bw 11

transcript |  tribute… | up

Female voice singing: There shall be showers of blessing, ….

Narrator: This is the song my grandmother, Doris Eileen Rudder, sang to remind herself of her blessings when things were not going too good for her. She experienced difficult financial times in raising her family and as a result she became a hawker. She first sold flowers, then fruits. Next were comforts, toffees and nuts in the bus stand, mauby at the Garrison. Later, in Lancaster Alley, next to Cave Shepherd, she sold hats, baskets, and jewellery of natural material. During the last twenty years of her life she sold next to Collins, in Liverpool Lane.

This is her site, this is her store,
The corner without a door,
This corner of Liverpool Lane,
To keep away poverty, to keep her sane.
Collins on the left, stores on the right.
She’s there in rain, or if sunny and bright.
She meets the tourists at this open door.
Here is her corner, her craft store.
Here she sells the works of her hand
To etch a place in this land.

Doris Eileen, craft worker of class,
Doris Eileen has etched memories that last.

Collins Limited was founded in 1888 by the late Mr John Clement Collins, of number 144, Roebuck Street. As the business grew and expanded he opened a branch at number 28, Broad Street, early in 1900.

She sees the crowded street, the city beat,
The city at rest, the city in sleep.
Hears the happenings, the city aflame,
The city aflame, no fun or game.
People jostle each other, skins soaked.
Phew! Life in the city, no joke.
But come! Stop, come and buy
The works of her hands
The works of her hands
As she carves her place in this land.

Now and again, the cat and mouse game
Hiding from the police, hiding from the police.
Old problem de same.
Getting chase, and selling again.
Selling the works of her hand
To carve a place in this land.

Doris Eileen, craft worker of class,
Has carved memories at this post,
Memories that will last.

artist profile | judy layne-banks | up

In “Tribute”, Judy Layne-Banks’ provides a personal tribute to her grandmother, Doris Eileen Rudder, a hawker in Bridgetown for over thirty years. Her soundscape includes two of the songs her grandmother hummed daily - her two favourite hymns - as well as two poems which speak of the difficulties she endured as a hawker. The artist states, “This tribute is to an excellent craftswoman who won two national awards for her work, but most important, to a person who overcame her difficulties in life.”

In 1992, Judy Layne-Banks was awarded a National Development Scholarship to attend College in Boston, USA, where she obtained her BFA and BA degrees. She is a practising textile artist (tye-dye and batik) and currently teaches art at the Erdiston Primary School in Barbados and was a former part-time Tutor at Erdiston Teachers’ College. Her work has been exhibited internationally in the UK, China, Canada, USA, and the Caribbean.