WHEW! Boy, well November pass and all the planning and big lot o’ independence celebrations done. Prince Harry come in, do he official duties and gone ’long ’bout he business. The lot o’ fetes and functions gone; some come off good and some barely make it, but duh come off.
The rain even had a hand in the whole thing; it come down and nearly wash out evahthing. It caused all kinds o’ events and activities tuh get push back. Evahbody was praying dat it would hold up and it did.
A bundle o’ Bajans from all over the world, especially England, Canada and the United States, came in fuh the big celebrations. I was talking tuh a lady in the sea the other morning. She is a Bajan who was living in England fuh donkey years and she said dat it was the third time fuh the year she was in Barbados.
She said dat she had made plans tuh come fuh both Crop Over and the Independence celebrations but by the time she get back tuh England after Crop Over, she didn’t even settle back in good when she got a call telling her that somebody very close tuh her had died. (I doan remember now if it was one of her parents but anyway, she pack up and was back down here again.) As she put it, the Crop Over and the November celebrations was planned long before but the middle one wasn’t. Anyway, despite everything, she is here and enjoying herself after the Independence celebrations.
Things happening
Ya woulda like tuh think dat wid all o’ dem fetes, big functions, shows and the lot o’ celebration, ya woulda come out o’ November pon some kinda high tuh go in tuh the Christmas season wid but it ain’t look so fuh some people; all sorts o’ things happening.
While the people at the Water Authority continue tuh take duh fair share o’ licks fuh the many water problems all cross the island, up steps another one, this time it is some kinda sewage leakage up there in Worthing. It started off small and was affecting a few people but after the lot o’ rain dat we had, it like it got worse and now got a whole lot more people up in arms.
Some hoteliers hollering fuh blue murder because some o’ their guests cahn take the smell and threatening tuh leave the hotel. Some tourist vex and complaining because the authorities closed the beach at Worthing because it look like some o’ the same sewage water like it find its way in tuh the sea and now dem cahn bathe at dem favourite spot.
I think one o’ the hoteliers say dat some o’ the tourist saying dat duh ain’t coming back tuh Barbados because o’ this situation. Now I find dat tuh be bare foolishness ’cause Worthing Beach ain’t the only beach; duh got a million and beaches all round the island and if duh cahn bath at one, duh could get in a bus or a ZR and either go up there by Maxwell or Oistins or go in the other direction towards town and all along dat stretch got beautiful beaches.
Sewage problem
I read how one hotelier say dat people calling from overseas asking if dem should cancel their bookings fuh next year February. Oh Lord, now that is crazy. Ya would believe dat the sewage problem is all ovah Barbados and evah single beach shut down, closed, out o’ bounds and nuhbody cahn go the beach at all. Well, uh mean Barbados small and ya could barely see it pon the map but, cud’dear, we only got one beach?
I could sympathise wid these hoteliers because obviously it is their livelihood and they would have worked hard ovah the past year or so tuh get the place fully occupied but at the same time, yes, we got a big problem and it got tuh be fixed as soon as possible and duh cahn allow it tuh go on much longer, especially at this particular time but hollering out and panicking aint gine help the situation either.
Another set o’ people I feel lil concerned for are the restaurant owners in dat area ’cause bad smell and food doan go too good together. Nuhbody ain’t want tuh be sitting down in a restaurant waiting pon food tuh come tuh duh table and instead of inhaling and savouring the sweet smells coming from the different types o’ food coming outta the kitchen, duh smelling something like sewage. Dat ain’t good fuh business at all. I pray dat the people responsible would get it fixed real fast.
Before I close off this week, I would like to offer my condolences tuh the families of Clarence Thompson, a prominent entertainer, Pastor Vibert Lowe, a forthright pastor who was not timid in his spiritual beliefs and Mathew Farley, former principal of the Graydon Sealy secondary school. A stalwart in the field of education and someone who stood up for what he believed in, despite what others thought.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
