As one of many thousands of Guyanese who returned to the scene of the time when the majestic Golden Arrowhead was raised on the north side of Georgetown at the National Park on May 26, 1966 by Guyana Defence Force (GDF) lieutenant Desmond Roberts to mark our country’s independence from British rule, by calculation I admit to being well over 50-years-old.
I, am grateful, however, that even with the passage and the grind of almost half a century abroad, that I was able to muster almost as much energy and enthusiasm now in the waning moments of May 25, 2016 to celebrate the historic flag raising albeit in keeping with the sign of the times on a large screen plasma TV at a barbecue a stone’s throw away from the official venue.
One got a sense of the importance and the excitement of the event on the eve of the iconic date around the city newly purged of the grime and much of the crime as traffic was snarled everywhere; for pedestrians the narrow sidewalks were jammed with hucksters plying some kitschy wares and national flag bedecked stores with souvenir merchandise and other fare spilling through the doors.
Meanwhile `Bam Bam Alley’ was virtually impassable by vehicle or even bicycle as this little city block was teeming with mostly returnees and some locals sipping and chatting oblivious of traffic trying to get to the other side of town.