Emancipation 2025

Jamaica's Emancipation Day is celebrated on the 1st August each year and I think, this is the first year I celebrated it outside of Jamaica. 

I couldn't find anything interesting to attend in Broward, Florida so when my friend Carol told me of a street session in the parking area at a Jamaican restaurant, I told her to pick me up.

Judy, Carol, Joan.

Sure glad I did, for if I didn't, I would never have met some interesting Jamaicans, the phenomenal one being Nesta Leeloo.

Nesta.

Omg, this lady is something else. She is 108 years old.

That's right 108 and her mind in 100% and the body? Well she doesn't even use a walking stick and was so pleasant to boot!

Actually, I had never heard of Butter Flakes Jamaican restaurant before, although in the past, I have visited the strip mall where it is located.

 But back to Miss Nesta.

She was born in Mandeville, Jamaica in 1917 and was Nesta Lewis, before getting married to a Trinidadian, hence the name Leeloo. They had eight children and so far, she has outlived three. 

Yup, and she still plays the piano and does crossword puzzles everyday. 

As she walked outside to where the DJ had set up the music, she started to jig!😊 Several hours later, at 10pm, when we were packing up to go, she looked like she wasn't going anywhere for the next few hours!

Miss Nesta is definitely now my new role model.😊.

It was a nice jam session with oldies reggae music, and we met quite a few other Jamaicans who had come out to eat, listen to good music and socialize.

We even met too ladies, Gail and Diana who drove all the way from West Palm Beach to attend, as they say they always enjoy the food and vibes there.

Gail and Diana. 

Yup. It was a nice evening. Not my usual Emancipation style celebration, but I enjoyed it, as variety is indeed the spice of life.

Gail, Judy, Carol, Joan 

Getting lost

 It's becoming very easy to get lost in Jamaica these days, because of the rapid development taking place everywhere.

So I guess on my annual visits I just have to get accustomed to it.🥴. 

Last year we got lost trying to find the roast yam and saltfish vendors at Melrose Hill. For they had been moved from their regular place in Williamsfield to the new highway bypassing Mandeville. And because as per usual,  no information signs had been posted anywhere about how to get to their new location, we just decided to forget the yam treat and head home to the north coast. That's when we almost ended up in the bowels Clarendon for again, there were no directional signs anywhere about how or where to connect with the Edward Seaga highway 😡.

Getting lost this year had nothing to do with signs however, but rather because of the rapid development taking place everywhere along the Northcoast highway, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios.

This is making many areas unrecognizable! 

I had visited my friend's home in St. Anns Bay many times, but could we find the entrance today! This had been easy to find as one simply drove down a lonely, unpaved road to the beach.

But it's not lonely or unpaved anymore, for a massive housing development of some 1000 units on 100 hundred acres of land is now taking place right where the entrance had been, and more, there is now a massive private security gate.

After driving around in circles for a while, in frustration, called our friend Chris who had to drive to where we were and lead us to the new paradise. 

But it was worth the frustration as once we got there, we had a wonderful afternoon hanging out with old friends.

L-r back: David, Grace, Bernie, Joan, Chris

 Front: Shirley, Denise.

Most of us had been members of the once vibrant Fun and Thrills Adventure Club which saw us regularly hiking and riding around the island and normally ending up by a nice river where we would swim and eat delicious meals cooked right there on the river bank.

Those were the good old days.

 Today, it was really great hanging out with the old crew once we found our way.

Great memories.

Hmm. Wonder where we will get lost next year?  For with the rapid development taking place everywhere, it's bound to happen.

(NB. Some pics taken by Denise and David.)

The final farewell

No matter how ill someone is and you know only death can only bring them peace, you are still very sad when you say that final farewell.

That's how it was as I attended my schoolmate Hughie's funeral yesterday.

He had gotten the terrible news some 18 months ago that he was diagnosed with that unnerving stage four pancreatic cancer.

Hughie and Wife Desi.

This is a lethal cancer that also killed the likes of Pavoratti and Alex Trevet shortly after they were diagnosed .

