Fireworks at L'Orient just now.

amsmulko

SBH Insider
I just saw a beautiful fireworks display that seemed to have come from L'Orient beach. Does anyone know anything about it?
 
We are staying in Lorient, but had dinner at Eddy’s tonight. There were fireworks and a laser show in Gustavia following the end of les voiles.....not sure about what was happening anywhere else.
 
One of the teams for Les Voiles rented all of the Christopher Hotel. I saw the display from a private location in Lorient. I’m guessing that the team which rented Le Chris also arranged their own fireworks display over Lorient. I thought that it was nicely done.
 
One of the teams for Les Voiles rented all of the Christopher Hotel. I saw the display from a private location in Lorient. I’m guessing that the team which rented Le Chris also arranged their own fireworks display over Lorient. I thought that it was nicely done.

What a beautiful display of fireworks in Lorient literally in front of our view. The barge was fairly close to shore in Lorient Baie. They started at 8:30 and ended 8 minutes later. A nice surprise indeed.
 
One of the teams for Les Voiles rented all of the Christopher Hotel...

The Christopher was home to the Sorcha/Richard Mille team - the boat, shown in Rosemond's pic (originally posted courtesy of Rosemond Gréaux, Le Journal de St Barth in the Les Voiles At Sea thread) is owned and sailed by Richard Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille, which, as Ellen pointed out, sponsors the regatta... (dont know but there may be some blurring of the own/CEO perk line)...

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Also taking over much or all of a hotel (Manapany) was Team Scallywag, the boat with the S on the sail closest to Rosemond's camera in another reposted pic (this one from a land-based thread)
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Scallywag and its skipper (David Wittt) are just over one year removed from the loss of crewman John Fisher about 1500 miles off Cape Horn during the Volvo Ocean Race...
 
The Christopher was home to the Sorcha/Richard Mille team - the boat, shown in Rosemond's pic (originally posted courtesy of Rosemond Gréaux, Le Journal de St Barth in the Les Voiles At Sea thread) is owned and sailed by Richard Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille, which, as Ellen pointed out, sponsors the regatta... (dont know but there may be some blurring of the own/CEO perk line)...

actually the name of Sorcha's owner is Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille, but not the same as Sir Peter Harrison who owns another lovely boat, Sojana... which also sails in Les Voiles...

two Brits, two great boats, two different men - same name for now separated by the Sir !
 
actually the name of Sorcha's owner is Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille, but not the same as Sir Peter Harrison who owns another lovely boat, Sojana... which also sails in Les Voiles... two Brits, two great boats, two different men - same name for now separated by the Sir !

oops, linked correctly but written incorrectly... with the connection between time and a whole lot of spending money that this regatta sets in my mind, i suppose i could have even more seriously gotten mixed up with another British Harrison (also not knighted)

Looks to me like the two Peter Harrisons have their boats in Rosemond's picture - I think L to R it is Windfall, Scallywag, Sorcha, and Sojana..
 
ah george - turned down his OBE according to the press...

Discussions reminiscent of older Maya's threads on this forum have arisen when Beatles fans debate whether George declined the OBE because it was a snub relative to Paul's knighthood (1997), as the previously linked article states, or because of disdain for such an individual award... what is not debated is that George did live worthy of a lord during his time in the material world...
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Here is George with two now-knights (Ringo in 2018) in a photo from their last meeting, about 2 weeks before George's death in 2001:
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The owner of our Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay, just purchased the piano that was used during the composing of the Sergeant Pepper album.
 
Seems like fireworks and a drought don't come together well...
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Small fire related to the Gustavia fireworks, 100m2 of undergrowth, quickly controlled by firefighters who were on hand to monitor.

Recommendations made related to the drought include more caution barbecuing and extra (?some...) attention to cigarette butt disposal...

In the context of the thread diversion above, perhaps it would be even better if, rather than lighting up another cigarette, choking smokers did what US poster makers did to a yearly island visitor in this
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...an airbrushed version of
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... the iconic cover which, due to the handedness of the yearly visitor included what has been considered evidence of his death and replacement with an imposter...
 
Ah, the traditional “burning of the hillside” during a fireworks display. It’s not unusual for that to happen.
 
In a normal world, I would have arrived in SBH last Saturday. I'm not there, and none us of are going to be on-island for awhile. None of us truly know when we'll be on-island again. For now, I thought that I might ease the heartache by resurrecting a few old posts, and perhaps adding a little info to them. This one is the first, from a post made a year ago today, on April 20 2019. It relates a once-in-a-lifetime experience which I don't think that I have previously shared. This post will be the best that I have, as I truly have nothing in the bank to top it. Enjoy!

I responded to AMSMULKO's post about fireworks in Lorient with the following.

One of the teams for Les Voiles rented all of the Christopher Hotel. I saw the display from a private location in Lorient. I’m guessing that the team which rented Le Chris also arranged their own fireworks display over Lorient. I thought that it was nicely done.


