Original subtitles

Before I was born, my mum and dad moved from the Caribbean to Britain. We had

exactly the same place in Bolton.

I loved our family holidays here. This is how I remember my mum doing it.

But this trip is much more.

This would have been a party room.

I'm off to discover how these magical islands have created cultures loved by

people all over the world.

I'll be welcomed into island life. Come early and stay late.

Leave all the bad vibes at the gate.

Pushed out of my comfort zone.

My buck's gone.

On goes the hut.

To unearth some major surprises.

Annalise, hi.

There's a pig in the kitchen.

And share what I find with the folks back home. It feels big. This is a real

Caribbean treasure.

As I uncover the energy.

creativity it looks like a tyrannosaurus rex if you can you do it and joy go

here they come here they come of the closest place to paradise on earth

look at that view what a wonderful day it's been join me on my caribbean

adventure

It's been a while since I was last here in Kingston and a country that my

parents left more than 60 years ago as part of the Windrush generation.

A lot's changed since then. On this leg of my trip, I want to find out how this

ex -British colony became an energetic island nation.

The best place to do that is in the capital, Kingston.

Built on the southeast coast in the natural harbour, it's the seat of

government, the island's cultural centre, and the largest English

in the Caribbean.

I'll be limbering up to discover how this small island nation has taken the

sporting world by storm.

Let's go, Clive. On the spot.

Swing your arms. OK. It's all about the arms. Yeah. OK. All right. That's it,

Brianna. He's an old man.

Getting down at one of the city's nightly street parties.

And later, I'll be finding out why Jamaicans love their iris stout.

The Kingston area is home to some stunning architecture, much of it in the

elegant style known as Jamaican Georgian.

The jewel at the heart of the city is Devon House, built in 1881, complete

a ballroom. It looks every inch a home built for one of Jamaica's British

rulers.

Let's see inside.

Hello.

Hi, how are you? I am very well, very well indeed. You must be Barbara. I am

Barbara. I'm Clive, and you look fabulous.

Thank you.

Jamaican national costume. I recognize that. I recognize that.

So beautiful. Who built it? That's George.

And he was the first black Jamaican millionaire.

So how did he make his money?

George's father, Sigma, came to Jamaica from Hamburg, Germany, and fell in love

with the island.

And I would say, as Sigma was walking around the corner,

In buck up with a one beautiful black lady. In buck up with a beautiful black

lady. So the buck up now, that's our mother tongue. Buck up, that's me.

And same time, he fell in love with this woman.

Yeah. So between that union, George came.

In 1820s Jamaica, it wasn't easy to be a kid of mixed heritage.

Now this little boy came out full, full bred black.

Yeah. Send him to a fine school.

Everybody started to look at his collar and say, uh -uh, he's not fit for

society. We don't want him here.

So now this little boy gets fed up, you know, fed up.

I can't bother.

And him decide to say, you know something, I'm going to run away.

In fact, he's back? Yes, ma 'am.

How old was he? He was now 14 years old. 14?

George Stibel started as an apprentice carpenter, then a shipwright's

until eventually he was shipwrecked off the coast of Venezuela, where he made a

fortune as a gold prospector.

See?

Look.

Wow. Elegant. All original?

All original. I know that because my wife is a furniture restorer.

Yeah, and I see you've got beautiful bucket chairs. Beautiful bucket chairs.

Right. Beautiful cane wood. Catherine does that too, you know. Yes.

Yeah.

Whoa, she's very good with her hands.

So she could come and restore something for us. Cheap rates. Don't worry about

that. You sure?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Knock down rates, because would you make it?

My Lord.

Oh, my God. This is absolutely magnificent.

This would have been a party room. Oh, Lord, of course.

A lot of dancing. Oh, my God.

Yeah. Dancing and singing. Like you just said, it was under the coconut

tree. It was under the coconut tree.

My God.

Wonderful.

Like Barbara, Devon House is a national treasure.

It's owned by the Jamaican government and used to entertain VIPs.

And now, as in George's day, that means there's a lot to do below stairs.

So this is some of the Stiebel family film. How often do you polish it, then?

would say, like, every three weeks.

Every three weeks? Yeah. Okay, well, tell me through the process. All right.

So this would have been used by the lady of the house? Of course it would have

been. So now here, it's just your mind.

After shaking, you're going to apply it. So now I want you to take this now, and

you're going to rub it in.

Yes. Okay.

Now just rub it in.

Yes. Rub it in.

You're seeing your face through it, isn't it?

Well, I think you're getting there.

