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Village
people no easy at all
I hope every body remember when we use to have to go to
the river to wash our clothes then tumble with it on your head to
bring it home on hang it out. All those
time when water gone everybody have them little bucket in a dem
hand a go a
canal or bottom pipe fi ketch water fi bathe and drink.
Whenever somebody dead a spring village you can look out fi de old people a come out from in a de day fi come help cook fi setup,
then in a the night u see dem a come out with dem little
sweater on dem shoulder.
Setup a village come like a down the road,
Everybody look forward fi come
out cause when them reach a dead yard an buck up pon
some people weh them no see fi
a long while
every body stop an chat.
Yu have one set a people weh as dem go a dead yard, dem show dem face then turn a bar then u hear them say “at
lease we show we face”.
When it is holiday like Christmas look out fi everybody a go a town fi buy
them little outfit fi go a church Christmas Sunday.
That is one day that village people look forward fi go a church. After them left church whether
fi them a come a you yard fi them little cake and sorrel.
All when some people say them have them little family Christmas
dinner, it better if them did say village Christmas dinner cause everybody
a left them yard a go a people Christmas
dinner fi go eat them curry goat & white rice,
especially them cow cod and goat head soup.
That is how true born village people stay.
Contributed by Sanette
Biggs
A
Typical Sunday in Spring Village
So our people both men and women laboured
tirelessly the standard
Strolling down memory lane on a time sensitive basis, the
day began with an healthy breakfast that ranges from an array of choices and to
name a few: ackee and salt-fish, Callao, and liver or
kidney that are combined with either the hot soft bread from honey crust bakery
or fried dumplings. Needless to say,
Sunday morning breakfast cannot be complete without the homemade chocolates
we’d buy from Ms. Mama down the road or Ms. Winnie residing up the road. But mind you, an exquisite dinner (tripe with
butter bean, oxtail, beef, or chicken are prepared on the coal stove right
after breakfast) that will be later ingested and washed down with some cool
carrot juice mixed with dragon stout. Yep, Villagers are definitely early
birds.
For Sunday worshippers, church attendance at Shiloh
Baptist and Rock Stone Church is an entrenched ritual that would in-effect
acknowledging the presence of the benevolent most High, i.e. praising the
Almighty and being filled with the Holy Spirit (but Saturday night party and
dance nah stop wi fi go a
church doh even wen sleep a
lick). Nonetheless, our adhered faith and ritual had been in most part, the
impetus for spiritual awakening and fulfillment.
As the day progresses, Hays pen—the space that displays an
exhibition of the much-appreciated cricket, football, and netball matches
that’s usually dominated by Danny Christian, Beddy,
Dave Miller, and Rosie Cameron respectively, have been our source for our
Sunday afternoon/evening entertainment. Within this space, everybaddy
dress laka puss foot in a dem
Sunday best and also deemed as a space that promulgates a close-knitted
community through the bonding and comradeship between families and friends.
But the day doesn’t end there; by now you’d have the big
guys lounging at the bars (Mr. Bailey, Glassine, or Wally) knocking down some dominoes,
supping on some hard-core liquor while dropping some coins in the old juke
boxes—you’d often hear songs such as When a man loves a woman by Percy
Sledge, and Board walk—nothing but oldies and
goodies.
However, you the younger generation I’m sure you’ll
remember the many Sundays after the games –a walk down Guardsman would be
refreshing and you cannot leave without being mischievous—i.e. Fassing wid di lickle
monkey wi call mitsy and stoning some a di belly
full mangoes. Thereafter, a stop by Ms
Check to buy at least $1’s worth of her hot cornmeal or potatoe
pudding was indeed apart of the ritual-- and down to the last crumb was good
enough. Her pudding with her added touch
of her secret ingredients was simply the best.
By now the closure of the day have drawn upon us, and its
time to start preparing for the week ahead (school and work) making sure all
uniforms are starched and pressed, shoes well shined, hair combed and tied and
then finally, our heads are laid to rest—and so the cycle continues….
Contributed by Latoya Christian
PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR THE
GENERAL TERMS OF
REFERENCE
For any group to be successful in implementing an effective community action
programme it is essential for it to be rooted in the community’s existing
structure.
It is proposed therefore to set up a steering committee of partners in
association with the Spring Gardens All -Age School Governing Body, Officers
representing all local Churches, the
Justice of the Peace, the District Constable and all persons of good standing
who actively support the community, and who share the vision undertaking the
aim of promoting success, progress and development for the Spring Village community
CONSTITUTION
1.
