Prof. Barry Chevannes Passes

Courtesy of UWI

Prof. Barry Chevannes, another great Jamaican passed away. 

In September 2008, I and a former colleague, senior writer S. L. Price, of Sports Illustrated went to Jamaica to do a feature story on the return of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser to the country after their magnanimous achievements in Beijing.  What might have been perceived as a simply story, follow around the athletes, was quickly revealed as anything but simply.  Fraser was from Waterhouse, a garrison community within Kingston.  I knew in order to represent her fairly I would have to get historical, political and cultural understanding of garrisons and Waterhouse in particular.  

For that I turned to Prof. Chevannes at UWI (Mona) and Horace Levy of the Peace Management Initiative, also a former sociologist at UWI.   Both men were invaluable in their willingness to share their knowledge of inner city communities in Kingston.  I had countless telephone conversations with Levy and sat with him on the UWI campus for about 40 minutes.  


Prof. Chevannes allowed me to interview him in his office for one and a half hour. There was only a path cleared for his chair behind his desk, and the guest to sit at a chair in front of his desk.  Every other space was covered with books and papers.  He talked to me about colonial days through the 70s to present time.  I was a journalist and a student that day.  I left knowing more that I had every anticipated about political struggles in Jamaica, but also left confident the sections on Waterhouse would be handled with care.  

Obituary 

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101106/lead/lead2.html

Homecoming Story 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1146758/index.htm

-- Connie Aitcheson

Norma Shirley Death

On a visit to Jamaica a few years ago a dear family friend took my mother, aunt and I to Norma’s on the Terrace for dinner at Devon House, a national heritage

Courtesy of repeatingislands.com

site in Kingston. I don’t remember the exact dishes we ate but I know all four of us were transfixed. The meal was a five-star experience; equal to any meal in Paris or New York, and we were silent with our joyous stomachs. 

So it is with real shock to hear of the passing of the chef/co-owner of the restaurant, Norma Shirley, on Monday.  Shirley is the culinary Louise Bennet, Bob Marley or Rex Nettleford. Although Jamaica is known for its jerk and ackee & saltfish dishes, perhaps no person has revolutionized food on the island more than Shirley. She enhanced the local cuisine as well as mixed them with international flavors.  

I have eaten at The Grog Shoppe also at Devon House, which she recently reopened and was the chef; and at Ortanique in Coral Gables, FL, partnered by her son Delius Shirley and Cindy Huston.  At both restaurants the food was delicious and the people were warm and welcoming. 

Fortunately Shirley's gifts and legacies were passed on but she will truly be missed.  

Obituary

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Norma-Shirley-passes


-- Connie Aitcheson