Business and culture don’t often mix. And it’s rare when an idea promises to both make someone a lot of money, and help preserve and promote a vital part of our heritage. But such seems to be the case with de Windies Grill, the cricket themed restaurant which opened in Mandeville recently.

“A Dog lay in a manger, and by his growling and snapping prevented

the oxen from eating the hay which had been placed for them. "What a selfish Dog!" said one of them to his companions; "he cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses to allow those to eat who can."  Aesop’s Fables

JAMAICA IS a marvel. Does any other country so constantly straddle the line between functioning order and disastrous chaos? Even forces of nature beyond our control regularly contrive to balance our fate on a knife edge and then tip the scales in our favour.

IN 1980, the homicide rate in the United States reached an all time high of 10.7 per 100,000, having doubled in 15 years.

There was much 'woe is us' hand wringing. Could nothing be done to stem this seemingly inexorable rise?

Geography – like biology and demography – is destiny. And since Jamaica is only a couple hundred miles form the American mainland, it’s understandable that our media tends to obsess about the USA and its doings. Some of our media commentators for instance have spent practically the entire past year fulminating against the Iraq invasion.

TO HEAR Jamaicans talk our government agencies are among the most wasteful and inefficient in the world. And yet the January 2004 World Bank study 'Jamaica: The Road to Sustained Growth' says the quality of the bureaucracy here is rated high in comparison with other countries and is comparable to Chile, Hong Kong and France. Yes, it's hard to believe. But since the World Bank has no reason to be biased, I'll take it at its word.

LET'S GET things in perspective. Jamaica has not suffered a Haitian-style coup. There have been no terrorist bombings here. My loved ones - knock wood - are blessedly healthy. Furthermore grown-ups don't obsess about matters over which they have no control. And it's only a game.

THE SUNNY Jamaican countryside dispels thoughts of crime and debt. In such bright moods I accept that our official figures cannot reflect reality and that this country is an exception to all rules. In most places economic stagnation and rising violence breed unrest. But over 10 years of negligible GDP growth, a decimated dollar and a soaring murder rate have been accompanied here not by angry mass protests but a car, cellular and building boom. Nor does this, in theory, broke and crime-ridden country seem to lack for nightlife, with partygoers ramming Negril and Ocho Rios every long weekend.

“Jamaica in Crisis” read a conference banner in Mandeville last month. “A Sick Democracy” was one pundit’s verdict on the local government elections. And “A ruined country” is the constant theme of some radio talk shows.

Louise “Miss Lou” Bennett is undisputedly the most universally loved personality this nation has ever produced. For over 50 years as poet, broadcaster, actress, television personality and stage performer she tirelessly championed Jamaican folk customs. Yet Miss Lou was more than a brilliant entertainer, she is in all likelihood the greatest poet this country has produced. Certainly she is the only Jamaican poet whose works are continuously in print and she still outsells all the others put together.