REMINISCING!

Reminiscing. When I was young and my aunt used to climb de cashew tree. We used to maul-sprig dem cashews, throw de seeds up pun top de galvanize roof and a few weeks later roast dem seeds, brek dem open wid a stone and take out de nut. Dem was de best cashew nuts I ever had. When we used to go up in de Ben Hill or  walk down east coast wid my aunt and older cousins and pick fat porks, sea grapes and cashews.

Cashew fruit with seeds still attached

Dried cashew seeds being roasted so that the nut can be extracted

When we used to pack  ‘a picnic basket’ filled with biscuit and cheese and biscuit and cucumber and a bottle of cold mauby, go up in de hill and sit down under de mile tree (casuarina tree) tree and have a picnic.  We would take turns sliding down de hill sitting on a piece of coconut limb.

When we used to get a piece uh marl stone, mark out de hopscotch in de road and play hopscotch wid de noon day sun beating we in we backs. When we used to fight for de skipping rope, which was piece uh cow rope or telephone cable.

Playing cricket in de road, pitching marbles in de road and when uh  car approaching somebody hollering "COME OUT DE ROAD!”

 Gine down in de ground behind de house  to brek off piece uh cane.  Sitting down pun de front steps sucking cane. Gine up in de hill on evenings when de sun cool to pick up tamarinds from under de tree. Golden apple wid salt. Green golden apple; ripe golden apple, golden apple juice; all kinda golden apple.

Kerosene oil  stove: When de kerosene run out grand mummy get some bricks,  pile dem up outside de house by de back door, light a fire and cook we food.  The show had to go on.  De larder in  de back house, wid de feet in four empty tots, filled with water, to keep de ants out de larder. 

''Duppy Umbrellas''

When we used to take turns riding de bicycle through de cart road. Picking duppy umbrellas out de cow dung. Helping my uncle feed ''Mildew Brown'' and  ''Bobby Brown'' de two brown cows. REMINISCING!

Every where uh go, people wanna know,
 why I sweet, sweet so. 
Why? St. Andrew Uh Come From!

Uniform Inspection Time

Recently the argument here in Bim has been over students at a particular secondary school being suspended for wearing the school's uniform incorrectly. While the newspaper article did not state what percentage was male or female, we can assume that some were girls, with skirts too short and boys with pants that did not fit according to school rules.

I'm all for wearing of a school uniform. Persons who want to be individuals in the way they dress can do so after school and on weekends. While I did have an issue with the suspension, I believe that rules are meant to be followed and students should therefore be disciplined when they break them. We're always talking about the rights of children but we seldom speak of the responsibilities.  It is the right of the child to receive an education, it is also the responsibly of that child to follow the rules of the educational institution.

If students are allowed to break school rules without any repercussions, we as adults would be sending them the wrong message.  There are some who say that learning is not dependent on how you wear the school uniform.  That is correct, to some extent. It depends, I think, on what type of learning we are trying to accomplish.  By learning do we mean the 3 R's (Reading 'riting and 'rithmetic) or is there social learning involved when we go to school? The setting/following of school rules is all part of our social learning.

With all the fuss that  persons keep over school uniforms (both parent and child) when we leave school and venture into the world of work, in most organizations, we are obliged to wear some type of uniform. It may be something as simple as wearing long sleeved shirts and a tie for men and skirts and blazers for women. Even persons who are small business owners create their own uniforms.

Suspension for incorrect uniform is the small picture. The big picture is the life long lessons we teach our children and the type of society we are trying to create. If  parents have a big problem with the rules at the school with regards to the uniform (or even punishment) then I say, lobby the Ministry of Education, the principal and the school's board (via the PTA) for a change, until then it is skirts 3 inches below the knee biscuit and no skinny pants.

Bringing in the Sheaves

Harvest Basket

Bajan Sugar Cakes

I'm not sure about other places but here in Barbados in the Salvation Army world it's Harvest Time. It's a time when we bring our provisions: banana; yam; pumpkin; okra; sugar cane; sour-sop and even prepared dishes like, sugar cakes and sweat bread to our church's harvest.


Our Harvest, for me therefore, represents two things. The actual harvest time, when persons are able to reap that which they would have sown like the banana, and pumpkin etc and a spiritual harvest. The Bible tells us that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. There are souls out there to be won for the kingdom but workers are needed to take up the great commission and that is ''to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".


William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army,  expressed his willingness to follow the great commission by saying this " while women weep as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry as they do now, I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight o the very end.


