Wild Gilbert

On the subject of Hurricanes I came across this photo the other day, courtesy of the National Hurricane Centre (US). Gilbert (September 1988) as I understand it, was one of the worst and most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the northern hemisphere. At its peak the winds reached 222 miles per hour as it raked the entire island of Jamaica. Looking at the tiny dot representing the eye of this behemoth, it is amazing to think that anyone or any-ting survived this, I should remember as it past right over my head. The stories of Gilbert, me and the beaches of western Jamaica are longer than I have space for in these pages, however it still makes me chuckle to remember how I ended up in the dock of the 'parish' courtroom of Savannah-la-Mar with half a dozen rastafarians courtesy of Gilbert. Needless to say I was not the one at the thick end of the wedge.