Open Writing

…I wrote this book because I wanted future generations of my family to know something of their heritage and also out of respect to my mother, a gentle and remarkable woman who had huge moral courage.
If the maxim is true, that daughters eventually become like their mother then all I can say is… lucky me. ..

Marie Cambell concludes her remarkable and utterly unforgettable account of the tough life experienced by her mother who left her Jamiaican home to work in London in the days just before the outbreak of World War Two.

To buy a copy of Marie's wonderful book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "How The Story Ended" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

…I wrote this book because I wanted future generations of my family to know something of their heritage and also out of respect to my mother, a gentle and remarkable woman who had huge moral courage.
If the maxim is true, that daughters eventually become like their mother then all I can say is… lucky me. ..

Marie Cambell concludes her remarkable and utterly unforgettable account of the tough life experienced by her mother who left her Jamiaican home to work in London in the days just before the outbreak of World War Two.

To buy a copy of this profoundly moving book please click on
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "How The Story Ended" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...Christmas Eve: Marie asked me if she should put a big pillow case or a little pillow case at the end of her bed for Father Christmas to leave her presents.

I snapped at her and told her he’s not coming this year. Oh God, the expression on her face. I heard her get up in the middle of the night and look to see if there were any presents. She said nothing about it the next day. I feel terrible. I have no money for presents...

Marie Campbell continues the profoundly moving story of her mother's struggle to survive in a far-from-welcoming England.

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Bad Times" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...The worst present in the world: It’s my birthday today and God has given me a terrible birthday present. Jamaica has been hit by a savage hurricane with winds over 125 mph. Kingston suffered badly and so far 154 people have died and 50,000 are homeless...

Marie Campbell continues the enthralling story of her mother, Olga, who, after leaving her home in Jamaica, faced hard times in England.

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Martha’s Revenge" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

Olga goes to work for actress Googie Withers.

Marie Campbell continues the enthralling and surprisng story of her Jamaican-born mother who sought a new life in England.

To purchase a copy of Marie's book please visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "A Form Of Justice?" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...When he asked Martha if she knew, she said she hadn’t seen Olga for months. If something has happened to her in England and she feels she cannot talk to me about it, then I have not done a good job as a mother. I’ve let her down, otherwise she would be here knowing there is nothing she could ever do or say that could make me love her less. But at least I know she’s alive...

Marie Campbell continues the enthralling story of her mother, Olga, who left Jamaica for a new life in England, there to face a life filled with problems.

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Hanging On" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...I had bought a new outfit for the occasion because I wanted to look the best I could. I was wearing a new blue dress I’d recently bought and a little hat to match and a grey coat belted at the waist. I thought I looked very nice. Sydney said I did...

Olga's brother Sydney visits London, and Olga conceals certain truths about her life when she meets him.

Marie Campbell continues her deeply moving account of her mother's difficult life.

To read earlier chapters of this unmissable story pleaseclick on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Sydney Comes To London" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...Mrs Hurt has an Irish housemaid, named Kathleen Ryan. She doesn’t like me and I don’t like her one little bit. I’d been putting away some linen in the cupboard on the first floor landing and I was in a hurry so I came down the front stairs. Servants are supposed to use the back stairs and Kathleen saw me and told me off. I told her Mrs Hurt didn’t mind me using the front stairs now and again and she called me an “uppity nigger with airs and graces”...

Life was not easy for Olga as she continued to work in a country mansion.

Marie Campbell continues her unforgettable account of her mother's life.

To read earlier chapters click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Life As A Servant" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:02 AM | Permalink

...When I went to fetch Marie the other day, she was wearing Captain Hurt’s hat and they were both walking together with their heads bowed and hands behind their backs.

Oh God she looked so cute...

Olga finds happy employment at a big country house in Essex.