Being a doctor himself, Hughie knew he had no chance of survival.

He tried to take the kemo but could not stand the terrible side effects. So he went to Mexico to try an alternative. 

While he knew it couldn't cure the demonic cancer, at least the side effects were not as bad.

He could now eat the foods he loved, have more time with his family and even return to his practice occasionally.

 But he knew it was only a matter of time, so he had to make the best of life,  one day at a time!

Faith DAguilar, well-known  Jamaican soloist, sang " One day at a time" and "God will take care of you"  for Hughie.

Very appropriate.

His funeral was held at the historic Mandeville Parish Church, St. Marks, which was built in 1820.

Dr. Bryan Morgan, former schoolmate and friend, spoke about his days at Munro College.

Hughie's daughter and her best friend delivered the eulogy.

It was more a celebration of Hughie's life, but as I ran into other schoolmates from our era, it reminded me how few of us are still around and healthy to boot!

I am happy that I got to visit him a year ago when he was feeling good and had even returned to his practice for a few hours daily.

Walk good mi fren.❤️

Return to Mayfield Falls

The first time I visited Mayfield Falls, was about fifteen or sixteen years ago. Why I even have an inkling about how long ago it was, is because my grandson Shadrach was around 8 years old at the time, and being disobedient as usual, he had refused to keep on his shoes. Once he discovered the discomfort of walking on river rocks however, we had to turn back so he could put them on!

The only other things I remember vividly are; how poor the roads were getting there, how wonderful it was frolicking in the various pools in the river and even diving and swimming through a huge rock in the river. Also, that was the first time I ever saw or heard of the wonder plant Turmeric. At that time it was apparently growing quite wild in the mini rain forest there, but now I understand it is planted and nourished carefully, as the price is  now really great.

Anyway, I have always loudly expressed a desire to return to Mayfield Falls and finally my dream came true when outdoor enthusiast  extraordinaire Michael Chuck decided to treat his friends to an outing there to celebrate his birthday.

What a wonderful gesture that was and what a great time we had. Thanks Michael.

So on Sunday February 2nd 2020, twenty six of us, including some Fun and thills regulars,  plus a very competent driver Michael, departed from Kingston on schedule at 7am.

Judy closest, Sheryl in front of her

Also on the trip, were my newly found cousins, Judy and Sheryl, who are from Seattle, Washington and are in Jamaica to enjoy our wonderful island and connect with their local relatives.

The Fun and Thrills regulars

The first stop was Jucci Beef in Clarendon where some of us had breakfast. Always remembering how delicious their peanut and hominy porridge always was, that was my immediate choice and I was not disappointed.

After that, with full bellies, we enthusiastically headed out to find the waterfalls. Alas however, someone seems to have forgotten to get directions, for as we were merrily enjoying the scenery and interesting interaction, we discovered we had missed a turn and were heading probably to Negril.

I could not help, as all I could remember about that place was that it was near Petersfield in Westmorland and the road to get there was unpaved and extremely bad.

Anyway we quickly got good directions by phone, turned around and before noon we were finally at our destination. (Incidentially, the road is now paved but narrow and with lots of potholes.)

I could not even recognize the place as it seemed to have changed, anyway, everything in Jamaica has changed in fifteen years!

I recall that at the time I first went there, a dispute was in progress between two operators at the falls and they even made the Star news for it had apparently erupted into violence. However, speaking to the guides on this trip, I was informed that everything was honky dory between them and they were both operating in harmony.

There is steel under the bamboos

This pristine attraction is in Glenbrook which is close to the border of Hanover and Westmorland. Mayfield river is  a tributary of the Cabarita River, which lies in the shadow of the 1800 foot Dolphin  Head mountains.

After we arrived there, it was pure joy. Some people opted to take the dry route on the side of the river but most of us went on foot up river so we could get frequent water massages and swim to our heart's delight.

The journey started with us crossing the river on as scary-looking bamboo bridge but when we were assured that the bridge had solid steel underneath, most people took comfort and dived in literally.

