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transcript |  fairchild street bus stand | up

Do you remember? Back in dem days, de old bus stand? Heat! Dust! Heat! Dust!

Pack o’ nuts call. Pack o’ nuts call. (Nuts, nuts, a dollar here, call for them, a dollar here, a dollar a pack) Wha’ you want, sister? Four, Miss Mavis.

Wha’ loss, da bus ain’ come yet?? De bus now come.

Push! Push! Boy, hold on to yuh sister hand! Push! Push! Push!

Toffees! Comforts! Wha’ you want?

Toffees! Comforts! Wha’ you want? Pack o’ nuts call. Pack o’ nuts call.

Call here for the nuts. Nuts! Nuts! Nuts! A dollar a pack. Call for the nuts. Nice and fresh!

artist profile | natalie atkins | up

Natalie Atkins’ childhood memories of Fairchild Street Bus Stand as an absolute “hive of activity” are reflected in her creative soundscape. She remembers standing with her mother “in sweltering sun along with the vendors and the many other would-be passengers who endured long waits for the bus.” For this project, she interviewed individuals who had similarly experienced the heat and congestion of the “Old Bus Stand” and focused on re-creating the familiar cries of the “hawkers”, in particular, the famous “nut seller” whose loud strains of “Pack ‘o Nuts Call…” would resound through the crowded bustling space to attract potential purchasers.

Natalie Atkins lives and works in Barbados where she teaches art at Queen’s College. She holds a BFA from the Barbados Community College (1998) and works mainly with mixed media, painting, and drawing. She represented Barbados at the Carifesta Visual Arts Exhibition in Suriname in 2003.