To purchase a copy of Marie Campbell's wonderful and unforgettable book about her mother please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Colonel And Mrs Hurt" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...When it’s quiet, I have to write up the babies’ reports. It’s the noisiest place to work in because there is always two or three babies crying at once. But I don’t mind. I have Marie with me. She is beautiful and so good, she rarely cries. I try to be fair and not pay her more attention than the other babies...

Beset by huge misfortune Olga makes the best of life.

Marie Cambell continues her moving and unforgettable account of her mother's life.

To purchase a copy of Marie's must-read book please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Life In A Wartime Nursery : Wimbledon, London" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...I’ve christened my daughter, Marie-Thérèse, after my favourite nun at Alpha Academy and I’ve had to register her birth. When the Registrar asked me the father’s name, I just shook my head. I felt ashamed, but he was a kind man and patted my hand and gave me a little smile, but his act of kindness made me cry. I have no idea how I am going to look after my baby. I have no home, no money and no job...

But Olga is a fighter and soon gets a job.

Marie Campbell continues the inspiring story of her mother's battle against adversity.

To read earlier chapters please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Marie" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...My room is cold and bare, with an iron bed, a table, a chest of drawers, a large white enamel jug and bowl. On the wall is a big crucifix of Jesus on the cross. I like the cross being there. It makes me feel I’m not so alone...

Olga, who has been raped and is now pregnant and very much alone, finds a place in a Catholic refuge.

Marie Campbell continues the gripping and unforgettable story of her mother's life.

To read earlier chapters click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of the book Olga's Daughter visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Home Is A Refuge For Friendless Girls" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:02 AM | Permalink

...“I’m sorry to have to tell you Nurse, you are pregnant and I’m sorry but you’ll have to leave St Giles”...

Olga, an innocent in sexual matters, is overwhelmed by the shocking news.

Marie Campbell continues her searingly honest and unmissable account of her mother's life.

To purchase a copy of Marie's book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "The Refuge For Friendless Girls" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:42 AM | Permalink

...I was getting a really good look at him now. I’d never seen anyone so handsome, except, of course, film stars, but most of them were dark haired. John was slim and fair-haired and he had such a lovely smile. By now I was hoping Moores wasn’t coming because I wanted John all to myself. He told me he had three days leave before he had to report back to the army. I could see some of the other girls in the bar looking at us, a bit jealous I thought, and I felt so proud that he seemed interested in me...

In her diary Olga tells of being raped in a pub by a doctor serving in the army.

Marie Campbell continues her compellingly frank story of her mother and her West Indian roots.

To purchase a copy of Marie's unforgettable book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "The Rape Of An Innocent" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...When we’re on night duty and the air raids sound, we have to pull all the beds into the centre of the ward and put each patient’s gas mask on their bed. We’ve been issued with helmets which have to be worn when the bombs start dropping. The first time I put mine on I thought, thank God, the tots can’t see me. They’d never stop laughing, as a matter of fact neither could I. It was so big I had to keep pushing it back so I could see where I was going. I looked ridiculous in it...

There's laughter as Olga goes about her nursing duties during World War Two - but then she hears terrible news.

Marie Campbell continues the inspiring story of her mother, Olga, who left her home in Jamaica in the 1930s to seek a new life in London.

To read earlier episodes of the story please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's must-read book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Bad News" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...This morning we were changing the bottom sheet of a bed, with the patient still in it, and Moores was telling me about this Canadian soldier who said he can get her some French champagne and silk stockings. Each time we moved the patient he broke a little wind and at first we ignored him and carried on chatting, but then he did it again and we started to laugh and couldn’t stop and what’s more neither could the patient, which made him break wind louder and more often and then all the other patients joined in and they didn’t even know what they were laughing about...

Olga, far from her home and family in Jamaica, relishes her life as a nurse in wartime London.

Marie Campbell continues her astonishing and inspirational family history.

Continue reading "St Giles Cottage Hospital London 1940 – 1941" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...By the time we got back to the hospital we had learnt it been a false alarm, but our relief didn’t last long because we were told that Britain was finally at war with Germany. There’d been lots of talk about war before but I wouldn’t listen....

