Wednesday, May 27, 2009

“COOL RUNNINGS – ONE MORE TIME”

Cool Runnings Audio book launch


With a soundtrack encompassing the Fugees as well as the obligatory Bob Marley (who in fact, did use the refrain “cool runnings” in his song “Black Man Redemption”), Chris Stokes launched the audio-book of his bobsleigh memoir, Cool Runnings and Beyond: The story of the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team at Bookophilia in Kingston two Saturdays past.

Stokes drew on the varied skills and enthusiasm of family members and friends (including mom, Blossom O’ Meally Nelson), many of whom crammed into the cozy Liguanea bookstore-cum-hangout. The audio excerpts, read by the author, told the familiar story of courage, physical and mental endurance and unwavering self-belief that has made Jamaica Bobsleigh an indigenous sporting icon surpassed only recently by one-man sprint phenomenon Usain Bolt (imagine the start times the bobsleigh team could get with him pushing).

To hear Stokes and family friend/collaborator Don McDowell tell it, the 13-month recording and editing process of transferring the book (originally published in 2002) to audio was almost as grueling as going downhill on ice (minus, of course, the separated ribs and other physical injuries), with recording sessions frequently running 16 hours or more.

The excerpts played at the launch began – expectedly – with the famous disaster-turned –delight of Calgary 1998, where the team crashed spectacularly out of contention, but into the hearts of the spectators and the world (dramatized, and embellished, in the hit movie). Then ether was the triumph, six years later, in Lillehammer Norway, where the team again overcame injury and lack of equipment (their race sled was a “rental” a ‘display model’ graciously provided by the hotel in which they were staying ) to shock the world by finishing 14th, ahead of the French, Italians, Russians and –most satisfyingly – the Americans.

In her remarks, Mom Blossom O’ Meally Nelson spoke not only to the courage of her sons (brother Tal Stokes was captain of the 4-man teams at Calgary and Lillehammer), but also the perseverance and resourcefulness of their wives, who often had to send money to help keep their spouses “on the ice” and out of hot water, so to speak, this in addition to raising the children.

Na-Talia Stokes rendered the famous Kipling poem, “If” and then Chris took the microphone and delivered a thoroughly inspiring address, beginning with a reference to Sir Phillip Sherlock and Dr Hazel Bennett’s The Story of the Jamaican People and ending with a challenge to members of the audience to commit their own stories to audio books and to books in general.

With even more great stories to tell - the formation, for example of a Jamaican women’s bobsleigh team, and the upcoming expedition to Antarctica (which includes Jamaican Kim-Marie Spence) – another of the Gong’s refrains comes to mind: “spread out, spread out”

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Calabash '09 programme

Just a quick note to say....

The 2009 Calabash programme is up at
www.calabashfestival.org
See you in Treasure Beach in 3 weeks!

check back with us - as well as www.yardedge.net for more updates