Hyatt Regency Trinidad in a release said it is welcoming all fete-lovers to its seventh annual luxury Lime fete, to take place this Wednesday (February 22) at the hotel from 4 pm to 1 am.

Each year, some of the best soca artistes take to the waterfront stage to provide entertainment at this all-inclusive event. The decor will be white with a touch of lime, and the food promises to be fabulous: master chefs from Hyatt Regency Trinidad will be cooking.

The event promises superlative dining and dancing, with Platinum and Diamond level tickets. Upon arrival, all party-goers will be treated to new signature cocktails, including Lime Frenzy and Liquid Lime. Diamond level guests will feast on delicacies from sushi and oysters to lobster and striploin steak. Platinum level guests will enjoy their own feast of slow-roasted meats grilled on seasoned coals and smoked woods, authentic Indian cuisine, decadent desserts and vegetarian dishes, in addition to local authentic island fare and more.

A wide selection of premium drinks including champagne and cocktails will also be available, say the fete organisers.

Entertainment this year includes: Machel Montano, Kes The Band, The Ultimate Rejects featuring MX Prime, David Rudder, Roy Cape All Stars, Skinny Fabulous, Voice, Angela Hunte, K.I., Olatunji, Chutney Soca Kings Ravi B and Omardath. Continuing tradition, Lime fete looks forward to seeing “white with a touch of Lime” outfits and fireworks by FireOne.

As part of the Hyatt Thrive programme, Hyatt Regency Trinidad will donate proceeds from Lime to the Christ-Child Convalescent Home through United Way T&T. The hotel has been a donor partner of United Way T&T since 2009.

Last year, the proceeds benefited The Heroes Foundation. Other past recipients include ALTA (Adult Literacy Tutors Association), The Heroes Foundation, Rainbow Rescue Home for Boys and Amica House for Girls.

T&T Guardian’s Entertainment Ed­itor Peter Ray Blood has covered T&T Carnival for the past 37 years. He has also covered 25 editions of Barbados’ Crop Over Festival, as well as carnivals in New York, Miami, To­ronto, Jamaica and Grenada. In this, the conclusion of his two-part series about Carnival memories, Blood, also an ardent mas player, explores calyp­soes, mas and fetes of years gone by.

 Calypso memories:

Bahia Girl and Bun Dem

Of my many calypso memo­ries, one that stands out is one Dimanche Gras when calypsonian Crazy insisted that he should swing off the roof of the Grand Stand in the Savannah, by rope, with a monkey on his back as part of his presentation for the calypso monarch finals. It took much persuasion from the fire services officials to convince the Crazy how deadly this stunt would be.

In the calypso arena, competition is fierce, with some bards prepared to stop at nothing in an effort to win a title—even resorting to obeah and necromancy. There are tales of ca­lypsonians actually spending time in the cemetery at night to summon the spirits of the dearly departed to glean a victory. In one popular tent, a calypsonian was overheard complain­ing loudly backstage about a colleague putting cemetery dirt in his shoes.

Many calypsonians are supersti­tious and some refuse to even shake hands on the night of a competition, lest some negative karma is trans­ferred to them.

On a humorous note: in 1993, having sent a massive Skinner Park audience into a frenzy with his hit song Bacchanal Time, Blue Boy—now known as SuperBlue—in his exuberance, saw his dentures fall out of his mouth. Without breaking stride, he scooped up the delinquent object and returned it to his mouth without missing a note.

Two of my memorable years of ca­lypso competition were the Calypso Monarch finals of 1986 and 1987. In 1986, composer/singer David Rud­der created history by beating the seasoned bards on Dimanche Gras singing The Hammer and Bahia Girl. Not only did he win the coveted title but he also copped that year’s Young Kings title, the Road March with Bahia Girl and The Hammer was the tune of choice of the National Panorama champion Trinidad All Stars.

The following year, Rudder was dramatically dethroned by Black Sta­lin singing Bun Dem and Mr Panmak­er. It was Stalin’s third lien on the title.

Road March pageantry is replete with memorable wins, among them being SuperBlue’s 1980 victory with Soca Baptist, Tambu’s hattrick of 1988-1990, Machel Montano in 1997 with Big Truck and Jumbie in 2007, the 2000 tie between Super­Blue and Iwer George, JW & Blaze’s Palance in 2010, SuperBlue’s Fantastic Friday (2013) and Montano’s Like ah Boss (2015).

Longtime party days:

Fetes for $3 and $15

As a young man, I can recall the fetes for $3 at Teachers’ Training College and Guardian Sports Club on Wrightson Road, as well as the $10 and $15 fetes at venues like Winsure Club (Pt Cumana, Cosmos Club (Ed­ward Street), Carnival Village (now the yellow band maxi hub), Harvards (St James), Paragon Club (Cocorite)and Belmont Community Centre. Un­fortunately Paragon Sports & Cultural will not be holding its annual fete this year, opting instead to throw its ener­gies behind a jazz production in July.

The week before the days of Carni­val was “fete week,” with fetes being held nightly. Among the more popular were Anyhowers, Tears, Custom Boys, Ice Picks, Soca Village, Brass Festival and Harvards.

There was a time when steelbands ruled the roost as far as Carnival fete music was concerned. I remember one night when Harmonites and Starlift blew away a few of the then estab­lished and popular music bands at a fete in PSA. These bands, as well as Ebonites, Tripolians and Tokyo, were some of the steelbands in demand on the fete circuit.

High Mas: The great days of

Minshall art and steelband mas

Memories of mas are so many that it is difficult to select a favourite one or a couple. Coming immediately to mind, however, is that of my long re­lationship with Peter Minshall and his creations.

One of my most enjoyable years was 1980, the year Minshall produced Danse Macabre and I played a blue devil in Noble Douglas’ section. Any mas with paint, oil or mud is the most liberating experience anyone can have on a Carnival day.

 I also preserve lasting memories of Minshall’s Papillon (1982), The River (1983) and Paradise Lost (1977), the latter a band he designed for the late Stephen Lee Heung. It was one of Min­shall’s best ever designs in mas.

The ugly side of mas that year was that of rival kings blocking Minshall’s king, Peter Samuel, portraying Tiger Tiger Burning Bright, from parading at the Savannah. He was allowed to perform the costume one week after carnival, at Pan Trinbago’s Champs in Concert, and the costume and its wearer were given a standing ovation by a packed Grand and North Stand.

As a matter of fact, I would proba­bly need an entire book to speak about my memorable Minshall experiences as they are so many. Some of these include his designs portrayed by many-times King of Carnival Peter Samuel, the Humming Bird portrayed by his sister Sherry Ann Guy in 1974, his queen art for Alyson Brown (ie Tan Tan), and his individual designs like Madame Hiroshima from 1994’s Callaloo.  

