Much better!

 The 4th July Independence celebration was well organized as usual.

 In other words, things are back to normal in Tamarac, after the confusion that reigned 6 days before with the Caribbean Heritage celebrations at the same venue. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/06/such-confusion.html).

Bravo Tamarac City👏.

So, as usual, we enjoyed the music provided by VAM Band, food from the trucks and camaraderie.

I was ready for the rain😊

And the little rain that came was welcomed by those who came prepared, as it cooled down the place. 

The Mayor got soaked but didn't miss a beat😁

Carol, Mayor Gomez, Joan 

Donna, our Trini friend dropped in too😊

VAM band worked up the crowd

Then it was time for fireworks.

Last year, they had a drone show and it was good, but the child in me prefers good, old-fashioned fireworks!

Thank you Tamarac, we love and appreciate these regular music sessions at the Sports Complex, when the organization is seamless.

Touring Accra

 Today we should have gone to Shai Hills to see animals, but it was raining hard in the morning and the weather report predicted all day rain.

As usual,  they were wrong😡.

 Unfortunately we never knew they were until later, so we played tourist around Accra.

First we went to the colorful craft market.

Xylophone maker demonstrates his craft 

In the colorful craft market 

Then on to Black Star Square, also known as Independence Square.

At Black Star Square. The round building behind is the stadium.

This is the Kwame Nkrumah memorial

The square was completed in 1961 and it's where the annual independence celebrations as well as other national events and military parades are held.

The black star, (otherwise called the "Lodestar of African Freedom",) became the symbol of Pan Africanism and anti-colonialism in 1957  and was used in the design of the Flag of Ghana.

Then we went to the W.E.B DuBois museum.

I had no idea this outstanding black American intellectual and civil rights activist had moved to Ghana when his passport was seized by the American authorities.

 He lived there from age 92 to his death at age 95.

He was given a home by the government and was highly honored, mainly for his intellectual works which is said to appear in 1800 publications.

His home above, is where the museum is housed.

The street outside also bears his name 

The outside of his museleum 

His robes. He was the first black man to get his PHd at Harvard. He was 28.

Pictures of black female freedom fighters displayed on one wall. Among them is our National  Hero Nanny.

Our knowledgeable tour guide

Then it was back to the hotel where as usual many parties are hosted, mainly on the weekend.

Dining room staff singing happy birthday to a guest.

The ladies below are the ushers for a special shindig.

KARURA FOREST, A VERY SPECIAL PLACE

I think my special attachment to the Karura forest, stems from the fact that on a recent visit to Kenya, that was my first exposure to their great outdoors.

This 1063 hectare (2627 acres) open space, is right in the middle of a residential area in Nairobi and is a dream location for residents.

A section of the forest

Luckily, I became a 'resident' for a while and this healthy, open, green space was virtually next door to where I was staying with my hosts Kelly and Denis. So on my very first day, we went on a 7 km hike.

Nothing could beat the welcome we received from a family of friendly Sykes monkeys that my 'guide' Denis had never seen before, despite his many visits to the area.

I don't know why this family was so welcoming, since we did see others when we continued the trek and they fled immediately at the sound of our footsteps.

Apart from the natural beauty of the area, this forest is a place for all sorts of activities and on the very day we were leaving, we returned there for a yoga session.

Our hosts at lunch

As it was also Mothers day and there were three mothers in our group, we headed to their lovely restaurant for a delicious mothers day lunch followed by a muddy hike to the  Karuru waterfall. 

I am happy that I was loaned a pair of water boots, though heavy, to do that trek through the mud, as it had rained all night.

Apart from the waterfall we saw some of the caves in which Mau Mau rebels (the resistance lasted from 1952-1960) hid out from the British in their struggle to liberate their country from those oppressive colonialists. 

With friends in front of one of the caves

For the benefit of those not familiar with that struggle, it occurred, because under British rule, the invaders grabbed the best lands, took away the rights of the Kenyan people who they used their superior arms to dominate in their quest for cheap labor. 

(Visitors to Kenya should visit the Nairobi National Museum where through photographs and paintings, they graphically display the murder of civilians and the brutal slaughter of the Kenyan freedom fighters during that period.)

The savagery of the British  (including at the Chuka and Hola massacres) however, only motivated more Kenyan people to put their lives on the line to gain their freedom. 

This determination to die for liberty and the condemnation the murderers received from the international community, so ratted the well armed British, that in 1963 they had to agree to give independence to the Kenyan people.

