It’s the stuff only geniuses are made of and Fareid Carvalho encompasses exactly that.

He’s the embodiment of pure brilliance, executing his craft in the theatre world with simply amazing talent.

Carvalho, owner and managing director of Carvalho Productions, along with his dynamic production team announced the launch of Carvalho Theatre with the gala opening of his hit play, The Right Kind of Wrong.

“Absolutely brilliant. Simply entertaining. A fabulous piece with also sound values,” were just some of the comments from members of the audience.

The Right Kind of Wrong is first theatrical production directed by Carvalho and Arnold Goindhan, both stalwarts in the theatre industry.

The play distinctly signals the Next Evolution of Theatre, perhaps a first not only for T&T but for the Caribbean.

After dominating children’s theatre for the past 17 years with creative, artistic, groundbreaking, nationally recognised, socially relevant and educational productions, the Carvalho brand is now expanding to include theatre geared towards mature audiences.

Indeed, Carvalho’s excellence and panache has earned him the moniker the King of Theatre.

Held last Thursday at the Central Bank Auditorium the gala truly was an event of glitz, glamour and of course couture, including its red carpet leading from the pavement into the auditorium’s foyer.

A-Listers from the business, entertainment and corporate sectors were among many others attended.

The black tie event drew a crowd of about 400, all decked off in their finest attire. They mingled, chatted and openly congratulated Carvalho for his vision in bringing a breath of fresh air and uniqueness to the theatre industry.

The set reflected a high degree of professionalism, drawing the audience into the script.

The auditorium was packed to capacity and from beginning to end the The Right Kind of Wrong had the audience riveted to their seats, leaving them wanting for more.

The farce (a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterisation and ludicrously improbable situations) comprised vibrant and energetic cast members including multiple Cacique award-winner Cecilia Salazar, Dese Simon and Rebecca Elias to name a few.

The Right Kind of Wrong is based on a Rico Suave character, a handsome pilot played by Simon, who’s dating three flight attendants from three different airlines all at the same time but each having no knowledge of the other.

There’s also an obnoxious housekeeper who knows of his charades.

Then there is also Robert from Biche, clumsy and nerdy, who comes to Trincity for the first time, and gets enthralled in this comical but precarious situation.

The comedic timing of each scene is impeccable, and acting skills are undeniable.

The production literally had the audience aghast for breath for as soon as one girl goes in another comes out...all in rapid movements.

“I am very excited to be returning to the Central Bank Auditorium to deliver to you a comical and intimate theatre experience.

“This play provides such an understanding for all; there’s something very simple, relatable and pure about it.

“To this end, I wish to thank my mom, Elizabeth Carvalho, who has been my absolute tower of strength, moral values and dedication to my upbringing, I’d always be grateful for,” Carvalho noted.

Carvalho Theatre promises to ignite public conversations inspired by comical and fabulous characters and with plays guaranteed to be electric which will all help society explore who we are, where we came from and where we are going as a nation.

“To all my patrons, thank you for joining Team Carvalho on this journey into the next evolution of theatre,” Carvalho said.

But Carvalho is also using adult theatre to develop young upcoming actors by offering job opportunities and create platforms for rising starts to network and engage seasoned members of the theatre fraternity.

In celebration of Alta’s 25th anniversary, Alta tutors around the country were asked to write about the impact the organisation has had on their lives. Since 1992, Alta has provided classes around the country for thousands of Trinidadians who struggle with reading and writing. Every year Alta trains almost 100 new tutors who provide literacy instructions to students at venues around Trinidad. In order to become a certified adult literacy tutor, trainees must teach at Alta venues for one academic year. While some leave after the mandatory year, most stay on with Alta, teaching different levels at various venues and even going on to co-ordinate and volunteer in other capacities.

This week, Alta tutor Christine Parris-Debique, who has been teaching for the past two years at the Harvard Club venue, shares how Alta has changed her life.

“Being a tutor at Alta is something I had been interested in for several years. However, because of the constraints of work commitments, I was unable to attend the necessary tutor training. At last I reached retirement age and being still of sound mind and body I attended the tutor training in Arima, although I had originally signed to train in Belmont. Alta administration asked if I would kindly consent to do training during the week instead of Saturdays since they preferred to use those for the working applicants.

“Even going to Arima was an experience as I have been a ‘North and West girl’ for all of my life. The old saying that town people do not know any place east of the lighthouse is slightly true.”

Parris-Debique continues: “Training was intense and I must say that it reminded me of a ballroom dancing class I once enrolled in—you think you can dance (until) you reach the dance class. Similarly, you only appreciate your knowledge of English after attending training. Having been weaned in ‘A for apple, B for bay’ and Nelson West Indian Readers, learning about phonics took a bit of getting used to and was certainly an eye-opener.

“The tutors were very experienced and having the founder of Alta and her immediate assistants also being part of the training exercises showed the level of commitment to the association. I elected to teach at the Harvard Club and I’ve been fortunate to work under the guidance of one of the longest serving tutors, Janet Joseph and her second in command Claire Mitchell. The students are an interesting mix and I have been impressed with the significant number of men who attend classes.”