Neither can I forget the portray­als by the late master wire bend­er Cito Velasquez—his 1959 band Fruits and Flowers being indelibly etched. In terms of portrayals, I also hold on to memories of the breathtaking portrayals by Al­fred Strasser, Edgar Whiley, Al­bert Moore, Colin Edghill, Errol Payne, Hilton Cox, Tony Alleng, Tedder Eustace, Joan Greene, Joan Massiah, Janet Rollock and Rose­mary Stone.

One of my most unforgettable Carnival costumes was Rajkumar Boyie, portrayed just ten years ago by Jhawan Thomas, king of Brian MacFarlane’s prize-winning In­dia. Unfortunately, the costume, portrayed on stilts, and depicting Boyie atop a jewelled elephant, collapsed on stage. Thomas also participated on stilts in this year’s King of Carnival as The Flying Dutchman but failed to make Tuesday night’s final.

Like Minshall’s Tiger Tiger Burning Bright, Saga Boy, Tan Tan, Sacred and Profane and Man Crab, Boyie was one of the most original costumes I have seen presented in the King of Carnival competition.

Apart from my Minshall ex­periences, my mas-playing days included duty in bands produced by Y de Lima Blue Diamonds, Star­lift, Pandemonium, the late Wayne Berkeley, Poison, Tribe, Brian Mac Farlane, Fantasia, Legacy and Ron­nie & Caro. I also enjoyed playing mas in New York, Miami, Jamaica and Barbados.

I cherish my first year of play­ing with Berkeley when he invited me to portray the individual The North Wind in the presentation Hero Myth. It was a beautiful sil­ver and black creation. Sending my memory much further back, I re­call the epic and iconic portrayals by the late George Bailey, Harold Saldenah, Stephen Lee Heung, Stephen Derek, Raoul Garib and Victor Rique, as well as colourful mas by steelbands like Despera­does, Starlift, Trinidad All Stars, Renegades and the fancy see bees of Dem Fortunates. A few of the mas bands used to be mammoth and I remember the presentations of Burrokeets, Oaksville and Tico Skinner.

On Carnival Tuesday 1968, there was a near-tragic incident on Independence Square when the truck carrying the musicians of Cassanova fell through the stage at that competition venue. Awaiting the arrival of a wrecker, the mu­sicians took it all in good stride as they struck up the opening bars of Kitchener’s Wrecker, much to the amusement of masqueraders.

Back in the day, a lot of mas was actually made by the masquerad­er, with Samaroo’s on Observatory Street being the main shopping centre of Carnival paraphenalia for costumery. If you played “big mas” you were furnished with a card in the mas camp, on that card, your deposit—most times in the princely sum of $20—and installments were recorded, until you had paid off for your costume.

Firstly, let me wish everyone a great day of Horseracing on this Carnival Wednesday racing programme.

The Arima Race Club has finally appointed a new Chief Executive Officer in the shape of retired Captain Anthony Wight. Captain Wight has been involved in horse racing for decades and no doubt is well aware of the many challenges that currently confront the industry. If he was not aware, it was made pellucidly clear at Last Wednesday’s Jetsam Awards when both the Arima Race Club (ARC) President Linford Carrabon and the Minister of Trade Paula Gopee Scoon identified the numerous issues facing the sport, prime of which is the reduced funding available from almost all sources.

This is going to place an even greater emphasis on management and imagination and we eagerly look forward to the new ideas to be placed on the table.

One avenue already being pursued by the Club is a reduction in the stakes money paid to owners, even as they reduce the number of race days. While the reduction in purses is likely inevitable due to the reduced income, the wisdom behind reducing prize money for the major races and classics will continue to be called into question.

For the sport to survive, it needs both punters and horses, which means that it also needs owners. Historically, the ARC has sacrificed quality for quantity and this appears to continue to be the case when you look at the draft racing programmes.

The longstanding argument is that we have more horses in the lower rating bands than the higher bands, but this begs the question of the chicken and the egg – which came first? Once we continue to pay pittance and have fewer races for the higher quality animals, owners will be discouraged from investing in new stock and so we will have fewer and fewer genuinely quality horses.

One avenue that needs to be pursued is the engagement of social media to extend the reach of the sport. We need to move to the situation in which the sport is readily available to all interested parties on whatever channel they prefer to use. We must start with expanding the television networks on which the racing channel is available. This is not social media, but it should be an easy first step. It should be available – and free to each of the major providers – Flow, Blink, Digicel and Massy.

Next, we must make it available online and streaming. Technology is thev ARC future and it needs to direct any available funding to expanding this channel which will extend its reach outside of the borders of the race track and T&T. We would not be unique in this regard.

Another avenue that needs to be pursued is getting the betting public more involved in the decision making. This should start by making it easy for the betting public to submit their suggestions to the Club for improvements and its an avenue to look at new and fresh ideas.

The Club’s ability to implement the public’s suggestions will go a long way towards encouraging greater participation and presence. The reality is that the public has not lost its appetite for betting, there are so many options available at the moment that local horse racing has to keep up and must not be seen as failing to become attractive, but must be seen as competing for its fair share of the purchasing public audience.

Trinbagonians are betting on everything from the Superbowl to the Premier League to how long it will take before President Trump is impeached. Racing needs to restore its share of that market. Reaching out to the public to understand what they want and then giving it to them must be seen as very important to the future of the ARC.

Racing will survive but it needs all stakeholders to not just be engaged but to feel that their engagement will make a difference. This really depends on how inclusive the management of the ARC becomes. We all look forward to the future with optimism and wish Captain Wight and his team all the blessings and support to achieve that.

Horseracing is critical in the lives of many and we should not forget that.

I heard a businessman once said, “If you are not prepare to lead or follow, then get out of the consumers way.”

David Mc Dougall scored a beaver-trick and Kevon Woodley, a hat-trick as T&T spanked Antigua & Barbuda 8-1 in its opening match of the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility on Monday night in Nassau, Bahamas.

It was the start for T&T in the Group C clash as Woodley opened the scoring as early as the second minute of the first 12-minute period, but underdogs Antigua & Barbuda drew level five minutes later.

That was the last bit of joy for Antigua & Barbuda as Chad Appoo restored T&T’s lead in the ninth minute while Mc Dougall got his first in the 10th minute, a gem of a volley for a 3-1 lead at the end of the first third.

The second period was all one way traffic with Mc Dougall making it 4-1 in the 13th minute before he extended the cushion to 5-1 a minute later with a exquisite right footed volley from near the right byine followed by a second on the night from Woodley to lead 7-1.

In the final third, T&T controlled the flow of the match and added two late items via, Mc Dougall, his fourth in the 34th and Woodley, to complete his hat-trick a minute from the final whistle to give coach, USA-born Benny Astorga his first win.

With the win, T&T moved into a joint lead with USA, which swept past US Virgin Islands by a similar 8-1 margin in Monday’s earlier match-up.

This evening, T&T swill head into action in their second match against the US Virgin Islands from 2.45pm while United States will be up against Antigua & Barbuda from 4pm in pool action.

