Postcards n xmas cards from ‘foreign’ were fascination .

ice-apples!! ….

My aunty used to bring silk scarves for my mom..everyone wanted to know where she got them from

Tshirts !! (That had Canada or USA printed on them )

Well…high sch days,some stuff were knew being from island, the west coast had few diff things .

-i was introduced to Enid Blyton books in form 1..i had never heard abt Enid Blyton before starting high sch

then the other books..nancy drew/hardy boys. Agatha Christie, secret seven, perry mason books .  I never owned any but my gf used to lend her to me n whnever she got from others she used to giveme for 1 night.  I had to finish it off in 1 night

-Games..scrabble in form 1 !

-Jacks too..i knew abt Littie but not jacks

-the daily train ride from Parika to DeWillem n better yet whn we straded  all the way to Leonora station or Uitvlugt

-school concerts in high sch

A TIMEX watch..

so we used to walk from zb sch to uitvlugt train station some afternoons after sch because 1 of our gf lived in cashba..so we accompanied her home n then she wud change n follow us to train station to wait for her sis who used to attend.a sch in GT n cameo the same train that we used to catch.

so there was Tiwari drug store at the head of station st in Uitvlugt n we used to peep in the store .  My eyes were ona nice small faced TIMES ‘wrist-watch’ with a stretch band.  1st time i saw it it was $35 ..soi used to save money in a piggy bank back then

i kept counting.but whni got the $35 the watch went up to $40 ..getting a $5 can take yrs as i used to get mostly coins as gifts ..only at the end of sch yr, my (teacher) sis wud giveme $2 .

well finally i got the $40 whn i was in 4th form..imagine that watch was there for abt 2 yrs..likeit was waiting for me!

So i turned up to buy it..but lo n behold..it went up to $45 n knew i wont get it before ileft sch.  So my other sis had just started to teach at MMZ whn she was 16 yrs old..

n she saw me  watching that watch in the showcase longingly. N askedme if i wanted it.  I toldher i only had $40 so she gave me the $5

i was so happy with my nice lil watch..

i wore that watch for years..even to UG n after i graduated n even whn i Got married..theni bought a Seiko watch

so i had that watch whn i was 15 yr n wore it for 9-10 yrs!! My most prized possession because it was the 1st thing i ever bought with my money n that $40 was all of my life’s savings..from the 5 cents n 10 cents i used to get as a small small kid!!

Pen Pals..

before high sch, i never knew abt pen pals.

my gf had a few n she used to share the letters with me.. later she gave 2 of them to me..

1 was from Grenada..Wendylla Mitchell.  She mailed me a stamp album which i left  until I left Guayna

the other was a Gyese who had moved to Barbados..Sursattie Mohabir.

i felt so ‘important’ having ‘foreign’ friends n collecting the foreign stamps.  Both of them used to send stamps for me n whni had duplicate, i sent for them

@Lynn posted:

-i was introduced to Enid Blyton books in form 1..i had never heard abt Enid Blyton before starting high sch

then the other books..nancy drew/hardy boys.

Famous Five and Secret Seven, I read a lot of those, a few Nancy Drew and some Nick Carter

@Amral posted:

Famous Five and Secret Seven, I read a lot of those, a few Nancy Drew and some Nick Carter

hehehe…no Nick Carter for me.

.but i read a few Alistair McLean in 4th n 5th forms

The girls were reading mills n boon n harlequin romance..i never liked mills n boons but i did read a few harlequin romance..

whn my sis wasin teachers college (ihad already grad from UG) ..da gyal d love mills n boon n esp harlequin romances

then i was in Danielle Steele

GM, my mother use to read and collect mills and boon, so when I ran out of books to read I use to end up reading those. In my days I will sit down and read a novel and finish it in one or 2 days.  she could not keep up with buying books for me., No TV, just the radio or records so reading was  the main thing.

Then at one time I got an international subscription to Ebony Jr magazine, it exposed me to a lot of black history etc. Thats when I first heard of the name Kareem Abdul Jabar , Roots etc.

https://books.google.ca/books/...MBAJ&redir_esc=y

Well my bf was 1 of yr cuz. ( Simon’s) sil

n there were 4 sisters in high sch so they all exchanged novels

my gf used to read 1 in a night n lent it to me providing i brought it back the next day

i never owned a story book in high sch n back then it was exchange only

nobody lent it to u if u didnt have one to lend.

i read on train n Parika stelling n on the steamer going home n coming back next day!!
i read numerous books this way.. thanks yo my bff .. if it wasnt for her i wont have read 1 !!

she was an avid reader n she was always ahead of our classmates

lije in 3rd form she was reading Perry Mason

she was do e with all the Enid blyton

@Amral posted:

GM, my mother use to read and collect mills and boon, so when I ran out of books to read I use to end up reading those. In my days I will sit down and read a novel and finish it in one or 2 days.  she could not keep up with buying books for me., No TV, just the radio or records so reading was  the main thing.

