The Way We Were

Growing up in Georgetown were the best times of my life. I can picture many of you nodding your heads and saying "Yes man, ah true dat" Regardless of what part of the island you came from, If you grew up in SVG, you never forget the times you spent there. The photo below on the right is where I was born and lived until I was Thirteen. It wasn't much but we spent some great there.  Life wasn't always easy for the adults trying to find work, especially after they closed the sugar factory, but as young boys we were happy. Many of us  had very little responsibilities apart from our daily chores of fetching water or fire wood and sweeping the yard.

We however had to make our own entertainment as kids growing up in the Sixties. The adults had the Cinema, Spotlight Stadium and Louise Corke bar which had the only duke box in town.  One of the favourite leisure activities of the older boys was going to matinee. Their preferred films were westerns. Any film whether it was a western or not, had Two main characters - The star and the crook. Whenever one of the lads went to matinee the other boys would gather at their favourite meeting places such as under a tree or on a wall (In our case it was Cordice wall picture left) and await the arrival of the person who went to the cinema. On his arrival he would begin his narrative, his recollection of the film in total.

He would replicate every action that took place in the film, emphasizing those of the star boy and the crook man. At the end of his presentation his audience will have the distinct feeling that they have seen the film. Mack Charles was the cinema the ticket operator in those days. As a boy I can remember people pushing and shoving each other to get their tickets, there were no such things as Queuing up  back then.

Matinee day which was usually on a Sunday afternoon was a big event. It was an opportunity for the locals to make some money. The streets surrounding the cinema were packed with venders selling Sugar Cakes, Peanuts. Sweet Potato Pudding, Fudge, Ice Cream and other niceties that made those who couldn't afford to buy, mouths water. 

We were improvisors, in our day, we had to improvise, since most of us didn't have the money to buy toys. We made our own play things until the yearly Christmas parcel came from our parents in England. The most popular gifts were the view master or a toy gun with paper bullets and pink skinned dollies for the girls.

We made imaginary motor bikes by decorating a piece of stick with all sorts of pretty ribbons and would run about holding it with both hands making motor bike sounds as we went along. My bike was a Kawasaki, which was a popular motor bike at the time. Those who had one he rode it like a bat out of hell when ever they went through Georgetown.

If we were lucky enough to find an old bicycle wheel we would remove all the spokes, polish up the wheel and ran it along the road using a piece of stick to guide it along. We called it a Wheeler.  The spokes also came in handy as we grew old enough to have Afro. We used them to make Afro combs

The photos below illustrates different eras of Georgetown. From left to right, 1902 after the Soufriere, 1973 and 1992. 

The Spinning Top

You had to be really gifted to make a good spinning top. Guava branch made the best tops, it was hard and difficult to destroy. Once the top was made you then had to tune it in. This was achieved by  wrapping a piece of twine around the nail and halfway up the top. You would then wedge the end of the twine between your index and middle finger then vigorously  releasing the top into the ground. The objective was to embed the nail of the top into the ground which would allow the top to spin.This took some practice, it wasn't easy to do if you were a novice. Once the top was tuned, it was ready to do battle. 

To play the game, a line was drawn in the sand and each player would take turns in firing his top at the line. The player whose top lands furthest away from the line had to lay his top on the line and everyone would take turns in trying to destroy the sacrificial top by puncturing it with the sharp nail of their weapon. Once each player has had a turn the line is redrawn and the process is repeated. The objective of the game was to split or damage each other tops to eliminate them from the game. The last top standing was the winner. Junior Cato (Tunyman) was the top champion of my time.

The Sling Shot

The best sling shot maker in the hood was Cultico Dasilva (Cullie) Once you could supply the required materials which were (a piece of a car tube, the tongue of a shoe and a Y shape piece of twig) Cullie would make you the perfect sling shot.

The main purpose of our sling shot was to hunt birds, especially the ones hanging about on the electric wires. Many Ground dove and Pri-Pri-Ri  suffered from our sling shots. We sometimes played Cowboys and Indians with our sling shot when we weren't hunting birds but instead of pebbles, we used corolla pods as ammunition. 