Said Parris-Debique: “Being a tutor at Alta has also opened my eyes to the fact that there are so many people around you every day who need assistance with their reading and writing skills. The course content is also very impressive as the founder ensured that the lessons are topical and relative to the students’ lives.

“Teaching this course has given me patience, increased my ability to be encouraging and to become a better listener. At Harvard, all the tutors are part of a team and work well together all the time ensuring that the exercises are completed within the two hour time frame. I enjoy being part of the Harvard Alta team.”

Volunteer, Donate or Sponsor-a-student. Call 621-5708 or email altapos.tt@gmail.com for more info. Keep up to date with ALTA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: ALTA

Dancehall/ soca artiste Jahremiah Love hopes to make an impact on the local and international music scene as the only Indo-Trinidadian dancehall artiste.

Born Jeremy Curtis Mahapat, the 27 year old said his stage name Jahremiah came about when he fused his spiritual beliefs and his love of “Jahovah” with the name Jerimiah.

Love said his musical style was heavily influenced by the ghetto community of Suzanna Trace, Montserrat, South Trinidad, where he grew up and still resides. He said: “I grew up listening to reggae music as it was played a lot by neighbours and relatives and I became very fond of it.”

Love said soca and dancehall allow him to be creative and do original work unlike other local genres as chutney soca that relies heavily on sampling Bollywood tracks for rhythms.

Love revealed that he began getting involved in music at the age of 14, a formative period in his life that allowed him to fine-tune his work, to bring it to what he hopes is “an international standard.”

Using social media to publicise his work, Love said he has received tremendous feedback from members of the public. He added that while his work is distributed freely online, he hopes this marketing strategy would allow him opportunities to perform at shows where he can earn income to further expand his work.

Love acknowledges that there are challenges to becoming successful in genres dominated by artistes of African ancestry. Saying that this only encourages him to work harder, Love said: “As an Indo-Trinidadian a lot of people would not accept me as a dancehall and soca artiste, but that doesn’t stop me; that gives me more motivation to make it. Thefollowing that I have been having around the world and in T&T is remarkable.”

Love has released four tracks, including soca items From the Dust and Get on Bad; and, My Life and Taking Wuk, two dancehall compositions.

They can all be viewed on YouTube.

Love said he plans on reentering the International Soca Monarch competition in 2019, having competed in 2017 with the single From the Dust. Love said he did not make it into the quarter-finals but was happy to participate.

Love ended by saying that he plans on doing collaborations with “big artistes” in the near future.

Come Saturday, lovers of fine food and drink will head to St Mary’s College, uptown Port-of-Spain (entrance on Pembroke Street) for the annual food fest that has been staged for the past 19 years by the St Mary’s College Past Students Union.

This event, labelled Dining With The Saints, is the most popular of its type in T&T and features approximately 100 chefs, most of them past students of the college who come out to help raise funds for development projects at their alma mater.

In recent years, the Past Student’s Union has financed some major projects at the school, including the refurbishment and air-conditioning of the 155 years old Centenary Hall, establishment of a Foreign Language lab and the installation of a transformer to augment the supply of electricity to the school.

Within the next few days, a project to refurbish the aging Chemistry lab at the College will commence, using funds raised by the Past Students’ Union from previous fund-raising events, in particular, the All-Inclusive Fete With The Saints held each year during the Carnival season.

Apart from the regular chefs, some of whom sit on either side of our Parliament Chamber, some new faces will be in the line-up this year. Central Bank Governor, Dr Alvin Hilaire is expected to show a number of experienced chefs from Republic Bank (Nigel Baptiste, Derwin Howell et al) that he is the boss in more ways than one, although he is new to the event. Other debutants are Robin Cumberbatch, Hayden and Brent Sankar and Sanjeev Lalla. A guest appearance is being made by Joe Brown, the head chef at Jaffa Restaurant who is keeping the name of his dish under cover until Saturday.

The fare served up by these chefs includes sea-food, beef, pork, lamb, goat, duck and chicken, all done in a variety of styles that are sure to appeal to the palates of all.

Main sponsors of the event, among them, Grace Foods, Unilever, Hadco, Massy Stores, TGU, Prestige Holdings, Brydens, Carib, Blue Waters, Angostura, Rent-a-Amp and AMCO, will make their presence felt, with some of their products being on display or even available for sampling.

As usual, Dining With The Saints provides a complimentary premium bar, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, for the duration of the event. There will also be a wide variety of exquisite desserts, something for which this event is famous.

Top drawer entertainment will be provided by Raymond Ramnarine, of Dil-e-Nadan, National Panorama powerhouse, Hadco Phase II Steel Orchestra and ‘Resonate’, a recently-formed entity comprising crackshot pan players Johann Chuckaree and Dane Gulston, and joint 2018 Chutney Soca Monarch Neval Chatelal.

