THINGS THAT MATTER

“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.” (Charles M. Schulz, of Peanuts fame)

 

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” (Bob Hope)

 

“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!” (Benjamin Franklin)

 

“Marley was dead, to begin with.” That’s the opening sentence of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and when it appeared on December 19, 1843, it was a publishing sensation. For many people it’s been a part of the trappings of Christmas, but it’s also symbolic of one of the pleasures of Christmas and Christmas gifts. When the Christmas service and the Christmas carols are over, and the Christmas fare’s been shared with all the family and hopefully some of the less fortunate, there’s nothing better than a quiet “recovery” with a good book or two. And what a wonderful pile of books I’ve been storing up for Christmas reading!

 

One of my rituals at this time of year is to review the annual pre-Christmas issue of the Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society. This great Bajan tradition is now in its 42nd volume and it’s worthy of the designation Golden Jubilee issue. In fact, it’s a tremendous volume, with a wonderful collection of papers. I have no hesitation in saying that under the scholarly and creative hand of 

Dr. Karl Watson, who’s been the editor for 20 years, the journal has got better and better.

 

It begins with a brilliant trilogy of Reflections on Barbados in the Fiftieth Year of Her Independence. Although I can’t help ruminating on the assigned female gender of our country, I have to say that these three articles are superb – insightful, informative and thought provoking. Jean Holder opens the batting with “The Meaning and Importance of Independence”, and while painting a pen portrait of Mr. Barrow, he explains the evolution of his thinking from his strong support for a Little Eight Federation to independence alone, with the four years of frustration that led to his change of heart. The second article “What Independence means to me”, by retired professional diplomat Peter Laurie, should be compulsory reading for everyone. And “The Promise that is Barbados and the Fear of Greatness” by Lynette Eastmond is a keen analysis that is 

both inspiring and provocative. 

 

There’s a broad range of articles – from an examination of the influence of the Igbo in Barbados by Richard Goodridge and Marcia Burrowes, to “The War of General Busso” by Robert Morris, with a detailed evidence=based analysis of the roles of the several leading figures. Two historical documents are absolutely fascinating: “A Royal Naval Surgeon’s Observations on Slavery and Hurricanes in Barbados” – 300 years ago, by Peter Leyel and Edward Hutson, and “A visit to Barbados in 1891 from the diary of Dr. Sir Henry Nicholls”, who was the brilliant doctor and hero of Dominica for more than 50 years! The third important paper in Martyn Bowden’s series on the Sephardic Jews of Bridgetown is here, along with “New Jewish tombstones revealed” by Dr. Watson and his “Natural History Observations over twenty years”. It’s truly a cornucopia of riches.

 

What else is in my pile, garnered from the Museum bookshop and Pages? First The little “St. Philip Book”, by my Lodge School friend and co-author Addy Forde, with lots of little known facts and stories. Also “out of St. Philip” is “History of St. Philip’s Parish Church 1640 – 2016” by Vivienne Roberts. I’ve already been dipping into Esther Phillips’ collection of moving poems in “Leaving Atlantis”, “Listen to the Hills” by Cynthia Wilson, and “Fathering a Nation”, a collection of writings by and about Errol Barrow, edited by Guy Hewitt. And I can’t wait to get into “Dreaming a Nation”, the autobiography of Sir Frederick Smith, with Alan Smith.