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Sham-Pin taste wid mauby pocket
Hotel Alexandrina
Bassy - Love Vine
March 1, 2024

Sham-Pin taste wid mauby pocket

Kings and Queens, Presidents and World leaders visit and leave lasting memories. On her way to SVG, de sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II, went ashore and had ah swim on Tony Gibbons beach in Bequia; de beach was renamed Princess Margaret Beach. Ah still seeing de African President being driven at de back of ah jeep way ever he went waving ah big White handkerchief. Hugo Chavez was not totally bought when he saw de Argyle Airport site in its virgin state, but committed to funding when dey told him Fidel Castro liked de site. People bawl ‘Shame!’ when dey beheld ah Big Red Star cemented at the Tarmac when de airport was to be officially opened, while not even ah picture of either Chavez or Castro at de Airport.
Fifty-seven years ago, Queen Elizabeth II made ah Royal Tour of de Carry Beyond. SVG was on her itinerary, so home Go-venom-mint (UK) decided dat as ah gift to commemorate Betty’s visit, she should be taken on ah memorable scenic drive, preferably a virgin area wid good development potential. Samuel Horatio Graham, ah Black Carry-Beyond Man was Administrator. De British bought de I-dare of ah tour thru Cane Hall Estate where most of de residents in dat area were poor-white farmers and fsher-folk out of Bo-bathe-us (Dorsetshire Hill Bajans) descendant of de Scots, Irish and English, who arrived here after slavery was abolished. So Queen’s Drive (road) was built to near Highway standard, named in honour of Elizabeth II. Within ah few short years, Cane Hall Estate was transformed into ah middle and high income development.

Paved de road to Hotel Alexandrina too

Lie-Za say she loves dat Anon-see story when visiting dignitaries come and leave lasting memories. Dis weekend we will see our biggest gathering of World leaders since de early Transatlantic Crossing. She has no problem wid de millions spent on ah mass clean-up calm-pain, cutting grass and cleaning drain, to mek de place nice again, artificially refurbishing sixteen (16) miles of Hi-way from Argyle International Airport to Book-ah-mint (including approximately half-ah-mile of paved road from de Hi-way) to de Hotel door-step; no problem wid dat either. But what is good foh de Goose, is good foh de Gander! Why wasn’t Hotel Alexandrina owned by Ruth and Berris Stephens, de Lickle 28 room facility located less dan 200 yards from de Windward Highway in Prospect, not considered in de upgrading of de Highway exercise? Fifteen years now Hotel Alexandrina dey suffering foh want of ah decent access from de Hi-way to its facility. Presently available foh acquisition is ah 4-feet wide track, 200 yards distance along ah gutter, from Gittens Supermarket on de Prospect Highway to Hotel Alexandrina property. Dat should ah bin included as part ah de SLACK Nice-up de Road to Sandals Hotel project. Lie-Za beg me do men-shun dat de proprietors of Hotel Alexandrina are ah retired black Vin-sin-shun couple. But in de same breath she wants me to note dat SVG has now become `de haven foh de Rich’n’ Fear-most Investors. No room foh local small Fries.

Name Ah Highway After Slack

On de restoration exercise, she says ah nice Gift to de Nay-shun to commemorate dis mammoth Slack Conference would ah bin ah Lower South-Leeward bye-pass Highway, beginning at Bottom-town, up Fort Charlotte, through Ottley Hall, Lowmans and Camden Park. Just like Queen’s Drive, dis new road would open virgin coastal lands foh all kind ah development. But most importantly, de Hon Dan-yell Cummings de Rep foh dat area, keep lamenting dat if ever dey was ah serious road block on de Leeward Highway between Gibson Corner and Camden Park, as was ah similar case in Layou some years ago, den de Leeward side of de island would be cut off indefinitely. So, build de Lower South Leeward Highway and name it de Slack Highway. De Kaiso lyrics is real today as it was 40 years ago: “All de road-side garbage we cleaning, de real cleaning we will not do; de Garbage in we head needs ah cleaning too!”
And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

 

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.

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