Driving in Jamaica

After 4 years of living here, I have a certain respect for Jamaican drivers. It takes  skill to navigate a junction when the lights are out, spliff in one hand, phone in other. Let alone to balance a goat on the roof, or drive round Barbican roundabout backwards, or ride a motorbike with one leg, all of which I’ve recently seen. But the recent death of a 6 year old boy known to our nanny, just cannot leave my mind.

‘Strawberry Fields Together’ Robins Bay, St Mary, Jamaica

‘Strawberry Fields Together’ has to be one of Jamaica’s prettiest low-key resorts. It’s half a dozen little cabins dotted around two pristine coves on one of the last unspoilt stretches of Jamaica’s north coast. We’ve visited on day trips from Kingston before with the kids, but this time decided to make a night of it and get away without them.

A home birth in Jamaica

It’s a week since my baby girl Julia landed, and I wanted to share how and why I choose to birth at home here in Jamaica. It’s an unusual choice here, in Kingston anyway… I’m sure country mamas are popping out pickneys at home in the Jamaican countryside every day! It’s definitely disapproved of by obstetricians. But, once I’d made up my mind it’s what I wanted, somehow all the details fell into place.  Two good previous deliveries plus two years of teaching and practicing HypnoBirthing certainly helped give me the confidence I needed to go ahead. I had fantastic support, and I’m delighted to say the birth went perfectly.

Babygroup

After 2 years of co-ordingating ‘Babygroup’, I was delighted to have the best turn-out ever for my last week of orgnanising it.

Two Babies and a 10 hour Flight

The only people interested in reading this post will be other poor devils approaching some massive journey and wondering how they will manage, and those of you with a sadistic bent! I just flew home alone from London to Kingston Jamaica, with my 7 month old girl and a 2 year old boy, and mainly kept it together except for a total loss of plot at Jamaican Passport Control right at the end. This is how it went…

Barking Mad

There is nothing like dogs barking at night to really get under your skin. It’s 5am in Jamaica, and I’ve given up on sleep once again, because of the racket outside. Our neighbours at the front of the house have five dogs in their yard, including two Labradors and an Alsation. Across the road at the back of the house, is a large empty property where two crazy, unkempt and toally bored dogs bark all night at anything, and occasionally get out. Once they are out, they chase cars roun the block barking their heads off, and setting off every dog in the neighbourhood – including the pack right next to us.

My first Jamaican TV appearance!

After  advertising my HypnoBirthing classes on Facebook, a producer from Smile Jamaica on TVJ, contacted me to ask me if I’d like to come on the show! Though I was pretty terrified as to how it would go, as most Jamaicans I’ve met seem to think HypnoBirthing is Voodoo or just simple insanity.

A Noisy Kind of HypnoBirth

You’d have thought a certified HypnoBirthing Instructor would have the perfect, calm gentle birth… Well, the birth of my second child, was fantastically quick, but I have to confess I yelled ‘F*@K!’ as Daisy shot into the world…

Travelling with a Baby

At the age of one, my baby has done 6 Transatlantic flights between Jamaica and England and a handful of short European ones.  It’s been some journey. If only it wasn’t so lovely to see friends and family, no sane mummy would do it ever again! Here’s what I’ve learnt.

Walking to Holywell National Park

For my birthday, I planned a surprise weekend away for my husband and I. About 3 days before, he guessed the whole thing. ‘We’ve always done a mad walk for your birthday, and the maddest place we could walk to from here would be Holywell National Park’ he said.  Correct!

Nerds starting off from home