Tonight was my first visit to King’s House since it’s present occupant, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen took up office in 2009. Once a regular visitor as one of the preferred musicians for former heads of state, I was delighted to see some of the fairly recent changes in the last two years of divers renovations, especially since I was always loathe to enter the main hall where I always felt assaulted by the portraits of past pre-independence governors hanging from its walls, which always attacked my sensibilities in similar fashion as the offense a Jew would feel if forced to enter a synagogue with great brazen (both meanings appropriate) pigs adorning its altar.
My sentiments were expressed in my past article Heroes Day Reflections for those who don’t get it. I have always felt like a Jamaican born before my time. Without a deeper understanding of the inner workings of fate, it seemed to me an egregious mistake to assign my life and the late Wilmot Perkins to the same century.
Finally, the abominations have been removed (for context click on and read the following two articles: 1. Reflections 2. Profanity) and it seems as if the nation is really preparing herself for her long overdue status as a republic, although remnants of Perkin’s ghost yet lingers and as such I dont hold my breath, I blow my trumpet, unconcerned how profane the sound to those who have compromised so long, they no longer can distinguish between vulgarity and sincere truth.
The portraits have been replaced by the pictures of our national heroes and post independent governors general … an improvement, no doubt, although I would much rather that the former were colorized, enlargened, more ornately adorned and given greater prominence and visibility over the latter, and it might not be too much to ask then that the hall if not the house (which would require renaming the present Jamaica House) be given the name of the nation – Jamaica Hall, so that indeed new Jamaicans might have a place where they might go and look up and see in truth who they are, how far they have come, and the journey forward they must trod in their own time.
YeKengalé 