A Bleak Furture Indeed

Hooray, Shahine Robinson is now the member of parliament for North East St. Ann! Big deal. What a farce.

For those who follow Jamaican politics, the constitution demands that persons seeking to become members of parliament, must have not sworn allegiance to any other country and I think that is how it should be. I also disagree with the privileges given under the Constitution to Commonwealth citizens, but that is an entirely different topic.

So back to the issue at hand. When the PNP which had been in power for 18 year and who considered it their right to be government and never opposition, lost the election in 2007, they grabbed at the dual citizenship straw citing the fact that several elected members of parliament on the Jamaica Labour Party side were US citizens. The hilarity of the matter is however that in their haste to grab power via the courts and through the back door, they forget to check if they too had persons similarly disqualified on their side. And they do. But that's also another matter and I have commented on it many times in previous blogs.

What is especially disgusting about the Shahine Robinson affair, is that instead of just being honest and allow a bi-election, she went to court claiming she was not an American citizen. Worse, when the courts ousted her she even had the nerve to appeal it and went back into Parliament and happily fought the suit brought by the PNP until they brought actual proof to show that she was indeed a citizen. Bill Clinton would have been proud to have her as an ally, for whereas most politicians are experienced and convincing liars, the barefaced ones are not that prevalent. Well we really don't have to go to the USA of A to find barefaced liars, for the late Michael Manley was the doyen of that genre. So he too would have been proud to have a Shahine on his side.

But Michael Manley died a long time ago and the JLP, seeing how disgusted Jamaicans had become with corruption and sleaze, did promise when they were campaigning, to bring back integrity and decently to politics.Well if decency and integrity in politics is running someone like Shahine Robinson after her barefaced and disgraceful actions which have led the country to waste a $20 million that we can ill afford on an bi-election, then the future for this poor country looks bleak indeed.

He defended a woman!!!!!

I couldn't believe the news. K. D. Knight, former Minister of Security and current Opposition senator in Jamaica , is reported to have actually defended a woman! Wow. How absolutely earth shattering!

My astonishment comes from the fact that over the years, Mr. Knight often made the news for verbally abusing women. The first and probably the most colourful report had to do with a confrontation with a fellow Minister, now Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson Miller who he is reported to have told some very unflattering and colourful words in the precincts of parliament.

Another lady who is reported to have been often verbally abused by the goodly gentleman, is the leader of Government Business in the Senate, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne. So disgusting did these bouts of abuse become that he was actually suspended from the senate not so long ago.
Now, the director of Public Prosecution Ms. Paula Llwewelyn has been the latest recipient.

What is it that Mr. Knight has against powerful women or is that he just hates women? Do they make him feel inferior? One has to wonder about these things since I have never seen a report of him verbally abusing men.

Anyway, is December 2010 to be the period when Knight is about to make a turn for the better? For according to a news report, he was in court yesterday defending RM Pusey who is presiding at the Kern Spencer trail where Knight himself is a defence counsel!

The prosecution had asked for Pusey to be removed on the grounds that she is demonstrating bias and guess who jumped to her immediate defence although she is not his client? None other than K.D Knight in shining armour himself!

I guess he really does not have a deep hatred for women. But wait, could there be another reason?????

LOL.

Great Off Road Riding

As usual we left out late but it ended up as one of the best outings that I have been on with “Fun and Thrills" despite the fact that some of us had done the route before.

On Sunday 25th November 2010, some 25 riders drove to Bowden Wharf in St. Thomas which is now under the control of the Coast Guard, so in order to enter and leave the vehicles there we had to solicit the permission of the the commanding officer . This was done via a soldier who was in charge at the base but there was no problem.

As usual, as soon as the bikes were unloaded, the impatient ones including myself and Charles could not wait for the laggards to get ready so off we went up the ultra steep hill which leads to Old Pera….an unspoilt beach area on the cusp of the Holland Bay Nature Reserve. This nature reserve is the home and breeding ground for crocodiles, and other endangered species and the ponds are a key layover spot for birds migrating from the northern cold during the spring and late summer.

