Believe it or not there are communities on this Rock of Sages where patat has absolutely no connection with potatoes, Irish or sweet. As for the word bois, again depending on how long you’ve been marooned here, it could mean a stick or an arm or some other body part. Unbelievable huh?
All of which set me wondering how the community known as Bois Patat came by its name. It’s certainly the kind of general-knowledge thing every kid should know. Parents, too. So my research continues.
This I do know: Bois Patat is a pretty depressed Castries community, and has been for a very long time. Which could be the reason Richard Frederick, when he was still positioned to make a difference, persuaded the day’s government to acquire an abandoned structure and turn it into something called The Bois Patat Human Resource Center. I’m not sure what that means but I suspect it’s not all bad.
Alas, now the center offers tangible proof that the road to hell is indeed paved with the best intentions. The building has for some time been inaccessible. The glass in its windows has suffered the consequences of frustration; but still it looks fairly habitable, if only from the outside. So why are its doors locked and the structure slowly coming apart? My information is that unpaid utility bills could be the answer.
Meanwhile, like so much else at Bois Patat, the center comes alive after dark, serving as it does several purposes that may or may not be related to bois or patat. As our picture makes pretty obvious, the center still features a cute little veranda and lots of day and night parking space. More than can be said about some posh local establishments I could name.
Hey, we gotta keeping looking on the bright side of this ever-darkening Rock of Sages!
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