Tribute to a ‘liming’ buddy: A John-Clark Horne

by Roy Austin

“Paddy” Corea and “Mickey” Brisbane, two of John’s friends at the Boys Grammar School, often addressed him as Cornu, the Latin equivalent of horn.

Unlike the frequent negative response to such nicknames, Cornu had no explicit or implicit interpretation likely to encourage dissension. In any event, John never exhibited any tendency to show anger over a matter so small. This unusual self-control is a characteristic that apparently followed him always. It must have proven to be valuable during his years as a politician, a profession in which provocation is ubiquitous. However, John had interests other than politics. For instance, he was a Thespian, a skilled sports participant especially in Basketball, and was a dependable leader in the Bridge Boys Carnival presentations. I shall bypass politics until later and discuss these other interests in turn.

Sometime in the early 1960s, The Eagles Club of which John was a member decided to use the production of two plays as a fundraiser. Tim Daisy who was planning to study various aspects of stage-craft in college, encouraged another Eagles member to write a play which he offered to direct; and he also volunteered to perform in a single-actor short play by a Russian playwright.

Both ventures were successful. And to the best of my memory, the lead actors in the second play were John Horne and Pat Clouden both of whom had good voices and experience singing before audiences. Two songs underpinned the play, “One More Dance” by South African Miriam Makeba and “Maria” from the theatre production of “West Side Story.” The refrain of “Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria” reached the audience from an unseen group at the back of the stage. And the applause that erupted from the audience certainly suggested appreciation.

One of the mas presentations by ‘The Bridge Boys’, with the late John Horne (2nd from left) in costume.

In the 1950s, two youth clubs consisting primarily of BGS students had been organized, Clevedon and Eagles. When we played football for BGS in the 1958 Interschool Tournament in Dominica, our football team won the championship. In that same year, with the addition of two masters and a different Goalkeeper, BGS won the DaSilva Cup in the local competitions. This may be only occasion on which BGS can boast of such a stellar performance and Mr. Baptiste advised us to remain together. We followed his recommendation; and by 1960, as members graduated from BGS, the clubs merged and entered the local competitions in cricket, football and basketball. This last was reintroduced into St. Vincent around 1957, a BGS squad playing on grass at the “Pastures.” At about the same time some police officers started playing in their barracks yard and early in the 1960s a local club competition was organized.

As Eagles basketball captain, John led our club to win the first national championship. Shortly thereafter, he led a national squad against two Trinidad and Tobago clubs, Woodbrook Limers and Wales. John also joined with other basketball players to play matches against St. Vincent’s national netballers as they prepared for Caribbean tournaments. I do believe that the netballers obtained stronger competition from these males than a group of local netballers would have provided.

Eagles members also competed in table tennis. John, Julian Jack, Leroy Mulraine and “Jack” Dear were Eagles and Bridge Boys members. They were also table tennis enthusiasts and Jack more than once emerged as national champion.

An important extra-curricula activity that BGS provided for students is the Cadet Corps. I remember hearing it opined by one Officer in Charge that our Corps was the only full military organization. Thus, members of the Corps were receiving valuable leadership training as we participated in its activities.

Of course, as more and more members of the Bridge Boys began our occupational careers, John and others began contemplating serious participation in Carnival. John proved to be very dependable at visiting suitable businesses that sold suitable fabrics and selecting swatches that were appropriate for the planned costumes. He also needed no prodding to work out the dance steps with which we would enter Victoria Park. Even today, I remember the loud applause from the pavilion crowd as several clearly separated and differently costumed sections left the public announcer thoroughly confused, proclaiming that “one band, no two bands, no three bands….. I am not sure at what number he ceased his counting. Then the rhythmic steps that John had choreographed reached the view of the audience; and the applause approached deafening proportions.

However, the judges awarded us first place in the Original (or was it Fancy?) category. Unforgivably, they denied us “Band of the Year” supposedly because only historical bands could win that award. Yet it was never explained why only bands entering as historical could win “Band of the Year.”

Nor had Carnival organizers ever announced such a rule. Nor was such a rule ever announced thereafter.

The record shows in addition to Barbaric Splendor in 1962, the Bridge Boys produced Portrait of Ancient Egypt in 1963; From the story of Western Colonization in 1964; Invaders of Britain in 1965; Journey through the Orient in 1966; and Africa, the Dark Continent in 1967.Prio to Barbaric Splendour, we had presented at least one Jeans and T-shirt band and Peoples of Palestine in 1961, intended especially to provide jump-up opportunities.

