CHAPTER 8: KITE MAN

The test kite was damaged from the journey, so we had no time to waste.  The next morning, we started rummaging through our aunt’s yard looking for old box boards to cut and make parts for our broken kite. We found a few pieces and with a cutlass started chopping down on the wood.

Suddenly we heard someone shouting at us. “Hey there! Hey you there!”

We looked round and there was this tall skinny man pointing at us. “Stop that racket, is what you all, think you doing?”

We replied, “We’re trying to repair our kite”.

 “Oh! I see” he said, “Come here let me help you all. I am the Kite Man. Wait here, Ah gon bring out my favorite knife Baby Gal! Boys she is the sharpest gal I ever had, when she cuts, she cuts real clean and smooth”. I use am to chop up nuff of them”. “Bring them boards, leh me help you all build a big man kite”.

His fingers were long, and his hands were steady as he chopped and planed the boards to be used for our kite. “Go get me some pace.  Pacie is a gummy sticky fruit that grew on a large tree in Aunt Sybil’s yard.  So we climbed the pacie tree and picked as many bunches of pacie as we could, as fast as possible, because red ants were biting us on all parts.  Red ants always bite you in parts unmentionable.   Red ants live in pacie trees, they love the fruit because it is so sweet.

Next we had to cut some bamboo to make the ‘bull’ of the kite.  We then asked our mother for a few dollars and ran down to Main Street to buy some kite paper to place on the kite frame.  Because the kite was so big we could not use our crochet # 0 twine, we had to buy a thicker twine more like a fine rope. Then for the tail we cut some old clothes and joined the pieces together. But the Kite Man said we had to get some rope so we found a big old rope in the yard and split it in two to make the tail. The Kite man said “I is a fight man and we gon battle any bad man kite that challenge we on the Back Dam tomorrow”. 

Attached illustration for Once upon an Easter. Also Painting Dengulae which is now on sale for $2500.00. Please feel free to inbox on any at shown on my blogs.  

CHAPTER 7: AUNT SYBIL’S

  

 

CHAPTER 7: AUNT SYBIL’S

 

We crossed the Berbice river in a ferry from Rosignol to New Amsterdam, an old town named by the Dutch.  Clarence and I trudged our way down to Saint Ann Street with our luggage and tattered kite.  We arrived at my Aunt Sybil’s house late in the evening, it was already dark and we were greeted with lots of love and kisses by my mother and Aunt.

 

Now Aunt Sybil’s house was an old time huge Dutch style house with a high roof, the ceiling space allowed breeze to flow through the house. My aunt’s house also had lots of windows and a bottom house which she rented to boarders. The house was also surrounded by a guinep tree and a mango tree and a dunks tree.   The dunks tree was so close to the house that with a reach out the window one could pick the dunks.

 

After a quick bath,  cold water mixed with hot water from a kettle and poured into an enamel bucket, followed by a quick rub down with soap from head to toe, a bowl to throw water over your body we hopped out the bath as soon as possible. Towels off, then on with the pajamas, we headed down to the kitchen for a hot dinner.

 

Aunt Sybil had a huge kitchen with a large table from which all activity revolved. We sat down to some fresh brewed hot  ground cocoa with raw cow’s milk and some Bakes with Salt Fish and two Chinese Cakes for sweetness.  I vow that Cocoa tea is the best in the world! Made with roasted fresh cocoa beans ground in a hand mill and served with hot fresh cow’s milk; just milked for the cow earlier in the morning it’s a taste to be savored for a lifetime.

Once upon an Easter

Attached to this blog illustrations for { Once Upon an Easter} also please find painting Diamond she is on sale for $2000.00.

CHAPTER 6: THE BRITISH SOLDIERS PART 2

 

What we did not know was that Mahaica was also the World Headquarters for Sand Flies and Mosquitoes. The moment the train pulled out of the Mahaica station, colonies of sand flies and mosquitoes descended on us with the most vicious insect attack of on man ever. Sand flies will attack you in swarms on every exposed part of your body. They will find their way through your hair down to your skull and the bite every exposed part unprotected by hair and leave your head full of bumps; they are bad. The mosquitoes there will bite and drink every drop of blood you own by the time you reach Rossignol, you will have no blood and become pale.

