8. Conclusion – Thank you – Thank you song to Beverley – Poem by Pauline Barnes

Conclusion

We are so glad we were able to go to Martinique to take part in their Festival. It was indeed a privilege to take part in such a wonderful programme of events.

The people of Martinique do take their Haute –Taille quadrille seriously. We loved that community festive spirit and cultural appropriation.

The Festival was further confirmation of how important it is to keep our cultural dances alive. And for every culture, there is a story to tell via the medium of music and dance. We wish the city of François success in their curriculum development.

The other performing groups presented interesting dances and we enjoyed meeting with ‘our extended family’. We felt honoured to have been part of such amazing group of people and hope to maintain contact with them.

Being in the Caribbean, the sunshine, the company, the exuberance and inter-connectedness felt during this Bi-annual quadrille festival was truly awe-inspiring.

Thank You

Thank you to the Mayor of François and all the festival organisers for inviting us to Martinique and making our dream a reality.

We sincerely thank our hosts Fred Jean-Baptiste and Sabrina Tanda for the warm, friendly and caring attitude extended to our group from when we arrived in Martinique on 18th June 2018 to our departure from the island on 24th June 2018. We were adequately provided for, ensuring comfortable accommodation, food, drinks and entertainment.

Fred’s generosity, patience, understanding and willingness to help us make sense of everything around us, which was mainly communicated in French, were outstanding. He didn’t seem fazed by anything even in an emergency!!…Thank you Fred.

Thank you to the Mayor of Sainte Anne who arranged for us to spend some quality time swimming in the Caribbean Sea, before we departed the island. This was most appreciated.

Thank you to all the other participating groups for their friendships, respect, inclusiveness and shared vision.

Thanks to all JANUKA Quadrille dancers without whom this adventure would not have been possible. We shared warmth, support and friendship as we ate, drank, laughed, talked, prayed, frolicked in and around the pool – and let’s not forget; practice, practice and just when we thought we could not manage another step; more Quadrille practice!!.

Last, but by no means least, Nuf love and respect to our group Co-ordinator, Beverley Bogle, whose passion, tireless unstinting work and creativity made this all possible.

We were pleased to receive a letter from the Mayor of Francois and the Town Council thanking us for participating in their 8th Biannual Haute-Taille Festival.

Thank you messages were also received from Fred Jean-Baptiste and Sabrina Tanda.

A sing along tribute to Beverley Bogle

From JANUKA Quadrille Dancers who travelled to Martinique.

We’re a group of black women from London
Who want to make sure their culture goes on
And we have a leader with vision and passion
Who sees the education as her mission
We’re so grateful and proud
All we want to do is sing it out loud
So we say
Thank you for the quadrille
The dances you’ve taught us
Thanks for all the steps you’ve shown us
We know it’s sometimes difficult
So wanted you to know
We appreciate you so
And we say thank you for your vision
And for sharing it with us
Thank you for your patience
In keeping us focused
Thanks for all the time you’ve given us
We couldn’t have done it without you
We say in all honesty
Where would we be?
Without your passion and love and foresight
So we thank you Beverley Bogle
You’ve taken us to new heights.

A poem by Pauline Barnes, The Martinique Adventure

They say 13 is an unlucky number
Perhaps it is for some
And when we piled into the bus that June morning
We didn’t know what was to come.

Travelling to the airport excitedly
Boarding our Air France plane
Saying quiet prayers to our Creator
Asking for safety there and home again.

The adventure really kicked off
On our arrival in sunny France
Misunderstandings and poor communication
Caused us to miss our press conference and our first dance.

Frantic phone calls across the Atlantic
To secure us a bed and a flight
We weren’t sure of what was happening
So we made plans to camp at Orly for the night.

Our wonderful Fred came up trumps
And sorted us a place to stay
Well rested and with a French breakfast inside us
We were up in the air and away.

What a meeting! What a greeting!
When we arrived in Martinique
The local dancers turned out
For the Londoners to meet.

A coach ride later and we were outside
Our home for the week- The Bungalows
With manicured lawns, tropical trees
And beautiful flowers on show.

With anticipation we climb into the coach
It was Wednesday Rum factory day
We walked round the plantation, went on a mango walk
And finally we were on our way, to the run tasting!

There was: White rum; Dark rum; Fruit rum; Rum punch…
Hours later, Euros poorer, Heads lighter, We were off to see more sights.

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