Carolyn Cooper | Devon House management on the defensive

Two Saturdays ago, I visited the recently reopened Devon House courtyard. Almost immediately, I accidentally walked into a black object sticking out of the ground. In a couple of seconds, I heard a voice behind me cry out, “Jesus!” It was a young woman who had hit her foot on another one of the dangerous objects. Of course, she should not need divine intervention to protect her. The management of Devon House must ensure that patrons are not put at risk of a fall.

The only thing that saved me, apart from Jesus, is the balance exercises I’ve been doing online with Schellea Fowler, an excellent fitness instructor from Australia.

I was able to catch up miself and avoid what could have been a disastrous fall on the concrete pavers.

There were orange traffic cones along the walkways, presumably intended to warn patrons of the hazardous objects. But their location made absolutely no sense. The cones should have been placed over the stumbling blocks. The management office is closed on the weekend, so I pointed out the danger to the woman at the information booth. But it really wasn’t her job to solve the problem.

On Sunday, I sent an email to the executive director of Devon House reporting the incident. I followed up with a call on Tuesday. She explained that the troubling objects were partially installed ground lighting units and she would refer the disturbing matter to the technical team responsible for the job. Late Friday afternoon, she called to say that she had received no response to her query. Earlier in the week, I had visited the courtyard again to check if the problem had been solved. I was relieved to see that cones were covering the dangerous lighting units.

LIMITING ACCESS

Since I had now assumed the role of investigative columnist, I decided to wander to the front of Devon House to see what would happen. I approached the Edward Seaga Suite and was told by the security guard that it was not open to the general public. I asked about the ‘sacred’ gardens in front of the house and was told that access was only for visitors who paid to tour the house. This was surprising, given my recent correspondence with the marketing and events manager of the property.

In my column, ‘Servants’ quarters for some visitors to Devon House’, published on February 5, I had reported that I had not received a response from the marketing and events manager to my email about public access. She did answer eventually, confirming that, “Effective December 10, 2022, members of the general public now have access to the South lawn, on a phased basis (between the hours of 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm daily).”

I was visiting at approximately 5 p.m., so I should have been allowed access. The security guard clearly did not know that the policy had been changed. How could this be? Surely the management of Devon House must have updated the security company! In her email to me, the marketing and events manager had reported that, “. . . at no time are the lawns reserved for patrons who have paid for mansion tours.”

PUTTING CIVICS BACK IN SCHOOL

In response to my first email about public access, the marketing and events manager explained the rationale for the old policy of keeping members of the public off the front lawn: “. . . inappropriate behaviour, security concerns and solid waste management challenges, which threatened the integrity of the heritage site.” She elaborated: “For instance, persons would often take food items onto the property and unfortunately dispose of their garbage on the lawn, despite the availability of garbage receptacles. Hence, the decision was taken to facilitate access to the South lawn only for special events. These include public and private functions hosted by Government entities that often target the general public.”

Civics must be put back on the curriculum. The subject is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, “the study of the rights and duties of citizenship”. A lot of children do not seem to be getting any home training. They must be given some guidance at school about civic responsibility. Otherwise, they will turn into the kind of adults who have sex on the grounds of Devon House and, on top of that, lack the decency to dispose of their used condoms properly. This is the kind of “inappropriate behaviour” that the management of the property is forced to deal with.

In my follow-up email to the marketing and events manager, I asked several questions: “You appear to make a distinction between the grounds and the lawns of Devon House. What’s the difference? How has the issue of “inappropriate behaviour, security concerns and solid waste management” been managed on the grounds, as distinct from the lawns? Why was access to the lawns limited to public holidays and weekends? What was the rationale for the recent decision to give the general public access to the south lawns? On the average, how often and for how long are private events booked for the lawns, making them inaccessible to the general public?”

The marketing and events manager responded to say she was preparing for an event and could not answer my questions immediately. I haven’t heard back from her. Instead, the executive director emailed and invited me to tour the property. She followed up with a telephone call. So far, I haven’t accepted the invitation. I prefer to be treated like the general public. That should be good enough for me.

- Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com