In fact, there are thousands of commercial products available world wide which contain aloe. Unfortunately many of these cosmetic and health products do not contain enough aloe to be of significant benefit. In Jamaica, and in other tropical countries, many people have aloe growing in their gardens. In cooler climates it makes an excellent, trouble free house plant. I have had several aloe plants in my garden for all my life. I have never used fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides or any other garden treatment on them. I have never had to. They have never died in either drought or flood, they grow in shade or sun. If you root one out and throw it away then rescue it a month later and replant it, it will grow.

History

The history of aloe as medicine goes back to the ancient Egyptians who apparently used it both topically and internally as we still do today. It appears in medicine throughout history in various countries and in modern times has been the subject of medical research since the 1930s. Cleopatra was supposed to have bathed in aloe juice every day to retain her youth. In the Bible, it is said that Christ’s body was wrapped in aloe when he was removed from the Cross. Alexander the Great is supposed to have conquered the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean to reap the aloe growing there to treat his injured soldiers.

This article however is not about the history of the plant but rather about the amazing medicinal uses that nature has supplied us with in the aloe vera plant.

Koehler's Medicinal Plants 1887

Topical Use

Nowadays we apply sunscreen liberally and carefully limit our time in the sun. As a child and teenager, I spent many, many hours under the searing tropical sun. Sunburn was common and always treated with liberal doses of fresh aloe gel. As I grew older I started to avoid getting burned but still applied aloe after being out in the sun. If sunburn is treated immediately there is almost no likelihood of blistering. When applied to sunburn there is often an itching sensation but this goes away by the time the gel dries. It is not recommended for use as a sunscreen as using aloe before you go out in the sun may cause burning or blotchiness. Other burns and scalds also benefit from the application of aloe gel. For large burns you should always seek medical attention.

Topical application is the same for cuts and bruises. About twenty years ago my husband managed to cut off his thumb with a table saw. Husband and finger were quickly rushed to the doctor who immediately sent us to an orthopaedic surgeon. Dr. M. S. stitched back the thumb and sent us home. I immediately removed the dressing and applied aloe gel thickly all over the wound; I did this several times a day.  Two days later when we returned to the surgeon he remarked that the injury was clean and healing extremely quickly. I confessed my home treatment. He raised his eyebrows then gave permission to continue as it was “obviously not doing any harm.” Today, though the thumb does not function 100%, there is absolutely no scar.

I have also seen two cases of skin cancer successfully treated with the regular application of aloe gel, including one very advanced case, as well as heard about several others. However I would not suggest using aloe as an alternative to seeing your doctor as what works to treat one type of skin cancer in one individual might not work on another type or another person.

Aloe Drink

Aloe is also used as a drink as it is rich in antioxidants. One caution: aloin, the yellow sap which oozes out from between the skin and gel, should be avoided. This sap, which turns purple when dry and which gives aloe its characteristic bitter taste is a potent purgative and can be harmful in large quantities. To prepare your aloe drink, peel off all the skin and rinse the gel before putting it in the blender with a small amount of water and a teaspoon or two of honey. Alternately, mix half and half with fruit juice. Drinking a glass or two of aloe juice a day does wonders for the digestive tract and there is some evidence that it actually helps treat ulcers, cystitis and colitis. Some diabetics say that when they take aloe juice they are able to reduce their insulin use. If you are diabetic, speak to your doctor and be very careful about self medicating.

Cosmetic Use

Over the last decade or so aloe has become more and more popular as an ingredient in cosmetics. However, a lot of this is just marketing hype as the amount used in most commercial products is too minimal to do any good. Aloe is excellent as an astringent after washing your face. Your skin will feel tight but that is caused by the gel or juice drying on your skin not because it dries out your skin. One of our very popular uses in Jamaica is as a shampoo. The hair is saturated with aloe gel or liquid, allowed to dry then rinsed out. Aside from improving hair texture it also helps get rid of the build up of all the hair products we tend to use. It is also reported by many people that it helps to cure dandruff.

Why it Works

Throughout history, aloe has also been used to treat a host of ailments, from earache to athlete’s foot. Research and anecdotal evidence varies.

Research has shown that aloe vera works for a few very simple reasons. It is a natural antiseptic and helps retard bacterial growth, it promotes cell regeneration and, when applied topically, it dries and creates a film on the surface of the skin which helps protect the burn or abrasion.