The trek upriver to the "Washing Machine" falls, took about an hour and a half as we swam and fooled around, some even getting mud masks rubbed on their faces and bodies by the eager guides.

On the return journey we came down on the track by the riverside and that took less than half hour as the trip back is quite short.

My only regret is that because this was a wet trip, we did not have our cameras, but one guide took pictures for us and circulated them widely. Unfortunately none showing the actual washing machine water fall was evident but I am grateful for small mercies.

After that glorious trek, we started a game of dominoes but it was interrupted by the call to food which included my favorite, roasted suckling pig. That call found me way up front in the line very quickly. After eating to my heart's content, the wonderful crackling and the delicious rice cooked inside the pig, the desert was tasty carrot cake baked by Mike's wife Karen.

That is as close to heaven that I will ever get I think!

Michael inspects the yummy suckling pig

As expected, on the way home after a simulating outing most of us slept, but I was rudely awakened when we got outside of Mandeville where there was a huge traffic snarl because of an accident, where I understand at least one person was killed.

Its All Over

There was a time not too long ago when people living in rural Jamaica either refused to travel to the capital city Kingston or when urgent business required them to do so, they would conduct said business and return to their peaceful  neck of the woods immediately.

This shunning of the capital was due to the high crime rate, especially violent crime.  However now, hardly  a day passes without you hearing the most savage reports coming out of once peaceful districts in rural areas. 

I think my first  realisation of this new trend came a few weeks ago  when  the parish of St.James, where you find the tourism capital of Jamaica, Montgeo Bay, had the highest per capita number of murders. Hardly had the ink dried on that report before we were hearing of mob killing and injury of innocent people in remote Zion , Trelawany, the home invasion of and murder of a female farmer in quiet, peaceful district of self sufficient St. Elizabeth , the home invasion in quiet Mandeville at the residence of the former Mayor, the doubling of the incidence of rape in Clarendon and over the weekend,  the invasion of the market and the gun slaying of two men in the bustling Browns Town, in the salubrious hills of st. Ann . Of course the rape of the five women including three children  in St. James just confirms that this parish is going to the dogs in  terms of violence.

The first duty of any government is to ensure a safe and secure environment for its citizens but not even that principal task can be achieved by this regime and to add insult to injury, there is no leadership offering hope or even the slightest promise that they have clue how to deal with  the terrible scourge of crime overwhelming the country.

Yes I wore black last Friday but no to protest against the report of just another brutal atrocity, but rather to mourn for my country and the  dismal future we have carved out for our children.

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was one of my most memorable and enjoyable Christmases in recent memory, or more to the point, since my entire immediate family left for foreign shores.

 Before this year, I spent most of my chrismases having dinner with my late best friend Hilma Walker, who being a flight attendant, never failed to put on a big do whenever she was in Jamaica. After that we would head up to the Lynches for an afternoon of boozing and camaradie.

When she wasn't around, I usually spent the entire day with my close friend, Miss Rites and family (Lynches).This Christmas was very different and far healthier.

You know, although I have lived in Jamaica for 61 of my 64 years and have heard of carol singing at Christmas, I have never experienced it before either as a participant or as a member of the audience. 

You see, since crime climbed out of control, most people would not dare to continue that wonderful Christmas tradition.

 This year though,  I spent Christmas with my friend Audley and Marcia Nain and their daughters at their home in Lauristan, Spanish Town. 

When people hear of Spanish Town, they often conjure up images of violence, but I am here to tell you that I discovered with some degree of awe that Marcia and Audley do not lock up their home until they go to bed at night.

I digress however. 

Audley is the dynamic president of Lauristan Citizens Associastion and being a great singer himself ( his daughter Kim is a rising star with lots of music videos on Utube. Look out for her).

Audley defied the norm in the society and started up carol singing last Christmas in his community. 

This year we got up at 5 am (since it has been ultra cold this Christmas, I had on two sweaters) and set out with Audley on the bull horn, singing carols on top of his voice and waking up the neighbourhood wishing them Merry Christmas. We were slowly joined by other shivering members of the community until we got to the community Centre around 7am.

