The old guard

 Jamaica has recently lost so many of the old guard singers who have rocked the world with great reggae music, the latest being Jimmy Cliff, that it's depressing.

And seeing how shaky the great Ernie Smith looked didn't help my feelings of unease.

Steve Higgins greets Ernie Smith 

In fact seeing him needing to sit on a stool to perform, reminded me of the last time I saw the late, great Pluto Shervington. He died about 3 weeks after I saw him perform (around 2years years ago,) while also needing a stool, as he was obviously not well. (JOAN, MY VIEWS.: A.J delivered! 💓)

The good thing about Ernie though is that although he looked very shaky, his voice was still powerful, so let's hope he will be around for many more years.

This event was the annual Christmas Carol service which I look forward to. 

This turned out to be much more than just regular affair though.

Apart from the pleasant surprise of having Ernie Smith appear, the Cuban pastor from a nearby church, also visited, all dressed in Jamaican colors and did a Bob Marley number.

 Not bad at all.

The other surprise appearance was by Father Richard Holung with some members of the 'Brothers of the Poor' and they too did a number.

Father Holung also looks shaky.

Father Holung greets Ernie Smith 

Bwoy, all my contemporaries are looking shaky, so I guess I am too.

Man I hate old age😡.

Well at least our Consul General is still young!😊

He loves to perform and did a decent job as usual.

And of course there was the performance from the regular choir, the South Florida Caribbean Chorale, and the organizer, Steve Higgins.

Steve Higgins always puts on good concerts and it's now a family affair, as his young son Matthew sometimes performs, and last night he brought on another son who plays the drums.

Steve Higgins in front on keyboard and son behind on drums.

I always enjoy his productions and saw many familiar faces, as we start gearing up for the Christmas holidays.🌲⛄☃️🌰

Pretty good start of the season.

Nb. Bernie Smith was buried Saturday 16th May 2026. Link: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/03/reggae-supreme.html?m=1.

An enjoyable affair

 Dubbed Black History Month Fashion Show, the afternoon get together at Tamarac Senior Center was a hit with everyone.

M.C. Sam Munro and the volunteer organizers

We got a  rendition of the Black National Anthem "lift every voice and sing" from Holly Bowen, who has a wonderful voice and is described as a foundation member of the well known South Florida Caribbean Chorale. 

                  The songbird Holly Bowen.

Our art teacher Michelle (center) was there and posed with students Joan and Helena.

Michelle and Hellena

About half of those who attended wore some form of African dress and there were some really beautiful prints and styles.

It was from the participants that the  'models' were drawn.

Seniors in their colorful garb waiting in line for the door to open

Noor, another art student. She came in her Pakistani national dress. Very nice.

As I was one of those who thought I could model, I got no pics of that segment.😊

The Haitian drummer doing the cuckoo dance.

The food was delicious and I hear it was Sam the M.C who organized it all. 

It sure fuelled our bodies to get on the dance floor.

The drummers gave us solos before the proceedings officially started .

The drummers were Caribbean, African descendants of course. The lady was from Haiti and the gentleman from Clarendon, Jamaica.

It was a nice function from start to finish and all the seniors had a great time. 

According to the  M.C.  Sam, (who is also our Site Supervisor at the Tamarac Senior Center,)  the function was organized in record time by the volunteers above.

 He promised that it will become an annual affair during Black History Month. 

Great going guys.

P.S. 

Thanks to our wonderful art teacher Michelle, I finally got some pics of the 'models' in their African garb and a few other pics. 

I am sharing these memories of the wonderful day below.

Michelle with her students Helena and Jennifer 

At the table with top artist Diana

The models

It’s Christmas 😊

I don’t normally go to church, unless its Christmas or if a very special person passes. 

Then I go to be with their family.

This is not because I am an atheist, but because I hate religion. For in my book, religion is the root of all the evils in the world, having caused most of the bloodshed over the centuries.

In my search for a civilized, non-violent religion, I had even looked into Buddhism one time. Then chaos reigned in Myanmar, and we saw the terrible images of Buddhist Monks, chasing out Rohingya Muslims, killing them and burning their villages.😡

That cured me instantly.

Obviously, the common thread among most religions seems to be vicious dogmatism which dictates that only my religion is the true one, so no one must enjoy this planet unless they subscribe to MY particular religious beliefs!

However I make the exception about avoiding religion and go to churches during Christmas, because I love Christmas music.

 In fact, not just Christmas music but Gospel music in general…….a hangover from the days when I was dragged into boring church services and the music was the only respite.😏

So, when in Jamaica, I even caroling with my friends in Lauristan, Spanish Town, on  Christmas mornings. 

This despite the community’s terrible reputation for violence. However, that problem only applies to small section on the banks of the Rio Cobre River, where squatters have settled.

The rest of the community has solid citizens and my friend Audley Nain, formerly of the Jamaica Folk Singers who is also president of the Citizens Association, started a Christmas ritual years ago whereby we would start at 5 am on Christmas morning,  knocking on peoples’ gates and singing carols loudly.

Then we all converge at the Community Centre where everyone would bring a dish, curried goat, jerk pork, turned cornmeal, hot chocolate, roast breadfruit and on and on😊.

After a sumptuous meal, the kids have their entertainment and we our dominoes, whatever.

How I miss those sessions, although I had the pleasure of joining them to celebrate Jamaica 60 this year. Joan, my views: Memories of Jamaica's 60th Anniversary celebrations. (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

But I am rambling aren’t I?

This was just a preamble to say how much I enjoyed the Christmas Concert at United Methodist Church in Plantation, Florida, which kicked off the season for me.

This was a Steve Higgins Production, in conjunction with the Consul General of Jamaica, featuring the South Florida Caribbean Chorale.

Steve Higgins as you probably know, is an excellent Jamaican tenor and cultural ambassador.

I enjoyed the entire concert, the interaction between the MC and audience, the music, and even the bits that the Jamaican Consul General to Miami performed.

He seems to be quite charismatic and talented.

I loved too how the choir and other performers switched from traditional Christmas Carols to Jamaican Christmas Carols written by the late, great, Noel Dexter and even one perforemd by Jamaican performer Pluto Shervington.

So, I have saved quite a few clips below for posterity. 

For posterity