Thoughts of a minibus traveller

    "You gun dead fuh duh.." the woman shouted at  me. She had on a head wrap with orange and pink and yellow, a black Covid mask, the long sleeved shirt which had a spectrum of deep blue to light blue and what might have been blood stains. I remembered the blue shirt with the blood stains and I reminded her of the first time we met. Then, she had raised up the blue shirt with one hand, and shown the bloodied bandage around her belly and in the other hand a paper which said was from GPHC saying that she needed to buy some clamp for three thousand dollars to complete a surgery. I had given her some but not all the money then, in shock. Shock and some guilt  that I had not gone with her to demand that she get full free treatment and that the hospital buy the clamp. She had blessed me.  This time though, the blood didn't shock me so much into my wallet and she shouted at me 'you gun dead' and I shouted back "all ah we gah fuh dead".  Drinking genip  Gen...

  Doing your own thing..   Sunset on the Friday of a difficult week and the woman I first met in 2000 is walking briskly down the road. Finishing her walk, 'I am 71 now you know' and this is her second set of exercise for the day after doing gym earlier.  We talk about the seawall and walking there now..she has been attacked twice on the seawall, 'you gotta know when to go' She is managing some circulation issues so the exercise is key..'you gotta do your own thing'.. she tells me. Thinking of 'doing your own thing', deciding how you win and lose and so.. Nobody winning..  A letter from French President Macron after the elections noted that 'nobody won' in an appeal for the coalition building across differences to form a majority, and he felt that there has to be some power sharing. Power.. and winning. A mother tells her children 'If I abuse yall, I gun go to jail fuh life.. I don't abuse yall, I does just hit yall fuh yall know how fu...

  "Converging Ties" is an exhibition of works by Kwesi Bovell, Dominique Hunter, Roberto Teekah and Morag Williams. The exhibition continues until 17 July, 2024 at Castellani House.  Art in French  I check Akima McPherson's articles in Stabroek News on Elements and Principles of art again.  Reminding myself of what to look for, then I go find an article in French because we are supposed to talk in French about the work. Yeah, I am a nerd like that. I learned French at the Bishops' High School, with other things. I have forgotten some of the other things. I like to think I attended Bishops' twice - from 1981 to 1986 as a student, and then from around 1995 to 2006 as an old student engaging with a different school, revitalised, under the administration of Ms Massiah followed by Ms Walcott and Ms Daly.  After passing the soldier with the gun at the gate of Castellani House, I meet and talk with Ms Massiah - now Reverend Massiah -who had visited the exhibiti...