All right.

I suspect, Barbara, that you were doing a lot of polishing.

A lot of polishing, yes.

I saw pictures of Her Majesty when she last visited here. She came here in

Okay. Then we had...

prince charles and harry came here harry too oh yes jamaica

was one of the first caribbean stops of

the queen after her coronation and my mother went to see her montego bay

okay montego bay 1953

Long time, long time. Yeah, my mom and my dad were very sad when she passed.

My dad cried. Told me he cried when he heard that she died.

Right now, Jamaica is still a monarchy. But unlike my parents, not everyone is a

fan.

Lisa. Hello.

How are you doing?

Lisa Hanna is an MP and the former Minister for Youth and Culture.

Do you normally hang out here?

Yeah, this is one of my favorite lunch spots. If you look around, you see, you

know, just lots of little things your granny would have thrown down in her

backyard.

Well, it's interesting still looking at the menu, actually. It reminds me of so

much of the food that I ate growing up. Because your parents are Winrose.

Lisa is also one of Jamaica's highest profile Republicans.

Do you think those links should be further severed when it comes to the

family and King Charles? Yes, I do, and I've been a big proponent of that.

I've been a big proponent of charting our own course and completely severing

ties with the monarchy at this point. What is the sense among ordinary

about that?

Well, I think most Jamaicans know.

don't understand why we haven't done it a long time ago because they're not

seeing the benefits of still being in the realm. Britain has not apologised

the atrocities that it committed in slavery.

A referendum on the monarchy is expected by 2025.

Despite all that and the links with the UK...

Jamaica has forged its own identity, particularly culturally.

But that has come out of resistance.

Right. If you think about it, and if you think of our reggae musicians, and

where they grew up and where they have come from, and what drove them, a lot of

it comes out of resistance.

Which brings me to my next question.

I want to know where I should be going in the evening.

OK. I'm a big dancer, girls.

I think that would be the equivalent of a British politician saying that they go

to, I don't know.

No, well, I'm a badass.

So what do you love about dancehall? I love the music. I love the bass line.

It's just a vibe.

You have to go in. I'm really looking forward to dancehall now.

But you should.

You have to. But you have to go in there looking with a swag.

Okay. Don't go in there looking like this. No,

no, no. I've got to have my confidence.

You have to walk in.

I've got to step in. I've got to step in. Step in. Okay.

Speaking of which... Saffa!

How am I meant to introduce you?

Ah, hello.

This is Clive. Clive, nice to meet you. You well?

Good, good, good. My word. It's a Saffa Powell twice 100 -meter world record

holder.

You're saying my walk -in, too?

Yeah. It's that kind of vibe in Jamaica.

I'll take that as my cue to work on my swagger.

Dance hall is a high -energy, rhythm -heavy offshoot of reggae, but it's also

way of life. It influences how Jamaicans talk, dress and, of course, dance.

It started to emerge from Kingston's dance halls in the 70s.

What you need to remember is that Jamaican dance hall is all about

expressing yourself, but having said that...

Some of the moves can be a bit suggestive, so I'm not entirely sure

expect.

Boise Roses is not just a dance hall legend.

He's guardian -in -chief of dance hall culture.

Hello, everybody.

I was just teaching the bullet bounce dance move created by Mr. Bogle, song

created by Sean Paul, Get Busy. Get Busy? Yes. Okay, well, I'm here to get

man.

Boise's fame spreads beyond this island. My classmates today are from Denmark

and the U .S.

Let's dance!

Okay. Just rap. What's he doing?

Okay.

Rock life!

Okay. Before you really express yourself, you've got to learn the

Maybe I need to build my background knowledge.

Jamaican dancehall, it's energetic, it's fun, it's about showing your

individuality, but its roots are in reggae. How did it split off and form

own sense of identity, this dancehall?

Dancehall is, it's hardcore.

Reggae is smooth going.

It's now known around the world. Definitely. Really big in the UK.

Definitely. Really big in Britain. Definitely.

And it's so identifiable, despite going global.

It's part of the Jamaican identity now. The thing is that I want my country, the

people in my country, to upset dancehall the same way as reggae.

Dancehall makes more people come into Jamaica than reggae. I was talking to

Hanna, the MP, who loves dancehall.

Believe me. And she said, because she knows I'm going to Wedi Wedi. What Lisa

said to me was, when I go into that club, I've got to walk.

With a swagger. It's a place that your presence speaks.

I didn't get to show you one of the best dance moves created.

Signature move.

Signature move. Are you ready to go with me? Okay.