At the outbreak of World War Two trainee nurse Olga is called into Matron's office to hear some bad news.

Marie Campbell continues the inspirational story of her mother Olga and her Jamaican family.

Continue reading "Olga, Nursing And A Declaration Of War" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...I felt uncomfortable and awkward in my student nurse’s uniform, my black frizzy hair poking out at different angles under a heavily starched white cap which needs four hair grips to hold it in place. My grey dress had a little white collar which fastened tightly round my neck and was nearly choking me and over the dress I wore a starched white apron with a wide belt around my waist. I didn’t like the feel of the thick black stockings on my skin and the thick black rubber soled shoes felt like lead weights on the end of my feet...

After lonely hours sitting on a park bench in London Olga begins work as a student nurse.

To read earlier chapters of Marie Campbell's story of her Jamaican family and her mother Olga please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Olga – A Student Nurse at St Giles Hospital, 1939" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 08:02 AM | Permalink

...“A great hospital like St Mary’s only takes white, middle class young ladies to train as nurses” she told us.

“They would never accept a coloured person so don’t waste your time seeing Matron, just to be told no.”...

But Olga did find a hospital which accepted her as a trainee nurse.

Marie Campbell continues the story of her brave and adventerous mother Olga.

To read earlier chapters of this inspirational story please click pm
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's book visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Sydney Comes To London -1939" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

... “No man would find someone as plain and boring as you, Olga, attractive. Where were you when God was handing out the looks”. She’s not a very nice person, you know. I know I’m not as pretty as my sisters, but Mammie says I have other qualities which are more important than looks...

Olga finds life far from easy in London where she is living with "the wicked witch'', her Great Aunt Olga.

To read earlier chapters of Marie Campbell's deeply moving family story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Aunt Martha, Chilworth Street, Paddington" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 08:02 AM | Permalink

...Fed up: Went to Trafalgar Square yesterday to feed the pigeons, but, I was in and out of that Square like a bullet.

I sat down and as soon as I pulled out my bag of breadcrumbs, pigeons surrounded me and started pecking at my paper bag trying to get the bread out and there were lots of them around my feet picking up the breadcrumbs – it felt like I was being attacked, so I dropped the breadcrumbs and ran...

Olga is missing Jamaica, not liking what she sees of life in London.

To read earlier chapters of Marie Cambbell's wonderful and deeply moving family history which focuses on the life of her mother, Olga, please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book please visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "A Change Of Plan For Olga – London 1939" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 08:02 AM | Permalink

...“I thought you were expecting me”.

“Jesus Christ, what day is it”?

“April 1st” I said, shocked by her blaspheming.

And then she started laughing “Trust you to arrive on April Fool’s Day, Olga.''...

Marie Campbell's mother, Olga, arrived in London on April 1st, 1939

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "London, 1939" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 10:22 AM | Permalink

...Christmas Eve: Ruby, Dolly, Pearl and me went to midnight mass at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Mammie never forces us to go to church and we can choose whether we want to. I always want to go, I like the feeling of peace when I’m in Church. The Cathedral bells always start ringing half an hour before midnight and as they died away the Holy Trinity Choir sang “Adeste Fideles”...

Marie Campbell, continuing her family history, quotes the diary of her mother, Olga, who paints a wonderfully detailed and engaging picture of Christmas in Jamaica eight decades ago.

To purchase a copy of Marie's book, which is a fabulously good read from start to finish, please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Christmas In Jamaica With John Canoe" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:02 AM | Permalink

1938 was a time of trouble and strife in Jamaica. "In May of that year workers all over Jamaica went on strike and the unemployed joined them marching and demonstrations. The banana trade had declined drastically and unemployment was high, there was only occasional work, bad nutrition, poor housing, very little health service and a high cost of living,'' writes Marie Campbell, continuing her extraordinarily detailed family history.

In that year Marie's grandmother Mammie (Becky) reached an important decision about the future of her daughter Olga.

