Lloyd Bogle Relieved; Thanks Observer, Supporters For Help

LLOYD Bogle was shop­ping in Musgrave Market, Port Antonio, Portland on

Friday “about 11:30 am” when he got the phone call that he was anx­ious­ly await­ing. On the oth­er end of the line was a rep­re­sen­ta­tive of the British High

Commission who informed him that he had been grant­ed a visa. “When I heard from them that my visa was approved I just dropped every­thing and shout­ed out,” Bogle told the Jamaica Observer, his smile stretch­ing from ear to ear. Vendors in the mar­ket were left won­der­ing whether Bogle was los­ing his mind as he jumped for joy. However, the 64-year-old Jamaican-born man who had been strand­ed here since last October because of his immi­gra­tion sta­tus, said he did not care what the ven­dors thought as he knew the call meant that his ago­nis­ing wait to return to England, where he has lived for over 50 years, was now over.

“I am still strug­gling to find words to describe the moment. I just feel relieved,” he told the Sunday Observer. “When I got the call I just stopped every­thing that I was doing and rushed back to the house where I was stay­ing in Portland to col­lect my doc­u­ments.” Bogle said he then jumped in a taxi and head­ed for the British High Commission in Kingston, his heart rac­ing with excite­ment through­out the approx­i­mate­ly two-hour dri­ve. When he arrived there, he was told to wait as the author­i­ties com­plet­ed pro­cess­ing his doc­u­ments. The few min­utes on the out­side seemed like an eter­ni­ty, but it was one that the retired Bogle was will­ing to sit through. Then came the moment when he was hand­ed back his pass­port and saw, in it, a mul­ti­ple entry D‑visa, which states that he has leave to enter England out­side of the rules, requires him to reg­is­ter with the police with­in sev­en days of arrival in the UK, and has no restric­tion on employ­ment. Images of his loved ones back home in Manchester and Oldham — who he thought he would nev­er see again — flashed across his mind.

“When I got mi visa I felt like I just want­ed to shout out and cel­e­brate,” Bogle said, adding that imme­di­ate­ly he took out his cell­phone and called his friend, Gloria Thompson, who had stuck with him through the whole ordeal, giv­ing him shel­ter and who had direct­ed him to the Observer with the advice that the news­pa­per high­lights peo­ple and their issues. Thompson, who joined him lat­er in Kingston on Friday, declined to be inter­viewed. Read more @http://​www​.jamaicaob​serv​er​.com/​n​e​w​s​/​L​l​o​y​d​-​B​o​g​l​e​-​r​e​l​i​e​ved – thanks-Observer – supporters-for-help_18278111