thank you!!! [001]
we likkle but we tallawah jamaican independence day event recap 🇯🇲 (aug 2026) / introducing riónce caribbean
a little voice note from @ms.semple ↓
(press the little triangle below on the left)
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total length: 5:41
/// summary ///
a thank you + debrief after our first intergenerational caribbean function; what surprised me about the day, what we learnt from bringing four generations together, why seeing the older generation there meant so much to me + how all of this became riónce caribbean. i also talk about the thinking behind “somewhere to rock back”, why we’re building this through membership + why i want the people joining us to have a real part in what it becomes.
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/// 00:00 — a little thank you ///
hey, i just wanted to make this voice note to thank you guys personally for coming to the event and for those who couldn't come. thank you for sharing the video around and stuff because, yeah, we wouldn't have been able to pull off something like this in such a short amount of time without so many of you guys engaging.
we really thought it was just going to be a little thing, honestly. the tickets were free because we didn't think we were going to get enough people to come through, but i'm so glad that you guys came and that it was affordable and stuff.
and yeah, we just... we're just quite excited, if i'm honest now, because of how well it went.
/// 00:38 — four generations in one pub ///
and, yeah, we weren't prepared for it to go this way, but here we are and it's clearly something that's really needed within our community. so we're excited to build, yeah, riónce caribbean as the home for all of this.
i genuinely think the event went really well. looking back, like, there were just so many happy faces, people just catching a vibe, chatting, talking, eating, whatever.
and yeah, just seeing all the kids, like, doing all the different artsy activities, chatting to strangers and everyone dancing and stuff into the late hours.
i can't believe those ladies were, like, doing candy for 30 minutes straight. that was amazing. the stamina. big up them, big up them.
but, yeah, seeing all four generations in one pub was really cool.
/// 01:24 — we didn't need to do the most ///
and i know black and brown people tend not to like to be in pubs, but guys, the pub is the closest thing to just somewhere you can chill, you know, like, we don't have front yards where we can just pull up a chair and stuff.
so, yeah, i feel... i feel like the pub was one of the best places we could probably do this kind of thing.
but, yeah, i think we realised that we didn't even need to entertain everyone so much. like, there were so many plans, you know, the karaoke, etc. etc. but everyone just entertained themselves, which was great.
and yeah, pulling the event together in such a short amount of time was really stressful and by the end of it, i was definitely telling everyone, i'm never going to do anything like this ever again.
/// 02:05 — what made me change my mind ///
but after debriefing with my best friend safarii and rochelle and the team, we kind of, yeah, have come up with a few different ideas and it's definitely seeming like something more achievable and fun and, yeah, just a really satisfying project to kind of go ahead with.
and, yeah, seeing all the older people there was amazing. it really made my day actually, because rip my grannie. but when she was alive, like, she spent a lot of time by herself in her later years.
and you know, she'd go to lewisham market in the week, she'd go to church and then there was just all this time in the middle of the week she'd just spend at home cooking, watching telly. i'd go visit her and stuff.
/// 02:49 — somewhere to rock back ///
but, you know, there was nowhere social for her to just pop out to, wear one of her outfits to and stuff. so, yeah, that bit really made my day.
and yeah, everyone just kept asking, like, when are we gonna do it again? like comments, like people saying on the day. and i was just like...
but yeah, we've come up with this whole members club structure really, which just allows us to build something like this, which is needed by our community, but in a more secure way. like a way that kind of supports itself.
because it takes a lot out of you to do something like this, which i'm sure some of you guys can relate to.
and yeah, we just want to serve our community in the best way possible.
but yeah, the concept is really simple.
just literally somewhere to rock back.
/// 03:38 — what “rock back” actually means ///
and i feel like rock back as, like, a title for the big functions. you can read more about it on the page below.
but yeah, i just felt like it was something really clear and like something really multi-cross-functional of a name. i can't really explain it better than that, but just that rocking back, like, obviously it's kind of a synonym for chilling.
but there's just so much you can learn through chilling.
you know, conversations you have off the cuff that you never knew you were going to have. like, you can learn things just through random conversations, being just in the same place at the same time.
stories that come up, like, yeah, dancing.
/// 04:16 — what happens when we're just around each other ///
like, you know, you might pick up a dance that auntie sandra learned when she was young just by being around.
and you know, there's just so many overproduced events and like, you know, we make so many plans to do things or end up not doing them because, you know, the plan seems too hefty to go ahead with.
and sometimes you just need somewhere really chilled to just relax and like, yeah, just catch up on, like, a spontaneous ting, you know.
but yeah, i've got so many ideas for where this can go. so does the team.
and we're really excited to build this and we want you guys really involved in the building process.
/// 04:53 — building this together ///
like every four months we want to get everyone together on, like, a call and stuff to discuss how the last four months have gone.
like obviously we're not sure how many of us would want to be so involved in a project like this, but we definitely want to have some sort of committee at some point just to make sure that, yeah, we're all deciding things for the greater good of everyone.
but yeah, more information can be found underneath this voice note.
i didn't want to type it all up and i don't want to keep chatting in you lot's ears, but yeah, feel free to have a look, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
/// 05:23 — keep talking to us ///
we want this to be like a conversation, not just a one-way kind of dialogue with the way that we're building this.
and yeah, i'm really excited to see what this ends up becoming and to see more of you guys again soon.
hope you have a great day. evening, night, morning. not sure when you're listening to this, but yeah, speak soon.
some other bits ↓
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/// somewhere to rock back ///
functions · stories · tings to do · residencies
london ↔ the islands—————
we’ve put the actual vision + everything we're thinking about building over here
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/// £12/month + one off £12 joining fee ///
your place at the ‘rock back’ + ‘front room’ functions each month are included, alongside first access to the other tings we’re working on.
if you can’t make a function one month, you can give your place to somebody else.
and from our side, your membership is a very simple signal: keep building.
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we really want to know how you found it. what you enjoyed, what could’ve been better, whether the day gave you and your family anything you’d like more of + what you think we should do next.
leave a comment at the bottom of the page or let’s have a proper chat
thank you so much for being here
from the beginning.
big shout outs to uncle steve, mel, tamz, shanea, & the entire velma’s caribbean team for coming in on this event with such short notice, auntie anita for all the lovely decor, safarii for everything on the day + leading up! rochelle for her guidance suggestions + support before during + after, khristen for stepping in as ops manager for us, dj natz b, dj kaythreee + team, moriah, duncan, morgan + chantelia for volunteering. alia, d’alana, her friend + cairo for all lending a hand, and everyone else who supported us + gave words of encouragement throughout (i’m sorry, the list is getting long now!) & joe s / p + the team at the honor oak pub for serving us on the day & working with us in producing such a culturally important catalyst event for the caribbean community.
we’re excited to see what this becomes + hopefully see you at something soon!
feel free to use the feedback form or to leave a comment below sharing a thought / what you’re most excited for. oh! and do keep an eye on our insta + tiktok for our shenanigans in video form, in between these little updates.
see you soon
@ms.semple + the riónce caribbean team
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