hello John, hate to say but don't ever go up the hill any more. ed
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hello John, hate to say but don't ever go up the hill any more. ed
Yes Spanky,
No reason to I guess
Hey Original Spanky,
The A-Frame as I remember it had a front and back half. The front half face the beach and the was some vegetation planted between the beach and front of the A-Frame that had a front porch with wooden chairs. Once inside the front half there were two single beds on either side of the room and a ladder up to a loft that had an additional bed (beds?). I do not remember any stairs from the outside. The back side of the A-Frame faced the road and was as I remember a small room with two single beds. The roof was a true thatched roof and you can see the above photo which shows the side of the building. Back in the mid 70's early 80's I don't remember any other A-Frames on the beach so I can not be sure if we are talking about the same place or not. If you stayed with Miss Gloria you wouldn't forget her. She was truly a Mother Hen looking over her flock, no nonsense lady who if you were above board, honest and trouble free you were always welcome. If you were short on Breads she would always help you out. Unfortunately I stopped going to Jamaica for a few years due to family and career but did stop in when I was there in 1999 and very sad to hear Miss G had passed but happy to see that Likkle Barry had kept the place going. When I get back there I will check him.
Wow! Negril was beautiful back then! Thanks for sharing.
Hi kaycee,
Negril is beautiful now too it's just different like the world is. Look at wherever you live and think back to 1975 and remember a slower pace of life, no computers or cell phones, far less BS in the universe. Negril Beach was and is one of the nicest in the world it's just developed and more crowded, polluted, far more hustle. When I first visited Negril it was a bargain, brought my own tent and pitched it in Miss Gloria's yard and stayed for about a month cost me including food, drink, etc... about $300 USD. Airfare from NYC to MoBay was like $150 round trip. Back then the exchange rate was $1 USD = 80 cents JA. The vibe in Negril was very laid back, no problem, cool runnings!!! Crime amounted to stolen wallets or cameras usually left unattended on the beach. Police were rare and as long as you kept your wits about you and didn't do anything really, really stupid you could have a really awesome time.
Hi John,
Barry has a nice renovated bar now. I like the laid back setting. I agree, Negril is still beautiful and even more so when you compare it now to back then.
I always stop by and see Barry. Migg G used to carry school books for him and did some teaching.
Gloria always loved him specially.
I'll say hello next Sunday
Cap
Love the pics of Miss G's yard. I stayed there for several months in 89 and have many pictures of the yard, the A-frame, No-Name Bar, Howard, Wayne, Thumper, Shorty & all the usual suspects. Miss Gloria was ill when I was there so didn't come out of the house much, but Miss Lynn was in charge and ran a pretty tight ship. I wish I had a scanner, I'd share my pics. Those were some days I'll never forget. Exactly as you said - laid back, no-problem, lazy days, with the odd bit of drama thrown in periodically just to keep things interesting!
Hey Cap,
Please do say Hello from me when you check Barry next time. He was just a little boy when I first stayed with Gloria. He was a very hard worker and helped out every way he could doing chores, helping guests, etc... I used to take the Big Bus as transport and especially to the airport in MoBay, great experience and no haggling on price. You paid what everybody else did. So on my departure day Barry would be my lookout man for the Big Bus. " John, Big Bus Soon Come" I can hear his voice in my head now. Gloria tried very hard to bring Barry up right and protect him from the many evils that lurk around all of us. She did a darned good job and as far as I have ever known Barry grew up knowing how to treat people with kindness and respect. The last I spoke with him was in 1999 and he seemed to have a nice little place on the site of Gloria's Sunset Cottages. Please tell Barry that John and Brooks say hello and show him the picture, he'll remember me straight away.
Attachment 27259
Hi Miranda,
The last time I stayed with Miss Gloria was in 1987 and then due to career and family didn't get back to Jamaica until 1999 so there was a pretty big gap there. When I visited Barry in 99 I sadly learned of Miss G's passing. I must say that in all the times I stayed with her she never had a cross word with me. I gave her the respect that she deserved and got the same in return. I remember Carl, Howard and Maureen and of course Barry. Miss G had a boyfriend (Mr. Pat) who drove a white Cooper automobile. There were certainly times of odd drama thrown in usually a visitor that got too high or was outright crazy to begin with that did something stupid. But so is the case everywhere. The island is truly magical and has it's own magnetic forces that keeps drawing you back for more.
I certainly will. The more I look at you pictures I keep thinking we've met.Quote:
Originally Posted by johng
Cap
Hey Cap,
Could very well be that we have met somewhere down the line. Do you live in Negril now??
John
I have returned after an absence of 25 years but I have taken care of my family all along.Quote:
Originally Posted by johng
My yard is in Spring Garden which is about 7 miles from Negril.
Here's some pictures from that era.
The work permit was from the days I was running a ship for Wray & Nephew/Grace Kennedy (1969 - 1974).
The others are from late 70s when I had the sailing business on the beach
Attachment 27263
Attachment 27264
Attachment 27265
Hi Cap,
Thanks for the memories. looks like you had a nice gig for yourself. Not sure where on the beach you operated from and although you look familiar I can't say for sure if we've met before. As you can see many of my photos contain sailboats so not sure if any were yours or not. Do you remember the sailboat that beached right out in front of T-Water Cottages in 1980. My understanding was they brought in some heavy machinery to try and upright it but it was already filled with sand so it just eventually broke apart over time. I did meet a guy in about 1976 with a sailboat moored right out in front of Gloria's Sunset Cottages and stayed on his boat for a few days, can't remember his name though. Working for W&N / GK must have been pretty cool. I imagine you sailed from Kingston around Treasure Beach to Black River? I did a photo shoot last year at Appleton Estate and met with Joy Spence the Master Distiller. They have branched into some boutique brands of aged rum although Overproof and Special always cured my woes. Not sure were Spring Garden is but must be nice. I ended up spending quite a bit of time on the east end of Jamaica in Portland Parish up in the mountains called Cascade District up from Buff Bay on the road to Hardware Gap. On the road down to Kingston you pass through the JDF Newcastle Training Center. Nice climate and change from sea level and Negril.
I started with the boats at Cosmo's but it was a bit too far out of town in those days. Wound up keeping them at The Sands with Eleanor and Hans.Quote:
Originally Posted by johng
I remember the barq that wrecked on the beach and was part of the salvage attempt.
Here's a picture of my boats
Attachment 27356
Seeing the pics brings back memories now. I remember because in the early years in Negril the only boats around were the fishermen hand made boats, no outboards and then a few years later I recall the cat's showing up. I remember the Sands too but never knew Eleanor and Hans. What was the guy from NJ that ran Rick's back then named?? Sort of husky guy with a thick Jersey accent and attitude. Was actually not a bad guy and I remember we had a common motorcycle thread in that we both rode Norton Commando's. Back when Rick's was very basic.
Thanks for remembering. I had the first Hobies on Negril Beach.
Nice to know I left some footprints in the sand.
Yes Cap,
You did leave some big prints in the sand. Thinking back now I do remember that all of a sudden your Hobies showed up. Nice Job!!
You two have to get together one day!!!
Jimmy Cliff. Wow! That was along time ago.
Once on a flight from JFK to MoBay in 1980 there was this guy wearing full camo on a Air Jamaica flight. About half way through the flight I realized it was Jimmy Cliff. I met him in 1987 and he turned out to be a really nice guy (great performer / musician). I understand that his voice today is somewhat stressed out but back then it was sweet as honey!!!