Without a doubt, Cayman Day 2022 dominated the conversation at the latest community Virtual Yard Meeting held Wednesday, 7 September.

Regardless of where members were located, it was apparent that this special overseas celebration of the Cayman Islands was a highly anticipated event that all had a desire to attend, even if it meant booking a transatlantic flight (after all, gathering to enjoy familiar cuisine, lively entertainment, and “Cayman talk”, is a comforting way to connect and reconnect especially when away from home).

Discussions segued into performing arts topics from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival including rubbish and train strikes (which meant no access to a fridge full of fresh roti – you just had to be there!) to members taking on regular singing gigs at a renown venue (a meet-up is already planned!) to member thespians on tour in Brighton, Bath and London. Language and dialect followed this discussion to become quite a hot topic, with several members making observations about TV presenters’ accents and some giving insight into how the change occurred over the years. It was agreed that embracing one’s own sound is much easier when it is understood to carry a history with it – one that contains clues to the richness of the environment in which one is “raised”.

The meeting, like all Virtual Yard get togethers, was a wonderful way to spend a Wednesday evening and it is truly a great opportunity to listen and be heard, laugh and sometimes cry (usually tears of joy from too much laughing), take a look at the world in which we live, and share invaluable information with others living overseas.

Our next Virtual Yard Chat will be held on the last Wednesday of the month (26 October) as the CIGO-UK will be hosting a Virtual Yard event on the first Wednesday.