We bubbled with excitement as we packed a knapsack filled with snacks, water and fruit juices. We were readying to visit the very striking village of Ann’s Grove on the East Coast of Demerara where the smiles of residents, bustling activity, and shrill lamentations of market vendors made it a little ‘countryside paradise’ worth checking out.

With Latitude readings of 6.7167°, and Longitude of -57.9500° this sun filled village is nestled between the villages of Two Friends and Clonbrook and oozes a strange but refreshing ‘countryside charm.’ This village is located some 20 miles from Georgetown and is said to be one of the villages bought by African slaves after the abolition of slavery. Today the population is somewhere between 3,000-3,500 and boast some striking features that give an indication of the historical slave trade in times gone by.
Our experiences continue to vary as we explore the many villages around Guyana and become absorbed in their mystical tales and alluring infrastructure, experience the fascinating interaction of their inhabitants, and listen to the rabble of these various people.

We were greeted with jovial hospitality, amazing village camaraderie, amusing village gossip and interesting tales of the many challenges that were either faced and conquered, or avoided and lamented by the residents.
This week, we were totally enthralled by the high degree of camaraderie and seemingly never ending festivity enjoyed by the people of Ann’s Grove Village, and the positive manner in which they embraced the dawn of modernity and development.
In the early 1980s, I would have had ample opportunity to savour the mysteries of this village, since I was employed as a police officer at the Clonbrook Outpost for over nine months, and actually resided in the village. During that time, the village was quite an appealing alcove that featured scattered houses, and wide-open lush pastures. On our recent trip I was just mystified at the positive changes that have since occurred in the village.

We arrived and were engulfed in suffocating clouds of smoke from a grass fire which had spurted mysteriously in an open pasture and the swearing and alarmed exclamations of passengers in the minibus was laced with disgust and obscenity.
Lush green coconut palms swayed luxuriously in the fresh wind rolling in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, creating an atmosphere that lured you to inhale great gulps of this fresh wind that as so unlike that in Georgetown.
As we moved around the village there was just this very hushed simplicity about it and the starry eyed smiles of residents just made you feel welcome and definitely at home. All around there were thriving kitchen gardens and in many yards we could see patches of sugar cane just bursting with sweet juice, and waiting to be harvested.

Juice laden sour sops swung lazily in the wind from tall trees,  and the green blur of tall grass moving like snakes as the wind rustled them, was a sight that played havoc with the ‘nature side of our senses’.
Cows and goats enjoyed the lush grass and stopped from their morning feasts to gaze at us with rolling eyes, as if they were demanding what we were doing on their premises. Curvy mothers and daughters sat around at the many fruit and vegetable stalls chatting, and many times peals of girlish laughter rang out as they enjoyed the juicy village gossips.

Chatting with residents

Villagers were very welcoming and wasted no time in indulging as we started our interviews. Actually a popular electrician who prefers to be called ‘Pompey’ rode up to me on a rusty bicycle with a boyish grin as he indicated that we had met and interacted when I had visited Victoria and Clonbrook Villages.
He totally adored the rustic beauty of the village and declared that it was quite fitting for living and a comfortable existence. But as expected, he had a few concerns which he felt could be alleviated if dealt with by the appropriate authorities.
“This village is a beauty boss and I am proud of the striking appearance. And its beautiful in a simple yet appeal way. Life here is good and everyone lives as one with love and harmony. But there are indeed a few things that need to be taken care of before Ann’s Grove can become the perfect village people would want to visit for a little fishing, to have a picnic or just to explore”.
According to this resident, most of the main canals in the village are kept in ‘tip-top’ shape by the authorities, but that he said is not the case in the Housing Scheme areas.
“Residents living in the Housing Scheme areas suffer because the drainage is bad in that area. Drains are filled with weeds and other plant species, hampering the smooth flow of water to important locations. Most persons here are engaged in farming and this can pose a major setback since water is needed in abundance to sustain the life of cash crops and ground provisions.”

Another concern of a small group of residents, headed by the same electrician was that there were many ‘bad GPL power poles’ in the village that need repairing and some were leaning at precarious angles. Residents fear that should such poles fall, they would endanger the lives of those residing around them.
There were complaints of police harassment by villagers who claimed that police from the Cove and John Police Station would enter the village and physically harass residents for no apparent reason. However, upon contacting the Cove and John Police, ranks they said such allegations were untrue and that officers there would merely engage in their routine patrols and would as expected attempt to apprehend persons found loitering after hours or found engaging in unlawful acts.

Confectionary vendor Sybil Clarke was very concerned by a garbage problem that was plaguing residents. The very emotional woman said that persons from outside the village would normally come in the still of the night to dump their refuse there, and in some cases over the seawall that kept out the smashing waves of the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
“This is a very serious problem. In this village we try out best to keep our surrounding clean and tidy, Bust even as we are struggling to do so outsiders come when we sleep and dump garbage along the roadside and sometimes in open land spaces. Also they would dump huge loads over the seawall and this can cause serious problems, especially for the mangrove plans we are trying to preserve along the seawall. Many times we have to form groups and engage in a self help exercise to clean up their rubbish. Man look, if I catch dem ah night dumping dem rubbish….Woe beyond to their souls”.

Livelihood

It appears as if most of the residents in are self employed in one way or the other and it was a very moving spectacle to watch them engaged in their choice of professions.
As we walked through the village we saw husbands fussing with their chickens that were cackling loudly at their intrusion. These were of course those that decided to earn a living as poultry farmers.
Then there were the housewives that could be seen tending to customers in the many vegetable, groceries, fast food, confectionary and fruit stalls that have sprung up around the village. Of course there are at least eight well established confectionary and fast food locations so residents have the choice of enjoying home cooked food or eating in ‘breezy splendour’ at the fast food shop of their choice.

