It is with real fondness that I will always remember sister Blake. I only recently found out her name was Lydia. We met in church.... I can't quite remember how we met. I think I saw her walking to church, one Sunday morning, and offered her a lift! That was the start of a very long and enduring friendship.


Our routine ….. on a Saturday afternoon, I would check and confirm our pick up time for church on a Sunday morning. "Don't be late”, was my mantra, she never was. This became our Sunday routine. After Sunday evening services, we would sometimes treat ourselves to chips. 'Chips after Church".


I was over the moon when sister Blake visited my parents in St Elizabeth, Jamaica. She was from the same parish as my parents. No wonder we got on!! From that point my mum and Sister Blake became friends. She would always ask how my parents were doing!


As the years passed, evening services became less and less, and then morning services too. She would say, sitting on the hard wooden benches, for a couple of hours, would hurt her back. Our weekly catch ups were now replaced by frequent telephone calls. Calls of encouragement. Sister Blake always encouraged. One of her sayings were…. "I know my daughter”, in her unique thundering voice.
She would often speak so fondly of her family. Relatives here and further of field. I would often ask how her sister, who lived in Jamaica, was doing, and ask Sister Blake about her next planned trip to Jamaica. Sister Blake was a bit of a traveller. I was always impressed when she told me she had been some where in Europe ….. traveling all on her own to see her son Andrew.


I will always remember our times, talking about the things of God. Rest in Peace. Jackie Shaw