Secured parking and a shuttle service are available free of charge, at COPOS carpark on Pembroke Street between Duke and Park Streets; Scotiabank, corner Park and Pembroke Streets; Atlantic LNG carpark on Upper Pembroke Street; TSTT carpark corner New and St Vincent Streets; and, JD Sellier carpark on Upper Abercromby Street.

Tickets cost $375 per person and are available from the Past Students office, telephone 624-8468, and all members of the Management Committee.

By this weekend the T&T rugby team will know if it will travel to the Cayman Islands for its third match of the Rugby American North Men’s 15s Championship.

The team’s travel has been in jeopardy due to the T&T Rugby Football Union’s failure to secure funding from the Government through the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. But yesterday Colin Peters, the TTRFU president said his union had a meeting with Minister of Sports Shamfa Cudjoe and Director of Sports at the ministry’s St Clair office, on Wednesday, which he described as fruitful.

“The meeting went very well and we were told that we will be given an answer by this weekend,” Peters told Guardian Media Sports. The team is in need of $210,000 to cover airfare and accommodation. Peters said the overall cost was actually $360,000 but his union was able to raise $150,000 to help with the burden.

The T&T rugby men are well on their way to claiming the top spot in the group after whipping Bermuda in their first game at St Anthony’s College Ground in West moorings and then the USA South in their second at St Mary’s College Ground last weekend. They were scheduled to face the Cayman Islands in their third and final match this weekend but it was postponed.

Peters said this game will now be played either at the end of July or in August since they were told by the travelling agency that flights for most of July have already been booked. Peters said his team received a grace period only because his union took in front and informed its financial position to the Rugby American North Men’s 15s Championship ahead of the Cayman Islands clash.

“We were given some time to secure the funding for the match, but we were told that we cannot take too long,” Peters said.

The TT men have an unblemished record in its group to date and need only a victory against the Cayman Islands to earn the right to face either Mexico or Guyana, for a chance to be included in the American Rugby Challenge next year. This Challenge will comprise South American nations Colombia and Paraguay.

WALTER ALIBEY
 

Rosco Petroavance Ltd, the sole authorised distributor for Mobil Lubricants has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with the T&T Automobile Sports Association (TTASA) to the tune of $325, 000 for all motor car racing at the Wallerfield International Raceway.

Mobil has been recognised as the lubricant of choice for race teams worldwide while competing in gruelling motorsport events such as Formula One, LE MANS 24hr, NASCAR and many other Grand Prix events.

Speaking from his San Fernando Office, Wayne Bernard, CEO and Director of Rosco Petroavance Limited, said: “Mobil is well-known in the motor racing fraternity worldwide for decades and we are extremely delighted to be the gold sponsor of the Wallerfield International Raceway as it allows us to connect with enthusiastic motor racing fans locally.”

Mobil Lubricants and Rosco Petroavance are committed to serving the local market, Bernard noted, saying they now look forward to future milestones in their remarkable journey in bringing the best in class quality and performance lubricants to the market.

Jameer Ali, vice president of TTASA said “At Wallerfield International Raceway, we host some of the Caribbean’s top racers thus it is only fitting that we partner with the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand Mobil. The Mobil brand’s reputation and rich tradition in motorsports speak for itself and it is without a doubt that their support will assist in the development of motorsport locally.”

As part of the sponsorship agreement, Mobil will gain access to prime track branding and coverage of all motorsport events at the raceway in return for its dollars.

The sponsorship comes on the heels of the coming Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) International event carded for Sunday (24th June), where thousands of racing and motor car enthusiasts are expected. The event will be hosted to International standards.

Batsman Shai Hope took away the lion’s share of prizes at the Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) held their awards ceremony on Wednesday night in Barbados.

Hope collected three top awards in front of many former legendary Barbados cricketers, who were invited to the gala affair. The right-hander was voted Test Cricketer of the Year, ODI Cricketer of the Year and the prestigious Cricketer of the Year award, which drew loud applause from those gathered for the function.

Hope’s drive to the Test award was as a result of a great performance over the 12-month period considered. He scored back to back centuries at Headlingly Leeds to take the Windies to a very popular victory over England last September. His 147 in the first essay and 118 not out in the second gave his team an unlikely win. In all he scored 727 runs in the nine Tests he played over the period.

His form in the Test arena spilt over to the ODIs and he was very consistent over the last year, scoring his maiden ODI century in Zimbabwe. The only award that he did not pick up was that of T20 player of the Year and that went to the explosive Trinidadian batsman Evin Lewis. The left-hander scored 234 runs in three T20s for the Windies at an average of 117.0.

The Emerging Cricketer of the Year award went to Keemo Paul as he had a very good season in the PCL as an all-rounder, even breaking into the Windies senior team. He has been called up for the third and final Test of the three-match series against Sri Lanka this weekend at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Devon Smith was voted as the First Class cricketer of the year, scoring a record 1,095 runs with six centuries. Roston Chase enjoyed the Super50 and won the award for Regional limited overs player. The top T20 player on the regional scene was Chadwick Walton.

