The Betty Black Blog

Young Ian, the teenager at Campion, knew exactly what career he wanted to pursue. He wanted to be in movies, but not in front of the camera. The youngster, with a talent for art and a love of Star Wars, wanted to go into special effects so it was no surprise that, in 1985, he [...]

The eyes of the world have been turned to Haiti over the past two weeks since unfathomable damage was done by a 7.0 earthquake on 12th January.  We wonder what has made Haiti so poor. Certainly their history before 1804 was the same as the rest of the West Indies. Then we read Sir Hilary [...]

Similar but Different
We would expect that two countries close both in geography and culture would have similar foods. It is therefore no surprise that neighbouring Jamaica and Haiti have similar cuisine. There are many indigenous fruit, vegetables and native animals in common. Canoes of the early Tainos plied back and forth between the two Islands. [...]

The telethon will be broadcast here (if I’ve done the codes right)

J$670, US$7.70, E5.35, Y699. That is the weekly income of the average Haitian. We bandy about the phrase “Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere” as we would “the Tallest Building” or “the Longest River” without really stopping to think what it means. We tend to transfer ideas to things we know and most of are [...]

So the Holidays are over. The leftovers, though for many of us not as much as usual, are all gone. There’s nothing left but a pathetic looking ham bone. If you’re Jamaican you know exactly where that bone is going and it definitely is not in the garbage!

Dear friends, please accept my apologies for being almost completely absent for the entire Season. Aside from the normal madness and confusion of the Holidays, I also had some urgent work from one of my clients and my dear Baby Sister was home  for the first time since she emigrated seven years ago!

Dear Friends, Please forgive me for disappearing for a week without warning but I had a job which had to be finished before Christmas Eve.
Please remember that as difficult as Taxmas may be for you, there is always someone worse off, give what you can to those less fortunate.

Hanukkah or Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, runs this year from 11th to 19th December.
Jamaica’s motto “out of Many, One People” is all too true as, although over 90% of the population is of African heritage, we are indeed one big melting pot. From the first day Columbus set foot on Jamaican soil there [...]

None of us is getting any younger, but just how old are you really?
You know you are getting old if: