AT just 12 years old, Errol McCarthy left Jamaica with his sister for Birmingham, England. Now 72 years old and retired, he has returned home, fulfilling a dream that never left him, even after six decades abroad.

Reflecting on his decision, McCarthy said it is a blessing to be back home and in good health, noting that while many Jamaicans in the Diaspora make plans to return to the island of their birth, illness or death often prevents them from making this a reality.

He shared that he grew up in Rock Springs, Trelawny, rarely venturing beyond the community, and enjoyed the simple life and quiet pleasures of growing up in the countryside. He lived with his grandmother and sister until 1965, when his mother filed for the siblings to move to England. McCarthy said it was a transition that exposed him to significant culture shock at a young age.

“In Jamaica I would be running up and down, playing, swimming, eating fruits, playing ball, and all the things like that, but in England it was very different. I missed the sunshine, going down to the river, and enjoying the beautiful fruits. Everything in England you have to pay for. You go to the park, there’s no free fruit, there’s no apples, there’s no beer, there’s no nothing,” he told the Jamaica Observer on a visit to St Elizabeth last Wednesday.

He added that the change in temperature did not help, as he was accustomed to the warm weather, beautiful sunshine, and clear skies in Jamaica.

“England was cold; England was foggy. There was smoke coming out of the chimney. In the winter it was cold and there was a mist and fog in the environment, and the fog from all the chimneys pushing out all that coal smoke. It wasn’t very nice,” he recounted.

However, with no other option, McCarthy said he embraced the cold and worked to adjust. After completing school he worked in factories and later in hospitals before returning to school to become a home care organiser in social services, moving on to look after the elderly in residential homes.

McCarthy met his wife, who is also Jamaican, while living in England. Together, he said, they worked and planned to retire in Jamaica — purchasing land in St Elizabeth to build a home.

The returning resident said he retired just before turning 65, while his wife continued working. On her 60th birthday the couple decided to spend five more years in England before returning to Jamaica permanently. In September 2025 they made that dream a reality.

“It’s a blessing to be able to achieve this. It is a milestone in itself, because many people die, sick, have plans, and are not able to return. Being able to plan it and actually execute it is very good. When I met my wife and she was from here, I knew I wanted to go back home. I decided to put a plan in place, and she agreed with it and worked with it. Here we are, enjoying it,” he told the Sunday Observer.

He noted, however, that the transition has not been ideal, as they arrived in Jamaica a month before Category Five Hurricane Melissa devastated St Elizabeth and other parishes in western Jamaica on October 28, 2025. He described the storm as terrible, with hours spent cleaning up water that seeped through their windows and doors.

“We stayed abroad and watched what was happening in various hurricanes and storms and so forth, through YouTube and so on, but to actually be in it, it was something else to see what happened to the people around you and the fear of losing your home. It was difficult, but you stay strong, you stay committed, and you know it’s going to be over soon,” said McCarthy.

He shared that after the storm passed they immersed themselves in the community, reaching out to neighbours who were affected to share barrels of canned and dry goods they’d sent to Jamaica to stock their new home when they returned to the island.

For nearly four months he said he and his wife were without electricity and Internet service, but they adapted — turning to backyard gardening and yard work to pass the time.

Despite it all, the 72-year-old said he has no regrets about returning home.

“If I don’t have to go back [to England] for any reason, I don’t want to go back,” a smiling McCarthy told the Sunday Observer.

“I just love the people, the culture, the food, and certain freedoms — just moving up and down, talking to people openly,” he said.