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A LITTLE PERSUASION PROMPTS RALPH TO PUT PEN TO PAPER
A colourful account of life in the Jamaican village of Little London
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Ralph Ottey's book 'Little London, Jamaica and Me' transports the reader to another world and culture, 4000 miles away and 70 odd years in time.
The book, tells of his ancestry, his family, their home, the village and its people and local traditions and folklore.
It is a simple, authentic and colourful account of life in the Jamaican village of Little London, which was the centre of his world for nearly 20 years.
He writes of his boyhood: "Most people went barefooted but not in rags. There were no beggers, a job paying 10 shillings a week would be considered very well paid.
"I shared with other boys the freedom to roam on thousands of acres of surrounding lands, eating fruits, swimming, stoning Mango trees, fishing, shooting birds, catching crabs and getting in and out of scrapes."
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When Jamaican Ralph Ottey first came to settle in Boston, an official at the Labour Exchange told him that he would never get a decent job in line with his qualifications.
Undeterred Ralph applied for a job as cashier/book-keeper with local company G.N. Beaulah Ltd, where he stayed for 40 years, eventually becoming General Manager of its successor Amalgamated Foods Ltd.
During his working life in Boston he has become a highly respected member of the community, a director of the Chamber of Commerce, and played cricket for the town.
Now retired from his company role for many years, he still holds a key role in the Chamber, has published his first book and is well on the way to a second and third which will complete an autobiographical triolgy.
His first book, prompted by a family member and the Institute of Jamaica, chronicles his upbringing in the village of Little London.
"It started when my cousin suggested that I should write down my memories for future generations, like the African tradition of passing down stories," he said.
"The Institute of Jamaica showed particular interest because in 1943 I was an enumerator during the Island census and could remember all the names of the villagers and where they lived," he added.
The book, which is available at Oldrids Store in Boston, makes fascinating reading. Ralph comes from a very diverse background with ancestors who both white slave masters and black slaves, and he grew up in a world where most went barefooted and could not read or write.
Ralph was a good scholar and was cricket crazy. He also had a burning desire to join the RAF, a dream that came true in 1944. His years in the RAF, much of the time spent at RAF Coningsby and Woodhall Spa attached to 617 Squadron, are recorded in Ralph's inimitable way in his second book 'Stranger Bwoy' soon to be on the shleves of Oldrids.
As well as producing a book of short stories set in and around the village of Little London, Ralph is also working on the third stage of his autobiography - the 55 years of his life that he has spent in Boston.
"Since I started 'putting things down in writing' it seems to have taken on a life of its own, and gathered and encased many other people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their help and encouragment in this exercise," he said.