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| Laughing about something funny at the opening of the exhibition, "Welcome to Blackhurst St.," with Eldon Mascoll and Itah Sadu. |
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| Interviewing Kamala-Jean Gopie for Caribbean Headline News (Rogers TV) at the Harbourfront Centre on November 10, 2014 where benches were unveiled at Ontario Square in honour of several African Canadians who have made major contributions to African Canadian history in their various fields. |
September 12 marked one year since I created this blog, with
the help of Christopher Cushman, and I meant to write a big ‘thank you’ then. I
thought of including something about the 29th anniversary of
Hurricane Gilbert (which slammed into Jamaica on Sept. 12, 1988) – how we
prepared for it and survived during and in its aftermath. However, it didn't
seem like the right time to do so because hurricanes were barreling down on
countries in the Caribbean, Central America and parts of the USA at that time
last month. There are still relief efforts happening to support the people of
Barbuda, Dominica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and other places affected.
I was reflecting then on the camaraderie that existed among
all my neighbours and how we ‘weathered the storm.’ On a recent visit to
Jamaica, I visited longtime friends – from my childhood – and we talked about
how important corned beef (bully beef) was
in many homes – ours included -- in the days after Hurricane Gilbert. A friend
had advised her son living in Florida to stock up on some in his hurricane
preparation last month.
What was quite evident at this gathering was the strong bond
of friendship spanning many years. The proverbial village nurtures such relationships.
It is this spirit of community that inspires me to share information regularly
on my blog. As a journalist – a word a colleague told me is passé – she advised using ‘content provider’ or
‘communications specialist’ instead but I’m sticking to it – I have access to
information about events and matters related to the African, Caribbean and
Black communities. I believe it is my role to share it and so I do.
In the spirit of
Thanksgiving Day in Canada, a big THANK YOU to all of you who I know, have met
at various events, and who have provided me with great feedback about by blog.
(Some of you admitted knowing about the event because of the blog.) Here are
some of the comments I received about various posts this year:
From Cynthia Reyes on Sept. 21, 2017: “I’m so happy for Nadia. Congratulations on a fine
achievement, Nadia! And thanks, Neil, for this story. (on Children’s Author to
Receive Honourable Mention at Awards in Washington, D.C.)
From Elric Virtuoso on July 7, 2017: “Keep at it. Don’t wait for anything, just keep
working and have fun Uncle! (on Canadian Singer Robert Ball Sings from His
Life Journey.)
From Mark Warner on May 20, 2017: “Positive site, where did you come up with the
information on this posting? I’m pleased I discovered it though, I’ll be
checking back soon to find out what additional posts you include….” (on A Public Lecture at the
University of Toronto and More Happening in April 2017.)
From Funon Hai on May 13, 2017: “Your blog is one of a kind, I love the way you
organize the topics…” (on ROM Reaches Reconciliation with the Coalition
for the Truth About Africa.)
From Karen Flynn on May 7, 2017: “Thanks Neil for representing our community. See
you soon!” (on Revised List of Some May 2017 Events)
HAVE A WONDERFUL
THANKSGIVING!
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