‘Happy to be home’ - Miss World arrives to screams and pot-cover celebrations
Published:Saturday | December 21, 2019 | 12:00 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
Clanging pot covers, loud cheers, screams and congratulations greeted Miss World 2019, Toni-Ann Singh, at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston yesterday evening.
Many snapped photos, recorded videos to relish the moment, and one man belted out ‘She’s our Jamaican Queen’, a spin-off of Gyptian’s African Queen.
Singh was crowned on December 14 in London, England, becoming the fourth Jamaican to win the 69-year-old competition.
The 23-year-old’s arrival was the beginning of a four-day visit organised by the Government.
“I’m great. I’m happy to be home,” a smiling Singh said.
The beauty queen said that she was grateful and overwhelmed by the love and support she has been receiving.
“I hope my jelly is somewhere nearby, and if my uncle is watching this, please, on the flight here I was thinking about an all-in-one run-down, so please,” she said, referring to the traditional Jamaican meal of mackerel stewed in coconut milk.
Dalton Spence, popularly known as ‘Pot Cova Man’, who came to public attention after The Gleaner published a photo of him clanking his makeshift cymbals in Half-Way Tree for Usain Bolt during the Olympics was among Singh’s welcome party.
“Every opportunity mi get, mi haffi knock pot cover. Mi mek house fi everything positive that is happening in Jamaica. Toni-Ann Singh represented Jamaica on the world stage and that’s another thing fi mek pot cova noise bout!” an excited Spence gushed.
Scores of Jamaicans waited in anticipation of her arrival, and among them were security guards at the NMIA.
Paul Bolt met Singh’s mother before she departed for the competition finals in London.
“She was upbeat about the pageant. I was happy to meet her mother, and then I started to follow the competition more, and then when she won, it was like tears of joy,” the security supervisor said.
Bolt said that seeing Jamaica’s finest returning home after representing the country was one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.
Suzette Lewis’ 5 p.m. shift was over, but she lingered with hopes of getting the opportunity to see Singh. The delayed flight – more than an hour behind schedule – shattered that hope.
“Mi woulda greet har and seh, ‘You did us proud darling, you did us proud. Welcome back home! It’s good when Jamaica comes first. Wi likkle but wi tallwah,” she said.
Otis Harrison drove from Spaldings in Clarendon to pick up a friend at the airport but was delighted when he heard that Jamaica’s newest queen would be arriving.
Admitting that he does not usually track international competitions, he said: “I happened to overhear a clip of her answering the questions and it was one of the most eloquent set of responses that I’ve heard,” he said.
Harrison hopes her win will provide added zest for young girls.
“Very often young girls from the rural parts of Jamaica normally don’t aspire for things like Miss World, but I think Toni-Ann disrupted the script, so I hope many of those young girls will begin to aspire,” he said.
Allison Campbell from Lawrence Tavern in St Andrew anxiously waited for the arrival of her sister and Miss World, who were travelling on the same flight.
“I’m excited! I’m so happy for her that she has reached thus far, and all of us Jamaicans are anticipating her arrival this afternoon,” she said.
Singh has a gruelling three-day schedule ahead of her, including a press conference this morning and a concert performance at Emancipation Park at 7 p.m. She then travels to her home parish St Thomas to make an appearance at a dancehall concert later tonight.
Sunday will see the beauty queen’s motorcade visiting various towns in St Thomas, including her hometown Bath.
She is also scheduled to be the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the prime minister and participate in courtesy calls.