Pepperpot 26 11 2017

See inside: Aiesha Scotland shines! ► Page V Protecting your children XXVIII on the roadways ► Page

A scene from Clinton Duncan’s ‘Spit’

National Drama Festival 2017 Guyanese theatre at its best A scene from ‘Woman-in-law’ Written

by Ken Danns (Godfrey Phil Photos)

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Editor’s note THIS week, we give much-needed attention to the local theatre industry, following the recently staged National Drama Festival which lasted from November 18-22. The local festival- short as it may be- is the one time of year when thespians are given the chance to showcase their creativity and dynamism through

theatrical expression. It is here, too, when the dark horses in theatre shine their brightest, and bring the local audience a wider variety than the usual plays they are accustomed to seeing year-round. But despite the quality of this festival, support is generally lacking, resulting in insufficient advertising, access to resourc-

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017 es, limited preparations, and low audience turn-out, among other challenges. Yet, the quality of some of these plays and the acting that helps to bring them to life, are constant. For this reason, we provide just a taste of what you may have missed at this underrated event, and discuss the concerns of some of the participants and what they feel is needed to help keep theatre alive in Guyana, as well as the expectations and views of the coordinators. These and other stories combine to make this week’s Pepperpot Magazine and we hope you enjoy it.

National Drama Festival 2017

By Gibron Rahim THEATRE has a magic all its own. It can transform the mundane into the extraordinary or remind us of social ills we need to address to name just a few of its powers. The 2017 National Drama Festival of Guyana continued this grand tradition.

The 2017 National Drama Festival (NDF) ran from November 18 to November 22. During that period, different genres of theatrefrom melodrama to comedy to experimental - were performed on stage. This year’s NDF was a scaled down one from last year’s.

There were unfortunately no school or debutante categories in this year’s festival.

The categories this year were the junior, open short and open full length. A new feature for this year was the screening of Guyanese short films between performances.

‘Next Door Neighbour’ was the festival’s opening play on November 18. The comedic farce, written by Sidney Henry and directed

by Frederick Minty, was an entry in the junior category that explored the situation that unfolds when a drunken neighbour reveals long-buried secrets at a funeral and opened the festival on a light-hearted note. The play starred Tristana Roberts, Shantel McLean, Ato Vaughn, Osafa Dos Santos, Tikoma Austin, Junior Arrindell, Twyla Sealey, Mapendo Samuels and Andrew Belle.

The second night of the NDF featured the plays ‘Hidden Secrets’ and ‘Daddy, I am a Boy’ both in the junior category. `Hidden Secrets’ centered on the reality of a family that appeared to be perfect. The comedy had a touch of melodrama. As the audience would discover, the family was anything with infidelity on the part of both husband and wife. The plot thickened even further when black magic became involved. The comedy had a touch of melodrama. `Hidden Secrets’ was written and directed by Errol Chan and featured Frederick Minty as the spiritualist Ba Ba Afolabi. Also among the actors were Tikoma Austin, Nelan Benjamin, Shantel McLean, Jerome Abrams, Twyla Sealey, Jamal Omawali and Bianca Marques.

‘Daddy, I am a Boy’ was performed by the students of Annandale Secondary and written and directed by Randy Fredericks with Renita Dindyal as co-director. In the play, the character Christopher is rejected by his churchgoer father for being effeminate with almost tragic consequences. The play

‘The Black Clothes’ Written by Ken Danns

‘Letters from Father’ Written by Andrew Belle (Godfrey Phil Photos)

addressed difficult issues such as child abuse, sexual assault and suicide. Music played a big role in `Daddy, I am a Boy’s’ plot. The production featured Daniel Bissoon, Kemi Gittens, Jason Gordon, Clinton Younge, Troni Semple and Denneal Clarke, among others.

The plays ‘Letters from Father’ and ‘Benjie Darling’ were the two plays presented on Monday, November 20. `Letter from Father’ was written and directed by Andrew Belle and starred Jemima Holmes, Andrew Belle, Bianca Marques and Towanie Thom, among others. The junior category play told the story of an estranged father desperate to reunite with his daughter. His return led to a startling revelation.

‘Benjie Darling’ was directed by Simone Dowding from a play written by Dr. Paloma Mohamed. The romantic comedy starred Clinton Duncan, Simone Dowding and Colleen Humphrey. Benjie Darling focused on the love story between one of two spinster sisters and her gardener.

Much conflict and comedy would occur before the play reached its final scene. The play was entered in the open full length category of NDF 2017.

The festival’s fourth night featured the plays ‘The Black Clothes’ and ‘Woman-in-law’ which were both written by Ken Danns and directed by Sonia Yarde. `The Black Clothes’ told a dark and tragic tale of two brothers caught on opposite sides of the law. The play addressed the serious issues of police brutality, corruption and racism.

Woman-in-law addressed marital infidelity and walked the line of comedy and drama.

The plot centered on a businessman who neglected and abused his wife in favour of his mistress. It featured among the cast, Melinda Primo-Solomon, Kijana Lewis, Jheanelle Kerr, Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett and Rovindra Persaud.

The NDF’s finale night on November 22 was adults only. The festival was closed off grandly with three plays – ‘Children of Baby’, ‘The Perfect Man’ and ‘SPIT’. `Children of Baby’ was written by Mosa Telford and directed by Kojo McPherson.

It starred Colleen Humphrey, Kimberly Fernandes, Clinton Duncan, Mark-Luke Edwards, Nicholas Singh and Tashandra Inniss. The play explored religious faith, Turn to page XXIII ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Curtains come down at National Drama Festival 2017

AFTER five nights, the 2017 National Drama Festival came to a close on Wednesday, leaving local theatre buffs satisfied with another year’s staging of the event.

The evening saw three plays which represented a rich mixture of genres, content and actors and served as a reminder that Guyana’s theatre industry still has hopes of thriving with the right support thrown behind it.

Here’s a look at the plays that were staged on the final evening:

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But she admitted to being nervous about the audience’s reception due to limited time the team had to prepare for the play and other concerns.

“However, every time the audience would say something positive or even chuckle where there was humour, I felt relaxed in the moment.

So far, I have received many positive reviews,” she said.

The future of theatre and the drama festival The playwright praised the Drama Festival for helping to keep theatre and drama alive in Guyana, adding that young thespians should now CHILDREN OF BABY be provided with more opThe night opened with portunities to develop their Children of Baby, written skills while learning from the

by Mosa Telford and directveterans in the industry. ed by Kojo McPherson. Its “Theatre is largely sufpremise lay on the concept fering as it is mainly beof loss and trauma and the cause people are finding it results of not dealing with difficult to acquire funds to that trauma effectively. The do productions and do not play centered on the lives of make much money especially Damien and Angel, who at when they do dramatic plays an early age, suffered masbecause many people no lonsive blows at the hands of ger seem interested in them.

Baby, a tortured man who Many of the theatre veterans massacred Damien’s parents are not very active anymore and Angel’s mother with a so what we have is a largely Mark Luke Edwards and Nikita Archer in Mosa Telford’s ‘Children of Baby’ (Godfrey Phil Photos) cutlass before being killed new group of theatre peoby the police. At the time of ple,” she said. “I believe that Baby’s actions, he had gone berserk after years of depression- their own experience of being witness to a previous robbery opportunities such as training and mentorship should be made having lost his own child who died in childbirth on the same which planted the idea in their head. The term “Spit” was con- available for these young people because often many just have day Damien was born, and, later, becoming the victim of po- stantly reiterated by an angry Charles who vowed to spit in the the passion and talent but don’t know what to do with it. There lice brutality during which he was raped. The production was faces of anyone who did him wrong, but more importantly, it is the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama which is not short on poignant moments as the characters struggled to represented the frustrations of poor people and their decision doing a fine job, but training also needs to be ongoing in places overcome their own demons. It was rich with drama- at some to defy the shackles of society at any cost in desperate times. outside of Georgetown. And if the veterans would continuousThe cast was a pleasure to watch, particularly Leon Cumpoints, a bit too much, but it worked well and was made even more moving through its references to real-life tragedies in mings, who continually had the audience in tears throughout the Turn to page XVIII ►►► short play. Mark Luke Edwards society that the audience could easily identify.

Strong performances were given by all of the main cast, and Frederick Minty also did particularly Clinton Duncan, who played the agonised Damien. well in their performances.

Mark Luke Edwards, who played Baby, Kimberly Fernandes, Other cast members included who played Angel and Colleen Humphrey, who played Ma Nicholas Singh, Nelan BenDalla also performed well. Other actors included Tashandra jamin, Tikoma Austin and Inniss, Nicholas Singh, Nikita Archer, Nelan Benjamin, Jerome Denise Andrews.

Abrams as well as Emmanuel and Justine Hamer who played INSIGHT FROM THE the young Damien and Angel.

PLAYWRIGHTS In an interview with the THE PERFECT MAN Written by Ato Vaughn and directed by Tristana Roberts, Pepperpot Magazine, Mosa The Perfect Man was a modern thriller about a young wom- Telford said that Children of an, who, desperate to bring her lover back to life, embarks Baby explored the themes on a dark journey to piece him back together by killing and of trauma, religious enslaveusing various body parts of other men via an African ritual. ment that discourages indiExtremely raunchy and pushing the envelope with strong vidual thought, choices and representations of sex and sexuality, The Perfect Man did freedom; and the universal not hold back on censorship, making sections of the audience need for healing in a world visibly uncomfortable during some parts. Nevertheless, it was that is becoming more diffirelatively well received- at least by the younger crowd- and cult to exist in. “The idea of ended with an unexpected twist that showed the irony of the the play first occurred when I learned about a boy who had concept of “perfection”. experienced a traumatic event at a very young age, never SPIT The evening ended on a light note with the comedy Spit. received any counseling, Written and directed by Clinton Duncan, the play was a hilar- grew up and joined a gang ious take on the real-life struggles of the elderly in society and and was killed at 16 because imagined the desperate measures that three pensioners turn to of gang-related activities,” in the face of financial need. Imagine a Guyanese version of Mosa said. She noted that the black comedy ‘Going in Style’ which portrayed a trio of other real-life events that old men who decided to rob a bank. In this case, however, the influenced her include Baby three characters, Bryan (Mark Luke Edwards), Charles (Leon Arthur killings in Buxton/ Cummings) and the cross-dressing Alex (Frederick Minty), Friendship, Ronald Waddesperate to meet their financial demands and low on cash, dell’s murder, Colwyn Harddecide to rob the post office on pension day. The hilarious cli- ing’s alleged abuse by the max came after a gut-busting series of events including a failed police, the assassination of attempt to acquire and sell cocaine by the three geriatrics, and Courtney Crum-Ewing.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Media and Mental Health TODAY I would like to talk about the effects that the media can have on our overall mental health. Media include newspapers, television, radio, internet and of course social media. At this time of our existence, I believe it can be categorised as a necessity or daily need. Many of us wake up and almost immediately check our favourite kind of media.

