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Bourda, a personality named Saul would entertain especially
the South Stand’s packed audience, with a one-man display
of bowling, batting, taking catches and giving decisions as the
Umpire, in a well-demonstrated and funny pantomime.
Reds At 80
Looking Back Part II
On my way home to Charlestown, if I managed to save a little
of my pocket money, there was Sue mauby shop on the eastern
side of Camp Street between Robb and Regent. Mauby at
Sue was a specialty along with a butter flap and black pudding;
with the bit of change left, I could pick up a pinetart and
a patty at Ms. Daniels bakery at Camp and Durban adjacent
to Lot 12.
A number of events further strengthened cricket in Guiana.
The appointment of Clyde Walcott as the Bookers Sports
organizer changed the face of cricket in British Guiana. The
game was really a Demerara-centered game and the Walcott
cricket program for sugar estates supported by Robert Christiani,
ensured conditions for cricket in those areas became
much better. Improved facilities augmented by a coaching
program and inter-estate competitions lifted the standard of
cricket especially in the Berbice area and the East Coast of
Demerara. It was not too long after that the East Bank estates
entered a team in the Division 1 competition with Walcott
being part of their line-up before playing for the BGCC.
The other important event in the development of cricket in
British Guiana was the decision by the West Indies Board to
play an inter-colonial series in British Guiana in 1956 during
the month of October, because of the good weather that
prevailed in Guiana in that month. This allowed the best of
the West Indian players to display their skills which impacted
on crowd support for the games. There were also a number
of positive developments as the E.W. Swanton team toured
British Guiana with a number of international stars. Tours
also came from Pakistan with the Pakistan International
Airlines team and the Hyderbad Blues being among the first.
Another plus for the game was the Indian Cricket Association
of Trinidad that sent strong delegations to British Guiana and
elevated the standard of club cricket.
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The cricket circle in Georgetown attracted a number
of personalities, there were the well-known
hailers Jack Waterloo and a gentleman referred
to as Bowtie, who kept the crowds enraptured
with their smart and witty comments. Sydney
Gonsalves was known as the memory-man,
and this 6’2” character would reel off the dates
of players’ birthdays and dates in their family
background along with a lot of historical data of
colonial British Guiana. His popularity grew as he
turned out also to be a radio personality on many
of the shows. Vendors also were personalities in
their own right. The vocal Barney Johnson kept
up a flow of verbals as he sold his ice blocks. His
voice was strong and overwhelming for a man of
about 6’4”. The Channa man was known as Base,
and sold his Channa in neat brown paper bags.
His personality was in total contrast with Barney
Johnson, as he was quiet and gentle and said
very little. A similar description could be given
to Persaud, whose fare was dhal pourie, potato
balls and some Channa. Barney was not too
happy with the competition from the other ice
block vendor, Ferddie. Barbadian Joe sold black
cake and pinetarts in his big brown basket which
was always full.
As inter-colonial cricket was played more often at
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