Though aloe allergy is extremely rare, it might not be a bad idea, if you have never used it before, to apply a small amount under your arm and leave for twenty-four hours before using greater quantities. If there is any burning, redness or swelling wash it off immediately with a lot of water and do not use aloe at all.

While there are an overwhelming amount of books and websites devoted to aloe vera and its uses, I still use as my “bible” a small fifty page book from the 1980s called “Miracle Plants: Aloe Vera” written by Frena Bloomfield and published by Century Publishing, London. Its size makes it very easy to look up things and the author cites research on each individual use of the plant and includes a bibliography at the back. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find it online as it appears to be out of print.

My backyard aloe in bloom

What You Didn’t Know

I have noticed that when I have applied aloe all over after a shower, I am almost never bitten by mosquitoes or sandflies (gnats). I have recommended this to others who say it works for them too. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to find any research on this.

Some years ago NASA did a study of several house plants in space. The idea was to identify those which were more effective in cleaning the air in an enclosed environment. Most Jamaican homes are still fairly open to fresh air but office buildings, as well as homes in many countries, are often tightly sealed with the same air constantly recirculating. This leads to something called “sick building syndrome,” where people in these buildings are constantly breathing in benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. These chemicals are all around us in paints, carpets, particle board, plastic, even in our clothes. We can buy air purifiers or special filters for our air conditioners. Or we can keep certain plants indoors which help to clean the air without the cost of regularly changing filters. Chief among these plants is aloe vera. An aloe plant or two in your bedroom will drastically reduce the chemicals in the very air you breathe.

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So is it too late? How can we possibly solve a problem that seems about to topple our very Government? The answer, though far from simple, is straightforward and involves three related problems.

An Alternative

Thousands of boys sit on hundreds of street corners in cities, towns and villages across the Island. What are their prospects? They can get a job for minimum wage and be poor or they can run drugs for the local “Don” and be rich. In the inner cities they don’t care if they die at twenty-five; life is cheap and in the meantime they will have a big house, a Lexus and a dozen women.

Various groups and foundations have set up training institutes and mentoring programmes: using a teaspoon to move a mountain. Sometimes they unearth a talented doctor or a shrewd business man, a mechanic who can build a car from scratch or a computer genius. But there remain thousands of intelligent children who instead turn their brains to crime.

Our inner city schools are woefully inadequate, forty or more children in a class room. The girls sit in front and try to learn; the boys sit in back and waste time. The teacher, sometimes ill-trained herself, worries about her rent money and knows that if she brings the children to order a parent with a gun or knife will visit her. When the child graduates at Grade 12 they will likely be illiterate and will join thousands of others in pursuit of a handful of jobs.

The “community leaders,” the area “dons,” nothing more than crime bosses, send the children to school, buy uniforms and books. They pay grandmothers’ hospital bills. They give jobs to the men, sometimes in legitimate companies they own. This is why our poor support them. They are doing what Government and big corporations are not.

Our schools must come back to the standards of a few short decades ago. Our big corporations need to do more community work. Our Government must put in place the tools needed for the economy to grow thereby creating new jobs. Our young boys need to know that they have the opportunity to be a success without selling their souls to the drug dealers.

An Example

Many years ago our children wanted to grow up to be like teacher or preacher. Times changed and, like all normal children, they had dreams of being doctors or lawyers or pilots. Now, these street corner boys, born into a life of hardship, learn to be realists at an early age. They know that there is little or no likelihood of this happening. They look around from their vantage point, sitting on a broken wall of an abandoned building, and what do they see? They see men driving Lexuses, BMWs and Hummers, dressed in bespoke tailored clothes and Italian shoes. But these are not businessmen, bankers and professionals for those men do not venture into these God-forsaken places. What these boys see are creatures of a different stripe. These are the people who earn their fortunes in the “import export business,” transporting cocaine from South America to North America and Europe. There is even one with the reputation of being one of the richest men in the world and who is on a list of the World’s Ten Dangerous Drug Lords. These men hand out money, not just for little luxuries, but for life’s necessities. They build community centres, they organise feeding programmes. They look good and they look rich. The boys want to be just like them. When the day comes that a job offer is extended, the boy jumps off his street corner and accepts willingly, for one day he might be the boss. The few boys who might not be willing to accept the offer do so anyway, for they know the alternative. Many may also dream of one day being the next Usain Bolt or Shaggy, but even in their youth they realise that this requires an inborn talent, not something you can learn or work towards. A mere handful might possess this talent and if they do who will sponsor them? The very same men who offer them jobs?