Media, in general, has the power to strengthen or weaken a society. A perfect example would be the racial discrimination happening in the United States right now. It allowed many of the African American community to come together while at the same time, almost forced the rest of the world to believe that most Americans are prejudiced.

The media affects our perception, opinions, attitudes, behaviours and our beliefs- it is one of the biggest influences in the world. We go and buy the most expensive phone as the media almost portrays it as a necessity. We dislike

people or places that we have never met or been to simply because the media portrays them negatively. Most of the time, we aren’t even aware and are unconsciously affected.

I’m surely not saying that the media is solely bad as it has countless benefits which including staying up to date with current events, remain in contact with loved ones, and most importantly is one of the biggest sources of general education. However, what happens if the public awareness being created is focusing on the wrong aspects of the topics?

What if the wrong idea of what is important is going out into the world? The easiest example of this would be how fame and fortune are instantly perceived as success, but the way in which the fame materialised is often disregarded.

Studies show that media has a direct effect on our mental and physical health. The research shows that too much television can increase the

possibility of obesity. Certain programmes can cause issues with self-esteem and subsequent eating disorders. Too much violent programming can increase violent behaviour (especially in children). Certain TV and radio shows can promote irresponsible sexual behaviour.

It has also been no secret that the suicide rate drastically increased in Guyana because of how it was being reported. It was common to see the person who died from suicide -as well as when, how and why they took their own lives – on the front page of multiple newspapers. This promotes the wrong kind of education. The way that mental health is reported in the local media almost encourages stigma and discrimination. Our media typically portrays the mentally ill and substance abusers as aggressive, dangerous, untrustworthy, and undeserving, hindrances to the community.

Even if rehabilitated, this prevents the individual from living a normal and productive life.

It prevents them from developing sufficient self-esteem and confidence.

HOW CAN THIS BE PREVENTED? It is fantastic when media brings mental illness to public attention as it raises general awareness, changes attitudes and beliefs on the topic as well as breaks the discomfort and stigma that is usually present in the conversation.

However, if proper guidelines aren’t followed, it can do more harm than good.

I’m going to offer some tips to the media, using the specific example of suicide which hopefully will be taken into consideration.

Firstly, leave out unnecessary details of the suicide. This includes a picture of the person, why they did it, how they did it, their address, or whether the method is “quick” or “painless”. Including information on how and why a person decided to take their own life can cause imitation. It can teach others ideas of how to do it, especially if it is “advertised” as quick. You can be informative yet vague.

Reporting that someone died due to ingestion is okay while mentioning what and how much they used is not. It is also incorrect to report a definite reason as there is never any one reason why someone may take their own life.

If you report specific reasons, vulnerable audiences may be able to identify with that, resulting in an attempt of their own.

Disclosing personal information can also intrude on the grief process of the people closest to them.

More importantly, this information has graced the front page of newspaper countless times but I have yet to see the Suicide Prevention Helpline numbers on the front page. This means that the media is promoting the problem rather than the solution.

Include a written or spoken piece from a family member or friend that was left behind.

Most people who attempt to or take their own lives believe that the remaining people would be better off. They feel as a burden to those around them. If you include a piece from a friend or family member who is in pain, it may change that opinion in someone who may be considering suicide.

Guyana has also been branded as a low educated population. This doesn’t just mean school drop- out and/or illiteracy. Having insufficient education includes not knowing what help is available within your community.

It should be the media’s responsibility to spread that awareness. That being said, do sufficient research when reporting on specific topics. If you are reporting on a case where someone was heavily using drugs, end the piece by telling the audience where they can get rehabilitated.

If you are covering a murder-suicide, inform everyone where help is available for domestic violence. We already know what the problem is- offer some sort of solution.

Simply because something is legal to print, does not make it moral. Reporting on mental illnesses and suicide requires empathy, sensitivity and thoughtfulness. The media must accept responsibility and fairly decide what is in the public’s best interest.

Suicide Prevention Helpline Numbers: 2230001, 223-0009, 623-4444, 600-7896 Open 24 hours!

Thank you for reading and please send in any questions, comments or topics to caitlinvieira@gmail.com. Also please remember when you can come see me.

Georgetown Public Hospital: Monday- Friday – 08:00hrs-12:00hrs Woodlands Hospital: Outpatient Department Drug and Alcohol group meetings - Mondays 16:00hrs Good mental health group meetingsWednesdays 16:00hrs Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always!

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

V

Aiesha Scotland shines!

By Abigail Brower

AIESHA Scotland is a young woman of many ‘‘Bests and Firsts’’. Her resume is so impressive, it’s no surprise to her parents, friends and family.

The "repertoire" looks like this: She is the first born for her parents; first holder of a Bachelor Degree in her family circle; Best Graduating Student at the Richard Ishmael Secondary School for the Arts Stream in 2007; in 2010 she copped Best Graduating Diploma Student at the E.R. Burrowes School of Art and recently graduated from the 51st Convocation of the University of Guyana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre for Communication Studies with a Distinction in Public Communication and was declared Best Graduating Student for the centre.

It would have seemed extraordinary if her father hadn’t predicted it. To prepare his daughter he’d repeat ‘‘If you are not passionate about something, don’t do it, you will always return to your passion.’’ Scotland told the Pepperpot Magazine that education is extremely important to her parents. “I always attended extra lessons at the primary and secondary level,” she said.

“My father, in particular, wanted to see me in the top 10 always. He would often visit the schools and work with his me and the other students.”

REACHING HER GOALS Scotland became a member of the Guyana Women Artist Association (GWAA) which helped the young woman to exhibit her work as an artist and encourage her to keep making art. However work wasn’t coming in at the rate where she could have financially taken care of herself. It was at this point that Scotland decided to start seeking employment. During her job hunt, Scotland met with one of her tutors from the Burrowes School of Arts, Everley Austin, who informed her about a vacancy at the Christ Church Secondary School.

Despite her 10-year career in the creative industry, today, Aiesha Scotland, 27, has been making her mark as a teacher at the Christ Church Secondary School for the past five years.

Scotland brought leadership to the school with her artistic experience and unwavering commitment to the building of education in Guyana. However, her futuristic way of thinking, her probing mind and true commitment to her education at all levels led her to pursue higher education at the University of Guyana, where she applied to do both Fine Arts and Communication Studies and was accepted in both programmes. She chose to major in Communication Studies because she was already employed at Christ Church Secondary and Fine Arts was a fulltime programme, and so to keep her job and being able to qualify herself, Scotland decided to further her studies in Communication. She believes that either programme would have aided her in her pursuit of art.

Her road to University has been paved with the kind of adversity that could have made an ordinary man fold, such as

Aeisha Scotland

having insufficient finance to pay for her studies. Although Scotland is a working woman, she still had to depend on her father to assist her financially. “It wasn’t only tuition but it was transportation to and from classes, paying for handouts and printing documents,” she said. “[But] I don’t feel compelled to complain about my experiences with financial difficulties.”

Throughout Scotland’s years at the University, she deemed the experience and challenges as one that has shown her how to be assertive, gained more patience and tolerance for things that in the past would have upset her. “I have gained an understanding as to what it means to work in a team, and to build each other’s strengths,” she said.

Aeisha during a Visual Arts Teachers’ Exhibition

EXPERIENCE AT UG During Scotland’s years as a student at UG, she highlighted that the University of Guyana has remained largely unchanged. She believes that it has to fix its underlying problems in order for the system to improve. ‘‘In my opinion, UG is divided, they need unity and cooperation among the administration and staff,’’ says Scotland.

The scholar admitted that her experience at UG also provided her with more confidence in herself and that she is thankful to God who has opened many doors of opportunity. ‘‘The degree is only the beginning. By the grace of God. I am pursuing a Masters in Arts Journalism,” she said. The assertive teacher is hoping to earn a government scholarship to further her studies in another country by the new academic year.

Despite her flourishing teaching career, when asked about art, Scotland said that some people may be confused at the fact that she is an artist and studied communication at UG. ‘‘Studying art exposes you to a variety of career options,” she said adding that communication studies will help her to write about art. So communication isn’t Scotland’s calling, art is.‘‘With my degree in communication, I am still pursuing my calling,’’ she assured.

But Scotland does have some ideas about what’s next for her. ‘‘I always pray that I get opportunities to work with persons to help them pursue their passion and not have to settle in a career because the market is not here,’’ she said.

Scotland has all the makings of a future ambassador in Arts and as an educator. She also credits her loving parents and younger sister and brother who look up to her. She believes that it has been a blessing to have had the opportunity to further her studies at the tertiary level and bring home the first degree in her home circle.

FAMILY SUPPORT The overwhelming reactions received from her family members and friends about her accomplishment was deeply humbling for Scotland. ‘‘I spoke to my cousin who showed her daughter a photo of me on social media,’’ Scotland said, adding that her cousin congratulated her and said to her ‘you are a role model to my daughter.’ Scotland knew her family is not surprised by her outstanding achievement. ‘‘They knew I was studying very hard...

Nevertheless, art is where my heart is and there is no changing about that,” says Scotland.

Scotland’s advice is for all university students to make their four years count: “Stay focused, know what you want, and instead of the easy way out, take the hard way because the hard way will benefit and give you knowledge, while at university and after the university life,” she said. She believes there are mental obstacles that stand in the way to achieving goals, ‘‘Success can happen, it’s about people who are willing to go deep within themselves and want to dig deeper to make a change or continue to change their lives.”

VI

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

PROTECT YOURSELVES WE are now in the Holiday Season with Christmas week just four or five weeks away. This is a time when consumers, indeed, most citizens, are vulnerable to exploitation as they embark on their holiday shopping or have to employ tradesmen. It is a time when criminals believe that they could easily prey upon citizens, especially those from the countryside.

In today’s offering, we shall remind consumers of some of the ways to protect themselves. In going to the Banks or ATM service booths to withdraw money, always assume that one is under observation by criminals. Accordingly, be always circumspect, and if one senses that one is being fol-

lowed, quickly retreat into another building. In any case, do not walk around with large sums of money. If one must walk around with large sums, then try to arrange to be accompanied by one or two other persons. Also, keep large sums in different parts of one’s person and in different handbags.

In shopping, one needs to thoroughly examine whatever one is buying since, in the busy atmosphere of Christmas shopping, one could easily buy an item which is defective. For instance, in buying crockery or vases or other earthenware products, one may not see a hairline crack except with careful examination. And such advice is very necessary for buying electrical fittings or equipment - always ascertain that such purchases are working efficiently. Also, if one is buying consumer durables, ensure that one collects the manual and the guarantee or warranty. Warranties for most such items are for at least six months. One must insist that one is given a receipt (bill) with all purchases, no matter how busy the store may be. In many East Asian and Brazilian stores, they do not give bills except one asks for them.

