Once upon a time we arranged the “last great family holiday”. You know, when your children have [almost] grown up, are away working or at university and you want to send them on their way with happy memories. A great plan, but there seem to be many follow-on trips with an expanded group – girlfriends, wives, children – and the costs keeps growing just at a time when your meagre retirement income is shrinking. And that’s before Oh Jeremy Corbin and John Macdonald [those well-known Marxists] start to “redistribute” wealth. What’s all this about “investment”? Who’d want to tax everyone [not just the rich] to buy up water companies – are they playing Monopoly – instead of investing in proper infrastructure?? [probably – that’s all they know – ed]. They’re just harking back to those good old 1970s. Regressive or what?

Mind you, none of the other lot are any better. Let’s emigrate…anyway, we digress.

A memorable part of this “last great family holiday” – sailing around the BVIs – was the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda. A large bay – turquoise sea, white sand, blue sky with fluffy white clouds – and a little collection of buildings on the beach. Sail in, pick up a mooring, break out the dingy and go ashore. Be prepared to receive a large Pina Colada from an astonishingly friendly barman at a palm-fringed bar on the beach with a soft, warm, white sandy floor. M&S would approve of the “soft, warm, white” – they believe in 3 adjectives for every description.

Food is the usual fare – steak, lobster, ribs, salad – and they eat early here. 7pm was the latest table. Nonetheless, a little piece of paradise. On our last trip to the BVIs we didn’t eat here but, on our return, came across this image of the BEYC after hurricane Irma had finished. Devastation much like the rest of the BVIs and other, less affluent parts of the Caribbean. Dominica, for example, totally devastated and unable to gather in the investment in the same way. Even Richard Branson on Necker Island close by wasn’t immune. Mind you, he has got deep pockets…

Restaurant and beach club Bitter End Yacht Club. It’s temporarily closed thanks to Irma…

Before Irma…

…after Irma