Astorga is confident of victory again today as he believes his team has been in the best possible shape for the qualifiers.

Earlier this week Marc Jankovic scored four goals as Canada earned a 6-4 win over Group B rival Barbados in the opening match of the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship on Monday.

With the score level at 4-4, Maxime Leconte put Canada ahead for good early in the third period and Jankovic completed the scoreline with seven minutes left in the match.

Goals: 0-1: Marc Jankovic, min. 11 (1); 1-1: Jamar Grazette, min. 8 (1); 2-1: Jamal Chandler, min. 7 (1); 2-2: Marc Jankovic, min. 0 (1); 2-3: Danilo Pessoa, min. 9 (2); 2-4: Marc Jankovic, min. 7 (2); 3-4: Andre Pinder, min. 3 (2); 4-4: Tito Grazette, min. 11 (3); 4-5: Maxime Leconte, min. 9 (3); 4-6: Marc Jankovic, min. 7 (3)

Meanwhile, three-time champion United States recovered from a slow start to defeat US Virgin Islands, 8-1, in their Group C opener .

USVI’s Esaias Charles scored the only goal of the first period, but the U.S. responded with eight unanswered goals, including three from captain Nicolas Perera, all from the penalty spot. Team-mate Alessandro Canale weighed in with a brace.

Goals: 0-1: Esaias Charles, min. 5 (1); 1-1: Nicolas Perera, min. 9 (2); 2-1: Andrew Feld, min. 7 (2); 3-1: Alessandro Canale, min. 5 (2); 4-1: Nicolas Perera, min. 3 (2); 5-1: Jason Santos, min. 9 (3); 6-1: Matthew Van Zytveld, min. 6 (3); 7-1: Nicolas Perera, min. 1 (3); 8-1: Alessandro Canale, min. 1 (3).

Bishop Anstey’s High School (BAHS) B team’s Arissa Romany romped through the defence of Providence Girls Catholic School to guide her team to a 7-0 victory in the School Girls Rugby League of T&T (SGRLTT).

This was at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain, last Wednesday.

This top of the table clash, was decided by Romany’s try (five points) and successful conversion for the extra two points.

Bishop’s B team so far looks like the pacesetters and with that success chalked up their third consecutive win, turning back Providence to maintain their perfect record this season.

It moved them two points clear in the standings with 12 points from three matches and with a match in hand but Providence is still in the race with 10 points. So too are the girls of St James Secondary and Bishop’s A team, both on nine points.

St James had a bye in this round which allowed Bishop’s A to gain some ground by way of a 10-5 win over Bishop Centenary College who are now fifth on the table.

The third and final fixture on the day was an in-school derby where Holy Name Convent A shut out Holy Name B by a 10-0 final score line.

Today action returns to the Savannah with a triple-header, starting at 4 pm.

Standings

1 Bishop B 3 3 0 0 21 7 14 12

2 Providence 4 2 2 0 47 12 35 10

3 St James Sec 3 2 1 0 30 10 20 9

4 Bishop A 3 2 1 0 15 5 10 9

5 Centenary 4 1 3 0 37 27 10 7

6 Holy Name A 4 1 3 0 10 25 -15 7

7 Holy Name B 4 0 4 0 5 82 -77 4

Results

Bishop B 7 (A Romany 1 try & 1

conversion) vs Providence 0

Bishop A 10 (I Francis 2 tries) vs

Bishop Centenary 5 (A Cooper 1 try)

Holy Name A 10 (A Noel 2 tries) vs Holy Name B 0

Today’s matches

St James Secondary School v Bishop’s Centenary College

Providence v Holy Name Convent B

Bishop Anstey HighSchool A v Bishop Anstey High School B

Holy Name Convent A - Bye

Carnival lovers give it their all, whether designing a costume, preparing a calypso for the big yard or fine-tuning an arrangement for the Panorama finals. It’s especially so for Akiela Hope, an editorial coordinator and writer at Guardian Media Ltd, whose love for the steelpan shines brighter each Carnival.

One of the front liners in Phase II Pan Groove for the past 14 years, this creative mother of one is also a seasoned actress with a Masters Degree in Mass Communication from the University of Leicester.

She plays the double tenor, an instrument many fear because of the intricate placement of the notes.

Hope, however, has mastered that particular pan with an ease and fluidity in her wrists that most people envy.

The band is gearing up for their performance in the Panorama finals this Carnival Saturday, playing the composition Red, White and Black, sung by Damian Alexander and composed by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.

Hope admits she always had a knack for the steelpan—she has always been able to listen and memorise notes on the spot. She can read music at grade three.

When asked what led her to pan, she recalled her Mucurapo Junior Secondary days where Mrs Jackson, a Senior Comprehensive teacher, was seeking students to play for the school Panorama competition.

“I immediately jumped at it because in those days I was involved in everything from Girl Guides, to football (as a keeper), aerobics and a bit of gymnastics,” Hope said.

“For the first year (1993), Trinity, Woodbrook Secondary and Mucurapo came together to create a band; we practiced in BWIA Invaders yard in Woodbrook at the time.

“The following year when I was in Senior Sec, Mucurapo schools did it on their own and used T&TEC Power Stars yard instead.

“That same year a band member asked if I wanted to play in the adult band and as much as I wanted to say yes, I had to ask my mother first.

“Strangely enough, she agreed without a fuss, so I began my journey playing ‘big people pan’ in Power Stars as a young teen. Many don’t know I actually started off on the bass—and I used to climb and wine on it. (Laughter.) I no longer do that, but I am definitely dancing up!” (More laughter.)

Hope was then introduced to Brian “Bean” Griffith, who taught her how to roll her sticks properly. (“Believe it or not, he still bothers me about it,” Hope quipped, laughing.)

She continued to represent in competitions and her next pan journey would take her to Phase II in 2003, which began when a couple of Power Stars members decided to audition for them after a falling out with the band. They asked Hope to come along.

“I was scared; I didn’t want to go to a big band like that and get dropped—that was a big thing back then. Nevertheless, I agreed and they took me to the captain and told him I came to play. The captain asked, ‘What pan does she play?’ I was so frightened I couldn’t even talk, so they answered and said, ‘Put her on any pan.’

“There was space in the guitar section so I was placed there. Now the strumming and the amount of music I was giving it was strange—I never saw so much music on a guitar pan before, but I made the cut! The song was Music In We Blood, I’ll never forget that.”

Years later, Hope and a band member would journey to South Trinidad with Phase II’s leader Len “Boogsie” Sharpe to do a show with Petrostars, which included Carlton ‘Zanda’ Alexander (now the current arranger for Desperadoes Steelband).

The ever-observant Sharpe, however, noticed the double tenor section was weak.

“We told him we would take over and resurrect the section,” Hope said, smiling. Of course, we had to re-learn the stage-side repertoire on a new pan—which was hard—but we did it by visiting Sharpe during the day. Since then I have been playing double tenor, which I love!”

