Treasure Beach is small community on Jamaica’s south western coast that prides itself with being friendly and very laid back.
A fishing community with six miles of beach, rocky coastline and private coves, Treasure Beach it is the perfect place to get away from it all.
I’ve been going to Treasure Beach for several years now, most times to attend Calabash, the international literary festival, which brings scores of lovers of the written and spoken word to this far off the beaten track place to listen to soak up world class literature.
I’ve also been to Treasure Beach when the festival is not in session. It’s a beautiful place. Here are a few of the reasons I keep going back.
One of the things I love about Bond is seeing the locations where the stories are set. So as I watched one film after another in the Bond marathon on Sleuth this weekend, I began compiling a list of places Bond’s taken me over the years. And it’s a pretty impressive list. (I got Wikipedia’s help in confirming some of the places of interest as well.)
Dr. No (1962) I was still in diapers when this Bond, the first in the series was, was filmed in Jamaica. The story was set in Kingston, with the beach scenes filmed at and around the Dunn’s River Falls area in Ocho Rios.
Note: Ian Fleming wrote twelve of his James Bond novels at Goldeneye, his home in St. Mary, Jamaica. There’s a James Bond beach and the newly named Ian Fleming International Airport in St. Mary.
James Bond Beach, Jamaica
From Russia with Love (1963) I knew what I wanted to do in life after I saw this movie in my twenties: I wanted to traipse around the world watching James make his Bond films. From Russia with Love took me to London, Zagreb, Belgrade, Istanbul and Venice.
Goldfinger (1964) James sent me a special invitation to watch filming in England, Geneva, parts of the U.S. and Mexico. The highlight, for me, was going to Fort Knox. I hated when Goldfinger’s henchman painted Goldfinger’s assistant with gold paint.
Sean Connery
Thunderball (1965) I stayed in one of the rooms while James stayed at the spa in England, then went with him to France, Paradise Island (Bahamas) and the U.S.
You Only Live Twice (1967) I watched James disguise himself as a Japanese man and get married in Japan. I also followed him to Hong Kong.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service(1969) The first
Roger Moore
time Sean Connery did not play Bond but nevertheless, I followed him to Portugal and Switzerland. If you look behind Moneypenny, you can just see the hat I was wearing at James’ (real) wedding to the countess. Sadly, she was killed on their way to the honeymoon.
Diamonds are Forever (1971) I was one floor above when James killed Peter Franks in the elevator in Amsterdam. I knew James would win but I was so nervous, I couldn’t watch. I also flew to Tokyo, Cairo, Southern France, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Baja.
Timothy Dalton
Live and Let Die (1973) The first Bond with Roger Moore and the first time Bond went uptown to Harlem. By the time I realized he was there and ran down to where they were filming, they were gone – to Jamaica and New Orleans.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) I’d never been to Beirut, so I was excited to have Bond take me along with him. We also dropped in to Bangkok, Macau and China and returned to Hong Kong. That Scaramanga was an evil man!
George Lazenby
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) I’ve never worried about the villains because I know James can hold his own. But I was worried for him when I saw Jaws. Man, he was scary! Apart from the locations, the best part of this film, was the car that could go underwater. I was one of the extras on the beach but when the camera panned in my direction, I was so excited by the car, my eyes almost popped out of my head. They had to cut me out. I still have my memories of being in the Alps, Scotland, Cairo, Luxor, sailing down the Nile, and Costa Smeralda.
Moonraker (1979) I’ll follow Bond anywhere but I didn’t think he’d take me to outer space. Yes, that’s where we went in this film. We also went to France, Venice, Rio and the Amazon.
For Your Eyes Only (1981) I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful location than Greece. I had a lot of fun with the rest of the crew in Meteora and Corfu, in Madrid, and Cortina d’Ambezzo in Italy.
Octopussy (1983) From Jag Mandir in India, we flew to West Berlin, East Berlin and Feldstadt. India was a blast!