Remember that a receipt ensures that one could return defective goods since, without a receipt, stores will invariably refuse to receive such goods. In addition, a receipt protects the purchaser in that it ascertains his/ her ownership of the item purchased. A final caution to buyers - only buy what one requires and don’t be mesmerised by attractive packaging and presentation; do not fall into the syndrome of compulsive buying.

Most people travel by the public transport, mainly the minibuses. At this time,

pick-pockets and snatchers come out in force. Snatchers operate wherever crowds are thickest and they tend to loiter around shop entrances or on the pavements. Hold handbags securely, and even in a moving crowd, be on the lookout for any suspicious-looking persons.

When travelling on the minibuses, one should always be on the alert for pick-pockets and bag slashers. Pick-pockets tend to wedge themselves among commuters where they could operate without their victims feeling their searching hands. Others, usually wearing spectacles or sunglasses, would walk with a large cardboard chart of some kind which they would rest on their knees under which their hands could operate unseen. Many of these slash bags with practiced deftness, removing money and other valuables and the victims only realise their loss when they would have gotten home. The late Eileen Cox, the Caribbean’s most prominent consumer advocate, had such an experience where she lost a large sum of money. The slasher was a woman sitting near to Ms Cox. One should, therefore, be on the lookout for women pick-pockets.

Protecting the home is most important at this time: Lock windows and doors when one is going out and lock the gates. Do not leave untended clothes which are being dried after washing since clothes thieves go about with folding sticks with which they gather up clothes or even booty through windows. If one has dogs, have them on the loose both night and day. Neighbours should inform each other if they would be absent from their homes. Many thieves have been challenged and scared away by watchful neighbours.

Householders who have security cameras should be prepared to cooperate with each other in the event of a burglary occurring in their vicinity. Recently, for example, two teenage bicycle bandits attacked a maid who was reporting for duty in the morning at a Subryanville home. The neighbour’s camera photographed them and the Police were enabled to apprehend them in Sheriff Street.

One of the worst security problems which have afflicted Georgetown over the last year is the bicycle and motorcycle bandits. The bandits are all young persons, many of them teenagers. They attack pedestrians or persons going into or exiting their gates. The motor-cycle bandits pounce down on persons entering or coming out of their cars and seize the cars, the pillion-rider usually driving it off. These motor-cycle bandits carry firearms. The Police are still to formulate a programme to control or eliminate this form of crime.

Citizens must realise that they have to rely on their own efforts to protect themselves and be prepared to resist the bandits.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

VII

The lost boys

On the hunt for menswear?

Forget about it!

By Clinton Duncan HAVE you ever tried to go clothes shopping for a female friend, girlfriend, relative or wife? It’s difficult, right? Mostly because there are so many options to choose from.

Have you ever tried to go clothes shopping for a male friend, boyfriend, relative or husband? It’s difficult, right? Mostly because there are only so many options! And GOD forbid he’s anything taller than six feet and needs a pair of quality pants, or has proportions outside of the “model” figure.

Honestly, as we make a veer into the Christmas season, and at the peril of sounding acrimonious, I have to say that I’m quite fed up with the generic “menswear” gifts. A rudimentary plaid neck-tie, a pair of socks, a tie pin, a cap or some semi-creative version of a white shirt- all of which [though gifts nonetheless] garner nothing more than a jaded “Thanks” accompanied by a dejected, sotto-voiced “sigh” and shoulders drooped lower than a bad cricket inning.

This perpetual “push of basic” leaves a feeling of resentment in the male customer, who, most often, “waits until they travel” to do their yearly shopping. If we were to do an accounting audit of all the men who “did their yearly clothes shopping abroad” we would realise that it is a situation where millions of locally earned dollars are spent abroad.

But the big question at this point is why do most men feel the need to shop abroad? Or, why can’t our local designers seem to make the cut when our fashion savvy men are ready to crack open their wallets? I decided to pose this question to several acquaintances in an ttempt to make some sense of this cultural contagion and boy, oh boy, did we make some revelations!

ion collections or products linked to the few- if any at all- “popular” local menswear designers.

The truth is, these designers, writers, bloggers, editors, boutiques etc. usually employ elaborate euphemisms and metaphors, and publish hundreds of images and videos that help to make sure they do not express their objective opinions, since, after all, life is too short to lose advertising possibilities or the occasional free “media invite” to a fashion event. The fashion journalists play a major role in reviewing collections, forecasting trends and forcing producers/retailers to be more thoughtful in their production and selection of what they make available to men in their shops and they should endeavour to be as objective, impartial and non-patronising as they can be. Only then, with honest critique, will our local designers be able to produce items our local men actually want to buy.

THE TROUBLE WITH MENSWEAR ON THE LOCAL MARKET Media influence. You know that figure of speech that says, “call a spade a spade”? Well if the local men’s fashion industry was a deck of cards I’d call it a jack, get it? Jack! Or, rather, for the les s risqué mind, this expression (calling a spade a spade) doesn’t exist to describe fash-

Guyana Fashion Week ( Keno George Photo)

New York Fashion Week (www. nowfashion.com)

Little room for originality. Most men feel like the originality in the range of aesthetics available to them in the local market is vastly lacking. This is in part due to most retailers employing women to do their selection for importation. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this point any further. Also, most fashionable men feel like the man in the street isn’t always ready for a trend until they see an ultra-macho celebrity wearing it. This forces them to only buy and wear certain things when they travel, to avoid a snide “Is where he really feel he going?” or “Is wha he get on deh?” as they navigate our city streets.

Poor finishing. Another major concern is that when we do see “some originality” that

is not a patterned fabric on the pocket of a white shirt, or a stripe of colour down a pant seam, or a wooden button (which I strongly believe should be banned) there is a severe lack of fit and finish and choice of fabric. I guess this is the point where I make a public appeal to our Ministry of Social Cohesion which is now also responsible for culture to invest in quality menswear lecturers, as they do in womenswear lecturers at the Carnegie School of Home Economics and the E. R. Burrowes School of Art, or rather, to invest in a National “Accredited” Fashion School of our own. A school that teaches menswear as well as it teaches womenswear; a school that provides an international standard of education and access to relevant information about marketing, innovations and customer service.

Equality needed. Which brings me to my final point, most men feel like local designers provide better customer service to their female clients.

This is interesting because menswear always, somehow, ends up costing a lot more in comparison. We need to work industriously to close this gap between the service expectations of menswear and womenswear. A gap aggravated by massive differences in costs, originality, quality and customer service.

It is only when this gap is closed that we can be able to create a bridge to bring our lost boys, and their wallets, home to the local market.

Paris Fashion Week (www.nowfashion.com)

VIII

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

folklore AMERICAN JUMBIE

RICKY is an old drunk living on the East Coast of Demerara at Mahaica.

The only thing he loves more than rum is more rum. At age 65 he is ‘dry-up’, bony and ugly. Old boy Ricky loves to cuss. As soon as you get in his way he uses his extensive expletive vocabulary to humble you. After taking a couple of drinks, though, he becomes your best friend.

Both of his daughters lived in the USA. They decided to put in for him.

When the immigration papers finally came through Ricky decided to clean up his act and migrate, so he stopped cussing.

In October 2012 he flew to the USA. The trip was terrible. The stop in Trinidad and Tobago, coupled with the limited food offered, made his trip a hassle. The only comfort he had was a little drink on the flight. The problem with the long delay and search was that the airport sensors kept picking up strong radiation like signals. It was all that Guyanese rum still in Ricky’s system. After searching and rescanning they let him through. Fortunately for him, a security guard caught the scent and almost got drunk. They quickly processed him in order not to further compromise their staff.

When he exited at JFK Airport, his youngest daughter came to get him. She drove home to Queens, New York and showed him to his room. She then left for work. Stressed out from a long frustrating flight, Ricky went out to the corner Deli and bought a large bottle of rum. Back home he drank himself silly. He fell into a sound, drunken slumber.

Unknown to him, his two grandchildren, Suzie and Cathy arrived home from school. They sat watching movies until their mother arrived home. She was late and had to hustle to prepare dinner. She completely forgot about her father in the guest room. The two kids sat watching ‘Scary Movie’. Each time something strange happened they jumped and giggled in fear. The movie was just getting to one of the more scary parts when Ricky stumbled from the bedroom without his shirt looking like a skeleton wrapped in skin.

Pandemonium ensued. The TV boomed and the girls jumped and screamed. Ricky stumbled and grumbled and the girls looked around, shrieked and invaded the kitchen to the shock of their mother.

Ricky was unsure where he was.

He had been on some kind of airplane; or was it one of his drunken eams? He looked around him and everything was unfamiliar. Dear God, he was either dead or in a strange house by mistake.

He would soon find out. He stumbled from the bed and headed for the door.

The house was cold. As he swung the door open, a gust of cold air hit him. He cringed; he then realised that he had no shirt on. The loud sound of a television caught his ears. He headed in that direction. “Eeee!”

The screams made Rick almost jump out of his skin. What was going on? He could see two heads as they sat on the sofa watching TV. He tried calling out to them but his voice seemed to be malfunctioning. It just allowed for a kind of grunt.

The two heads turned and four aston-

By Neil Primus

ished eyes took in his appearance.

“Eeeee! Eeee!”

Two girls jumped up from the sofa and ran screaming into another room. That must be the kitchen.

The familiar smell of curry was coming from that room. He stumbled headlong into the room.

Meanwhile, the shocked mother suddenly remembered that her father was in the house. She tried to explain this to her horrified daughters. “ It’s not a boogie man!” The woman said.

‘It’s a ghost!” The girls exclaimed.

“It’s your grandpa from Guyana!”

Their mother responded.

“What?’

Yes, it’s grandpa. He is here.”

Ricky made an undignified entrance almost falling over.

Four eyes stared at him in wonder.

Then a little voice exclaimed: “Grandad you are a Guyanese Jumbie.

You frighten us like when mom tells us those scary stories!”

Poor Ricky; his throbbing head and tilting horizon were making matters worse. His befuddled brain was desperately trying to make sense of this confusing situation. All he seemed able to make out was two strange little creatures screaming and pointing at him. And then the words hit him. “Guyanese Jumbie!” He squinted at them and waited until they stopped moving all over the place.

“No!” Ricky said, as he tried to muster all the pride his drunken state could manage. “Me is Guyanese rum boogie but you is American Jumbie!”

He grinned in toothless pleasure, waved to his amused daughter and headed in a zigzag course back to his room. As he exited the kitchen he heard peels of laughter.

America seemed to have spirits of its own.

He had encountered two types already.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

IX

#SupportCreativity

By Subraj Singh

Submit To The Guyana Annual Writing Competition Now

THE deadline for submission into this competition is Thursday, November 30. Entries can be submitted electronically.

Entry details can be found on The Guyana Annual’s Facebook page.