 So, there we were facing imminent death when the two English soldiers produced the most complete defense in the form of a bottle of Citronella oil. They offered to share some with us.  We graciously accepted their offer. We rubbed that oil on our body from head to toe. We literally took off our yachting boots and rubbed the oil between our toes and of course on our heads, under our shirt and pants. It just takes one sand fly to get under your shirt and pants to have you scratching and itching.

My brother and I will always be grateful to those two English soldiers. Once upon an Easter. 

Attached painting ALIVE now on sale for $800.00. You may in box me for any other art shown on previous blogs.

CHAPTER 6: THE BRITISH SOLDIERS

 

With our spirits uplifted Clarence, our Aunt Yvonne and I began preparing for the big Easter Monday kite flying day.  Only to receive a letter from my mother Gertis stating that she wanted us to spend Easter with her in New Amsterdam.

 

The next couple days were now spent preparing for the long journey to New Amsterdam. We boarded the train in Georgetown, Lamaha Street in Cummingsburg to begin the trip. 

 

To our amazement and joy as boys we were in the same compartment with two British soldiers.

 

Guyana, then “British Guiana” was a sovereign colony of England.  The British army sent soldiers to help squash the unrest and riots and return the country to a state of peace.                           

 

Between strained snips of conversation, we got to know the English soldiers. They proved to be saviors to us after the train made one of its major stops at Mahaica. At this stop we are allowed to leave the train to stretch our feet and buy food and stuff.

Attached illustrration from Once Upon an Easter. Also attached painting the  Cicketer which is on sale for $150.00.

CHAPTER 5: TEST FLIGHT/2

 

The kites having been completed, mine was put to the test flight. It flew so high it hummed so loudly it could be heard for miles, my heart could not stop pounding with happiness.  Then out of nowhere a strong gust of wind blew and pop went the twine (Crochet #0) and away flew my kite. 

 

There was no time to waste. Straight away we plunged into action running in the direction of the falling kite.  The kite fell fast, and it disappeared speedily. We now had to go from yard to yard over fences fearing bad dogs and angry shouts.

 

Finally, we got to the yard of an old lady and asked her if she had seen a fallen kite.  “Yes” she said and asked us to describe the kite.

 

I slept well that night with my kite by my bedside.

 Once upon an Easter.

Attached to blog illustration for Once Upon an Easter. And on Sale is Pasty for $180.00.00 and Sunflower for $180.00

CHAPTER 5: TEST FLIGHT

 With Easter approaching fast and not having acquired a wooden kite to fly my brother, Clarence and I were worried.  We explained our dilemma to the gardener. He convinced us that our fears were unfounded and we could build our own wooden kite.

 

Up to that time we could only build ‘pointer broom’ kites -using the spines of the coconut tree leaves.  These were not very efficient kites. They were prone to breaking easily and had disastrous flying records. 

 

The gardener then proceeded to lead us through the steps of making our own wood kite with old pieces of board laying around our yard.  And assisted by my aunt Yvonne who provided us with some of her greaseproof paper and some colored Barbados Kite Paper we built two ‘singing engine’ kites with big bulls  so that they could hum in the air. 

Attached to blog is an illustration for book once upon an Easter. Brighten up your Easter attached also art Amaryllis on sale for $60.00 and Blue Diamond on Sale for $170.00

 

CHAPER 4 THE GARDNER PARRT 2

 

Because Guyana experiences bursts of heavy rain at any time and extreme heat and sunshine the grass grow at an aggressive pace. It therefore happens on one of those hot spells that a Gardner came by and offered to cut the grass on our aunt’s Yvonne’s lawn for a small fee.  My aunt Yvonne quickly agreed.  We as boys stood and watched in amazement as he used his scythe to swipe through the tall grass. Due to the extreme heat and humidity the Gardner had to take a break which he did. We sat around him in my aunt back yard and chatted with him and watched in amazement as he sharpened his scythe.

Once Upon an Easter.

Illustrations for Once Upon an Easter are not for sale however attached Unity 17.5" by 11,5"watercolor on paperr is on sale for $400.00