Posts made in December, 2007

in 1968 - 1969

  Customer: "Waiter!  What's this?"Waiter: "It's bean soup, Sir."Customer: "I do not want to know what its been, I want to know what it is!"     Teacher: "John, define appetite."John: "Sir, when you eat too much appy, your belly gets tight."   "Will you tell the court what passed between you and your wife during the quarrel?" asked the judge.The long suffering husband replied:"A flat iron, a rolling pin, six plates and a tea kettle."   One teenage girl to the other: "I'll bet if Romeo and Juliet had telephones, things would have worked out much better."   When a woman looks wistful and tender and pensive,she's probably thinking of something expensive!   The policeman helped the battered man from the pavement in front of the local bar and asked "Can you describe the man who hit you?"Replied the man, "That's exactly what I was doing when he hit me"   Said the wife to her errant husband, "You drunken beast, if I were in your condition, I'd shoot myself!"Replied the spouse "If you were in my condition, you'd miss-"   An elderly woman complained about another parishoner to her minister.  When asked what the other had done to annoy her she said "She ignores me, and I don't like ignorance."   Her father asked his prospective son-in-law if he could support a family.  "No Sir, I was only planning to support your daughter. The rest of you will have to take care of yourselves."   The teacher was somewhat taken aback by the drawing that one of her students had submitted.  "Why, Simon!" sheexclaimed "that looks like a cowboy going into a saloon?"  "It's okay," he assured her, "He's not going to drink anything – He's just going to shoot a guy."   A small boy not even big enough for kindergarten, learned how to spell "cat".  Flushed with triumph, he exclaimed proudly, "Just wait until the cats hear about this!"   "If we get married will you give up smoking?" asked the prospective bride."Yes, dear," replied the fellow."And drinking, too""Yes.""And you will stop going to the Club in the evening?""Yes, dear""And what else are you thinking of giving up?"  "The idea of getting married."...

in 1968 - 1969

Mr. Ernest A. Dow, an old boy of Berbice High School, has gained the Doctor of Laws Degree, from the School of Law, New York. Miss Jocelyn Dow and Muneshwar Singh, pupils of the Upper and Lower Sixth were chosen by the Berbice Lions Club to participate in Students Exchange Programme recently.  Miss Dow spent two weeks in Grenada while M. Singh visited Barbados.   Wedding Bells: Miss B. La Bennett exchanged marriage vows with Mr. Gregory Headly Miss D. Persaud, a former member of Staff, became Mrs. Kissoon on Easter Sunday. Engagement: Miss Jean Bedessie, our past Secretary, became engaged to Mr. Paul Blunt who served as a V.S.O. at Berbice High School. New Arrivals: The stork arrived with a bouncing baby boy for Mrs. P. Sandiford on Thursday 24th April. To Mrs. B. Headly, a baby boy on Independence Day – May 26th 1969. News Item: Dr. Vivian Todd – Curriculum Specialist from USA, and Miss C. Francis – Deputy Chief Education Officer (Acting) visited us on Friday 11th July. They had very interesting and informative chats with members of the Staff and the Sixth...

