Return to Munro College

Many many years ago, I attended high school at Munro college in St. Elizabeth.

For those who do not know, Munro college a  boarding/finishing school for boys which was established in 1856. So this is why my statement that I attended Munro is always met with consternation, but no, I did not have a sex change.

As it happened, I attended Hampton girl's school from forms 1-5 and those where the worst days of my life. Then redemption came as we did combined classes with Munro for 6th form.... boys at last... those  were the best years of my high school life and unfortunately it led to be earning the notoriety of being the first girl to be suspended from Hampton!

You see Hampton at the time, had mostly old maids as teachers and their life's ambition was to make all the girls in their own image and it was always ours, to outsmart them. So when I got my driver's licence at age 17, the opportunity came as we planned that one half term, I would transport my and my friends' beaus from Munro to Hampton for a party.

It was easy since my father had a white VW bug just like the headmaster's, so on the appointed day,  I was brazen and boasy enough to drive right up the the quad and pick up the boys.

All went well and we looked forward to a wonderful day of dancing as the music room at Hampton had a record player. I don't know if word came from Munro that some funny movements had taken place, but within half hour of us settling down to have a wonderful day, who appeared  but one of the old maids, a Miss Brown. That is when we discovered how courageous and upstanding our beaus were, for as she appeared, they all jumped out the window and ran away.

Being the transportation co-oridinator, I of course got the book thrown at me. I can't even remember what happened to the other girls, order marks I suspect, but boy did I get it from both the school and at home. In fact, looking back, I am lucky to be still alive!(lol)

It seems some of the boys did have a conscience after all and it still bothers them, for occasionaly when I need the professional services of those in Jamaica, they never charge me!!!!!

I have never returned to Munro (or Hampton for that matter) after completing high school until  Friday 16th November 2012  when I had to do an outside broadcast (OB) for "Justice" on Power 106.

I tell you the truth, I really did not recognise much there except the chapel and the quad for the place has grown by leaps and bounds, expanding from just under 200 boys to over 1400, but the boys are still as well mannered, disciplined and focused as they were in the old days.  (I hope they are more chivalrous though!) 

We had a lot to  boast about on Friday as the Rhodes scholarship for 2013 had just been announced and Munro's Vincent Taylor was winner, making Munro the institution here that has produced the most Rhodes scholars.

After the OB, I had to drive over the hills through Newmarket to Bethel Town on  some of the worst roads in the world, to Windedown at Silver Sands, Trelawny, where my brother Bernard (Bernie) was having his annual big bash. 

To get to Munro for the OB, I had left my home at 6 am and never got to Winedown  until after 6pm....a long but reasonably nice day.

Bernie and daughter Whitney at Silver Sands on a previous occasion.

Of course Saturday was a big bash as usual, dominoes, food and liquor galore and of course great music and dancing  Unfortunately I ended up getting 12 love, although I changed partners and did not even drop one 6 love. But that's life in Ja..

On Sunday morning at the beach we saw a south African crew filming a reality show named Tropika. ........they had come all the way to Jamaica, flying for some 16 hours, to capture the beauty they had heard about but that some of us do not even appreciate.

Not to worry though, for as to me and my people, we revel in it at every opportunity.