The old guard

 Jamaica has recently lost so many of the old guard singers who have rocked the world with great reggae music, the latest being Jimmy Cliff, that it's depressing.

And seeing how shaky the great Ernie Smith looked didn't help my feelings of unease.

Steve Higgins greets Ernie Smith 

In fact seeing him needing to sit on a stool to perform, reminded me of the last time I saw the late, great Pluto Shervington. He died about 3 weeks after I saw him perform (around 2years years ago,) while also needing a stool, as he was obviously not well. (JOAN, MY VIEWS.: A.J delivered! 💓)

The good thing about Ernie though is that although he looked very shaky, his voice was still powerful, so let's hope he will be around for many more years.

This event was the annual Christmas Carol service which I look forward to. 

This turned out to be much more than just regular affair though.

Apart from the pleasant surprise of having Ernie Smith appear, the Cuban pastor from a nearby church, also visited, all dressed in Jamaican colors and did a Bob Marley number.

 Not bad at all.

The other surprise appearance was by Father Richard Holung with some members of the 'Brothers of the Poor' and they too did a number.

Father Holung also looks shaky.

Father Holung greets Ernie Smith 

Bwoy, all my contemporaries are looking shaky, so I guess I am too.

Man I hate old age😡.

Well at least our Consul General is still young!😊

He loves to perform and did a decent job as usual.

And of course there was the performance from the regular choir, the South Florida Caribbean Chorale, and the organizer, Steve Higgins.

Steve Higgins always puts on good concerts and it's now a family affair, as his young son Matthew sometimes performs, and last night he brought on another son who plays the drums.

Steve Higgins in front on keyboard and son behind on drums.

I always enjoy his productions and saw many familiar faces, as we start gearing up for the Christmas holidays.🌲⛄☃️🌰

Pretty good start of the season.

From Dancehall to Church Hall!

 I love Lady Saw. 

Her high energy, command of the stage, voice.......She has everything that makes a great performer. 

However, it's not simply her performing skills which have caused me to be a lifelong fan, but also the fact that she is such a generous and caring person. For ever since she declared publicly that she couldn't have children, she has adopted so many needy ones and even stray animals as well.

I have never seen or heard her since her conversion to Christianity, which caused her to turn to gospel music, ditching her moniker Lady Saw and performing under her own name, Marion Hall.

About three years ago, we went on our regular trek to Sumfest, hoping to get a taste of the transition of Lady Saw to Marion Hall, but she never came on stage until after 6 am and as we had to drive back to Trelawny, we had to skip her performance.

Well she is the main reason why I decided not to miss the fund raising concert put on at Faith Chapel in Florida last night.

It was billed as another fundraiser for the victims of hurricane Melissa where all the artists were performing free of charge.

These fundraising events are coming fast and furious. I only hope the people we are all trying to help, get the assistance!

See how many ways they tell u to donate!

The affair was anchored by Jamaica's Consul General, Oliver Mair and Bishop Hernandez, who is known for his fund- raising skills.

 He is even reputed to have raised funds in record time for his Lear jet, but that's for another discussion.😁

Bishop Fernandez And Oliver Mair.

The target for the night was US$175,000 and I am sure they met it, for I left immediately after Lady Saw finished her explosive performance and they were at $140,000.

There was a surprise appearance by Father Richard Holung who is often thought of as Jamaica's male Mother Theresa.

This is because, though born into wealth and privilege, he gave it all up to establish Brothers of the Poor, which operates in the ghettos, bringing relief to the poorest, the indigent and neediest. He has been doing this for perhaps more than 50 years!

Consul General Mair introduces Father Richard Holung.

Father Holung is not just a do-gooder but also a very talented musician and songwriter whose concerts I never missed while living in Jamaica.

His appearance at this event was to promote an upcoming concert they are having in Hollywood, Florida next week to raise funds for his organisation.

Three of his brothers showcased their skills for the upcoming event.

Bwoy, am I happy I attended for it exceeded my expectations or as we say in Jamaica " it sell off."👏🥳.

Interestingly, it kicked off with a dynamic performance by Omari, whom I had never heard of before, but he touched the nerve of Jamaican Christians by bunning (condemning) obeah.

Obeah is a West African ritual brought to Jamaica by our enslaved ancestors centuries ago.

Obeahmen use spirits and indigenous elements, herbs, oils, candles and supposedly supernatural forces, to heal or cast spells, give protection etc.