Then at one time I got an international subscription to Ebony Jr magazine, it exposed me to a lot of black history etc. Thats when I first heard of the name Kareem Abdul Jabar , Roots etc.

https://books.google.ca/books/...MBAJ&redir_esc=y

I couldnt stand mills n boon..omg!!

Didnt u read Louis L’Amour books??

1 of my bro loved those!!

@Lynn posted:

Didnt u read Louis L’Amour books??

yes I read many of those in school, we use to exchange books in class. Even a few teachers were asking to get a borrow when we were done. Then there were those religious comics that Oudai had selling in shop, he had them hanging on a line in the store. I use to buy those and the war comics.

@Amral posted:

yes I read many of those in school, we use to exchange books in class. Even a few teachers were asking to get a borrow when we were done. Then there were those religious comics that Oudai had selling in shop, he had them hanging on a line in the store. I use to buy those and the war comics.

Oh i rem 1 guy in form 2 used to bring TINtIN books n he used to pass it around n we all used to bend down heads on desk n read (comic books were banned at zb ) ..

same with archie n veronica comics

i dont know abt religious comics though

I was too busy getting into trouble, no time for reading unless it was a comic book.

@cain posted:

I was too busy getting into trouble, no time for reading unless it was a comic book.

Hahaha…i can imagine!!

Well..here r a few more things that was meaningful (n fascinated me)

well..abee  deez bin poor..im the last  of 4 kidsn last of 4 sisters

so hand me downs ..were my ‘treats’ in everything..

my big sis used to alter her clothes to fit us ( she learnt to sew by ripping open old clothing n using as patterns to make new clothing) ..she also Made our panties from seersucker material n nightie like those Yassin used to make n sell….

she made nice kitchen towels n pillow cases doing hand embroidery..very talents big sis ..she was onnly 9 yrs older than me but was the mother figure in our lives as my mo used to go to the backdam from sunrise to sunset..7 days a week

So my sch uniform was brand new for high sch in 1971..

n since i didnt put on wgt, i wore the same uniform for 3 yrs..(my sis made it with room to open out in case i got lil fat.

whn it got faded..she opened it up n TURNED over to make it brand new!

whn i got into 4th form we were allowed skirts..so guess wht??

she cut the uniform n made skirt ..n of course i got the handm e down white shirt from 2 older sisters

so whn the sis beforeme got teaching job in 1974(MMZ primary) ..she was just 16 yrs..

(the same sis who gave me $5 to help me buy my 1st TIMEX watch)..

she had a seamstress in MMZ (a parent of. 1 of her students) making nice fancy clothes for her.

so she made a ‘bobby’ skirt (named after Dimple in the movie Bobby) with nice TETREX material n nice broad belt with nice buckle headed made with the same cloth!!

N she wore if for few months n gave it to me..

1st of all..the think was shorter than my old skirt..hehehe..n i wasin 5th form

well our sch rule was skirt must not be more than 3 ins above knee..so i was ok because my old skirt was actually on my knee..hahahahaha..

so u can imagine , anything above my knee was considered short

so yes..I was fascinated with my nice short dance TETREX skirt!

u know few girls had TETREX uniforms from since form 1 ..the ‘rich’ kids n i used to admire them..

TETREX didnt ‘mash up’ like the polyester did ..

plus we wore GORE styled uniforms..(pleated skirts were only allowed from 4th form) with the gold CORD (in place of belt..)

belts were not allowed  unless it was made of the same uniform material

lordie..

hOw me  used to FEEL SO NICE with me lil fancy uniform..finally i had TETREX..after 4 yrs plus 1 semester (term) of high sch..

wish i can describe that feeling..

i ‘envied’ those who wore TETREX from form 1 ..always wished if i could get a TETREX  uniform too..

well dreams do come thru eh!!!

The last 6 months of my high sch ..i had a sch uniform that i dreamed of for 4 yrs+

Ok to continue..

as mentioned, we were poor..

si only had a bath white yattin’ boots ..no sch shoes

(Only white yattin’ or black shoes(flats) were allowed )

i used to buy KIWI liquid whitening for mine..

Few of my gf. Esp those who travelled with me on the bus/boat/train had nice dress shoes ..

alli could do was to watch n admire n ‘dream’ of my feet wearing a nice pr of shoe..

well my sis got me a nice one whn she became a teacher!!! It had a lil square heel n even the front had some sole..like a semi “KICKERS”..N she bought me the black show polish..

buti can tell u the pride i took in keeping my shoes SHINY ..man ah tell yuh..i used to prappa shine up d ting!!

