Marie ‘N’ Arthur choir

One ah de things ah miss most about Christmas is “Carolling” or “Serenading”, as kids we uses to say: “We going house to house” or: “we going sing out.”

De older generation will tell yuh dat de only time dey got de feelings of Christ-mass was when dey hear de Serenaders, especially de Bum Drum. Serenading is now ah ting ah de past, so ah welcome de News dat de folks at Peruvian Vale went “house to house” foh de Christ-mass. Yuh have to attend ah Concert to hear live singing at Christ-mass.{{more}}

At Church on Sunday before Christ-mass we were encouraged to attend ah concert by de Marie ‘n’ Arthur Choir of our Sister Church, de Kingstown Gospel Hall. Strange how is all Brethren Assemblies, yet each branch is called ah Sister Church. Ah choir wid dat name was enough to arouse my curiosity. However, when ah got dey, de program said Maranatha and not Marie’n’Arthur According to de Easton’s 1897 Bible Dick-shun-harry, Maranatha consists of two Aramean words, “Maran Athah” meaning “our Lord comes” or is “coming” if the latter interpretation is adopted it means: “our Lord is coming and He will judge those who have sent Him at nought.”

But our Marie ‘n’ Arthur Choir on Sunday night thrilled de audience. Ley me be kind, good wine mellows wid age, so do sweet voices, commendable dat de male section is an extract from de over 70 club, de females are ah more blooming, among dem Elsa Velox, our former Sunday School teacher and organist some 60 years ago. Bro Sam Veira is doing ah good job as conductor and musician. We were blessed wid some well remembered ole time Christmas Carols including my fare-foh-hits: “Hark de Herald Angels, Oh come all ye Faithful, Joy to de World and What child is dis,” de full works. De congregation participated as well. Dey were two features dat stuck out. Ah beautifully rendered version of “O Holy Night” by Nicole Clarke, in her early teens who did her own variation to de song, nice job Nicole! Den dey was our special Birthday Lady, Mother O-live Dickson who, last year December, celebrated her 100th birthday in grand style. It must have been ah proud moment for my Murray Villager, Mother Dickson, when her son and Guest Speaker, Wilfred Dickson introduced her to de congregation. Incidentally she was also ah Gospel Hall Sunday School Teacher eighty years ago. She does her own cooking when she wants something nicer to eat, and her mind is as sharp as ah razor. After such ah lovely evening when ah got home ah told de Miss-sis to “bring out de ham, ah feeling de Christ-mass!”

VINCY CHOOK-HER-LATER

Foh 2016 ah giving So-butt-her See-Saw de Chook-her-later Awe-ward foh producing ah refined Vincent-shun Chocolate. He pulled out ah de traffic de other night and handed me ah nicely packaged bar of Chocolate (sweety) marked Vincentian Chocolate. Is like somebody told him he could catch me wid chocolate. Could be de local ground cocoa stick, or My-low, Roma, Fry’s or whatever brand once it name Cocoa, talk to me. Ah got converted to Cocoa when ah read ah story way ah young man in de USA, had check his blood pressure and it was two hundred and something over one hundred and something. He immediately sprang into ah panic, called his dad who was ah retired doctor, and told him his problem. “Do yuh have any cocoa product in de kitchen?” de father asked. De young man answered in de affirmative. “Well go and mix yourself ah strong cup of Cocoa-Tea and relax!” Two hours later de young man redialed his dad and said :”Dad it is all back to normal now!” Ah didn’t wait till ah reach home to taste So-butt-her Vincy Chocolate, ah tasted one lickle square, den another and another and before long dey was no chocolate to take home foh de others to taste. Ah detected one fault, “it more-ish!” Trust my taste buds on dis one. Our Vincentian Chocolate taste like de pure natural Cocoa, 100% Vincy, just like our Miss Marie Warner, straight from fertile Volcanic Soil, ah seeing it ranked Numero Uno on de market. Farmers, grow more Cocoa, dat’s de answer to de pressure licking up de country.

TOO MUCH BITTER BUSH TO DRINK

Ah was asking Lie-Za if she has any I-dare why Dr Richard Cox, such ah brilliant scholar, is so vent-u-mus wid folks like Arm-in, Dr Care-not John, Dr Fraser and others, simply because of ah fun-dah-men-tell difference in Choir Masters and Song Sheets. She tell me lef Richard right dey. As kids we all had our doses ah bush-tea, de Mints, Trumpet and Kojo Root, traditional herbal treatment foh colds, worms, cleansing and purification ah de body and soul. But dey was also bitter bush like “Seed-under-leaf” and “Bitter Albert” and if yuh had any ah dem to drink as ah child, craw-pou smoke yuh pipe, down to de ink in yuh pen bitter! And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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