Shades of a Colonial Coloured
An Autobiography
by
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I welcomed the new Eastern Caribbean Currency, or EC money. It was so much easier to deal with, when adding change. In the old system, we added in three columns: pounds, shillings, and pence. Then we converted more than eleven pence to at least a shilling, and more than nineteen shillings to at least a pound or guinea. Solving in dollars and cents for mental arithmetic became so much easier to me because I was only concerned with two columns. More than one hundred but less than two hundred cents were equal to one dollar. The left over change would be exactly its added sum, up to ninety-nine cents.
“Modern” was a term nearly everyone was using. Some of the middle-aged, and elderly, were saying, “Ebryting a get modern, now. Me no understan’ de dollars an’ cents business.”
The new one cent, two cents, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, and fifty-cents coins now featured Queen Elizabeth’s instead of King George’s image. The ha’penny was traded in for a one cent coin, and the penny for a two cents coin. There was no replacement for the three pence piece; but it was equal to the new six cents, which was a five cents coin plus a one cent coin. The various dollar bill denominations I saw came in pink, green, blue, and purple.
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About the Book
Shades of a Colonial Coloured An Autobiography chronicles the young Antiguan author’s memory milestones, such as asking her mother to pick her up, at age one-and-a-half; Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation celebration, at three years old; and the Colony’s conversion from British pounds, shillings and pence to the new Eastern Caribbean Currency of dollars and cents, at age ten, among others. The author documents taboo subject questions such as “Where do babies come from?” She touches on the very subtle racism that lurks amongst a few people; the days of migration to England; her first encounter with Rock & Roll and the juke box; and her first peek into American racism. The book gives insight into the author’s makeup and foundation, literally. It shows her enthusiasm for learning, and her curiosity about humanity. It also reveals how much corporal punishment was used in home and school. This autobiography is testament to a determination to persevere and rise above all odds, in spite of obstacles. Youth’s honest naïveté, innocence, and beauty shine through this thoughtfully written, informative, and valuable work.
About the Author
Sislyn Peters has been formally writing since age twelve. Before then, she composed verses, wrote in friends’ autograph books, and got spanked by her father for writing on the walls of their wooden house. As a child, she dexterously copies excerpts from the Holy Bible and her mother’s Health and Longevity, into books she has made from bits of paper stuck together with turkey berry glue. She corresponds with pen pals and relatives overseas, and is scribe to an uncle. While attending Princess Margaret High School, she treasures and compiles her compositions, rehearsing lines to herself that she gleans from various media. At age twelve, she works part time at Richardson’s Grocery Store, on Kentish Road, to help support her family. She notes the island’s rejection of the old sugar cane industry, and its embrace of the new tourism industry. Dedication and tenacity guide her writing. It is clear what her passion is, once you begin to read her work. After spending most of her adult years trying to get published, she appreciates the opportunity of having her works printed on demand.