Hampton Old Girls

I will never become a member of the Hampton old girls association, although I attended that high school. You see I have no intention of ever getting 0ld so I stridently refuse to be involved with anything so named. 

However, my neighbour Verleeta is an activist with that organisation so sometimes I am browbeaten into attending some of their functions.

 So yesterday I had to give up my healthy ride to Hermitage, to attend their carol service and brunch. 

The service was held at the Jamaica College chapel and it was OK with most of the carols, thank God, being those jazzy "relevant to Jamaica" ones created by father Ho Lung. 

Brunch was at St. Andrew high school. (Hampton is located in the country at Malvern in St. Elizabeth. It was a bit badly organised as the caterer came without serving staff. However the "old" girls jumped in and after an inordinately long wait we finally got fed. As they say, good things are worth waiting for and it was good. 

 During the after meal chat, I was called on to say something about the late Millicent Knight, an old girl who later became headmistress of Westwood High School and someone about whom I had written. She should have been at that function as a special guest but she died three weeks ago. She was 98 years old and had thoroughly enjoyed her life. I would sum her up as someone who was extremely happy in her own skin. Incidentally, I was asked to provide transportation for another famous old girl from the chapel to the brunch. 

That is the great Olive Lewin, icon of Jamaican dance and music. I had never met her before and although she looked very nice, unfortunately she suffers from Alzheimer's. Terrible disease. Poor soul, I don't even think she was aware that it was her old school's function. Her life has "ended" so tragically in comparison to Miss Knight's.

 Oh the terrible hazards of old age.