The main thing was getting the ash off the roof and dampening it on the ground. And in the house. No matter what you do, ash would come in, so you just clean it and next thing you go back in and your bed and the countertop and everything. It’s full of ash. So everyday you go to bed you have to dust off the bed or change the sheet or something.
– Montserrat Resident, 2019

Clearing volcanic ash off the roof became a regular chore during the height of the volcanic crisis. Credit: Peter Filleul
Volcano Medley
‘When the volcano pop its smoke
It dump the ashes on me
When it let it out of the dome
It don’t care about nobody
Fire burning out the belly
It don’t use no kind of filter
When the smoke is up in the sky
it don’t care about lung cancer
Like/light a big pipe he’s smoking
Lord is smoking smoking
On top the dome is smoking
Lord is smoking smoking
Day and night is smoking
Lord is smoking smoking
like a chimney is smoking
Lord is smoking smoking
Stop smoking
Stop smoking
I ain’t joking
Volcano stop smoking
Stop smoking
Stop smoking
I ain’t joking
Volcano stop smoking’
– Extract from Song 'Volcano Medley' by Desmond "Flasher" Daly

Ash everywhere, always. Credit: Peter Filleul