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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>'Sun is shining .'</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Jean Lowrie-Chin
Monday, March 05, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are "in our ackee"! We have our tickets for the official opening of Cricket World Cup and all the first-round matches at Sabina Park. True, the organisers could have avoided the last-minute nerves with a more inclusive approach for this historic sporting event.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Jean Lowrie-Chin</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>But we Jamaicans tend to get into a frenzy when folks are coming to visit and we invariably pull it off. Hyacinth Bennett - you know I love you, but which of us doesn't save the best linen and china for our guests?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Our visitors should have a fantastic experience. I'll never forget the Kenny Rogers interview when he recounted a trip to Montego Bay some years back. He decided to walk around a bit, and stopped by one of our roadside bars.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As he approached the entrance he saw three locals looking very intently at him. He became wary, until they smiled and broke into song: "You gotta know when to hold/ know when to fold ." Rogers had a grand time with his new friends. He sings our praises and never ceases to be amazed at how his Jamaican audiences know his lyrics!<P class=StoryText align=justify>We should not underestimate the power of Jamaica's tourism product, and in particular, Bob Marley, to bring visitors to our shores. I remember my friend Tom Fischer from Buffalo, New York, arriving here as a teenager in 1977 for a pilgrimage through his idol's country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>(It was at Tommy's urging that we went to see an unforgettable performance by Bob Marley, the Wailers and the I-Threes at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto.)<P class=StoryText align=justify>Two weeks ago Tom returned with his family to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his visit to Jamaica. When I received his enthusiastic email last year about renting a car and driving his wife and 10-year-old twin daughters around the island, I have to admit I was concerned. Visiting is one thing, driving is another. So he took our advice and decided to use taxi service.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=330 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>The Fischer twins, Lily and Harper 'perform' with Bob at the Marley Museum. </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>We collected them at Norman Manley airport where they embraced the warm weather, commenting on the freezing walk they had from the car park to the terminal in Toronto. Next morning, Tom's wife Tracy who was on her first visit to Jamaica, looked around at the bougainvillea, palm trees, blue sky that we hardly notice, and sighed, "This feels so unreal, like I'm in paradise!"<P class=StoryText align=justify>They spent a week touring some top spots: first to Runaway Bay Heart Academy Hotel near Dolphin Cove, then a small villa in Montego Bay, then a beach condo in Negril and back to Kingston. Everywhere they went they took photographs that were postcard-perfect: swimming with the dolphins, jumping on the floating trampoline at Doctor's Cave Beach, enjoying ackee and saltfish at the Pelican, strolling on Negril Beach.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While relaxing on the sand, Tracy said a delicious smell wafted near her: a vendor was peeling a pineapple. "I had to have some - it was delici
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Jean Lowrie-Chin
Monday, March 05, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are "in our ackee"! We have our tickets for the official opening of Cricket World Cup and all the first-round matches at Sabina Park. True, the organisers could have avoided the last-minute nerves with a more inclusive approach for this historic sporting event.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Jean Lowrie-Chin</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>But we Jamaicans tend to get into a frenzy when folks are coming to visit and we invariably pull it off. Hyacinth Bennett - you know I love you, but which of us doesn't save the best linen and china for our guests?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Our visitors should have a fantastic experience. I'll never forget the Kenny Rogers interview when he recounted a trip to Montego Bay some years back. He decided to walk around a bit, and stopped by one of our roadside bars.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As he approached the entrance he saw three locals looking very intently at him. He became wary, until they smiled and broke into song: "You gotta know when to hold/ know when to fold ." Rogers had a grand time with his new friends. He sings our praises and never ceases to be amazed at how his Jamaican audiences know his lyrics!<P class=StoryText align=justify>We should not underestimate the power of Jamaica's tourism product, and in particular, Bob Marley, to bring visitors to our shores. I remember my friend Tom Fischer from Buffalo, New York, arriving here as a teenager in 1977 for a pilgrimage through his idol's country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>(It was at Tommy's urging that we went to see an unforgettable performance by Bob Marley, the Wailers and the I-Threes at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto.)<P class=StoryText align=justify>Two weeks ago Tom returned with his family to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his visit to Jamaica. When I received his enthusiastic email last year about renting a car and driving his wife and 10-year-old twin daughters around the island, I have to admit I was concerned. Visiting is one thing, driving is another. So he took our advice and decided to use taxi service.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=330 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>The Fischer twins, Lily and Harper 'perform' with Bob at the Marley Museum. </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>We collected them at Norman Manley airport where they embraced the warm weather, commenting on the freezing walk they had from the car park to the terminal in Toronto. Next morning, Tom's wife Tracy who was on her first visit to Jamaica, looked around at the bougainvillea, palm trees, blue sky that we hardly notice, and sighed, "This feels so unreal, like I'm in paradise!"<P class=StoryText align=justify>They spent a week touring some top spots: first to Runaway Bay Heart Academy Hotel near Dolphin Cove, then a small villa in Montego Bay, then a beach condo in Negril and back to Kingston. Everywhere they went they took photographs that were postcard-perfect: swimming with the dolphins, jumping on the floating trampoline at Doctor's Cave Beach, enjoying ackee and saltfish at the Pelican, strolling on Negril Beach.<P class=StoryText align=justify>While relaxing on the sand, Tracy said a delicious smell wafted near her: a vendor was peeling a pineapple. "I had to have some - it was delici
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