On the Women’s side, skipper Stafanie Taylor was voted Cricketer of the Year for her consistent performances. She had five half-centuries in ODI over the period, averaging 41.0 and 16 wickets at 24.25. the top T20 player award went to Deandra Dottin who scored a century against Sri Lanka. She average 33.40 with the bat and for good measure claimed six wickets at 20.66.

The U-19 Cricketer of the Year award went to Windies U-19 player Kirsten Kallicharan. The right-hander from Trinidad batted well during the regional U-19 series and also for the Windies U-19 in representative matches.

2018 HONOUR ROLL

n Windies Cricketer-of-the-Year – Shai Hope
n Windies Test Cricketer-of-the-Year – Shai Hope
n Windies ODI Cricketer-of-the-Year – Shai Hope
n Windies T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year – Evin Lewis
n Windies Emerging Cricketer-of-the-Year – Keemo Paul
n Windies Women’s T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year – Deandra Dottin
n Windies Women’s ODI Cricketer-of-the-Year – Stafanie Taylor
n Windies Women Cricketer-of-the-Year – Stafanie Taylor
n CWI Lifetime Achievement Award – Carol Whilby-Maxwell
n WIPA Lifetime Achievement Award – Dawnley Joseph
n First Class Team-of-the-Year – Guyana
n Regional Under-19 Team-of-the-Year – Guyana
n First Class Four Day Cricketer-of-the-Year – Devon Smith
n First Class 50 Over Cricketer-of-the-Year – Roston Chase
n Caribbean T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year – Chadwick Walton
n Windies Under-19 Cricketer-of-the-Year – Kirstan Kallicharan
n Atlantic/WIPA In The Community Awardee – Rodney Sieunarine
n CWI/WIPA Outstanding Foundation Awardee – The Marlon Samuels Foundation
n Windies Umpire-of-the-Year – Joel Wilson

One can understand that the Germans would be the country to beat in this World Cup. Following their success in Brazil four years ago, the desire to dethrone them would have been strong, especially from Brazil.

However, times in the football business often change and four years in between tournaments will mean essential methods of training, analysing countries whose scientific processes on the Football field could be taken to new heights. If you have doubts, ask Mexico. Playing in Russia will surely have to provide with home type advantage as the two countries bear similarity, and their fan base will be larger than if they were a long way from home.

Mexico was different in many ways. The first being many miles away from the South American continent, second, the Mexicans are accustomed to high altitude temperature and thirdly, the overall quality standard of the game in the Concacaf does not have the maturity of footballers as opposed to European countries.

Germany was aware of these benefits and could have felt confident that Mexico will not have been at a performance level which equalled to their own.

Their appearance on the field in an enormous stadium, with a carpeted field that could attract predictable bounce of the ball and passes that will produce the beauty of the chemistry of the great game.

The Germans have always been competent in those circumstances, and their results have been outstanding.

However, the Mexicans, with their exquisite coaching development within their clubs in the country had been improving their skills, together with superb organisational understand the methodology utilised by their coaches, provided a most exciting football image which exposed artistry mixed with ball passing through the use of passing lanes, and the mobility of their players throughout the match.

They appeared to be physically attuned to the deceptive passing process with a clustered area on the field. They forced Germany to pay attention to their concept of commanding the movement of their opponents by an expansive movement of the ball swiftly and accurately, plus switching their passes which forced the experienced Germans to make faulty defensive positions.

It was an absolute wonder to watch the Likes of the veteran Salcido marshalled his forces from the central defence, by example, and quick lateral and diagonal runs which caused the appearance of gaps within the German pattern of play.

Suddenly the pattern which the Germans have used for many years was not working the manner in which they did even in the Brazil success.

The velocity of movement among the Mexicans was adjusted at different and appeared to have caused their opponents to fail in their re-adjustment to block the passing lanes which were created from midfield towards the German Goal.

The Germans were as good as the world knew they could be, with their methodical transition from defence through midfield to their opponents’ final defenders. However, the quick-witted Mexicans demonstration a formula for winning the ball at various parts of the field and were holding possession for a much longer period than Germany. It would be folly to ignore an astute and creative midfield trio in Herrera, Layun and Guardado to be the recipients of quick clever distribution from their Central defenders Ayala and Moreno. The trio was able to dictate the speed of thought when making passing choices and gradually manoeuvred their way towards the opposing defence through the swift movement of forwards Lozano, Carlos Vela and the outstanding striker Charito Hernandez. The cohesiveness in midfield was a joy to watch almost simultaneously with smart running at angles which were creating penetration for passes. Not even the experience Boateng, Hummels and Kimmish found the time or awareness as to the Mexican Gameplan.

Germany won the last World Cup because of their excellent midfield contribution with Mueller, Croos and Ozil were able to penetrate the great Seven times, who created some and scored some of the seven goals which brought history in the Brazilian history books.

The Mexicans have created a history of their own in the world cup arena for an extraordinary one-nil victory over the current World Champions.

The quality of play by both teams could have been compared with the great games of many years, even in some finals.

