Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

Preface ix still was unable to produce a draft before March 1997, two months before the 25th Anniversary. The draft was circulated and comments received from the governor, his deputies and others, but by then it was too late to get out the publication in time for the Anniversary celebrations. When the hype associated with the 25th Anniversary subsided, no one ever thought about publishing the document later in the year or even during the following year. Thereafter, my interest waned as day- to-day responsibilities took precedence. But, ever so often, I would come across a piece of information or someone would ask a question or make a comment that would send me back to the draft for short periods of time. Interest was also re-kindled on the approach of one of the Bank’s significant anniversaries. This was the case during 2001, the year before the Bank’s 30th Anniversary when, with the approval of Governor Williams, I got some help from another research assistant - Sir Courtney’s nephew, Adrian Beckles. I recall that it was Sir Courtney who advised me that unless I took special leave I would never finish. Needless to say, nothing was published for the 30th, 35th and 40th Anniversaries. But new and exciting things were happening at the Bank, that needed to be recorded for posterity. So whenever I found time to return to the text, I not only made corrections but also added new information and insights. Starting from around early 2015, a number of factors influenced me to really make an all-out effort to complete the project. For one, there was the realisation that retirement was on the horizon - I had less time in the Bank than I had before. Secondly, close colleagues were leaving and I felt strongly that the work of the first two generations of central bankers had to be chronicled sooner rather than later. Thirdly, the ethos of the Bank was changing significantly - there were fewer memories to pick and less passion about reflecting on the past. Fourthly, another significant anniversary - the 45th - was approaching. The result was that I started to really push: re-checking sources, filling in the blanks, compiling tables and charts and selecting photographs. My intention was clearly to finish the project before I retired in late 2016. I gave it my best shot, pulled out all the stops and had a much-revised