I love ice cream. It is one of my
favourites. However, when I eat too much of it, minutes apart, I
quickly have had enough.

I like watching Game Shows, along with
my wife, Joan. However, even when they are mixed up a bit, with Wheel
of Fortune, followed by Jeopardy, then Family Feud. I have had
enough. I want to watch something completely different.

I also love watching carnivals and
during my life I have watched them all here, and travelled to UK,
Seattle, New Orleans, Tampa, Port Arthur, and even Spain and Canada
to watch them. As I've got older I find I hate the travelling, and
with all the securities and very unfriendly overseas immigration and
customs personnel, especially in the US, I won't leave this country
anymore unless I have to. Like, recently for an eye operation in
Miami.

In New Orleans, during the weeks
leading up to the main parade of Mardi Gras on the Tuesday before
Lent, there are many smaller parades. After watching one or two and
three, I have left the others to themselves as I knew it would spoil
my excitement for the real biggie.

In Grand Cayman, I felt we had it
absolutely right. Two. Pirates Week with its street parade around
George Town at the end of the year and Batabano nearer the beginning.
They were months apart and different.

Then came the horrible Mardi Gras that
started in North Side and then moved immediately outside Elmslie
Church on one of the holies days of the year Ash Wednesday. The
people behind that one obviously didn't even know the meaning of
Mardi Gras!

Praises be, the Mardi Gras one has
stopped.

Batabano changed its name slightly to
Cayman Carnival Batabano and then came along the Junior Carnival
(that once was held on the same day just before the adult version)
and now we have Bracchanal. That, too, was once part or affiliated
with Batabano. Later, the Junior version was held the week before the
Adult one.

I haven't even mentioned the Cayman
Brac carnival and Pirates Week one until now.

I can only ask myself, why? Why do we
need all these carnivals? What is the point of it?

The organisation that goes into staging
these events is enormous. I know, because I was involve with Pirates
Week for many years.

At last government got involved,
because of complaints from the general public, who like me were fed
up with them all, not only because of the repetitiveness of them, but
the tying up of our road transport system.

Government called all the stakeholders
together and had discussions with them for some time. In a recent PR
they said the reasons “was to make better decisions about how
Cayman Carnival could best model from the successes of regional
partners in hosting a unified carnival and creating an outstanding
experience.”

Their first proposal did not find any
unity at all so we are back almost to square one.

“This was not an easy task and
required many proposals and counter-proposals with stakeholders and
vested parties. At this time we believe we have gained the majority
buy-in and have made final decisions to accommodate the start of 2020
bookings,” says Honorable Dwayne Seymour, JP – Minister of
Health, Environment, Culture and Housing.

“The dates will be as originally
announced: 1st weekend of May Junior Carnival, 2nd weekend of May
Cayman Carnival and 3rd weekend (Discovery Day) Bracchanal.”

I am now going to eat some ice cream. Just one bowl (small) that may contain more than one scoop.