Nirvana On The Beach - Negril/Jamaica

20/12/2024

BEACHFRONT CANCELLATION VACANCY- from now until JAN 12, for 2-4 guests,call for availability & rates, see it at nirvananegril.com or email [email protected]

11/09/2024

HOW THE FIRST CHINESE CAME TO JAMAICA

The Chinese first arrived in Jamaica on July 31, 1854 on the ship, Epsom, after a three-month voyage. They left Hong Kong with 267 men; however, 43 died at sea and more soon after arrival.
Another group from Panama came in November 1854 with 195 men on the Vampire. They were sent by the Panama Railroad in exchange for Jamaican workmen; however, they died out quickly due to disease and the harsh conditions.
Between 1864 and 1870 an additional 200 Chinese came from Trinidad and British Guiana on three-year contracts. They planted coconuts, bananas, and sugar cane in Jamaica on a large scale, while others set up small shops.
In subsequent years, only a small number came to Jamaica. However, on July 12, 1884, 680 indentured workers arrived in Jamaica on the Prinze Alexander. On arrival, they were bound to work for a period of five years on a specific estate for fixed wages of three (3) pounds per month. They could not travel beyond two miles of the estate without a pass. Some of these indentured labourers left the plantations, but many completed their contracts and went on their own as soon as they could.

09/07/2024

one of the stories I wrote of Old Negril from the 80's...
Negril, ca. '86
After we bought the beachfront property & finally got the title registered (which took forever) we worked on plans with the architect in Kingston for building a villa on the beach. It was to be a winter home, far from the cold for just the two of us… a barefoot beachfront retreat away from the world, with a Jamaican staff to take care of things when we were gone.
To accomplish this took a team effort (the team was just us 2). We envisioned a large private garden & refused to cut down any trees. We had plans for a caretakers cottage as well as the Villa. In '84-5 we lived in Negril for about a year steady & another year on & off. Finally after many "building" incidents with the builder & the crew we had put our "plan" to work. Now we had to get a manager & other staff. This was done by word of mouth as we had no phones, no internet, no classifieds just tongues wagging over the fence.
Our first man was Henry, he had been on the work crew & did a good job, seemed to understand basic maintenance & was a willing learner. Along with Henry came Pearlie, who would act as a maid & cook.
We soon learned that Henry & Pearlie ( like most Jamaicans ) lived together in an UN-easy truce that typified the state of male/female relations in Negril. Short of open warfare but not crazy about each other. It was a hard place to change, being that Negril was always a backward kind of place & at the far end of the island's supply chain to boot.
In spite of this each was capable & willing to do the jobs that needing doing & so our Yard was formed & functioned well. We lived & worked in harmony. After spending 6 months in a two room rental on the beach at Blue Horizon cottage where me & Mr. Stan had been living at first. By now we were well ready to finally move into our own place. We had built built the first cottage to live in & had recently moved into it. It was a board & block cottage on our new property - we could be on the site as the more cushy Villa was coming up out of the sweet Jamaican soil, bucket by bucket as there was no big commercial concrete mixer on site.
And so it went, sometimes smoothly but with a lot of hassles I can't recall. Down the days of hard work, many frustrations & eventual Victory we had ahead of us...
Aside from chasing loudly crowing roosters out of the empty lot beside us in the wee morning hours & the occasional trip to the Yacht Club or Rick's we led a comfortable & quiet life.
Lots of beach time & floating on the still glassy wonderful water we loved.
Riding our whirring 10 speed bikes after dark about 2 miles to dinner at Meghie's & back along the deserted black smooth new road in the moonlight. Each day we had lists of things to be done so that was the focus.
One bright morning I was back by the drying yard helping Pearlie take down the fresh dried sheets when I noticed she did not seem too happy, me asking her,
"wha' trubble ya, g'yal?"
This is not answered as her eyes were on Henry now stomping thru the yard in our direction with blood in his eye. I drew back & told old Moses to go now for Mr. Stan. Henry now closing in on Pearlie with a stream of Jamaican curse words hurled at her as he walks. Now Pearlie is a big woman with dark skin & long muscular arms strong as a man's, she stood her ground eyeing the open store room where the worker's tools were stored, as Henry, who had been drinking white rum of course, became ever more aggressive with the cursing,
"BUMBACLOT wha' do ya 'oman to vex mi bad, mi see ya wid de nex' mon dem, come, mi will fix ya fe dat"
unsteady from rum & anger he turns to take the measure of his target & looking towards Pearlie standing there coolly waiting with her arms folded, he blinks, looks unsure then lowers his eyes & heads for their cabin still cursing...a few other staff had come running to see what the noise was, Jamaicans are not quiet when angered.
Mr. Stan appeared as if by magic. It's calm for a few minutes, workers looking around to see what's next as Henry reappears holding armfuls of Pearlie's belongings. Trembling with fury Henry throw's the pile on the ground & quickly throws kerosene from a glass lamp over them, swiftly lighting a match to the pile before anyone could stop him. The pile flares up with a WHOOSH.
My eyes glaze over in dis-belief, Mr. Stan is watching every move not saying a word. Pearlie is cool, steely eyed she shakes her head & turns toward the road.
I whisper to her to go to her sister's house in red ground NOW. As soon as she is out of sight Henry just sort of crumples, deflating as the object of his fury disappears.
Mr. Stan is now holding my arm & steers me towards the Villa as we walk away.
"You can't teach drunk & crazy ", he tells me,
"I know", I say as I lock the door solidly behind me.
The next morning the yard was abuzz with the telling of the burning clothes story from the ones who had been there to others who had not been present for some reason or other.
Old Moses, the yardman stood on the walkway, hip cocked, with his rake in his hand, Bonnie, the security guard strolled up beside to hear it again,
“ an’ den’ ‘im put de clothes dem' pon' de groun' & den quick, quick ‘im lightee up a fiya…. an’ gone… so"
Henry & Pearlie both had appeared for work that morning just as tho’ it was an ordinary day.
They had both given a mumbled morning greeting to Mr. Stan, something about “no big deal”.
They looked no worse for the wear. You can bet a was a big deal to us!
Now Pearlie was sweeping the walkway with an old broom & Henry was very busy attending to something in the store room.
In this way things returned smoothly to a normal routine of work that needed doing, the staff had new gossip to share in the home yards they had left earlier & would soon return to.