From Old Pera we rode along cane intervals belonging to Duckenfield sugar factory. This was an excellent off road ride with unpaved roads and large portholes full of mud.

As It turned out, us early riders had taken the wrong route as Maurice who is an extremely fast rider was sent to chase us down. When he did catch up with us he said He had been riding at full speed for 1/2 hour before he caught us. The hilarity of the situation is that he was sent with a message that we should turn back to join the A team which had chosen a less steep and more rugged route and were waiting for us at some intersection! Naturally there was an instant rebellion as we certainly were not about to turn back so Maurice defected and stayed with us, so we ended up with two distinct sets of riders, ours being the B team.

Although we stopped and waited for them frequently, they never caught up with us. There were two spills....... nothing serious, and none that I witnessed, but I understand that Sharon who was with our group did fall as did Michael Williams of the A team.

The ride was just great and when we got to the intersection which we could either take to Duckenfield or go straight to the beach at Rocky Point, we had an intensive debate as some of us wanted a little longer ride while others wanted to go straight to the beach. The "beachites" won and I wasn't too sorry for as usual it was inviting, calm, serene, warm and beautiful . And guess what, the sand flies which had feasted on us on the last ride there, were missing in action so we had a really great swim. Of course Barry did create some excitement at one point jumping suddenly and claiming he had been bitten by a crab. While I dismissed it as just a Barry trick, when I returned for a dip just before our departure, I saw a lot of crabs and a fisherman shouted to me to be careful as they bite. My apologies for disbelieving Barry!

We had conch soup with sea puss and it was absolutely delicious. Those of us who ordered chicken and festival were fine while there seems to have been a shortage of fish which is what the vast majority wanted.

All seemed well fed in the end however and I enjoyed a game of dominoes on the beach with Fatman as my partner against Michael Chuck and a gentleman from the area. Chris also joined Chuck to try and beat us, but they didn't. In fact I got a rare "heinkin" bow.

As some of us took an long ago took an oath never to ride after eating (niggeritis and all that) Charles the drive organizer in chief, arranged for some drivers to go in the support vehicle back to Bowden Wharf and bring back some vehicles. By the time we got back a fit ones had ridden off and Tara went straight back to Kingston with Lisa Chen and her friends who came out with us for the first time and had a whale of a time.

When we got to Bowden Wharf the riders had not yet reached but we had a wonderful time swimming and diving there. The only problem there is the strong smell of fuel for this a a coast guard station and I guess as lot of fuel gets spilled in the water.

My only regret is that we did not get to see the dolphin. I hope he is ok and has not been killed by the fuel in the water. A soldier told me that he comes up to feed when he is ready so I hope that is really true.

On the way back we stopped in Yallahs for a repeat of the delicious chicken foot soup we had found there on our return journey from Reach Falls, but unfortunately either we bought from the wrong person or the standard had fallen for this soup was not as good. But what the heck, it filled a gap and brought an excellent day of fun and camaraderie to a great end.

For more photographs, see; http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299898&id=763366822

Why An Army?

I am one of those who cannot be convinced that Jamaica really needs a fully fledged army. For what are the external foes have they protected us from over the years? 

 Yes I can see the rationale behind a coast guard, an Air Wing and an Engineering Corp since these are all important to national development.

But an a large infantry? For what? To be bus boys and valets for the officers? 

 With our penchant for killing each other, what Jamaica needs is a well trained and equipped security force to deal with internal threats, not a group that we call an army which if we ever had an external invasion could probably not keep the smallest invading army at bay for a day. 

But what am I griping about since once our governments decide to waste our money on unnecessary expenditure, not matter the number of billions involved, we have to just shut up and find the money to foot the bill. 

The issue of the army and its usefullness came rushing back into my conciousness as I read the Gleaner headline "Soldiers to get marching orders". According to the story, the army's headquarters is to be relocated to Caymanas and while I have no quarrel with that, what I definitely have a quarrel with is what is happening to beautiful Newcastle on the salubrious hills of St. Andrew. 