To purchase a copy of Marie's memorable book about her mother Olga please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Kingston 1938 - A Dangerous Place To Live" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...This turned the man with the gun’s attention away from Sydney momentarily, so Sydney tried to grab the gun and there was a struggle when suddenly the gun went off and the robber was shot dead...

Marie Cambell, continuing her family story which conveys wonderfully detailed word-pictures of life as it was in Jamaica, tells of the trial for manslaughter of her mother's brother.

To read earlier chapters please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Sydney Shoots A Burglar" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

"When I was a child my mother, Olga, used to tell me that her family practiced witchcraft (Obeah) in Jamaica, but I didn’t believe her. Being a good Catholic girl, I didn’t countenance such ‘mumbo jumbo’!'' writes Marie Campbell as she continues her astonishing and deeply moving family history.

To read earlier chapters of Marie's story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "More Spells And Obeah" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:54 AM | Permalink

...There’s been a terrible scandal in the family. You just won’t believe what happened last Saturday morning when we came down to breakfast...

Marie Campbell continues her deeply moving and wonderfully detailed family story.

To purchase a copy of Marie's highly filmable book please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Sydney And The Cook" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:02 AM | Permalink

...As I go to jump on to the ground my knickers get caught on the branch, tear and leave me dangling four foot off the ground, unable to free myself, my backside exposed to all the young boys still up the tree, the old man raking the barbecue, my sisters and worse still, I can see Roy McKenzie getting closer and heading straight for “Mon Repose”.

Dolly and Ruby were laughing themselves silly.

“Help me quickly, Roy McKenzie’s coming down the hill”...

Marie Cambell continues he wonderfully rich and moving family history with another passage from Olga's diary.

To read earlier chapters of Marie's story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her wonderful book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Aunt Lucy and Anancy Stories" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:58 AM | Permalink

...It makes me furious when I read the Gleaner newspaper and they say the reports are exaggerated. I have seen for myself, little children and old men, stark born naked, on the streets begging for money and food. Soup kitchens are springing up over the city to feed these poor people. Is this an exaggeration? Of course, the paper is controlled by the upper white ruling classes – these Jamaicans are a disgrace....

In 1938 there was industrial unrest and starvation in Jamaica as the banana trade declined drastically...

To read more of Marie Campbell's profoundly moving and unforgettable accountvivid and unforgettable account of her family’s history please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her wonderful book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Kingston Riots 1938" »

Written by Marie Cambell - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...As a baby Carlton had a black nurse whose name was Ambrosine Williams and he spent much of his childhood with her and her thirteen children rather than his own white family. When his coffin was being lowered into the ground Ambrosine Williams bent down and picked up a handful of earth and threw it at Vivie. She told Vivie that she was going to set a duppy on her for causing Carlton’s death and that she would be cursed until the day she died...

Marie Campbell tells more about her unconventional Aunt Vivie – and the sudden dramatic death of Vivie’s husband Carlton.

To read more of Marie’s vivid and unforgettable account of her family’s history please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her wonderful book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Carlton" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

... My sisters Dolly, Ruby, Pearl and I had decided to go to an early mass so that afterwards we could catch a boat to Port Royal and spend the day on the beach and swim and have a picnic. We had just returned to our pew after receiving Holy Communion when I was aware of a click-clacking sound coming from behind me and turned round to see what it was. It was coming from Vivie and her silver dance shoes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There she was, still wearing the tight, low cut red dress she had bought to go to Freddie Howell’s birthday party the previous night. On her head was a small scarf which didn’t quite cover her newly bleached blonde hair...

This Whit Sunday scandal resulted in Vivie walking out of the church, as Marie Campbell reveals.

Marie’s vivid and deeply moving family history has the power to change lives.

To read earlier chapters please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie’s highly-filmable book please visit
www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "A Loose Cannon And The Catholic Church" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:04 PM | Permalink

“Some might say that dysfunctional would be an appropriate word to describe my mother’s family, but I prefer the word colourful,’’ writes Marie Campbell.

