Insider tips for a night on the Lime!

by Niquette Ballantyne

Following on from our chat with Jamila Soso-Vincent, we would love to introduce you to Niquette Ballantyne, a Statistical Officer who definitely knows how to Lime!

What is your favourite place to lime? Tree House Bar is a great Lime!

Are there certain events going on throughout the week which you can’t miss? Friday night! And I can’t miss the karaoke on a Monday night, however tree house bar is always swinging with pool playing and people liming and drinking!

What is your favourite drink? Vodka and Cranberry – great for Liming!

Tell us about what typically goes on when you’re liming… When I go liming I lime with either my special someone or my girlfriends. Chatting, drinking, dancing, playing pool, checking out the cute dudes if any comes along and getting some nice roasted pork to eat are activities that mostly take place when we go liming.

What makes liming in SVG so special? Liming in SVG is an experience you don’t want to miss out on, the people are down to earth, they know how to have a good time, partying/liming is what gives most of the working class people a relief after a long day at work and on weekends party/lime takes place almost everywhere in the country especially on a Friday night.

Liming - St Vincent style

by Alex ‘Kubiyashi’ Barnwell

Alex ‘Kubiyashi’ Barnwell is a Producer/Audio Engineer and loves to spend time Liming – either on his own or with his friends! Find out how Alex likes to Lime and pick up some tips on the best nights out in St Vincent!

What is your favourite place to lime? There’s so many places I love but Bush Bar or Tree House are my favourite!

Are there certain events going on throughout the week which you can’t miss? Yes definitely - Sunday nights for Drop Off and Country parties, Saturday nights for the Events about St. Vincent... Not really any events I can do without missing really!

What is your favourite music to lime to? My Favorite music to lime to is Pop/Techno, Hip Hop, and Caribbean Soca/Power Soca. Swedish House Mafia - Dont you Worry Child, Hip Hop - Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools, Soca - Bunji - Differentology, Power Soca - Machel – Float are all great.

What is your favourite drink? Ginger-ale!

Tell us about what typically goes on when you’re liming … When I go out liming it’s usually with myself - other than that it’s my crew of usual suspects. When I go out to lime it’s truly to have fun, talk and catch up on all the important things I otherwise cant. To listen to some good music, and keep in touch with the scene – that’s liming for me.

Vincy Liming - Hear it from the locals

by Jamila Soso-Vincent

With our Liming Appreciation Society off to a great start, today we were lucky enough to catch up with the lovely Jamila Soso-Vincent, a journalist and regular Limer! Find out what Liming means to Jamila and get an insight into where and how to Lime in true Vincy style.

What is your favourite place to lime? On the mainland, I like liming at Chillerz Bar/Restaurant and In Bequia, I like liming at Mango's, Lower Bay. Any night and any location is a great night for me once I have good company.

Are there certain events going on throughout the week which you can’t miss? Karaoke at SOV or Mareyna, and roast pork at Punkie's.

What is your favourite music to lime to? I prefer soca and reggae (or old school dancehall - not that new 'aggressive' stuff)...artistes such as Skinny Fabulous, Lil Rick, Bunji, Machel, Fya Empress, Jah Cure, Taurus Riley, Damien Marley...and other artistes of that same ilk.

What is your favourite drink? Amaretto Sour

Tell us about what typically goes on when you’re liming Mostly drinking, chatting, a bit of dancing depending on whether the venue allows for this, making jokes, reminiscing on past limes, and of course some kind of eating has to go down!

What makes liming in SVG so special? The laid-back atmosphere, the jovial and fun-loving nature of Vincentians, the warm weather, and it doesn't take a lot of money to have a good time!

Do you see liming as a crucial part of your life, and why? Most definitely! Why? Because all work and no play makes us all very dull...and nobody wants to be around dull people after a hard day at work!

Mastering the art of Liming

by Dr. Vince E Lime

Liming in St Vincent and the Grenadines - relaxing, chilling, enjoying life to the full, it’s what we do best over here. Whether you’ve been a ‘limer’ for a while now, or you’re just learning the joys of the lime, I’m pretty sure of one thing, everyone’s lime is different. It’s personal, it means something to you and it takes you to a place of happiness, freedom and laughter.

