Christopher Dehring remembers happier times. "I was born in 1962 ... probably my biggest achievement to date." Dehring jokes. "I do feel, being born in 1962, like part of something, part of the change, because I was born on the cusp of it. I felt part of this generation that is supposed to carry Jamaica forward."

I remember vividly growing up in the 1960s, going to watch the float parades on Independence Day. I remember Sabina Park particularly well because that was my first Test match.

Riot

I don't remember it for the cricket, but because my father had to hold a wet handkerchief over my face to hold back tear gas because there was a riot in 1968, though I don't think that's a particularly positive memory of mine. I remember going every Sunday to Hope Gardens, with the zoo - running up and down as a child, it was the biggest, most exciting place to me. I do think it was happier times then, although maybe that's because I'm looking back on childhood memories - but I remember being able to go out, being able to ride my bicycle up and down Hope Gardens without my parents worrying about me."

'Independence was a positive change'

Dehring paused when he is asked if he thinks Jamaica is better off as an Independent county. "I would still say, yes, that Independence was a positive change. We haven't run our country particularly well in the last 40 or 50 years, maybe, but it is still our country. I know I have been granted opportunities that others in other countries have not had because of Independence. So yes, I would say it was something I think was a good change for Jamaica."

Dehring ... then.

Dehring ... now.