What are the women like in these communities? They are poor, harassed creatures, living day to day, hand to mouth, working their fingers to the bone and old before their time. Or they are perfectly turned out artificial creatures, made up, bewigged, in skin tight $10,000 outfits, parading like cattle, selling themselves to the highest bidder. There are very few “ordinary” women in these communities.

The boys hear and see a lot from their street corners. They hear of fraud in business, they hear of corrupt politicians, they see drivers speeding through red lights and policemen gun-butting, or worse, their friends for merely answering back. What they do not see is these people being held accountable. They grow up with absentee fathers or no fathers at all, they grow up with mothers who knock them to the ground for little reason. They grow up seeing and hearing everyone around them doing as they please and not having to answer for it. They are not taught nor shown the difference between right and wrong so how could they learn it?

Each and every one of us must start with our self to set the right example. We must stop “letting off a smalls” to various authorities to help our businesses run smoother. We must stop racing through street lights on amber and throwing water bottles from our car windows. We must stop asking our doctors for sick notes when we are called to jury duty. We must question our children when they get in trouble at school instead of descending on their teacher with threats. We must make that phone call when we see our neighbours’ thirteen year old daughter being regularly visited by her uncle when no one else is home. We must demand that our corrupt politicians and crooked businessmen be held accountable. And every once in a while we must smile and give a tip to the little boy or disabled man who comes to our car window begging. Once we start to do these things ourselves, it will slowly spread like a tonic through those we come in contact with.

A Watcher

My third point is less idealistic than the others. It is a cold hard fact. All of us, at one time or another, has complained about our police force. Some have called them crooked, some have called them violent. There are calls of “police brutality” over every incident. Authorities speak of retraining and rebranding. But we must face the hard truth. There are 8,000 policemen and women to maintain order for almost 3,000,000 people, or one for every 350 civilians. New York, as an example, has 50,000 police personnel, including auxiliary officers, school safety officers, etc. or one per 160 civilians. It is as simple, and as complex, as that.

Why so few? There are several reasons but one bothers me more that the others. The Police Academy at Twickenham Park was seriously damaged during Hurricane Ivan and is not yet repaired. Yes, Hurricane Ivan, six years ago! Several dorms and classrooms are unusable. The Academy therefore can only train half as many people as they should. It is reported that funding for repairs was approved several years ago but this funding has not materialised. When it rains, cadets move their beds and desks around to avoid leaks.

There are police stations across the Island, in inner city communities and small country villages, which are falling apart; stations where you risk falling through the floor, stations where women are not deployed as there are no bathrooms. The list goes on. There are stations in the deep countryside which serve many square miles yet have not even one vehicle. We will not even speak of equipment or pay. Yet we expect these men and women to risk their lives for us? They are treated  like animals yet we are shocked when a very few of them act like animals.

We need to support our men and women who have taken on this thankless job. We must demand that the Police Training School be repaired immediately. We must demand that their stations be repaired and that they are properly equipped. We must demand that they be better paid. And by the way, if you want to take it on yourself to repair a police station or buy them a vehicle, you must confront a lot of red tape otherwise it will be construed as bribery and you can be prosecuted. The only recourse is to somehow by sheer determination and a loud collective voice demand that the authorities put all these things in place. And every day we must thank the 95% of our police force who, despite all odds, remain honest and committed to their profession.

For too long we have remained in apathy while our beautiful Island has fallen apart. If we do notice things wrong then we expect “them” to fix it. But who is “them” but us, for we are Jamaica.

Inspired to do something now? Sign the Petition for Action to Restore Trust in Government.

Sunset or Sunrise? You decide!

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But there is an even bigger picture. Should this oil slick reach land, which despite round the clock efforts it likely will, the entire ecosystem of the area will be devastated. Marine life is already suffering greatly. Gulls and pelicans that dive for fish get covered in the oil and drown. Turtles and manatees, already endangered, will die. We must also take into account the time of year. In spring lobsters, shrimp, fish and many other creatures breed. A time of renewal is becoming a time of death. Aside from the roughly 200,000 gallons of oil a day still gushing from the uncapped well, the vast oil slick cuts off light and oxygen so that even those creatures which do not get engulfed in oil may not survive. Those who survive will migrate elsewhere.

