What are your earliest memories of Kingston?

My initial arrival at the former Kingston Wharves in late 1940 aboard the banana boat Jamaica Producer as a young World War II evacuee from the German bombing of London, with a wild, waving and screeching welcome on the pier below from a new, same-age Jamaican cousin.

What do you miss when you are not in Kingston?

Nothing really. I like most of the rest of Jamaica that I know just as much.

What are your favourite home comforts?

My fairly extensive library of professional books and, when I have time, my music CDs.

What would you do if you were elected mayor (of Kingston) for a day?

Establish with the JCF an intensive one-day programme to counter our frightful driving and pedestrian behaviour.

Share with us the title of the last book you read.

‘Fraid, only time to skim so far, but Kennedy Reid’s amazing illustrated volume on the nearly 300-year history of St Catherine’s Portmore.

What is your middle name?

Merrick, and as you didn’t ask for my hardly used first name I’ll keep that to myself!

And the last bit of music that stirred your soul?

The Poco Adagio from the little-known 19th-century Irish composer John Field’s 2nd Piano Concerto. I first heard it on the sadly demised Radio Mona a few years ago.

What was your last bit of retail therapy?

Wow! I had to ask my wife what is ‘retail therapy’ — you must remember that I was born in the first half of the last century! I’d say browsing through the shelves of the bookshops that sell Jamaican history and allied books.

What is your preferred beverage?

An occasional glass of red or white wine, and sometimes, instead, a cold Guinness.

What are your current projects?

Regular consultant protocol advice and associated training, as well as service on three JDF specialist committees. Also, initial planning of a detailed protocol workshop for the entire senior membership of the Bahamas civil service, police and coast guard.

Which cologne are you currently splashing?

Not really my thing; I passed my supplies to our young adult son sometime ago.

What was your most memorable meal in Kingston?

The most memorable meal I’ve probably ever had was last year at the JDF Officers Mess at — you’ll never guess — Moneague in St Ann, when Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Sewell, a real cuisine buff, was Commanding Officer, Second Battalion, The Jamaica Regiment. It was a superb nine-course dinner, with all of five-course wines, beautifully served. I should quickly add that the cost was entirely covered through subscription by the officers themselves.

Share some places in your black book.

I have travelled the world — visiting every continent except Antartica. My favourites have been the Canadian Laurentians for winter skiing; a snapshot visit to Santiago de Chile; Beirut; Chile; Cairo; and London, my birthplace. Within the Caribbean, I’m very fond of the Bahamas and Barbados.

What is your advice to first-time visitors to Kingston?

There’s much worth doing and seeing, although one must also be careful. Ask your hotel manager (not just the line-level staff) or personal host for advice. Then enjoy Kingston.

What upsets you?

The gross deterioration in thoughtfulness and basic good manners. In little hidden places, the Kingston of even half-a-century ago is still there, but you’re lucky if you can find it.

Share with us a protocol do and don’t one should abide by when in the company of Royalty.

My advice would be DO wait for the royal person to extend his/her hand first and, while it is no longer an official requirement, a short head bow (not a nod, nor a bow from the waist) from gentlemen and a brief ‘bob’ curtsy from ladies is still very good form.

Note the following: ‘The Prince of Wales’, never ‘Charles’ or ‘Prince William’, not ‘William’. In 1962, the Most Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante asked the late Princess Margaret: ‘How is your sister?’; the Princess, renowned for her sharp tongue, responded: ‘Do you mean The Queen?’