Hope has had many a musical adventure with Phase II, touring many Caribbean islands and also playing in Germany for the 2006 World Cup. As she puts it, it’s one love in the band. Working with Sharpe has also been quite the experience, she said, as some of his methods are a bit unconventional.

“For example, the way he gives the music…” Hope smiled.

“He calls notes, sometimes ten to 15 notes all at once. He sings the phrasing and only then we are allowed to touch the pan, but that develops your listening and playing skills.

“Another strange thing about him is when he is arranging for one pan, he actually hears the music for all the other pans at the same time, which blows my mind.

“The thing is if you don’t know Sharpe, you just don’t. Like any other person he has his ways, but once you know him, you’ll see he has a really big heart.”

She is also quick to quash the notion that pan is a hustle and the pan players are unemployed and uneducated (and if they are, it’s only in music).

“There are people from all walks of life in every steelband in T&T and for the most part, they are involved in it for the love of it.

“Trust me, it is not easy working a full-time job and practicing pan at night, especially at Carnival time (when you lack sleep), but I don’t mind. I love what I do.

“Being involved in the arts is such a refreshing thing. You get to meet people and learn new things and it’s a great stress reliever.

“I can boast that the panyard is the safest place to be right now so I would encourage anyone to learn to play pan. You will definitely enjoy the experience.”

It is more difficult to defend a title than to win one, and that’s why reigning National Calypso Monarch Devon Seale is exclusively focusing all his attention on retaining the title on Sunday night when the final is contested at Dimanche Gras, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

His sight set on the prize, Seale decided against participating in tonight’s Tuco’s KaisoRama Social and Political Commentary category and Extempore competitions.

Seale, who works with TSTT, has had an extremely busy year’s reign.

He said: “In terms of fulfilling the duties of the national calypso monarch, it has been a very hectic year.

“Apart from the travelling to perform at other Carnivals/ festivals, it also required that I visited schools and workshops to tell my story as a calypsonian and entrepreneur.

“Additionally, during this period I also launched my first compilation—SealeD in Calypso—which is doing quite well.

“In fact, this Carnival I had to order more CDs. Calypso followers appreciate that they can hear some of my renditions as far back as Lio to 2017 renditions.”

Seale was very busy during the year of his reign as he did overseas performances in North America, Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, Costa Rica and Colombia.

He said: “I truly enjoyed the Costa Rica experience, as there are a lot of opportunities in the Central America market and there is a large following of calypso music.”

In Costa Rica, Seale performed at the fourth International Calypso Festival, held in Cahuita.

So, how is a hard-working entrepreneur able to marry his profession with commitments as an artiste?

“This has never been a problem for me,” said Seale, “as I have been juggling profession, performing and studying for a number of years. Prioritising and proper time management is the key.”

I Carmona and Cyar Buy Class are Seale’s two primary calypsoes this Carnival and he earned nightly encores performing them at Kalypso Revue calypso tent.

He said: “The season has been good thus far, receiving positive reviews from patrons nightly at the Kalypso Revue with both renditions.

“In fact they are quite engaged in the decision-making process. Since it is now a one-song competition, patrons and followers are actively giving their advice as to their choice of the better song for the finals.”

Asked if he is one of those artistes who gets ruffled and nervous around competition time, Seale said: “It might be better to direct that question to the calypsonians, but for those who know me well, know I’m the same cool guy Devon Seale.

“In terms of having the material and my ability to deliver well, I feel very confident of retaining my title.

“In fact, any of the two songs chosen has the elements to retain the title.”

Seale said he was ready to take on all comers in Sunday night’s final and thinks it will be a level playing field.

He said: “I always believe that the Dimanche Gras is the Creme de la Creme and therefore the patrons must get their money’s worth.

“I’m into show business and professionalism on the stage, so I’m prepared to step up my game a notch or two and give a Grammy-type performance.

“Since the start of the season, I’ve been preparing for the finals. It should be noted that I made the conscious decision to opt out of the Political and Social Categories competition to solely focus all my energies on my performance and presentation for the finals.

“In terms of biggest challengers, it’s a bit difficult to write off anyone in a one-song competition.

“I’ll prefer to wait and see the 15 selected to challenge me rather than to look at the 40 semi-finalists.

Seale wants supporters of the highly-coveted competition to know that, although he opted out this year, he remains grateful for the recognition and prestige associated with participation in the category competitions.

Seale is asking calypso aficionados and the public to attend and support tonight’s KaisoRama event at Napa. Should he win the title he will be third calypsonian to do National Calypso Monarch repeat victories in the 21st century, a feat achieved only by Chalkdust (2004-’05) and Roderick Chuck Gordon (2014-’15).

Right now I feeling the tension, And it’s too much to mention Of everything you accuse meh, and all the time you abuse meh, but now you cannot refuse meh.

​—Buss Head, Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin, 2017

Even though the soca hit Buss Head is a “bois song”—a tribute to kalinda, the ancient stickfighting tradition—some have said the lyrics above could easily refer to the years of tension between Machel Montano and Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez.

Think back to Carnival 2011—the prize for the international Soca Monarch was increased to $2 million and several big guns, including Machel Montano, re-entered competitive arena. With that came the banter between artistes, and at the International Soca Monarch final on Fantastic Friday, an angry Montano unleashed two vitriolic verses about Alvarez and his wife Fay Ann Lyons during his performance of Advantage.

Fast forward to December 2014, the Sunset Festival at the O2 Park in Chaguaramas.

During Major Lazer’s set at the Festival, Montano and Alvarez were called onstage by DJ Walshy Fire, who asked the crowd: “If you say, it’s about time for Machel and Bunji Garlin to do a song together, make some noise!” The crowd roared with approval.

The next day, Montano took to social media to reach out to Alvarez. He asked, “What’s the next step?? Sounds like the people have spoken.”

The response was: “The people have spoken...but we have not.”

The two were able to finally settle their differences by mid-2016 and they produced Buss Head.

When they sang the song on January 29 at the Soaka fete in Chaguaramas, soca lovers everywhere rejoiced. Some said it was a historic soca moment, while others were just glad to see the soca “conflict” end.

But why should people care?

According to university lecturer and music sociologist Meagan Sylvester, we should care, because “it signals and signifies that soca artistes can all be on the same page...In fact, we as a people should be pleased to see this sort of homecoming of two soca greats, because they both have the reach of different international diasporas, teaching them about soca. With unity, the two can bridge gaps.”

She said their example could point the way to wider ideas of unity.

Radio DJ Kamau “Kaotic” Harriott said: “They are perfect examples of maturity and unity, which is vital in the industry for the art form to grow. It also shows everyone that no matter what the issues may be, they can be resolved.”

Garlin, in a recent CNC3 interview, explained that he and Montano have always had a level of civility towards each other.