So you got to put this foot out. Right. Lean your back. Yeah.

Hands up.

Hands up. And you roll the hands like this. Oh. Yeah.

So we do side to side.

Yeah.

I think I nailed it.

I'm really excited about Lake Road. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll be meeting Boise tomorrow at Stone Love, the most popular street party in

town. Now I need to find my hotel and get a good night's sleep because

is going to be full on.

It's another sunny Jamaican morning, and there's another Jamaican success story

I want to crack.

Fewer than 3 million people live here, but amongst them are some of the fastest

human beings on the planet, including Usain Bolt and Asafo Powell, whom I

into earlier.

St. Jago's High School has produced more sprint superstars than any other.

Now the next generation is getting ready to race.

Why is it that this tiny little island can produce so many world -class

athletes? What's that about?

I think it's deep -rooted in our culture, in our history, and we are also

to have the number one high school championships in the world. So I'm not

if the other athletes in the Caribbean have the same platform as a teenager.

Jamaica's annual inter -school competition is where Usain Bolt got

Everyone here wants to qualify.

There's a constant flow of talent.

Every year, a new batch comes forward, and you keep wondering, when is this

going to stop? When do you start scouting, then? I mean, how young are

that you're looking at?

As long as they can move.

OK,

time to get stuck in.

Ready? Uh, well, that's all.

Okay. All right.

To put me through my paces, Coach Key Lando is pairing me up with one of the

school's star hurdlers, 17 -year -old Brianna Campbell.

Campbell!

Campbell's hiding. She knows she's got to deal with me, man. Yeah. Hiding.

Piney's on the spot.

Okay. All right.

Go climb on the spot. Bring your arms. Okay.

Okay.

All right. That's it, Brianna. He's an old man.

All right. Stretch, stretch. Do some stretches, Brianna. Do some stretches.

Stretching is vital for young sprinters to avoid strains and sprains. But for

me, this is a bit of an intense workout in itself.

Back.

Okay. Oh,

I can feel the pinch.

You want to be at the Olympics?

Yes, that's my biggest dream.

That's the goal. And sort of the other girls as well, is it really competitive?

Yes, it is because, you know, we all want to win, so we've got to push. Yeah,

yeah, yeah. We've got to push for the win. We've got to win from training

we can go out on the track.

I've seen Usain Bolt do that, actually.

Jamaican school coaches are world famous for going above and beyond to get the

best out of their young athletes.

Stay up!

That's Brianna, right? Yeah.

My trainer?

Yeah, yeah.

Quick! I mean, her height helps, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Stay up.

Good job.

Do you put weights in that vest?

Yeah. Oh, you do? Yeah. Wow.

Run, man, run!

Come on, David, to push!

Coach is pushing him.

I mean, I did athletics as a kid at school, and I loved it. And who knows,

know? If my parents hadn't gone to Britain, if they'd stayed here in

that could have been me 45 years ago.

I think I've earned a bit of relaxation, so I'm heading into the hills of St.

Andrews that overlooks Pimpton.

My wife Catherine and I have had some fantastic Jamaican holidays.

Her family is part Irish, and we've always wanted to know more about how our

family histories might be linked.

I also want to find out about the origins of a miry family recipe.

This looks promising. Could be my kind of play.

I'm meeting Dr. Charmaine McAndrew.

Charmaine, I am fascinated by this link between Jamaica and Ireland. Two island

nations with a rich history together. Where did that come from?

It came through the British.

They came to Jamaica.

They needed labor.

And so it was the Irish people.

that they brought to work.

Does that mean then that you could have had Irish workers,

indentured servants, perhaps, working alongside African slaves?

It is very, very possible that they both worked alongside one another.

For centuries, Jamaica and Ireland were both under British rule.

Ireland was a source of cheap labour.

Indentured servants worked for free for several years in exchange for food and

board. This is an ad for emigration to Jamaica on the Robert

Carr. Right, yes. So it's going to sell from Limerick for Kingston or Savannah

Lamar. They'd have free passage with food and every necessary attention.

Sounds amazing.

Why would I not want to go?

Hello.

promises each family the milk of a cow belonging to the property on which they

are located, or two pence sterling per day in lieu thereof. So was it really

as good as all this? Was life here what it was cracked up to be?

No, it was not.

In reality, perks were few. But unlike slaves, indentured servants eventually

got their freedom. So many people came.

It's estimated a quarter of Jamaicans may have Irish roots, which brings me to

my dad's Guinness punch.

