Go Tell De Skipper

  

 

Send news to de Skipper

The DLP in disarray,

The party is nothing compared

To back in his day.

 

Tell him Sandy is dead

And David Thompson too,

Tell him Freundel is still around

With nothing to do.

 

Tell him Lashley jump ship

And Sinckler jump too

As well as some young democrats:

Not a few.

 

Tell him in three elections

They did not get a seat

And Prime Minister Mia Mottley

Did a three-peat.

 

 

 

Go tell de Skipper

De new BLP is BLP/DLP

So, there is no need in we republic

For an opposition party.

 

Go tell de Skipper

That things real brown

And that Barbadians seeing red

In country and in town.

 

Yes, go tell de Skipper

That de people blue vex

Cause a lot that was promised

Dem en get yet.

 

Promised legislation

To keep the MPs honest

Cannot get pass the Parliament;
O what a mess!

 

De promised Constitution

Lost out Queen’s Park

Cause de array of Commissioners

In the dark.

 

 

 

Go tell de Skipper

Bout hey like de Wild West

And the old folk real frightened

To leave their nest.

 

But O shoot, man,
Barrow en bury here!

His ash was scattered in the sea;

It blew everywhere.

 

A Caribbean man!

In life as well as in death

So, we have no choice in the matter

But to let him rest.

 

 

 

No turning in his grave,

His ash was scattered

And the party he helped establish,

Bruised and battered.

 

So don’t tell de Skipper

He is not hearing

And while these MPs are still alive,

They aren’t listening.

 

Go tell de Skipper

There’s nothing he can do

Cause Bim fuh de rich and famous;

Not for me and you.

 

Stewart Russell © February 28, 2026

 

What!

 

 

 

Regarding this title

You would think it strange

And perhaps you are now convinced

That I must be deranged.

 

But hear me out

Before passing judgment

And you will see another at whom

To aim your contempt.

 

For it is ridiculous

To say the very least

Regarding a recent piece of legislation

That disturbs my piece.

 

One thing is for certain

There is much comment

And people all over this country

Are airing their dissent.

 

POLICE ACT. CAP. 167

With reference to item 68:

Refusing to Aid Member of Service Assaulted,

Let us get it straight.

 

Any person who,

When called upon to aid and assist

A member of the Service who,

While in the execution of his duty,

 

Is assaulted or resisted

Or in danger of being assaulted or resisted,

Refuses or neglects to aid and assist

The member of the Service

 

Is guilty of an offence

And is liable on summary conviction

To a fine of $10 000 or to imprisonment

For one year or both.

 

Granted, we are trying

To help out the police here

But surely Madam PM you can see

The reason for my fear.

 

I have not been trained

Like the police have been

And thus, I stay as far away as possible

From any violent scene.

 

Once I see trouble

I am overcome with fear

And I thought that this was natural

But now, it’s not clear.

 

I had always thought

That the police backup police

But now a piece of legislation implies

A partial cease.

 

The public is now backup

According to this law

And the Honourable AG blames the DLP

For this current flaw.

 

 

All they have done

Is to change the fine

From $500 to $10 000 currently

And or 1-year confine.

 

 

Of course, he continued,

It’s really up to a judge

To determine how much of this fine

But he will not budge.

 

Most are refusing nowadays

To go to another’s aid

Like the cries and pleas of that old man

That fell on deaf ears.

 

He was being robbed

And none would intervene,

They fearfully stood there and watched

The awful scene.

 

People are more reluctant

Fearing there might be guns

And thus, they are prepared in the event

To just pick up and run.

 

So, Madam PM,

And the Honourable AG,

It is not any dislike for the police

But just my timidity.

 

Yes, it could be me next

In need of such public help

But believe me, when I hear a gun explode

My heart suddenly melts.

 

 

So, like the wiretapping,

Please wheel and come again,

The people are already crying out

In anguish and in pain.

 

Perhaps I could make a call

On my cellular phone

And hope that some police patrol

Is within the zone.

 

I have nothing Madam PM

Against our Police Service,

Actually, I now must make it clear

They are tops on my list.

 

Daily arrests are made

Only to be thwarted by bail

And this sometimes gives the impression

As though the police fail.

 

But they are doing

A really magnificent job

Quickly arresting suspects and felons

Who murder and who rob. 

 

 

Sworn to protect

And protecting they do

But this is a different Barbados today

From the one I knew.

 

Now it seems to me

We have to protect them

And especially if the police demand it;

Now this is a problem.

 

 

Send adequate backup

In the very first place

For I am telling you, where trouble is,

I don’t show my face.

 

I am rather nervous

Over noisy disputes

So, do not expect much support from me-

I become suddenly mute.

 

And regarding the threat

Of this $10 000 fine or confine

I am still likely not to get involved-

Madam PM, I decline.

 

The AG should reflect

On what he actually said

For somehow, I am getting the impression

He’d rather see me dead.

 

That grin on his face,

It sometimes troubles me,

Tell me, Madam PM, is he the only one

Who can be the AG?

 

Stewart Russell © August 21, 2025

 

Where’s the Alternative?

 

 

Is there an alternative

To the present Government?

Please pardon my ignorance

For if so, I repent.

 

I am hearing the call

For an imminent change

As though elections were tomorrow

Or could be so arranged.

 

I’m definitely not happy

With the BLP’s stewardship

But the DLP is surely not ready,

Not the slightest bit.

 

The best we can hope for

Is that they win some seats

For only the insane would want

Another 30-nil defeat.

 

Such unanimous mandates

Is whole sale madness

And I want all Barbadians to hear:

No more and no less.

 

 

 

First time we were angry

With the D's performance

But the B's did nothing spectacular

In their own defense.

 

The blunders were many

Followed up by arrogance

And there was absolutely no trace

Of genuine repentance.

 

Only a God-given right

To do as they all like

And considered any repercussions

To be ignorant and trite.

 

But where’s the alternative

I must reiterate

Though ever since the last election

We are in a worse state.

 

The PM saw it necessary

To call a knee-jerk election

In the midst of the COVID pandemic

Amidst all objection.

 

Three and a half years in

To correct a ten-year mess!

In essence their words, not mine,

But we let it rest.

 

 

 

And rewarded her again

With another 30-nil mandate

Demonstrating, lessons not learned,

Do not alter one’s state.

 

And so, we remain stuck

Like the proverbial top-in-mud

Repeatedly ineffectively regurgitating

Like a cow chewing its cud.

 

The only difference being,

This benefits the cow

But unless we’re of that bovine species

It benefits us nohow.

 

I heard a former PM

Regarding the DLP’s plight

And I must assuredly confess

That he was right.

 

 

They must assert themselves

And return to their roots,

Eight “P” principles he gave them

Concerning the DLP’s truth.

 

Starting with power

He ended with projection

And he wrapped them neatly up

In the party’s self-assertion.

 

The party has done well,

It can rise from the dust

But must soar above egotistical strife

And its attendant lust.

 

Let me however end this

Exactly as I started out

And I dare say that I am doing this

For those still in doubt.

 

 

Is there an alternative

To the present Government?

Please pardon my ignorance

For if so, I repent.

 

Stewart Russell © August 24, 2024