I met author Marlon James….. the man of my dreams

My dream stock just got richer. I dreamt about Marlon James last night. In case you have been under a rock, Marlon James is a Jamaican author who won the Man Booker prize. (Let Google be your friend.)

Turns out that he had been living in Grenada for many years, in an apartment building (a proper one….not like what Grenadians call apartment which is a flat in Jamaican language) near to a good friend of mind. So of course, budding writer that I am, I struck up a conversation with him. He was affable….easily met.

Marlon James (source: Global Voices)

Marlon James (source: Global Voices)

His locks were longer than they are in real life.  I told him I didn’t like them. He eventually gave me a key to his apartment and said he was going away. When I thought he had left, I went in to do stuff for him and saw a ton of locks in the kitchen garbage bin. I smiled. Someone valued my opinion.

I then went next door to my friend’s apartment and there he was, having just sat down for a cup of coffee. At the empty place setting, there was a cup for me too. Sweet!

 

We got to talking eventually about the writing that I do (not much :() and he said he would help me. Yay! There’s the pot of gold that I wished for when I saw the rainbow yesterday.

I confessed to him that I had looked at snippets of A Brief History of Seven Killings and that I would not be able to manage that, but that I intend to read the others one day. In real life, part of my #50To50 list includes reading more.

There needs to be some system where during dreams, it video tapes the fascinating events one’s subconscious is churning out. Of course, some of the footage would have to be deleted :). But in general, I have excitement when I close my eyes.

Part 2 of my dream had me ended up in a toasty warm cottage in Sweden about 1 hour from Stockholm. That’s another story.

Typical Jamaica

In October 2005, I wrote this somewhere.

Jamaica is just so depressing. Everything about it. I am miserable everytime I come back here. 

Early November is when I leave again, and I am hoping that I don’t come back here for a long, long time. I’m going to take my Caricom Certificate of Recognition and roam, roam, roam. 

This island is doomed. I don’t know why anyone would choose to move back here.

Today I had to go to Duke Street to get a Police Certificate. A couple of incidents today made me feel not too different from that 2005 opinion. True, there are lots of great things about Jamaica, but there seems to be some things which have seeped into our DNA, that I don’t know how they will be exorcised.

Just opposite the Police place is a car park. Great. A man directed me to park. I got out and asked what do I pay, where and when. He said I pay after, and it is $100 to park, $50 for the first hour and then a tip for him. What??????????????????????????????????? Watch me and him when I come out. Continue reading

Photos: Out And About In Rural Grenada

Saturday was Road Trip Day. I tossed my Samsung phone, iPad and Fuji Fine Pix camera into the bag. In the end, I only used the Samsung. I went from St George to the town of Gouyave in the parish of St John where I bought a delicious fish roti. Saw where Kirani James grew up. Man you gotta lift your hats off to his mother. Next it was on to Diamond in St Mark.

Grenada is a lovely island and exploring as a single female is very safe. I ended up in dead ends in Mount Granby and elsewhere. Check out all the photos on my Flickr page. At some point I will put captions.

 

View of the Carenage and beyond from Cemetery Hill.

View of the Carenage and beyond from Cemetery Hill.

#Cruising….on a Saturday afternoon

This Legend of the Seas was in the Grenada Harbour today.

 

Massive mother!

12 reasons to tempt you to drop everything and move to Grenada

I agree with everything Michelle Peterson had to say in this article. Having lived here mostly for the better part of 17 years though, there are somethings she mentions which I have not yet experienced. Better get a move on it!

Paradise Beach, Carriacou (one of the 3 islands which make up the state of Grenada)

Paradise Beach, Carriacou (one of the 3 islands which make up the state of Grenada)

Watch “Grand Anse beach, Grenada” on YouTube

Grand Anse beach, Grenada. Enjoy!

Happy Independence Grenada!

Bleh that the holiday fell on a weekend, but anyway, Happy 41st Independence Grenada!

Went to the Stadium to see the crafts and food on display in the Made In Grenada expo. Some good quality products….if only they had a larger market, or the capacity to export.  But what I REALLY went for, was to find some Oil Down.

First, some photos of the products being sold.

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Not only does it smell delicious…it also has healing properties

 

Pieces for the Kitchen, very neatly made

Pieces for the Kitchen, very neatly made

Hand painted coral is at the bottom of this jewellery piece.

Hand painted coral is at the bottom of this jewellery piece.

Now on to the more important topic. You recall that I have been experimenting with meat since Christmas, after being on a vegetarian diet since 2005. The return to meat was timely. Pig tail is one of the most delicious things in the Oil Down. What exactly is Oil Down? A non-Grenadian did a detailed explanation with picture. Take a look here.

Went to the food stall immediately on arrival. It done! This was 1:30!!!!! Had a bake with smoked herring instead. Then a friend with whom I had shared my disappointment, came and told me there was a lady selling Oil Down. Happy like  a pig in swill. So prepared was I that I had carried a food container and a food bag. Oil Down is carb loaded and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to eat off all of the EC$12 version. Dug in, had half, then packaged the rest.

Then, to top off today, another friend called to ask if I wanted Oil Down. Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss! That’s going to be the Sunday Dinner. Had to take a taste though. It’s THAT good.

Grenada's National Dish - Oil Down

Grenada’s National Dish – Oil Down

Beach Day

Most weekends are spent at the beach….photos taken with a Samsung Galaxy S5

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If only I could sail a hobie cat…….

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The view looking across to the capital St George’s and the verdant hills beyond

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The coconut vendor came along at the right time. I had forgotten my water.

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Should have booked in to that five star luxury hotel

Pre-birthday views and celebrations

Normally I would have started the celebrations from 1st October and in fact, when I turned a significant age a few years ago, I celebrated for the whole year. This year, work has kept me busy, so it started late, on Friday, with lunch at the hotel I used to work at. Yesterday was the beach and today I was back for lunch at the hotel again. Here are some scenes. No captions necessary…though I did add some 🙂

Grenada is one seriously beautiful island….like Jamaica.

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Grand Anse Beach

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Panoramic shot

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Healthy eating

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View from the lunch area

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Lagoon by dusk

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Teeny tiny cake

Make a wish!

Make a wish!

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Beautiful sky

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Experiments in the Kitchen

This year, as I will have some more time on my hands, I am experimenting with new things. That includes spending more time in the Kitchen. Although I did not do Food & Nutrition in secondary school, I have been cooking since I was about 13 when my mother took me and said “this is how you cut up a chicken”. I don’t eat meat anymore, so I am experimenting with both raw foods and vegetarian and vegan dishes. I was so pleased to find this recipe on Twitter and even more pleased when I recognized I had ALL the ingredients in my fridge. Yes, even Chickpea Flour! Who da h*ll has Chickpea Flour in their fridge???? A non-meat eater like me of course!

First issue though was….does my oven work? A call to the former tenant (a friend) returned a voicemail. Went upstairs to the Landlord but what he told me did not work. Thank goodness for a toaster oven, which I had resisted buying but a friend insisted and she’s usually right. It saved the day. Once you get a feeling, you just gotta go with the feeling, else the feeling might not ever appear again!  Continue reading