Walking through this scenic gorge, brought back memories of a hike I did along our own Cuna Cuna trail in Jamaica, where National Hero, Nanny, and her freedom fighters, hid out in the caves as they waged their own guerilla war for freedom against the same savage colonizers.                                         

They too, as home grown strategists, caused the well-armed bullies to give them the concessions they fought for.  

It was therefore a personal pleasure for me to take in the natural beauty of this side of the Karura forest while recalling the struggle of the Kenyan people for freedom. 

However, while in Jamaica, we are accustomed to waterfalls and rivers in which we can swim and frolic, as the mighty Nairobi River raged through the area, there was no swimming allowed. For although the water is 'clean,' the recent heavy rains had caused it to take on the red color of the soil. 

Anyway,  that raging river did look a tad too dangerous for me to to frolic in, even during the dry season.

The case for republicanism

Jamaica used to be the most independent and progressive of what was known as the West Indies, but on the issue of becoming masters or mistresses of our own destiny, we are 
certainly falling behind. 

While we were the first of the former colonies in the Caribbean to declare independence from Britain, on the matter of totally breaking away from those who oppressed out ancestors for centuries, we are acting like morons. For the Queen of England remains our head of state although we have been independent for almost 60 years.

In the meantime Dominica, Trinidad, and Guyana have become republics and the prime minister of Barbados, announced that in November 2021 Barbados will also ditch the British monarchy as its head of state. 

Yes Barbados, which has always been considered more British than the British. 

The insignia given to black Governor's General by the Queen shows the Archangel trampling Satan who is black!

Even in white Australia, the topic has resurfaced, with ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, tweeting that in light of the very 'sad revelations' by  Megan and Harry in that famous interview with Oprah Winfrey, it should bolster the call to cut ties with the British monarchy.

In the meantime, Jamaica seems doomed to remain forever hanging on to the skirt tail of the British monarchy, even with a governor general representing the British Queen and wearing an insignia that depicts the archangel St. Michael trampling Satan, who is drawn with dark skin.

In light of the recent revelations where Megan and Harry confirmed what we should already have known, (that the British monarchy is a racist institution,) I again wondered out loud on facebook about when or if Jamaica will seek republican status.  The responses were many, swift and diverse. While most respondents rued the fact that we still maintain the royal family as the head of our country, one respondent declared that Jamaica will never change this situation as it is a racist country!

I had to disagree with that respondent, as I really don't believe that Jamaica is still a racist society although there is no doubt that we still have a number of racists among us. And we have a handful of monarchists too, (some of whom contend that such a move will spell economic disaster, although there is no evidence of this in the former west indies territories which ditched the monarchy.) who believe it would be a sin to remove the royal family😁 and replace the head of state with a local person.

Yes, mental slavery is still alive and well among a few.

 Let me make it clear that despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth is a descendent of those who committed the most serious atrocities against our ancestors, I have nothing against her personally. In fact, I dare say she has done her job with good grace, dignity and diplomacy. Even she however realizes that her type of character will no longer be displayed, once she steps down and her son, Charles takes up any role, including in the predominantly black commonwealth, so she is holding in for as long as possible. 

I am personally repulsed by even the thought that Charles, that despicable person, could become Jamaica's head of state and his wife Camelia, the first lady! For it is no secret that the cold fish Charles, drove Diana to her death.

In the famous interview, Prince Harry said that it was neither the queen nor her husband, who were upset that he and mixed race Megan may have a black child, but he refused to say who it was. In my book, such a petty concern, would fall right into Charles' character. Besides why else would he stop taking Harry's phone calls after he opted to stand up for his wife and child?

While I agree that the queen has been unobtrusive and diplomatic in her role, that second generation of hers, including Andrew, the alleged pedophile, have nothing to contribute to Jamaica!

You know, for around three or four decades, we have been debating this issue of republicanism, but both the JLP and PNP have been standing in the way of progress. For while both parties claim that they support replacing the monarchy, they cannot sit down and agree on the type of president we should have, executive or ceremonial. 

Good god, this is not rocket science. If the two parties were really in for of republicanism, they could take the gradual route Guyana did, or some variation. For Guyana first started with a ceremonial president to remove British, then moved on to the executive presidency.

It is totally disgraceful and demoralizing to majority of Jamaicans who do no to wish to have any further association with the despicable British royal family, the racist oppressors of our ancestors, that our politicians continue keep skirting around the issue.

https://youtu.be/oCqHflj4SNE