 It was banned by the slavers but recently in Jamaica there has been calls for the Obeah Act to be repealed. 

This is something objected to by many spokespersons in so-called Christian community at home and apparently in Florida too, as Omari certainly stirred up the passions.

A TASTE!

                                                                        Omari

                                                                      Carlene Davis

As expected, Lady Saw, sorry, Marion Hall, brought down the house.

Giving thanks🙏.

 On the last Thursday of November each year, Americans make a big hullabaloo about giving thanks.

 But it's something we Jamaicans were taught to do daily.

The thing I give thanks for none stop is good health.

I usually try to get some exercise  before going off to stuff myself😁.

Having a bicycle sure helps in that quest.😁

Anyway since I am unapologetic food lover, I head to Michelle's mom, Miss Norma, one of the greatest cooks on earth, on that American holiday.

Miss. Norms

But we don't do turkey as it looks too much like a creature that flies very high and nuh work pon Sunday, that we have at home.😁

That's mine😁

Michele birthday was the 22nd and her loving sister Melissa bought her a cake.

We had lots of fun as usual.

Yup, I got a stomach full and had lots of fun on America's Thanksgiving Day. 

So did DJ Shaddy, as he wrote the hilarious lyrics below and used AI to create this song about the day.

 It's on you tube at:

https://youtu.be/QMFQBtKuIVM?si=grq_PNg4db5wunBs

On Friday it was on to Sebring for more food and camaraderie with my best friend Sunshine and family 😁.

Sebring is a small, quiet city of around 11,000 people, where black bears roam at night. Yup they see them on their cameras but I have never seen one although I would love to. All I ever see are deers 😡

It's some 3 hours away in the northwest of Florida and on Friday morning before I got there it was 48 Degrees.  Luckily it warmed up before I arrived.

Houses are far apart in Sebring 

It's peaceful there.

Since I was in no hurry, I took a longer and more scenic route which I had discovered years before, while going to nearby Lake Placid to a caladium festival. :JOAN, MY VIEWS.: Caladiums galore https://share.google/d4UTWkhQucCSMI44O.

That area is a Trump red neck country and as if to remind me, there was a huge billboard with his picture on the road. Anyway that reminded me to keep within the speed limit as the last thing I need in life is to be stopped by a red neck police.

This route took me through area with campgrounds, fishing attractions and  huge ranches with thousands of cattle grazing peacefully.

It was nice to see them getting stung by the Trump economic policies they voted for as at least one third of the farms  had " for sale" signs out front.

Ribs by Cardiff.

It was a pleasant, quiet weekend with friends and although Cardiff is not a pork eater, he did ribs for me♥️.

That made the long journey even more than worthwhile.😋

Bye Jimmy🙏

Another great Jamaican reggae legend has gone ahead.

Jimmy Cliff was one of my favorite artists and "the devil in me": https://youtu.be/Fd7fuMh5rfw?si=q9LOaGjxZ94jvpmV and "many rivers to  cross": https://youtu.be/-y9Q7ud7Or0?si=ximUOF4poV5dU2pD,  were the absolute best of reggae.

Walk good Jimmy. Your name is forever etched in history.

It has affected us all!

We Jamaicans are scattered throughout the world. Two things remain true about us though.

 Firstly, no matter how far away from home we migrate to, most of of hang on for dear life to our Jamaican roots. 

Secondly, many of us either received a devastating blow from the most vicious hurricane to crash into the Caribbean, destroying much of the south west section of our beautiful island home, or have friends/family who were.

 That was hurricane Melissa which struck on October 28 2025. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/11/i-weep-for-black-rivervictims.html?m=1)

In our family, those who received the worst blow were my 91 year old cousin Nellie a retired teacher, and her 92 year old husband.

Third from right, 91 year old Nellie, beside her is 92 year old husband EV, and beside him my cousin Dor, who keeps the family fire burning on the island👍.


When our African ancestors were freed from slavery in 1834, most had no education.

For you see, the devout Christians who had enslaved them for centuries after kidnapping and bringing them across the Atlantic, had deliberately kept them in ignorance.

Fortunately, there was a handful of Christians who did not subscribe to the religious dogma, that Africans were not human.

Among them was a religious sect called Moravian.

Recognizing that the newly freed slaves needed to be educated, in 1861 they established a teacher training College for women, named Bethlehem, in Malvern, the rural district in which I was born.

Although my great grandmother had no formal training, she had become a teacher.
However her daughter, my grandma, who got the opportunity for higher education,  attended Bethlehem teacher training College as did many other female members of my father's family.

