My encounter with Roberta Flack, alongside Alfred Taylor and Pat Nehaul, at the Grand Barbados Hotel (now Radisson Aquatica Resort) was a memorable, albeit unusual, experience. Though it sounds like the setup for a joke, it was far from humorous at the time.
During a visit to my mother in Barbados, I found myself unexpectedly involved in a near-international incident. Alfred Taylor, then the hotel manager, called her home in a state of agitation, requesting my mother’s immediate presence. Upon arriving, we discovered Roberta Flack, her manager, and Alfred embroiled in a heated dispute concerning a beach vendor named “Coconuts.”
Ms. Flack had been charmed by Coconuts, but hotel policy prohibited beach vendors from entering the property. This led to a standoff with security and Alfred Taylor, who was adamant that Coconuts was not the type of guest the hotel welcomed, regardless of Ms. Flack’s stature. My mother, the Director of Tourism at the time, recognized the potential for negative publicity. After a private conversation with Ms. Flack, she addressed Alfred, emphasizing the importance of Barbados’s international reputation. She proposed a solution: she would personally pay for a room for Coconuts, making him a hotel guest with full access. She appealed to Alfred’s understanding of “love at first sight” and requested he resolve the matter discreetly.
Alfred relented, and the tension dissipated. Roberta Flack and my mother formed a lasting friendship. I later heard that Coconuts left Barbados with Ms. Flack, though his subsequent whereabouts remain unknown.
