[Beep_Beep]

Very often reference is made in this forum of Tom Adams, and some even liken Owen Arthur to him, but apart from being a shrewd and cunning politician, who really was J.M.G 'Tom' Adams ?
Once a policeman told me while on a Mobile Patrol in the St.George area, they came across a lady who was in a right state; Torn clothes ,dischevelled and crying. She told the cops that she was beaten up by a man.She was put in the patrol car and askedo point out the house where the alleged offence tookplace. On identifying the house , the lady was dropped off like a hot potato and the cops beat a hasty retreat.

[Mad Q]

Very often reference is made in this forum of Tom Adams, and some even liken Owen Arthur to him, but apart from being a shrewd and cunning politician, who really was J.M.G 'Tom' Adams ?
Once a policeman told me while on a Mobile Patrol in the St.George area,  they came across a lady who was in a right state; Torn clothes ,dischevelled and crying. She told the cops that she was beaten up by a man.She was put in the patrol car and askedo point out the house where the alleged offence tookplace. On identifying the house , the lady was dropped off like a hot potato and the cops beat a hasty retreat.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ya see wunnah - ya does like to talk nuff nonsence bout my man Tom - i hear people atlk bout how he beat nuff women, tek nuff drugs, tek plenty bribes and he is de father of dah man Symonds ....

Lookuh - leff de man to rest in peace nuh .....

I feel he did Barbados proud - he mighta got we into a bit of debt (understatement probably) but look at the status of Barbados in the world - not just the Caribbean - Tom & Errol both put a positive into Barbados in different ways ...

I feel we were blessed to have had such good leaders ....

Anyway - i was only a boy when these men was ruling so my knowledge is based on hearsay and what I've read - so i will stand corrected if need be ...

Q

[Beep_Beep]

Tom was a brilliant, leader no getting away from it. But you have to admire/pity/ envy the nocturnal side of the man. A certain secretary very often had to come to work wearing dark glasses, to hide the black eyes compliments of Tom.

This post has been edited by Beep_Beep: 17 January 2005 - 09:12 PM

[Bendedknees]

Tom was a brilliant, leader no getting away from it. But you have to admire/pity/ envy the nocturnal side of the man. A certain  secretary very often had to come to work wearing dark glasses, to hide the black eyes compliments of Tom.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any body remember the woman who use to work in a certain pharmacy on Broad Street that he break she hand ? or the house in the Pine that he push de hosw through the window and turn on de pipe?

[Beep_Beep]

I knew a salesman, a big tall 'red man" with a similar personality as Tom, only crazier. Always ready to bust somebody's head. One night he was going through old St.Lawrence road, a taxi was park badly on one one side, and this guy pulled up abreast of it knowing that he could not get past,easily. Switched off his engine ,took his paper out and began to read ,oblivious of the traffic building up behind him. One of the cars held up happened to be MP 1. When Tom knocked on the roof of his car and he looked up and saw Tom, in a split second the car was started and sped through the space that was too tight before.

[Beep_Beep]

You remembered Carfesta 1981 ,when the Government was a bit tardy in paying the privately owned Public Service Vehicles it had contracted to transport guest and participants between various venues.? Remember how the owners kicked up a fuss, claiming that the government owed them a huge sum as their daily earnings were very high. Tom paid them shortly after, without much hesitation. Next year he levelled a tax on the PSV owners commensurate with the inflated earnings that they claimed from Governement. To this day they are still complaing about tthe high taxes and levies they are required to pay,

[Beep_Beep]

You remembered the Mercedes Staff car MP2, that was assigned to Tom Adams , that apparently disappeared off the face of the earth?
This was the one Tom took away from Don Blackman the then Minister of Transport, who apparently had done a Rommel Marshall with the Brazilian bus suppliers.
It is said that the Bridadier had used MP2 , whils it was parked out for target practice.

[Bendedknees]

Do you remember the Cadillac Seville which was left hand drive and Tom spend a lot of money on that car. Beep was it to change it to automatic? Dont remember!

[Confucius]

BK: JMGMA purchased a left-hand-drive vehicle and had it converted to right-hand-drive at great expense. It was said that Tom showed a lack of common sense in making a decision as Minister of Finance that he would not have made as a private citizen. However, to be fair to him, the vehicles that he drove before he became PM suggested that he knew little about automobiles and cared less.

As to Tom's contribution to the development and governance of Barbados, the jury will be out for a long time. As far as I am concerned, as I told my late father who was often reviled by Tom, it is better for one's own well-being to forget about persons like that.

[Beep_Beep]

BK: JMGMA purchased a left-hand-drive vehicle and had it converted to right-hand-drive at great expense. It was said that Tom showed a lack of common sense in making a decision as Minister of Finance that he would not have made as a private citizen. However, to be fair to him, the vehicles that he drove before he became PM suggested that he knew little about automobiles and cared less.

As to Tom's contribution to the development and governance of Barbados, the jury will be out for a long time. As far as I am concerned, as I told my late father who was often reviled by Tom, it is better for one's own well-being to forget about persons like that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most politicians are like that, when it comes to spending the taxpayers money.
Tom might not have been a whizz kid, but he sure knew how to put the shits up the other Ministers,Civil Servants and the like in making them jump the extra mile in doing thier jobs. Even to this day reference to Tom, or the sight of a certain politician, who should remain nameless, make some cringe in thier boots.

