Harry Stemp March 12, 2009
Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
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?A sad happening here in Barbados last week when Terry Scharwzfeld, a prominent member of the Ottawa Jewish community, along with her daughter-in-law, Luana Cotsman, were attacked while taking a late afternoon stroll on an isolated stretch of beach on the southern tip of the island.
Terry was struck on the back of head by an unknown male attacker wielding a 2x4 and suffered serious head injuries. She went into a coma and, once she had received treatment, was flown back to Canada where she remains in a coma in an Ottawa Hospital. Luana suffered minor injuries and was released from hospital here following treatment.
Incidents such as this are rare in Barbados, but they do happen and more often than not in secluded parts of the island. The area in question has seen incidents of this type over the years and one has to ask the question why hoteliers in those areas do not warn their guests of the danger of strolling what is, in fact, one of the most beautiful beaches on the island.
But it is very isolated, and is a known hangout for druggies and other undesirables who have no regard for the law or for the tourists who are so important to the economy of this small Caribbean island. They prey on females strolling the beach. This is such an unfortunate and tragic incident, and we can only hope that Terry responds to treatment and returns to full health.
Otherwise, her tremendous efforts on behalf of a large number of charitable organizations will be sorely missed.
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One thing that you notice if you stay in Barbados for any length of time is the number of centurions who are part of the population of about 250,000 people. Hardly a week goes by that at least one, and quite often two, photos appear in the daily newspaper, The Nation, telling of people celebrating their 100th birthday.
No one has ever explained the reason for this, but it probably has a lot to do with the warm climate, lots of sunshine, sea baths and a diet of fruit, vegetables and fresh fish. Not sure if cold ones, like the local Banks beer, play a role so won't go into that.
But a celebration a week ago took the cake, so to speak. The front page of the Nation carried a large colour photo of a man kissing his wife on the cheek. The occasion was her 102nd birthday. No mean feat in itself. But her age pales in comparison when you read the caption and discover that her husband recently celebrated his 105th birthday. To me this calls for one big birthday party.
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Church plays a major role in Barbados life. Bajans are a very religious people and most churches are packed, not just Sundays, but many nights through the week. However, churches are not without controversy and I enjoyed a reading a weekend column called Pudding and Souse (a local food delicacy).
Apparently all hell broke loose in a local church when a man, after thanking everyone for praying for him while he was ill, turned to a “sister” in the congregation and said, “and thank you for telling everyone that you wished I had died”.
Well, this threw the “sister” into a rage and she jumped up and started screaming obscenities. The priest, trying to restore order, stopped the service and called several of the combatants into a private meeting in his office.
In the meeting, several turned on the vexed “sister”, including the priest, so she turned the tables by telling the priest, in front of his wife, “that he should shut up because he had been sleeping in her bed every night”.
For a few seconds the room was gripped by a deadly silence, which was broken when the distressed wife assured everyone in the room that her husband slept with her every night.
The meeting broke up and word of the woman's outburst soon spread like wildfire through the congregation. According to the report some of the elderly female churchgoers fainted, others fell to their knees and sobbed loudly, while others walked out of the church in disgust.
Now I understand why churches are so popular here in Barbados. Much more interesting than watching the soaps on TV.
