THESE days, things are being done in slow-motion for 63-year-old Grace Arthur, who was once a spritely person, but due to ill health and other health complications, she has adjusted her lifestyle.

Arthur will be celebrating her 64th birth anniversary next month and she is looking forward to it.

That day, when the Pepperpot Magazine visited, she was with her granddaughter. She had just prepared some ‘mettai’ and was supervising the frying of it over a coal pot in the yard.

“My daughter is a teacher and she asked me to make some mettai for her to take to school to sell because the pupils have been asking for it,” she said.

Arthur related that she did not make mettai or tamarind balls in a while, so she was trying to get a batch out to her daughter for school on Tuesday last.

Due to her diabetic condition she cannot do certain things and she is currently recuperating from a recent eye surgery.

“My sugar level does be high so my hands would shake, and it is now I am seeing a new doctor, and I am trying to get it stabilised,” she said.

Arthur is also using some home remedies along with her medications. She would also walk downhill daily to get some exercise.

The elder told the Pepperpot Magazine that the street she resides in is Pompey Street, but it was nicknamed “Beauty Street” because the late owner of Black Tulip Club was a very beautiful woman and the street was named after her.

Pompey Street had the club, which closed down following the owner’s death; today, her descendants reside in the property.

Arthur related that her grandfather told her about the woman, the lady that owned the Black Tulip Club was so beautiful and it was one of the top night spots in Linden in those days.

“I grew up with my grandparents and I took care of them even after marriage. I never moved away so they gifted me this house. It was theirs,” she said.

She stated that her grandfather died at age 98 and her grandmother at age 84 and she was with them the entire time because she went to live with them as a child.

Arthur added that her mother passed away four years ago when she was 81 years old.

The mother of three pointed out that she never worked while she was younger, but after her third wedding anniversary, her husband was retrenched from the bauxite company and they started buying and selling goods.

She started vending, and today she has a stall at Christianburg Market where she sells clothes and her grandson has a part-time shoe maker small business.

Arthur’s husband is a cash crop farmer and he has his farmlands at Speightland in McKenzie and he would ride around on his bicycle to sell his produce in the community.

“I really don’t be at home during the day… [I am usually] at the market selling and my neighbours would look out for me. This is a good neighbourhood and the people are neighbourly,” she said.

Veronica Allicock, the farmer
Also in the same street is the home of Veronica Allicock, who is a farmer and is also looking for work.

The 48-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she would sell the produce when there is a harvest, but recently there has been nothing to sell since the fruits and vegetables are yet to ‘ripen’.

Allicock disclosed that she has recently constructed a stand in her yard and she is awaiting some funds from a loan she applied for to open her small business selling food and her produce.

“I am depending solely on farming, and at times I do not have anything to sell, so I need to do something else while I wait for the crops to be ready. I wanted to cook food and sell so with the little money I had, I built a stand, so now I have to get some more money to invest in my cooking,” she said.

The mother of one added that things have been hard economically due to COVID-19 and the lack of jobs in that region.

Allicock is, however, optimistic that things will work out for the best in time. She just needs to be patient.

Joseph Mendonca, the sports bar operator
Joseph Mendonca is a part-owner of the only shop in Pompey Street (Beauty Alley) and it was his idea to establish a sports bar while his friend, Clive Nobrega, supported him financially.

The 37-year-old stated that on weekends he would host games to support the youths and when they can, they would donate stationery and books to the children in the community.

Mendonca reported that he would give back to the community by cooking a huge pot and sharing it with the people like they did on Sunday last.

The father of three pointed out that they would also host barbeques and cook-outs to entertain the people on holidays and weekends.

The bar serves as a meeting place for the locals because they always have a big-screen television showing only sports and at times, they would watch movies since they have cable television.

Mendonca said the bar opened in 2017, and before that the street was known for crime and had a stigma attached, but since they are there, things have changed and it is a safe place for all.