Pierce Brosnan
A View to a Kill (1985) My heart was almost in my throat as I watched the Grace Jones’ character fly off the Eiffel Tower with James in hot pursuit. Zorin’s chateau (Chateau de Chantilly) was like being in the lap of luxury. Great to see Ascot before the races and the crowd, Serbia and San Francisco.
The Living Daylights (1987) Timothy Dalton joins the franchise as the new Bond. I tagged along to Bratislavia (Slovakia), Tangier, Vienna and Baluchistan (Pakistan). The highlight, for me, was watching the filming with the muhajadeen in the desert in Afghanistan.
License to Kill (1989) Key West was the setting for the beautiful wedding that opens this installment of Bond. Again, I was among the guests celebrating then followed James to Bimini.
GoldenEye (1995) Pierce Brosnan takes over as Bond, Judi Dench became M and I continued following Bond. This time, to Monte Carlo, St. Petersburg and Puerto Rico.
Daniel Craig
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) I went with James to Hamburg (Germany), the South China Seas (China) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
The World is Not Enough (1999) I never tire of following James around. This time, it was to Bilbao, Spain, Istanbul and Baku in Azerbaijan.
Die Another Day (2002) I was in North Korea when James posed as an arms dealer. Sadly, he was captured but as soon as he was released, I was with him in Havana, London and Iceland.
Casino Royale (2006) Connery as Bond set the standard that, to my mind, only Daniel Craig can surpass. That long chase scene sent my blood pressure through the roof. Prague, Lahore (Pakistan) Mbale (Uganda), Nassau, Miami, Montenegro, Venice and Lake Como (Italy).
Quantum of Solace (2008) James is still mourning the death of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. I was in Siena when he brought Mr. White in for interrogation. I had just stepped out of the room when all hell broke loose. The chase and my travels continued in London, Haiti, Bregenz (Austria), Talamone (Italy) Bolivia and finally Kazen in Russia.
The next Bond is due to be released in 2012. Watch for me in one of the scenes.
It’s July 4th, and after nearly 30 years of living in this country, I still don’t feel comfortable celebrating. I wasn’t born here. My independence came through another country, so what exactly am I celebrating? Do I have the right to celebrate?
Flag on the Gate House, Central Park
I’m conflicted.
I came to America as an adult, convinced that being here would afford me a better life, and it has.
But like a child caught between two parents – the parent who gave her birth and the one who adopted her – I struggle to detach, to give myself permission to love the new parent as unconditionally as I love the “real” one and not feel like a betrayal. So I sit on the fence unable to fully embrace the new parent, reserving that secret part of my heart for the real one.
Some would argue that my position has probably been detrimental. By not fully committing, I’ve kept myself from engaging. But being familiar only with the mores and lexicon of the real parent, how does one fully engage?
I’ve involved myself in the things I believe in: volunteering to teach and mentor, campaigning and voting for candidates I support, demonstrating for causes I feel strongly about, and buying and selling property. I’ve done my best to be a good citizen.
So what will it take for me to feel like I’m really part of the family, to feel like I have the right to celebrate? Is it length of time or giving myself permission?
Would coming here at a younger age and going to school have helped me form stronger bonds or teach me to decode the lingo, the secret hand signals? I wonder.
I’ve also wondered if having children to shepherd through the “system,” children who could potentially force me to commit, would have made a difference. Probably.
Add to the complexity of my internal conflict, the fact that the household I chose used to own people like me, and a whole new layer of emotional baggage is added to the mix.
When I lived in Washington, D.C., routinely around the holiday, I’d hear black people refer to July 4th as the 4th of You Lie. It sounded catchy but it was said with such cynicism and disdain, I knew it had to be serious.
July 4th is the day of celebration of the colony gaining its independence from Britain but for nearly 100 years more, blacks remained chattel slaves until December 6, 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery was ratified.
Frederick Douglass summed it up best when, in 1852, he posed the question that still hangs in the air nearly 160 years later, What to the slave is your fourth of July?
Today, I’m asking, What, to a first generation immigrant like me, is the true meaning of the fourth of July?