Jumbies (Zombies)/Ghosts

All Vincentians know about Jumbies.There are those who say they can see Jumbies and are not afraid of them, those who do not believe in them and not see them and those who think they see Jumbie and are absolutely terrified of anything that move in the night. Anyone who was  afraid of Jumbies would not go out at night after dark without someone to follow them. If wind blow and rustle the leaves during the night they frighten, if a dog bark late at night is Jumbie in the area.

If they happen to be out alone after dark, especially in Chili, and they have to pass the cemetery, they will walk fast or even run at break neck speed to get home. The most feared night creatures were Jack O Lanterns, Jabless (women with horse feet) and Ronks - they manifest as animals and always walk in the middle of the road. Well so the old folks used to tell us.

We often meet outside each others homes and tell Jumbie stories. Lord, help us when we had to go home.

Strong rum

Like it or not, Rum has played a part in many Vincentian males and females for decades. The Slave owners used to supply Rum  as a allowance to labourers as one of their traditional previllages during the sugar cane plantation boom.

Today In every town and village in SVG, strong rum is sold and drunk. No other drink can substitute this potent drink and intoxicating liquor. Some men drink for recreational purposes others may have the occasional drink in passing but the real drinker will use their last dollar to buy a petit rather than some bread and sardine or anything to eat.

Dedicated drinkers or "Rum Bo" as they are affectionately known always went to the rum shop for a drink the first thing after leaving their homes in the morning. The first drink is known as having a shot to get the wind off the chest. The last action before going home at night was another drink of strong rum. Some committed drinkers would rather drink all day.

Public Transportation "Going to Kingstown"

Public transportation in the 1960s was by way of a big bus with specially designed wooden frame fitted with wooden benches for seats and tarpaulin  rolled up at the sides in case it rained. If you wanted to go to Kingstown, you had to be up by 5.00 AM to prepare yourself in order to catch the bus. There wasn't many buses to chose from in the early Sixties,  There were buses from Sandy Bay, but they were always full by the time they got to Georgetown. They all carried names written just above  the wind screen like, Fairy Queen, Fairy Jet, Sorrento and Mary Ann. You could then identify which area the buses came from by their names.

The buses often arrived in Town well before the stores were opened, This gave people the chance to visit the "Iron Man" as we called it then and still does today. The iron man is a statue of a soldier positioned in the town square.

The buses  would start their rounds to leave Kingstown, around 12.30 PM. They only made one trip per day so if you missed your bus, that was it. These buses carried everything, people,lumber, animal or what ever load you had. On the journey back to Georgetown, the driver would always stop at Arnos Vale to allow  passengers to purchase cakes at Sunrise Bakery. And of course stop at the road block barrier if there were planes landing or taking off.The police often did a stop and check to ensure that the buses were not over loaded. I wish they would adapt this practice today.

        Photo on the left was donated by Vickki Crichton

Here are some names of Buses that I can recall

Fairy Queen, Principal, Pony Express, Santa Monica, Flying Fortress, Transport, Mary Ann, Sister Ann, Lady Ann, Silver Arrow, Long 7, Sportsman, Marley M

Rolling Home, Take Warning, Royal Jet, Mona Lisa, Sorento, Jet Star, Terry O, General, Bridgetown Surprise, Super Jet, Ride On, Ricky D, Big Jim, Ester B,

Darling Boy, Cruzana, Isolita, Temple Arch, Cherry S, Sun Valley, Imagine

 Some food that we loved

Three meals a day was not a common thing for many of us growing up in the Sixties, except for those that were well off and lived in wall houses. We had tea in the morning and generally had to make do with sugar water or lime juice and bread during the school lunch break until the evening dinner. We called everything tea, whether it was chocolate, coffee or bush tea.

The great thing about our teas was that it was all natural, nothing added. The chocolate was grounded and rolled into chocolate sticks then boiled with one or Two bay leaf, cinnamon stick and fresh coconut milk. Nothing tasted better than chocolate tea. For bush tea we used Trumpet Bush, Buddy Me Eye, Mint and other plants which only the old folks knew about. Bakes and fried fish or just bread and butter, cheese or sardines were usually eaten with your tea.

