Bassy - Love Vine
August 5, 2005

De revolution need ah history book

Oscar Allen will easily get ah ten out ah ten foh his one-dah-full piece on Emancipation that appeared in the Searchlight last week. I have one come-plain to mek on Oscar, he does not publish enough ah his writings in the local Papers.

Last week he rightly predicted the Emancipation Weekend was going to be empty, capital M, capital T, MT. Yes Oscar yuh so right, “we were never” slaves, E-man-see-who? what is there foh us to celebrate, man is just ah couple weeks ago Carnival done, yuh forget is ten full days and nights we had to ‘mancipate we-self from stress and problems, from de wuk or de no-wuk, de school fees and de uniform, de book list, de light bill and so on. {{more}}

De Soca Monarch say nobody Mad-ah than we when come to Jump-up, Wine-up or is it Wine-down, Rant and Rave, dress-up in white to Glow and to go Insomnia party; just to free-up the mind from econ-ah-mek slavery.

Four years ago when ULP celebrated Emancipation, Lie-Za say she felt she had relived August 1838 all over again; everybody was there on stage to say dey piece: Doctors. Lawyers, teachers, Pull-ah-trickans, Trade Unionists, ordinary wukers et al. All agreed that it was ah hysterical oops, historical wrong being corrected. But like everything else tek precedent this year.

The Min. of Education and the Min of Culture got to co-ordinate on ah lot ah significant historical events. Education Revolution yes, but until we put certain things in place, like de His-story Book, we will be literately going round and round in circles.

Ah country that ain’t got its his-story documented is like ah ship at sea without ah compass. And ah keep wondering if we not committing ah sin of omission when we don’t have ah His-story book that mark Sin Vincent and the Grenadines.

Last week Searchlight editorial cry out loud foh ah His-story book ah we own. Guv-ah-mint been come-in and go-in and none ah them ever suggested putting ah team ah historians “together now” to prepare such ah document. Nuff respect to Doc Adams who did his best but clearly he never had the required funds to do ah comprehensive job.

NEVER SAY NEVER

Just when ah decided to get some info on the Cassava, ah hear on the Radio that our Banana is likely to be in further trouble. Banana producers in Latin America will soon enjoy ah significant reduction on the tariff they paying now. This means that is no way our Bananas will be able to compete. Ah suppose that kind ah news is nutting new to us, so we must keep wuking on our production; farmers must spend more quality time in their fields, adhere to good practices and don’t give up.

There must be ah market foh our Bananas, even if it means here at home, but never say never.

In the meantime me mouth running water foh some Arrowroot Nog: Boiled Arrowroot, egg, condensed milk, essence and ah dash ah rum. Everybody saying they can’t tell when last they see Arrowroot on the Supermarket shelves. Comrad Daniel, what happen to all this Arrowroot Revolution.

And me mouth watering foh Farine and Bam Bam. With that commodity also off the shelf it looks like Cassava is one ah the crops to plant. It is ah six to twelve months crop and the anticipated yield is approx. ten tons per acre that’s about twenty-two thousand pounds per acre. Dey tell me that bitter Cassava is fifty cents ah pound; so my wild maths suggests that the gross income is about eleven thousand dollars ah acre.

If ah was ah Banana Farmer and ah was thinking bout die-foh-sur-five ah would ah plant Cassava, but Farmers don’t tek my figures check the Agriculture Officers.

KENLYN’S FINGER LICKING BAR-B-Q

Talking bout Education Revolution, ah lot more children will be entering secondary schools than ever; and ah large number of these kids are poor people pickney who in spite ah the Book loan scheme, dey having financial difficulties getting books, uniform etc.

One individual who has raised ah finger to help is my friend Kenlyn. Lie-Za say that he was telling her he had ah successful Finger-licking Bar-B-Q last week, and plans another later in the month.

Kenlyn is the guy who does mek ah lot ah noise pon Linch and Glen’s Call-in Radio Programs, but ah must congratulate him foh putting his words to action. Kenlyn of course is ah NDP die-hard who operates a business at his popular No 17 Market Shop. He promised on Radio that he handing over all the proceeds to the NDP School Book program.

Lie-Za reminds me that Kenlyn is the same fellar who did complain say that de Come-red promised him or threatened him with his middle finger. She say how Kenlyn don’t mek jokes when come to Finger, licking or Sticking. She get the feelings that he treating that incident with de Come-red as an election promise and he got expectations.

Now Come-red yuh can’t back down on yuh promise or is it ah threat?

Is no way ah could drive past No 17 shop and ain’t get ah cussing.

And with that ah gone again. One Love Bassy!