Welcome to my world, here’s what liming means to me...

I’ve been liming all my life; I was brought up with it. Here in St Vincent and the Grenadines it’s a natural part of what we do, and it’s something we’re all pretty good at. It didn’t take me long to realise the times I spent liming were my happiest moments and that I should dedicate my life to it, to doing what I love...liming!

Liming for me is taking time to relax, unwind, and appreciate what’s really important in life. Heading into Port Elizabeth and taking in the sights at Devil’s table, drinking a rum punch in the sunshine at Basil’s Bar on Mustique, sailing around the Tobago Cays,  chatting in Club 28, chilling in Heritage Square or enjoying Vincy Mas Carnival – they’re all really special moments.

What’s important to me is that I make sure I don’t sweat about the small stuff in life. I want to laugh, I want to have fun, and I want to chat. I’ll sit with my friends and we’ll talk about anything, everything and nothing, we’ll take ourselves away from everyday life and we’ll chill. That’s more important for you than you think, it clears your mind and it makes your life so much richer. I even enjoy liming alone, just taking that time out to appreciate how beautiful a view is, how amazing the landscape is, how cold my Hairoun is!

Of course its pretty easy for me to lime living in the tropical paradise of St Vincent and the Grenadines, we’ve got the sun, the beaches, the rum, the music, the people, but you can try it anywhere. I honestly think you should take my advice, start liming daily and when you think you’ve had a bit of practice, come and visit me and see how it’s really done. Trust me, you’ll love it.

I want to make sure everyone gets into liming with me and so I’m creating a society, the Liming Appreciation Society. I’m looking for members from all around the world and for people who I can spread the word to. It’s my mission to show everybody how to have a good time and how to enjoy life to the full.

What do you think? Would you like to join me?!

“Where you limin tonight?”

by Simon Carey, TUI Base Manager for St. Vincent and the Grenadines

“Where you limin tonight?” You are in St Vincent and the Grenadines, in the lower Caribbean, the only country where “lime” is a verb, adjective, and a noun. For me, “limin” is one of the only ways to spend time in SVG. All that’s needed is friends, music, and rum (a cold Hairoun beer will work). You could be sitting around a pool, a beach bar, on someone’s boat or in their living room. Carefree “limes” are hours well spent, but nothing of great importance needs to be accomplished, problems need not be solved -- just living in the moment, and enjoying your company and surroundings.

Some of my favorite places to lime are Reds Rum Shop in St Vincent, Flowt Beach Bar in Blue Lagoon St Vincent, Black Boys Beach Bar in Salt Whistle Bay Mayreau, Jacks Bar Bequia, and Mangoes Lower Bay Bequia -- stop by, hear the local beat, buy a few rounds and soon a few will be coming back to you – “limin”.  Hours slide by and the sunny afternoon turns to dusk, then to evening, and great conversations and laughter mark the time.

“Limin” at Black Boys, Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

Liming - The Beauty of Doing Nothing

by Louise Gillespie-Smith, Lifecoach at Create Yourself

How often do you get a chance to just hang out? Hang out with no agenda, no purpose but just to chat, share stories and have fun with friends. Not thinking about what you are doing next, not keeping half your attention alert towards your mobile, not waiting for anything, but purely enjoying the present moment.  Just simply liming.

In everyday life these moments can be quite rare. We have things we need to get done, emails to reply to, deadlines to hit, exercise to fit in, shopping to do, before we know it our days fly by in a blink of an eye.

This is one of the reasons why we love and need holidays so much, a chance to escape, switch off and relax. I was lucky enough last year to spend time on the beautiful islands of St Vincent and The Grenadines running a digital detox retreat, where all the guests handed in their technology fully switching off for their entire trip.

We snorkelled amongst sting rays and turtles, enjoyed a champagne picnic on a secluded beach, had time to reflect over our lives and made the most of the time away from it all to lime. The remote feel of the islands, the natural beauty, the gentle lapping waves and no external distractions made it very easy just to hangout, get to know each other and not really think about anything else at all. Liming really is the beauty of doing nothing and the benefits for us are tremendous.