Has anyone in authority whether in the army of the govenment been up there recently? What is happening is a national disgrace for the once well kept, pristine training centre has become a virtual dungle and an eyesore. 

Are you really telling that we have a standing army with large engineering corp made up of masons, carpenters, painters, electricians, engineers, plumbers etc. yet they have allowed Newcastle to become such a dump?

While I have heard that very little training takes place there now as that function is to be fully relocated to Moneague, I have seen no such announcement. Anyway, that could never be an excuse for them to have allowed the facility to deteriorate to the condition it has. 

This is a place where they once had cottages that were rented to persons wanting to recharge their batteries in the beautiful hills but not even rats would want to stay there now.

 Further there was a time when the soldiers used to maintain the road leading to the camp and keep it bushed. Not even that is being done anymore. 

 It is going to take more than a move to Caymans to convince many Jamaicans that we do indeed a need a full standing army or that the country gets anything close to value for money for having this largely ceremonial millstone around our necks.

What the Heck

They say lighting never strikes the same place twice, but if its impossible or improbable, Charles will overcome. For it was only last year that he invited us to ride to Linstead to have breakfast with a friend of his who works with the courts and was having a fund raising event. Well after slugging it all the way to Linstead and totally starving when we got there, we were informed that it was not a breakfast but a brunch so no food was ready. We ranted and raved and they did manage to come up with some awful food.

This time it was a similar situation .......another member of the court's office having a fund raiser, but the ride was to Port Esquival also in St. Catherine. So off we went at 5.30 am and it was a pleasant enough 50 km ride with lots of stops all the way.

As far as I know, there was only one mishap. It happened near Mccooks Pen when Chuck the non dropper's front wheel hit the rear wheel of Pat the dropper, but amazingly she stood firm and he spilled! Pat did not drop once on this trip so she still has to break her own record, that of having fallen seven times on the very first day she started riding with us. Chuck got a few bruises but he courageously got back on and completed the ride quite easily.

Saturday 20th November also seemed to be a day for careless drivers to go off the road into ditches as on the short trip , we did see two of those, one on Washington Blvd and another just outside of Old Harbour. Fortunately no one seemed to have been hurt in either. It is rather disgusting how the parish council has allowed the bush to have overgrown and protrude into the road by the exit from the highway just outside Old Harbour though and it is possible that the second spill was caused exactly by that.

But back to the ride. A group of us slower riders had left out early but by the time we got to Old Harbour, we had all converged. As usual though Barry had caught us up long before the others and unfortunately Damit had to go back to Kingston to give a lecture, so he left us there and took a minibus back .

Did I tell you were we were told to bring our bathing suits? Well when we got to a playfield just outside of Old Harbour with a sign saying "Port Equivel Sports Complex" we noticed that Charles got on his phone and rode in through the gate to the buildings there, no river or sea in sight. Minutes later we got a message that it as indeed our destination. A bit puzzled since the banner outside advertised an afternoon barbecue, we nevertheless entered. Surprise, surprise, no breakfast was there for us! I understand that when the scouts had arrived, the organisers were just unloading the firewood from a car.

Anyway immediately Charles went off in the support vehicle to try and find something for the hungry and angry riders to eat for breakfast. Thank god, while we waited Karen Chuck arrived in a pickup and Michael invited those who wanted a lift back to Kingston to travel with them . Well since my grandmother always told me 'Hog wash in the first water im see", I jumped to the offer, as did Stanford. So off we went just about when Charles returned with bags of breakfast which I understand contained stewed chicken, (which I don't particularly like) ackee (to which I am allergic ) and calloo.

Things worked out great for us for as I contemplated going home and scrounging for something to eat Michael suggested we go to Old Harbour Bay for fish. Unfortunately that area has become a virtual slum, dirty and full of stagnant water so we opted to go to Hellshire instead. That was an excellent decision as the Karen phoned ahead as we were starving so when we got there we did not have a long wait before getting some huge fish and delicious bammy. Only Michael opted for as swim however as he said he needed to wash away his bruises which had started to burn. As we drove out of Hellshire, Charles called and said they were in Kingston so I guess the other 18 or so riders did not tarry after breakfast and no beach!

