Memories of Jamaica's 60th Anniversary celebrations.

I understand those persons who thought that in Jamaica on August 6, 2022, we were making too big a thing out of the celebrations to mark our 60^th anniversary from British rule.

 That is because successive governments since independence have been so corrupt and such failures.

But, while I sympathize with that outlook, we must consider how horrible it would have been if we were still being ruled by the British who had enslaved our ancestors, enriched their crown and country through the free labor of our people who they brought in chains from Africa, then oppressed us further during the colonial period!

Yuck, that  concept is so terrible that the very thought causes shivers to run down my spine.

So yes, successive governments have not done half as well as they should have but at least we have our freedom and our dignity, even if technically we have not yet removed the queen of England as the head of our country.

I really don’t know what we are waiting for.😖

Despite failing governments, we Jamaicans has built quite a reputation for ourselves all over the world, through the individual achievements of our artists, cultural icons and sports people.

We are so respected worldwide that even Niagra Falls in Canada took on the colors of our flag😊

And our Caricom sister Guyana, had a member of their Defense Force parachuted into the arena carrying our flag. https://youtu.be/S31XRe0usCo

Good going.

And while it has mainly been though individual effort, our Sunshine Girls Netball team which has been consistently outstanding for decades, gave us a special boost just before this years celebrations, by 

winning gold and the title of Caribbean Champions at the inaugural Caribbean Games.             No wonder they are honored with this well-deserved monument in front of the National Arena.

Anyway I stray, for I set out to comment on the impressive celebrations for our 60th Anniversary.

I visited the Independence Village on the National Arena grounds and it was really well done, not only in terms of decor, displays but the mini stage shows and general entertainment as well.

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I have a problem with the colors of our flag though.

They are supposed to be black, green, and gold but clearly many people do not know this as black, yellow and green were all over the place, even at some government establishments! 

I actually like the yellow but we have to make up our minds, is it supposed to be yellow or gold? 

Whatever we decide on, we should stick with it shouldn’t we ? 

Anyway, all over Jamaica the celebrations were in full force. I loved the spirit reported in Treasure Beach in my home parish, where many boats went out to sea carrying our flag

https://youtu.be/HQJ_QSBJYg4

I was in Kingston but avoided the Grand Gala at the National Stadium, as I wasn’t about to take on the large crowd. Luckily maybe, for as it turns out, they had printed far more tickets than they had seats for, so many people were turned away.

Overhead view of the National Stadium where the grand gala was displayed

But I watched the excellent videos on You Tube including the drone exhibition which was really exceptional.

Part of the drone exhibition

Instead, I visited my close friends in Lauristan St. Catherine, where they had a small celebration, mostly for the children.

 Lauristan, often gets a bad rap in the press, especially since the “Clansman Gang trial.” But those gangsters do not live in Lauristan which is a very nice area, but instead, on the fringes where squatters have basically captured the gully bank. So, I have never had any fear going into that community. In fact, I had spent many early Christmas mornings going Carol Singing at people’s gates, over the years.

You see, my friend Audley Nain is the President of that Citizen’s Association there and the time and effort he and his wife Marcia have spent making that association work well is just phenomenal.

With the Nain family

For independence, they organized to have popcorn/icicle/soda stations, food, bounce about and other rides for the kids. I was especially intrigued by the merry go round which was operated manually, something I had not seen since I was a child!


The adults were also treated to free food and drinks, all donated by community members.

Where I got in my element however, was when the entertainment started. This was provided by a youthful revival band which brought me to my feet instantly.

You know, I would probably be religious today, if I had been brought up in the Pocomania religion. As a child I was dragged to boring church services, but was always distracted and motivated hearing the pulsating revival music piercing the quiet Malvern atmosphere, as members of that religion who worshipped nearby, have always taken the charge in the bible to “make a joyful noise,” literally.

But I was deprived, as I was born during the colonial period when Afro-Centric religions we maligned as being somewhat satanic.

So, I was never allowed to attend their church and now as an adult, every time I hear their music it lifts my spirit.

This Afro based music consolidates our real distance from Britain and put me inna mi element. 😊. 