MEMBERSHIP: In order to ensure parity of
representation it is proposed that the various interested parties be
represented thus
·
Head Teacher
·
Chair of Governors
·
Parent representative
·
Youth representative
·
Church representatives
·
Justice of the Peace
·
District Constable
·
Local Councillor
·
Jamaica Broilers Group (
2.
PROCEDURES:
·
The committee shall elect a Chair who will decide on
meeting dates and times as appropriate and direct proceedings
·
The committee shall elect a Treasurer to provide
Financial reports for Budget monitoring purposes and decision making
·
The committee
shall elect a Secretary who will
take
Minutes to provide a clear and accurate record
of decisions taken and actions agreed
·
A quorum shall consist of four members plus Chair
3.
REMIT:
·
To set up a Trust Fund for the management of
resources coming into the community by donation or sponsorship
·
To coordinate the deployment of the resources in an equitable
manner according to the principles outlined in the mission statement for the progress and development of
4.
The
The
steering committee will administer incoming resources to ensure inclusively,
provide best value and appropriate targeting according to an assessment of local need.
Submitted by Humroy Whyte. (
Rememba When:
A tribute to Spring Village
This is a
special time for all mothers in
Whenever
the word "Mother" is mentioned we
automatically tend to think about the physiological
aspects
of child-bearing. However, let us not forget
the many
women out there who never bore children of
their
own but yet earned the right to be called "Mothers".
They have
earned this right through caring
and
sharing the little they have (or have not) with a
child
who is in need. Happy "Mothers" Day to all para
and
non-para mothers.
Anyway
back to the
when
Broilers used to take its permanent staff to hotel
on
the north coast. Well some of the mothers used to
bring
their children with them instead of their
husbands.
My madda used to store up all the pudding
that
she could find and anything else they did not
nail
down in the hotel to bring home to her children.
This is
common practice for village mothers.
everywhere dem go dem a hussle someting to bring home
for dem children. They would walk de length and breath
of
if it
means dat we ha fe get up
when cock a put aan
him dr--s to get there. I’m sure we have learned to
appreciate their efforts.
Looking
back at their struggles and comparing their
lives
with ours I now know it could not have been easy for
them.
Of these women I cannot think of one that
only
had one child. No. Most of them had 3-5 or more
children.
And we had never gone without the essentials
in
life. We all had new frock and boot at Christmas
and
de girls get dolly-baby while de bwoys dem get
guns.
(de gun didnt make dem bad in those days)
Most of
these women never had a man around to support
her
with the children. "Mi a madda an fada fi
oonu"
was one
of the infamous saying you would hear from our
mothers.
And that was true. Dem women could dish out
some
man-lick and dish out equal poportion of love.
They all
worked hard to keep us on the straight and
narrow.
I memba some of the
great mothers in Spring
Village.
Starting with mine: Ms Madge-she always
telling
us that "wat me doin
is not fi me, is fi oonu.
and
"mi ha fi live good wid
people because mi have mi
pickney dem" Happy mothers
day mom. Thank u for being
you.
I memba Ms Zeeta(bless her soul). She used to stay up
all
hours of de nite till dawg fraid, baking toto,
draps and grata cake to
support her children. What
dedication!!!
There's
Ms Tiny- working during de week
and
gone to market on Saturdays, nuff respect!!
Ms
Barbara- used to mek sure wi school clothes ready Septemba
mawnin.
Not
forgetting she had several children of her own to
sow fa as well. She used to say" If oonu
bring oonu
cloth
late oonu a go wear de ole uniform to school."
But we
never did, even if we bring di cloth de Sunday
before
school open. Respect mam.
Hazel. you’ve been a wonderful mother. I am sure you are glad now dat u
never
kill Derek. "a gwine
kill dat bwoy" You are
one
devoted
mother. You always instilled manners in your
children.
Then
there’s Ms Carmen (Masa D madda)
What a
woman!!!
She grow so much pikney one could never tell
who
belonged to her and who didn’t. Any fancy occasion
she mek sure yu head press nicely.
Thank u mam.
Not forgettin Ms Luna. She used to be full of advice not
only
for her children but fe everyone who would
listen.
She was always ready to help especially when
people
want to sen dem pickney a forin. Easy
Justice!!!
Ms QT was one of de first banker fe
partner
money.
If u eena her partner and yu
due fi get yu draw
mek sure somebody pickney nuh sick because she giving
de madda with de sick pickney before
you. Respect mam.
Jennifer
(bless her soul) used to encourage young
mothers
to take their babies to clinic. She would come
to
your yard if she had to, reminding you of clinic
dates
(RIP).
This list
could go on to infinity. Because de more I
write
de more wonderful mothers I keep remembering.