By 1965, John had joined “Kentish” Cunningham, a capable designer as one of the leaders. Later still, Jensen Jack joined the design team and Vincent Bacchus provided great technical and creative skills.

After leaving St. Vincent to attend college in September 1964, I visited home in 1975. Meanwhile, John had continued working at Barclays Bank and spent stints of time in Bermuda, St. Lucia and Barbados. Later he contested a seat in SVG’s Parliament and won a seat for the NDP. Given John’s friendly demeanour, I was not surprised to learn that the voters of the constituency in which I was raised had supported him. Hindsight informs me that his successful foray into politics could have been predicted from his early unapprehensive approach to his neighbors. After all, in 1959 or 1960, he had shown absolutely no reluctance to deliver to the home of my girlfriend a Christmas gift I had bought her. She is now my wife, but I lacked John’s daring in such matters at the time.

Later, on one of my visits home, John drove me to watch a football game in Layou. And although I am uncertain now of his relationship to this sport then, I knew that he had obtained the services of Coach Hubert Vogelsinger, my coach at Yale, to conduct some training sessions with the SVG national Squad.

The late John Horne (3rd from right) with other members of the ‘Bridge Boys’ at the bridge at North River Road in earlier days.

Perhaps, there is no better example of the positive feelings held by many of John’s lower Kingstown constituents toward him as a politician than the words uttered to me as I walked through that area with a politician from the ULP: “Mr. Austin, you are only supposed to walk down here with Mr.
Horne, not those people.” I was well acquainted with that man even before I was a teenager. He also knew that like John I was a Bridge Boy.

The maintenance of friendly relationships despite disagreement over particular issues is an ideal situation that may not frequently occur. In 2008, my wife and I were the beneficiaries of John’s usual hospitality in the form of lodging at his home and other acts of kindness. I was visiting SVG for the BGS Centennial celebrations. In addition to housing us, he expended a large amount of time transporting us to various places related to my visit, even when he may have been neglecting other matters of particular interest to him.

During that period also, he held a social function in his home that was attended by persons well known to him and us. Included was a person closely associated with the ULP. I was not surprised because this is the kind of amiable disposition he had often displayed in his earlier years. Two photos in my home of the SVG parrot, Amazona guildingii, form constant reminders of this last meeting. John had approached an employee at the Botanic Gardens and his intervention allowed me to take these photos from an ideal vantage point.

Gordon “Mickey” Brisbane, an early Bridge boy, saw John on his two relatively recent visits to St. Vincent. He informed me that John was “most hospitable.” On his second visit which was to see cricket, he stayed at John’s home and commented that John was a “welcoming and most generous host.”

In recent years, I have been informed that John has been the most prolific eulogist in St. Vincent. His eloquence and accent uplift the spirit of audience-members just when their spirit is likely to have receded to its lowest level. Or is it that John’s “perfect” English, on which “Bassy”, his BGS classmate opined recently, makes his eulogies so popular? Most likely, all of these positive qualities contribute.

Only a year or two ago, John devoted much time to care for his ailing nephew Callie as he lay sick in a nursing home. John transported Callie back and forth to the hospital, a place that Callie told me he disliked because the staff neglected him. Callie was a Bridge Boy who did not play Carnival but he readily assisted with tasks like building a globe we used in one band.

Earlier, when Dennis London another Bridge Boy was also very ill, John and a few other Bridge Boys contributed financially to transport him overseas for medical care and, later for funereal expenses. I have said enough for you to understand why the calypsonian Becket during John’s political years sang a calypso with the refrain “Horne fuh Dem.”

On the occasion of the recent celebration of John’s birthday, I had planned to phone him to say that Glynis and I hoped that he was enjoying a wonderful birthday and that his happiness and health will be so great in the coming years that he will be hitting sixes many years after he surpassed the century mark. Regrettably, he did not attain that lofty goal. So now, dear friend, we are left only to utter the usual condolences to your beautiful wife Jeanne and your five daughters (Andrea, Oneka, Zhinga, Kande, Zinzi). You may not remember Jeanne’s kindness in providing me the opportunity to have a final last conversation with you. She obviously understood how much those few words meant to both of us. I hope they will help you rest more peacefully as you await ascension to that place that Christ went before to prepare for us. I also proffer my deepest condolences to his brothers Neville and Bruce, and his nephew Patrick and niece Marcia. John was preceded in death by both parents, his sister Ishbel, his brother Douglas and nephew Callie. I beg forgiveness from others who deserve mention but have been unintentionally omitted.