I enjoyed our 60th Anniversary celebrations everywhere. 

 MEMORIES OF OUR 60TH

Some former athletes who originally made Jamaica respected overseas

JCDC displays Independence Village

Link; https://youtu.be/6z4_SAuiUZU
 

Maryland (in Jamaica)

This is the 3rd article in the series "Enjoyiong the Simple life" which is being published by Caribbean Today.

When most Jamaicans hear the name Maryland, they immediately think of the great US of A, and that is not unusual, since most Jamaicans know more about the USA than they know about our own fair isle. 

 The Maryland of which I speak is in the hills of St. Andrew, a mere four miles from Papine. What I find extremely refreshing and wonderful about Maryland, is that all “town people” can enjoy the peace, tranquility and all the best things that a small, pleasant, rural district has to offer, without travelling very far out of town. It is so easy to hike or ride to Maryland that I highly recommend it for anyone in Kingston or nearby who is feeling overwhelmed by the over abundance of concrete, smog and the stifling effects of city life.

 What is it about Maryland that makes it jump out at me? To begin with it’s the lush landscape, the pleasant hills, the fresh air, the elegant ferns and bamboo plants, the mountains, the tweeting of the birds and just how pleasant the entire environment is to the eyes and ears. For really, Maryland is just on the cusp of the Blue and John Crow Mountain range. You get there by travelling along an extremely lush, scenic route with both the Hope and Maryland Rivers making their presence felt, either because of the lushness of the plants by the river banks or by the calming sound of the waters rushing over huge rocks. 

 To travel up to Maryland you take the well known road to Gordon Town but go north at the parallel intersection to the east of the Mamee River turn off. At the next intersection, you again head north, for continuing straight would take you to Irish Town and Newcastle, two picturesque and delightful areas in the Blue and John Crow Mountain range. By the time you get to that turn off you begin to feel the pleasantries of rural Jamaica, cool, crisp, fresh air to breathe, an abundance of lush ferns and wild flowers,, a narrow road full of .corners around which most motorists blow their horns . The hillsides are dotted with cute, modest homes, some seemingly perched precariously perched and relatively far away from each other. 

 If you travel to Maryland on a Sunday, like just about every other district in Jamaica, the stillness is frequently interrupted by loud gospel music blasting from churches and even from homes. And also like just about every rural district, there seems to be an overabundance of churches of every type and recently, while we were returning home, all traffic both on wheels and foot, had to come to a stop as poccomania members dressed brightly in their white dresses and colorful head wrap did a ritual of several circles in the main road. On another occasion, we came upon another group of adherents marching in line behind a flag bearer and singing hymns and when we stopped to ask them to pray for us, they gladly did. On the way to Maryland too is one of Jamaica’s only cottage colonies built entirely from wood. 

This is a small, comfortable and attractive scheme of only seven houses all built from fire proof lumber and situated in the valley by the river. On approaching Maryland itself, there is a playfield where you may just see young men attractively outfitted playing a football match. Then you get to a huge metal bridge that spans the river, close to which a few business places are situated. Like most communities in Jamaica, Maryland also has at least one very talented artist who has drawn lifelike portraits of Obama, Michael Jackson , a number of local artists and community leaders, on all large open spaces. The town itself, it can be called that, has no more than about four shops and bars, a community centre and a few churches but what makes Maryland so special in my book is the community spirit.. For it is that community spirit which led the young men there to dam up a section of the river just below a small but cool and refreshing waterfall, with bags of sand. 

This they did last summer to give the children in the area (and visitors) a nice deep area of about six feet square, to swim, dive and frolic in. Some of the young men even stay there to act as lifesavers when the kids are out and the small ones head there to cool off during the hot summer months. That community spirit, the great food cooked by Coy who cooks in the community centre there ( Coy is a young man who says he was taught to cook by his grandmother. He cooks the most delicious traditional Jamaican meals) and the cool refreshing river water with the pulsating beat of the small waterfall, is why, Maryland has become our favourite destination on a Sunday morning. Yes, the ride uphill all the way is quite challenging, but it is what lies at the end of the journey that makes it all worthwhile. That’s my idea of really enjoying the simple life.