So often our minds are caught up in the past or the future which can lead to worry, fear, regret, guilt and ultimately stress. In everyday life our minds are spinning especially if our work leads us to spending lots of time in front of a computer or permanently attached to our smart phones.

Our body, mind and breath are all inextricably linked, when our mind is stressed our bodies tense and our breath shallows. Tension in the body can lead to dis-ease, mentally and physically. Our health, emotional states, relationships and life balance can all be affected.

Just allowing yourself the time to get away from it all, switch off fully and to be one hundred per cent with the people you are with will help your body and mind to relax, to get life into perspective and feel a sense of connection, which is one of our basic human needs.

Simply laughing will change the physiology of your body leaving you feeling happier, energised and alive. When you are liming the laughter just flows naturally.

I heard a great quote the other day from a yoga guru Swami Vishnudevananda; 
“Life is rich when you are simple and humble”.

Our lives in the busy western world can make things complicated; our lists of external desires and needs can take over, leading us to a life of striving and force. We can easily forget what is really important to us. Taking time to just be fully in the moment with friends, or new acquaintances, helps bring us back to the simplicity of life and the joy of connecting with others.

The funny thing is the times when I have stopped, relaxed and just focused on doing what I love are the times when I have attracted what I want most into my life.

So go on, allow yourself time to lime! Do you really need an excuse?

Chasing the Tobago Cays…

(Adapted from my Travelogue) by Marlon. L. Joseph, Hospitality Officer, St. Vincent & the Grenadines Tourism Authority

By now we had dropped the sail and our windward bounce had been reduced to a somnolent mechanical cruise.  There were only whispering splashes as the double keeled SUN SPIRIT cut a foaming white path in the blue wilderness before us. Amazingly, we had all fallen silent and our eyes were fastened forward as we awaited the transcendent grandeur our skipper had promised. Glasses of rum punch were quickly traded for digital cameras and any gadget capable of offering proof that “I’ve been there, seen that!”  Even the raucous “soca” music had suddenly ceased to exist leaving our lucky ears hostage to the smooth swoosh of sharp keel slicing through tender swells until…

 “Oh my god! Is this place for real?!” A voice squealed with delight kicking off a responsive chorus of “oohs” and “awwws” just before the skipper’s voice broke in with pedantic courtesy: “ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Tobago Cays marine park”.

I felt myself becoming a child again…like those days when enchanted by Christian Hans Andersen’s fairy tales I dreamt of a land of endless wonder: houses of ginger bread against a forest of cotton candy at the edge of a lake of butter-scotched ice-cream.  It was that kind of enchantment that overtook me now...

Can sand be so white like young grains of corn? Can water be so glamorous, silver dazzling across sapphire with such splendid fervor as if an ancient treasure box belonging to some decadent pirate had finally split, exposing its blinding contents? Can these five islets flaunting their fluorescent green in this marine veld be anything but a mirage spurred by my thirst for fantasy? Or may be, quite simply, I had too much rum punch!  But moments like these in places like this must not be wasted on logic: the art of enjoyment is too simple and the time to enjoy oneself too little. Answers were therefore, irrelevant.

I just wanted the powdered clouds to continue their nomadic journeys farther south, deserting my overhead space, leaving only blue blazing tundra and birds sailing into vague. I wanted the turtles to continue floating to the glittery surface with deceptive paper weight, insisting we join them for a swim, this insistence mouthed through fleeting but frequent eye contact, hawkish and lateral, frivolous and curious ending with my body nestled in the supple grip of the waves playing hide and seek with these reptilian cuties and then having resorted to luxurious fatigue, lounge and watch crabs wearing helmets run about on a hermit- planet of pink and purple shells in a beach-white universe…

And already I was feeling sad for the SUN SPIRIT and others like it, those faithful yachts in bridal white, sleek and sweet within this placid aisle, abandoned by men gone on land to frolic with bromeliads on trails of wild romance, to return at dusk with a new bride in their hearts: “the Tobago Cays Marine Park”

ABOVE: lovely Jamesby, one of five islets that make up the Tobago Cays