41st Independence celebration funday.

ON MONDAY May 28th, the 41st Independence celebration fun day took place at Crystal Palace in South London, UK.

The temperature was 48F. It rained non-stop all the previous day and night and continued throughout the day. The winds at times seemed to be hurricane force. They were certainly strong enough to blow over the display stands until they were anchored down with all the wonderful food and merchandise on sale.In spite of this inclement weather, the show had to go on and, true to form the organisers and volunteers were setting up for the day of fun by 6 am.

The patrons started to arrive at 11 am and in spite of the weather there was a reasonable turnout.One lady told me all she wanted to do was stay in the warmth of her home but, when she thought of the dedication and hard work of the organisers she had to come out and support their efforts. I was very touched by this as I feel this sentiment was shared by many of the people who attended.

The planned events took place in this wintry weather with the children taking part in rain coats instead of a nice shorts and T shirts. A great day was had by all who attended. While Guyanese people can come out in this weather to share and enjoy their diversity, the organisers can stand up, take a bow and be so proud of their achievements.

So, a big thank you to the organisers, a thank you to “Michael” who provided the music free of charge for the Guyana Tourist promotion stall but, most of all, thank you the Guyanese people and supporters who showed the great love and pride held for their country time after time. Without them, the show would never go on.

Guyana has so much to offer -- the diversity of food, music, dance and the list goes on. I continue to experience and enjoy all.

PATSY DOWNEY
IRISH

Well done Aunty Patsy. You even beat John Mair to it...hahaha.