Winning entries in each category will receive cash prizes and will also be published in the magazine. I am rushed and eager to remind the writing and reading public about this event simply because writing competitions are so rare in Guyana. There is the Guyana Prize, course, but a The Guyana Annual (Image via Facebook) writing award that emerges from a magGaiutra Bahadur’s fantastic non-fiction work, azine feels more contemporary, more intimate, in the same vein Coolie Women, has helped to bring non-fiction of other literary magazines and journals writing back into focus here in Guyana, and (Writers Digest, Wasafiri, etc.) around the one hopes that the interest garnered over the world that offer writing awards. It is an im- past few years has remained and expresses portant step within the context of the local itself in the form of submissions for the David Guyanese literary landscape – it is, in fact, DeCaires Prize, which, though limited to jouran event – that local writers, particularly nalism, still falls into the category of non-fiction. Literature is a broad spectrum of works young writers, must take advantage of.

The Guyana Annual is over 100 years old shaped using words. Non-fiction occupied a and it has published several Guyanese writers large portion of that spectrum, and it is indeed who have gone on to become iconic in the field good to know that there are those willing to of Caribbean literature. The new prizes offered fund prizes for journalism, especially given the by the magazine in its newest incarnation is an importance of the media in this current age of important step in both publishing and preserv- technology and a host of topics worth covering ing Guyanese literature, and it is a move that and bringing to the eyes of society.

There is also the Bertram Charles Prize one hopes will both stimulate and promote for Drama – which rewards the playwright Guyanese writing.

There are two competitions for both of a one-act play. The Drama category of the Short Story and Poetry (Open and Junior). Guyana Prize for Literature does not, for some This means that the competition caters to strange reason, reward writers of one-act plays. both more experienced as well as younger I have always felt that this carried an unfair writers, rather than putting everyone to implication that a one-act play was somehow compete against each other, regardless of less deep, less complex than a full-length play. experience and age. Other categories include So I am quite glad that the Annual is rewarding the Sheila King Award for Short Stories for the writers or one-acts – the most common type Children, which is significant considering of play in Guyana.

Other prizes include Hawley Harris Prize that if the issue of literature needs to be addressed in the Caribbean, then stories and for Cartoon, the Stephanie Correia Award for poems designed with young readers in mind Fine Arts, and the Bobby Fernandes Award for are an especially part of that plan. The Burt Photography. There is also a segment of the Award for Caribbean Literature is another competition called the Tulsi Dyal Singh Oil initiative that seeks to reward writers who and Gas Competition which offers a $250,000 prize to an essayist who chooses to write on write for children.

The David DeCaires Prize for Journalism one of several oil and gas related topics, such is another award being offered by The Guy- as Marine Mapping, Environmental Impact, ana Annual. This is interesting, particularly Capital Inputs, Off Shore vs On Shore Implibecause Guyana has never been a country that cations, etc.

Clearly there is a range of prizes to be has been too obsessed with non-fiction writing.

This is unfortunate because there is usually won from The Guyana Annual, and hopeso much to be gleaned and appreciated from fully, this is the catalyst needed to create non-fiction work – a genre that comes with a range of writing from young Guyanese its own rules, styles and modes of expression. authors.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XI

Buxton’s ‘Fire-Fred’ determined to take his music higher

By Ravena Gildharie OUT of a community where villagers often face harsh judgments from society comes the melodies of Shumba Blair better known as ‘Fire Fred’, a talented songwriter/singer/composer who is still determined to prove himself as ‘a musical Buxtonian’ on the pedestal of Guyana’s entertainment industry.

Just two weeks ago, he performed before a massive crowd at a private event in Berbice, following on the heels of similar shows on the East Bank and East Coast Demerara , as well as in Linden and Essequibo. Blair has on many occasions in the past shared the stage with other local, regional and international musical talents.

Involved in entertainment for about 10 years now, Blair’s songs are mostly set in the reggae genre and are inspired by his passion for what he terms “conscious and positive vibes.”

“I see music as a way of Shumba Blair teaching and reaching out to people to spread good messages of love and guidance. Music is from the things we do and see every day. Music, in a way, is life that we transfer into lyrics and songs to share with others,” Blair shared during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.

Born in the village of Buxton, the artiste recalled growing up among male relatives and friends who loved and enjoyed reggae music, which was played daily for their personal enjoyment. From an early age, he developed a liking for international reggae talents such as Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. He was further moved by local reggae artistes like Alabama and First Born. This inspired Blair to write, record and produce his own music, and he later entered the scene with releases from Platinum Recording, Alabama, Brutal Tracks and currently Extreme Studio.

To date, he has written and produced over 60 songs, some of which have been performed locally and aired on the local radio. In the last two months, he released three new songs including “Lay Down” and “Gain Knowledge.”

“To my fans who may think ‘Fire-Fred’ has gone out of style,

Fire-Fred on stage at local show

let me say that is not so, ‘Fire-Fred’ is still very much around and got some brand-new music to share,” Blair stated, adding that his songs are inspired by experiences and his observations of people with whom he comes into contact each day. In studio, he said, he is known as the ‘freestyle boss,’ stemming from his ability to come up with impromptu lyrics to match the rhythms of the music he is recording at the time.

Though well into his 30s now, Blair still has a deep passion for music and remains hopeful of someday “making it big” in the industry, despite the acknowledgment that the field is riddled by stiff competition and numerous challenges facing rising musicians like himself.

“I see myself in the next five years representing Guyana internationally. That would be so great and this is something I look forward to,” Blair expressed.

In the meantime, he enjoys popularity at local shows and events where ‘Fire-Fred’ had developed his own fan base with reggae lovers.

This alone is an achievement for Blair being from a village which he believes still fetches a bad reputation for ills of the past and its villagers are often judged and shunned.

“Well we know Buxton got a bad name and a bad picture, but going out and doing my music for people, I never get no bad feedback from my fans. I tell them I am the Buxton music ‘criminal,’ but not a bad boy criminal because people don’t expect nothing good coming from Buxton but I bring my music to them,” Blair stated.

“I always get a warm welcome anywhere I go and I get respect for me and my music,” he added, quite pleased.

When not producing music, Blair operates his own vending business and also works periodically in the mining industry.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

#SupportCreativity

Power, Wealth and the Reversal of Fortune FRINGE Projects last month presented Reversal of Fortune, one of the latest series of site-specific work by internationally acclaimed London-based Guyanese artist, Hew Locke. The work, which is visible from the storefront windows of an empty jewelry store in Miami’s historic Alfred I. du Pont building, is an installation of modified share certificates that were scanned and printed in a similar method to advertising billboards. It uses this format to address themes of history and the global movement of money, power and ownership.

Share certificates are written documents signed on behalf of a corporation, which serve as legal proof of ownership of the number of shares indicated. Key information printed on those documents would typically include the name and address of the shareholder; the

number of shares held; the class of shares and the amount paid on those shares. It was also common practice for companies to adorn their shares with the kind of bold typography and classical motifs that implied stability and worth. It is precisely that practice of adornment that has become central to the way Locke uses those documents to engage with themes of wealth, its [non]distribution and the [non]beneficiaries.

Since the global financial crash of 2008, Locke has been acquiring and modifying a number of original antique share certificates.

Quite often his approach to working with these documents has included identifying aesthetic and historical content that resonate the most with his vision, and subsequently altering their surfaces with painted depictions of the local population in which the companies operated. For Locke, these are silent

The storefront view of Moray’s Jeweler’s featuring work from Hew Locke’s Reversal of Fortune site-specific installation. Photo by Zachary Balber, courtesy of Fringe Projects

witnesses who contributed to the creation of wealth without receiving the benefit.

This series of work marks the continuation of Locke’s Gold Standard series and by its very nature also acknowledges the commodity value of contemporary art. Replicas of the shares are available to be taken by visitors from the vault as a means to further global currency circulation.

About the layered quality of his work Locke had the following to say, “I aim to create attractive work that engages people, and then surprise them with a disturbing element. I hope they start to question what the work is about – what is really going on beneath the surface.”

While there is an immediacy that is directly tied to the often monumental scale of his work, there is also an intimacy that reveals itself upon closer examination of his What was once the store’s vault has been transformed exhaustive attention to detail.

It is the successful merger of by Locke’s Reversal of Fortune installation. Photo by Zachary Balber, courtesy of Fringe Projects these two methodologies that, in my opinion, allows the work to transcend time. The use of themes are just as relevant in the here and historical material, whether to engage with now as they were in the years prior. concepts of wealth, power or invented/imThe Reversal of Fortune installation will ported cultures, work well to prove that these Turn to page XXIII ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XIII

Converting agricultural waste to energy Part one

GUYANA can produce 185,696.44 megawatts of energy from rice husk annually IMAGINE all of the vehicles in this country being powered by fuels that are produced from a renewable source. Imagine that the burning of these fuels does not contribute to global climate change.

Imagine that these fuels are produced in Guyana, generating jobs and revenue— that is the promise of bioenergy.

Bioenergy is the use of biological resources including plants, algae, marine life, fungi and micro-organisms, for producing renewable energy (including biofuel).

Having recognised the impact bioenergy would have on the country, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Oudho Homenauth and Clairmont Clementson, both Research Scientists conducted a research.

The study, which was aided by Research Assistants, Lalita Gopaul and Vickram Persaud, was done early this year and centered on the investigation of Bioenergy utilisation in Guyana,including environmental and economic impacts.

The bioenergy sources identified in Guyana are rice husk from rice production, residues from the forestry industry, biodiesel from palm oil, cogeneration of bagasse, bioethanol from the molasses and biogas from cattle manure, sewage sludge, and urban and suburban waste.

The research scientists found that the use of bioenergy can slow the process of climate change by lowering the net release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and reduce the cost of energy, therefore, providing a plausible solution to the twin challenges of energy security and climate change mitigation.

According to the report, “The climate, soil and topography are suitable for agriculture; hence utilising agricultural biomass waste for energy production can be feasible.”

Additionally, with rice and sugar cane being the most dominant agricultural crops in Guyana, utilising wastes from these two industries could help in reducing solid waste while at the same time producing clean energy.

ENERGY FROM RICE PRODUCTION It was found that rice husk, which is collected from the milling of paddy, contains 35 percent organic carbon and has calorific value of 3000 kilocalorie/ kilogrammes and can be used to generate fuel, heat or electricity through thermal, chemical or biological process.

In 2014, rice production was 683,516 tonnes, providing an average of 368,047 tonnes of rice husk as waste. Gasification is one of the cleanest, most efficient methods known for the conversion of rice husk biomass to electricity.

The gasification process involves burning at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen thereby reducing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Gasification of 220 kilogrammes of rice husk of negligible moisture can produce 93-129 kilowatt of power.

Therefore, from annual rice production, Guyana can produce an average of 185,696.44 megawatts of energy, cutting the country’s annual diesel requirement by 109,813 barrels if all rice wastes are efficiently converted into energy.