“It just wasn’t full-on communication,” said Garlin. “All that was needed was to break those walls and bring everything closer together.”

So is this a renewed friendship between the duo?

That’s not clear; but when a TV personality recently commented on Garlin’s photograph of himself in a bandana “hiding his face” and likened it to a bandit, Montano, in apparent solidarity with Bunji, took to social media posting pictures of himself also wearing a bandana.

The reception to Buss Head has been extremely positive. Many older soca fans love that it pays tribute to stickfighting, which in recent years has become more visible and accessible. The younger fans simply love it because it will “sound good on the road”.

At Machel Monday, when Montano announced Bunji Garlin, the crowd roared its appreciation. The two soca stars shared the stage as if they’d been doing it forever and the chemistry between the two was plain for all to see.

But there’s no definite plan for future collaborations. As Alvarez says, “The future will tell itself.”

This is one of those books which seems to have started as an academic paper and which a publisher thought could make a profit if its thesis was extended to book form in a layperson format.

This works more often than you might think, since writing for laypersons forces academics to clarify their arguments.

Eli Berman, an economist, either does a good job of writing conversationally or had an excellent editor who converted his prose.

At the same time, his argument is so succinct that the book is necessarily padded, mostly by a history of terrorism which, while interesting in itself, is not absolutely germane to the issue.

The problem Berman explains is simply this: how do terrorist organisations prevent betrayal?

This is crucial to their effectiveness, and he argues that the Taliban were only able to take over Afghanistan, when superpowers America and the Soviet Union failed to do so, because of Taliban members’ loyalty.

What is counter-intuitive is that Berman does not attribute this loyalty to religious faith.

“Regardless of denomination or faith,” Berman writes, “radical religious groups typically share a common organisational design, which makes them magnificent providers of social services through mutual aid.”

This organisational structure starts with requiring members to make great sacrifices before being allowed to join, which helps seal their loyalty, partly because of the psychology of sacrifice and partly because the sacrifice itself— giving up all one’s property, for example—cuts the member off from returning to the wider society.

Berman rejects religious belief as the basis for commitment, citing secular (ie Marxist) groups which have achieved similar results, including persuading members to commit suicide for the cause with no belief in an afterlife, let alone 27 virgins.

This is, in fact, the main weakness of the book.

Apart from the fact that Marxism has all the attributes of a religion except a supernatural belief in an afterlife, Berman, either because of political correctness or genuine ignorance, glosses over the specific traits which have made Islam the main source of terrorists in the 21st century. For example, he writes: “One of Mohammed’s first goals was to emancipate women”—a risible claim when all gender surveys show that women in the Middle East have the least freedoms in any region.

Berman’s other core question is: “Why are religious radicals, who often start out appearing benign and charitable and generally avoid conflict, so effective at violence when they choose to engage in it?”

He notes that many terrorist groups actually started as charitable organisations, providing much needed social services in their countries.

It is this which allowed these groups to get loyal recruits, Berman argues. “Social services are not only a source of recruits,” Berman writes, “they also provide leverage over veteran members.”

He concludes: “I think it must be that these individuals are altruists—at least in respect to their own communities...the attackers truly believe that their courageous act will bring great benefit to some cause, and that their neighbours, community or country will benefit.”

Although his thesis is limited, several of Berman’s arguments can be adapted to deal not only with radicalisation in Trinidad, but the issue of gang violence as well.

​

​Review by

KEVIN BALDEOSINGH

​Radical, Religious,

and Violent by Eli Berman.

The MIT Press, 2011

ASIN:B002XQ2944;

315 pages.

A new video series called “What Yuh Know” has been circulating on Facebook. The host asks people five questions which test their general knowledge and ability to spell. The goal of the video seems to be humour as it specially selects those who answer incorrectly and subjects them to ridicule through short video clips or memes inserted after their responses.

While What Yuh Know is not focussed solely on literacy, comments on the videos highlight the poor spelling and ridicule the interviewees. People have shared the video with no thought about how this affects those who have difficulty with reading and writing.

The Adult Literacy Tutors Association provides free reading and writing classes to adults (16+) and one of the videos produced by What Yuh Know featured an Alta Level One student who was asked to spell a word. He was unable to spell it correctly and he was shamed. Since then he has not returned to his Altaclass or his workplace. We are trying to contact him to encourage him to return to Alta.

The main reason people hesitate to come to Alta is the stigma associated with not being able to read and write. Our students struggle with shame and fear before attending Alta and it takes great courage to sign up for and attend the classes. Being shamed publicly has the potential to cause this student to never return to an Alta class and to dissuade potential students from coming to Alta. Shaming poor spellers increases stigma and encourages people to struggle silently rather than seek help.

The production and sharing of the video goes further to reinforce antiquated thinking about literacy. It enables the false idea that literacy and intelligence are one and the same. This thinking is evident in our use of the term “illiterate” for someone who isn’t smart rather than someone who is unable to read.

Over the past 25 years Alta has been battling to change these perceptions to bring an understanding that reading and spelling are skills, and like other skills such as sports and music, some people have an aptitude for them and others don’t. Research shows that about 30 per cent of any population will have difficulty with reading and writing.

Research also shows that the ability to read, write and spell does not equate to the ability to think. Indeed there are thousands of people in Trinidad who struggle with spelling, reading and writing, but excel in many other areas from science and mathematics to fashion and design.

Some brains come wired for reading, spelling and writing. For some people these skills are easy while for others these are the most difficult skills they will ever have to learn. What’s important is understanding that this does not say anything about the person’s intelligence. Our effort and energy should be put into encouraging, educating and empowering people rather than into shaming them into silence.

MORE INFO

Volunteer, donate or sponsor-a-student. Call 624-2582 or email altapos.tt@gmail.com for more info. Keep up to date with Alta on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: Alta TT

Members of bpTT Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra (RYSO) made history last Sunday (February 19) when they won the Junior Panorama Final contest in the Elite category with a rendition of Calypso Rose’s Leave Me Alone. The win gave them the only beaver trick registered in the National Panorama Competition file, and their tenth win.

The Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra was formed in July 1999 but officially launched on May 10, 2000. British Petroleum TT at once sponsored it.

The youth band got its first taste of international stardom just a few months later, when the French management and touring agent Run Productions requested a youth steel orchestra to participate in its programme Children of Today, Musicians of Tomorrow. A springboard of sorts, that 28-concert tour helped the brand new TT youth band build momentum.

Most band members came from troubled communities, yet despite various challenges, they have excelled in learning and performing pan, and today have established a notable standard to follow.

Remembering the youth band’s earlier years, RYSO’s current manager, Edmund Willis, said that at the time of the French tour invitation, the senior Renegades band had been preparing to go on tour and offered its own services, but was promptly refused and advised of the need for a youth band.

The proposal grasped the attention of then chairman of Renegades, the late Steve Grant, who quickly formed the youth band, honing them for their first international tour under arranger, the late Dr Jit Samaroo.

