Tweet
Emmancipation Square - What a beautiful place
Published: Tuesday | July 14, 2009
Emancipation Square in St Catherine, shot on October 10, 2003.
What a beautiful place! - File
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself standing in the middle of Emancipation Square in Spanish Town. Now, if you've ever been there, you know it's a beautiful place and does seem like it has remained the same through the years, much like a 60-something year-old woman called Miss Shepherd in Christiana who has the same anatomical measurements she did in the '70s. But, that's a different story.
It was here, of course, that the proclamation of emancipation was read, and despite some challenges facing the wider Spanish Town community, Emancipation Square remains a great attraction for history buffs.
I was looking around the place, imagining what life was like way back when, when I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I spun around.
"Eem. Beg yuh a change nuh boss?" He was a frail-looking man, with a long, grey, bushy beard. He was no more than five feet tall.
Toothless smile
I dipped into my pockets and handed him what I found. His eyes widened and a toothless smile appeared. I was about to walk away when he spoke up.
"Eem. So what yuh doing?" he asked. I told him I was just looking around and admiring the look of the place.
"Yes, man. Is here mi live, yuh know," he said. I told him I was sorry to hear that, and he looked at me like I was an alien. "No, man! Nuh sorry fi me. I nuh really have a house right now, but nuh place nuh nice like right yah so. When mi sort out some tings and can get back a house, den mi will leave, but right now, dis place is all right, man," he said.
He gave his name as Chappy and told me that he spent most of his days at Emancipation Square, speaking with visitors and, of course, picking up a few dollars from kind strangers along the way. He said he too admired the [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]beauty[/COLOR][/COLOR] of the area and planned to some day build a house as large and as stunning as the Rodney Memorial, which was close to where we were standing.
It was a cloudy afternoon and Chappy took one look to the heavens and declared that it was going to start raining in less than half an hour. Nearby, a coconut vendor was preparing a large, green coconut for a woman. Chappy, it appears, noticed me looking in that direction.
Eat a food
"Yuh see seh di likkle square yah help people survive? Yes, man, when di people dem visit, we can get fi eat a [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]food[/COLOR][/COLOR]," he said.
Chappy soon told me that he had to leave, so I thanked him for his time and walked off. He headed in the direction of the coconut drinker.
Meanwhile, I noticed a young boy on a bicyle looking up at one of the buildings. I was about to walk over to him, when I heard a woman yell out.
"Hello, please! Come here, man!" The woman, who was leaning on a nearby fence, was looking at me. I asked her if she was speaking to me. She said yes and started walking over to me.
"Yes, sar. Mi see yuh looking about di place and mi wondering is what yuh is about," she said.
I told the woman I was just looking around. "Well, when yuh doing yuh write up [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]business[/COLOR][/COLOR], just tell di people dem seh dem fi promote di place likkle more, so we can eat a food. Di place nice, but it can be better," she said.
Another roll of thunder shook the place and raindrops started falling heavily on my forehead. It appears Chappy's prediction was correct. I hastily thanked the woman and scurried out of the area.
robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
A young cyclist looks at the Rodney Memorial in Spanish Town that was built by the famous British sculptor, John Bacon. This edifice was created in honour of the celebrated British admiral, Lord Rodney. - File
The Old King's House is situated in Emancipation Square in Spanish Town. After being burnt out, it was turned into a museum. In the colonial days, this was the governor's residence until Kingston was renamed the capital of Jamaica in 1872. After that, the building was used for one year for Jamaica's first [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]university[/COLOR][/COLOR], Queen's College.
On the very steps of this building, the proclamation of the abolition of slavery was read to gatherers outside of the building. Decades later, Governor Edward Eyre also addressed the crowd suspending the constitution of Jamaica following the Morant Bay Rebellion. - Norman Grindley/chief Photographer
'Roving' goes cyber Roving with Lalah is now on Facebook! Yes, Jamaica's most-talked-about [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]newspaper[/COLOR][/COLOR] feature is now interactive. Head to facebook.com now and become a fan and chat with Robert Lalah every Tuesday while you read about his latest expedition.
