Was it divine guidance or just coincidence when Jamaica’s 54th Anniversary of Independence was almost the same day as the opening of the XXXI Olympic Games? Jamaica was one day later.

It is Jamaica’s 14th appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation,
and Usain Bolt is quoted as saying, “It’s a great day for us, we are using this as always to push us – this is normally the time when we push forward in the Olympics and we will enjoy the day as always so have fun and love each other.”

Here in Cayman the day is featured high on the entertainment calendar and with the great Bob Marley song “One Love” providing the Independence Day theme for this year through the line ‘Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright’ there was plenty of parties.

Cayman has a huge Jamaica population and the ties between the two countries are strong with a lot of inter-marriages.

In Jamaica there was a Reggae to Rio Concert held on Friday (5) that featured a simulcast of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony.

I can only imagine the celebrations when the Jamaica team walked into the stadium.

However, our Cayman tiny team of five athletes actually scored a triumph over the mighty Jamaicans.

The Sydney Morning Herald voted Cayman Islands the second Best Dressed Team (not surprisingly behind Australia in first place). Jamaica wasn’t placed. And our Mother Country – Great Britain was among the WORST!

See iNews Cayman story today “Rio Olympics 2016: Opening Ceremony best and worst dressed”.

Back to the music and the theme “Let’s Get Together and feel Alright” it was a pity that a large number of dancers in the Cayman Islands decided to get together with their sexual gyrations at 8pm. This was in front of families with young children at one of the George Town venues. The MC asked the persons responsible to delay this form of gyrating (in no way is it dancing) for later. It would have been better if he had said “don’t do it at all!” You can have a good time dancing without any need to pervert the rhythm with that ugly spectacle.

Children are in some way like parrots. They mimic. They want to be adult. They see adults behaving badly in public and they want to copy it. Family love is what Marley was singing about.

For the next two weeks lets get together, enjoy the Olympics, the music and the dancing, and we will feel alright.