So many guests over the years have asked me how our family acquired Coconut Court and how long we have owned the hotel so I thought it was about time that I wrote a ‘family tree’ of the Blades family and a little bit about how we got started in the tourism business. I hope that I have not left anything out. Enjoy reading… Our dad, Charlie Blades was born and raised in Barbados. His family first arrived here from England way back in 1630. Fast forward please….In the 1950s, Dad moved to Nassau, Bahamas to find work and while there he met a pretty lady from Hamilton Ontario, Canada named Lorraine Allenby. It was not long before the two decided to get married. Their eldest son, my brother James, was born in Nassau in 1964. Shortly after his birth, our parents decided to return to my Dad’s homeland, Barbados. Dad had seen the tourism boom in Nassau and he wanted to “try his hand” in the budding tourism industry in Barbados. On returning home, Dad found work as a tour rep, welcoming visitors to the few hotels then operating in Barbados. One of those hotels was Coconut Court! More about that later….