10 things you didn't know about Peggy Blades

It is often said that one's social register is not complete if it
does not include Peggy Blades. This should come as no surprise as the
charming and unassuming, yet formidable Blades is not only a social
lioness, but, as the single largest shareholder of Mussons Jamaica
Limited, is perhaps one of the most powerful women in the corporate
world.

Not that you would ever know it, as she is not one to flaunt her
considerable corporate muscles. Instead she prefers to allow her
grandchildren to assert themselves, while she dotes on her great
grand-children and attends to the many philanthropic and social causes
she supports.

Described as a generous soul, she's loyal to a
fault, giving her time and support to causes and those who are making
positive changes that will benefit the majority.

Today, Outlook Magazine shares 10 things we did not know about Peggy Blades.

1 She was born in Barbados. Her family emigrated to the Caribbean island from England in the 1600s; after Oliver Cromwell beheaded King Charles the first in 1659. Her family were plantocrats who planted sugar and tobacco.

2 Her late father, Douglas Robinson, was a gunner in the Royal Navy during World War 1. The sea runs in the family's veins and her great-grandfather Samuel Arnold Robinson was a sea captain.

3 Her family were royalists responsible for chasing Henry Morgan out of Barbados - where he had a sugar estate. That resulted in Morgan fleeing to Jamaica.

4 A painter, she won the SPCA first prize in the island of Barbados for her painting, Saved From a Well - a painting of a well and a young boy with a pig in his arms.

5 At age 16, she met Desmond Blades while employed to Barclays Bank in Barbados. The story of their meeting has been the subject of many family laughs.

She caught the bus home from work one afternoon and was walking down 7th Avenue of Belleville (a suburb if Bridgetown, Barbados). They were playing football on the avenue and she could not resist the game, so she kicked off her shoes and joined in the game. Desmond Blades was sitting on his bicycle enjoying the game when the ball rolled under it. She went to retrieve it and, noticing that he was not reacting, she said, "If you were a gentleman, you would pass me the ball". His response, "If you were a lady, you would not be playing football on the avenue," That remark made an indelible impression on the 16-year-old.

6 She married Blades on February 18, 1949, and honeymooned at Powell Spring Hotel, Barbados. They moved to Jamaica in 1960. Their union produced two children - Paul and Susan. Paul died in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 19. Susan married Christopher Scott and had two children - Paul and Melanie. Paul is the chairman of Musson (Jamaica) Limited, T. Geddes Grant and Facey Commodity Company Limited. His sister Melanie is married to Michael Subratie and is a director at Mussons.

7 She adores her great-grandchildren - Oliver, Jacob, Nee Mitchell, Cristina, Anna and Lisa.

8 After 60 years of marriage, her husband developed colon cancer. It was removed and he underwent chemotherapy, which has a side effect of weakening the heart. He died peacefully in his sleep.

9 After his passing, she could not continue living in the home they had shared for so many years in Stony Hill, so she now lives in Constant Spring.

10. A picture she painted of her late husband is one of her most treasured posessions. She keeps it in her bedroom.