When you read this latest episode in her utterly absorbing family history you may find yourself searching for a word that is even more emphatic than colourful.

To read earlier chapters of her unforgettable story in Open Writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Pops, Aunt Martha and Marcus Garvey" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 09:02 AM | Permalink

...At one time we had a lodger called Alfred Moncrieff, a coloured man from Clarendon. I didn’t like Mr Moncrieff one little bit and one day he told me to collect his dirty laundry from his room and give it to Cassie to wash and I turned my back on him, tossed my head in the air and at the same time flicked the back of my skirt in a haughty manner (I saw Jean Harlow do this once in a film) and told him I wasn’t a servant.

That night, when Ruby and I were in bed asleep, Sydney came into our bedroom and dragged me out of bed and gave me a whipping. Mr Moncrieff had told him I had lifted my skirt right up and shown him my knickers. It was a lie...

Marie Campbell’s grandmother Becky travelled from her London home to Jamaica at the beginning of the 20th Century, there to meet and marry a black man.

When Marie investigated her family history she discovered a story of suffering resulting from racial prejudice. To read earlier chapters of her story in Open Writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie’s wonderful treasure-for-ever book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Vivie, Sydney and the Den of Inequity" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...One day, long after Victor Condell had left, I heard screams coming from Chickie’s bedroom. Mammie told me Chickie was fine, not to worry and to stay right away from her room. But curiosity always got the better of me, so I went up to peek through the keyhole of her bedroom door...

Marie Campbell continues her wonderful and profoundly moving family story of love and prejudice in a less-englightened age.

To read earlier chapters in Open Writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of Marie’s wonderful treasure-for-ever book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Siblings, Lodgers and a ‘Gift from God’" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 08:02 AM | Permalink

...The house is red bricked and square, with green shutters at all the windows, which are kept open all the time, except when a hurricane is due. Everyone says the best thing about our house is the upstairs verandas at the front and back because from the front you can see the Caribbean Sea and from the back you can see the Blue Mountains...

Marie Campbell’s mother Olga loved to write. Here is the first vivid entry in Olga’s diary, recording her life in Jamaica.

To read earlier episodes of Marie’s engrossing family story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her unforgettable book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Olga’s Diary" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...My aunts made a huge fuss of me and were genuinely excited to meet Olga’s daughter. They were so excited, like small children, constantly chattering and interrupting each other so they could speak to me, hugging me and always one of them holding my hand...

Marie Campbell visited Jamaica in 1996 when six of her mother's siblings were still alive.

To read earlier chapters of Marie's deeply moving family story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "The Browneys" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

Marie Campbell was in awe of her grandmother, Becky, a white woman from London who, while on holiday in Kingston at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, had fallen in love and married a black Jamaican.

...It wasn’t just white and coloured Jamaicans who would have shown and demonstrated contempt for Becky, but the blacks as well. A white woman marrying a black man was unheard of at that time – in fact there was a time when it was illegal!..

To read earlier chapters of Marie's wonderful family history please visit http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Becky - Living In Kingston, Jamaica" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:28 PM | Permalink

...At last I saw Becky coming towards me. She looked beautiful. Her long blond hair tied loosely back with a yellow ribbon and wearing a simple white dress which showed off her perfect, slim figure. She was holding hands with a good looking young man and laughing at something he was saying to her, both of them completely oblivious to the glances the other guests were giving them.

I knew immediately they were in love....

Becky’s beloved is charming, intelligent, articulate, well read and very amusing. He is also black – and in Jamaica a century ago it was inevitable that a white woman who loved a black man would be ostracised.

Marie Campbell continues her family story – a story which demands and deserves a worldwide readership.

To purchase a copy of Marie’s wonderful book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Prejudice" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

From the verandah I could see John at the entrance to a field listening intently to a wizened old man. Standing next to the old man was a small black boy who carried a large basket.