Many have chosen farming and they would do this on both small and large scales on the railway embankment and in the back lands surrounding the village. Some persons prefer to tend to their small kitchen gardens; ensuring fresh vegetables, spices and peppers are just within their hand reach for the morning, midday or evening delicacies.
A large percentage of males in the village are engaged in ‘pork-knocking’ in the hinterland regions and of course these are the residents who prefer a ‘bigger dollar’ or just like to have their earnings in a lump sum. Some females are engaged in teaching at the Ann’s Grove Secondary School, while a meagre few have jobs at the post office and health centre.

Historical Features
Ann’s Grove boasts some landmarks that foretells of its rich colonial history and among them are the Dutch-styled kokers, the yesteryear looking railway embankment and the Ebenezer Congregational Church, which is quite a gift to the village and spearheaded by Brother William Rogers, and Dr. Edward Adams who are dubbed ‘sons of the soil.’
Last year the church celebrated its 150th anniversary, an event that was attended by PNCR Leader David Granger and many others.

The church, which serves the communities of Ann’s Grove, Bee Hive, Clonbrook, Dochfour and Two Friends, was founded in 1862 and is well maintained by those concerned today. Many centenarians from the village attended this church, and amongst them were Harriette Pompey, Kathleen Paul, Rebecca Rover, Everlyn Austin, Henrietta Dublin, Gertude Carter, and Katie Adams.

Humble ladies ply their trades
The females of Ann’s Grove are quite contented with their lives and never fail to come up with honest means of survival. I was lucky to bump into two very jovial and saucy elderly ladies selling snacks and confectionary inside the Ann’s Grove School Compound.
Sixty-five year old Jewel Thomas was ready to chat, her eyes dancing with fire, at being the target of media attention. Looking rather younger than her age, she rexclaimed: “Ah caring me bady wid good country food and bush tea!.” when I paid compliments to her good looks.

“Bai me ah duh dis business fuh 37 years now and it nah much but it does really mek ends meet”. This humble lady comes to the school at around 10:15 every day and to sell her sweets, plantain chip, polouri, egg balls and icicle. She sits there under an umbrella and welcomes the midday rush of her many ‘student customers’ and awaits them again at around 13:45 hours when they get another recreational break. She gets up at around 05:00 hours to prepare her items and yes, it is indeed gruelling at times. But she is contented and enjoys what she does.
Cecilia Sampson, 57, is another vendor who sells soft drinks, fudge, sugar cakes and custard blocks, and she too is quite comfortable with her trade.
“I have been selling here for over fifteen years, and my husband is a framer in the back dam. I have grown to love the school children as my own and there is a special bond between us. I welcome their noisy chatter and bantering everyday because I know it means an extra dollar from their purchases. Some of them may try to trick me when large crowds are here, but I love them all the same. I enjoy what I do, and it brings in a little money to help out in the home.

Ann’s Grove in times gone by

Ann’s Grove is very developed today but in times gone by it was a small village where its infrastructure and features were not as appealing as today. To reflect on Ann’s Grove Village in times gone by was shopkeeper, John Baksh who has been living in the village for over 40 years.
“When I was a little boy Ann’s Grove was a village with not so many houses. There was plenty of waste land and farming was the order of the day. There weren’t so much vehicles around and residents in those time used donkey and horse drawn carts, and bicycles for transport. The few houses were more so the outlandish type with shingle roofs, but with the dawn of modernisation things changed and we saw new businesses, paved streets, and other features that now make the village one worth visiting.”

As indicated by Mr. Baksh villagers still hold on to their traditions and there is great celebration and festivity in the village during Christmas, Mashramani and Emancipation functions. There are no more telling of stories around bond fires, no more greasy pole and May Fairs, but some still hold on to their carolling at Christmas time.
“The things of the old are gone and this is the time of the youths, so the ‘in thing right now’ is the Passa Passa dance craze or the ‘Wine pon de Button’ style that send the young ladies crazy. There is still teh annual Miss Ann’s Grove Beauty and Intelligence Pageant, and every one looks forward to that”

Village elder
It was quite a pleasure to sit and chat with village elder, Sidney Dundass who is still active and peppy at 93 years. When he is not moving around he is seated in his wheel chair, smiling dreamily as he reminisces on his childhood days as a young boy chasing pond flies in the open pastures of Ann’s Grove.
“As a young boy I was involved in everything. From playing marbles, to cricket, football and I was a very good athlete. As I grew older I decided to become a pork-knocker and that paid off nicely, because when I came home with the big bucks the girls would swarm me like honey bees. I was tall and handsome and energetic, and many times there were scuffles among the girls to ensure they remained the centre of my attraction. But as I grew older I became responsible, got a family and now in my old age, although I am not so well physically, I still have the fire of youth burning in my veins. I was a church boy and my parents ensured I attended church regularly. But I used to get away after and tek a lil tupps at the rum shop, then suck on peppermint sweets to hide the smell of the alcohol before I go home.”

Mr. Dundass hopes to live to a century and hi proud that he has attained the age of ninety three which is hard to attain these days. “I am proud of myself because only few young men of today to get to such a milestone’

Conclusion
Read and enjoy for sure, but make sure you visit the intriguing village of Ann’s Grove. The happy residents would be more than ready to welcome you. Join us next week as we visit the village of

Noot-en-Zuil on the East Coast of Demerara.
Bye now folks…
By Alex Wayne