Radio Bimshire Presents

Radio Bimshire
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Catch up or listen on-demand with the best of Radio Bimshire - the Voice of the Barbados National Library Service (https://bit.ly/radiobimshire). Radio Bimshire Presents is a selection of short stories, poetry, history, rare audio clips and humour - the sound of Barbadian heritage. Featuring: This Barbadian Life: real voices, true stories, only in Barbados; Off The Shelf: Readings of Barbadian writing; Reparations Revealed; Standpipe: Memories of Wash Day; Sounds of Freedom: Stories of Emancipation... and much more.

  1. REPARATIONS REVEALED - Episode 6 : Justice in Action: Esther Phillips at the United Nations (Bonus episode)

    20H AGO ·  BONUS

    REPARATIONS REVEALED - Episode 6 : Justice in Action: Esther Phillips at the United Nations (Bonus episode)

    In this special episode, from in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters, Barbados’ Poet Laureate Esther Phillips lends her voice to the 2026 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Against the backdrop of this year’s theme, “Justice in Action: Confronting History, Advancing Dignity, Empowering Futures”, Phillips delivers two powerful poems that honour the millions of Africans uprooted, enslaved and exploited, and speak to the unfinished work of memory, repair and justice. Woven around her performance is an historic moment at the UN: a landmark resolution introduced by Ghana, in which the General Assembly formally recognises the transatlantic slave trade as one of the gravest crimes against humanity and calls for reparative measures and concrete action.

    15 min
  2. COMING SOON: The (Jackie) Opel Effect - The Soul of Spouge

    TRAILER

    COMING SOON: The (Jackie) Opel Effect - The Soul of Spouge

    Based on the epic documentary that premiered on 9 March – the 56th anniversary of Jackie Opel’s tragic death at the age of 32 – The Opel Effect: The Soul of Spouge is a nine-part documentary podcast series that traces the life, music and legacy of Dalton “Jackie Opel” Bishop. Born in Chapman Lane in Bridgetown and inspired by American soul star Jackie Wilson, Opel rose from “wharf boy” diving for cruise ship coins to become the powerhouse singer who helped give Barbados its own indigenous popular music genre: spouge. Drawing on archive recordings and new interviews, the series hears from promoters, musicians and scholars, including Anthony “Al” Gilkes, the late Mark Williams, the late Richard Stoute, Wendy Alleyne, Desmond Weekes, the late Trevor Marshall, Sach Moore, Norman Barrow, Cleve Scott and Ambassador David Commissiong. Listeners travel from the electric atmosphere of Showtime ’65 in Bridgetown to Kingston’s Silver Slipper club, where Jamaican audiences embraced Jackie’s voice and wove it into the story of ska, rocksteady and reggae. The Opel Effect also follows spouge beyond Jackie’s death, through bands like Blue Rhythm Combo, De Opels, The Escorts, The Troubadours, Draytons Two and Wendy Alleyne and the Dynamics, and into today’s experiments with the Jackie Opel Residency Lab, where young Barbadian creatives remix his work for a digital age. Across its episodes, the series asks urgent questions for a new generation: what happened to spouge, what does this music mean for Barbados now, and who will claim the next chapter of Jackie Opel’s legacy? Watch for new episodes each week, coming soon. Written, produced and narrated by Shayla Murrell Mixed and edited by Julius Gittens Produced with John Downes, Amour Chandler, Lamar Nicholls and Adrian Archer

    2 min
  3. The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 5 – A Tragedy of Neglect: Can Social Capital Be Saved?

    1D AGO

    The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 5 – A Tragedy of Neglect: Can Social Capital Be Saved?

    The final episode delivers a powerful warning. Professor Henry Fraser calls the decline a national tragedy that has gone largely unnoticed by politicians and social scientists. He traces the flow of money and power to oil companies and mini-marts and questions why the village shop, once a lifeline, is not part of the solution in modern times. This is a call to action to recognise, document, and protect what remains of the unique, village-based social capital before a vital part of Barbados' identity is lost entirely.

    9 min
  4. The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 4 – Boarded Up: The Vanishing Village Shop

    MAR 22

    The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 4 – Boarded Up: The Vanishing Village Shop

    Historian and raconteur Professor Henry Fraser moves from memory to the modern reality: a landscape of closed, burnt-out, and boarded-up village shops across the island. We take a visual tour of once-thriving hubs, like Bascombe’s and John Yearwood’s Gall Hill shop, now standing as silent, empty shells or being engulfed by bush at places like Mapp Hill. This is more than just an architectural loss; it is the physical evidence of the erosion of Barbadian social capital and the silent disappearance of community networks.

    7 min
  5. The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 3 – Trusting: The Corner Shop as an Informal Bank

    MAR 15

    The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 3 – Trusting: The Corner Shop as an Informal Bank

    In a fragile plantation economy, how did families survive between paydays? This episode reveals the corner shop’s vital role as an informal bank. Using the childhood memories of former Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave, Professor Henry Fraser explains the uniquely Barbadian system of “trusting,” where shopkeepers extended credit for weeks or months until the sugar crop season. This system of informal credit, coupled with the shopkeeper's wife enforcing good manners, was a cornerstone of community survival.

    8 min
  6. The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 2 – Inside PA Clarke’s Corner Shop

    MAR 8

    The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 2 – Inside PA Clarke’s Corner Shop

    Step back in time to the childhood world of Professor Henry Fraser. He takes us to PA Clarke’s corner shop in Four Roads, St John—a place that literally sold everything, from kerosene to nuts, bolts, and essential foods. Hear the charming details about the irresistible sweet jars that taught children manners, and the formidable “madam” who ran the shop with gimlet-eyed authority, a reminder that women really run the world.

    5 min
  7. The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 1 – The Village Shop and Social Capital

    MAR 1

    The Village Shops of Barbados: Episode 1 – The Village Shop and Social Capital

    What was the true beating heart of community life in Barbados? Professor Henry Fraser introduces his central thesis: that the village shops were once the social, economic, and cultural centre of almost every village. Discover the critical role they played in building social capital—both the horizontal support between neighbours and the vertical guidance passed from older generations to the young. Learn how the rise of mini-marts and gas stations first began to break this rich social web.

    4 min
  8. This Barbadian Life - Five Minutes of Folk

    FEB 25

    This Barbadian Life - Five Minutes of Folk

    Sometimes, the quickest way into history is through melody. Get ready for your "Five Minutes of Folk," as we dive into the stories hidden in old Barbadian songs. Discover tales of a Nigerian king’s exile, the mysterious Ice House fire, bread sellers fighting to make ends meet, and the relentless labor that turned sugar cane into survival. This is the history of an island, sung, not spoken.  Produced by Shayla Murrell of our partner BGIS Radio.

    6 min
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Trailers

About

Catch up or listen on-demand with the best of Radio Bimshire - the Voice of the Barbados National Library Service (https://bit.ly/radiobimshire). Radio Bimshire Presents is a selection of short stories, poetry, history, rare audio clips and humour - the sound of Barbadian heritage. Featuring: This Barbadian Life: real voices, true stories, only in Barbados; Off The Shelf: Readings of Barbadian writing; Reparations Revealed; Standpipe: Memories of Wash Day; Sounds of Freedom: Stories of Emancipation... and much more.

Information

  • Creator
    Radio Bimshire
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Radio Bimshire
  • Show Website
    Radio Bimshire Presents