By Gabriella Chapman

IF you ask a millennial to tell you something they know about Plaisance, many would refer to the popular Thursday night swing on the ‘Line Top’ at the Guinness Bar.
The village is well known by people on the outside, for having one of the biggest Thursday night hangouts in Guyana.
One may think that this was just another regular party initiative to drink and sell beers, but really, it runs deeper than that. Owner of the bar, Leslie Bunbury told his story of how the nightlife activity evolved.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Bunbury said that back in the ‘80s, the bar was just a little shop that sold a couple of items that people may need when they came off the train.

“It was a small shop that we had here selling mauby, shave ice, cake and so. When the people came off the train, because the train station was right across the road there, we used to run over to sell the people the mauby and the cakes. In the late ‘80s, somewhere around 1989, I bought the place and started doing some expansion,” Bunbury said.

When the shop was expanded, he said they started selling alcoholic beverages like Stout, and villagers started coming around to play cards.

“So one day some friends came over and they were playing cards and I had my music set that I used to play out, and my friends told me to bring out the set. And the music started attracting people and it turned into a neighbourhood hangout spot.

Additionally, Bunbury said, “Guinness people used to come every Thursday and share out Guinness through promotions, and one Thursday we had the set playing, and people started joining, and eventually it was a big village hang and they had some girls that were going to Sheriff. I told them to come back next week, and so it evolved from there, every Thursday night, it became the norm to have a village lime on this corner. All those who don’t drink alcohol, like the church people and so, they used to drink the mauby, and we all just assembled here with each other. ”

Even though it started as an activity for the people of the village, as the years went by, people came from villages nearby, and now people come from all over to hang out on the village lime.

Though this was the main source of income for Bunbury, he said that it is important to highlight that one should never depend on one thing to provide income.

“I used to work at DDL in charge of maintenance for 20 years. But I used to look for other things to do because I liked working. So I used to occupy my time always. There will be some good days and bad days, but when you don’t rely on one means of income, you are able to get by,” Bunbury said.

This , he advises, should be the mentality of every young person. The man said that he was never a fan of saving the money he made, he invested in things that can benefit him and his family in the long run.

Apart from owning the bar, and benefiting from the village hang every Thursday, Bunbury said Plaisance is home and he will never leave.

“My children send for me to go to the US all the time, but I love it here. This is where I born and grow, and love,” he said.