Can it get worse? Yes it can. If the oil enters that major current known as the Gulf Stream it can be carried up the North American coastline all the way to Labrador, across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom and northern Europe and south to West Africa. The potential is mind boggling!

And what about us who like to think that all is well in our own little bubble? Well, if oil gets into the Gulf Stream, and even if it doesn’t, it’s only a short distance from Florida to the Bahamas and then to Jamaica. And, by the way, the fish, the lobsters, the gulls and pelicans, the endangered turtles and manatees who ply our coasts are in many cases the very same ones who travel through the Gulf of Mexico!

Read about our endangered species and more at Jamaica-Allspice.com

We as Jamaicans have a very bad habit regarding many things. We talk a lot about our problems: crime, garbage, drought, the breakdown of our values. But how often do we actually do something about any of the things that bother us daily? Generally, we’re all bark and no bite.

Though Jamaica has many environmental issues, there are two of them which tend to stand out. The first is the disgusting condition of Kingston Harbour. The appalling thing is that this is so easily fixable. It has been suggested by environmentalists that 70% of the pollution in Kingston Harbour is a direct result of faulty sewerage plants operated by the National Water Commission. We have ourselves seen evidence to back this up. Recently, under our major water restrictions, friends took photographs of Kingston Harbour in which the Harbour looked as clean and blue as San San Bay. None of us in our lifetime have seen the Harbour look that pretty. Could it be that less water in our pipes generated less sewerage going through the treatment plants and therefore more efficient processing? Can anyone give a better explanation? Below is a photograph showing a very obvious red tide in the Harbour. Red tide is caused by very toxic algae which generates in polluted water. Not only does it kill fish and other marine life but, if it becomes airborne, it can seriously affect our health. Our health is also affected when we eat contaminated fish.

At the end of the day, why are we pumping the waste of more than 1,000,000 people into an almost completely enclosed Harbour? We are all obliged to come up with ways to pull our public entity, the National Water Commission, into the twenty-first century. And, of course, there is still the 30% of Harbour pollution which is caused by other sources.

Our second major environmental issue is our reluctance to recycle. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the preponderance of plastic bottles which litter almost every square inch of our landscape.  About ten years ago, GraceKennedy installed blue recycle bins across the city to allow us to collect our PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles for recycling. They eventually discontinue the exercise as people used the bins as general garbage tipsters.

According to the Jamaica Environment Trust we throw away 250,000,000 PET bottles every year, that’s 90 bottles for each man, woman and child in the country! The JET operates a recycle depot at Earth House, 11 Waterloo Rd. Most of us who live in Kingston and St Andrew drive past Earth House regularly. Would it be any trouble for us to place a bin in our home to collect plastic bottles and then drop them off once a month? We likely wouldn’t even be going out of our way! They will even pick up large quantities from schools and business places.

Jamaicans, do your part. Starting today pick up one new habit to help keep our beautiful Island clean and healthy. Buy a water bottle and fill it every morning before you leave home instead of drinking commercial bottled water. If each of us made a tiny change it would all add up to a huge difference.

Visit the Earth Day Expo at Hope Gardens

Read more about Jamaica’s Environment at Jamaica-Allspice.com

I’m pretty sure that there are very few Jamaicans, at home or in the wider diaspora, still unaware of the amazing Newton Marshall’s running of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Newton and his team have been slogging on with (I’m going to say it) dogged determination and have now passed the half-way point of “The Last Great Race.”

Last October, when the Jamaica Dogsled Team was doing some serious fundraisers, I developed a few special cocktails and sent them on to the Team. I understand they were served at at least one function. I started with the idea that the drink should mix Jamaican and Canadian liquors and went from there. I tried different variations to find the best mixture but husband and friends pronounced them all good.

With Newton on the home stretch I think the time is right for us all to mix a drink and cheer him on. So here they are, mix your favourite and have a sip while you’re “Rootin’ for Newton!”

