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Showing posts from March, 2019

Rural folks in Jamaica and their superstitions -3

She was a small woman and my grandmother used to sew for her. Miss Gwen was in her final stages of pregnancy. Her husband, a former farm worker had made it big, was now a permanent USA resident and operated his own church in Miami. Benny,  had fixed up his house in Jamaica and his wife and four  children were fairly comfortable. It was a real  shocker to us when Miss Gwen took in to have her baby and was rushed to hospital. The whole village was in shock the next morning when we heard that Miss Gwen was dead! The baby had been saved! We heard that doctors had warned her  against having any more children  but she went against the doctor's advice. Immediately rumors started to fly! People said that Benny, unknown to Miss Gwen had divorced her and married another woman over there in the States. It was also said that Benny had paid a science man to kill Miss Gwen. Please also visit my new blog: glengoffe1.wordpress.com

Champs 2019

My congratulations to both Kingston College and Edwin Allen High School for winning champs. Some experts had predicted a much closer race between KC and Calabar. Those same experts had predicted a far more comfortable win for Edwin Allen. This is a tough championship and Hydel should be congratulated for nearly pulling off an upset and defeating Edwin Allen. I say it is a tough championship because several former championship schools are finishing way down the track. Maybe the experts can tell us why these schools are not doing as well as in former years. Why is it that schools that dominate Eastern Champs are not showing up much higher on the CHAMPS radar?  Please have a look at my books by visiting the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon.

Recent Cricket Happenings

The West Indies recently retained the Wisden Trophy. Although there has been a change in the leadership of our cricket it's going to take us a long time before we reach anywhere as far as the cricket goes. The problem is that we were in this free fall for too long. We could fall even further unless a drastic improvement is made. We have to find out what made the players of the seventies, eighties and early nineties great. It was their hunger for success.

Rural Folks in Jamaica and their superstitions-Part Two

At school in Keswick I had a very superstitious friend. We used to talk about rolling calf and Spanish jar. I'm trying to remember what was the legend about the Spanish jar all about. If any of my readers know about the legend they can get in touch with me. I think it might be that the Spaniards had hidden some jars full of money in Jamaica. Anybody who found one of these jars would be rotten rich for the rest of their lives. There were so many superstitions flying about the place. By the way science men practice a higher craft than obeah men, many of whom were mere bush doctors. I notice people selling tons of bushes all over the place. Some have even made all sorts of tonics out of it. But back to superstitions, in those days if a person died before a certain age it was assumed that he or she had been obeahed. People warned their enemies not to attend their funeral and what they would do them if they attended. It was customary to hear that a recently deceased person was walking a

Rural Folks in Jamaica and their superstitions-Part One

In th e 1960s and 70s when I lived in Keswick superstitions abounded. Obeah men and women were all over the place, but there was one man whom we shall call Lucky who was regarded as a man of high science or a Science man. He lived in difficult terrain but dozens of persons negotiated the terrain to find his yard. If you wanted to get rid of someone just find out where Lucky lived, but he was very pricey. The ambulance driver, the lady at the bank, the one at the branch library all owed their jobs to Lucky. No matter how poorly they performed they could never lose those jobs. They were tied to it. The authorities had relocated the ambulance to another community more in need of it. The driver went to Lucky to complain but Lucky asked if he wasn't being paid. My granduncle had rented a part of his house to a family. The head of this family had enemies. One night my granduncle came home, saw a bottle in the yard, picked it up and from that day couldn't use his left hand again. Some

Better Days are Coming a flashback

Better Days are Coming Short  Summary of Stories: Willis’ Lucky Escape- Will Willis escape his kidnappers and summon 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 to capture Bender, a wily and dangerous praedial thief. On the way they have to fight the man’s sons to get to him. 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 these problems? Read the full story in The Troubled School. Wron

Have you read Uptown Lovers?

I had hoped that Uptown Lovers would become a bestseller. Maybe I was too optimistic. When I visit bookshops in my country and see the type of  books they have on sale I feel hopeless. When will I for example have a book in one of those bookshops. It seems unlikely since all my books are on the internet. Unless I publish a bestseller then I won't make any money off writing. Still I don't write for money, only to enjoy the thrill of it all. Please visit the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon.

Have you Read Better Days are Coming by Austin Mitchell?

I want all my readers who have read my novel, Betty Days are Coming to tell other readers about it. Self praise is no recommendation. All I'll say is that the stories in the books are my best stories so far. I am urging readers to have a read of the book. You can also write a review on Amazon. I'd love to see a review on Amazon. Readers can read my blog to find out more about the book. There are also excerpts from some of the stories in the book on this blog. The book is also on Payhip.com as is also some of the stories from the book. Please visit my Amazon pages to have a look at the books written by me, Austin G Mitchell.

Better Days are Comings-Good book?

Personally I thing this collection of short stories is my best. I spent a of time developing this story. It reminded me about Uptown Lovers. I thought that book was really great. I'm not sure if any reader has read the full book. I have been advised  because of its size to publish it as two books. I'm tempted to rename Better Days as The Longest Day Ever. Any way readers please go to the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon to have a read of my books.

The Constant Spring Market

I am deeply disappointed by the demolition of the Constant Spring market. My understanding is that there is space at the back of the market that could have accomodated a new building for the market. Few voices were raised in support of the vendors. From I was a youth, people have always been leaving my village to sell produce. They have used this to raise their children. I would encourage the vendors to start a Go Fund Me scheme and lobby the government for a piece of the land to erect a new market. Please visit the Austin G Mitchell pages at Amazon. Thank you.

Better Days are Coming- A look back

I am in two minds as to whether to change the name of this book because of the number of similar titles. I saw where a reader has just read two pages of the book. I appreciate it very much that any reader should take time out to read any part of my book. However I want the whole book to be read by as many persons as possible. The whole book is on payhip.com at a price the reader can determine. Also different stories out of the book are also on payhip at a reader determined price. Readers, please go the Austin Mitchell pages at Amazon for a look at some of my books.

Audiobooks

I may have come in late but I certainly don't want to be left out. I will be podcasting my short stories, plays and novels in the form of Audiobooks. I have done a lot of research on the subject. I don't have the money to hire a narrator plus I feel I have a good voice and a good command of the English language. I know that if I do a book in English it can easily be converted into several other languages. I have a computer so I just need to get a microphone and some other stuff but I'm eager to get going. The only drawback I have is a place to do the recording. Please visit my Amazon pages by typing Austin G Mitchell for a look at some of my books. Please visit my other blog: glengoffe1.wordpress.com

Bring Back the Good Old Days-Another Look

This collection of short stories is the most popular of all my books. It has over a thousand hits on payhip.com.  Here is a short summary of the book once again: Bring back the Good Old Days Short Summary of  Stories: Was Syd a crook or simply a kleptomaniac? Read more in The Young Shoplifters. Why did Bubbles take away her rival’s baby? Read further in Bubble’s Baby. Why did Myra return to Jamaica after she had run away from Dixie? Read further in the Story of Dixie Jonas. What did Phyllis tell Dally about Myrtle and why did he leave Kingston so suddenly? All told, in The Story of Dally Gray. When Son Tai was murdered, suspicions immediately fell on some unemployed, suspicious looking men about the place. What did the Corporal find when he started his investigations? Read the full story in Son Tai’s Murder. Why was Celestine so determined to find out who had stolen her money? Read more in The Iniquity Workers. Will Wally finally get the girl of his d