Currently, a number of mills burn approximately 65 percent of their rice husk to generate heat for drying of paddy while about 35 percent of their rice husk ,together with the char from burning is being dumped in open spaces surrounding the mills, causing environmental threats to surrounding communities.

According to the local researchers,while the use of rice husk can provide energy to cater for some of the milling energy demands, millers are unable to fund the initially high investment. Millers noted that if support is available they would be willing to pursue waste to energy initiatives.

It was found that the unwillingness of some operators to adopt clean energy method is due to the lack of awareness of the benefits of using their waste to produce energy. Upon implementation of a gasification plant, there would be a need for specifically, skilled labour to operate and maintain the plant’s operations.

The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) will play a major role in educating operators on the benefits of using bioenergy.

The researchers indicated that the Chief Research Scientist and the Head of the Value-Added Department at GRDB indicated that more rice mills would soon be able to benefit from gasification plants through collaboration with The Energy Institute of India (TERI) and Energy Efficient Solutions Limited (EESL).

TERI would provide technical support, including training for rice mills staffers who are willing to adopt gasification systems, while EESL will provide financial aid.

Some millers are willing to invest in gasification plants since disposing of their rice husk is proving problematic. Currently, the country’s only rice husk gasification plant is operated by the Ramlakhan and Sons’ Rice Mill at Exmouth, Essequibo Coast.

This plant utilises rice husk from their milling process to power 70 percent of their internal operations. The mill funded the investment and received technical support from TERI. The Foreign Energy Institute is also working along with another operator to make waste to energy a reality.

Rice husk accumulated at a rice mill

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

COURTS CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHT-UP

A

Growing Tradition

By Francis Quamina Farrier

A country becomes a more cohesive nation when traditions which encompass all citizens, are maintained and improved upon over the years.

There should be no let-up in maintaining our good traditions. For example, the way in which Guyanese celebrate the upcoming festive season is a prime example.

One of the newer Guyanese Christmas traditions which begins the earliest, is the COURTS Christmas Tree Light Up. That annual event takes place within the southern block of Main Street in downtown Georgetown from mid-November and is up-kept until the end of the Christmas Season.

Although relatively new, Guyanese have shown their interest by attending the event every year in their numbers. Most of the adults arrive with their young children and grandchildren; they include many fathers who are seen giving quality time to their young children, even though such men are hardly ever recognised by the wider society.

This COURTS pre-Christmas tradition, which is staged within the southern block of Main Street in Georgetown, is in fact, one of those Family Fun events which children really enjoy. The Christmas spirit comes alive with a stage show at which some popular artistes perform some of the favourite Christmas and non-Christmas songs. Being there with their parents, grandparents and guardians, enjoying the stage entertainment, the lighting up of the trees in the avenue, and finally the arrival of Santa

Local entertainer Charmaine Blackman and Courts Casting Call Winner, 2017, Esther Thomas, react with amusement in this photo. (Photo by Francis Quamina Farrier)

Claus, usually riding on the top of a large vehicle, make for a marvelous start to the Holiday Season for those youngsters who are privileged to attend. They are all hyped up, singing along with the artistes on stage, and joining in on the countdown for the switch to be thrown for the lights to go on.

What is of note as regards the stage entertainment, is the performances by the COURTS choir;

members of COURTS staff, who come together as a choir, to sing some of the more popular Christmas songs. The COURTS choir, is a splendid example of Social Cultural Cohesion.

Over the years, there have been many local celebrities present at the COURTS Annual Christmas Tree Light Up; including mayors and First Ladies, who would address the audience and also throw the switch which turns on the thousands of lights which are strung along the top branches of the trees in that

section of the Main Street avenue. This year, Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo, the wife of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, was the honoured guest, and was given the opportunity to address the audience. She spoke almost exclusively to the children and encouraged them to be good students and good citizens.

Of interest, is the COURTS CHRISTMAS ROAD SHOWS, which are staged after the Georgetown event. There are similar on-stage entertainment, as well as lucky Courts customers receiving up 100 percent reduction on recent purchases made.

Some of the principal venues where the COURT ROAD SHOWS are held include New Amsterdam, Mahaica, Parika, Richmond, Bartica, and Linden; all part of this COURTS Guyana Christmas Tradition.

It must be mentioned that there is a humanitarian element to the COURTS Christmas tradition.

Quite a number of agencies, both government and non-governmental, receive tangible gifts to assist with their service to the public. In Georgetown, the Children’s Pediatric Ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital is one of the recipients, and in New Amsterdam, the Alpha Children’s Home has been receiving assistance from COURTS over the years.

Many schools, including the Diamond Special Needs School, as well as a number of religious organisations, receive assistance from COURTS at Christmas time.

So here is a relatively new Christmas tradition by a Corporate Citizen - COURTS (Guyana, Inc.) - which others may well desire to emulate and bring a bit of the Good Life to Guyanese during the Christmas Season.

This father poses with his two children in front of the COURTS Christmas tree. (Photo

by Francis Quamina Farrier)

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XV

What a week!

I swear I can write a book about writing a book!

The last week before the launch date of LIVING WITH INTENTION was super challenging and I was surprisingly calm most of the time. Maybe I can credit that my faith, personal growth and the people in my front row.

There were files that were not opening to files disappearing.

Shiv Dindyal who is more than a graphic designer to me designed the beautiful cover. At one point, while changing a few things the software malfunctioned and he was freaking out and I told him: ‘Don’t worry, we will win.’ He is such a trooper and I appreciate his contribution to this project.

His dedication was admirable and I could not make the deadline without him. The constant power failure did not help. One day we had to go to the Pegasus to get some work done. I must thank my friend Sean for the fabulous shoot for the cover. Richard edited the book and when he was almost finished, the document disappeared. Editing is time-consuming and tedious. I told myself these are the things that happen when something great is about to be birthed. I told Richard not to panic because things will work themselves out and they did.

One of the most exciting emails I ever received was from Amazon saying my book has been accepted. ‘Sonia, you actually wrote a book?’ I asked myself.

The email had some instructions about the promotion of the book that I had to go through and you will not guess what happened. It was deleted by mistake. WOW! With everything that is going on, I still have to concentrate on getting my shop ready for the holidays and meeting

Beyond the Runway with Dr. Sonia Noel

... Inspiring lives through fashion your copy from Amazon and visit livingwithintention11@ gmail.com

clients.

Some nights I get only two to three hours of sleep and have to be energetic the next day. The power of the mind is so powerful and that is why you must train our thoughts to be positive. I knew this project was going to take a lot out of me but when I make a decision to commit I give my all.

Even with these challenges this project will forever change the course of my life.

I am saying my dedication and a chapter from one of the chapters.

Remember to download

FOREWARD I dedicate this book to the men, women, boys and girls who are still struggling to find themselves and love themselves. You can press the reset button now for that positive change. You will unearth that greatness you possess the day you intentionally decide to grow. Don’t rob the world of your amazing contribution.

Send us an email to beyondtherunway1@gmail.com or visit our FB page as we continue the beautiful journey BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

FILES E S A C COURT

Injured infant got thousands of dollars in compensation plus taxed costs

INFANT Sancharie, who was injured in 1965 in a passenger-bus accident, was at the age of 10 when Judge Mitchell granted her $4, 414.25 judgment with costs to be taxed against the defendants.

On 28th April, 1965 , the plaintiff, an infant , was a passenger in a bus owned by the first-named defendant, Shabeer Khan, and driven by the second-named defendant, Motilall, as servant and or agent of the first-named defendant, when she sustained injuries, in a bus that toppled.

A portion of the road on which the bus was travelling was under repair and sand was being discharged from a parked truck on the western side of the road . The repairs were to the surface and traffic was permitted to and did pass on the eastern side of the road . There were drums about three (3) feet apart on about thirty (30) rods of road indicating that it was being repaired and a man on

the road signallng the path vehicles ought to follow.

The bus was proceeding along about the middle portion of the eastern side of the road and as it was passing the truck, it swerved to the right and in doing so toppled, with consequential damage to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff, by her guardian and a friend, Bhagaratty, on 26th March, 1969 filed an action against the defendants for damages. The defendants asserted that the accident was not caused by negligence on their part but was attributable to inevitable accident. In furtherance of their defence , the defence argued that the action was statute-barred.

HELD: (1) That even though the road was under repairs , there is no evidence from which it could be said that the area was interfered with, to the extent to make it probable that subsidence of soil took place under the weight of the bus.

(2) If the second-named defendant had not swerved when he was passing the parked truck , he would not have deviated from the normal path of the road and to such extent as to cause the bus to topple.

The accident, was not attributable to inevitable accident , as the second-named could have prevented the accident by the exercise of ordinary care and caution.

(3) It was the driving of the second-named defendant and no other factor in those circumstances which was responsible for the “toppling” of the bus with consequential injury to the plaintiff.

(4) An infant who has a cause of action is not obliged to wait until the age of majority to bring the action, but the disability by reason of minority continues and the period of limitation does not begin to run until that disability is removed by the coming of age.

Judgment for the plaintiff in

the sum of $4, .414.25, against both defendants, jointly and severally with costs to the plaintiff to be taxed.

JUDGMENT FOR THE PLAINTIFF. J.O.F. Haynes, S.C. for the plaintiff.

A. S. Manraj, S. C., for defendants.

Justice Mitchell began judgment by saying “The hearing and judgment of this matter has been protracted for reasons over which this Court has no control. “ The plaintiff’s claim against the defendants jointly and severally is for damages in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for negligence by the defendants, in driving and management of motor bus No. B.P. 286 at Johanna Cecilia , Essequibo Coast in the county of Essequibo,Guyana, on 28th April, 1965, whereby the plaintiff suffered loss and injury.

By George Barclay

The plaintiff alleged that on 28th April, 1965 she was a passenger in the motor bus BP 286 which was owned by Shabeer Khan, the first-named defendant and driven by the second-named defendant, Motilall, who was a servant and or agent of the first named defendant , on the Johanna Cecilia Publi c Road , Essequibo ,when by reason of the negligence of the second-named defendant , the said motor bus BP 286 overturned and as a result the infant-plaintiff was injured and was hospitalised for over two months .

When the bus toppled the plaintiff was one of several passengers in the bus.

She became unconscious after the bus toppled over and regained consciousness in the Suddie Hospital where she spent three days .

She was taken to the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital,where she spent three months and 10 days.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XVII

When was your last cleaning?

IF your answer to the caption above is, “Can’t really remember,” then it is time to have one. Those who are lucky to still be in the possession of their natural teeth, should be smart enough to maintain their good fortune by having prophylaxis (cleaning) done at least once every three months. The word prophylaxis means prevention. Mind you, cleaning does not whiten teeth; all it does is to remove plaque, calculus and extraneous stains such as nicotine deposits. If cleaning is not done, persons may suffer from periodontal (gum) disease despite regular and thorough brushing with flossing. These preventative measures cannot guarantee the absolute freedom from any dental affliction because direct vision and objective procedures are essential.