With a player-registry of 30, and a main feeder line to the parent band, the youth band emerged in a timely manner, becoming a key duct to steer a vast majority of teens and pre-teens on a sustainable, productive path.

Continuously progressing, RYSO—led by 16-year-old Emmanuel Joseph and 18-year-old Stechelle Peters—is currently steered by the management team of their Pan Institute, and are part of a crime prevention music programme initiated by the Ministry of National Security in 2011 that recruits youth between ages of eight and 21.

Chaired by Keol Newton, managed by Edmund Willis, with music director Andrew Charles, the team functions with a cadre of positive youths such as Lystra Mulzac, Shontelle Rullow, Gregory Thomas and Miguel Lopez.

While players remain mindful of their academic progress, high priority is always placed on the national junior Panorama competition.

The youth steelband has proven to be a musical force to be reckoned with.

Winning accolades are attributed to Amrit Samaroo —arranger, 2002-04; Shelton Besson arranger, 2008-11; and current arranger, Andrew Charles, 2014-17.

Breaking its parent band’s record of nine wins, RYSO is hoping that the Renegades Steel Orchestra, the only large band with a Panorama first-place hat-trick, can match strides on February 25 during the National Panorama Finals and secure a tenth win, also, creating a scenario unmatched by any other junior and parent steel orchestra worldwide.

If one includes all Renegades junior and senior steel orchestra wins, the Renegades Steel Orchestras have obtained 19 wins between their first in 1982 and their most recent in 2017, over a 36-year period.

The Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra certainly lives up to its motto: “Children of Today, Musicians of Tomorrow.”

Willis, on behalf of bpTT Renegades, said he was very grateful to sponsor bpTT. He also thanked all the tuners, parents, Panorama performers, and other contributors to the band’s success. He congratulated the other winners of the Junior Panorama Finals and extended his best wishes to all the finalists in the upcoming National Panorama Finals. (PRB)

As someone who has consistently used this space to advocate that locals invest their surplus funds in companies that are listed on the local stock exchange, I have owned shares in National Enterprises Ltd (NEL) on at least three occasions.

Although I am not now a shareholder of NEL, it is one of the stocks on the local market that is always watched very carefully for the appropriate entry point. That is because I am on record as describing the state-controlled investment holding company as one of the single best interventions that any government has made in ensuring that middle-income households in this country are able to build long-term wealth.

For those readers who may not know much about NEL, it was established in 1999 as the vehicle to hold the state’s shares in some of the companies in which it had investments, in a way that allowed local individuals and institutions to share the risk of owning these companies.

Some 66 per cent of NEL is owned by Corporation Sole, the entity through which the State vests its shares in state controlled companies, 17 per cent of the investment holding company is owned by the National Gas Company (NGC) and 17 per cent is owned by T&T individuals and institutions. To make it simple, NEL has just over 600 million shares in issue. The State owns about 400 million (exactly 396,324,698), NGC owns about 100 million and T&T’s individuals and institutions own about 100 million shares. The State’s stake in NEL was worth $4.28 billion at the close of trading on Wednesday.

NEL was listed in 2001, at which time it owned the State’s 51 per cent stake in TSTT, its 51 per cent stake in National Flour Mills, and the same percentage in the Point Lisas-based ammonia company Tringen.

At the end of 2001, NEL acquired a 20 per cent stake in NGC NGL, which owned 51 per cent of Phoenix Park Gas Processors. In 2003, it acquired 37.84 per cent of the shares in NGC LNG, which owned a ten per cent stake in Atlantic LNG’s Train 1. NEL paid NGC for the shares in both Phoenix Park and Atlantic, by issuing 100 million stocks to the state-owned the investment holding company.

In other words, the ministers of finance at the time, acting as the Corporation Sole, directed NGC to transfer some of its shares in Phoenix Park and Atlantic LNG to NEL so that local individuals and institutions could benefit from the dividends NEL has paid in the last 16 years as well as the tax-free capital gains from the increase in the share price.

In that sense, NEL has always been a tool of State policy, which at the time was to ensure the widest possible participation of as many T&T nationals as possible.

That State policy has allowed the 5,000 individuals, pension plans, credit unions and trade unions who own NEL shares to benefit from the dividend income generated by the company since inception, which is closing in on $1.5 billion. That’s because the company has a mandate to distribute at least 90 per cent of the profits it receives from its various shareholdings as dividends to its shareholders.

NEL was also a tool of State policy when, together with the National Insurance Board and the Unit Trust Corporation, it acquired a ten per cent shareholding in Phoenix Park Gas Processors from a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corporation in 2014 for US$168 million.

As well, NEL was a tool of State policy when it acquired a 10 per cent stake in PowerGen from a subsidiary of BP.

Sell TSTT, NFM

If NEL can be a tool of State policy for the acquisition of shares, is there any reason why the company should not be similarly utilised in terms of the divestment of shares and the conversion of the investment holding company into an entity that pays US dollar dividends?

NEL has significant investments in five companies: Tringen, LNG and Phoenix Park (which generate US dollars) and TSTT and NFM, which generate TT dollars.

In order to convert NEL into a company that receives only US-dollar income, and therefore is in a position to make US dollar dividend payments to its shareholders, the following could be considered:

If the Government were to sell NEL’s 51 per cent stake in the two companies that generate TT dollars, TSTT and NFM, that could allow the Government to convert NEL into an entity that generates US dollars from the sale of ammonia (from Tringen), LNG (from Atlantic) and propane, butane and natural gasoline (from Phoenix Gas).

In addition, the sale of TSTT and NFM would provide NEL with a lumpsum of about US$500 million that would allow the company to do two things:

• Make regular and predictable US-dollar dividend payments.

The reaction of the local stock market to the announcement by TTNGL chairman, Gerry Brooks, that that company was considering making US-dollar dividend payments was quite noticeable.

Since TTNGL is one of NEL’s investee companies, I don’t think it would be asking too much for the dividends that NEL receives from TTNGL, Tringen and TTLNG to be paid to NEL’s investors in US dollars, and

• Reinvest its US dollars in new US-dollar investments. Immediate candidates for new investment by NEL would be some more LNG shares, TGU and MHIL. A longer term candidate could be the Mitsubishi DME plant in La Brea.

Can NEL acquire Clico?

I wonder if it may be possible for NEL to make a bid for all of Clico by leveraging its balance sheet and cash flows—and perhaps doing a rights issue—to buy the insurance company’s assets.

That would provide NEL with a whole new range of investments, including significant shares in Angostura, Republic Bank, Methanol Holdings (International) Ltd, WITCO and One Caribbean Media. Those investments can either be held for the long-term or sold for US dollars.

Alternatively, NEL can set up a separate, listed holding company that could acquire the Clico assets. NEL 2 could be owned by NEL, NIB and UTC as well as local individual and institutional investors.

