By Michel Outridge

With nothing to do and all the time to do, Gayatri Lall, her husband and the children of her street in Belle Vue New Scheme, West Bank Demerara decided to utilise the time to make a ‘bush-cook’ of chicken cook-up-rice in their back yard.

The group had set up a makeshift fireside of bricks and had gathered some leaves and pieces of wood to start the fire. The ingredients were at the ready and before you know it the pot was bubbling, while the children played in the yard.

Lall, a pleasant woman with no children of her own has taken the responsibility to tend to the children in the neighbourhood.

“I don’t have children but these children are like my own because they are at my house a lot and we get along good,” she said.

Lall related that they were out, taking a break from being indoors to doing some outdoor activities.

The housewife added that collectively, they did some manual work on the property but they do not reside at the location since the house is not quite finished.

Lall and her husband reside in the next street and they have been there for the past 26 years.

“We had nothing to do after cleaning up so we said why not a ‘bush-cook’ in the yard to pass time and it is a good way to relax after being indoors for a while,” she said.

The Pepperpot Magazine also met Jailall Rameshwar, known as “Azim”, a local, who was on his way to take home his cows and sheep.

The animals were grazing in an empty plot across from the Public Road.

Jailall said he has been living in the village for the past 48 years and does buy and sell fish right in the community.

He related that the buying and selling of fish from Meadowbank Wharf, in the city, is a part-time job.

Jailall is a cattle farmer with four cows and more than 20 sheep and he tends to his animals daily.

“I worked at the Wales Estate for 28 years and when it closed down I had to do other jobs and with the pay-out money I invested in cattle and I am earning from the venture,” he said.

Jailall disclosed that life isn’t complicated as it often seems because one has to do things to enhance their life.

“Life isn’t a bunch of roses but you have to make it worthwhile and work,” he said.

Jailall added that Belle Vue New Scheme is a nice place to live and life is fair there once one has a job to bring in an income.

He was on his way with his bicycle and bamboo to take home his sheep and cows.