What patients refer to as “clean and polish” clinically means clean the teeth and polish the fillings. Scaling, root planing

and curettage (scraping diseased gums) have been the basic procedures in the periodontal therapy long before periodontics was recognised as a specialty of dentists. Exactly, what are the indications, contradictions and expectations of these modalities of treatment?

The periodontal lesion consists of a pocket. The tooth aspect of this pocket is the dentin and cementum of the root. The soft tissue aspect is comprised of an epithelial lining and connective tissue. When observed under a microscope, the soft tissue displays a chronic inflammatory lesion. In other words, certain types of cells invade the gum manifesting breakdown products as well as a sign of repair. The pocket deepens in response to this chronic inflammatory process. The atypical migration (penetration along the roots) of the attachment results in a deep sulcus (grove).

Prophylaxis includes the removal of dental plaque, calculus and stains, thereby eliminating all the factors causing the inflammation. The supra-gingival (which is visible above the gum line) deposits are easily removed. Subgingival calculus requires the placing of the instruments below the gingival margin. Scalers are used on the crown of a root to scrape off the hard calculus (tartar) while curettes of an ultrasonic machine fit below the crest.

Root planing is the removal of calculus and “root roughness” from the surface of the tooth. The goal is to leave a smooth glasslike surface. This accomplishes the removal of necrotic cementum and dentin, bacterial products and endotoxins ( poisons) in the decayed cementum. Curettage has a minimal effect on the fibrous or firm gingival pockets. However, in the case of spongy gums, the inner pocket lining is scraped away. The more bleeding that occurs in the process, the better the results. Deep, narrow pockets will not shrink and are difficult to scale due to the adjacent soft tissue walls which are firmly attached. Such areas are often seen in the upper anterior region.

The most desirable outcome to curettage, therefore, is regeneration and reattachment. Unfortunately, epithelial adaption does not create a stable result.

Healing of the pocket may occur in three different ways: regeneration, reattachment and epithelial adaption. Regeneration is the growth of new tissues. Young cells develop into specialised tissues. Regeneration is the formation of new periodontal ligament and new cementum with the attachment of gingival epithelium to tooth surface denuded of disease. Epithelial adaption is close apposition of gingival epithelium to the tooth surface.

This is not firmly attached to the root surface. A probe (dental instrument ) will not pass into the pocket, but breakdown can occur with the first insult from plaque and calculus.

Generally, there can never be complete recovery from moderate to severe periodontal disease. Once the alveolar bone is destroyed in the process of the ailment, naturally, there is inadequate support for the tooth and it now becomes shaky. Depending on the degree of looseness extraction may be the only solution.

In some severe cases, more than one cleaning session is required to achieve the desired result. It is obvious that

on clinical level, scaling, root planing and curettage are interrelated and necessary for the healing of specific types of periodontal lesions.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Curtains come down at National ... ◄◄◄ From page III

ly share their experiences, embrace new forms of theatre, then theatre in Guyana would be in good hands.”

Mosa expressed the wish to see the National Drama Festival extended to last over several months in order for theatre to be better celebrated on a larger scale.

“I believe we should start treating it the way carnival is treated in Trinidad. As soon as one is over, the next one is already being planned. Doing it that way would also give Guyanese in other regions the fair chance to participate. I also believe that we can have regional competitions before we even get to the National Drama Festival and the winners from the regional competition are then given the opportunity to compete in the finals,” she said. “I also believe that writers, directors and actors should have access to workshops where they can be guided in how to craft their work. Many times, what you see at the drama festival is good work, but with more time and guidance it could be better.”

Overall, however, she believes that judging by the work she has seen in other plays within the Festival, the acting and directing were both commendable.

THE USE OF COMEDY For ‘Spit’, Clinton Duncan incorporated themes of aging,

long-term friendships and migration in the hopes of finding “betterment”.

“My main influence was looking at how “the system” treats our elderly, especially with regard to ease of access to pension and retirement provisions. It is [also] based on multiple true events, one of which is the post office robbery on Dec 2, 2014, right in my village of Beterverwagting, where gunmen got away with millions on pension day,” Clinton told the Pepperpot Magazine. “I believe that art should reflect life, and at first, I wanted to take a more dramatic route to the exploration of this topic but I soon realised that as a people we need to laugh a lot more.

Comedy, and more specifically satire was my contribution to this year’s festival as a

Mark Luke Edwards and Frederick Minty in Clinton Duncan’s ‘Spit’

Kimberly Fernandes and Clinton Duncan in Mosa Telford’s ‘Children of Baby’

non-direct satirical jab at the system.”

And comedy was what his play brought indeed. Clinton related that people still “ burst out laughing” when he runs into them in person. “For the first time in a long time, I could hear the entire audience laugh and applaud a piece of comedy that they could relate to that wasn’t stand-up.

The truth is that the stand-up comedy and skit shows have dominated the industry for the past few years, so it was refreshing to see that something of this nature with an extended plot could hold their attention, even after sitting through two prior plays and a one hour set change,” he said.

Clinton is no stranger to voicing his opinions on the need for more support for the local theatre industry, and the important role that young people play in it. “Young

people explore more experimental forms of theatre I believe.

You should be able to investigate a good piece of theatre and be able to metaphorically see a segment of what the society was like during the time when it was written. The purpose of the youth in theatre is to bridge the gap between the ‘Caribbean theatrical structure’ established by the elders in our industry with a neo-classical and socio-economical vantage point of modern theatrical innovations,” he said.

As for the National Drama Festival itself, Clinton hopes that the Festival would allow for the winning plays to be produced for a wider audience. “We see scores of amazing plays every year and then we never see them again. I think part of the cultural policy of the Ministry attached to the festival should be to foster “year round” support of the drama industry and not just during the festival…For me, theatre is a business. It is not “just something I do for fun” and the “higher ups”. So we need to treat it the same way they treat other industries like sports,” he said. “We need more investment into theatrical infrastructure, better props, more access to subsidies and relaxed taxes on first time producers. The fact is that the local National Drama Festival is the largest in the Caribbean and can be invested in and exploited as a major tourism selling point, but our cultural advisors seem lackadaisical when it comes to the needs of thespians. This has to change, and it has to change very fast!”

Nevertheless, Clinton noted that the festival itself was satisfactory, adding that every night was a night of “entertainment and quality” but wished that more funding for advertisement could have been made so that a larger audience could have been allowed to see local thespians at their best.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

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‘Benjie Darling’ at the 2017 National Drama Festival

By Gibron Rahim “BENJIE darling, my only sweetheart.”

THE lyrics and the song ‘Benjie Darling’ by the late great Nisha Benjamin are instantly recognisable. The song is a motif in Dr. Paloma Mohamed’s play ‘Benjie Darling’. The play was just staged at the recently concluded 2017 National Drama Festival (NDF) in the open full-length category. The performance of Benjie Darling at NDF 2017 was undoubtedly a memorable one.

Benjie Darling was staged on November 20, on the Festival’s third day, and directed by Simone Dowding. The audience was first introduced to the Springer sisters Alexandra “Alex” and Candace “Daisy” and to their gardener Benjie in the opening scene. Benjie was resentful of the sisters’ ease of living while he had to toil in his old age. The basis of his resentment would later be revealed in one of the play’s twists. The sisters repeatedly clashed over Alex’s contentment with how their lives turned out contrasted with Daisy’s deep regret. That conflict worsened when Daisy discovered that Alex had a role in her remaining unmarried. The relationship between the two sisters became further endangered when Daisy fell in love with and married Benjie. That conflict and the antagonism between Alex and Benjie came to a head in Benjie Darling’s final scenes.

The play is primarily a love story-if an unconventional one. Benjie and Daisy’s love story was not built on the purest of motives as the audience discovered. Yet, we were able to see love in progression. The play explored love and romance in an advanced age. Aging and regret were another important theme in Benjie Darling. The sisters were elderly unmarried spinsters. From the opening and throughout the play it was seen that Alexandra was quite content with that lot and perhaps even reveled in it. At the same time, Daisy was shown to be regretful of never having become a wife and mother. One of the play’s heartbreaking moments occurred when Daisy came face-to-face with her aged reflection in the mirror. There are some choices we make and there are some that are taken out

Colleen Humphrey, Simone Dowding and Clinton Duncan perform in ‘Benjie Darling’ (Photo by Godfrey Phil)

of our hands, as Daisy and the audience learned.

Benjie Darling is carried by the three main characters – Benjie, Daisy and Alex. Benjie is forced to work for the sisters in his old age.

He was shown to be resentful of them living in comfort while he had to toil in the sun. His bitterness became even more understandable when it was revealed that he was homeless and had been living in the sisters’ shed. The character had a softer side as well, as Daisy discovered. It was just masked by his gruffness. Then there is Daisy. Like her namesake flower, Daisy was delicate. Kind and gentle, she was undoubtedly Benjie Darling’s vulnerable character. That is not to say that she did not possess strength. She had the resolve to defy her sister and social expectations to marry a man she loved and to referee the outbreaks of conflict between her sister and Benjie. That leaves the character of Alex. She is a character who is quite complex. She was haughty and proud. But she also had an element

of vulnerability to her. Alex had made difficult decisions in her life. It was also clear throughout that she loved her sister.

The performance of Benjie Darling at the 2017 National Drama Festival could not have been possible without its superb actors. Playing the role of Benjie was Clinton Duncan. The actor pulled off the role with competence and nuance.

Duncan’s crotchety Benjie was so believable that it was easy to forget that the character was much older than Duncan’s years. His crisp delivery made Benjie’s clever lines all the more impactful and side-splitting. Simone Dowding gave a very heartfelt characterisation to Daisy.

The character was the play’s heart and Dowding carried the role beautifully. We laughed and cried with her essaying of naïve but kind Daisy, Colleen Humphrey brought the strong character of Alex to life on stage. Humphrey’s Alex was proud and no-nonsense. Yet, there was a layer of vulnerability to Alex in her relationship with her sister and in a twist that was revealed later in the play. Humphrey was able to capture and balance Alex’s vulnerability and strength.

Though there were only three of them, the stage never felt empty with Duncan, Dowding and Humphrey performing. This was especially true when all three were onstage together. The three played off of each other without overpowering each other.

Benjie Darling made use of lights, sound, costuming and set design. There was no difficulty in making out the characters’ words. Alex’s fashion sense contrasted beautifully with Daisy’s dowdiness, a clear reflection of the difference in personalities between the two. The age makeup of the three characters sold the illusion that they were elderly. The song ‘Benjie Darling’ reminded the audience that the play is a love story but also of a bygone era when the characters were young. The set was designed to portray an aura of affluence in the house and garden of the Springer sisters. It succeeded to a great degree.

One might have wished that the set’s grand piano had been placed more prominently on stage since it was part of a touching scene between Benjie and Daisy. But that is minor and nitpicking at best. Overall, the different elements all worked together.