I found advertisements for stout. We have one here for the

world -famed Guinness stout. It had been here from the 1850s. 70s there about

and of course the many in the windrush generation they would have taken their

liking of stout from this island back to the uk as a child my mother

would make a punch a stout punch at home i know that some people

include a bit of rum. My mother didn't do that. My dad did.

Oh, yeah.

He made sure there was some rum in there. Rum in there.

Well, all that talk about Irish stout and punch, I'd love a drink now. I mean,

you know, cool us down in this heat.

You want to take a walk down here?

Are you inviting me for a drink? Yes, I am. Of Irish stout? Yeah. Well, why not?

The Guinness sold here has added muscle. It got an extra 3 % of alcohol

originally to help it survive the journey from Ireland.

But can the Irish town punch compare with my dad Norris's legendary brew?

Café owner Latoya McFarland is the woman he has to beat.

Hello, everyone.

Hello. Hiya. Hey, I'm Clive. Nice to meet you, Clive. I'm Natalia. Nice to

you. Nice to meet you. Hey.

And this is my daddy, Clive. Oh, another Clive. Oh, yes.

I hear this is the best play to get a stout punch. Sure is. And I'll show you

how it's done. Well, I'd be fascinated to know what you put in it. So I've got

phone call to make. Very quick. Okay. All right.

To make a fair comparison, I need to check the Mairi recipe.

Yeah. Hello?

Hey, Dad.

Hey, how you doing?

Good,

good, good.

I'm still in Jamaica, just outside Kingston, and we're about to make a

punch. So tell me, what did you put in the punch?

A couple of eggs.

A nice drink.

Well,

I'm going to make some now.

I don't know if it's going to be as good as your dad's, my granddad's, or yours.

But I'm sure it's going to be not bad.

Sorry about that, folks.

Just had to have a call with my dad to check how he makes punch.

So what's in yours? We have salt. Okay. A bottle of stout. We have some spice

and we can also add some Irish cream. Some Irish cream. So you've got a few

ingredients than what my dad would have. Okay. But he would have a little bit of

nutmeg, condensed milk, stout.

And he would add a little bit of, he called it pop, orange juice.

Orange juice? And the crucial ingredient, two eggs.

I've heard about the egg. Yeah? Just not the orange juice. Is there a special

ingredient that you might add just to make it pop?

I put a little pumpkin.

Pumpkin? Pumpkin. You rinse and add it to it.

You boil pumpkin and you put it in the stout?

You haven't got any pumpkin by there, have you? No. No.

I just can't wait to hear what dad will make of that special ingredient.

So we're going to add our stout.

Okay, look at it going in there. So you need to keep the froth in there. You

can't just chuck it in. A little bit of the condensed milk there.

A bit of Irish cream in there.

Jamaicans still recommend this drink for energy, vitality and libido. Then we're

going to add our spice.

So that would be the equivalent of the nutmeg that my dad would add.

So you've been here a long time, here in Irish town.

Do you consider yourself a little bit Irish?

Well, I say yes, because I was born in Irish town.

Boom.

Natoya, this was fantastic.

Ooh, an extra bit of touch.

I'm not entirely sure what my dad would think of that.

But hey.

When in Irish town.

Clive? Thank you. For you said no pumpkin, I apologise.

Thank you. And you shall make right.

Here we go. Let's see how it goes.

That is actually really lovely.

Really lovely.

And no pop, as my dad would say.

That is so, so nice.

Cheers. Cheers.

I wonder if Dad would be up for replacing Nutmeg with Spice this

Right, now I just need to catch a lift back to town before the sun sets.

Dancehall has escaped its borders.

You can hear it in the music of some of the biggest artists in the world, like

Drake and Rihanna. But in Jamaica, it's more than music.

There are two things I need to remember about Dancehall. The first is the dance

moves, and the second is to walk in with swagger.

Now, I've completely forgotten the dance moves, so watch my swagger.

Hey!

How you doing?

How you doing?

I see you're dressed for the occasion.

Definitely. We're going to do some dancing. No question.

So we're going to have a slug walk, you know? Let's do it. Yeah.

In Jamaica, dance halls unite rich and poor, allowing everyone to forget their

worries with every move.

And who doesn't need a bit of that?

Oh, thank you. That was fantastic.

Dance hall, uniquely Jamaican and yet loved by millions around the world. And

that's what I find so amazing about this tiny little island of barely three

million people. So much here is world class, including its athletes and its

culture. Talk about punching above your weight.

But there are many more adventures to come, and I can't wait to see where the

next leg of my journey will take me.