Noticed I
haven’t mentioned the endearing role the
said
women play in the lives of their children's
children.
(They were good mothers and better
grand-mothers)
I memba all you good
mothers of Spring
Village
and the way yu have influenced my life in
one
way or the other. All of you who read this must
memba some good madda dat I feget. Please write to
pothousepen@yahoo.com
an tell us about your madda.
Until
next time God bless all our mothers.
Contributed
by Sheryl U.K.
Rememba When:
Who rememba JawBanna? Oh Yes I rememba the days he used to operate the little
merry-go-round down de
road. I am
not sure he could have counted de money because whatever u gave him he took. I
now wander how
he knew
how long one ride lasted. He must have had an inbuilt mental clock because all
we knew the rides all
lasted the same short time.
It was one of our
best holiday entertainment. We would dress to kill in
our best frock and shoes to go on that
wood and
chain contraption. And what wonderful contraption it was!!!
To compliment the rides, there was music blasting over Gun Court
There were the
sellers on the side walk. U rememba Ms Lau ra, she used to
live down the lane
beside Ms Ester shop. She used to sell all sorts of goodies, including some tambrine balls. Even as I sit
and write
about the tambrine balls some sour water run from roun mi jaw corner.
Maas Sunny used to sell
some big red plum. On second thoughts maybe sell is not the
right word
because him used to make u pick them yourself. I would eat until I feel sick
then pay for
the minimal
for the biggest best-dressed chicken plastic bag I could find.Bless
him.
There was a big competition between Mr.Young's
peanut and Version's. U rememba
Version? On dat red bike.
Riding up and down de village bawling out"Vervion,
Version ere" No question about it. Mr.Young
peanut was my
favourite.
Coming to the close
of the evening, and our funds start to run low, we would go to Mr. Campbell
shop to
buy donkey
jaw bone. Maybe thats the
only time I go to dat shop. He never took kindly to
creditors. Bless
him.
Until next time Memba dis-if u memba someting dat I feget, tell Pothousepen.
Peace and Love
Contributed
by Sheryl U.K.
The Spirit of Spring
Village
Often
when you think of Spring Village the things that cross your minds are the
fond memories and lived experiences you’ve acquired from childhood to adulthood back in the good ole’ days.
Yes, those good ole’ days are most definitely treasured
among our Villagers and will become the most fascinating tales for future
generations to come. Evidently, the spirit of the past still lives on, and function adaptively
as a coping mechanism for Villagers living in the Metropolis such as
Now
tell me if I’m wrong? When you Villagers convene on special occasions your
minds become transcended to another dimension that allows you to relive and reminisce the spirit and experiences of the good ole’ days.
Prominent
topics within such interesting discourses often include lived experiences from
different social and private spaces. We
often reminisce about iconic figures from various facets in Spring Village such
as Ms May with her innate delivering skills upon child-birth, Ms Becca with her peace keeping initiatives along with her
repertoire for her high quality fashion designing, Aunt May Walters we hold
accountable for her fundamental educational contribution to our youths. Then
there were the male figures that stood out for example, Mass Beckman Sr. who
with his masculine prowess for acting as a protector and a shield for all
Villagers, and Mass Reggie with his butchered skills (he passed on to his son
Wally) for providing the Village with well rounded meats that added to aroma of
soups (beef) villagers typically have on a Friday or a Saturday evening.
Among
others, we would also recollect the cultural aesthetics founded particularly in
our beloved community. Ok, I’m gonna break it down now--So you memba
wen a Christmas time everybody a clean house fram tap to battam—inside an
out? Memba wen Mammam & Gee an dem crew use to sing Christmas carols from at least two
weeks before Christmas and go fram lane to lane and wen Christmas come everybody merge with Mauris
bands at 5 am and wi dance and sing to rhythms of the
carols?
Uno mema times wen
friends get together boat a run (typically ackee and dumplin) and bo-o-y a di biggest cart wheel dumplin you
woulda find in a
And
oh, talking about pathouse-battam you can’t leave and
no tek a dip in a di
river—a deh so we learn how fi
swim.
The duppy phenomena cannot go unmentioned— mek
mi tell you something, village people a big coward!!! Memba wen summadi
dead especially if dem young, people always sey dem a walk and a give
trouble, you nah find nobady wey
in a dem right mind a walk pan road late a
night. And man, when di
granny dem a tell you fi dem encounter with the duppy dem you caan
sey fear no tek over you
whole body. When night come and you fi go a bed, everybaddy swinch up pan one bed wid everybaddy a fight fi go in a di middle.
So in all, what I’ve written
here only scratches the surface of the good ole’ days in
Contributed by Latoya Christian
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