Addressing Dr Frank Alleyne, one of Barbados’ newest knights, as “Sir” wouldn’t be a difficult thing for Professor Cecil Foster.
Foster, who teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Guelph in Ontario and at State University of New York in Buffalo, has written a dozen books, some of them novels and others insightful analyses of life in Canada and the Caribbean.
He has been calling the prominent economist and University of the West Indies (UWI) professor “sir” as a mark of respect for more than a half-century. Now he plans to use it with pride as a title that comes with Barbados’ highest national honour.
“I have been calling him ‘sir’ from the time I was five years old, when I first attended classes at Christ Church Boys’ School and he was a young teacher there,” said Foster, a professor in the department of anthropology and sociology at the University of Guelph.
“When I went on to Christ Church Boys’ School, Harrison College and later the UWI and became a journalist at the Barbados Advocate and the Caribbean News Agency, he was always ‘sir’ and he called me Foster, not Cecil. I appreciated that.
“Sir Frank’s contributions to our country have been immense. He is truly an inspiration.”
The author of such critically acclaimed books as No Man In The House in 1991; Pas d’Homme à la Maison, Paris: l’Ecole Des Loisirs, France, two years later; Sleep On, Beloved, which hit book stores in Canada and the United States in 1995 along with Caribana: The Greatest Celebration, Toronto, and Slammin’ Tar, a Harper Collins publication in 1998, was overjoyed when Sir Frank was knighted in last month’s Independence honours.
“When I read about his knighthood, I was proud. He was a teacher and a person from Water Street, a mentor who told us as little boys, ‘You can make something of your life’.
“He inspired me by encouraging me to recognize that regardless of my financial circumstance, I could overcome hardships,” said Foster who, before turning to the university classroom, was a journalist – reporter, analyst or commentator – at some of Canada’s best known newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations.
They ranged from the Toronto Globe & Mail, Financial Post and Toronto Star to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, radio and television, CFRB radio in Toronto, Canada Business and Traffic World magazine.
“No matter where I went and the positions I have held and the books and commentaries I have written, I remember Sir Frank. He had that impact on me.
“He encouraged us as little boys in school to work hard and use our brains if we wanted to succeed in life,” added the professor, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master’s and PhD in social and political thought from Canada’s York University.
“Thanks to Sir Frank, many of our youth developed the psyche that we can overcome harsh conditions,” he added.
“He led by example and by being kind to students and others, gave us the confidence that we could leave our birthplace and go out into the world, be it in Canada, the United States, Britain, you name it, and live, study and work with confidence.”
The writer paid tribute to Sir Frank in an interesting way. In his first novel, No Man In The House, Foster created a fictional character, a teacher, who related well to his students and talked to them about the importance of respect and other things. He admits he had Sir Frank in mind when he wrote it.
“The model for the character in the book was Sir Frank,” he explained.
“Back in those years in Barbados, Sir Frank would dip into his pockets and help provide books, pencils and other school supplies for some students who couldn’t afford them.”
As a lecturer at UWI, Foster said Sir Frank took economics from the classroom and applied it to people’s everyday lives, into the practical world.
“His was a leading voice, along with Wendell McClean, battling for consumers against the utility companies when the time came for rate increases,” he recalled.
“The two, Alleyne and McClean, also took to the political platforms to fight for their cause and that of the people of Barbados. Sir Frank was very much part of the country.”
Foster, who has won several awards for his books, scholarly papers and other writings, recalled a dark night in Water Street about 50 years ago when he was running an errand for his grandmother and heard a familiar voice saying: “Foster, what are you doing so late out at night? You should be home.”
“It was a reminder,” said the novelist and professor, “that Mr Alleyne cared for his students even after school hours. That’s the measure of the man, the new knight.”