Even though I’ve never heard her perform, I have a great deal of respect for Nina Simone, a woman who lived her
Nina Simone - photo from the Internet
convictions and didn’t seem to give a hoot what anyone thought. I admired her strength, her courage, her activism. Mostly, though, I loved her music.
Mississippi Goddam, to me, is all Nina. I believe it sums her up as the civil rights activist she was. She was also a singer songwriter, pianist and arranger.
Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, she adopted the name Nina Simone in 1954 so that her mother, a strict Methodist minister, wouldn’t know she was singing “devil music.”
Simone recorded several albums. Her 1972 single, To be Young, Gifted and Black, became my personal anthem. She has influenced musicians from Mos Def to Cat Stevens. Her music has been covered by artists from Aretha Franklin to David Bowie and Janis Joplin.
Simone lived in Barbados, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Liberia before settling in France in 1992, remaining there until her death in 2003.
I never got to see her perform but her voice, her energy, are unmatched. The day of her memorial service, I started to get dressed to go but got sidetracked by something that now is insignificant and unmemorable.
A movie based on Simone’s life, starring Mary J. Blige, is scheduled to be released in 2012.
Here’s her version of Ne Me Quitte Pas (in English, If You Go Away.)
Nina gives a shout-out to Jacques Brel. Here’s his version.
Since the release of the new Woodie Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, I’ve been thinking of the movies I’ve seen that were set there.
Eiffel Tower
Here’s my list:
The Day of the Jackal (Edward Fox) 1973
A View to a Kill (Roger Moore, Christopher Walken) 1985
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Michael Caine, Steve Martin) 1988
Frantic (Harrison Ford) 1988
Dangerous Liaisons (Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Malcovich) 1988
Valmont (Colin Firth, Annette Benning) 1989
The Bourne Identity (Matt Damon) 2000
Chocolat (Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche) 2000
Amélie (Audrey Tautou) 2001
Le Divorce (Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts) 2003
The Truth About Charlie (Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton) 2003
Something’s Gotta Give (Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Kneau Reeves) 2003
The Devil Wears Prada (Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway) 2006
Watching some of these movies – Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons, Chocolat and Something’s Gotta Give come to mind, really gives you a good feel for Paris. It’s also great to see a scene in a place you been to, like Roger Moore’s James Bond at the Eiffel Tower or at the Pont Alexandre.
I can’t wait to see how Midnight in Paris compares or what places I recognize.
Table Mountain was not on our itinerary, not for that gorgeous day. After an emotionally charged visit to Robben Island, all we wanted to do was have a meal and take a nap.
But Ian, our guide, insisted. The weather was perfect, he said. There was no guarantee we’d have another one, best to take advantage. If the clouds came in, visibility on Table Mountain would be reduced. I know this mountain, he said. You only have five days, why wait for tomorrow when you could see something else? We’re so close.
We insisted. We huddled among ourselves. We were adamant. We didn’t want a tour guide to commandeer our vacation. After all, for more than a week, we’d had people telling us what to do and when do it. And after Cape Town, we’d have another tour guide shepherding us around. Independent people, we wanted our freedom or a least a little latitude.
I can’t remember now what Ian said that clinched it. But I’m glad he didn’t give up. It was the best decision we made that day. As it turned out, it rained all day the next day and for several days after that, Table mountain looked as if a crisp white tablecloth had been spread over it.
View of Cape Town from Table Mountain
From that moment, we never objected to anything Ian recommended.
Jerk is both a style of cooking and the mix of spices used to make jerk. It is a very popular way of cooking in Jamaica that has grown from chicken to pork, fish, sausage, tofu, lobster, etc.
My earliest memories of jerk was of a man who used to sell jerk chicken door-to-door on his
Little Ochie Jerk Lobster – Maynefoto
bicycle. Back then, making jerk was an elaborate affair – it was always slow-cooked in the open over pimento wood, which gave it a distinct flavor. Jerk all but disappeared in the 1960s but it saw a huge resurgence in the 1970s when some enterprising chefs duplicated the sauce and made it available in bottles and packages.
