Dear Nesta,TELL MUH DE TROOF!Wuh’s de lates’ wif you an’ yours? How yuh-all gettin’ on sence yuh change de guvment? I axin’ dese questions ’cause, as yuh know, I like to keep up wif wuh happenin’. I notice hey recent dat de “new boys” turnin’ duh eyes to one o’ duh “pet peeves” – immigration. It seem as ef duh lookin’ to mek some big cuts nex’ year dat gine really reduce de numbers o’ all wunna non-Europeans allow to live an’ wuk in Engelant! Dah Party was always ’gainst lettin’ in tummuch immigrants, an’ now duh got de chance, gine do somet’ing drastic ’bout it. I always remember dat man, Enoch Powell, an’ de turrible remarks ’e us-ed to mek ‘gainst Wes’ Indians comin’ to Britain. Wuh does get muh vex is de way nuff Europeans – an’ I en talkin’ ’bout de ones wif money dat come hey to inves’ – could jes’ arrive in dis islan’ an’, ef it suit dem, stay on, ‘til whenevuh! ’Pon de ethuh han’, some o’ we dat don’ even want to live up dey but only want to spen’ a holiduh, sometimes got to face some o’ de mos’ ridiculous questions at de airport, as ef duh tryin’ to mek yuh t’ink ’bout turnin’ back. Anybody would believe yuh tryin’ to get in heaven, an’ dah might even be mo’ easy. T’ings like dah cyahn be fair! Chile, at home, yuh po’ frien’ head spinnin’ ’roun’ wif all de stories I hearin’ nowadays. Firs’, yuh read one story in de papers, nex’ couple days somebody else come out wif a version dat soun’ neffin like de firs’, mekkin’ yuh wonder wuh gine on. Couple weeks ago, I tell yuh how de Central Bank Governor say de economic outlook gloomy, wif only li’l help to come from de buil’ing industry wiffin de next six monfs. Imagine how surprise I was when, all in a sudden one night, Senator Darcy Boyce in de Ministry o’ Finance appear ’pon prime time TV to tell we dat when it come to de islan’ economy, evaht’ing movin’ in de right direction. I wonder why ‘e t’ought it necessary to come out shortly after de Bank report – an’ come back agen de ethuh night. Maybe, to try to re-assure people an’ set duh min’s at res’, but I still ponderin’ ’bout de whole t’ing. I lissen to all de talk ‘bout how unemployment still lower dan when de ethuhs was in office (de usual finger pointin’!), an’ promises how t’ings gine pick up shortly wif de number o’ projecks in de pipeline, but de remark how money get put back in people pockets was de one dat floor muh. I had to rush home right away an ‘start skinnin’ out all muh pockets inside out, but not one penny drop out, so I realise I got to be ‘mong de many dat get lef’ offa dah lis’. Yuh onderstan’ why I feelin’ so confuse dese days. One minute I hear one t’ing, de nex’, somet’ing else quite diff’rent. So it only lef’ fuh me to try to figure out wuh soun’ de mos’ reasonable. To me, t’ings don’ look as rosy as I hearin’, so I would really like to know de troof, good or bad! It en easy when I got to face all dem high utility bills when de monf come – an’ don’ t’ink duh don’ come ’roun’ fas’ – an’ try to deal wif de ever-risin’ prices, not only in de supermarket, but wheyevuh else yuh turn! Anyway, I tryin’ to cheer up muhself an’ clear muh head. I now tekkin’ up singin’ lessons ’cause I tryin’ fuh de nex’ Pic-o’-de-Crop Finals. Muh voice en de sweetes’, but I got two songs, not really calypso, but dah en neffin, anyt’ing now passin’ – so I don’ see why I cyahn win de car nex’ year. I could do wif de money.Tek care o’ yuhself Yuh frien’ Babsie
