Today I saw group of young Valley boys pass through the yard with model sailing boats and my heart was glad. I recognised some of them as students who attend the WISE programme next door and assumed that they had made the boats themselves. On a small tropical island we do not experience the seasons of temperate climes. However, during the first quarter of the year, my sugar apple trees lose all their leaves and many lambs and kids are added to flocks and herds that pass through my yard. But we do not call it Spring.

By May-June it is supposed to be the start of the rainy season and we prepare for the hurricane season. This is a season we do not look forward to but we welcome any outer bands of rain it may bring – not the real thing – just the outer bands. By September we are sweltering and looking forward to the “Christmas Breeze” that begins gusting by late November. We do not call it winter but come January-February in the Valley Bottom, it is cold to the point where I have to dig out my socks and my flannel granny nightie. Though I love (and need), cold showers, during those months, I grit my teeth and brace for my early morning shower. Even though our average temperatures render lifelong summers, this is the only season that we tend to call by name and the boys passing through were my sign that the summer vacation was really on. Anguilla can appear to be a sleepy little island but this is deceptive, particularly during the summer vacation and, as usual, I will attempt to share in one place, some of the personal enrichment activities that I know about for parents and their children, with a focus on the month of July.

The National AIDS Programme Youth Summit kicked off at the Orealia Kelly Primary School on Tuesday 7th and (Wednesday 8th). If you’re just reading about it here it means you missed it completely but it targeted young people aged 13 to 19 and I look forward to viewing the video produced to document young people expressing their views on sex and sexuality, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS as well as relationships and other issues affecting young people. Empowerment of youth was the objective and the theme was “Information, Education plus Fun is equal to Power.” If that video is ready by the time of the Triple Crown workshops designed to empower parents, I shall certainly use it. The National AIDS Programme has a very small but dynamic team and I laud them for the reach they have managed to achieve in helping us all to make sustainable choices.

On Friday 10th, by popular demand, there will be a repeat performance of the Vagina Monologues for those of you who missed it the first two times or for those who enjoyed it so much, you want to see it a third time. Same time, same place, 7.30 p.m. at Campus B of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. This production is for persons 18 years and over.

I do not yet have the dates for the annual Children’s Summer Programme run by the Anguilla Public Library but that usually caters to primary school children. Those who have attended over the years would have been blessed by the rich offerings of our favourite Jamaican storyteller artist, a wonderful sister named A-dziko Simba, and at the end there is a presentation for parents and other interested parties like me. I must remember to call up and find out when that will be taking place as Sister A-dziko has the gift of making something out of anything. Thanks to the Library’s Director and Staff for a job well done year round. If you do not see the books you would like to see in our library, donate them. My strong love of reading really grew during the summer holidays of my childhood.

This year the Department of Youth and Culture has come alive with its Youth E.S.C.A.P.E. (Educational Summer Creative Arts Production and Entertainment) Programme for children and youth aged 12 to 18. This will also be held at Campus B. According to the announcement from the department, “The programme will provide participants the opportunity to work with skilled artistes and arts organizations to develop their creative skills in one of the following art forms: theatre, moko jumbie, graphic design, and the culinary arts. From July 13th – 24th, the Sunshine Theatre facilitate skills development in acting, speech, dance, sound technology, set design and painting and to produce a play for public presentation. Something I eagerly anticipate. July 20th – 25th will see participants learning all about the Moko Jumbie from Mr. Stanley Carty of Anguilla and Mr. Charlie Turnbull of the Elite Sky Dancers British Virgin Islands of Tortola. Participants will be exposed to the origin of Moko Jumbie and develop and improve their practical skills and display them during the carnival celebrations. This art form is of great interest to me as it is one of the traditions that keeps us closely connected to the African continent. One day Anguilla will once again be the Moko Jumbie capital of the Caribbean.

During the week August 24th-28th when Rosell Media and the Anguilla National Trust will deliver a workshop in graphic design. Participants will develop their skills in Adobe Creative suite, which include “In Design” and “Photoshop” and create a wide array of artistic and promotional products, culminating in a public juried exhibition of participants work. I don’t like judging art but, then again, they are asking us to be jurors not judges. I therefore look forward to that exhibition and hope that we can employ some of the young persons who would have been exposed to this training. Young people participating in the programme from August 17th – 21st will be the envy of people like me as the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and the Anguilla National Creative Arts Association will immerse them in the culinary arts under the guidance of some of Anguilla’s Top Chefs including the Gold Medal Winning Culinary Team. “The experience will include onsite culinary demonstrations and hands on practical cooking activities, food history and Anguillian culture and a wide array of exciting activities.” I really wish there was a public juried tasting for us at the end.

The Department is also organising Leadership Training at the Community College for youth leaders on July 22, at the Community College, so there will be something for everyone this summer.

That everyone includes parents. One of my primary school friends always asks how come there is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but no Children’s Day. I tell her everyday is children’s day but when it comes to talking about sexuality in the family setting, it is often no one’s day and this is why the Triple Crown Parenting Workshop aims to help parents become comfortable in this arena. That workshop takes place on Tuesday 28th July with options for morning sessions from 9.00 a.m. to 12 noon and evening sessions from 5.00 - 8.00 pm for your convenience. Refreshment will be provided. Wednesday 29th the focus is on raising teenagers, a really challenging thing to do if we wait until our children are teenagers to begin paying attention. On Thursday 30th the evening session will begin at 4 and end at 7 as some of you will want get to the Landsome Bowl for the opening of the 2009 Summer Festival. Somewhere in the midst of all this there will be time to head for our favourite beach for just a few of those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer – I guess that will be after the Soca Classic on the 31st and after the August boat races.

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