For those who have read Remote Access, you may remember a reference to Cynthia the Centipede. Here is how that came about.
While I was writing the book in 2017, we had the good fortune to spend some time in Barbados with good friends Brian and Jean. They had visited this beautiful island many times and they showed us around extensively. One day Brian introduced us to the Marizayra Sanctuary and its owner/operator Ryan. There were many amazing local birds and animals, but one that really made an impression was Cynthia the Centipede, an 11-inch behemoth that enjoyed eating mice among other things. I had never seen anything like her so she had to make a cameo appearance in Remote Access.
Sadly, Brian’s lovely wife Jean passed away in 2018, but Brian returned to Barbados this year with a signed copy of Remote Access for Ryan. This is what happened, in Brian’s words:
“I gave Ryan the book and when he read the relevant passage he got quite emotional and teared up a bit. He asked me to thank you very much, he will treasure your book.”
So, what happened to Cynthia? Brian followed up with Rashid, one of Ryan’s employees and asked about her. Brian reported the following: “He said she died about a year ago. So I enquired about the smaller one. “Cynthia ate her” he replied with a bit of a grin, “I was a few hours late feeding her one day”.
Brian added, “In a way I’m not too upset. She was a bit too close to the house for comfort!!!”