DAYS 26-31.....Communication Windies Stylie

We have been hanging out in the village for a week now. Every day at some time we go for a stroll. It's usually when the sun is thinking about dusting itself down, patting itself on the back and going to torment others on the other side of the world. Dusk is short here but if you get off your liming arse and take to the narrow uneven road up into the centre, there is much to experience. Most of the folks who have spent their day hanging about are still there, mixing with others recently back from various locations and sometimes work. Consequently there is much to discuss. At volume. At distance. At anytime of day. Here a street conversation can take place at the drop of a multicoloured hat and the air is sometimes thick with all three types.

The one that is the most perplexing to us from the East is the conversation that starts face to face and ends up at a distance of anything up to 50 to 100 metres. This is a classic. As the two, three or sometimes more, participants move away from each other having had a normal but usually loud conversation, instead of wishing each other goodnight, good day or whatever, the conversation continues, getting louder with each step taken until, at maximum volume they are shouting at each other from a considerable distance. And remember the dialect is almost unfathomable. It's English Jim but not as we understand it, delivered like a round of machine gun fire.

Then there is the 100 metre shout. Today, Fred, cousin to Trish and well known to some readers of this blog engaged Trish's mum in this one. Fred lives about three 'doors' up. (Some doors are sturdier than others). Let's say best part of 100 metres. Matilda was on the balcony at the back of the house. Fred, standing on his porch. They needed to communicate and communicate they did. Fred could of easily secured a job as Town Crier anywhere in days gone by, "oh yay oh yay, the Internet is now on Tant". Matlida, 76 years old was also not to be outdone in the process and returned a gusty "Fred you......." .....there was more but that's all I understood! This 100 metre communication can of course be achieved over less distances and I have also seen it successful over greater, right outside our house here in fact, to the top of the hill.

Probably the most interesting of the conversations and the third I will mention, actually happened last night. The Argument. This indeed is really impressive and it too can be heard over a distance, and guaranteed to draw a crowd. Two protagonists are ideally required although Cousin Claude who lives in a board shack at the back of the house in our 'yard', can actually carry out one with himself at any time and in any place. And has done so on a number of occasions recently. But the two person salvo is more Impressive. I didn't understand a word of last night's conflagration and had to ask Cousin Elwyn, after it had all died down, what the hell it was about. I then learned that Elwyn had actually been involved. Whether this officially made it a three person argument or not I don't know.

Apparently this softly spoken man was mediating in the dispute between Clarrie, who lives in a small flat underneath 'The Disco' and some fellow in the street, her ex it turned out to be, who owes her money. This episode was pretty loud, drew a small crowd, could be heard from the back of the house and included 'cussing' which never impresses Matilda who luckily was round the corner 'going by Mosso'. In other words it had all the essential ingredients. When I arrived it was mostly blown out, similar to Hurricane Danny, now terrorising the Northward Caribbean. As usual the ex boyfriend left the scene still shouting the odds and kept at it as he departed up the street well past Fred's place. I then heard the West Indian 'supe' from Clarrie. This entails sucking air into the mouth through clenched teeth which produces a sound rather like a elongated tut but is always used when disdain is required. Clarrie produced a truly impressive one of these. I've tried it, but the folks round here just laugh at me, as they did when me, Merlin and Jim tried the long distance conversation mentioned above. We even started with the customary "hey (enter name) what's up." To no avail. We just sounded pathetic and Fred and the passers by were royally entertained.

A little later on I heard about Tropical Storm Erica approaching fast. Liat have already cancelled some flights on Friday and guess what day we are flying home! Supe that!