in 1968 - 1969

It all started when the teachers decided that it was time they got the children out of the faithful old Auditorium for a day.  As it was Guyana Week, they seized the opportunity and organised a trip to Dakara Creek.   No one was more excited than those children who never went to Georgetown or Dakara before. They chatted about the trip in school, discussing appropriate clothes and eatables.  The girls had planned to wear 'slacks' but the teachers objected (Princlpal's Orders).  So they consoled themselves by wearing maxi-mini dresses.  I wonder which is more distracting! Finally, the great day arrived.  We assembled at the stelling at four-thirty.  Some children had baskets which were filled with food and other necessities like bath towels. Some of them had not crossed the Berbice River in ten years.  I was sitting next to a girl in the boat, and when we had nearly reached the Rosignol Stelling, she said impatiently, "Man, when are we going to move off?" On arriving at Rosignol, all the B.H.S. students filed into Lady Lindy.  The teachers checked for every one, and then we were on our way.  Surprisingly, the drive along the West Coast of Berbice was pleasant despite the cool morning air that had some of us shivering.  The children at the back of the bus were playing a tape recorder and joking all the time.  We crossed the Abary Creek and entered Demerara about one hour after we set out from Rosignol. As we approached Georgetown, the traffic increased ln volume.  At about 8.30 o'clock, we were slowly moving along Main Street and enjoying the beautiful scenery in central Georgetown.  The Public Free Library and the Bank of Guyana are two of the impressive buildings which we passed. As we started along the East Bank road, everyone was rather quiet and I thought that it was because they were all so excited.  The cluster of industries along the East Bank road attracted my attention.  These included Bank Breweries, Continental Biscuits. Colgate-Palmolive and Lithographic.  My companion, who had never been there before was so excited that she failed to observe these.  I could almost hear her heart beating. We came off the East Bank road...

in 1968 - 1969

  Many people have, in sarcasm, remarked that the Mental Hospital was justifiably erected in Canje, because so many "queer people" lived there.  I do not know how true this is for the rest of Canje, but after living in my home village for so long, l feel this might be true.  Apart from the usual wife-beating, unemployed, vituperating drunkard, there are some more unpredictable "queers" who loiter around shops all day, prepared to starve rather than work.   Harold with his topless hat, bottomless boots, and rickety 'walking stick' is about the most notorious tramp in the district.  He begs all day for a handout and what little he has, he shares with his faithful mongrel, a bitch he calls 'Pepsi'.  His matted, greying beard has won him many new names.  He has been dubbed 'Castro', 'Che', 'Django', and evan 'Father Christmas'.  However, these name have never stuck, because Harold himself insists he is none of these men, but claims he was sent here by God.  In one of his rare moods, you might get him to tell you about his 'Experience.'  His famous tale tells that one night, he was sleeping on the church steps (as was his noctural habit), when he was awakened by the ringing of a bell, which seemed to originate from below the church.  Harold peeped under the church (the space being about six inches high and saw God. Another 'queer' is 'Cockroach' (in Creolese, 'Cock-A-Roach'). Although slightly better off than Harold, he still prefers to haunt the local rum-shops, looking for a hand-out, but never asking directly for it.  His way of asking is joining in a conversation, and agreeing wholeheartedly with the person who is sharing the drinks around.  During the last General Elettions, Cockroach was heard arguing in favour of all three major parties on the same day.  But the most prominent feature of Cockroach's personality is his vanity.  Every person he encounters hears the same words from him: "Me hair looking good, eh?"  Why yo' don' comb yo' hair like me one fa, eh?  See if any dust on me back." He is hardly ever seen out of his usual billowing, grey serge pants, faded, but immaculately clean, pulled...

in 1968 - 1969

  First let me say that this report is not as favourable as I could have wished; however, it is not as unfavourable as many expected it to be.  By now it is common knowledge that Bishop's High School won the shield, beating the team that knocked us out of the competition.  We had reached the finals – which, I believe, is the furthest that any team from Berbice High School has gone.   Our team was led by Muneshwar Singh with John Gunraj and David Jones as second and third speakers respectively.  We are all members of the lower sixth, and as this was the first time that any of us had done public speaking of this sort, our inexperience showed in our deliveries.  However, this was balanced by our factual matter. The teams that fell victim to us were the West Bank teachers, a Bush Lot team, New Thought and the Philosophers Debating Society.  Despite such serious sounding opponents the debates were not without their lighter moments.  One member of an opposing team, forgetting himself, addressed the judges as "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury." But we were not to be left out.  Our third speaker, at one stage, had the audience in stitches with some very skilful irrelevancies; and our leader, who has a distinction in Maths, got up and stated firmly that according to his maths from 1939 to 1969 is 31 years! Finally a word on the attendance.  At no debate was it what it should have been. There were too few Berbice High School students.  After all, it does help to know that the majority of the audience is on your side. John...