“Who is the old man” I asked Lucy

“He’s an Obeah man and he’s going to dress the garden”

Becky writes in her diary of her first encounter with Obeah, a form of witchcraft.

To reach earlier chapter’s of Marie Campbell’s shocking and must-be-told family story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book Olga’s Daughter visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "My First Encounter With Obeah" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:32 PM | Permalink

....Since just about every black and coloured person in Jamaica during the 1920-30s (and the years beyond) believed in obeah, once they knew it was being worked against them, they were convinced they were doomed to either some kind of excruciating pain or worse, death....

Marie Campbell’s mother came as a young girl from Kingston, Jamaica, to London shortly before the outbreak of World War Two.

To read earlier chapters of Marie’s shocking and compulsively readable family story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/olgas_daughter/

To purchase a copy of her book Olga’s Daughter visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Obeah" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...By all accounts the house was wonderful, spacious and cool with mahogany wood panelling in most rooms and windows that went from the highly polished floor to the ceiling and left open all day to let the mountain breeze run through the house. ..

Marie Campbell tells of Great Aunt Lucy’s house called “Mon Repose’’ in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

To purchase a copy of Marie’s wonderful book Olga’s Daughter please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Colonizing the “land of wood and water” but Jamaica has it’s own culture" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:22 PM | Permalink

Becky and Martha sail for Kingston aboard the SS Port Morant, a brand new state of the art ship.

To purchase a copy of Marie Campbell’s compulsively readable book Olga’s Daughter pleasae click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "London to Kingston, Jamaica : Life on Board the S.S. Port Morant 1902" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...It is barely a year ago that we arrived here; such a lot has happened in a short space of time. John has found a small estate for sale, about 1,050 acres, and it is within our budget so, we have bought it and named our first home “Mon Repose”.''

Becky Ross, then living in Paddington, London, exchanges excited letters with her sister Lucy who is building a new life for herself in Jamaica.

Marie Campbell continues her powerful and filmable account of her Great Aunt's life story.

To purchase a copy of Marie's book please visit www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "Letters between Lucy and Becky - 1901-2" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 11:02 AM | Permalink

After placing and advert in The Gleaner, Jamaica's national newspaper, to trace her family, Marie Campbell flies of to the island to meet her relatives for the first time.

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book Olga's Daughter please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "My First Contact" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:22 PM | Permalink

...Jamaica attacks one’s senses, the sight of brightly coloured parrots, mocking-birds, sugar birds or to use their more common name, the banana quit and right now, Becky, as I sit here in the hotel’s gardens writing to you, flying in and out of the trees and shrubs are beautiful long-tailed hummingbirds...

After emigrating to Jamaica sweet, gentle and intelligent Lucy wrote to her sister Becky.

Marie Campbell continues her research into her family's history.

To purchase a copy of Marie's wonderful book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "St Andrews, Jamaica" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

In 1900 John and Lucy Sinclair left England bound for Jamaica, where John was to take up an apprenctiveship post on a plantation.

Marie Campbell begins her dramtic tale by telling how her Great Aunt Lucy fell in love with the Caribbean island.

To purchase a copy of Marie's exciting and deeply moving book please click on www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "London 1900" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

Before launching into her fascinating account of how her mother came from Kingston, Jamaica, to live in London shortly before the outbreak of World War Two, Marie Campbell presents a small slice of history.

Marie's book Olga's Daughter is available at www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "But First – The History Bit" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...I discovered a story of cruelty, revenge and jealousy inflicted on an innocent young woman...

Today we begin Marie Campbell's account of how her mother came as a young girl from Kingston, Jamaica, to live in London shortly before the outbreak of World War Two.

This shocking and vivid story will be serialised in Open Writing. Watch out for further episodes every Thursday.

Marie's book Olga's Daughter is available at www.olgasdaughter.wordpress.com

Continue reading "How It All Began" »

Written by Marie Campbell - Published at 12:22 PM | Permalink