Sunny Bingo

Sun, sand, surf...everything that is missing in the UK! Okay, we have sea, and we have free bingo, but the idea of bingo on the beach is out of the question for 75% of the UK calendar. Now, though, the game is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, and the good news for bingo fans everywhere is that they do not have to stay inside to enjoy it. That's right – bingo has reached the Caribbean.

The temperatures consistently reach 80°F in summer, so it is no surprise that any outside games are played in the shade. With hot sun beating down the focus needed to stay on a bingo caller's balls is immense, and players never enjoy  distractions. Not to mention the beads of sweat that would pour unashamed from the brows of the players, potentially running down and smudging the ink which they have carefully dabbed on their all-important cards!

However, as bingo is a simple game with relatively little need for embellishment, it is a favourite amongst the less affluent communities in Kingston and the local vicinities. Played inside in perhaps less-glamourous surroundings than we might be used to in the great bingo halls across our land, but the level of enjoyment is easily equalled.

Players use thin cards made from bamboo paper and cover the numbers with pebbles rather than dabbing them with ink, while the balls are more pebbles with numbers drawn on in ink. Collected from the ground outside, the bingo caller picks the “balls” out from a bag before calling them with bingo lingo infused with local heritage. There is no “Two Fat Ladies” here, although you can be sure that in Kingston you would not witness the furore that surrounded the recent decision to outlaw the call by Sudbury Town Council. Instead the folk meanings of the numbers are revealed – number four meaning “blood”, and number twelve resembling “big head”. Truly, the Jamaican version of the game is so home-made it could feature on an edition of Blue Peter.

Just like other bingo-ing nations around the globe the Jamaicans have adapted the game so that it means something to them, but this is precisely what makes bingo so special. From its inception in the sun of Italy in the 16^th Century and around its journey to colder climbs, it is clear that the global nature of the game has been cemented as everybody tries out their bingo luck.