RKS Literature: Coloreds Coming to England for Spectacles and Good Grins Courtesy of NHS

“For the teeth and glasses.” That was the reason so many colored people were coming to this country, according to my next-door neighbour Mr Todd. ‘That National Health Service-it’s pulling them in, Mrs Bligh. Giving things away at our expense will keep them coming.’ He said. He might have had a point except, according toContinue reading “RKS Literature: Coloreds Coming to England for Spectacles and Good Grins Courtesy of NHS”

RKS Literature: A Jamaican Thrilled at the Possibility to Move to 1948 England (Andrea Levy)

“But what aroused her more than anything else about this man was the thrill of knowing that he wanted to make a life for himself in England. She could see herself ringing the bell on that tall house. He wants to return to England soon. She would sail far away from this island, safe inContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Jamaican Thrilled at the Possibility to Move to 1948 England (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: The “Superiority” of White Women in 1948 Jamaica (Andrea Levy)

“I hungered to make those children regard me with as high an opinion as I had for the principal and tutors at my college. Those white women whose superiority encircled them like an aureole, could quieten any raucous gathering by just placing a finger to a lip. Their formal elocution, their eminent intelligence, their imperialContinue reading “RKS Literature: The “Superiority” of White Women in 1948 Jamaica (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: The Twitching and Frothing Evangelists (Andrea Levy)

“The Ryders were evangelists and Mr Phillip had no time for evangelists.  He did not like the way that people moved by the spirit of the Lord threw themselves to the ground shaking and frothing at the mouth like beasts. He could not understand that, as the service came to a close, those same peopleContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Twitching and Frothing Evangelists (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: “Little Miss High-class from Jamaica Arrives in 1948 London” (Andrea Levy)

“Man, this woman is a barb under my skin-she irritate me so I lose my temper. I tell her. “Yes, and you know what else, little Miss Stick-up-your-nose-air, you will have to wash your plate, your vegetable and your backside in that basin too. This room is where you will sleep, eat, cook, dress andContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Little Miss High-class from Jamaica Arrives in 1948 London” (Andrea Levy)”