ICC Cricket World Cup

As I drive through the city, and see the frantic rush of preparation for Cricket World Cup, the emotion I feel most of all is annoyance....sheer annoyance at the fact that (a) the authorities waited until the absolute last minute to decide to fix some things, including some things that probably didnt need fixing, which means that its probably not going to be done properly, and money will be wasted, and (b) it takes this bloody tournament for the authorities to determine that the place don't look so good and need sprucing up.

Now, you and I will fix up our house when visitors come because we want to leave a good impression, right? So far so good...BUT...big difference....we are the ones living in our house, and we have a right to determine what is a priority and what is not. We decide what we are comfortable living with. The Government can't claim that privilege. That argument doesnt belong to them. Is not dem alone live here!!! We are the ones who live here, and the Government is in charge of fixing up the place. So basically, the Government is acting like a slum landlord who only fixes the building and the plumbing because the inspectors are coming. To hell with the people who have to live here all the time. We don't care if you have to trip and fall over unever sidewalks...potholed roads ruin your vehicle....whatever. But...visitors are coming...lets look good for them. Forget that less than a few hundred yards west of Sabina Park are some horrendous slums. One wrong turn off South Camp Road, and you will be in the place that time forgot, a modern day Island of Dr. Moreau, where humans live in conditions that could be mistaken for the habitat of wild animals.

Then don't get me started on Greenfield!!! What a collossal waste of money....and to do what? Why didnt the architects of this idea put their country first, and not their own egos? The Chinese built it, funded with cheap money, but couldn't we have asked the Chinese to maybe...oh...I dunno.....improve the many shitty hospitals we have....lend us money to buy medical equipment.....fix all the primary schools in the country...surely it would have been cheaper to do that than build a massive new stadium that will be hardly used but expensive to maintain. We can build magnificent edifices, but we cannot maintain. Emancipation Park is a standout exception to the rule. We need to see why that works and why the National Stadium doesn't. Why wasn't the National Stadium used for the Opening Ceremony? Who in their right mind really wants to drive to freakin' Trelawny (!) to spend three hours looking at bloody moko jumbies and corny stilt walkers? The crowd aint coming from Montego Bay, nor, I wager, are people gonna drive from Kingston, certainly not enough to fill the stadium.

Lord help us.