Mush Mon

1 oz Canadian Vodka
1 oz Appleton White Rum
½ oz Coconut Rum
1 Tbsp Sugar Syrup
2 oz Coconut Cream
Blend with crushed ice and serve in a Margarita glass garnished with coconut flakes.

Yellow Snow

1 oz Canadian Vodka
1 oz Appleton Gold
1 oz Crushed Pineapple
2 oz Coconut Rum Cream
Blend with crushed ice and serve in a Margarita glass garnished with pineapple wedges.

Danny’s Dream

1 oz Vodka
1 oz Appleton Gold
4 oz Coconut Cream
Mix together and serve over ice.

While you’re sipping read about how the team got started and bookmark the webcam at the finish line.

Follow the Jamaica Dogsled Team on Facebook

For daily updates visit: Jamaica-Allspice.com

Chile's position in green on the Globe

On Saturday morning there was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in central Chile. Stop right there! Remove all pictures of Haiti from your mind. instead if this had happened in the United States or Japan for we are not referring to an undeveloped and poor nation but rather to the wealthiest, most developed country on the entire South American continent. This is a country where the life expectancy is 77 (Jamaica: 76, US: 77, UK: 78, Canada: 80) and literacy stands at 96%. Chile has half as many AIDS cases per thousand of population as does the United States. They have attained what many countries aspire to: zero population growth. On a scale of one to ten with Haiti being one and the US and Canada being ten, Chile would be nine.

Moon Valley in the Atacama Desert

The geography of the country is unique as Chile is barely 200 miles wide but almost 3000 miles long. The reason is simple, the towering Andes create a natural border so Chile occupies the ribbon of land between that enormous mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. The country runs through 38 degrees of latitude from the Atacama Desert in the north to the Grey Glacier in the south, with every imaginable climate in between. The northern desert is the source of Chile’s traditional wealth as it is there that the world’s largest copper mine is located. The country has also in recent decades become the world’s fifth largest exporter of wine. Chile’s magnificent wine is grown in the Mediterranean climate of it’s central region.

Grey Glacier, close to the Antarctic Circle

The ethnic make up of the country is remarkably homogenous. 65% is mestizo, the Chilean version of “Jamaica white” being a mixture of mostly Spanish European ancestry with some Amerindian. 25% is European, mostly Spanish, German, Italian, Irish, French, Swiss and Croat. Another 5% is mostly Middle Eastern. Roughly 4.5% of the population consider themselves native, though few can claim to be pure bred Amerindians. Afro-Chileans make up less than 1% of the population and again are mostly of mixed blood. I have mentioned the ethic mixture because it fascinates me. Chile seems to have almost risen above the prejudices between the European settlers and native people that is so obvious on the other side of the Andes and, indeed, so much of the world. They appear to be on the way to becoming a true racial melting pot. The official language is Spanish with German spoken in some areas. English is mandatory in school. The four native languages have unfortunately almost died out.

On Saturday morning the BBC spoke to a scientist from The Royal Geological Society who explained differences between Haiti’s earthquake and Chili’s. Hopefully I can accurately pass the information on. Haiti’s quake was caused by a crack in the Teutonic plate and was 6 miles below the surface. This caused almost the full 7.0 force to be felt on the surface though over a fairly small area. Chile’s quake was caused by one plate slipping under another and was about 37 miles underground. The gentleman from the RGS said that the distance underground would have made the epicenter less relevant with an equal force at ground level possible 50 by 200 miles in size. The full force of 8.8 (700 times greater than the Haiti quake) would not have reached the surface. The Teutonic slip, as in the Chile quake, is also more likely to generate a tsunami, hence the warnings across the entire Pacific basin. This type usually has more frequent and stronger aftershocks than when the plate cracks. I hope my explanation is accurate enough to satisfy the experts, particularly my brother-in-law, a highly qualified practicing geologist.

Of course, at the end of the day, it is patently obvious to everyone that the main difference lies mostly in the vast economic chasm between Haiti and Chile. In proper codes and practices in one and the total lack of either in the other. In the difference between total despair and the ability to deal competently with a situation. In the difference between thousands of homeless people living in the streets six weeks later and streets which are mostly empty after two days as almost everyone has a place to go (some families even have tents as part of their emergency kits).  In the difference between a strong President and Government who are front and centre within the hour and ones who cowers in shock for days. However, we have already seen wide scale looting in Chile but isn’t this also a difference, for people more used to creature comforts will loose patience quicker than those who often survive in substandard conditions as a matter of course. The Chilean government is starting to deal with the associated problems and is already putting in place a timetable for recovery. Unfortunately, they have been through all this before and likely will again in the future.