It would be silly to believe that Germany will allow the result to affect the other matches. As a matter of fact, there may well be lessons which they needed to learn. The Mexicans will utilise similar treatment to the days leading up to their second and third matches. They will both get to the drawing board, observe their deficiencies, get into the training ground and work until they have corrected the areas which are needed. The game of football was the winner of that game. It is a very educational football lesson to other countries, clubs across the world and also to make the youth of world Football aim towards the improvement of their game.

Congratulations to Joachim Low and senior Osorio.

The fourth annual T&T Operafest, staged by the Picoplat Classical Music Development Foundation, features the romantic opera Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti. The festival runs from June 29 to July 8 at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook, and also features a mini-concert, East Meets West on June 24, and masterclasses between June 26 and 28.

East Meets West features Chinese soprano Mei Zhong and Trinidadian soprano Maegan Pollonais performing Chinese, Korean and Trinidadian songs, accompanied on piano by Hyery Hwang. Zhong and Hwang, faculty members at Ball State University, where Pollonais is one of two Trinidadian doctoral students.

The foundation’s creative director Natalia Dopwell said: “As a part of her doctoral thesis research, Meagan arranged for two faculty members, Hyery Hwang and Mei Zhong, to come to Trinidad and with her, perform Chinese, Korean and Trinidad songs in recital, and give masterclasses to advanced local singers.

“The masterclasses are free to participants and the public and run from June 26-28, from 5 to 8 pm at Napa. Advanced singers from UTT, USC, UWI and the Marionettes and the Lydians have been invited based in teacher recommendations. Anyone may attend to learn with them from the advice of the professors.”

Donizetti’s romantic comedy plays out in 1940’s Trinidad, as Nemorino (Edward Cumberbatch) spends his last 50 cents to buy a magic potion from the snake oil salesman Dulcamara (Krisson Joseph), to win the fickle heart of Adina (Natalia Dopwell) before she marries the dashing army sergeant Belcore (Paul Cort).

Dopwell said the Foundation wanted to produce Donizetti’s opera for some time but the voices needed to fill the roles were not available. “The plot is universally likeable, the characters are so engaging and the melodies are gorgeous,” said Dopwell. “Because it is romantic opera, voices that have matured are necessary, and you need two strong baritones and a wonderful tenor. This year we happened to have the singers we wanted for the principal roles all available to do it.

“We were lucky that tenor Edward Cumberbatch finished his PhD thesis this year, and that baritone Paul Cort, who is a vocal professor at USC said yes. Baritone Krisson Joseph has been singing with us for a few years. Once they said yes, this project was a go. In previous years we brought in foreign professional singers and pianists to bolster the local cast, but we’re very proud that everyone working on the opera this year is locally based, because it shows me that the strength of our organisation is growing.”

The foundation uses several initiatives to expose more people to opera. This year they will again be hosting a free school show on July 3. Dopwell said she thinks it’s important to push the limits of what artistic expressions young people are exposed to. Added Dopwell: “Without ever hearing anything more than the Orange singing the Habanera on Sesame Street, many adults will loudly proclaim that they do not like opera.

“We want individual audience members to open their minds to new musical experiences, to theatre, different cultural expressions and the arts in general—not because I expect them to all go on to become musical professionals, but because I believe they will go onto the rest of their lives with less prejudice towards the unfamiliar.”

Another initiative which will be offered again this year is the Opera Lime option, where patrons who buy four tickets at the box office get a fifth one free. She said this encourages opera lovers to bring their friends to the who might not necessarily head to the theatre to see this type of show.

Dopwell said she hopes audiences will laugh a lot. She added: “They should also leave very impressed with the voices on display, and see just how much more is possible on a local stage.”

Performances of Elixir of Love take place on June 29, and July 1, 6 and 8, at the Little Carib Theatre. There are no Saturday performances as the singers do not use microphones so need to rest their voices.

Tickets cost $200 for both Elixir of Love and East Meets West. Tickets are available at the Little Carib Box Office. For show times and more information, go to www.ttoperafest.com and find T&T Opera Festival 2018 on Facebook.

Chanteuse Vaughnette Bigford’s inaugural performance in Port-of-Spain played to a packed house of fans from all over the island. The event took place at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook a fortnight ago and was breathtaking in its splendour.

Bigford had the audience in awe from the moment she began to sing, beguiling them with her smoky, husky voice and warm manner. The Little Carib Theatre lent itself to an air of intimacy, fostered by the way she addressed the audience as if each person was a personal friend of hers.

Welcoming her audience, the La Brea diva said the Little Carib Theatre was a wonderful space to be in. “I get to see everyone’s face and I’m grateful you chose to spend the evening with me.”

Her supporters had come from as far as La Brea and were in full voice following each of her performances. Bigford’s vivacious personality shone through as she bantered with her band, vocalists and the audience throughout the two and a half hour concert.

