I COULD remember when the Bees was in power and the Dees was in opposition, how the Dees used tuh lambaste the Bees ’bout taking up the taxpayers’ good money and putting it in tuh a big lot o’ buildings up there in St Phillip.
I could remember how duh used tuh go on and on’ bout the lot o’ money he Government at the time did spend tuh build the now prison; Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds.
They didn’t think it was necessary tuh put this sort o’ money in something like this; and I suppose it was like in the same way duh didn’t see how overhead roads was necessary.
So the people voted and decided tuh give dem a chance tuh run the affairs of the country and looka wha’ happen tuh the highway now. There ain’t a time of day when you doan get blocked up ’pon one part o’ dah highway or the other.
The traffic dat should’ve been flowing freely because it going right through from north tuh south or east tuh west, now butting up pon evahbody who crossing from one part tuh the next or who only just doing a lil short trip dat should be a 20 or so minutes ends up tuh be a good half or hour.
But getting back tuh the prison situation: it now ram off and got in more people than I believe it was intended tuh hold. All like now so, it got tuh be bursting at the seams.
Look, evah single week ya does see a host o’ people, especially young men, gine up there. You would believe dat it is some kinda hotel or the other. I aint know how duh does find the space up there fuh the amount o’ young men dat booking in there evah single day. Right now it like it overbooked.
Highway
I wonder what David Thompson would be saying now if he could see wha’ going on wid both the highway dat was never completed and which more often than not look like a parking lot rather than a highway. The prison which they couldn’t see, but now completed, got in a bundle o’ people, especially young people, mostly men or boys. I also wonder how the present Dees feel ’bout the prison now.
Preparations
Look, the Bees mussee did see this day coming and made preparations for it ’cause evah single week ya does see the courts making bookings and the young fellas checking in there in duh threes, fours and fives, even sevens at a time. Dat is what happen the other day – I think it was about six or seven young men who get sent up there pon remand till the case come up again.
The young fellas like duh see it as somewhere tuh go; a large guest house, a hotel, someplace tuh go and breeze. The authorities up there in St Phillip like duh does have it looking and feeling so nice dat the fellas does do some o’ all sorts o’ things tuh get in there even if it for a couple o’ weeks tuh rest duhselves and recuperate.
Ting, I ain’t know if what duh doing, duh doing it fuh purpose, only tuh get in there and spend li’l time. I ain’t know what kinda activities does go on up there dat does make these fella go and stab up somebody, beat up somebody, break in somebody place and thief the people things or watch dem gine ’long and bong on pon dem in broad daylight and snatch off duh gold chain.
I doan know what it is dat does be driving dem tuh tief summuch. I suppose it is tuh get money tuh buy drugs. The other thing is this, I doan know where the France duh does go and find the lot o’ guns duh using tuh stick up and rob people or kill off duh one another all the time, knowing full well where duh gine end up.
Something got tuh be sweet up there in dat place dat look like a big, sprawling recreational facility called Her Majesty Dodds.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