We need to till the land and sow seeds for God's Kingdom. We don't help our elderly; we ignore our young people; we refuse to stand in the bus to give the pregnant lady a seat, yet, we want them to be receptive to the Word when we preach it. In essence, we have to show LOVE to our fellow man. Once we've tilled the land, we can sow the seeds of the gospel by telling persons about Christ  and Salvation. God sends the rain. I want to be a worker for the Lord!

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

All are precious in his sight!

I am not a fan of the 11+ also known as the Common Entrance Examination, yet I do not know what other fair way is there to ensure the smooth movement of children from primary to secondary level. Why fair , you may ask.  Well, without the 11+ , Miss Jones’ (who works in the market) daughter may not have  the same chance of attending Harrison College (HC) or Queens College (QC) as Justice Moore's son.  Some may be naïve enough to suggest that we can learn anywhere, (that's disputable) yet if this was 100% correct, we wouldn’t have the hierarchy of schools which we now have.  After all, the quality of education at HC would be the same as any other secondary school. 

My problem also with this 11+ is that we put so much pressure on children at this young age.  Our entire primary education is centered around one thing and that is the sitting of the 11+ examination.  My experiences thus far tell me that home schooling is the way to go for my child (if I get one). I know that teachers say the parents need to play their part. However, what happens when you have a parent/guardian who is playing their part and a school that seems to want to put a spanner in the spokes?

Why is it accepted if a child is working ahead of his age group but unacceptable when one is working a year behind their age group?  Isn’t it to the benefit of the child if they work a year behind in order to grasp the necessary concepts?

Why is it that, even though there is a provision made for children to defer the 11+ by one year, you still find a situation where a school (principal/class teacher) will want to fight a parent tooth and nail for the child to not get that deferral?(especially when we consider that the child is not “bad behaved”. 

Consider a situation where a parent wants a deferral for the child, believes that the child will benefit greatly, if they defer the sitting of the 11+ exam by a year and where the child is not a trouble maker. Consider then the principal of the school telling that parent “he ain't getting no deferral” and a teacher giving the child the message “tell your parent dem don’t run this school”.   It is interesting to note that at that boys' school in Christ Church, not one child was given a deferral.  Is it possible that teachers just want the children out of the school, never mind that there are some who would greatly benefit from a year’s deferral?!

Consider a child who, after getting the deferral (not an easy feat) has now done the 11+, and whose results show the tremendous progress he has made (70 English, 55Maths, C Composition). There are children in this child’s same year, who still cannot read, who would have done the exam. These are children whose parents will never think to ask for a deferral in class 4 or to keep the child back in an earlier class. These children will go onto secondary school and with our system being the way it is, instead of 10 at one school who cannot read we will have 100 some such children entering first form. My heart cries out for these children.

Our teachers and parents need to be responsible and realize that these are our children, to whom we give a disservice when we show no interest and allow them to fall by the wayside.  My opinion however, is that teaching is not simply a job. It is one where the individual should have great care and respect for those whom they teach. To simply come to work, write 'sums' on the board and adopt an 'if yuh learn or not, I  still getting pay" attitude, is not enough.

 Remember...ALL  are precious in his sight

(not only those destined for HC)

Roll On

They come in all shapes, sizes and scents. We generally use the word deodorant to describe them both however, the truth is, there is a major difference between antiperspirants and deodorants. Antiperspirants are as their name describes. When you roll those bad boys under your armpits, the aluminum based chemicals block your pores and stop you from sweating.  Now since sweating is a GOOD thing i.e it helps to cool the body as well as release minimal amounts of toxins, why would ANYONE not want to sweat.

The question has been asked whether there is a link between breast cancer and the aluminum in the antiperspirants. Many studies have been conducted and the bottom line is that there is no evidence to suggest that antiperspirants breast cancer. A study has been done that shows that the aluminum found in antiperspirants has been shown to cause DNA mutation, which could cause uncontrolled cell growth, which causes cancer.  The American cancer Society and the national Cancer Institute refute these claims and the study results have been difficult to reproduce.  Interestingly enough in 2004 the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, required that antiperspirants be labeled, giving caution to persons with kidney disease.

So after all my research I've decided to make the switch from antiperspirant to natural deodorant (deodorants mask or destroy unpleasant odors). Why? Well, I figure that anything whose purpose is to stop my body from working the way it should can't be all that good and as the breast cancer debate continues, I'd rather take this small little step in prevention.

Every single brand/type of antiperspirant I've used has always left some kind of residue under my arms giving me hell to  remove when in the shower. My arms are smooth and clean with this new deodorant. 


