De right to food coconut

World Food Day is being celebrated dis week but dis year de Food dat fascinates me is de Coconut. Me and me wife had fun reminiscing over de dozens ah ways we use to do de Coconut. She always boasts of her country girl her-it-age, dey feel dey more rootsie dan we town rats, red rats included! So we started from de top ah de tree.{{more}} She say yuh could strip de leaves on de branch and mek house broom and use de stem foh yard broom; ah tell she dem bakers uses to tek de same strips on de branch and put it on bread to prevent de bread from bursting in de oven. Drink plenty young coconut water to flush de kidneys and bladder; and when die-ah-rear strike, drink de young coconut water to replace fluid.

Folks does use the young coconut water as an eye wash during red eye season. Ah hear Cardon Knights say whiskey wid ginger or soda could never touch de young coconut water. And years ago Sir Fred did tell me ah could get all de potassium ah need from coconut water. De soft jelly yuh could eat ah belly full just so, or nice it up in ah blender wid ice and any fruit. But de dry meat is de king of all: Grate it, squeeze out de milk for coconut oil, fudge, soups, stews, rice and peas – den tek de hush (full ah fibre) and mix wid flour dumpling or bakes, mek sugar cake, tullum, animal feed. When yuh come home from school hungry, nothing could beat ah hand full ah grated dry coconut mix wid farine and sugar. Country people uses to roast dry coconut in an open fire and eat it just so, while bourge-wah town people does cut it into thin strips, stick it in de oven and serve at cock tails.

But de boss is de coconut oil. When de USA wanted to promote dey oils made from corn, soya, olive dey got “de Centre foh science in de public interest” to say our Coconut Oil got cholesterol dat bad foh de heart. Dat scandal frighten we and every body tun from coconut oil and mek we two oil factories close down. All yuh ain’t notice since dem factories close no more coconut oil and pass-straight cancer killing we? Coconut got de same oil like Saw Palm-etto dey does use foh swollen pass-straight.

Today all de health magazines telling yuh dat ah spoonful ah coconut oil to every hundred pounds ah body weight is good foh de heart. Dey also telling yuh dat coconut oil got anti viral properties dat is helpful to AIDS patients, ah didn’t say it is ah cure. People drinking Coconut oil foh Thyroid problems. First thing every morning foh me is ah spoonful ah coconut oil to clear de throat, foh breakfast is coconut butter (margarine) and toast bread wid ah cup ah chocolate tea wid coconut milk. Man is like coconut oil foh tea, breakfuss and dinner, cooked in rice and soup. And when ah go near dem girls dey does dey sniffing, but dey too young to know what smell so, de fragrance of soap, skin cream and hair tonic, all made from coconut oil. And foh de Arthur-right-is coconut oil, mix wid camphor flakes and Epsom salt. When ah roasting breadfruit is coconut shell ah using foh fuel, long ago de fibre from coconut shell was used to stuff mattresses and pillows, it had therapeutic properties. We never had steel wool was coconut fibre and ashes to scrub dem pots. All ah dat stop dey taking de shells to mek flower bed foh high-bred flowers. De hard shell is used foh craft, jewels and ornaments. We cut up de trunk and mek boards for furniture and house frame. And de Prime Minister did mek ah bat out ah coconut branch and call it Vincent Beach.

Ah read way in de Philippines dey strong on Coconut Oil, dey also mek ah flour from de hush after extracting de milk foh oil. But hear how dey put it, Philippines coconut Oil is de most potent because it is grown in rich volcanic soil. Ah wonder way ours grow? To really celebrate World Food Day, every body should now get ah good coconut slip and plant it in dey yard and we should give de Coconut ah Knighthood, next time yuh go market don’t just ask foh ah Coconut, say can I have one Sir Coco Nut please. De folk song say “ Get yuh coconut water, it good foh yuh daughter, Coconut got plenty I-an mek yuh strong like ah Lie-an. But ah prefer de simple song dat sing: “dem girls fighting foh me coconut”!

DO YUH KNOW WHO I AM

Nurse Maule must be proud of her nephew, Minister Dug-he Slater how everybody admire de young man foh his honesty and humility, good man-has and approachable. But is not everybody mek foh higher calling, Selman Walters on de other hand can’t handle it. De Sell-man Walters of de 1990’s is today Sell-e-bwoi, he was ah humble and pull-light Churchman, quiet and shy looking, dat people uses to say he look chew-pity. Dey saying now dat Sell-e-bwoi’s shy turn sly, dat from de time he became ah minister de only thing dat ain’t change is he cul-her. Lef to Sell-e-bwoi alone, not ah gay person would ah been alive today, all would ah bun up. But life is full ah strange turns sometimes, one day maybe dat fire he recommended foh de Gays might bun his own back-side. Ah read ah story in de papers dat while Sell-e-bwoi was addressing public servants, he touched on undesirables in de wuk-place, how he had to instruct ah bank manager, sorry ah bank boyager, de first softie from T’nT actually, to remove ah young bank clerk from de front desk, because he Sell-e was late and de clerk refused to recognized him “do yuh know who I am” he asked de clerk, and he demand immediate attention. De clerk rightfully told him to pelt his back-side and go in de line like every body else. Ah understand dat de clerk is now transferred to Layou. But dat’s not all, Sell-e cited another case way ah police office on traffic tried to divert him to de Cane Garden route, how he threatened de officer dat he will run over him if he does not move aside and let him use de route dat he preferred. Sell-e-bwoi is now ah man above de law! Dat is several charges: threatening and endangering the life of an officer of the law and disturbing the flow of traffic. Normally dat would ah ended up wid an arrest, clearly de traffic officer did not report de matter to his superiors.

If Walters was late and needed quick service, Come-on cents suggests dat he should ah gone to de manager or any supervisor foh dat matter, and ask foh ah top-up sorry, ask foh help. I was at RBTT one Fry-dey afternoon, after 5:00 p.m. door shut, Jerrol Thompson outside knocking at de door, de security guard mek ah sign and tell him: “ We close already, dey say don’t let in any body after five!” But Jerrol forced ah smiled and remained in front ah de door until Jah-saint-ah Ballantyne, ah supervisor saw him standing outside like “poor me one”. Politely, she went and spoke to Jerrol and den to de security guard and Thompson was allowed inside. When Jerrol got inside he went and congratulated de guard foh doing his job. Now ah don’t know if he went to mark de fellar face foh when he finds he-self in Jerrol’s corner. But Jerrol’s action was ah display of dignity. In all fairness to Sell-e-bwoi he apologized but dat bank boyager should be recalled to T’nT after reinstating de clerk. And it’s not too late fog de traffic officer to file ah case against Walters. Dis is not ah joke, dis is de smoke, de fire dey behind. St. Vincent-shun tek warning! And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.