All this being said; we must send our heartfelt condolences to the people of Chile. They do not need the huge outpouring of assistance that Haiti did, but President Bachelet has appealed for help in the form of mobile hospitals and search and rescue teams. And of course, they certainly need our prayers and good wishes.

(Photos from Wikimedia Creative Commons)

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In my opinion we hold on too much to “traditional exports.” We fight for a place on the world market for our bananas when the market seems to want bananas from Costa Rica. We then accept a lower price. Our bauxite industry has all but died a long and painful death. Recycling aluminium is a lot cheaper than mining and producing it from scratch. Good riddance I say to the deep red gouges in our green landscape. Sugar is no longer King. The King is dead, bury him! Jamaica is a small country; if there is a demand for something we produce we would never be able to produce enough of it to satisfy the market, the old “supply and demand” of basic business. Case in point: coffee.  Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is in great demand worldwide. Unlike bananas, we set the price for our coffee and the market pays it. In the middle of a recession, income from coffee has increased by 30%. The same is true of cocoa. There is a limited area where these crops grow so we can’t put thousands of acres more into coffee and cocoa. We therefore need other products. We have hundreds of thousands of acres of sugar cane. Every year we accept lower prices on this crop which used to be the backbone of our economy. We will need some cane fields for domestic consumption and the production of another star export, rum. Some of our existing fields can be turned to the production of ethanol. This takes retooling and a fairly heavy financial outlay but isn’t that better in the long run than accepting half price for sugar?

Take a drive outside the cities. Wherever you go you are almost guaranteed to pass stands of bamboo on the roadside. In the countryside we use bamboo for fences, for scaffolding, even for homes. On small farms bamboo “pipes” are used for irrigation, small rivers are crossed on bamboo bridges and large ones navigated on bamboo rafts.  Children fish with bamboo poles and, unfortunately, some are disciplined with bamboo switches. In China and Japan, bamboo scaffolding is commonly used in construction.

There are many old wives’ tales about harvesting bamboo. But often those old wives were smart. The sugar content of bamboo rises and falls. The more sugar there is in the bamboo is the more attractive it is to insects. Sugar content is at its highest during the hottest time of the day. Harvesting bamboo at dawn during the full moon is actually the best time as the sugar content is lowest at that time! Bamboo also starts to rot from fungus after five to seven years. Bamboo is therefore best harvested between three to five and five to seven years, depending on the variety.

Bamboo grows at an incredible rate; it is the fastest growing plant on earth and can grow 24 inches (60 cm) per day. Bamboo plants reach maturity in three years. Because of this it is cheap and it is sustainable. Lumber and textiles made from bamboo are no longer niche products but are in incredibly high demand worldwide. In the U. S. one can buy bamboo flooring at any hardware store and bamboo sheets at your nearest department store. The bamboo products industry is anticipated to reach sales of twelve billion U S. dollars within two years. Why can’t Jamaica get a piece of that pie? Certainly with such an unbelievably high demand, the market would absorb as much bamboo lumber as we could produce. I can see it in my mind quite clearly: Acres and acres of former cane fields, already laid out, with irrigation in place, turned to bamboo and the huge sugar mills gutted and refitted to cure and laminate the lumber. Sugar cane and bamboo are both grasses, for all I know they could be planted and reaped using the same equipment. Maybe it’s time King Sugar was deposed in favour of the Big Bamboo!

Bamboo Avenue, St. Elizabeth

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The Theatre Royal after the Great Earthquake of 1907

A hundred years ago Kingston was rising from the ruins of the Great Earthquake of 1907. Col. Wray was now a middle-aged businessman himself but wealthier than his uncle could ever have imagined. He was also mindful of where his wealth started and made an offer to the city of Kingston to rebuild the Theatre Royal at his expense. This was a great relief to the Council as one can imagine the public purse would have been thinly stretched with rebuilding numerous public buildings. A competition was held for the design of the new structure and this was won by Mr Rudolph Henriques of Henriques and Sons. Ground was broken and, by the end of 1912, the new Ward Theatre, completed at a cost of 12,000 pounds, was handed over to the Mayor (coincidentally my Great Grandfather) and Council of the City of Kingston. It’s very first production, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance took to the stage from December 19^th to 21^st with tickets costing between 2 and 4 shillings.

