Culdrose sailor's Caribbean Christmas

A Royal Navy sailor is swapping the chilly climate of Britain for the warmth of Christmas back home on the Caribbean island of St Vincent.

Able Rate (AB) Jennell Adams is based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose at Helston, Cornwall, and faced the prospect of spending the festive period in the UK.

However, she's managed to arrange an 11th-hour flight to jet off home on Christmas Eve.

The 32-year-old said:

"I am so delighted to be going home. Although I will have to quarantine over Christmas, at least the weather will be nice and warm."

Previously, while living in St Vincent and the Grenadines, in the east Caribbean, AB Adams worked as a secondary school teacher, in English, Spanish, IT and PE. After joining the Royal Navy, she and now works in the Writers' Branch, which deals with administrative matters.

She said a traditional Vincentian Christmas is very different from one in the UK – no Christmas cards, no gifts for adults, little mention of Santa, no sleigh and reindeer, no mistletoe and holly, no crackers, no mince pies, only small artificial Christmas trees, rarely turkey and no sprouts.

However, the islanders do have plenty of their own traditions including going to church on Christmas day, nativity shows, singing festive songs together, marvelling at the brightly decorated houses and all getting together for a huge party – although those plans will have to be curtailed this year from the pandemic.

She added that she will miss the Nine Mornings Festival, a tradition of huge parties in the streets with singing and festivities from 4am until dawn each day in the run-up to Christmas.

"Back home, Christmas is all about friends and family. Normally, we would go to each other's homes for lunch. It is typically a time to socialise," she said. "I don't know what it's going to be like this year but we shall see."

AB Adams joined the Royal Navy last year and is one of a large number of sailors who enter the service from Commonwealth countries.

A traditional Vincentian Christmas dinner:

Salted ham

Macaroni pie

Fried plantain

Sweet potatoes

Black cake & ice cream; fruit pudding steeped in rum

To drink:

Black wine (a fruit cordial with rum)

Sorrel (made of a native sorrel plant with ginger and sometimes rum)

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