Veronica, Vinegar Hill & Virago

Wednesday, April 25, 2012


V. Campbell-Brown
Veronica Campbell-Brown: I’m cheating again today by using a first name, but I couldn’t find any other person with a ‘V’ name that I wanted to share information about, so here goes. Campbell-Brown has won five medals in the Olympics to date and is the reigning 200 meter world and Olympic champion. She has the distinction of being one of only seven persons to have won the world Championships at the youth, junior and senior level. Like Usain Bolt, she hails from Trelawny. Wikipedia has a wealth of information on Campbell-Brown’s exploits as a sprinter. 



Church in Vinegar Hill
Vinegar Hill: In searching for Vinegar Hill, I came across several places with the same name. It is thought that Vinegar Hill, Westmoreland was likely settled by Irish landowners, who named it after the Battle of Vinegar Hill that took place in Ireland as part of the rebellion against British rule in 1798. This battle was the last in a series of attempts by Irish rebels to stand their ground against British soldiers. Hard to say why the original owners would have named the place Vinegar Hill. Maybe it reminded them of home or they were nostalgic about being so far away from the land of their birth.

Jumping to conclusions?
Virago: I could have gone with what I did last year, and shared verbena and vervain, which people use to make tea, but virago is different. A virago is not something that’s unique to Jamaica. It’s an old word with a Latin root that describes a loud, ill-tempered, nagging woman. In short, a shrew. In the Jamaican context, it refers to someone who’s vulgar. D'you perhaps know a virago? Shhh! Don't tell.

These two birds have nothing to do with anything V, but they're a cute reminder of the misconceptions we sometimes form about other people.  

Amazon realized sometime between last night and yesterday that Giving up the Dream is free at Smashwords. It's now free to download too. It's a single short story that's a slightly different take on my next novel, Distraction. 

Don't Get Mad...Get Even is still up for grabs. Download today!

12 comments:

  1. cool to learn about Veronica! I'm also posting on another Veronica in my blog today:)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Nutscell. I'll swing by you later.

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  2. Cool about your book being free. And I just love the word for shrew and the pics of the birds.

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    1. Thanks for dropping in, Clarissa. I've missed a few days worth of stories. I'll be by soon to remedy that.

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  3. Awesome how you share three different type v words. I learned a new word, about a new person, and about a new place. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Happy to share, Jessica. Glad to have you visit.

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  4. Love those birds!
    And Vinegar Hill really ramps up my imagination :)

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    1. I couldn't resist the birds when I came across them. :)

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  5. Hilarious birds! Love The Character Depot BTW. :)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Mina. Yeah, I thought the bird were worth putting up.

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