Stredwick

The latest I used to reach Half Way Tree was 8.30 am. That was before school reopened this September 2018. Sometimes if we are lucky and get a 20A we might reach Half Way Tree by 8.30. However the 8A bus is coming down at 8.00 am and we are ending up at Half Way Tree at 9.00am. I can take the 8 bus but when I reach parade I have to wait for half house to get a bus to go Uptown. I can't blame the work they are doing at Three Miles and Hagley Park Road because it is sorely needed. All that is needed is for the 8A bus to come at the usual time.

I have been following the progress of St. Mary's College in the 2018 Manning Cup Football competition. We aren't doing all that well  having just two points from five games. It's an improvement over last year when we didn't earn a single point. I know of one school which is already utilizing the services of a football manager. So I'm advocating for St. Mary's College to go down that route. I think it would be good if a past student with knowledge of the game volunteered his services.The old student's association could also help as could the various alumni's abroad but especially in the United States.

I have books in several mediums on the Internet. Most of my books are on Amazon.com and Create Space. I also have books on lulu.com. I really want to write more books but have to hold down a full time job. That doesn't give me enough time for writing. As most of my readers know I am an accountant/auditor by training. Persons interested in purchasing my books should visit the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon.com.

Better Days are Coming Short   Summary of Stories Willis’ Lucky Escape-   Will Willis escape his kidnappers and sum up the courage to testify against them? Read the full story in Willis’ Lucky Escape. No Tears for Sonya- Most persons believed that Sonya was a wicked girl. She had been involved in some bad things in her younger days and even since becoming an adult. Will she find redemption and repent of her evil ways? Read the full story in No Tears for Sonya. The Serial Burglar- Las and Dalby set out the capture Bender, a wily and dangerous praedial thief. They have to fight Bender’s sons. They also have to get out of Lobban’s Woods with Bender and avoid Clinch Salmon and his band of cutthroats. Read the full story in The Serial Burglar. The Troubled School-All sorts of problems were plaguing the school. Will it be able to overcome those problems? Read the full story in The Troubled School. Wrong Directions-Romain was given wrong directions and rob...

I wrote a collection of poems called Glengoffe Days. I recently wrote an article on the jippi jappa industry. Agriculture played a big part in Glengoffe. We had bissy (kola nut), cocoa and to a lesser extent coffee. Other crops were bananas, yams, plantains. Most farmers abandoned the sugar cane industry in the seventies. What saved most of the farmers were the higglers who took their produce to sell in various markets. As I have said before there were no idlers or unemployed persons in Glengoffe in those days.  Please visit the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon and have a look at some of my books.

Better Days are Coming will be the name of my next collection of short stories. It will be ten stories and the book will be approximately 130 pages. Readers should look out for it. At the moment I do my own proof reading and editing. The book could be available on Amazon in early December.

The other day I read an article about the revival of the jippi jappa industry in Glengoffe. This is hat mating using straws. As a young boy I remembered going to buy straws from a man called Mr. Melton Wood in Mt. Matthews district. My mother made hats as did my grandmother when she wasn't sewing. At that time most females in Glengoffe were involved in the trade. I don't know why it fell on hard times but I suspect that it was because most of the merchants had gotten old or had died. Preparing the straw to be plaited was an intricate affair as you had to make sure that it didn't mildew. Some of the men in Glengoffe also made mats and bags. They used a kind of grass to make the mats. They also used a plant called rush, which is found in swamps. Maybe a documentary could be done on these trades.

The English cricket team will tour the West Indies beginning January 2019. Based on what I've read the tour will bypass Jamaica as none of the games will be played here. Also there are no Jamaicans on the team. Jamaica has the most players in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Is it that they are good enough for the CPL but not good enough for the West Indies team?