The National Drama Festival of 2017 gave its audience another year of some truly memorable plays. Benjie Darling is for certain among these. The actors’ performances and the technical elements combined to create a hilarious and heartwarming performance.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017 Virgo You might decide to spend some time on your own today so you can reconnect with your inner world. The imaginative Pisces Moon is visiting your 7th House of Relationships, flooding your fantasies with vague impressions that seem to originate from others. You can’t easily tell which feelings are yours and which belong to someone else. Turn down the noise by temporarily avoiding crowds. Anthony Douglas Williams wrote, “Silence has a mysterious calming effect, allowing your soul to be at peace with your thoughts.”

Aries In theory, you understand why it’s wise to be receptive to other people’s perspectives. You might even go out of your way to ask someone to share their experiences.

But, in practice, you’re itching to stop talking and swing into action. Although the Pisces Moon encourages reflection, the Sagittarius Sun speaks to your need for speed. Nevertheless, you ultimately believe that he who hesitates is lost. Gandhi said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Taurus Socialising with your friends and family brings out the best in you today. However, the adventurous Sagittarius Sun is arguing with the dreamy Pisces Moon in your 11th House of Community. Sharing your hopes for the future sounds enticing, but you might not feel supported if others think you’re heading in the wrong direction. Although you may want to leave at the first sign of conflict, talking it out puts everyone’s concerns to rest. Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead wrote, “Every really new idea looks crazy at first.”

Gemini You don’t know whether or not to take people at face value today. Someone may suggest an activity that sounds fantastic to you, but they become less enthused as your excitement mounts. You wonder if you’re reading the energy wrong and could be confused by the entire interaction. But this situation stirs a deeper issue about your natural willingness to go along with others. Your adaptability can become problematic if you agree to an idea before thinking it through. Keep your expectations realistic now; go ahead and create a back-up plan so you won’t be disappointed if plans change.

Cancer You are in danger of letting your compassion spin out of control today. It’s one thing to empathise with someone who is in pain, but don’t allow their suffering to overwhelm your heart. You can do the most good by carefully managing your boundaries now. Maintaining a clear sense of self is necessary for your wellbeing or you could drown in the process of healing others. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Relax and put your needs first for a change.

Leo As long as you are smiling, the world will smile with you -- or so it seems. You may consciously choose to walk on the sunny side of the street today since you know it’s not as pleasant in the shade. However, you soon realise that a significant part of the spectrum of reality is missing from your experience. You don’t need to seek negativity just to know how it feels, but failing to face a challenge because its uncomfortable does not serve you in the long run. Carl Jung wrote, “Shadow work is the path of the heart warrior.”

Libra Your desire to be of service to those you love lights up your world today. Instead of pursuing personal pleasure, you’re inclined to share your gifts in the hopes of improving the lives of others. Happily, when your friends feel better, so do you. Just don’t lose sight of your own physical and emotional needs. Nothing is gained if you deplete your energy in your effort to help everyone else. Recharging your batteries is necessary when you give more than you get.

Scorpio Your dreams feel closer than ever today, but you realise your path is not always easy. You might be tempted to close down and hide your feelings in order to protect your vulnerable heart. However, creating unnecessary boundaries won’t make obstacles disappear and can isolate you from your most dedicated supporters. Sufi poet Rumi wrote, “Why struggle to open a door between us when the whole wall is an illusion?”

Sagittarius You’re on a quest to be the best possible version of yourself today. Your friends and family can see how serious you are about your journey of metaphysical discovery. But they might not be aware of other important facets of your current explorations because you choose to keep some of your process private. You are happy to receive support, but you also believe that no one understands the depth of your spiritual experience. Aristotle wrote, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Capricorn You may feel as if you’re gearing up for showtime but you’re still flying beneath the radar today. You don’t want to let anyone in on your secret yet, but you are busily developing a plan for the next chapter of your life. Although you’re not quite ready to share your ideas, you recognize the immeasurable value of your social network.

Once you initiate action, you’re going to need the participation of others more than ever. Timing is everything when your success is at stake.

Aquarius You’re at the top of your game now, and you can enjoy basking in the warmth of the love surrounding you. Something as simple as a smile from the right person can brighten your world. However, you cannot rest on your laurels, for there is plenty of work yet to be done.

Thankfully, you don’t need to do everything today, but it’s still wise to plot your course when the wind is in your sails. Oprah Winfrey said, “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”

Pisces Nearly everyone who encounters you today receives an energetic boost, feeling happier because your paths have crossed. Whether or not you think of yourself as a healer, you seem to possess the magic touch now. Just listening to someone else’s problems and giving them a few words of encouragement may be enough to lift their spirits. By visualising the best possible outcome in any situation, your imagination creates the way forward for everyone. Your heart shines when your compassion glows.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XXI

VICTORIANS GRATEFUL FOR NEW ROAD ...But speeding is now an issue

By Marinella Glasgow

IT has been almost two months since the residents of Victoria Village have received a new road. The protest that was held in September coerced the relevant authorities into urgent action. Subsequently, after a visit from Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, contractors began the reconstruction

of the road. Due to their work, the deplorable state of the road was redeemed to one that was smooth and well done.

Many villagers expressed their joy and gratitude to the members of the government.

One villager Ms. Wilson joyfully said: “I am so happy that we have not been forgotten. We were frustrated but I’m very happy that our cries met the relevant authorities and so today we have a new,

Morivian Street being worked on

smooth road. Plus we road lookin official with reflectors and nice paint an suh.”

One taxi driver, Mr. Jefferally, stated, “As taxi men, I’m sure that we appreciate the actions that were taken.

Now we don’t have to spend a whole set of money on repairing our cars and tires.

I’m just happy that they remembered us. It was about time they did it.”

Many other workers and even school children show-

cased their happiness by expressing how they can go to school on time and don’t have to be wet by the passing cars when the rain fell.

SIDE EFFECTS On the contrary, a few villagers, despite being pleased about the new development are displeased with the way some villagers especially the motorists use their blessing.

One villager stated, “They quarrelling that the road ain’t doing but when

they get it they going on like they ain’t know about nothing. They quarrelling about too much humps but if we didn’t get the humps a stranger would think this village is a race track. Imagine this is the main road and they blazing down. They ain’t even looking for the children that might run out from the streets.”

Another villager alluded that the misuse of the road has even caused an accident.

“The other day, one of them knock down the little child.

He was speeding down the road and knock down the little child on he bike. The thing about it is that de child went in de corner.”

It has been reported that the child is still recovering from broken legs and severe injuries.

Despite the appreciation for the new road, some villagers still need to be cognizant of the way they use the road and be aware of the other users of the road. Nevertheless, villagers praise the authorities for a well-done road and promise to do their best to take care of it.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Climate Change can change Tourism

LAST week we highlighted the vast opportunities for ecotourism in Guyana. Guyanese can boast of a country rich in natural resources, pristine local wonders eager to be discovered and enjoyed. Nevertheless, unequivocal pressures of climatic variability and development continue to present threats to natural ecosystems around the world.

As Guyana continues to celebrate Tourism Awareness throughout the month of November, highlighting ‘sustainable tourism as a tool for

development’ we must keep in mind that nature-based tourism avenues too are under threat from climate change. This year’s focus underpins the need to thrust along a green trajectory if we are to live in a climate resilient future.

The impacts of climate change such as changes in rainfall patterns and rising sea levels, threatens susceptible dryland ecosystems such as the Rupununi Savannahs and the low-lying coastal plains, reducing productivity and stability. This, coupled with the utilisation of resources like tropical forests to combat poverty and hunger of people, summons the need for supportive green policies

Guyana’s State of the Environment Report 2016 highlights that Eco-tourism profits are directly correlated with the health of the ecosystem, hence, degraded ecosystems are less profitable for tourism. Well-managed eco-tourism can have the joint benefits of enhancing livelihoods, protecting habitat and biodiversity and raising environmental awareness.

Poorly managed eco-tourism can lead to ecosystem degradation.

For example, the development of new infrastructure, waste disposal, resource use and depletion, water pollution and tourism activities may negatively impact the environment.

A scenic view on the Moruca River (Photo: Aretha Forde) Dominica, known for marketing itself as ‘the nature isle and plans to keep nature in balance with man. of the Caribbean’ was recently Hard statistical evidence points to the devastated and is still recovering after being fact that various aspects of our climate hit by hurricane Maria. CNN reported that this system are undergoing immense change. year some islands including Dominica, Puerto There is no doubt that the earth’s climate Rico and St. Martin may not see their vital is warming up. Physical changes including economic livelihood due to hurricanes. Even a melting permafrost and hydrological shifts one per cent drop in visitors could reflect miland changes in biological systems, such as lions of losses for the region. Tourism itself in shifts in the range of terrestrial species and Dominica added some 34% to its GDP in 2016. abundance of plankton and fish are a few Though the tourism sector is making strides to striking observations. recover, people are still grappling with day-toAnthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases day survival.

(GHGs), now at levels not observed over the past Tourism is closely tied to the community and 650, 000 years, according to the Intergovernmen- cannot survive without it. It thus behooves us, to tal Panel on Climate Change, are driving at a very cultivate attitudes that will contribute to sustainable fast rate, inherent features of variability of the societies that can adapt to the impacts of climate climate. The major GHGs like carbon dioxide, change on ecosystems, water resources, food semethane, and nitrous oxide function normally curity, settlements and society, and human health. through the greenhouse effect to maintain average Our tourism sector depends on it. Perhaps the best global temperature. However, the burning of fos- theme was chosen this year because sustainable sil fuels, agriculture and land use change continue tourism will be a necessary tool for development. to increase these gases beyond natural levels. AcYou can share your ideas and questions by cording to the Office of Climate Change, Guyana sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environhas experienced its worst extreme weather events ment”, C/O ECEA Programme, Environmenwithin the past two decades, evidenced by flood- tal Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, ing and drought conditions and a notable increase GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyin the difference between daytime and nighttime ana@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook and temperatures by as much as 0.8OC. Instagram.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Power, Wealth and... National Drama... ◄◄◄ From page XII

remain up until January 31, 2018, in the Alfred I. du Pont building, 169 E Flagler Street, Miami, FL. Hew Locke (b. 1959 in Edinburgh, UK) is the eldest son of Guyanese sculptor Donald Locke (1930-2010) and Leila Locke nee Chaplin (1936-1992). He spent his formative years (1966-1980) in Georgetown, Guyana before returning to the UK to study. He obtained a B.A. Fine Art in Falmouth (1988) and an M.A. Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London (1994). In 2000 he was the recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Award and the East International Award.

Locke’s work is represented in many collections including the Government Art Collection, the Pérez Art Museum Miami; the Tate Gallery; the Arts Council of England; the National Trust; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City; the RISD Museum, Rhode Island; the Victoria & Albert Museum; and the British Museum.