Anyway as far as we four were concerned, it was a matter of "All's well that ends well." What the heck, just another eventful day with Fun and Thrills.

For other photographs, see my facebook album.

The Corruption Problem

The best news this beleaguered nation has had for years, came via the Corruption Index which shows that corruption is finally on the decline in Jamaica. Because for years, corruption has been having a debilitating effect on this nation, robbing all of us of opportunities as the corrupt practices of a few has been slowly bankrupting the nation.

A decline from position 99 to 87....a 12 place drop in the corruption perception index. is therefore a great, welcome leap forward. While we welcome the direction in which the country in going , we cannot become complacent however, for in the Caribbean we are still far more corrupt than other members of Caricom, all of whom are doing much better than we are in terms of growth and progress.

Since the corruption that affects us most is propelled by the actions of politicians and persons employed to the public service, one way that we could make a great leap forward is to set up a commission to ban certain persons from holding public office for life. This is done in Nigeria where corruption is also a serious problem.

Such banning would of course be based on their track record and could not be based on actual conviction in the courts. For as we know, it is almost impossible to get a conviction of wealthy persons such as politicians and corrupt bureaucrats in this society.

So such a body would have to do their assessment based on the debilitating effect that the actions of persons who have held public office in the past, have had on the country. A perfect example of a debilitating effect is the type of contract that was signed on our behalf with the purchasers of the once publicly owned JPS...... a contract which never put the interest of Jamaicans in the forefront but instead has put us all in the position where were now have the most expensive electticity rates in the region, a reality which will stymie our progress for decades to come.

And there are numerous other acts that have been done supposedly on our behalf by those who we employed but who did not put our interests in the forefront, for which we continue to pay dearly.

So until we do something revolutionary, we will only continue limping along and celebrating minor gains which though good, still keep us at the bottom of the pile in the region.

Cuna Cuna Trail etc.

Ever since we went to Millbank and had that delicious Maroon food consisting of turned cornmeal and janga run dung, some of us Fun and Thrill members have been dying to repeat the process ...no the food. 

So, when our environmentalist Kim who does a lot of work in the Rio Grande valley suggested we do a hike along the Cuna Cuna trail and end up at a maroon village where we would again be treated to that super appetizing gourmet delight, I have been raring to go.......

The Cuna Cuna trail is an over five hundred year old trail that the maroons established on a ridge between the Blue Mountain and John Crow mountain ranges (the Blue Mountains are to the west and John Crow to the east) first, to escape from the British who wanted to dominate them and later to transport runaway slaves that they captured for a bounty, between the parishes of Portland and St. Thomas . 

This was then an arduous trail which the British soldiers with all their training could not maneuver for not only was it heavily forested but also there are lots of caves and other sections where the Maroons could hide out and ambush them. 

Also, it has an abundance of springs with fresh life giving water which allowed them to hide out for long periods at a time.

In them old days when there were no cell phones, the Maroons had their own means of communication, the abeng. This is an instrument made from cow horn and it can send various predetermined signals depending on how they blow it. 

The sound of the abeng could easily carry through the silent, ominous hills from one parish to the other. They also used drums to send signals for religious ceremonies. Drums are made form goats' skins....... the one made from the female goat is called a Bange and has a high sound . The one from the ram skin is the Cass and has a deeper sound. 

These tools are still being used by the maroons who live in villages between Hayfield in St. Thomas to those at the headquarters at Moore Town, otherwise called Maroon Town but for ceremonial purposes, not guerrilla warfare.

It is significant that the opportunity that we got to hike the 5 mile long trail through the spectacular, undulating mountain side was on the eve of the annual National Heroes day. Of course, Nanny, the maroon leader who led her people to victory, is our only female National hero, though she is somewhat of a mythical figure as she was alleged to have the power to catch bullets being fired by the British in her bottom and fire them back at the enemy.

