REMEMBERING THE GREAT DONNA SUMMER! by Dimitri Allicock
Known as the “Queen of Disco,” Donna Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston, Mass., in 1948, as one of seven children. She was raised on gospel music and became the soloist in her church choir by age 10.
The five-time Grammy winner rose to fame in the 1970s, scoring hits with “Last Dance,” “Hot Stuff” and “Bad Girls.” She co-wrote the single “Love to Love You Baby” in 1975, and went on to co-write several other hits, including “She Works Hard for Her Money.” Continue reading →
Beautiful Barbados sung by “The Merrymen” of Barbados.
Living in Barbados – The Hazards of Illegality
By Hubert Williams – Published August 4, 2009.
Bridgetown, Barbados, — More than two years ago I had seen it coming… as some people would say, full butt: that Barbados, traditionally one of the more disciplined, orderly and educated societies in the Caribbean, was becoming increasingly intolerant of some other West Indians being within its borders; and that was why in July 2007 I had sent a letter to the Editor of the Sunday Sun (which was published as an article) calling public attention to what I had begun to observe.
For very specific reasons, I did not send the material to any other newspaper, in or out of Barbados. If it was published elsewhere (and I am not aware that it was) it could only have been through reproduction from the “Sunday Sun”.
The letter had found substantial support in the scholarly research of renowned Guyanese historian Dr. Walter Rodney – whose brutal dispatch in June1980 had shunted Guyana further off the course of stable nationhood – that migration between the two countries was not alone a 21st century phenomenon. Its heaviest flows were during the 19th century, and every time the tap of human movement was turned on, it was Barbadians heading southward, down to Demerara and away from the excruciating poverty and lack of opportunity for Blacks in their homeland. Continue reading →
The once popular and well known 1897 Demerara to Essequibo railway symbolized Upper Demerara and served as a cornerstone in its development before Bauxite dominated. This railway provided valuable and safe transportation for commuters and cargo between Essequibo and Demerara. It was Guyana’s first inland railroad – The Demerara Essequibo Railway (DER).
Hugh Sprostons entry to British Guiana in 1840 saw a dire need for transportation across Guyana’s waterways and its hinterlands. He established steam-powered vessels across Guyana and built Guyana’s dry dock in 1867, where damaged vessels could be repaired and new ones constructed.
Sprostons had steam brigs or vessels plying the Georgetown route as far as Lucky Spot up the Demerara River since the 1850s. They were also other privately-operated vessels of that period. Access up the mighty Essequibo River was a different matter. Navigation was very dangerous due to the many rapids and waterfalls. Many people drowned as they tried to navigate the torrent Essequibo and boats capsized more often than not. Continue reading →
