Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  Bride and Groom all washed up, but that’s what made them so bubbly at this unique St Lucian wedding By Stephen Weir There wasn’t a dry eye at a very special St Lucia wedding held last Thursday.    A well-known scuba diving Canadian travel agent Julie Gilchrist and her beau Sean Gillen decided to get hitched underwater and in doing so set a record for the Caribbean! This past weekend the third annual Saint Lucia Dive Festival ended with a wrap-up celebration to honour the Southern Ontario couple who literally deep-sixed their wedding vows two days before.  It all happened some 30 feet down on the sandy bottom of a Caribbean bay near the ever-so-posh Royalton Resort. St Lucia is no stranger to out-of-country couples getting married on the island.  In fact they hold over 700 such weddings every year. But never ever in the history of the island have they ever seen such a wedding – it all took place underwater where the fish out-numbered the g...

--> One Pot. One Chair. One Table. Charmin’ dining hidden in plain sight. By Stephen Weir How does Charmaine Desir do it? Her food shack on the edge of Castries Central Market doesn’t have a sign, has only a bench for three and one seat at the dinner table. Oh yes, it doesn’t appear to have power and the roof leaks over the visitors when it rains. It is easy on the island of St Lucia to enjoy expensive fine dining, 4-star restaurants abound. Finding a hearty, gut-pleasing meal for $5? Now that is an adventure that seasoned travellers should consider taking. For the past17 years the Castries shack chef has been feeding customers one serving at a time in an unmarked shed (look for a cartoon of a young couple having lunch and checking their smart phone). Those in the know find her and as a result there is always a customer or two outside waiting to be fed. Since she can only seat one or two people at a time, she gets to know her customers really well "if...

Former US President Bill Clinton announces a new project to help the Caribbean and is currently in the Islands.   youtube link at bottom of post On Tuesday former President Bill Clinton held an important Caribbean Hurricane relief meeting with more than 400 government and business leaders from the Caribbean and the US. The relief summit was held to make commitments to help communities impacted by last year’s devastating hurricane season. Tuesday’s meeting was the second for his Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative   (CGI) Action Network on Post-Disaster Recover. The Clinton Foundation issued a press release explaining that the CGI is creating “new, specific, and measurable projects to address critical issues such as disaster preparedness, agricultural production, mental health, energy efficiency, and workforce development. New commitments will aim to assist with immediate needs as well as the long-term recovery and opportunity in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Isl...