Ducuna was another favourate. The main ingredients were coconut and sweet potatoes and spices. Once the mixture was made it was wrapped in banana bush and boiled till cooked. Ducuna always tasted better when it was left overnight.

Bread Nut, was a similar shape to chestnuts. These were boiled in salt water before eating. They had a similar taste to Irish potatoes. Again to me they tasted better the day after.

Main meals were mainly provisions with various meats. In those days there was a Saturday market situated across the road from the current Georgetown Bank. The animals were slaughtered in the back early at dawn and fresh beef was always available to those who could afford to buy. The poorer folks made do with the cattle foot. Some families reared chickens and other livestock but beef was a premium feast. For most families, Sunday meals was almost always Rice and Peas and stew chicken or pork. I don't know what seasoning were used but the taste of stew chicken in those finger licking days were good.

Breadfruit and Saltfish, is said to be our national dish and perhaps that is true because it was eaten in abundance in my time and still is today. If you were fortunate enough to have a Breadfruit tree in your yard, it was shared with friends and neighbours. It was the same with other provisions. People looked out for each other in those days. You normally had to go mountain to pick Breadfruit but the The Cyrus family had a Breadfruit tree in their yard, which is still there today.

Roasted or cooked, Breadfruit was always nice. Breadfruit was usually roasted on coal pots or just on a pile of wood. There is an art in peeling the Breadfruit without blackening the inside. Buljou, (saltfish) was mostly eaten with the Breadfruit. The best Breadfruit and Buljou I ever eat was in 1998, I think it was made by Elizabeth Harry." Boy it taste nice for so".

Mangoes

When I went to England and saw people buying Mangoes, I found it strange, because in St Vincent, mangoes were in abundance and was always free.  As young boys, we all went to mountain to look for mangoes. Mangoes were in abundance, they grew everywhere. We didn't know who some of the mountain lands belonged to but it didn't stop us picking mangoes. Everyone in the gang had their Crocus bag full with all types of mangoes by the end of the hunt. There were Julie mangoes, Little bubbie, Horsey, Parlover, Grafted and Debeques. Julie mangoes were the sweetest.  If a mango was really ripe we would bite a small piece from the top then suck out the juice. Sometimes we ate the green ones after peeling and slicing it, then dipped the slices in salt water.

When mangoes were out of season and scarce, several of us would share one mango. If you were lucky to get the seed it would be sucked till it shined.  

HOME MADE SNACKS TO DIE FOR

Fudge, Peanut Sugar Cake and Coconut Sugar Cake. My thanks to Vicki Crichton for sharing the images.

WHEN CHRISTMAS WAS CHRISTMAS

The last Christmas that I spent in St Vincent was in 1973, almost 41 years ago. This was mainly due to work restraints where holidays were only possible in July and August, and those were the months that I was able to visit home. However my childhood experiences of Christmas during the 60s and early 70s are forever planted in my memory. Christmas back then was a time when families, friends and neighbours celebrated the birth of Christ as it should be. It was a time of sharing and goodwill to all.

The weeks leading up to Christmas was a busy time for most households in Georgetown, and the rest of St Vincent and the Grenadines. It was a time when certain habits or traditions were upheld. One of the first things we did was to make sure that we bought our box of JU-C early, usually around the middle of December. Everyone bought a box of JU-C for Christmas so you had to get yours early.  The JU-C truck came all the way from Kingstown so by the time it reached Georgetown, stock was always low.

Empty boxes of JU-C bottles were left by the roadside along with a look out (usually the little kids) who would shout out "JU-C truck ah come" when the vehicle was in sight. JU-C had a unique taste back then, not watery like it is today. When you drank a JU-C it tickled your palate. It was sweet, sharp and fizzy. Nothing tasted quite like JU-C when we were kids.