The song genres ranged from Broadway classics to classic pop to calypso to folk to African songs and rhythms. Bigford’s expansive repertoire included Old Devil Moon, Dindi, Tell Me About It, Carnavaleando, where she was accompanied by Rhona Rogers on maracas, Don’t Dream It’s Over, River Of Tears, Moon Valley, In Times by Black Stalin, Won’t Have to Say Goodbye, To Love Somebody, Let’s Go Dancing,

Evening Time, Esperança, Putting Up A Resistance, Just Another Melody, Home/Nah Leaving, Luv Up, Reason, Lady, Lady Marmalade, Born To Shine and Miriam Makeba’s Pata Pata.

The simple stage set with five band members and four backup singers ensured that nothing distracted from the beauty of the music. The musicians themselves were of the highest quality and included Michael “Ming” Low Chew Tung (keyboards); Rodney Alexander (bass); Theron Shaw (guitar); Anthony Woodroffe Jnr (flute and sax); and, Shaquille Noel (drums).

Each band member played several solos during the concert and had the audience applauding their artistry each time. Guest appearances included Rhona Rogers on maracas accompanying Bigford on Carnavaleando, Mikhail Salcedo’s powerful tenor pan accompaniment on Black Stalin’s In Times and John John Francis’ solo cover of Like It Like This by Kes & Patrice Roberts. Francis had the audience sweating, despite the in-house AC being at max, and wining in their seats with his smooth sultry vocals and dance moves.

Highlights included a powerful acappella arrangement of Carl Jacobs and Ancil ‘Perez’ Forde’s Luv Up by Low Chew Tung performed by Bigford and her backup vocalists (Genisa St Hillaire, Afiya Athill, Sade Sealey and Aneesa Paul); Fela Kuti’s Lady, which she dedicated to Hugh Masekela; Beres Hammond’s Putting Up a Resistance, which Bigford infused with conviction; Born to Shine, the title song of her debut albun, which many audience members said spoke to them; and, Khalen Drummerboi Alexander’s Reason, written especially for Bigford and which she dedicated to all her friends and fans. Her closing number, Miriam Makeba’s Pata Pata, had the entire balcony and most of the lower house on their feet, dancing and singing along.

Bigford thanked the patrons for accepting her, acknowledging that she could be complicated at times. Audience members were immediately heard asking when the next concert was going to be and those who were seeing Bigford for the first time, confessed to being awestruck. The production was an unqualified success and it is to be hoped that the songstress continues to grace all of T&T with her talent.

A memorable footnote of the event was the wonderful introduction of Bigford at the show’s start by popular radio personality Adrian Don Mora, using the singer’s intitials VB, to succinctly describe her.

VIENNA (AP)—The countries of the OPEC cartel agreed on Friday to pump 1 million barrels more crude oil per day, a move that should help contain the recent rise in global energy prices.

Questions remain, however, over the ability of some OPEC nations—Iran and Venezuela in particular—to increase production as they struggle with domestic turmoil and sanctions.

Oil prices rose after OPEC’s announcement, which analysts cited as evidence that investors believe the actual increase in production will be smaller, about 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day.

After an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said the cartel decided to fully comply with its existing production ceiling.

Because the group had been producing below that level, that means an increase in production of “a little bit less than 1 million barrels,” the Emirati minister said.

How that translates into effective production increases is uncertain, as some OPEC countries cannot easily ramp up production. Iran, for example, has been hit by US sanctions that hinder its energy exports.

Venezuela’s production has dropped amid domestic political instability.
 

The price of oil jumped after the announcement, with the international benchmark, Brent, gaining 2.5 per cent to US$74.84 a barrel in London, and US crude climbing 4.9 per cent to US$68.72 a barrel in afternoon trading in New York—on track for its biggest one-day rise since OPEC agreed in November 2016 to cut production.

Al-Mazrouei noted that the decision “is challenging for those countries that are struggling with keeping their level of production.” However, he indicated that some countries could pick up production if others lag.

“We will deal with it collectively,” he said.

US shale oil production has helped offset some of OPEC’s cutbacks since 2016. However, operators in the Permian Basin of Texas face a shortage of pipeline capacity, “trapping a fair amount of oil and limiting the availability of that shale increase,” said Jim Rittersbusch, a consultant to oil traders.

Still, some analysts believe that a combination of the OPEC deal, US oil, and an easing of American demand for energy should eventually contribute to lower oil prices, which in May hit their highest levels in more than three years.

“Longer term, this is a bit of a win for consumers,” said Jamie Webster, director of Boston Consulting Group’s Centre for Energy Impact. “More oil on the market means relatively lower prices for consumers.”

Friday’s decision means the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will observe the production level it agreed on in late 2016, when it cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day. In practice, the reduction was even deeper due to production problems. That has since then helped push up the price of oil by almost 50 per cent.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in 18 securities of which four advanced, three declined and 11 traded firm.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 312,886 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $4,200,731.17. GraceKennedy Ltd was the volume leader with 102,253 shares changing hands for a value of $306,579, followed by JMMB Group Ltd with a volume of 86,703 shares being traded for $151,730.25.

NCB Financial Group Ltd contributed 46,501 shares with a value of $253,430.45, while Ansa McAL Ltd added 32,169 shares valued at $1,865,802.

