A VERY SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR

Me and Mum on one of her visits to The Bahamas
(Cape Santa Maria, Long Island, Bahamas)

This time of year always reminds me of the last time I saw my mother ten years ago. As Christmas approached, Erskine came up with the exciting suggestion that we should surprise Mum and fly to England for Christmas. She used to always visit us in The Bahamas during winters and spend Christmas and New Year with us, but those visits were sadly coming to a close as she got older.

I booked our flights, arranged for us to stay in holiday accommodation close to Mum so we wouldn’t put her out in any way, and even booked Christmas Dinner for three at a nearby hotel.

It was difficult for me to keep the secret, but once all our plans and bookings were made I called Mum to give her our surprise. I’ll never forget how happy she was and what a special Christmas and New Year that was. I am so glad we did this and am grateful to Erskine for making it possible, as three months later my dear mother passed away suddenly.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year!

THE ENTICING MISTLETOE!

Cold, snowy days can often be as romantic as hot, sultry beaches! I remember the mistletoe we all used to try and manoeuvre our way under as giggling teenage girls at Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties! We hoped that special guy would see that we were standing beneath that little piece of greenery and he would head our way!

Mistletoe features in one of my stories in “Sunbeams from the Heart – A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories”, available on Amazon as an e-book and in paperback.

Sunbeams at Amazon.com

Sunbeams at Amazon.co.uk

CHRISTMAS DAY ISLAND STYLE IN BYGONE YEARS!

Erskine as a little boy growing up on Long Island
(with his mother and five of his sisters)

When my husband Erskine hears Jay Mitchell singing the Christmas hymn, “Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn” on the radio, he says the hymn always reminds him of Christmas morning as a boy.

When he was a child growing up on Long Island in the Southern Bahamas, the children would wake up early on Christmas Day while it was still dark. They had no watches or clocks on the island in those days and told time by the sun, moon and stars.

Erskine, along with his siblings and friends, would first make their way to his Auntie Mary’s house on McKenzie Hill, which was the starting point for their Christmas morning house to house visits. They were all decked out in Junkanoo masks. The masks were made by the children out of cardboard and string, and painted with berries from the cactus tree (called “prickle pear” by the islanders).

Down the hill, Cousin Edward would be in his yard, singing “Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn”!

The children let off fire crackers as they went around the homes. They also carried paper bags. The bags were for their neighbours to deposit candy, cake, tangerines, oranges, “benny” cake (made from sugar and sesame seeds), coconut cake, coconut tart, and pound cake. This was usually all the children received for Christmas, but they were quite happy with whatever they were given. It was a simple but contented life.

As Christmas Day comes to a close here in The Bahamas, I hope everyone reading this has had a wonderful, peaceful day and I would just like to say, "A Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

BAHAMIAN CULTURAL LEGEND & SOPRANO JOANN CALLENDER IN PUNCH WIA TODAY!

Every Thursday “The Punch”, Nassau, Bahamas, features an outstanding local woman in their “Woman in action” column. Here is my WIA article in The Punch today about Bahamian Cultural Legend and internationally recognized Soprano JoAnn Callender, who is currently working on a documentary about the late Timothy Gibson, composer of The Bahamas National Anthem.

CHRISTMAS DONE COMIN' - HELP SALVATION ARMY HELP OTHERS!

CHRISTMAS DONE COMIN'

by Fay Knowles

Christmas done comin'
Junkanooers in da shacks
Please give a dollar for
Salvation Army good acts

If you ain't gat a dollar
A quarter will do
If you ain't gat a quarter
Then God bless you!

THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION IN THE PUNCH!

The Punch gave The Scottish Connection a nice mention in their issue Monday, December 19, 2016.

BICYCLING THEN AND NOW IN NASSAU!

Seeing this bicyclist near Junkanoo Beach the other day, weaving his bike in and out of traffic, reminded me of the story Erskine told me about when he owned a bicycle in Nassau in the late fifties.

He said his bicycle was licensed according to law at that time and had a horn (you had to either put a horn or a bell on your bike then). He locked the bike up on the sidewalk of down town Bay Street with a chain attached to a post, like everyone else with bikes did and went into the Savoy Theatre to watch a movie.

When he came out of the theatre a policeman booked him for “parking a bike on a sidewalk”. The officer was from Barbados (“They never used to play!” says Erskine, meaning the policemen from Barbados were very strict!). Several other bicyclists were booked at the same time.

A summons for Erskine to appear in court was later dropped to Cole Thompson’s Pharmacy, where he worked at that time. Erskine says he was fined a few pounds sterling!

I don’t think the bicycle laws are enforced in Nassau very much these days! Of course, I'm sure members of local bicycle clubs make sure they have their bikes in good order and all rules of the road adhered to.

TRIBUNE'S "WEEKEND" - LINK TO ARTICLE ABOUT THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION

At the risk of boring you with yet another post about “The Scottish Connection”, here’s the actual link to the article “My word – what a lengthy journey” on page 19 of the Tribune's “Weekend” December 16, 2016, about my new book “The Scottish Connection: A Journey Back – Mini-memoir”! My previous post just had a scanned copy of the article.

Tribune's "Weekend", December 16, page 19 on right

I always enjoy the Tribune’s “Weekend” supplement, as it’s full of interesting articles. It often takes me a few days to get through reading it!

THE TALE OF THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION IN THE TRIBUNE TODAY!

“My word – what a lengthy journey”, the story of how my newly released book “The Scottish Connection” came to be, appears in The Tribune’s “Weekend” supplement today!

In “The Scottish Connection”, an illustrated mini-memoir, I share memories of my 1978 journey back to Scotland with my mother and young sons, to revisit our Scottish roots. “The Scottish Connection” contains a wealth of information - Scottish ancestry, historical facts, genealogy, comparable 1978 prices, geographical descriptions, personal anecdotes, nostalgia and precious old photos.

“The Scottish Connection: A Journey Back – Mini-memoir” is available on Amazon as an e-book and in paperback. Or special order through your favourite local bookstore.

THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION E-BOOK

THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION PAPERBACK

NOW AVAILABLE! THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION: A JOURNEY BACK - MINI-MEMOIR!

In this illustrated mini-memoir I share memories of my 1978 journey back to Scotland with my mother and young sons, to revisit our Scottish roots. “The Scottish Connection” contains a wealth of information - Scottish ancestry, historical facts, genealogy, comparable 1978 prices, geographical descriptions, personal anecdotes, nostalgia and precious old photos.

Click the link below to buy the e-book on Amazon.

Also available in paperback at Createspace - https://www.createspace.com/6787148

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION

STRATEGIST SIMMONE BOWE IN PUNCH TODAY!

Every Thursday “The Punch”, Nassau, Bahamas, features an outstanding local woman in their “Woman in action” column. This week The Punch is running my WIA article about Simmone Bowe, Personal Development Coach, Transformational Speaker and owner/operator of Strategic Transitions, a vibrant training and coaching business.

UPCOMING BOOK RELEASE - THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION!

COMING SOON!

My illustrated mini-memoir “The Scottish Connection”. This will be available as an e-book and in paperback.

Driving long distances in a short space of time throughout the United Kingdom is the norm nowadays. However, in the seventies it was often an adventure to cover the length or breadth of Britain. In this mini-memoir I share memories of my 1978 journey back to Scotland with my mother and young sons, to revisit our Scottish roots.

The Scottish Connection contains a wealth of information – Scottish ancestry, historical facts, genealogy, comparable 1978 prices, geographical descriptions, personal anecdotes, nostalgia and precious old photos.