A CELEBRATION TO REMEMBER
MAIDSTONE IN Manchster is nestled on a mountaintop where the climate is salubrious, and where the weather can be very cold. It is one of the communities that evolved out of the free village movement that took hold after Emancipation in 1838.
The Moravian Church is credited with the development of the village in which, in 1890, it established the Nazareth Moravian Church, which was removed from Adams Valley, not very far away, where Willoughby George Smith was born on July 9, 1918.
Most, if not all of Smith’s childhood friends, are dead, but he celebrated 100 years on earth on Friday, July 9. His big milestone was not celebrated for whatever reasons until Friday, August 3, when I travelled to Maidstone for the second time in four years.
Maidstone is one of the fascinating places in Jamaica I have been to, what with its vestiges from slavery and post-slavery days. I thoroughly enjoyed the first visit, and the second on Friday was no less pleasurable, though for a different reason. The turnout, the behaviour of the crowd, the food and the drinks were fantastic, but it was the decor and layout of the setting that engaged me most.
The family of Willoughby George Smith, father of 14, pulled out all
the stops to give their patriarch a celebration that was truly grand and memorable. That it was well thought out and planned is an understatement. The people directly involved must have had sleepless nights. And they pulled it off.
The theme for the super-special evening was black, gold and white, and the decorators stuck to the script. No attention was paid to any other colour. The tablecloths, napkins, drapes, cutlery, plates, and the printed programme were either black, white or gold, or a combination thereof. The booklets of Smith’s biography and tributes from his children were also in the right.
On each table was a themecoloured card with one of Smith’s personality or character traits printed on it. And since order was required for the serving of the food, guests were invited to dine as the word on the card on their table was announced.
The name on mine was ‘Riddler’, for Smith is known as a legendary ‘riddler’. And Riddle was the first name to be called. Someone sensed that patience is not one of my virtues. And yes, I was hungry. The naseberries I had along the way were long digested.
LOVE FOR DOMINOES
But if black, white and gold were the theme, then dominoes were the subtheme. For, Smith was an ardent domino player, who loved to drop six-love. His offspring took his love for dominoes into consideration and did not colt the game. Around the vase on each table were arranged colourful dominoes. Even some of the mint wrappers had little dots printed on them, symbolic of the dots on dominoes.
The domino subtheme was taken to higher level with ‘dominoes’ being a part of the icing on the five-tier birthday cake, which looked more like a wedding cake, veil and all. It was a rich Jamaican black cake, like those of yesteryear, and tasted as delectable as it looked. Pieces of it, along with yellow cake, cupcakes and cookies were served to guests in white or black boxes, perhaps to take home.
The ride back to Kingston was generally fast and bumpy, not one for women who are pregnant, but the trip was worth it. Apart from the efforts made by the family to be as hospitable as they could, the outpouring of love was touching. I saw a man who was happy, not lonely and destitute, a man whose live had value in the valley and meaning on the mountaintop. It was indeed a milestone at Maidstone.