Just before 7 am on Sunday 17th October, 26 of us headed out in 6 vehicles and drove to Hayfield, a village of around 200 person just above Bath in St. Thomas. Like most country roads, it was narrow and in poor condition but since we had commuted in SUV's is was not difficult.

On the way up into the district, Howie, with whom I was travelling, saw a little boy between 6 and 8 years old, with a large lighted spliff in his hand. Horrified he drew up beside him told him to hand it over, but he refused and got ready to run away. As we went further up the hill we saw a man a and reported to him that a young boy was coming up smoking a big spliff. The man just laughed so we were shocked thinking it may have been a tradition in the area , but thank heavens when we joined up with our guide "Shaggy" and related the incident to him, he said he had never seen kids smoking ganja in the area so it was not a tradition.

I had made the arrangements for the trip with Ms. Wilkes who Kim and connected me with and it turned out that she has been the Chief of the Bownden Pen Maroons for some twenty years. How the villages work is that each one has its own maroon Chief and they all sit on the council at Moore town under the chairmanship of the overall Chief who is elected by the democratic process. The Maroons look after their own internal affairs although things like infrastructural work is done by the Government of Jamaica. However they deal with their crime problem except murder and criminal activities in their villages are far below the Jamaican average.

Although the cost of the journey was quite expensive, $500 to use the trail and $300 each for the guide, when we saw how well kept the trail was it was worth the money. This is an extremely treacherous area with lots of break aways but they have put is cement bridges and bamboo railings all along the way. And the path is not at all overgrown despite the high level of rainfall in the area. Fact is it is the best kept trail I have ever seen in any part of Jamaica, even having two nice rest stops with bathroom facilities and benches so that hikers can rest their weary bodies for a while.

Anyway the role of the guide was greatly exaggerated as I was told he would give us all the historical information as we went along but it turned out that Shaggy knew very little more about Maroon history than we did! He was pleasant anyway and it turns out that he is the father of "Papcaan" that rising DJ who along with Vybes Kartel made the popular and catchy tune "Mi Clarks". Shaggy proudly told us how his son got 80 pairs of Clarks shoes from the company whose sales in the Caribbean has risen over 300%, since the song became a hit! Anyway he seems to be doing well otherwise as he is now on a tour of Europe. 

Happy for him.

Anyway back to the trail . The area is absolutely beautiful...... lush, green and picturesque. The view from all angles is really awesome and the climate cool and pleasant. Shaggy did point out a few plants like the "Catchman Fig". This is a parasite but it grows into a huge tree. The one he pointed out had two huge trunks with a passage between and we walked though it on the trail. We were also introduced to the cabbage Wood tree which he said is very tough and they use in construction. A fruit I had never heard about is the Mammee which is brown and round. They say it tastes like a mango and Desiree says they have it in Guyana. 

Of course, the trail has a wide variety of ferns including the Giant Tree Fern and he did name several varieties for us. Also, brightly coloured lillies popped up just about everywhere and the profusion of palms was ever so pleasant. A funny moment was when one of the hikers asked him which road was close by as she had heard a car blowing its horn. Shaggy informed her that it was a bird called the Shine Eye! He also pointed out to us the feeding areas of the Blue dove which seems to scratch out large areas on the ground as it searches for insects. Although he promised that we would find some edible fruit to pick us up, we were not lucky enough to see and fit guavas or jack fruit that were accessible. Quite frankly in all my days of hiking I have never seen deeper ravines so I can't figure how they can get any of the fruits growing on the edges of the trail anyway.

After about three hours, we got to the cottages operated by the Bowden Pen Maroons and were met by the chief Mrs. Wilkes. Although the had told me on the telephone that we might not be able to get any janga for when it rains they are washed away, a super disappointment was that she forgot to do the turned cornmeal, the lame excuse being that since they usually eat that with the janga, it had slipped her. The food was great anyway especially the wild boar. I don't know how non pork eaters survive. Wow!