T&T NGL Ltd registered the day’s largest gain, increasing $0.16 to end the day at $29.50. Conversely, Unilever Caribbean Ltd registered the day’s largest decline, falling $0.05 to close at $29.25.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 30,202 shares valued at $612,194.54. It advanced by $0.02 to end at $20.27.

In Friday’s trading session the following reflect the movement of the TTSE Indices:

• The Composite Index advanced by 3.53 points (0.29 per cent) to close at 1,234.02.

• The All T&T Index advanced by 0.33 points (0.02 per cent) to close at 1,723.42.

• The Cross Listed Index advanced by 0.93 points (0.94 per cent) to close at 100.07.

It is like a recurring decimal but Trinidad and Tobago cannot avoid the conversation over when we will finally be able to halt the escalating crime rate and murders, in particular, currently overwhelming the society.

In this regard, yesterday’s vote of no-confidence in National Security Minister Edmund Dillon’s performance must be seen by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as a snippet of the overall sentiment of the country, they having also been expressed by labour unions earlier this week as well.

While the Opposition United National Congress was detailing what it saw as Dillon’s failure on crime inside Parliament, a group of relatives of crime victims were also outside expressing their disgust at the situation, having experienced some sort of distress indirectly at the hands of criminals over the years.

And while some may want to dismiss this protesting group as being politically motivated, there were more murder victims cut down over the past 24 hours - a potent enough sign that law enforcement continues to face an increasingly uphill battle.

Numerous politicians have attempted to convince society that the criminal element remains in the minority. If that is so, this minority group appears to wield major influence, since it is they who now have law-abiding citizens cowering in fear - truly a sad state of affairs.

Either way, the buck must stop with the Prime Minister. As head of the National Security Council, he has to make a determination on whether the crime mechanisms in place are working or not. More importantly, it is also time for him to assess whether Mr Dillon has been able to steer those under his purview competently enough to solve the problem. If not, then the PM must take corrective measures and that may mean allocating another person to do the job.

Another judicial fiasco

If we are to believe the information shared by Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen, operations at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, the seat of this country’s judiciary, have been severely hampered over the first half of this year due to a malfunctioning AC unit. The situation has forced the acting Chief Justice to stagger staff working and judges to adjourn matter earlier, since serving jurors, lawyers and those before the court are also facing the same distress.

The judiciary is already under fire for the slow manner in which it is perceived to be administering of justice to citizens. So why then has the current situation with what should be a minor maintenance issue been allowed to degenerate?

Let’s support our athletes

Some of this country’s top senior athletes will be on display during this weekend’s NGC/Sagicor NAAA National Open Track and Field Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, which kicked off last evening and continues today. While there are no major international games immediately around the corner, the athletes are certainly deserving of full support from the fans.

The PNM was greatly outnumbered outside of Parliament yesterday.

Only eight of PNM’s Point Fortin members were present to support their MP, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, in the Opposition UNC’s no-confidence motion debate concerning him.

The eight stood to one side, crowded out by a large gathering of citizens protesting T&T’s murders.

“Why (Government MPs) asking us what party we from?” asked one woman who addressed strong concerns to Dillon who – after greeting his eight supporters – was urged to go over to the crowd.

Inside, UNC MP Rodney Charles, piloting the motion against Dillon, gave a delivery not dissimilar to some featuring at Tuesday’s Labour Day observances.

“Failure! Failure! Failure!...” he ticked off. “Plans - all coming soon, but like the Galleon’s Passage they can’t arrive!”

It was left to PNM’s Stuart Young to defend Dillon. Charles’ scoring, however, was the second set of “Fail Grades” for Government this week. Tuesday’s Labour Day platform could easily have been mistaken for an Opposition meeting – such were the criticisms also.

OWTU jefe Ancel Roget accurately assessed T&T’s temperature following loss of quality of life: Plain Scared.

His order to observe PNM’s September 7 election anniversary as a day of “rest and reflection” – possible off day – was geared to telegraph the sector’s importance. As if Government, heading into elections, doesn’t know.

Unions’ clinical assessment and warning - reinforced with certain positive references to the former administration - from a sector representing significant votes, confirmed workers haven’t bought into PNM’s good-news “economic turnaround” push.

Labour’s critique - pointedly reminding PNM to keep promises - has also saved some unions’ face, as several were perceived as supporting Government. OWTU particularly would have been insistent since members await Petrotrin restructuring and consequences, a situation where Government decisions will increasingly require political considerations the longer they take, along the election road.

That labour’s voice was heard, as borne out by subsequent statements from some ministers on promises kept. It was particularly confirmed in Thursday’s announcement from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s office about last night’s “Conversations” meeting with him and ministers.

Such forums have arisen when Government felt compelled to connect with base and/or deal with specific issues. PNM officials indicated the event was planned weeks before, apparently to reply to anticipated Labour Day reprimands.