[Beep_Beep]

Do you remember the Cadillac Seville which was left hand drive and Tom spend a lot of money on that car. Beep was it to change it to automatic? Dont remember!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This was to change it to Right Hand Drive, a conversion if not handled properly could turn a vehicle into a death trap, especially as it has to be shipped to a country that have no standards . He could have got some reliable British Staff car?which I am sure will still be in service, providing it was kept out of the Police hands.

[Confucius]

Double Beep, you got that right! For some reason Tom scared my SCS colleagues shitless, and I felt that he enjoyed doing so. I decided very early that I would not let him scare me, and one Minister with whom I had the pleasure to work, who was later fired by Tom complimented me for my stance. Perhaps I stood up to Tom because I felt I had alternative options. For some reason he seemed to have expected a lot from me when I went before the Duffus commission, but I may have disappointed him. He is reported to have told Bree St. John that my evidence was worse than useless.

If you wish to know what Errol Barrow thought about Tom, you should read his statements in Hansard fr the first session of the 1986-1991 Parliament.

I

[Beep_Beep]

Looks like Tom was scared of two Bajans only, one was the Brigadier, and the other Sydney Burnett -Alleyne.
Remember the time when Eric Sealy called for Tom to be charged for practicing medicine without a license?

[Administrator]

Tribute To Tom Adams
Saturday 12, March-2005

TWENTY YEARS on the date after his sudden death, Prime Minister Tom Adams was affectionately remembered yesterday by the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in a wreath-laying ceremony at his tomb in the graveyard of St Michael’s Cathedral.
The occasion was observed with prayers led by a former member of Adams’ Cabinet, Vic Johnson. Others in attendance included Lionel Craig, Louis Tull, Clyde Griffith and O’Brien Trotman.

Present too were Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Cynthia Forde, Adams’ St Thomas constituency branch president; Adams’ long-time secretary Delores Hinds; Shirley King, secretary to Prime Minister Owen Arthur; senator John Williams; and members of the Women’s League, including stalwarts Chessel Rock and Norma Caddle.

Adams died of a heart attack around 2:15 p.m. at Ilaro Court. He was apparently viewing his extensive stamp collection in his study when he collapsed. He was 53.

Born Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams, Tom, as he was known, led the BLP to victory in 1976 to end 15 years of Democratic Labour Party rule under Errol Barrow. He retained power in the 1981 poll.

Copyright © 2001-2005 Nation Publishing Co. Limited

[Bendedknees]

Tribute To Tom Adams
Saturday 12, March-2005

TWENTY YEARS on the date after his sudden death, Prime Minister Tom Adams was affectionately remembered yesterday by the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in a wreath-laying ceremony at his tomb in the graveyard of St Michael’s Cathedral.
The occasion was observed with prayers led by a former member of Adams’ Cabinet, Vic Johnson. Others in attendance included Lionel Craig, Louis Tull, Clyde Griffith and O’Brien Trotman.

Present too were Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Cynthia Forde, Adams’ St Thomas constituency branch president; Adams’ long-time secretary Delores Hinds; Shirley King, secretary to Prime Minister Owen Arthur; senator John Williams; and members of the Women’s League, including stalwarts Chessel Rock and Norma Caddle.

Adams died of a heart attack around 2:15 p.m. at Ilaro Court. He was apparently viewing his extensive stamp collection in his study when he collapsed. He was 53.

Born Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham Adams, Tom, as he was known, led the BLP to victory in 1976 to end 15 years of Democratic Labour Party rule under Errol Barrow. He retained power in the 1981 poll.

Copyright © 2001-2005 Nation Publishing Co. Limited

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The occasion passed in BIM with little fanfare.

[Snoop]

Adams died of a heart attack around 2:15 p.m. at Ilaro Court. He was apparently viewing his extensive stamp collection in his study when he collapsed. He was 53.

Wait, at 2:15 PM shouldn't he have been attending to the business of Barbados instead of looking at stamps?

BK, what do you mean by little fanfare?

[Bendedknees]

Adams died of a heart attack around 2:15 p.m. at Ilaro Court. He was apparently viewing his extensive stamp collection in his study when he collapsed. He was 53.

Wait, at 2:15 PM shouldn't he have been attending to the business of Barbados instead of looking at stamps?

BK, what do you mean by little fanfare?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On would have expected that one of our great leaders would have merited some recognition on the anniversary of his passing. There was hardly a mention, a radio commentary here and there but nothing of note.

[Beep_Beep]

Adams died of a heart attack around 2:15 p.m. at Ilaro Court. He was apparently viewing his extensive stamp collection in his study when he collapsed. He was 53.

Wait, at 2:15 PM shouldn't he have been attending to the business of Barbados instead of looking at stamps?  

BK, what do you mean by little fanfare?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On would have expected that one of our great leaders would have merited some recognition on the anniversary of his passing. There was hardly a mention, a radio commentary here and there but nothing of note.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To quote Tom's father, the late Sir Grantley Adams,MP for St.Joseph for well over 25 years, "Bajans have short memory". But even in death we still see our political leaders as BLP or DLP. But the present administration / leader has exhausted pulling down what the DLP ,before them built, and have now turn to downplaying thier previous leaders. It appears that the present leader want to go down in the history book as the greatest leader that the island has ever known.