 In fact, I recall with some embarrassment how when I was horrified that my daughter wanted to become a teacher after I had spent so much money sending her to college, she reminded me that the family has a tradition of teaching and it had nothing to do with money!🫢🫣.

As usual, she was right.

I even traveled to nearby Cuba some years later, to meet many cousins who were born there, as a grand aunt had migrated to that neighboring island to teach English.

So yes, Nellie proudly carried on the family tradition for decades before retiring to Brighton near the St. Elizabeth /Westmorland border. This district is some 35 miles from Black River, the epicenter of that miserable hurricane.

At age 91, she and her 92 year old husband

spent many terrifying hours in the night of October 28, trying to stay safe and dry, as the hurricane peeled the roof of their home piece by piece.

Fortunately they were eventually rescued by kind neighbors. 

This is what is left of their home today.😭.

It took Dor (who lives in the city and fortunately was unaffected by the monster), weeks to locate them, and even now, three weeks later, the area still has no electricity or Internet and only spotty cel service. 

I guess many will say they escaped with their lives so they should be grateful.

But how do you really rise and rebuild again after 90?

Many Jamaicans are in similar situation, but when you have your youth, it's a natural advantage, psychically and psychologically.

A section of Bethlehem Moravian College.

Jamaicans early?

 I never knew Jamaican people could be  early!

Well most were for the fund raising concert put on by celebrated Jamaican tenor Steve Higgins, to raise funds for the victims of that terrible hurricane, Melissa.

This was held in Plantation, Florida.

 I arrived promptly at 3 pm and the church was already full to the brim. We only got seated in a small room (prayer room?) behind the regular seating area.

Others who arrived after that had to stand till they found and transported chairs which must have been in storage.

Late comers waiting for seats.

It was a really good concert with not only the tenor and his chorale taking us through several genres of Jamaican music, from Belafonte to Marley. 

I especially appreciated how MC/ host Higgins paid tribute to some of our great writers/musicians, who wrote such memorable lyrics.  

Special mention was made of Noel and Beverly Dexter, Olive Lewin and Paulette Bellamy.

My favorite rendition was "the Prayer"  performed by Steve Higgins and Dahlia Wynter.

In my book, only Bocelli and Celine Dion could have outperformed on them👍.

There was a surprise performance by 'Brick and Lace who did Jimmy Cliff's 'many rivers to cross' among other songs.

The two sisters who used to perform in Jamaica under that moniker were good.

 Then they disappeared. I should have expected that they disappeared to the USA!  The other surprise was that now they are three! Another sister?

The new Brick and Lace?

It was a very entertaining afternoon and I am sure they raised a lot of funds and got many other donations, as the air was one of 'Jamaicans anxious to assist their fellow country people who suffered terribly from the devastating ravages of Melissa. '

Hope the donations get to the thousands who need it most.

Yes, I am a born cynic but my decades of seeing the wrong people benefitting from everything, hasn't cured my cynicism.

It has only fertilized it.

The pastor with tenor Steve Higgins 

N. Lauderdale Hispanic celebration.

As they say, better late than never and I totally agree.

Hispanic Heritage Month was celebrated in October in most cities in Broward, with one important feature everywhere being the music festivals.

But in tiny N. Lauderdale (population less than 45,000), their festival was apparently postponed twice and only held on the 1st November.

With my posse 😊.

I have never been to anything in N. Lauderdale before but as a Jamaican, felt an instant connection to that city. For their Mayor hails from Ghana, from which most of our ancestors were transported. Also they have a commissioner named Bustamate. 

That's a famous but uncommon name in Jamaica despite our years of Spanish colonial occupation.

 Only a popular former prime minister and National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamate, bore that Hispanic name, as far I can recall.

Entertainment started with a mariachi band

These two dancers were very professional.

The "Puerta de Oro de Colombia" expertly showcased Colombian music, dance and modelled traditional costumes.

A section of the audience 

This was the star performance backed by drummers. She was so good that Alfredo       (below) never left the dance floor once she started to perform 😊

The Mayor apologized for not holding the festival in the official Hispanic Heritage Month, but in my book, it made no difference as it was a well-planned, and executed event which had everyone enjoying themselves immensely👍.

The two female MC's were excellent too, teaching attendees to do dances from maccarema to our own Marcia Griffith's electric boogie.

Carol surely mastered the moves😊👍.