Rowley was expected to reset the local landscape last night: explain, assure, assuage. (Internationally, he’s won his tiff with the outgoing UN resident Co-ordinator (on Venezuelan repatriation issues), but the US’ concerns on T&T’s “Isis recruits” and Venezuela are front and centre.)

Last night’s “Conversations” venue – Mt Hope – verged enough on the Barataria area to complement PNM campaigning for the July 16 by-election there and in Belmont East.

Rowley’s meeting followed Monday’s UNC platform where some boasted of “having 98 per cent of Mohammedville under control” for the by-election. Ex-PNM deputy leader Nafeesa Mohammed reinforced perception, saying residents were hurt” by the Carnival plot searches.

Political impact of the searches – and recent verbal flubs by Rowley – has prompted PNM and UNC to increase outreach to the Muslim community.

Rowley’s Eid visit to the San Fernando mosque may not have gone as - photographically - well as expected. But his invitation to Asja’s Eid June 30 dinner at Centrepoint Mall is intact, ASJA confirmed.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Eid visit to El Socorro’s Nur e Islam mosque also assisted UNC election boasts. The UNC is shifting profile from its PP façade which instituted the 2011 state of emergency. At Wednesday’s Parliament, MP Prakash Ramadhar stressed police had advised PP to undertake the SoE.

While Government’s anti-terrorism bill upset some Muslims, after Wednesday’s debate Muslims of T&T’s Imtiaz Mohammed said, “We’re happy at changes in areas we spoke about. The Opposition also sought changes we’d recommended.”

Confident PNM campaign officials said yesterday, “It’s only a matter of by how much we’ll win Belmont East. Barataria we’ll retake. Our polls three weeks ago showed people see crime as the number one problem. But elections are about numbers and we know our voters by name and street. We’ll bring them out.”

I have seen where ‘we East Indians’ have been sucking the blood across the entire country according to some alleged social media posts. Whether or not these posts were put out by the persons whose profiles featured, it was quite clear that the posts were meant to stir the bile of all good and right thinking citizens.

Recently, a person posted for circulation on social media, a false picture purportedly showing a Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) institution hanging pictures of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education alongside officeholders of the SDMS itself. The theme of the post was to portray that whilst SDMS institutions were being funded by the Government, it was somehow discriminating against the said Government.

In recent times, the argument that denominational institutions were being funded by the State but were allowed to carry out its own practices, have been pitched again and again so as to attack the SDMS as being racist and/or discriminatory and/or unpatriotic. The latest incarnation or manifestation of this argument occurred when an ‘On the Job Trainee’ mysteriously reached the doorsteps of the SDMS and made some seriously unfounded claims as to the treatment meted out. I say no more at this point and time.

I should, of course, go the way I had chosen without paying much attention to these undertones, but being Sat Maharaj, as I am, exceedingly careful not to offend anyone, I wish to stand well, even with these forward-thinking persons. At the outset, let me say that I am not much moved by the one argument which is always urged against me: “Sat is a racist.” My conduct, as well as that of the SDMS, has proven again and again that such a proposition has absolutely no merit.

What history has already recorded and will prove in time to come and for all times, is that I have never cowered to speak on behalf of the East Indian Hindu community against injustice. For this, I will never make any apology. If I had to do it all over again, I would be more vocal and fight even harder.

At this point, I should add for the record that for those few persons who quickly take to social media to post that I don’t speak on behalf of them, the fact is, I don’t! They ought not to worry about that. I recall when I came out and spoke against former prime minister Patrick Manning, the present Prime Minister, Dr Rowley, was immediately quoted by the media (T&T Guardian—July 15, 2016) as saying that “I respect Mr Maharaj’s attempt to defend what he thinks he is defending but I will defend the country’s record, especially when I was a part of that record.”

The ‘record’ will show that the Privy Council considered the same lame old arguments of Rowley and the PNM, again and again, in one form or the other and spat them out for exactly what they were. Whilst Rowley and the PNM may now be attempting to sanitise their own records, ‘international records’ will show that the facts surrounding inter alia Feroza Ramjohn, Public Service discrimination and the refusal to grant licences to TV and Radio Jaagriti were considered by the best law lords in the world. After heavy legal battles, their ruling pointed to discrimination by the PNM Government towards the people of this nation.

Moving along, I am comforted by the fact that when my time comes and I am no longer, there are already many persons ready to take up the mantle of speaking out against inequities, racism, nepotism etc. Last week I wrote about Baal Vikaas Vihaar, a by-product of the SDMS and its successes. This is the strength of the SDMS. It illustrates the difference between a man and an institution.

The SDMS was incorporated for the use and not at all for the worship of man. It has committed to no fetish, for to do so would be simply to become slaves of our own machinery. It is grounded in promoting ‘dharma’ for its people, something which I have done and will continue to do.

I, therefore, urge all critics of the SDMS and myself to try and find your own ‘code of truth’ instead of following the shouting crowd. Notice I did not say follow ‘my truth’ or the way of the SDMS. You may if you so desire but there is no attempt at conversion. Then, only then, will you begin to appreciate some of the things and ways which we do and follow.