Thus far, my Naturally Fresh Deodorant has been working like a charm. 

It's 100% pure and natural, contains no harmful aluminum or parabens and is made with pharmaceutical grade mineral salts. If it's exceptionally hot outside and I'm going to be away from home for a while, I usually reapply during the day. So I'm going to use this until it's gone then I'll try another natural brand.




Moral of the story...Make sure is better than cocksure!

All uh dis Talk bout Culture!

The Barbados Youth Development Council recently hosted The National Youth Festival at the grounds of Illaro Court (The Prime Minister's Official Residence).  This group of young people pulled off an event which to my mind was beautifully coordinated. A professional MC and better advertising could have made this the youth event of the year and I also thought that a little more imagination could have been used to determine the winner for the final give away at the end....a wuk-up competition?? They say wukking up is we culture but....come on now, how novel an idea is that?!

I love Calypso. The music. I love calypso, the art form. As a musician  and "a want to be writer", I have a problem equating some of what I hear on the airwaves today with calypso (the music or the art form).  Generally, my opinion is that a few guys sit in the studio, come up with a wicked rhythm and then just drop any old lyrics on top of it. I'm all for evolving art forms but there must be substance in the evolution.  I wonder how many calypsos can be remembered the year after their release. Let me say that I'm not a party person, maybe that's why so many of the party songs don't appeal to me however, I can still appreciate songs like Red Plastic Bag's something's happening and TC's Hot Sun & Riddim These songs speak to the artistic abilities of the writers. I question the abilities of those who can come up with something like "You tink I K"  but I guess the drivel is working for them so, as some would say, I need to hold a corner  and know my place.

Now that we're on the topic of calypso, I recently went to a panel discussion on calypso hosted by the University of the West Indies. The panelists included Red Plastic Bag and Gabby, who have won 

the calypso crown 9 and 7 times respectively. It was really great to sit and listen to these two calypso giants who, through their music, are educators and sociologists and whose songs, after today's news has been forgotten, will live on.  You know the saying education isn't common sense, well, some would say too much education is not always a good thing. After the discussion one 'academic' (all dressed in African garb, Bajan accent and all, obviously having just left the cradle) noted that hearing Gabby speak reminded her of being back in the village, sitting around the rock fire,listening to the orator (sticks finger in throat). I wondered when last she sat around a rock fire and as my friend said, does she know who the orators are? Calypsonians like Gabby, the guy at the rum shop who knows it all, granny, these are all our orators.  I think i need to take a step back in time to experience that rock fire for my self.

On that note, my final  5 for Friday's Pic-o-de-Crop finals, in any order are Gabby; Red Plastice Bag; Blood; TC; John King...all of the signs are there.

Did you Know!

This year the Salvation Army celebrates 145 years of service worldwide and I thought I'd just give you a little bit of information, in case you didn't know about the Army and what it does.

The Salvation Army is a CHURCH! Yes it is. Most people think of the Salvation Army as just a social organization that gives food to the hungry, clothes to the needy, homes to the homeless etc. The Salvation Army was started in 1865 by William Booth in London, England and has existed in Barbados for 112 years.

Did you know that the Salvation Army operates in over 110 countries, including, Sierra Leoone, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan?!

Salvationists refer to their church i.e the building as a Corps. It is basically the place where members of the Salvation Army in a particular district, fellowship, preach the gospel and provide services to the community.

Did you know that there are 11 Salvation Army churches in Barbados. They can be found at Josey Hill and Checker Hall in St. Lucy, Speightstown and Diamond Corner (St. Peter), Seaview and Carlton (St. James) Reed Street and Wellington Street (St. Michael), Wotton (Christ Church) and Long Bay and Four Roads (St. Phillip)

The Salvation Army, unlike other churches wears a uniform. The wearing of the uniform is not to be taken lightly. It basically is a witness as belonging to the body of Christ and also "as a signal of availability to others".

One thing that the Salvation Army worldwide is recognised for is its Brass Bands. Brass banding and music camp are Salvation Army trademarks.  Some of the best brass players from Barbados to Timbuktu have their roots in the Salvation Army.   

Did you know that the Salvation Army recently held it's 4th World Youth Convention in Stockholm Sweden. Young people  from 92 countries came together (under the them "Raised up"), in a time of learning, holiness and fellowship. This event was streamed live and persons from 119 countries dropped in at different times to view the WYC .

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church.

Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Joy,Joy, Joy, there is Joy in the Salvation Army

Joy, Joy, Joy, in the Army of the Lord!