Bob Morgan’s third Calypso King of Saba crown

The Daily Herald writes how Morgan claimed his third Calypso King of Saba crown by dethroning reigning champion Cirilio “Daddy Slim” Martin 250 to 242 at the 39th annual Summer Carnival Festival at the Princess Juliana Sports Field in The Bottom on Friday. Saba’s most accomplished Calysponian, Irvin “Mighty Topo” Riley, finished a close third with 240 points and first-time entrant Sislene “Lady Sizzle” Matthew was third runner up with 211.

“It feels good. Honestly, it feels good,” said Morgan, who won US $2,500 cash and other prizes. “What it says is that you beat out everybody. I had a feeling based on the song and the strength of it that it would have won something.”
Morgan’s song was titled “Bed of Roses,” a satirical look back at the mistakes made by Dutch and local politicians during the constitutional changes following the dissolution of the former Netherlands Antilles in 10-10-10, when Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire became official municipalities of Holland. Morgan’s pre-song skit portrayed Dutch quartermasters having their way with local commissioners by promising the local population a “Bed of Roses.” “Basically, the message was based on a number of events that took place before 10-10-10,” said Morgan. “You had the politicians pushing this thing because the Netherlands Antilles had a lot of financial problems. Curaçao wanted to get out. St. Maarten also wanted to get out, but instead of trying to amend the constitution and get some kind of stability where the Netherlands Antilles could still exist. “What I found wrong that we did was that we had the quartermasters who came didn’t inform the public. They were not forthcoming. It was just a rush to everything, and after 10-10-10, a lot of people realised it for the first time. A lot of people were fooled, including a lot of politicians themselves, who had their own expectations. They were only looking at the bright side.”

Attendance for the Calypso show was dampened by reports of a tropical storm headed for Saba for the second weekend in a row. Organisers said that those who chose not to come on Friday missed out on a special part of the Carnival festivities. Despite the challenges precipitated by the weather, organisers said they are happy that the show came off well and look forward to a better one for the 40^th Anniversary Show.