B.G. Bhagee: Memories of a Colonial Childhood

Philippa Perry was born and raised in the pre-independence days of British Guiana -- the only English speaking country in South America. She recounts her early days as the second daughter in a family of six children in a struggling middle class family. Her stories come from a lost civilization of pre-independence stability just as the anarchic blessing of democracy came to the Caribbean. She recounts her Sisyphean trials growing up a Carrington in Lot 10, First Street, Georgetown -- from the women's battles to the neighbours that never wore clothes to the relatives who walked with their shoes in their hands.
Philippa received her PhD in Psychometrics and became a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. She lectured in Mathematics at University of Guyana and subsequently, at Queens College (NY) for too many years. Philippa has returned often to Guyana, but, these days, primarily for funerals. She currently resides in Pound Ridge, NY where she spends her time chasing deer from her garden.