You also made sure that you had your Black wine and Sorrel which again were seasonal drinks. Black wine were mainly sold in Kingstown, therefore you either made the trip yourself or ask someone who was going to Town, to pick up a bottle for you. Sometimes you would ask the local bus conductor.

The last week before Christmas saw the most activity around the house. This was the time when homes were transformed.  All the furniture would be taken outdoors in preparation for sanding and then varnishing. Many folks had Morris Chairs, like the one pictured. We had a couple of Morris chairs and a rocking chair and one of those floor standing cabinet with wooden shelves. These were varnished every year around Christmas time.

The inside of the house would be dusted and given a lick of paint. Old curtains would be taken down and replaced with new ones, but these did not go up until Christmas eve. The biggest investment was probably new Lino/ floor covering.  Most families replaced theirs at Christmas. You didn't have to go into town to buy Lino because there was a big Edwin D Layne store in Georgetown, Miss Bacchus also sold lino. The Lino was left as late as possible on Christmas eve to be laid so that it will remain clean and spotless on Christmas morning. "The smell of varnish and new Lino was heavenly."

Once all the painting was taken care of it was time for the baking. Not many people had baking facilities therefore baking was done at the nearest bakery or at a neighbour who had a baking drum.  There was always a long line of people waiting for their turn at the bakery so our baking was done at the home of a neighbour that I knew as Uncle Diddy and Aunt Doyle. We weren't related, (at least I don't think we were) but the youngsters always called their elders either Uncle, Tanty, Mr or Miss, never by their first names. Even if you knew their first names you would always put a Miss or Mr in front of it.

Kids always sat patiently waiting for the cake mixing bowl at baking time. This was the best part of the baking process for us. Me and my sissy Luckie, used to wait at Manen's frock tail for the bowl to be handed to us and by the time we finished with it, it didn't need washing. 

The nights leading up to Christmas was an opportunity for the young boys and girls to earn a few cents. We used to form groups and go "Sing Out" or Christmas Caroling as you know it. We would concoct what ever instruments we could find which were usually a Bun Pan, Bottle, Shack Shack, A comb covered with paper or a Three string self made Banjo. Booky Roy was our Banjo player. The more serious gang had a Mouth Organ. Some households didn't always take kindly to the racket we use to make, so we never made much money but it was fun.

Christmas morning was a joyous time. That was when toys that families had sent from abroad would be handed out. Backstreet would be filled with kids showing off their Doll babies, Toy cars, View Masters, Toy guns or whatever. By midday people were starting to go from house to house  sharing cakes, bread and other goodies and sampling what ever there was on offer. No one ever locked their doors during the day in my time as a youth in Georgetown.

I am often told that Christmas in SVG, is not like it used to be, well I have to take people's word for this because like I said before, I have not seen a Christmas in SVG since 1973.

Bathing in Georgetown Rough Sea

If you took a walk on Georgetown beach today, you would think that no one in there right mind would want to take a dip in the sea, because it is always so rough. There was a certain time in the year when the sea became calm and flat like a carpet, you were able to walk into it for some distance and the water would only come to your waist. We use to refer to it as "Sand Bank". The photo opposite shows how rough the sea can be. 

However,  those not familiar with the temporary calmness always got into trouble as they dashed for the tempting waters. The thing is, there is always a deep part to get past before you can actually reach the shallow waters of Sand Bank. If you can't swim and you drop into the deep, trouble! Someone always seems to be at hand to rescue the young naked skin boys, who wanted to play big man and charge into the sea without thinking. We just wanted to have fun time on Sand Bank. "You think is one time I get pulled out of the deep hole, before I managed to learn to swim."

By the early 70s I was a good swimmer, but I still nearly drowned twice.  Once you could swim it was nice time for so, because the girls would ask you to take them out to Sand Bank. When you take them out they would hold on to you tight-tight, because to get back to land they had to get past the deep hole and they couldn't without you. 

We sometimes inflated old bus, or if we were lucky to find one, tractor tubes and took them out to sea. Everyone wanted a ride on the tubes regardless if they could swim or not. We always tried to see how many people could hold on a tube before it turned over. If it did turn over and you couldn't swim, someone was always at hand to help. As far as I know, no one in the neighbour died from drowning. Some came close, including me, but we survived to tell the tale.