Please forgive me for continuing to intentionally keep some details to a minimum:

Those knowing that I stay at EMM in April might have guessed that the "private location" was that villa. It was not. A Portuguese friend had dropped by, and invited us to join him at "seis horas" 6 o'clock in Portuguese, and repeated the time with six fingers. My Portuguese is about 5 words north of non-existent. His English is marginally better, but we usually meet in the middle with broken French and hand gestures. He told me where to go, and at 6PM we arrived. Where we went to was a very small, but very well appointed private location. (Don't ask - If you ask, I won't tell. If you guess, I will neither confirm or deny.)

We and our 2 villa guests sat at a very large communal table, and were promptly served Portuguese appetizers and Portuguese wine by our friend. Portuguese Fado music videos were being played in the background. A second Portuguese guy (let's call him "Chef", although that's not what he does for a living) was working to cut up a chicken and add it to a pot. Shortly after, Chef disappeared.

We had dinner reservations for that evening, and as soon as I saw how our unexpected dinner was progressing I called to cancel them.

While we were munching on Apps, our friend was making more Apps in a hand-built wood-fired stone oven (many of the Portuguese workers are stonemasons.) He was cooking two kinds of sausage, Spicy and "Black", and baking off small loaves of bread. The new Apps were served, and the wine never stopped flowing.

After a bit, Chef returned, now showered and shaved, as well as a 3rd Portuguese person. Chef went back to work, and our newest friend sat to talk. It turns out that he had worked in NY, and his English was very good. We talked, shared photos, ate more Apps, drank more wine, listened to the music, and enjoyed the evening together. Language barriers didn't matter, and were worked around. Google Translate was my friend.

And then came the totally unexpected fireworks. We all stepped outside to watch, including Chef, with one eye on dinner.

When dinner was served, stewed chicken and rice in a red wine sauce, new plates and bowls were also served. Having no clue at all about what we were eating, what was traditional, and what might come next, I reached to use the bowl for the chicken and rice. Wrong! The plate was for the Chicken and Rice. The bowl was for a new Portuguese wine, with which you picked up the bowl from the back, and drank from from the front.

All the while, conversation. Portuguese. English. Broken English/Portuguese. French. French/Portuguese. Broken French/English. Language competency may have failed, but we all managed to understand each other.

All the while, Music Videos of Portuguese Fado Music played in the background.

Eventually, there was dessert. Eventually, there were nightcaps, although we were protectively limited to thimbles of the Portuguese "white lightning" which our hosts were drinking in larger volumes.

We left, after a very unexpected and most enjoyable night. We also left with an armful of unopened bottle of Portuguese wine.

So, what can I say about that night?

#1, On a daily basis, be nice, be kind, and try to engage with people, even if language is a partial barrier. Be respectful, make an effort, and who knows how that might be returned in an unexpected way. (Someday I may write about Mother's Day Cake.)

#2, There are totally unexpected and unknown roads out there. If the opportunity presents, take them. Our night might have ended up with warm Carib and bad burgers. But it didn't.

#3, There are experiences on St Barth which in my 35+ years I've never before been offered, and if one should appear, I embrace it. See #1 to enhance the possibility of #2 and #3.

#4, Portuguese food and wine, rustic or not, is very well worth exploring. Next time, maybe I'll be allowed to buy the chicken and the beer. I'm pretty sure that I won't get a better deal on Portuguese wine.

#5, This experience was MY real St Barth. Yours may be Nikki, Shellona, La Guerite, and L'Isola, and I respect that. As I tell people, I surf both ends of the wine list, the top and the bottom. Sometimes I dine high end, sometimes I don't. And sometimes a Portuguese friend invites me to a very special dinner, for which I am very grateful.
 
What a cool story. Thank you for sharing. We would normally be tingling today as we were scheduled to arrive this Saturday. Praying our November trip will be a go.
 
Your post captures the spirit of saudade which is central to the music of Fado - "a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one cares for and/or loves while simultaneously having positive emotions towards the future".

To help recreate the music of your night: Ó gente da minha terra (English translation) in which Mariza, a current leading Fado star, sings of how the Portuguese are connected through Fado and Gaviota (English translation) from the late Amália Rodrigues who is regarded as the Queen of Fado. Amália singing Fado in French (courtesy of Charles Aznavour) might help recollecting the attempts to bridge the language gap with your Portuguese friend... as might the ability to fully understand what is being expressed without being able to understand what is being sung in the linked performances.

Sorry, I can't help with the chicken or the wine...
 
Great thread Kevin. We were once advised back when we were newbies that if anyone speaking any language invites you to their home, just go!

You did a terrific job building a bridge to an international friendship.
 
What a fantastic experience, Kev. Keeping your heart, mind and schedule flexible can (and usually does) provide exceptional memories. I, too, have a handful of those; thank you for sharing one of yours.
 
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