hello John, hate to say but don't ever go up the hill any more. ed
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
Linston's Zion Hill Taxi
Captain Dave
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.
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.
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