This splendid Neo-Classical building was constructed of concrete and steel, the newest method of building after the Great Earthquake. It boasts a stage of more than 2000 square feet and seating for over 800 patrons and was designed to rival the great theatres of Europe but ventilated to suit our tropical climate. The Ward also boasts perfect acoustics and every word spoken and sung on stage carries throughout the theatre without the need for microphones.

A recent photo of the Ward Theatre

My family attended events at the Ward for four generations for, as children, my sister and I were taken to Pantomime every year as well as occasional ballets. I recall watching the very First National Pantomime at the Ward. The theatre attracted international performances from all over the world: Italian opera, Russian ballet and the latest Broadway play. Many events in Jamaica’s history also unfolded there. It was at the Ward that the People’s National Party was launched in 1938 and the Jamaica Labour Party in 1943.

The Ward started its decline in the 1970s, theatre goers went downtown less often and, in a more modern time, there was the major problem of parking. Since 1982 the Ward, once the centre of the arts, has been almost permanently closed. In 1986 the Ward Theatre Foundation was formed and they have been valiantly fighting to raise funds to maintain and refurbish the structure. The Foundation and the Centennial Committee are now trying desperately to raise US$20,000,000 to bring this magnificent old lady back to her former glory in time for her Centennial less than three years away. It would be a wonderful thing indeed if our children could experience a performance on its stage and feel the grandeur that is part of a traditional theatre for the Ward is the only one of its kind in Jamaica and, indeed, the entire English speaking Caribbean.

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

The 2010 Winter Olympics start today so what can we expect? The current bobsled team unfortunately did not qualify so there will be no Jamaicans this time. Wrong! Enter Errol Kerr.

AP photo

Errol was born in 1986 to a father from Westmoreland, Jamaica and a mother from California, USA. He fell in love with skiing at the age of eleven and by seventeen took part in the 2003-2004 Junior Olympics where he placed second in two events. Over the last seven years he has done quite well skiing for the US Team.

Then came the chance that every athlete dreams of: the Olympic Trials. Errol made his decision, if he was going to the Olympics; he was doing it for his late father and Jamaica! He went to the trials and qualified but things were touch and go for a while. Big sponsors are tripping over each other to throw money at our track superstars but our potential ski champ was having trouble finding sponsors. It costs the average professional skier roughly US$100,000 (J$8,900,000) per year for training and to take part in the requisite events. Errol has had sponsorship for only about half but, despite this, his ranking has slowly climbed from fifty-third to fifth. Then, at almost the last minute, the Jamaican Government stepped in and what seems to be the obvious local sponsor came on board: Cool Runnings Spring Water!

So friends, tune in tonight for the Opening Ceremony and watch the new kid on the block carry our flag, then again on the 21st to watch him compete. Good luck, Errol, the whole country is rooting for you!

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

Into the picture comes a group of wonderful ladies who have been trying to care for the unwanted and unloved animals roaming the streets of Ocho Rios and other nearby towns. This cool and quiet rural setting would be an ideal place to relocate their shelter, The Animal House. Property is leased from the mining company and eventually over a hundred once bruised and battered dogs and cats move in. Life is good for these once neglected animals.

Then comes the news: the mining giant is phasing out and will no longer supply the shelter with power and water but, not to worry, the public utility companies will take over. Suddenly both services are cut off. One hundred and fifty innocent creatures and those who care for them are suddenly without water and power! After five months power is restored but not so water.

Upon investigation it is discovered that a large meat company, which also leases property nearby, had taken over the shared pipes and unceremoniously cut off the Animal House. The National Water Commission no longer intends to take over the lines. The ladies meet with the meat packers, the NWC and various government representatives, they are told to collect rainwater or pay the NWC US$15,000 to run pipes to the shelter. The ladies have no choice; they must buy water by the truckload to care for their wards. This is not cheap but must be done as often as they can afford it.

The Animal House is privately funded and is a no kill shelter.

I'm thirsty!

Please help these defenceless animals by signing their petition addressed to Jamaica’s Prime Minister.

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com