Changing NEL

In my view, all the companies on the local stock exchange should be encouraged to pay dividends quarterly instead of twice a year.

That would especially benefit a company like NEL, whose shareholders could come to view the stock almost like an annuity, in that they make an investment in the company and they get back regular and predictable dividends on their investment.

While there would be an increased cost in processing these additional dividend payments, I believe that quarterly payments could make NEL more attractive and appealing to a whole new group of investors, both individual and institutional.

I see NEL as being a means of mobilising local investment in a way that ensures that T&T institutions and individuals benefit from the inevitable upswing in both the price and production of NEL’s investee companies.

Eight-year-old Darius Luke who was knocked down by a panel van on his way home from school on Thursday, remains warded in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Luke, a student of St Pauls Anglican School suffered injuries to his head after being struck while attempting to cross Lady Hailes Avenue. Although the San Fernando General Hospital was less than a quarter mile away, Luke remained lying in the centre of the road for more than half hour before an ambulance finally arrived.

As his mother Shereece Canterbury stood helplessly at his side, angry neighbours called on the Government to install speed humps or a walkway.

Aunt Avril Luke said she was at home when she heard a loud bang around 3.45 pm. She said Luke was accustomed to walking home by himself.

"When I heard the bang, I ran outside and I saw him lying on the ground bleeding. His head was swollen and behind his neck was bruised and swollen," Luke said.

She added that Darius remained conscious and it was more than half an hour later that the first ambulance arrived. Moments later, two more ambulances came, she added.

Saying they were angry because this was not the first time a child was knocked down there, Avril said: "My neighbour Akini Allee was killed right by this traffic light and nothing ever came out of it."

Expressing gratitude that her nephew was still alive, Avril said she wanted the authorities to do something to protect the children.

Meanwhile, eyewitness Margaret Walcott denied the traffic light was on red when Darius was hit by the panel van. She said she spotted Darius walking as if in a daze and became concerned.

"My son was knocked down twice years ago and when I saw Darius I pulled aside with the intention of helping him cross but he ran across the street before I could get to him when the light was on green," Walcott said.

However, she agreed that speed humps should be installed near the lights, adding that many motorists break the lights.

The driver of the panel van, who waited with the boy until the ambulance came, went to the San Fernando Police Station and gave a statement. San Fernando police are continuing investigations.

The draw for Sunday's Calypso Monarch finals has been postponed to tomorrow.

Calypsonians gathered at the University of T&T (UTT) campus at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (Napa) at noon for the draw to determine their order of performance at the Dimanche Gras show, only to be informed by representatives from the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) that they had to return tommorrow.

In an interview, TUCO public relations officer Steve "Ras Kommanda" Pascal said the organisation wanted to wait until their legal issues  were resolved.

The issues involve two calypsonians excluded from the finals, Loretta Fya Empress Nedd-Reid and Brian London. 

  Both calypsonians are seeking to convince TUCO that they have the right to perform at the finals. 

Nedd-Reid was disqualified due to her nationality and replaced by Lynette “Lady Gypsy” Steele.

The Spot Speed Camera Enforcement System has not been officially launched in Trinidad and Tobago. 

In a press release today, the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) sought to correct what it described as inaccurate information being circulated in the public domain, regarding the presence and operation of spot speed, fixed cameras and speed traps at various locations across the country.

The release said the ministry is pursuing the required steps toward the eventual passage of legislation that will give effect to Spot Speed Camera Enforcement in Trinidad and Tobago.

"In light of the above, the Ministry would like to clearly state that at present there are NO “fixed camera” and speed traps” in the following areas:"

The release said the ministry was concerned with the rising trend of inaccurate information circulating in the public domain and urged the public to visit the ministry’s website and social media pages to verify information.

"Once the required legislation is enacted, the Ministry of Works and Transport will apprise the public and its stakeholders of the new road safety measures."

The ministry said once a new system or project is implemented, the relevant information will be communicated.

With Government set to conduct a forensic audit into Pan Trinbago immediately after this year’s Carnival, officials have warned that it is a possibility the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (Tuco) could also suffer the same fate.

According to Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, “We are still looking at the options we have.”

Gadsby-Dolly made the statement following a press conference on Tuesday at the National Carnival Commission’s (NCC) Hospitality Suite, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

Pressed to say more about the directive from Government for NCC to “step in” and collect ticketing revenue from the gates at Panorama and Calypso Fiesta respectively, Gadsby-Dolly confirmed the directive was handed down by her.

Panorama is Pan Trinbago’s largest money earner, while Calypso Fiesta is Tuco’s biggest revenue drawer.

She said, “The recommendation was made by myself to the board of the NCC to consider with respect to how we deal with carnival going forward.”

Admitting, “There are some issues raised by government over carnival and the revenues for carnival that are unclear at this point. They have been very vague and they have been linked to different decisions that may have conflicting intent and so, this year, we are looking at doing that to ascertain exactly what the take is and to look more closely at what is done with the actual hard revenue of these government funded shows.”

The minister said this move was because they only wanted to develop the national carnival agenda going forward.

She promised, “We would look at the developmental agenda of the special interest groups to determine exactly what we are contributing towards those agendas and we are looking at making it a little more structured, with respect to what exactly they plan to do to develop their particular area of interest and how the government then makes a contribution to that.”

Confirming the forensic audit into the operations of Pan Trinbago in the weeks following carnival, Gadsby-Dolly said it remained a possibility that government may decide to go that same way regarding Tuco’s operations.

NCC chairman, Kenny De Silva, said it was unfortunate the matter with Pan Trinbago had ended up before the court.

Stressing that the NCC had been directed to, “Handle all ticket and revenue aspects of all the components of carnival,” De Silva said they were in charge of the mas component while Pan Trinbago and Tuco would remain in charge of managing their respective shows.

He further explained, “There are three mas groups and there is a fracture. We don’t have the data to say which group has the greater representation in terms of mas so until there is an audit to some extent, with those components to determine who should represent mas, the NCC will hold on to the mantle for the time being.”

Informed that officials from Pan Trinbago and Tuco felt slighted by the government directive, De Silva commented, “Yes, it is justifiable for them to feel slighted but remember, certain levels of debt have been put in the public domain.”

He agreed that transparency and accountability were very “important,” and that, “Everybody is culpable because we didn’t follow the process to some extent.”

De Silva added, “I am not blaming anybody, but it is all going to work out.”

Shiraz Mohammed, one of three men charged with kidnapping, raping, buggering and robbing a 26-year-old woman, has been granted $200,000 bail.

Mohammed, 23, was remanded into custody when he along with his cousin Saddiq Mohammed, 24, both of Woodland and construction labourer Brandon Basdeo, 23, appeared in court jointly charged with the four offences last Friday.

