Dear Nesta,
JES’ A NEX’ “storm in a teacup”!
How you, girl chile? Still hol’in’ on tight to wuh yuh got? I talkin’ ’bout money, sence I could tell from yuh ackshuns, dah does come firs’ ’pon you “hit parade”, an’ wid de way t’ings gine dese days, yuh mussee hol’in’ on mo’ tight dan evuh! Anyhow, I hope all is well, an’ yuh still lookin’ up to de Almighty fuh strengf an’ favour!
Now, I always hear laffter is de bes’ medicine, an’ from how I been crackin’ up wid it lately, I don’ t’ink I gine need to see a doctor fuh some while! I too love dis li’l’ rock, doh! Somet’ing always tekkin’ place to cause we to start huffin’ an’ puffin’, an’ after a while, quietly puttin’ it one side an’ start agen ’pon somet’ing else! I call dah a “storm in a teacup”! Yes, I know ’bout dis phrase, ’cause aldoh I only went to Brumley, mos’ Sarrduh mornin’s us-ed to ketch muh in de library tryin’ to improve muhself.
I en know ef de reason fuh all dis “tea-brewin” come from de fack dat de onlies’ people to settle in Buhbayduss was de English, an’ yuh know how dem love duh tea, mornin’, noon, night an’ even midnight – ef yuh gi’e duh a chance – an’ it seem duh pass on de habit to we current-day Bajans!
Somet’ing always stirrin’ in we teacups! It might be spicy ginger tea, green tea, black tea, white tea, even Golong, sorry, Oolong tea, but we always stirrin’! Some people like to put in tummuch sugar, some squeeze in summuch lime, it too acid, while de res’ drink it jes-so! Sometimes de water so hot, yuh en able to swallow, ’cause yuh would only burn yuh t’roat, but ef yuh lef’ it too long to cool, by de time yuh get back, it cole as ice an’ de onlies’ ting to do is to t’row it way!
Dis lates’ “storm” stir up from some comments by Sir Roy Trotman, head o’ de Buhbayduss Workers’ Union, as ’e was rallyin’ de troops in a fiery May Day speech! Yuh know de subjeck mos’ dear to he heart is de “onfair” way, real or ethuhwise, some employers treat Bajans, so evuh chance he get, ’e don’ fuhget to press it home!
Well, dis time, it seem he get so hot when tellin’ ’e listeners ’bout de way de owner o’ Diamonds International was treatin’ ’e workers, ’e describe ’e as a “Egyptian Jew”! Wuhloss! Who tell ’e to say dat? Right away, Bajans fuhget evuht’ing else ‘bout de speech, an’ hol’ on to dem two words as mos’ offensive! It run right t’rough de society, an’ de call-in programmes, de newspapers an’ Facebook – whey some feel duh could write anyt’ing ’bout people, sometimes mo’ false dan true – fannin’ de flames fuh days.
De majority call ’pon ’e to apologise, some t’ought ’e should resign from de Senate, ethuhs want ’e to lose de Knighthood, an’ so it went on. It was only natural dat Sir Roy had he supporters, too, so dis tug-o’-war went on an’ on fuh days, wid he an’ ‘e supporters stannin’ firm an’ true to ‘e words, an’ de ethuhs gettin’ mo’ an’ mo’ hot!
In de midst o’ all dis furore, evuht’ing suddenly come to a halt! Las’ week, de Prime Minister shut evuhtin’ down by callin’ it a “non issue”! He say ’e see neffin offensive wid Sir Roy words! Few days later, Sir Roy, ’eself, confirm ’e en apologisin’! So wuh to do nex’? Jes’ quietly drain all teacups, an ’start lookin’ out fuh de real storms dat comin’ up shortly! Chile, life too sweet ‘pon dis li’l rock! Yuh onderstan’ now why I crackin’ up?
Tek care o’ yuhself!
Yuh frien’, Babsie.