N to add to my nice new shoe..

my sis got me a pair of white BOBBT socks too ..(previously i wore the cheap $1 , this n short white socks)

i used to wash it every night n hang out to dry so it was nice clean white every day

I Used  to fold it down in a fancy fold as wearing it high close to my knees would ahve mademe look like a soccer player or a mad gal ..hahahah

Yep..thank God for a big sis(she is just 1 yr n 7 months older than me)

yes..thank God for a generous big sis ..

so then she got me a black leather BRIEFCASE (1 just like my ‘rich’ gfs had)

with zipper to keep my pens n pencils/erasers..

n pockets inside for other things ….

Well..i used to carry my books in CLOTH BAGS (of course made by my eldest sis!! ) from form 1 to form 4

So there i was..in 4th n 5th form..

with. A nice stylish /fancy TETREX skirt, bobby socks with my mini ‘kickers’ black shoes n my briefcase !!

dreams do come thru even if it takes 4 yrs ….

thnks Amral for starting this topic..

n making me go down memory lane ….

i havent thought abt these things in a long long time….

Oh…another thing that fascinated me ..

was the opportunity to visit friends’ homes

back home my mom didnt allow this..

we had to leave home 5 mins before sch bell rang..(we lived in a ‘street-dm’ near to the school

my mom was strict..she didnt allow us to ‘keep company’ ..she felt ‘company’ would mislead us..teach us to rebel etc etc

so going to high sch..spending all day over on west coast..hahaha..

yes I used to go n ‘wait’ for friends in the morn as we got to sch much earlier like 730-745 am

n classses started at 830 am

t rem the 1st term i stayed with a cuz in the back  st in zeeburg  …n a gf lived on the main rd in DeWillem ..near to the chruch at the head of the st..her dad was a goldsmith.

So i used to get ready early n walk all the way from zb back st to the main rd to ‘wait’ for my gf, then we walked to sch together’

then lunch timei used to rush back early because a gf from leonora used to eat her lunch by some cuz in Zb..n they had  lot of  fruit tRees but i went esp for sweet dungs..small round ones..sweet like honey!  So yes, i went back  early to pick dungs

The 2nd n 3rd term in form 1..we stayed in Tuschen old rd (my older sis was in 5th form , i was. In 1st) n travelled on the wooden buses..

These buses had names..

there were 2 of them doing short drops from Vergenoegen to Parika ..so we used those 2..

i remember 1 called JUDGE ..i dont quite rem the other 1 name..if it was PRINCESS

(i rem there were express wooden buses from parika to Vreed-en-hoop) ..MAKEEBA, QUEEN ELIZABETH

but i dont rem the 2nd bus that originated from Vergenoegen

but JUDGE was olde..whn rain fell..wehad problems pulling up the windows..haha

anyways..i had never travelled on a bus ..so the daily commute to zb n back was fascinating to me..

like I  in a different world

back home, my parents woned a donkey cart..so that was our means of transport to the back dam..n we had few bicycles to bring me to the stelling ..

before high sch i had travelled on the steamer n train  twice..in 1966 n again 1969 to GT

N also in 1969 for my cuz wedding in Tuschen ..

never sat in a car or a bus!!

So yes..those bus rides as a 11-12 yr old fascinated me ..

it was a new experience for me ..

(some might think of me as a ‘nevah-SEE-come to see’ ..hahaha

I think I mentioned before..going to Leonora station ..

During O level exams..classes were given 1/2 day off , either in morn or aft..

so sometimes we had an entire morn with nothing to do..so instead of coming off at DeWillen train platform..we would go on to Leonora train station n our friends wud meet us there n we would go by their houses n spend the morn

or if we had the aft off, we would WALK from Zb to Uitvlugt n hang out with friends until time for the train

or we would walk to MMZ n De Kinderen n visit friends who lived there n then catch train at Boeraserie train station

well of course my MOTHER, BIG BRO/SIS had no idea !!

FREEDOM to visit friends..

but it was fascinating to see the various villages n visit different homes n friends esp since the parents were so kind n compassionate ( they felt sorry for us..that we had to leave home 530 am n didnt reach home until 6 pn..every day. So they treated us kindly..giving us fresh HOT food..hahaha instead of us eating the cold soggy roti we carried in plastic bags (hot roti used to ‘sweat’  in the plastic n so it got soggy.  Many days it was ‘fry-egg’ in d roti as we cooked on fireside so waking early to cook roti n curry for me to take to sch was a lot for my sister to do..or soemtimes the ‘curry’ took too long , so fry egg was the most common lunch for me.

so ah tell u..whn my gf momma used to cook nice hot chickn curry n give we to eat…it was really a treat..

or nice hot boil n fry provisions …or fried ripe plantains..hmmm ..YUMMY

SIMPLE JOYS of life..

dont u think??

look wht made us HAPPY!!

we didnt have much..

so it was the simple things mentioned above that brought JOY to our lives..

these days..kids have every luxury u can think of..

n yet they r discontented ..

miserable

sO any young kids/youths/young adults  r depressed these days !!

thanks Amral BM..for taking me down memory lane..

hope y’all enjoy reading …