GEMS by name and nature

If yuh look like ah Gem, play like ah Gem and sweet like ah Gem, den yuh got be ah Gem. Was like every weekend foh months Cheryl King sending me e-mail saying “Don’t forget to go hear Gems and Friend Steel Orchestra”.

Well Sunday afternoon, after attending the funeral of Bro Spence, dat good and faithful Prisoner Officer and servant of God, ah went over to de Anglican Church to hear Gems. Bro Spence’s service was inspiring not deady-deady.{{more}} Pastor Doug Neverson, my brother scout of yester-year is ah good preacher, his congregation is kind ah conservative, on de Stiffish side, but when Kemmy Spence accompanied by his beautiful wife on piano, paid tribute to his dad with his Saxophone, de church broke lose and went in uproar in response to Kemmy’s version of “Great is thy Faithfulness”. Pat Prescod was there and told me Kemmy almost move him to tears. Yuh don’t touch Pat dat easy.

Over at Gems, de Concert was already in progress when ah got there, but ah got in most of de program. De women dem played beautifully, handled de classics well, played softly bringing out all de dynamics and got de better of de acoustics in Anglican Church which is among de best foh pan. Dey were professionally dressed and played like professionals as well, considering de band is only three years ole. All ah dis speak volumes foh de conductor Mr Jones ah Trinny who from all appearance knows his stuff. Fifteen mature not match-yuh women, one from Antigua and four males from Trini-dad-he-toe-big-oh, out numbered ah sorry foh dem men, but as de saying goes “Blessed art thou amongst women”.

Ah remember most ah de girls, dey come from strict family back ground dat did not allow dem in dey time to go near ah Pan Yard. In those days Pan was associated with de poor and wuking class and usually dey was violence when two bands clash. Member de ole Kaiso “If yuh sister talk to ah steel band man, she family want to break she hand, throw she out mash out every teeth in she mouth”! But better late dan never dey finally get to do something dat was always ah hearts desire. Ah wish some of their peers will tek ah page out ah dey girls books.

Church was full, ole, young, weak, strong, people wid walking sticks some wid strollers, some in wheel-chairs, everybody was there. And dey enjoyed it all, item after item dey shouted, showing dey love and appreciation foh pan, some people even got carried away in church and was fete-in. The folks were behaving like dey were hearing pan foh de first time. Good foh Gems eh. But as ah sat dey ah kept wondering if dis was foh real, ah asked me-self where was all ah these folks two weeks ago when we had ten junior steel bands, beating dey poor hearts out at Panorama, dying foh an audience to at least listen to dem, but Victoria Park was M.T. Maybe next year de CDC could ask Bishop Friday to allow dem to hold de Junior Pan Competition in de Church, hopefully de folks who were in de church on Sunday might be inspired to come and hear de lickle ones entertain dem with music just as good as Gems.

How could I not mention Vin and Syl, of course Earlene broke down de place with her tremendous voice. But Syl keeps getting better and better, keep yuh Kenny G and give me Syl foh tea, breakfast and dinner! Ah have not heard Vin in years he uses to be good and now he is better, better in every aspect, he plays better, entertains better and guess what, he even got better looking too!

Relay-just and Pull-it-tek-all Double Standards

It amazes me how our Relay-just and Pull-it-tek-all leaders does play foh mileage on subjects like de death penalty and punishment foh homo-sex-shall not homo-shall-sex. Ah don’t want to get into any squabble wid dem modern day Bible scholars only to say dat Moses was ah Jew and ah servant of God, Jesus who came after Moses was also ah Jew but he was God. And Jesus revoked ah lot ah de laws dat Moses made to govern de Jewish nation. When de Jews caught de woman red-handed committing Ah-dull-tree and took her to Jesus, wid one stroke ah de pen; He dealt wid de death penalty, Ah-dull-tree, and foh dat matter all sex-shall sins whether man-to-woman, homo, gay, lesbian. After all ah dem was not wid-out fault dey disappear and Jesus verdict was: “Woman, your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more”. So we may quote the ole testament book of Moses upside down to justify hanging people, my belief is dat it does not mek it right in de sight ah God to kill people in revenge.

And watch foh double standards, Homo-sex-shall-hit-he is no greater sin dan Lie, Thief, hatred, N.V, Jel-ah-see, Spite, Ah-dull-tree. How come Ah-dull-tree and Fawn-occasion not ah punishable crime in our Law Books? Yuh will hear dem say HIV/AIDS can be transmitted thru sex, but dey will never use de words, ‘transmitted thru Ah-dull-tree or Fawn-occasion’. And if homo-sex-shall-is-him is ah crime punishable by law, isn’t Balls ‘n’ Bat-he lickers foh favours and position ah kind ah Owe-Raoul sex and should be ah criminal offence too? If we must hang people and want to quote de Bible, do so, but don’t say God say so, God never told Moses to hang or execute anyone. And wid dat ah gone again.One Love Bassy