There they had a Christmas tree and huge pots were boiling away as some citizens were preparing breakfast. Others who did not like to wake up early brought food . After a small concert and the exchange of gifts pixie style I had the most delicious turned corn meal and barbecue pork with a slice of roasted breadfruit and mackerel. Had I been greedy, there was also yam, banana , ackee and satfish, callaloo and sandwiches. But being a small eater, I finished off with a couple cups of real country hot chocolate and some Christmas cake.

At around noon about nine of us went over to Juniors house to travel together to Aunt Nessa in Mandeville for Christmas dinner. Aunt Nessa is Audley's aunt who is returning resident living in a huge house in Mandeville. Junior is Audley's young brother and he is otherwise known as Bishop Rohan Edwards who has made quite a name for himself organising the 10 thousand man march against violence and other national activities. His son Jermain Edwards is a famous gospel artist who tours quite a lot and has made quite a name for himself in the gospel music world.

After a long wait we eventually set out just before 2 pm and reached aunt Nessa around 3pm. They had been waiting so long for us that it was straight into dinner, excellent food, then dominoes. I must say I have never beaten up a ' man of the cloth ' before but Junior and his partner, a guy from Boston, got two six loves. We got none. After a wonderful afternoon, Jermain who drives a Benz, had to return home on a wrecker for the benz had mechanical problems. We left later and returned to Spanish Town safely around 9pm.

On Sunday morning, I came over to Kingston after breakfast and did pass the indomitable Fun and Thrills riders at Ferry, as they had ridden over to Hellishire for breakfast and were just coming home.

 I relished my air condition and after shouting out to them and seeing them sweating away in the hot sun!

On Sunday afternoon I headed back to Spanish Town for a dominoe party and spent the night there. On Monday which was also a holiday, we resumed playing around 1pm.

 

I tell you it was an absolutely wonderful weekend and either I am becoming very good at dominoes or everyone else is regressing, for although I dropped two six loves over the period, I got none. Just one technical.

I am quite proud of myself actually!

Link; https://youtu.be/L3sgIci5ffs

A MEMORABLE RIDE FROM KINGSTON TO MONTEGO BAY

By God they did it!

When some crazies(aka. MTR....mad to rass) from “Fun and Thrills” (our esteemed riding club)decided that they wanted to ride all the way from Kingston capital to Montego Bay city, a distance of over 100 miles, I scoffed at the idea..

 Amazingly however, some fourteen crazies said they would participate in that ride. Those of us who hate the burning sun said we would ride until it got hot, using markers such as Manor Park or Port Maria as their goals. However, Howie, Michael, John, Heather and Damit decided that come hell or high water, they were riding the almost the 120 mile distance.

I actually started to invite bets privately with friends outside of the club, banking on no one completing the trip. One of my friends who had no respect for the stamina of our club members, actually took up the bet, putting $500 down that no one would complete the trip, so in defense of my colleagues, I changed my bet, greatly perturbed that I was going to become $500 poorer!

(My biggest problem in life is that I can never collect from my cheap-stake friends when I win but I guess they have the same complaint about me!)

Well on Saturday April 4th, 2009, the courageous sixteen set out on bicycles at 5.15 am (half hour later than planned.) The ambitious souls were-Howie ,Michael, Damit, Charles, Sasheena, John , Joan, Heather, Orel, Donna and Olivia… a visitor from the US of A who participates in professional riding on the flat plains of Florida. Problem, Jamaica is not flat, so the trip proved a challenge for her but she took a stab at it. Driving in front of and at the back of the group, with their hazard lights on to shield us from impatient motorists, were Mr. Rhoden, Betty accompanied by Winston, Shari and David.

The route selected was not the traditional route via St. Catherine and up Mount Rosser, but rather up Stony Hill, over the Junction and on to the new highway from
Agualta Vale in St. Mary to Montego via the parishes of St. Ann, and Trelawny .