Thanks to Jamaicans abroad who wish for a taste of home, jerk has gone international.
At home, especially in tourist areas, jerk is big business but, as you’d expect, it’s been watered down considerably to accommodate those who are averse to the peppery jerk taste. (Earlier this year, I wrote a post, Jamaica-In Search of the Real Jerk about finding authentic jerk in Jamaica.)
Peppery or not, jerk is still a delicious way to cook. You can bet it’ll be on the menu this weekend at many July 4th barbecues.
Here are two recipes to try.
Stir-Fried Caribbean Vegetables with Jerk Tofu
I discovered this recipe a few years ago. It is one of my favorites and disappears pretty quickly whenever I make it.
Ingredients
1 tbsp Walkerswood Jerk Marinade or Jerk Seasoning (you can substitute any jerk seasoning from the supermarket or the one below)
2 tbsp palm, peanut, sesame or soy oil
500 g/1lb. firm tofu, cubed
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Oil, for frying
For the vegetables:
About 1kg/2 lbs. total of any combination of carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, green cabbage, pak choy, sweet peppers and/or broccoli
Directions
Mix together jerk seasoning and oil, add to tofu and marinate for at least an hour (preferably overnight).
Heat the frying oil in a wok or suitable skillet. Deep fry the tofu cubes for 3-5 minutes and reserve. Pour out most of the oil and stir-fry the onion and garlic; then begin to add the other vegetables, hardest first. Cook very lightly; then add the tofu and stir in gently until hot. Serve immediately.
Serves 4. Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 1 hour (or up to overnight) marinating plus 10 minutes cooking.
Jerk Tofu recipe courtesy of Walkerswood Caribbean Kitchen by Virginia Burke.
David’s Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
½ cup Jerk Rub*
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, minced
Leaves from 1 fresh thyme sprig, minced
2 scallions, including green parts, finely chopped
1 chicken (3 to 3 ½ pounds), cut into serving pieces
Directions
Mix together the jerk seasoning, onion, pepper, thyme and scallions. Rub the chicken well all over with the jerk rub. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
Prepare a low fire in a charcoal grill using a combination of charcoal and pimento wood. (If you don’t have pimento wood, substitute applewood or hickory, or build a fire with just charcoal. If you’re using a gas grill, preheat it to 225° to 250°F.
Place the chicken on the grill and cook, covered, for 1 to 1 ½ hours, turning every 10 minutes or so. When it’s done, the chicken will take on a very dark color, the juices will run clear when the meat is pierced, and the internal temperature will have reached 160°F.
*Jerk Chicken Rub
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped scallions, including green parts
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground Jamaican allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4-6 Scotch Bonnet or habanero peppers, minced fine
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Using a mortar and pestle or a food processor, combine all the ingredients and grind to a paste. Store leftover paste in the refrigerator in a tightly closed jar for about 1 month.
Makes about 1 cup; enough for 406 pounds of meat
Jerk Chicken recipe courtesy of Jerk from Jamaica by Helen Willinsky
“Harlem’s Backyard Gems is my entry into TBEX Blog Carnival Contest sponsored by Choice Hotels International Services Corp.”
When I decided to move to New York in the late 90s, the only place I wanted to live in was Harlem. I imagined myself in a brownstones like the one of a family friend I visited in the 1970s that became symbolic of this historic neighborhood. With sweeping steps that led to beautifully hand-crafted double doors it seemed to welcome everyone in.
But brownstones are just one of many things Harlem is known for. Formerly a Dutch village, Harlem got its name from the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. It was also once the second largest Jewish community in the U.S. and home to a large population of Italians.
Refreshing. The glass that sat near my desk as I worked - Maynefoto
A few weeks ago, when the temperature hit the mid-90s, all I wanted to drink was water. Normally, I don’t use ice but when it gets really hot, I keep a pitcher of ice cold water and a glass pretty close by.
