TIPSY IN THE VILLAGE GREEN
AROUMD JA WITH PAUL H
RAYMOND KIRLEW and his wife, Grace, are two of the most hospitable people I know. I met them years ago when I went to their home in Discovery Bay, St Ann, to interview them about a ‘cave’ that some workmen had discovered in their backyard.
Another story evolved out of the initial one, which Hospitality Jamaica reported on several times. We kept in touch, and, recently, Raymond called to invite me to his 70th birthday party. He said I had to be there, and I agreed. They are really nice people.
Upon arrival at their home, the place was buzzing with people, some of whom had flown down and across for the big milestone. Pots were on fire, and the Heart of Stone gerreh band from Westmoreland was resting in a corner. In less than an hour we started to leave for the actual venue, The Village Green country club in St Ann’s Bay. I have been there once.
But our vehicle missed the spot and we ended up in Drax Hall. After we arrived back in St Ann’s Bay, some people struggled to tell us where it was. When we eventually found it, we could not imagine it was so near the main road.
Things were not swinging as yet when we arrived, but shortly after, I saw movements towards the bar. I ignored it, but I was really thirsty. I had something soft and light, but as the evening progressed I was imbibing beverages that were not so soft and light. There was a lot of it, for the Kirlews did not hold back their hands. Yet, I had to be alert for the pictures and formalities, and I was.
I particularly liked the music of the gerreh band, lively dancing music. I was seeing them for the second time. The first was at a six-hour funeral at Whithorn district in Westmoreland. Yet, I was more interested in taking pictures. I could not get the angles that I wanted, and there was a member of the band who turned her side or back to the camera when it was pointed at the band. I spoke to her about it, but she could care less.
The band was not on fire, as was the case the first time I saw
them, but they delivered, providing a different type of music. I was hoping that they would have played a second time. And I had gone to the bar more than once. One time it was for “something bubbly”. The waiter told me I could not get the whole bottle. That’s odd! I didn’t want it. He opened the bottle, and filled me a cup. It turned out to be sparkling wine.
And did it sparkle? It tasted really nice, so the periods between my sips were very brief, and so was the time the bubbler took to send me tipsy. I was fully aware of who I was and where I was, but I just wanted to recline.
There was no space for that, so I spent the rest of the night, even when I was making a presentation to Kirlew, pretending that I was OK. And I really think I did well, to the extent of the frenzy my head was in. I was not drunk, but somewhat tipsy. So, I wowed there and then, no more sparkling wine, unless I am near my bed. That was perhaps my hundredth vow.
Outside of these social events, I’m not a drinker. I know what alcohol could do to my systems, so we are not friends. But, from time to time I take a sip of my ‘enemies’. Some of them are quite tantalising, especially the one that made me tipsy in The Village Green.