   Mohammed’s cousin Saddiq who cursed and spat at the media while he was being taken to the San Fernando Magistrates Court by police officers was denied bail because he had previous criminal matters in court. Basdeo was granted $175,000 as he had no previous convictions or pending matters. Mohammed was remanded in custody for his criminal record to be verified.

When Mohammed reappeared in court on Wednesday, Senior Magistrate Nannette Forde-John granted him bail despite an objection from prosecutor Cleyon Seedan. 

Seedan said Mohammed had pending matters, including a robbery charge.

The charges stemmed from an incident on February 11. The victim was awaiting transportation at Skinner Park, San Fernando when she entered a white Nissan B-15 with three male occupants at Skinner Park, San Fernando and asked to be taken to Lord Street. She was taken against her will to Hermitage Branch Road, San Fernando where she was raped, sodomised and violently robbed of a US $300 Samsung phone and a $300 Nokia phone.

Mohammed, through his attorney, Jason Jackson, complained that he was beaten in prison. 

He was ordered to report to the San Fernando Police Station three times a week.  

All three accused are expected to return to court on March 17.

Champion boisman Selwyn John copped the King of the Rock title in an exciting stick-fighting finals taking home a $20,000 first prize.

As the chantuelle sang, “Mama when ah dead bury me,” blood oozed from the head of John as he crossed bois with Omawale Daniel on Wednesday night. 

Despite being knocked out in the very first round of the National Stick Fighting finals, where he suffered a deep gash to his forehead, the 28-year-old fighter from the Rio Claro Gayelle showed mammoth determination in battering Daniel to capture this year’s King of the Rock title. 

John won the competition in 2014 and 2015.

Like gladiators battling in the coliseum of Skinner Park, San Fernando, the massive audience revelled in the beating of the African drums that evoked a spirit that had them yearning for blood that signalled the stickfighters demise.

Daniel, of the Charuma Gayelle, eased his way into the finals when he walloped a dazed Jeremy Lawrence. 

But when it came to the final bout of the night, both men threw violent blows that threatened to break bois made from the toughest of poui branches. It was the technique of close quarters combat that saw John claiming victory.

After the five and half minute bout expired, Daniel was left grimacing from a swollen hand and called on medics to apply numbing spray. 

As John pumped his fist in the air, his Rio Claro Gayelle posse erupted into boisterous celebrations.

“I know I’m a Spartan warrior,” John told reporters after his victory.

 “Once my two hands are good, they would have to be aware of me...Two of my partners got touched tonight in the gayelle against gayelle but with my instinct, I knew they had to be aware of me in the King of Rock and you all saw it for yourselves tonight.” 

Despite an increase in prize money, John said given the seriousness and the risks involved in the indigenous artform, it should be more.

John also won two Caribbean Airline tickets.

John recovered from an earlier clobbering in under two minutes by St Mary’s Gayelle’s Roger Sambury in the first bout of the Kings of the Gayelle competition.

Sambury, who himself inflicted one of four severe “buss heads” on the night, was left nursing nasty slashes to the head in the final bout.Despite blood streaming down his neck, he was adjudged winner after Valiant Brothers’ champion boisman O’Neil Odel was disqualified for striking a floored opponent. It took 11 seconds and a brawny strike across the head that had Sambury sprawling to the ground and losing his bois in the process. However, Odel struck Sambury a second time. 

It would not be stick fighting without bacchanal and confusion as Odel vented his disapproval to an administrator, quoting Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin’s stick fighting tribute, Buss Head, “Yuh stink and dutty.” Sambury, who debuted in this year’s competition, said he believed the ringmasters were right to disqualify Odel. He said he had slipped because of water in the ring.

“How I fell on the ground with no stick in my hand, if it were me and my opponent fell, I would have never hit him. I would have left him to get up and come again. I want good stick fighting, not to have the advantage on the ground,” Sambury said.

 Police also had to eject a patron who “cuss out” a teenage girl in the stands. The competition was brought to a halt when the girl walked into the outer ring crying, telling the ringmaster that she was afraid of the man. While this year’s stick fighting finals had one of the largest crowds in recent years, better crowd control was needed from the Regional Carnival Committee (RCC) as the outer ring was packed with spectators who blocked the view of those seated and the cameras. Fire officials complained several times that the emergency exits from the rings needed to be cleared.

RCC chairman Lennox Toussaint said the turnout was a result of work done to promote the tradition over the years. He said a lot of young people were getting interested in stick fighting, guaranteeing its survival.

 “Unfortunately, a lot of people push for the buss head, but stick fighting is so much more than the buss head. If you listen to some of the stick fighting chants, they are simply beautiful,” Toussaint said.

 He said the soca, Buss Head, would have also added interest in stick fighting.

After congratulating John, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said the stick fighting tradition was strong in the Rio Claro community.

Rambharat said he would love to see the finals being hosted there in 2018. However, he said more safety measures need to be implemented to make it more attractive to young people. He said the prize money was increased this year because there was a realisation of how difficult stick fighting was and the skill and dedication needed to be a boisman. 

The St Mary’s Gayelle took away $35,000 while runners up Valiant Brothers and the Rio Claro Gayelle won $20,000 and $15,000 respectively.

A warning is being sent out to campers heading out to beaches for the long Carnival weekend there is a serious shortage of lifeguards and they need to practise safe sea bathing.

The warning is coming from health and safety officer of the lifeguard branch of the National Union of Government & Federated Workers, Augustus Sylvester.

Sylvester said there were around 100 lifeguards employed with the Ministry of National Security. They were moved from under the Ministry of Tourism more than a year ago.

He said many more lifeguards are needed to mann beaches around this “peak” period, when hundreds head out to the beaches to get away from Carnival.

Sylvester said there were some 50 job applications from lifeguards at the ministry which were not being processed.

He said the ministry’s way of dealing with the shortage was to bring out the full complement of lifeguards, even those on their off days.

He said some were reluctant to come out because the incentives were not good enough.

Sylvester said lifeguards had not been successful in in their attempts to meet with the ministry and express their concerns.

Not quite true, says ministry

However, Marcia Hope, communications head at the National Security Ministry, said that was not “quite true”.

She said lifeguards normally met quarterly with the permanent secretary to discuss the operation of the unit and the last meeting was last Friday.

She said there were union representatives in the meeting.

Hope said lifeguards did not complain about a shortage but said it was a problem the ministry “inherited” from the Ministry of Tourism.

Hope said the job applications were being looked at but added: “you don’t need to hire a thousand lifeguards since people do not go to the beach every day”.

Noting the economic downturn, she said the ministry had to utilise existing manpower resources.

Hope confirmed that for peak periods like Carnival and Easter the ministry called out lifeguards from their off days and said they werere remunerated for that.

She assured there would be a 25 per cent increase in lifeguards on beaches the unit is assigned to for the Carnival period.

The T&T Guardian contacted the Tourism Development Company to ask about washroom facilities at the beaches for campers but an official who asked not to be quoted only said: “Camping is not allowed on the beaches.”