Our attention turned back to everyday concerns & the affairs of the town.
We wanted to help the kids.
We had fallen as hard for 'de pitney 'dem’, as we had for the pure white powder soft sand of the beach &
the irresistible warm clear water beyond.

Mr. Stan was a Serious man who had decided early that a safe & secure path above the law was the only choice for a young family man. He believed in process over impulse.
We had visited the small block school where local kids had to pay to attend.
It was appalling... filthy & in need of most all of the materials needed for learning.
In his usual fashion of poking around & talking to many random people Mr. Stan eventually ended up at the Negril All Age School where he asked for the bathroom. He was shown outside where behind a rickety zinc enclosure was a pit, a stinking pit. He warned me not to go back there & I listened. Shocked, he asked some of the kids what they thot of the pit, they said it was OK.
Others said they would not use it but there was a chinee' mon dem', across the other side of the school yard where candies & shaved ice drinks were sold.
If you bought a candy, a trip to the store's bathroom with a flush toilet was included.
The chinee' shop was a busy place.
For days after he first saw it Mr. Stan went on & on about it, thinking on a solution. “This has to be fixed.”
It troubled him greatly as he explained, “how can they have self respect if they have to use a place like that in their school everyday?"

As always the first step to most solutions is money & Mr. Stan was not called "the collector" for nothing.
He began an intense campaign to raise the needed funds strictly designated for this problem only.
After much time & effort he had finally raised enough to cover the work.
The school would have 2 new flush toilet stalls one for BOYS, the other for GIRLS. It was begun.
Permits had not been approved.
The toilets had not been delivered as scheduled, the plumber was not available until the following week.
It was always some delay or other at the school project... work went slowly.
Some months after we had written to our MP he responded saying a minister had to be reached.
It was impossible to get this job done. It went on & on…
After hearing the 'word on the street' we finally found out that the chinee’ store owner had the pull in Sav to get the approval delayed (lying on the secretary’s desk in Sav) for the work on the school toilets to proceed.
They would intolerably miss the school kids in their shop.
This was all exposed in a town meeting & finally the school got the toilets...

(fast forward 3 years & those same toilets were stuffed up & un-useable, all the kids had to use the old pit.)

05/07/2024

ALL'S WELL AFTER BERYL PASSED JA
@ NIRVANA, ALL STAFF ARE ALL OK & SOON READY TO WELCOME YOU.
LONNIE @ [email protected]

16/06/2024

Welcome to buzztim On this blog you will find high quality lessons, because of our Good willing to explain everything related to knowledge, food.

07/03/2024

03/03/2024

30/05/2023

Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese

Full recipe:
https://www.buzztim.com/2023/02/blackberry-balsamic-grilled-chicken.html