Give love foh Christmas

Christmas, as ah always does say, is my time ah year. As ah lickle boy ah uses to look forward foh everything that Christmas had to offer: the Nine Mornings build-up, Serenading, Window shopping, getting ah dollar to do my big shopping on Christmas Eve, even hanging up Granny ole stocking foh when Santa Claus pass, was ah heavy item on the Christmas agenda. {{more}}There was always so much to eat, and that is because children and indeed families and friend visited each other’s home, sharing from the table. Every thing was on the table: Black wine, ginger and sorrel beer, cake, bread, roast-pork, stew chicken, beef, mutton, stew peas, Dominic yam, ah not seeing no more Dominic Yam, now that de Come-red in Office ah notice is nuff Portugese Yam. If there was ah Ham, that was ah novelty; as ah does always say, boiling the Ham was like ah ritual, it had to soak foh days to get out some ah the salt, then scrub, then boil in ah oil tin, pon wood fire foh hours. Christmas morning yoh happy with one thin slice ah ham, if yoh did help in any way with that boiling the Ham, yoh uses to get ah extra slice foh yoh labour. That Ham lasted till January, and then the bone was another meal sometimes two in ah rich green peas soup.

Ah believe that every child looked forward foh Christmas, The count down began in January, but waiting foh those twelve months to roll over looked like twelve years. Today time flies so swiftly that the year is no longer divided into weeks or months, it’s now Seasons, five in all: Christmas, followed by Easter, Carnival, Emancipation, Independence and before yuh look round yuh back to Christmas.

Ah must add-myth that ah still get carried away at Christmas but very much in ah different way. And maybe this is one ah the good things that Christianity does foh people. In my Church one of our biggest Ministry is that of Caring and Sharing foh the less fortunate and this program fits nicely into the Christmas. It is thru this Ministry ah get to come face to face with humility, overs why material things ain’t worth nothing and that Love can change things. The funds that we raise on the streets with the Kettle and Bell have to be stretched over ah twelve month period, but whatever our monthly commit-ments might be, we never let the Christmas past and not “Give ah lickle something to those unfortunate citizens whom we forget ever so often”. Food packages foh over 500 senior citizens, ah lickle gift that could be either ah skin cream or ah soap and wash-rag to the inmates at the prisoners, Mental Health, Thompson’s and Lewis Punnett Home and we talking ‘bout some 700 persons.

And then there is the greatest gift of all, Love! Ah could be wrong but ah get the feeling that there is ah shortage of Love being circulated. Every body crying out foh more, but how much love do they themselves give. Interestingly people who give Love don’t look foh Love in return.

TWO SIRS

WITH LOVE

One way of showing this Love is thru visitations; loved ones who are no longer in circulation experience more pain in loneliness than in sickness. My Church is fairly strong in this Ministry also, and at Christmas time we tend to step up our activities. Last year the visit to Sir Sydney Gun Munro, now confined to bed, made my Christmas. This year his name was at the top of our list. And then we realized that we made an unpardonable omission last year, when we visited Sir Sydney and did not tek in Sir James as well. So this year I was instructed to mek the arrangements. Now we all know that Sir James is ah hot foot and one never knows way he will be when we arrived, so ah begged his daughter Sobrina to curtail his movements and keep him at the Hotel. That didn’t wuk of course, he was there on the Wharf looking as youthful as ah day ole chicken, waiting to crush the surprise we had foh him. Ah know we played some nice music, not only did he applaud but he was moving his feet as though he wanted to shake ah leg, but then Sir James was never known foh his dancing. Lots ah people don’t know that there are two Sir James, the Politician and the Host. As our Host this week he was still warm, still affable and still our Hero!

The stop at Sir Sydney was just as satisfying as last year’s, like ah blessing reciprocated. While he didn’t give me any messages ah feel he will welcome people with Love to share. We remembered his favourite Christmas Song:” Christians Awake” and when we finished playing that Carol he said ah “thank You” that echoed in the room. Last year he made my Christmas, this year my Christmas Joy is doubled, thanks to those contented souls at the Institutions and also Sir James and Sir Sydney, Two Sirs with Love!

Things real bad with Lie-Za she asking me if ah know anybody who could link she up with one ah the Wiseman from the East, is Gold she want eh. So ah tell she check one ah them Syrians, them from the East. Maybe ah should ah send she up Town Hill by Mr. Wiseman the carpenter.

Try and mek ah Nine Mornings; even Lie-Za say she not missing, but yuh never know what she up to eh, she done say Lie-Owe misbehaving like ah Santa Claws, this is his last year, she coming Nine Mornings to look foh ah real Santa Claus.

And with that, is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.