Culture Yard anticipates royal visit

Soup pot with corn and dumplings will be bubbling up when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge make a stop at Culture Yard in Trench Town, St Andrew, as part of their three-day stop in Jamaica to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubileee.

A communique from Kensington Palace in England indicated that the royal couple's itinerary includes activities celebrating the seminal legacy of Reggae Music icon Bob Marley, current groundbreaking musicians and fledgling artistes.

Donnette 'Sophia' Dowe, manager of Trench Town Culture Yard, where Marley lived, said she and her team want William and Kate to have a good time.

"We are preparing for them; we going to have the Rastafarian chanting and drumming session. We going to have peanut vendors, soup, coconut cart and dem ting deh. Naturally, me a guh talk to him like we a fren and we know each other long time, because a that them want," Dowe told THE STAR.

"I will be wearing my Culture Yard T-shirt, a nice jeans, and fix my hair, and I will just give the prince and duchess a good tour," she said.

Culture Yard, the site of a small museum, has instruments and furnishing used by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. According to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), Marley was taught to play the guitar by Vincent 'Tata' Ford while living in the yard. It was here, according to the JNHT, that No Woman No Cry, one of the Wailers' smashing hits, was co-written by Marley and Ford.

Dowe, a seasoned guide and a Culture Yard historian, can't want to share her knowledge with the duke and duchess. She has been excited since being visited by officials of the British High Commission last month, informing her of the planned visit.

"The ambassador for England and other officials came and did their tour and they enjoyed it, so the prince and the duchess will be coming here to Trench Town. I think the royal visit to Trench Town will benefit the community because the whole of Jamaica, even the bigger heads, turn down their noses on us, and they tell visitors not to come here. This will be something good," she said.

When William and Kate visits this week, they will add to the long list of VIPs to set foot in the yard from which reggae's finest ambassador sprang. Dowe noted that Culture Yard is used to getting visits from important persons, even as she lamented that more can be done to encourage others to take the trip.

"We get actors all the time. We got Jay-Z and Beyonce, among others, so it's a regular thing. I feel good within myself because the prince choose to come here. Mi know a him choose yah so and not necessarily the Government who send him here, because they paint a bad picture on us all the time," Dowe said.

Paul Ducasse was one of the men beautifying Culture Yard for the royal visit. He said that he feels honoured to be a part of the project. One of his wishes is to meet William and Kate.

The last royal visit to Jamaica was in 2012, when Harry, Williams' younger brother, toured as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. On that occasion he visited Trench Town and raced with Usain Bolt. Prior to that vist, the the Queen and Prince Philip visited Jamaica in 1994. Ducasse said that he was in primary school at the time.

"I met Queen Elizabeth when I was in sixth grade, and that was a really good moment. For me to meet the prince, who is going to be king in the future, would be a honour. This is something that I would want to tell my children and grandchildren, that I met these people, right here in Trench Town. I met a lot of celebrities here, including Beyonce and Jay-Z, and all of this was possible because of the Bob Marley brand," he said.

A mason by profession, he wants to see William display a more laid-back side in Trench Town.

"I hear that he will be playing football, and I would love if I could be a part of the team. I would seriously like to take a photowith Prince William. Mi did a try write down mi name on the football list, but it full," Ducasse added.