Dear Nesta,
I HOPE CHRIS’MAS DAY WENT WELL fuh yuh, an’ in between all de eatin’ an’ drinkin’, yuh still was able to mek time to remember to gi’e God praise fuh bein’ alive an’ well! Mine went quiet an’ peaceful wid muh fambly, an’ I thenkful to de Almighty fuh dat!
Well, Chris’mas now behin’ we an’ de counkdown to Ole Year’s Night begin, when mos’ people usually en’ up t’ings wid a bang, eiduh wid a glass in duh han’s or a Bible! I hope when de New Year come in, it gine fine yuh in good spirits – not methylated – an’ lookin’ forward to a year dat gine bring much healf an’ happiness an’ some ease in yuh pocketbook!
It look like only yestuhduh I was wishin’ yuh de same t’ing at de beginnin’ o’ 2011 an’ now it nearly gone an’ 2012 ’bout to tek over!
De year 2011 had quite a few ups an’ downs, doh! One o’ de “ups” earlier dis year was dah massive blow to terrorism when, after years o’ intense searchin’, Amurica finally capture Bin Laden an’ wid two shots to de head, he was gone! Sence den, de Mid-Eastern people been risin’ up an’ gettin’ rid o’ duh dictators one by one, provin’ dat people would tek jes’ summuch an’ no mo’!
I en gine fuhget dat date in May – 21st to be exack – when de worl’ was suppose to come to a en’! Dah Amurican preacher had hundruds believin’ de “Rapture” would tek place ’pon dat date an’ all “good” church people woulda jes’ disappear in de sky. When it din happen, he pick anethuh date – in October – but agen – neffin! I en know whey he is, but we still down hey, waitin’ to go “up”!
De worl’ en recover yet from dah turrble tsunami dat hit Japan in March, creatin’ a nuclear crisis at de power plant an’ causin’ millions o’ deafs – anethuh “down”! De oceans got to be polluted wid nuff radioactive material an’ I beginnin’ to wonder how safe it gine be to eat fish in times to come. REDjet, de Bajan airline, finally was able to tek to de skies, mekkin’ it mo’ cheap fuh Caribbean travel. It tek a while befo’ de airline could get permission to fly to Trinidad an’ Jamaica but it finally happen, an’ Philomena is one body dat mo’ “up” dan “down” dese days. She taxiin’ to Trinidad wid ease an’ she now eyein’ Sin Lucia sence dah islan’ open to de airline!
We tourism get a big boos’ ’roun’ July, when UNESCO put two places in de island – Bridgetown an’ de Garrison – ’pon duh Worl’ Heritage Lis’, mekkin’ we an official Worl’ Heritage Site! I hope dis gine help bring people to de islan’ dat never hear ’bout we befo’!
Summer was a “down” time fuh Bajans battlin’ de wave o’ lawlessness dat was creepin’ into de islan’, an’ de Police had duh han’s full. But t’ings better now an’ we sleepin’ mo’ soun’!
De recession been keepin’ we down de whole year an’ dah en changin’ soon! Anyway, glancin’ at 2012, it seem as ef LIME Call Centre returnin’ to Buhbayduss! We gettin’ a bran’-new, state-o’-de-art horspittle, startin’ time an’ location onknown!
De Empire Cinema to get refurbish, startin’ when, can’t say! A medical school on de faint horizon. Barack gettin’ ’e millions. When? Sometime in 2012! CLICO payin’ duh debts – ’bout time! An’ elections in de air!! It en Ole Year’s Night yet, so I en tellin’ yuh dese t’ings onder de influence o’ neffin! Happy New Year!
Tek care o’ yuhself,
Yuh frien’ Babsie.