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THE PREACHING JEWELLER
It is always a day of celebration on February 17 at Tropical Express Jewellers upstairs the Heritage Mall on St. James Street (Montego Bay) where staff members fete and entertain the boss Clive Lee affectionately known as Skellion. The boss was born in 1952 and it is only a few patches of gray hair that would perhaps save anybody from losing a bet that Skellion is under 40 years old. There are a number of good things which characterize the personality of Skellion. Many people know him as kind, helpful, co-operative but never a stupid man. He is a pastor at the Montego Bay branch of Latter Day Saints church on Miriam Way in Montego Bay which boasts over 300 members. Skellion himself has been a member of that church since 1990. Many people know Skellion too has a die-hard Seba fan ever since that North Gully team came into existence in 1972. Seba could always depend on Skellion’s support in whatever capacity and he was always there for the team right around the island. As a Seba fan, the match which stands out most in his mind was when Seba had to come from three goals down to draw with Reno in a crucial Craven “A” Premier League match at Jarrett Park in the 90s. However, it would seem that most people know him for his skill as a jeweler for many years. It began in 1968 when Skellion was learning trade with Trevor Maragh on Market Street in Montego Bay. By 1977, Skellion was good enough to open his own store where he established at Shop #19 on the City Centre Building. In 1981 he moved to Union Street and after 22 years he moved to the Heritage Mall. Inside Skellion’s shop is a photo of his late friend Winston “Rockers Master” Taylor who passed away in 2006. There are also photos of Nelson Mandela and Bob Marley. Various denominations of the Jamaican paper monies are on display too – from the fifty cent note of Marcus Garvey right back to Michael Manley on the thousand dollar bill. “My motto is to learn to overcome tradition,” says Skellion. His explanation is that many things are wrong traditionally and people continue to do them claiming that their parents used to do them, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, using expletives (bad words), discussing your neighbours, among other things. Skellion used to attend the Cascade Basic School, Corinaldi Avenue Primary and Albion All-Age. He remembers attending the famous Pick-A-Star shows at the Palladium Theatre (Church Street) when he used to live on nearby Dome Street as a little boy. |