Cricket is so big here that at the beginning of August, we get a Thursday and Friday off for the big game - called Cup Match. This is Bermuda's cricket version of the Stanley Cup (sorry, don't know of the cricket equivalent). As well as it being for the cricket game, the weekend is a 4 day celebration as big as Christmas. This year was my first Cup Match weekend, and I'd say it was a pretty good time.
Tuesday, 4:45, I get a call from Bank of Bermuda to say that I'd won 2 tickets for the Bank's VIP tent at the game on Thursday. Food, drinks, and a shaded place to watch the game. Wednesday was the new Friday on this week. Everyone went out after work for a drink, followed by a last minute party/bbq at my co-worker's place. On the way there, I made sure to stop by the grocery store in case the warnings of the whole island being shut down for 2 days were true.
Thursday, was of course my day at the match. I brought a friend from BMDS with me who is Bermudian. Thank goodness for these tickets. The day was a scorcher, and being up there provided some relief from the sun as well as a nice breeze. We used it as a base between trips to the Crown & Anchor tent.
What's Crown & Anchor, you ask? Well, Bermuda, being a traditionally conservative country, does not allow gambling. Even cruise ship casinos must close down their casinos on board when in Bermuda waters. There's been some effort to change this law, but that story is for another day. Anyway, I digress... the 2 days a year that gambling is permitted is at Cup Match in the form of the game "Crown & Anchor". The table is divided in to the 4 card suits, plus a crown and an anchor. You put your bet down on to which ever suit you want, the person running the table throws 3 dice. If the suit that you bet on comes up on any of the dice, then you win. The winnings go up, the more dice with your suit. Imagine a tent full of these tables, surrounded by crowds of people - a great place for people watching, as it brings out ALL sorts. Each table has a guy and a megaphone, making the calls, and the tent is insanely hot from the sun and from the hundreds of people. The atmosphere was definitely uniquely Bermudian. I bet a little, won some and lost some. However, my friend took it much more seriously. On 6 rolls of the dice, he was up $550 and was smart enough to walk away.
The rest of the weekend was spent on the beach and in the water, and bbqs and dinners with friends. All in all, a very nice 4 day weekend.
Some photos:
http://www.cup-match.com/cup_match_photos.htm
