Rosemary Parkinson, Gleaner Writer
The Bridgetown Boardwalk offers a clean and picturesque place for a stroll. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson
'Intellect takes time, and while you are pondering, contemplating, thinking, you miss the moment. Life is not waiting for you. One has to live immediately.' Osho's book Intuition - Knowing Beyond Logic.
Words of truth that help me highlight the fact that while intellectuals conjured up thoughts of what could be done with certain specific buildings, the whole vision of what should be done with an area missed the moment. And that moment began when Gloucester Avenue, Montego Bay, was deemed the Hip Strip.
According to the thesaurus, the word hip is interpreted as: trendy, fashionable, stylish, all the rage, in vogue, à la mode, modish. In modern language, hip is also known as fun-filled, with-it, happening. Now let's get real about the famous Hip Strip. Let's face it - a few Chinese and other restaurants, Doctor's Cave Beach, Margaritaville, Coral Cliff, Blue Beat Cocktail and Jazz Lounge, Indian shop after Indian shop selling the exact same tired imported goods, purportedly duty-free, an exhausted-looking craft market hidden in a dubious alley all interspersed with ladies of the night and a few harassing 'druggists' can hardly be termed whoopeeeeee.
With thousands of people coming off cruise ships (including the largest one in the world just copped away from Panama); and more arriving at our newly spruced-up airport with next year's Cricket World Cup - do we want to continue hearing: "So where's the Hip Strip? I mean is this really the Hip Strip?" I hope not.
Swinging every evening
This week we're taking a photographic look at a Caribbean neighbour - Barbados. They have a hip strip that swings every evening with live bands and although, admittedly it could do with more, the beginnings are there. Restaurants abound everywhere and taking a bird's eye view of the capital Bridgetown's Broad Street, its shopping and boardwalk hopefully will force our intellect into condensing these images into one long, beautiful strip in Montego Bay right now before we miss the moment.
Imagine the Hip Strip carried further up to Buccaneer Hotel - pedestrians only - with a fabulously carved overhead entrance, secure and clean with streets paved with red brick, all centred by a strip of garden that includes the beautiful flowers and tall palm trees Jamaica is so famous for.
Imagine boardwalks wherever possible - maybe even little cafés to the side - that allow boats to come right up, moor and say have dinner ... .hmmm ... romantic.
Imagine shops with products made in Jamaica fabulously packaged, preciously displayed - a small village of wooden huts within filled with herbal products from all over the Caribbean, including Jamaica, of course, with spas and healing and clean food. Maybe this could be done within the existing craft market.
Imagine shops filled with exciting wear, jewellery, cameras, crystal; counters for every imaginable facial, body product and designer perfumes - all duty-free.
In Barbados, once you show your ticket or immigration entrance paper, you can purchase duty-free and take your goods with you right away, leaving one copy of the purchase in a specially marked box at the airport.
Imagine great party places with live bands, each one having a special grooving night of their own but every night jumping with excitement.
Imagine great cafés and restaurants open till the wee hours spilling out into the street.
Imagine an amazing glorious show - Caribbean colourful style, carnival-like, with fabulous costumes and filled with the excitement and storytelling of Jamaica's past showcasing from the Spanish arrival, the English takeover, the fight of the Maroons, the various African/European-based dances ending in an enjoyable party with a fusion of modern-day partying where all and sundry can partake for a price. Coral Cliff tries, but it needs taking up
several notches.
Imagine a bookstore open till all hours with the best of what we have to offer in the literary arts; the latest in reading with an area for children to sit, colour, paint, read and listen to stories being told by our own great and famous voices - Rex Nettleford, Winston Stona, Lorna Goodison, Elise Kelly, Dorraine Samuels and the many, many more beautiful voices that can speak of the land.
Imagine a safe haven for children, properly overseen, with a great playground.
Imagine a smaller version of the Calabash Literary Festival being held on the Hip Strip; or Jamaican and Caribbean food festivals. Theatre, jazz, art on the street. Pottery and carvings being made before your very eyes - the latter sans those 'high-hope' extensions highlighting the male image of what the bevy of aphrodisiac concoctions available are supposed to do for them!
Having started off your creative thinking, imagine even more! Dare we to imagine what we might gain? How about the best little hip strip in the Caribbean living its name immediately without missing the moment.
Left: The Reggae Lounge, Hip Strip, is enjoyed by one and all. Right: Soca is the shift at the Ship Inn in Barbados. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson
