KOO WADEESE

ACTUALLY DE FIRST TIME ah ever heard about “Latin” was in primary school 1953-54 in Grade 5, Richmond Hill Government School (RHGS).

Miss, our class teacher Pam John-Anderson, ah young, gentle and soft spoken teenager, just out of GHS was on her first job to teach us. We had gone to see de Roman movie, Quo Vadis.

We told her: “no, no, no. Miss said , “it’s latin” pronounced Koo Wadeese, the “V” is softened “W”, and de phrase means “whither goest thou”.

Foh us in creole it means “Way de R… yuh tink yuh going?” Miss did not say dat though, but dat was huge.

So ah couldn’t wait to go Grammar School to do da tmon-star of ah subject called “Latin,” and to meet my Language Teachers Pat Prescod and Leroy “Pokes” Mulraine; Sir Mullie if yuh please. Latin was ah big ting in my day at school.

De first set back was ah waited in vain foh “Koo Wadeeese”, instead it was “Amo” de many moods of “Love” and “Mensa” de mistry “table”.

Pokes made de difficult subject Latin easy to pass: “ Learn his Grammar and Vocabs!” He lived at Wilson Hill near de Convent and near de beach in front Police stay-shun. Was right in front de Barracks 6:00 a.m. every morning except Sundays, Pokes and Wallace Dear, two young (BGS) Masters had us doing physicals, mainly “Swimming and Shot Putt”. Those morning sessions (de level of conversation) moulded us to be productive, clean and fit foh de class-room and adult life. Was ah big “keep-fit” class of Back Street Boys on de beach.

Youths like S. O. Jack boys, de Dears and Daize’s, Bert and Orin King, PR Campbell, de Murray Village gang, St Agathes, Joyette’s et al. My lickle bit to Sir Mullie is to say thank you foh being de humble adult who took time to mould us lickle youthmen like myself, into future adults. N-Joy St. Peter’s company in Heaven.

Tem-Puss Few-Get And my nex’ Latin Phrase is “ Tempus Fugit”, pronounced Temp-Puss Few-Get” ,meaning “Time Flies”. In Creole we say “Time does Fly”, ah common reminder that time is a precious, irrecoverable resource. So value de moments, avoid wasting it, and doh ever be ah waste ah time. Fifty years ago like if is yesterday, Dr Adrian Fraser had ah dream of meking Central Leeward “Bagga” his home base ah model community, widout riding pon de de Pull-it-tek-all Jack-ass-cart. So he took ah co-ordinator’s job wid de SVG Christian Council to develop de community of Glebe. We had ah Labour Hogs pon de Council dat felt Adrian wanted to use de job as ah back-door to polly-ticks, and went all out to frustrate him. By coincidence ah was on de Council and surveyor on de Project. One day he told me he leaving to further studies in His-story. Ah think ah told him to go look foh some hard work to do.

And he did! Back to school. Temp-Puss Few-Get. Ah week ago, 50 years after our conversion, ah book, “SVG: A General History to the year 2025”, actually the first of three volumes on the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines co-authored by Dr’s “Gubby “ Dennie, Cleve Scott and Adrian Fraser was successfully launched. Lie-Za say it was ah “All Sold Sale!” Early early ah ordered ah copy, ah overs he sold mine at de launch. And ah happen to also know his fair-foh-it beverage foh Good Friday is “ Touch of Dawn Cocoa” ah local chocolate made by one Dollis Aleexander.

Lie-Za done tell him ah say “No book no Cook-O!”

But on ah more serious note: “ Heart-felt thanks and sincerest congratulations to Dr’s Dennie, Scott and Fraser, three young- oops, not so young (Time Flies) Vin-sent-shun Giants. Future generations hey, dey and ev’ry wey will forever thank you. Let dey be peace on earth dis Easter. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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