That was an absolutely wise decision as the Stony Hill to Agualta Vale route via Castleton Gardens is one of the most scenic routes in Jamaica, with lush valley, mist covered mountains and the long Wag Water River with its humungous rocks, flowing lazily in the valley below. The early morning ride to Agualta Vale was absolutely marvelous, though to weak blooded persons like me, a bit chilly at times.

Well, despite Donna setting a low goal for herself, that being to ride to Manor Park, she made it to Agualta Vale in St. Mary which is some 26 miles from Kingston, though she did get off the bicycle from time to time and drive.

I had decided to surpass my previous long distance record of 37 miles by trying to make it to Port Maria, but after refueling at Agualta Vale, I could not stand the hot boiling sun, while air conditioned vehicles were available to drive along in, so I ducked out there.

Charles and Sasheena outdid me, riding valiantly to Port Maria in the boiling sun and Betty then gave up the cool air-conditioned comfort of the Prado to join the ride there. She rode to Ocho Rios.

As we drove along in the air conditioned comfort of our vehicles watching the sun getting fiercer and fiercer, we kept saying the rest would never make it to Montego Bay. But they plodded, re-hydrated, fixed punctures, changed bicycles when some became disabled and rested occasionally.

Would you believe that Orel made it to Greenwood at the border of St. James and Trelawny? According to him, when he arrived at Greenwood, he realised that was where our hotel was and was only too happy to throw in the towel for a dip in the sea. Heather was nearby and he tried to tempt her, but she replied "I left to got to Montego May and that's where I am going"....and she did. Her husband John who was far behind her, said that when he reached Falmouth in Trelawny and saw a sign saying Montego Bay 23 kilometers, he wanted to quit but soldiered on looking for his wife. That's the only reason why he rode all the way to made it to Montego Bay he said.

As to Damit, from we left Hope Pastures, he took off like the Green Lantern in his blue shirt and I never saw him again until we caught up with him when he got a puncture in Trelawny. He had actually had a spill and hurt his hand in St. Ann, but before we got there, he again took off like a light, determined to complete the ride to Montego Bay,(which he had initiated, by the way) and he did. He is also full of praises for two motorists who stopped to enquire about his health while he was taking a nap. He said he had a puncture and while waiting for those who had a tool kit to catch him up, he fell asleep (Damit falls asleep at the drop of a pin!). He said he was awakened at one point by the screeching a car brakes and the sound of a car reversing. Knowing our reputation (he is from Sri Lanka), he was a bit apprehensive, but the motorist simply wanted to know if he was hurt, as did the other who stopped.

The stars who made it all the way were Michael, Howie, Damit and John along with the lone heroine, Heather. All rode proudly on to the Montego Bay Hip Strip at about 8 pm on Saturday night.

Had someone told me that we had members who had attained that level of fitness to complete that harrowing journey, I would have laughed (and I did secretly while telling non-riding friends of mine of the mission impossible that "Fun and Thrills” members were planning.)

It was a wonderful feat as far as our club goes and it now appears that the sky is the limit!(Those who refer to us as the "Ring Road Posse" have to eat their words!

Unfortunately the group broke up on Saturday night as some persons had to get back to Kingston but six of us stayed back, determined that we wanted some real fun ….going to the beach on Sunday.

“To tek shame outta mi yeye “as we say in Ja., I decided to ride from the hotel in Greenwood, St. James next day to Silver Sands in Trelawny, where we were going to swim. Donna, myself and amazingly, Michael (who had ridden over 100 miles the day before) set out and whereas Donna had challenges with the sun and made the wise choice of air conditioned comfort, we rode against the breeze to the famed resort where we happily plunged into the warm sea bringing to a pleasant end another wonderful expedition.

Each time we finish a trip, we have to heap praises on Howie who had taken the decision about two years ago to acquire a vehicle that could transport the cycles after we have finished riding. If he hadn’t you would see us on the road sides with our bicycles, bumming rides from all and sundry, after tedious and challenging rides out into the beautiful countryside, from which we need weeks of rest to recover.

Look at some photos from this challenging ride at;
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100683&id=763366822&saved