Oh-Dah-Lay-Eee

Thirty years ago when the Mighty Sheller, Summers, Leader and Hawke rained supreme on the Kaiso stage, ah lickle Country Boy from the village ah Stubbs came to town and took the Carnival by storm with ah hot Kaiso “Hold Tight” (don’t let me go). Nobody had heard about this teenager, Eswart Quammie before, he was introduced as Lifeboy, man he was full ah Life too, handsome and confidence, good stage personality and like Hawke and Sheller he had ah sweet, melodious voice. {{more}}The crowd loved Lifeboy instantly, he made it straight to the Big Yard and came in the top three. But Lifeboy soon found that Kaiso then didn’t offer much to “Hold Tight” (don’t let me go) for him, he gave his life to Christ, became ah Christian and migrated to the USA where he gone international ministering with his Kaiso, in the Sub-ways and street corners fuh the Lord!
Well, last weekend when all the Rural Carnival Shows were taking place, Lifeboy took Peace Mo by storm again where he appeared on the “Driven Music Ministries” Gospel Show. The Show started late so the crowd had to wait until 11:00 o-clock to hear Lifeboy, the waiting was worth every second. He did ah one-day-full job with his Gospel and Kaiso; he has not lost ah smidgin of his stage-wuk, one thing though, ah still looking fuh ah Gospel version of “Hold Tight” (don’t let Jesus go).
The Show was packed with Stars: Curtis Williams and his Group, The Emeralds, His Anointed, some young voices Ronika Daize and Rosanne Richards, watch out fuh them two, they could only get better. Ah even found the MC Ridley Peters quite funny. Country and Western is not ah popular music here, but yuh got to see and hear Dwight France, another Country Cow Boy from Cedars, ah real Charlie Pride that, singer and dancer, dressed like Roy Rogers, he had the crowd rocking with his Country Western chant “Oh Dah Ley Eee, Dah Lay Eee, Dah Lay Eee! The Show is repeated this weekend, go see fuh yuh-self.

GET NEW SKINS FUH YUH
NEW WINES
Lie-Za is getting into the Wine business, not the Fete on stage Carnival Wines eh; so she came fuh add-vice on how to store the Wine. Ah tell her today’s Wine-makers Freddy Gonsalves, Daniel Cummings and Wendy Murphy does use wooden barrels and fancy ah-loom-in-um utensils to ferment and store the Wine, but the folks long ago used containers made from sheep and goat skins. After tanning the skin over Facacia wood fire, they sewed back up the skin, from the tail to the belly, then the feet up to the neck. The neck was the spout fuh pouring in the unfermented grape juice; the neck was sewn up and the turbulent fermentation process began.
Yuh knew yuh had ah perfect Wine when that skin was stretched to full capacity. Once the Wine was used, the skin became hardened and was incapable of further elasticity, one ah the chief requirement fuh fermentation. Any attempt to use that Ole Skin fuh storing or fermenting New Wine was disastrous, it would burst de bag; it’s all there in the Parable of Jesus about “Ole Wines in New Skins”. It even holds fuh us ah simple Rule in life: “ New Wines can only be fermented in New Skins, and leave fermented Ole Wines right dey in the Ole Skins”.
Yuh know after giving Lie-Za all this info on storing up her Wine, she put on she usual mischievous facial that spreads from air to ear, and said: “ Why yuh don’t tell de Come-red he better look fuh some New Wine Skins quickly because all this New Carry-Beyond Civil-Lies-here-shun Wine of his, is beginning to ferment, his only problem is that he never secured New Skins of his own, is Ole (Labour) Skins he used and his Wines might just burst the Ole seams apart!


START EATING YUH BANANA
Is long time ah done say that Caribbean people must learn to eat we own Banana, cooked and ripe. Add value to our Banana by using it in our flour products, ah Banana Baby food, ah Banana Drink like the Sea Moss. We must change our attitude towards wuk and give respect to our locally produced foods, simply eat what we grow here.
And de Come-red is so right when he said that Caribbean Banana Farmers have to pay decent wages US$10 per day as compared with the Latin Bananas way the labour force includes children getting US $1 per day, serious and wicked exploitation, but yuh think the WTO care bout that; all they want is ah cheap Banana. Our problem is that we still believe that every thing we grow and catch is best sold in Europe and North America, and right here in the Carry Beyond the market is just as good.

SO’S-I-HATE-HE
The Kaisoes going be hot fuh de Guv-ah-mint this year, well Hot enough fuh them to tek the Temperature of dey tenure. On the Soca side ah things, ah wish the Judges fuh the Soca Monarch will give more priority to the positive Songs like “Ah want Peace” by Poser and “ Dey Love Commess” by Josiah; fuh ah change ley we hear “Wind down on the B fuh Books or Banana and not Bum-C. And ah want to tell Princess Monique is not she alone “So’s-I-ate-he Don’t Want We No More”. People who write in the papers have that problem too. If ah write and say that is time Cheer-man Joke-in stop pussy-footing and go answer to the Enquiry, they will mek me blame me-self and say “So’s-I-at-He”. Or if ah write say that if Ole Labour catch de Come-red dey will ‘eat’ him alive, they will say ah making mischief “So’s-I-ate-He”. And if yuh want to hear thing, ley me say De Come-red should cut-out the Lie talk and cut-off that finger he got sticking out or don’t use it at all, prowess not-with-standing, oh that is the limit, dey will say “So’s-I-hate-He”.
And yuh know what, ah gone again.

One Love Bassy!