Two of Georgetown's strongest swimmers Joe Cyrus and Franklin King (R.I.P) are pictured left.

Georgetown Government School

This is the school that the majority of Georgetonians, would have attended. My memory of attending school is not as vivid as some people but  certain things stand out. The one thing that is common to most of us while we were at school is that we all used to get licks. By licks I mean with the strap or a ruler. Some teachers really went over the top in those days. They would probably call it abuse today.

Some would say that it didn't do us any harm and that it made us learn our lessons in school, others might say differently. Personally, it made me do my homework and all that was necessary to avoid getting licks. Not to say that I didn't get any.  One of the things we had to do when we arrived in class was to assemble under the tree in the school yard. The teacher would then come along and check your fingernails to make sure that they were clean. If they weren't you would get a smack on your knuckles with a ruler. I had a few.

The thing that frightened us most was Arithmetic. One of the assignments we were given after school was to learn a specific tables by the next day.  Comes the following morning we were asked at random to provide the answer to, lets for example say 6 x 8, and you only had seconds to give the correct answer. If you stuttered, licks. This time it was with a leather strap on your back. As I said before some teachers were really heavy handed and would leave marks on you. Many a time parents would come hunting for the teachers the next day after seeing the state of their child's back.  

One particular girl grandfather came to the school and threatened one of the  teacher as to what would happen if he ever beat her again. Needless to say she was never touched again.

The photos below shows one section of Georgetown Government School as it was when I attended and, past teachers of the school.

Bamboo joint

Bamboo blowing is a pastime and skill practiced primarily by young Vincentian males.  The practice begins in early October and ends on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. Bamboo blowing is an imitation of igniting a cannon. The ‘fun’ of blowing the bamboo is manifested in a spirit of competition to see whose bamboo can make the loudest blast.

My most memorable recollection of Guy Fawkes in St Vincent, was making and firing "Bamboo Joint" Yes we had the odd Starlight that we bought at Miss Liverpool or Miss Bacchus, which would be tossed into the air, then there was an almighty scramble to see who would pick it up first when it fell.  It would be thrown up again and again until the sparkles died out..

There was also small sacks filled with explosive which we would throw against a wall until it exploded but the main attraction was The Bamboo Joint. Who ever invented this was a genius. As far as I know the trees only grew on the way towards the volcano. I think we called the area  Bamboo range. You needed a piece about a meter or long which would be left to dry out.

Once the Bamboo was sufficiently dried out the inside would be knocked out apart from one end and a small square hole was cut near this end. The joint had to be primed, and we did this by pouring kerosene into the bamboo and the oil was heated by passing a flame over the hole. You would then blow into the hole to speed up the heating process. This process was repeated until the Bamboo begin to make sounds, something like a car backfiring. The sound you were hoping to produce was that of a canon going off.  The louder the better. Once you achieved this you are in business,the bamboo was ready to do battle.

One village or area would fire their Bamboo Joint in response to the other. The Joint producing the loudest sound was boss. Now there was real peril when preparing the Bamboo for firing. Let me explain. As I mentioned earlier, before the flame is passed over the hole to ignite the Bamboo Joint, you have to blow into the hole. This was the job of the Blower. The blower blows into the hole a few times then the Fireman, would pass the stick with the flame over the hole and BOOM! 

The blower was the one always in danger. Blowing into the hot kerosene sometimes created  flames which would shoot out of the hole, you never knew when this was going to happen so if you had your face over the hole when it did, all your eye brows gone. Many of us walked around for days without eyebrows after Guy Fawkes night. 

During my boy days we laid our Bamboo Joints on the ground for obvious reasons. It was too hot to touch, but the new generation have become very technical, they have someone carrying the bamboo joint, so they can fire on the go. Recently, there has been some outcry against the practice and may be, understandably so.  Communities have grown, the population ages and the loud blasts can prove to be very disconcerting. Do you have any stories about Bamboo Joints?

