CAROLING IN LAURISTAN, ST. CATHERINE

I have heard about people going around caroling at Christmas from I was a child but the first time I have ever seen it done or participated was in 2010 when the president of the Lauristan citizens association, Audley Nain J.P invited me to join them. I had such a wonderful time then that when the invitation was again extended this year, I had no difficulty setting out from Kingston at 5.30 am with friends Richard and Sharon to derive over to join up with them.

Yes, I know, when some people hear of Lauristan, that area off the Sligoville road in St. Catherine, the farthest thing from their mind is carol singing. This is because this community was the scene of a widely reported and  most horrific murder on July 20, 2011 which shocked the nation. For it was there while Charmaine Cover-Rattray and her daughter were asleep at their home   that men kicked off their door, entered murdered them, then cut off their heads and dumped them some distance away.

Off they went caroling in the early morning

Reality though, like so many communities in Jamaica, there are two sections. In the case of Lauristan there is the residential community where returning residents and professionals have made their homes and there they maintain a strong, active citizens' association.

Then then there is a section nearby which borders the Rio Cobre river where squatters have made their home and you do not have to guess who have given the community a bad name! Anyway I have never been fearful of visiting Lauristan even when that bloody news was being reported.

Whereas only a few of us set out in the dark on Christmas morning 2014, having a whale of a time belting out carols and waking up the neighborhood, by the time we got to the community centre the number had grown significantly.

At the community centre, the pots were already boiling preparing the green, bananas and dumplins and hot chocolate while the breadfruits were roasted nearby. How this annual Christmas breakfast is organised is that those who are good cooks bring their specialty while others prefer to donate funds towards having the breakfast prepared on site.

Some of the delicious breakfast being prepared on site

So all during the morning too, people were pouring in with pots and other containers filled with delicious ackee and codfish, curried chicken, roti, turned cornmeal, friend johnnycakes and even hominy porridge. So there was food galore and delicious to boot.

This community centre is located on land that they leased and using a 40 foot container, converted it into  a real utility centre, fully furnished with benches and tables made by residents themselves.

While we waited for the rest of the community to gather and the food to be prepared, president Nain who is in his own right one of Jamaica’s most outstanding tenors and a former member of Jamaica Folk singers, led everyone in more caroling  while real country hot chocolate was served to stave off the creeping hunger.

                                                                         

                                                                                                                             

  A sumptuous breakfast indeed

Then the Rev Simmonds who had journeyed from old Harbour, delivered  a sermon based on the story of the good Samaritan…..love thy neighbor as you love yourself.

By breakfast time just before 9am, the crowd had swelled significantly and it was interesting to see it was the young people who came filing in last as despite our efforts to wake them up with our loud caroling, they had obviously had difficulty getting out of bed after at night out at grand market and other Christmas eve events.

                                                                                                                        

Rev. Simmonds (left) waits his turn while president Audley welcomes the citizens 

But it was a great get together culminating with an absolutely wonderful breakfast and every single person getting a Christmas present from under the tree. And guess what? The grounds were as clean as a whistle when it was all over!

I swear if more communities adopted the spirit of the residents of Lauristan in 2015, this would indeed be one of the cleanest and greatest places on the face of the earth to live for indeed Lauristan is nothing like the picture painted by the bad publicity some years ago but indeed a model Jamaican community.

                                               Citizens wait patiently to be served     

https://youtu.be/L3sgIci5ffs

Give More to Political Parties? Absolutely Not!

I am absolutely amazed, for despite several senators grandstanding and  claiming they object to  the taxpayers funding political parties, guess what? They approved the amendments to the Representation of People's Act  without removing that offensive requirement! 

So soon it will be legal for taxpayers to be pressured further to  come up with more money  to  finance political activity. And I deliberately said "more money" since  as Tom Tavares Finson reminded us, we already provide a high degree of funding. He gave as an example the last general elections where the money paid to party workers exceeded $50 million. And I am sure he did not take into consideration what goes into parish Councillors' salaries  for they are more beneficial to the PNP And JLP to carry out their party's activities at the grassroots than they are to us in their divisions! 

