Minister Holness

production, sent to England to be finished into a snowy powder or shaped into neat, white cubes of refined sugar. To some, that might have been taken as a good metaphor for what a proper colonial subject should aim for.”

However, like most of us who grew up in that generation, Goodison was deeply touched when she received the news that she would be awarded The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

Goodison shared a joke with The Queen and wrote, “Honestly, I will never forget the free and girlish sound of how she laughed out loud at my seal story.” Anyone who knows Goodison will know she is a fantastic storyteller and I am glad The Queen got a taste of her humour.

So here we are arguing over the sins of colonialism and slavery yet misty over the passing of a lady who has been a part of our consciousness for decades. I appreciated that she spoke about her Christian faith in her Christmas message last year. All reports from the Jamaicans who interacted with her spoke of her kindness. May Queen Elizabeth rest in peace.

FAREWELL, PAULETTE RHODEN

I remember Paulette Rhoden running up and down National Arena the evenings before the opening of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (Jma)-jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA) Expo in the 1980s, helping any exhibitor that needed assistance to make the deadline. We were all gobsmacked at the limitless energy of this dynamo.

When I mentioned her recent passing to a friend, she remarked, “That is the lady that gave my son’s school a big discount so they could get their football outfits.” Indeed, Paulette Rhoden was generosity personified and there are countless stories about her thoughtfulness.

She and her husband Maurice, who predeceased her, founded the Crimson Dawn garment manufacturing company 47 years ago, supplying school uniforms and sports gear. But Rhoden went beyond her own business to assist other manufacturers, serving on the JMA’S executive for over 30 years.

She passionately believed in manufacturing and in Jamaica’s potential to be self-reliant. In this column in March 2011, I described her as “that treasure of a Jamaican”, who shared her belief that we don’t have to go as far as Europe or the US to export our wonderful food as she pointed out that there is a market of 35 million, from Bermuda in the north to Suriname in the south, hankering for our excellent produce.

Jamaica has lost a great daughter. Our sympathy to her sons and other family members. May her beautiful soul rest in peace.

lowriechin@aim.com www.lowrie-chin.blogspot. com