Nicknames?

Have you ever been asked if you knew so and so, and struggled to put a face to the name, but as soon as they mention the person's Nickname, you knew straight away who they are referring to? Almost everyone had a nickname in my boy days, some of the names were so funny I sometimes wonder, how on earth they actually came about.

Some people got nicknames because of their physical appearance others by saying or pronouncing a word the wrong way. But who actually gave people their nickname? One thing for sure, when you got a nickname it usually stick with you for life. Giving someone a nickname is not a tradition just in St Vincent, but throughout the Caribbean.

Here are some of the funny nick names that I have heard people called over the years. The names in the list are not meant to offend anyone, so my apologies if they do. I had an uncle they used to call "Man ah Man" what a great name! I wonder how he got that name? Another uncle is known as "Copper Head" I think he got that name after he was run over by a vehicle when he was small but was apparently unharmed.  A cousin of mine is known by some as "Iron Skin", I am told that the name came about because he never use to cry when he was getting licks.

Here are some more hilarious names that I have heard over the years. Bumb Head,  Crab Back, Mango Skin, Tanny Boy, Skinny Meat, Jumbie Cutlass, Boom Boom Charlie, DoSo, Mauby, Marble Head and Conquer Death, ( apparently this chap was pronounced dead and was been carried in his coffin when he woke up) can you imagine the scene when that happened? There were also Jackhult, Bring Back, Big Grain, Buff, Bundo, Flour Pop, Iron Tongue, Little Jesus, Stinker A Bow, Yank Penny, Barman, Booky Roy, One Two, Bummy, and Hatty Bundown. 

Another thing about nicknames is that it can be used to tease you if you were someone who who got upset easily. I believe that people were given nicknames just for a laugh.  Sometimes you have to pretend that a Nickname didn't bother you and if you were lucky it wouldn't stick.

As kids we were terrible. There was one particular man in the village we would tease then run away. He had a bad leg so we knew that he couldn't catch us, but he still came after us waving his cutlass and using all sorts of bad words. Another lady who had lots of sheep was also teased. One man who lived near to the school and owned a talking parrot was also teased. We were terrible but Lord, those were fun days!

Cussing and Fighting

Cussing was something which took place almost everyday during my time in Browns town. A lot of the times the commotion started in the mornings or evening. Perhaps they didn't like cussing in the hot sun. You didn't want to get in a cussing match with a woman because your whole family history would  be broadcast for all to hear and most times than not, a crowd was always there to see and listen to the exhibition.

Your Mumma and Pupa was always  cussed, even though they weren't involved in the argument. It was a given, cussing would not be cussing if your parents weren't mentioned. I supposed this was done to really rile the other person because no one took it kindly if someone bad mouth their mother in those days.

Cussing was a battle of brutal tongue lashing, you or your mother's private parts was always verbally abused. Even when the other person had given up and the battle was won the victor was never happy and would prance up and down still cussing to her/him self.

Cussing sometimes turn to blows, particular with the men. Some either run for big stone, stick or cutlass and is then the grand - charge would begin. 

"Touch me if you name man!" was the cry. Sometimes one of the fighters would draw a line on the ground and challenge the other to cross it. " Cross that line if you name man!" was the challenge. This was serious stuff in those times but so humorous on reflection. 

Verlyn Baptiste: "The cussing sessions in most cases are restricted to certain families which were referred to as " bad Breed people or wearry some people or common people".I can recall that in my village such families existed and the cussing traits transsends generations. Another term used for cursing other people's family was called "Tracing"  this will spark trouble/fight or cause a" mellay. I used to enjoy listening to these village cussing without the knowledge of my mother. If my mother got wind of this, i would get a beating and warned not to pay attention and must mind my own business and go about my duties. If there was one of these cussing session nearby, my mother would not come to the door but remained indoors and listened.I was always tempted to run outside to listen like some children were allowed too but dared not and if we are outdoors we had to go indoors. mind you, some of these cussing words are really not suitable for young ears but the adults were so engaged that the presence of children wasn't a concern.