Further, does anyone ever know how much of the current million dollar and near million dollar telephone bills  that some minister run up annually go into their working in the interest of the country versus for private political campaigning?

As far as I am concerned, for the politicians to have passed this amendment is totally unconscionable and for the public to just ignore the implications is absolutely remarkable. For don't the Jamaican taxpayer recognise that in excess of 20% of the population lives in poverty and the constant cry is that government has no money to help them ease the pain in their bellies?

And if every other deserving organisation including the Salvation Army which looks after the interest of the poorest among us has to do their own fund raising, why shouldn't the political parties who history has shown have done so much to damage our economy since independence without anyone being held responsible for anything. So now, they are being given free passage to enjoy the privileges of power without any accountability and without them even doing their own fund raising.

According to those who  pushed the legislation for taxpayers to bankroll the political parties, this will prevent those with deep pockets who now  finance  the parties from influencing policy.

Hah. Since we are a country notorious for a lack of accountability and transparency will someone tell me how picking taxpayers pockets going to remedy this malady ?

Besides,  it is apparent that policy in Jamaica is more dictated by the IMF and foreign investors with deep pockets than by rich locals who finance the party of their choice. And this situation will remain as long as we remain a beggarly nation  as we have been since gaining independence 52 years ago.  And from all indications, we will remain so for decades to come because corruption and lack of accountability is so entrenched.

And as long as the level of national poverty  remains, foreign investors with deep pockets  will determine that they want Goat Island or any other section of Jamaica  and do anything they please that will damage the entire environment, without interference.

How is this latest legislation which will only put further financial pressure on the overtaxed population going to correct these situations?

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving 2014 was absolutely wonderful except that I learnt too late that a desert could get darn cold.

For I had visited Las Vegas twice before and had always found the weather to be the closest thing to hell fire (yes, I was there!) and although the temperature drops drastically in the early mornings, I never knew the winters could be so bad.

Brr!

So off I went with a suitcase filled with bathing suits, shorts and short sleeve clothes only to arrive in temperature in the 40's! Wow.

 It is a good thing Melissa of football fame ( Michelle's little sister) lives there and had brought down winter clothes from New York and that is the only thing that saved us.

After that it was great.

Shadrach flying from Tampa met up with me at the Charlotte airport and we were able to sit together for the rest of what was a very bumpy flight and when we got to Vegas Michelle was already there and waiting at the airport.

We visited the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon and although I had been both places before, I realised I remembered nothing.

The grand canyon is really awesome and remains one of the most visited of the 7 Wonders of the World. Long trip to get there though for although we left out about 6 am did not return to hotel until around 8.30 p,m. Worth it though.

Since we could not get over to Phoenix to visit Amrita and her family, they came over and I saw the baby for the first time. What an absolutely sweet baby. Goes to everyone and although they stayed overnight, I never heard her cry once.

I never expected the thanksgiving dinner to be so great for I forgot that Norma, Michelle's mom is a top cook and she brought down everything from New York including green gungo and goat mutton.  We then had a wonderful time at Melissa's home in the suburbs.

Amrita and family with Michelle

 Of course we took in all the sights in Vegas itself which is really an unique place where the unexpected elsewhere is the norm, including women standing almost nude on the sidewalks in 40 degree weather and offering to take photos with those who want to be seen with a sexy chick!

Of course, not being a gambler myself, Vegas did not benefit much from my visit as I lost all of 25 cents, yes a quarter! For I had declared that I would be gambling $5 just for kicks but the stupid machine kept spitting out small wins until I got bored and retrieved $4.75. The last time I visited I decided to gamble $10 and lost it all. Yeah, that's me, the last of the big gamblers!

Anyway, minus gambling, Vegas is still a great place to visit for the architecture and splendor, shows etc are a must see at least once in a lifetime.

And with some members of the family there there was much to give thanks for.