After lunch some of the macho people went to the Rio Grande River for a swim, but although I was dying for a bath to cool down, after a full belly, I wasn't going anywhere but back to the vehicle.

The walk to Bowden Pen had quite an effect on some of the participants who are not accustomed to long arduous hours of exercise. Among them, was my neighbour Verleta. 

By the way, Betty had turned back from we started the trail and Charles had gone back to the car with her then caught up with us when we got to the cottage. Well would you believe he was able to find a taxi in the middle of no where!!! For you have to understand that the road just below Milbank had broken away about two years before so they have only one or two cars in the Comfort Castle/Milbank area and passengers have to walk pass the breakaway and get other cars on the other side to get to Port Antonio.

Well somehow Charles found one of the cars and invited person s to ride back. Within minutes the deportee had eight former hikers including Verleta who really had a challenge coming down and Grace who had lost her shoes and had determinedly continued hiking in her socks from way up the hill. After they got to Port Antonio they took a minibus to St. Thomas and linked back up with us at the Bath turn off just after Port Morant.

The rest of us walked back up the Cuna Cuna trail and it was really an easy hike for the highest point was just around 2,500 feet above sea level, just over a third the height of the Blue Mountain peak and we got back to Kingston just after 8pm after an arduous but pleasant day.

Since we had nothing planned for the National Heroes Day holiday next day, Damit had asked me what I was doing and I had told him I was going to take a short ride and see how far up Mountain Spring road I could go up . Would you believe that he called me at 5.30 am! Anyway we linked up at about 6.30 am by Burger king at Barbican road and were riding slowly up the hill.

When we almost got to our regular meeting point at Widcome, we saw a number of riders and I asked Damit who they were as I couldn't believe they were Fun and Thrills riders as we had no arrangement to ride on Monday. Well it truned out to be Orrrel, Michael, Maurice and Howie . It was almost an absolutely impossible coincidence! They the are A class riders and they had decided among themselves to also ride up Mountain Spring the very same route and time we had!

After we all had a good laugh at the turn of events, they rode off leaving Damit and I behind. My granny gear was giving problems however and just as I passed over the fording my chain fell off.

 Anyway, determinedly I got back on and was doing ok until we passed where the Rasta man sells the fruits and two women walkers took over the good side of the road, forcing me into the sand. I nearly fell and had to push over the ridge until I got to the flat area where I again mounted.

By then Damit had abandoned me and I did ok until I got to the next steep section . That's when I gave again up but having passed where I had given up on my first try, I did not all at all feel badly.

However it is only when you are dead tired that you realise how heavy the damn bicycle is, for pushing it up to wailing wall was a super challenge. After resting there a while I again mounted to try out the real steep part of the the hill but by bicycle kept doing the wheelie as the front wheel kept lifting up. Again I dismounted and pushed with great effort over the super steep section.

The only thing that kept me going was the fact that we had ordered breakfast from Howie and he had kindly been voluntered by us to find us something to eat! After the super steep section I again mounted and almost reached Peter Phillips' back gate then again gave up again, being totally out of breath. Just then, my phone rang and it was Damit telling me not to go home as they were coming to rescue me. To make him feel bad for abandoning me, I told him I was already at home so not to bother and I kept on punishing up the hill. Anyway as I broke the corner I saw Maurice and Howie walking down to rescue, me trailed by Michael, Damit and Orrel. Maurice and Howie took turns pushing the extra heavy bicycle up to Howie's home so I could finish the journey with a little dignity (not puffing and blowing like an overworked train).

We were served delicious brewed coffee and breakfast followed.

What had started out as a mere leisurely ride which I had planned to abort the minute it became hard, turned out to be a tiring but a wonderful start to the holiday morning.

The camaraderie and just sitting on top of the hill looking down on the beautiful, peaceful city, invigorated me to the point that I was able to sit down and do this long boring blog without even stopping to think for a minute. I guess it is obvious that I didn't think!