Published: Tuesday | July 14, 2009
Emancipation Square in St Catherine, shot on October 10, 2003.
What a beautiful place! - File
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself standing in the middle of Emancipation Square in Spanish Town. Now, if you've ever been there, you know it's a beautiful place and does seem like it has remained the same through the years, much like a 60-something year-old woman called Miss Shepherd in Christiana who has the same anatomical measurements she did in the '70s. But, that's a different story.
It was here, of course, that the proclamation of emancipation was read, and despite some challenges facing the wider Spanish Town community, Emancipation Square remains a great attraction for history buffs.
I was looking around the place, imagining what life was like way back when, when I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I spun around.
"Eem. Beg yuh a change nuh boss?" He was a frail-looking man, with a long, grey, bushy beard. He was no more than five feet tall.
Toothless smile
I dipped into my pockets and handed him what I found. His eyes widened and a toothless smile appeared. I was about to walk away when he spoke up.
"Eem. So what yuh doing?" he asked. I told him I was just looking around and admiring the look of the place.
"Yes, man. Is here mi live, yuh know," he said. I told him I was sorry to hear that, and he looked at me like I was an alien. "No, man! Nuh sorry fi me. I nuh really have a house right now, but nuh place nuh nice like right yah so. When mi sort out some tings and can get back a house, den mi will leave, but right now, dis place is all right, man," he said.
He gave his name as Chappy and told me that he spent most of his days at Emancipation Square, speaking with visitors and, of course, picking up a few dollars from kind strangers along the way. He said he too admired the [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]beauty[/COLOR][/COLOR] of the area and planned to some day build a house as large and as stunning as the Rodney Memorial, which was close to where we were standing.
It was a cloudy afternoon and Chappy took one look to the heavens and declared that it was going to start raining in less than half an hour. Nearby, a coconut vendor was preparing a large, green coconut for a woman. Chappy, it appears, noticed me looking in that direction.
Eat a food
"Yuh see seh di likkle square yah help people survive? Yes, man, when di people dem visit, we can get fi eat a [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]food[/COLOR][/COLOR]," he said.
Chappy soon told me that he had to leave, so I thanked him for his time and walked off. He headed in the direction of the coconut drinker.
Meanwhile, I noticed a young boy on a bicyle looking up at one of the buildings. I was about to walk over to him, when I heard a woman yell out.
"Hello, please! Come here, man!" The woman, who was leaning on a nearby fence, was looking at me. I asked her if she was speaking to me. She said yes and started walking over to me.
"Yes, sar. Mi see yuh looking about di place and mi wondering is what yuh is about," she said.
I told the woman I was just looking around. "Well, when yuh doing yuh write up [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]business[/COLOR][/COLOR], just tell di people dem seh dem fi promote di place likkle more, so we can eat a food. Di place nice, but it can be better," she said.
Another roll of thunder shook the place and raindrops started falling heavily on my forehead. It appears Chappy's prediction was correct. I hastily thanked the woman and scurried out of the area.
robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
A young cyclist looks at the Rodney Memorial in Spanish Town that was built by the famous British sculptor, John Bacon. This edifice was created in honour of the celebrated British admiral, Lord Rodney. - File
The Old King's House is situated in Emancipation Square in Spanish Town. After being burnt out, it was turned into a museum. In the colonial days, this was the governor's residence until Kingston was renamed the capital of Jamaica in 1872. After that, the building was used for one year for Jamaica's first [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]university[/COLOR][/COLOR], Queen's College.
On the very steps of this building, the proclamation of the abolition of slavery was read to gatherers outside of the building. Decades later, Governor Edward Eyre also addressed the crowd suspending the constitution of Jamaica following the Morant Bay Rebellion. - Norman Grindley/chief Photographer
'Roving' goes cyber Roving with Lalah is now on Facebook! Yes, Jamaica's most-talked-about [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]newspaper[/COLOR][/COLOR] feature is now interactive. Head to facebook.com now and become a fan and chat with Robert Lalah every Tuesday while you read about his latest expedition.
- var addthis_pub="gleaneronline";var addthis_brand = "Gleaner";var addthis_header_color = "#000000";var addthis_header_background = "#EFEFEF";