is better than serving it at 12.50. Unitate fortior.

March 13: Gave a huge sigh for the refreshing 20 minutes of rain that fell today, but it brought no real relief to the months' long drought.

Gave Instead Of Lent 19, 20

March 10: Gave a guarded reply to a pertinent question. The question was not "Are there 12 days in Lent, Daddy?"

March 11: Gave our doubles tennis opponents the chance to be gracious in victory, while we were gracious in defeat. Goodness gracious!

Gave Instead Of Lent 12:

March 3: Gave my little daughter the chance to be my violin teacher. She made me name all the parts of the violin. We then played 'Mississippi hot dog', Lollipop, lollipop', 'I'm a little monkey'. She was very tough.

Gave Instead Of Lent 11

March 2: Gave a friend a first hug for the New Year. Better late, than never. Studies have put her into a work, eat, home, class mode all year, and with a young son too, free time has been scarce.