Chinese Imperial Gold Loan, 2011 50 x 40cm (Photo courtesy Hew Locke and Indra Khanna)

Hukang Railways Gold Loan, 2011, 55 x 36cm (Photo courtesy Hew Locke and Indra Khanna)

mental illness, drug addiction and love. It was one of the most thought provoking of this year’s NDF plays.

The Perfect Man’ is a play that made a return from last year with an all new cast. It centered on a woman embracing her family’s magical heritage so that she can return her dead lover to life.

Closing off the 2017 National Drama Festival was the play `SPIT’, written and directed by Clinton Duncan. The cast included Leon Cummings, Frederick Minty, Mark-Luke Edwards, Nicholas Singh and Nelan Benjamin and Tikoma Austin. The plot centred on a group of elderly stallholders who devise various schemes to get money. One character aimed to gain enough money to travel to the United States and spit in his wife’s eye. A brief description could not do justice to the hilarity that ensued.

This year’s festival was undoubtedly different from years past, especially last year’s. The Pepperpot Magazine contacted Mr. Al Creighton, the NDF’s Director who was able to explain the changes and how they affected the festival. The most notable change was, of course, the festival’s smaller size. Creighton said that the most noticeable effect of this

XXIII ◄◄◄ From page II

is that it made the festival easier to manage. Still, he noted that they still have preferred the full-scale festival. “There was still a reasonable range and variety of plays presented, but very unfortunately we could not have had plays from communities in the wider regions – the kind of community theatre that we were developing,” he said.

The festival is now under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, rather than the Ministry of Education. This, said Creighton, had no truly notable effect on the festival.

“The planning was already on its way when the change took place,” he explained. “It is too early to properly tell what effect it will really have.”

The 2017 National Drama Festival has marked another year for theatre in Guyana. The audience was moved to laughter and tears, delight and fear. Though the preparation time was short and this affected the groups that were able to perform, Creighton noted that NDF 2017 was good overall. While there were fewer plays, the ones that were there were plays of excellence he said. While there are still a few issues to be worked out with the time it takes to put up and take down sets, “It went smoothly, there were no controversies, no reports of disciplinary violations, no known conflicts,” Creighton said. And happily for the festival, the turnout for this year was larger than last year.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Oil and gas…

Something new with endless possibilities A simple look at oil-rich nations around the world would show that despite the possible negative impacts, a strong, well-managed oil and gas sector can transform the socio-economic landscape of a country. This is precisely why Guyanese, by and large, are optimistic for 2019/2020 when oil giant, Exxon Mobil will commence production of oil in Guyana; thereby realising a dream that is shared by generations of Guyanese. With a booming natural resources sector, it is incumbent on Government to ensure that tenets of transparency, good governance and accountability are steadfastly adhered to.

President David Granger is on record, committing his Government to the development of the sector in a manner would allow for all of Guyana’s people to benefit equally and in an environment of complete transparency and trust. Moreover, he assured of full involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including the Parliamentary Opposition, in the process.

a shroud of secrecy when it comes to its engagements with any company that is looking to invest in Guyana’s extractive industry or any industry for that matter. However, there is a number of extenuating and external issues, which must be addressed before certain information can be released. Failing to adhere to certain contractual clauses can have serious legal repercussions, a fact that is well-known in the legal fraternity and others who are au fait with certain contractual procedures.

“Some of them have foreign affairs implications, some of them have sovereignty implications, some have national security implications and Government has been advised by external advisors and lawyers that at this point in time, that we should not bare all. It is perhaps not palatable to everyone to accept that and sometimes advice is not always what you want to hear,” the Minister said.

He noted that while this legitimate constraint might be less than desirable, it is necessary for the Government to heed the advice of experts and abide by certain safeguards that have been out in place protect national interests. Minister Trotman assured that in due course, Cabinet will be able to remove this temporary injunction and make a full disclosure to the Guyanese public.

“There is nothing in there that could sink anyone or sink a Government. As a matter of fact, I have said that often times, it is really a continuation of a 1999 contract and it was tweaked in just a few places and so there is nothing to hide as such… We have been advised that at this juncture, as a country, we ought not to lay our contracts bare and one has to understand as well that there is a contract with ExxonMobil but there are a number of other contracts with other operators that this Government inherited and so it is not a matter of just releasing one contract,” he explained.

TRANSPARENCY During a meeting with top executives of Exxon Mobil, President Granger said that, “We are committed to the norm of transparency…so that we can move forward at a domestic level, not only in an atmosphere of transparency but trust so that all Guyana would see this not as a short-term bonanza; so that Guyanese will see this as a national industry… In this regard, we are walking step by step as the developments take place offshore, and the developments in terms of our legislations within Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson our regulatory framework in terms of the passage of information to various stakeholders in Guyana and the diaspora so that we can create an environment, which is stable and secure.”

Thus far, the Government has taken all the necessary steps to ensure that sector is propWHAT’S IN IT FOR US? erly managed. These efforts were recognised Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David by the international community and as a Patterson, in a special interview with Government result, Guyana’s application to the Extractive in Action, said that people in other parts of the Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for world are somewhat startled at the lack of enthucandidateship was approved. The country, siasm displayed by some sections of Guyanese sothrough the Ministry of Natural Resources, ciety over this major development. He explained has been working with the Inter-American that this is simply because citizens, particularly Development Bank, the World Bank and the those of a certain age, have been hearing about International Monetary Fund to develop a the country’s oil potential for years but nothing framework to ensure that this new industry is ever came of those talks until now. “We’ve never properly managed. experienced that before so to us it’s a myth. But Moreover, the Ministry has also been enit is coming, it’s proven and when something is gaged with the Commonwealth Secretariat to declared proven in this industry, it means that it’s craft a strong regulatory and legal architecture sure and it’s guaranteed… It’s like a pay cheque for the management of the oil and gas sector. at the end of the month if you are working,” he In this regard, Minister of Natural Resources, explained.

Mr. Raphael Trotman has tabled the PetroOne of the reasons Guyanese may not be leum Commission Bill of 2017, which is showing the level of interest one would expect currently being reviewed at the level of a Paris because many of them are not sure how they liamentary Select Committee. That Bill seeks stand to benefit from this new stream of revenue to provide for the establishment and functions that will begin flowing into the country. of the Petroleum Commission of Guyana and Making reference to the Local Content Law, ExxonMobil’s oil rig, the Deepwater Champion, in the Stabroek block, 120 miles for related matters.

Minister Patterson reminded that Guyanese are an offshore Guyana The provisions of that Bill, however, has equal partner in this new venture, which means come in for some criticism, particularly as it that the ancillary services required as production relates to the powers it proposes to confer on commences, must and will have an impact on the in the Bill.” the Minister. One particular provision of the Bill that has come local economy.

This means that Guyanese businesses must be More recently, there have been calls on the Government to under scrutiny is the Minister’s authority to select and appoint release details in relation to a US $20M signing bonus agree- given first preference, so for example, if there is a need for transboth members of the Petroleum Commission as well as the Pe- ment between the country and Exxon Mobil, as well as the full portation or catering services explained that local companies troleum Board. In this regard, Minister Trotman said that “we details of the contract. Supporting those calls, Dr. Mangal said will be the first option. are looking for objective criticisms and objective critiques as to that the people need to have confidence in their representative “You have to hire a Guyanese company. The only way you how to make this Bill better and so we are hoping to re-engage and this can only happen through transparency, which they can hire a foreign company is if there’s no Guyanese company the Commonwealth Secretariat later in November to sit again should demand. available. If you’re going to get food for your ships, the first and to do further work… We want a nationally accepted Bill.

Government remains committed to transparency and the na- call should be Guyanese companies. So, in every little facet of We have been listening to the comments and criticisms and I can tional interest and Minister Trotman clarified that the Adminisassure the Guyanese people that they are going to be changes tration of which he is a part, has no intention of operating under Turn to page XXV ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

without people. Nothing will get done without appropriately qualified people,” he said. Nevertheless, Dr. Mangal reminded our lives, there’s going to a change. We have to prepare for it… that quite apart from the areas requiring a high-level of technical Take food for example, while the Local Content Law may direct expertise, a wide variety of other jobs will open up for Guyanese you to a local food producer, international regulations dictate as an offshoot of the development of the oil and gas sector and that companies must be certified. So not because you’re local as such citizens must hone their skills in preparation for those it will guarantee you the job unless you’re certified,” Minister opportunities that will be made available as the date draws close Patterson explained. to actual production.

In this regard, Minister Patterson is urging citizens to make To this end, Minister Patterson informed that his Ministry all the necessary preparations by midhas embarked on a process of training 2019, at which time several vessels and retraining civil, structural engineers will be offshore Guyana and work will and other technical officers for when oil commence in full swing. Moreover, he and gas come on stream. They have been reminded that with an unprecedented attending various seminars and granted increase in revenue, the Government scholarship programmes. He explained, will be able to much more for citizens however, that with any technical experts in terms of investment in healthcare, that may be brought into the country, there social services, education and infrawill have to be a system in place to allow structure. for technology transfer.

“This means if you come, you must Speaking of infrastructure, Minister partner with a local agency so that in a very Patterson informed that with oil reveshort time our locals have all the capacity nue, one of the areas that will receive needed to service the oil and gas industry. urgent attention is the country’s power Over time, I think we will be there, we supply system. have three years to prepare for before first He explained that the use of natural oil production and we’re going to use that gasses to power generators on the coast beneficially,” he said. will be much more cost-effective than This Minister also issued a call to the harnessing hydropower and as such, private sector to also develop their capacthe Government will be moving in this ities so that they will be a position to seize direction to explore its options. Addiopportunities that the new sector will bring. tionally, road networks and bridges are “You could have started your career as a on the cards. lawyer and you can do a training course to “If you live on the East Bank or if become a lawyer that could serve in the oil you live over on the West Coast, you and gas industry. The same with the engiwould know that traversing there in neers, you don’t have to start all over again the mornings is an act of patience and to become an engineer that could work in sometimes frustration and there are the oil and gas sector. So what the private just so many cars on the road and our sector has to do is to see which market that network is just simply stretched to the President David Granger, Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Raphael Trotman and Minister of State, they would tap into and train their workers limit… If one bridge in the City goes and invest in their people. We have some Mr. Joseph Harmon on board ExxonMobil’s oil drilling ship, the Deepwater Champion in 2015 down or there is an accident, it backs up of the brightest youths and the best in the traffic in the entire city. So obviously Caribbean. The Government cannot do it we have to improve our infrastructure all but jointly, we can overcome all of the and do it quickly. It is anticipated within the next three to five hurdles we have at this moment,” the Minister said. years, the amount of persons and the amount of commerce that capacity-building across all sectors is key.

Next week, we will continue our discussions on this im“The most important resource is not the oil resource; it’s portant sector by examining its prospects and risks in so far will be operating in Guyana will be increased by three or four fold and if we don’t have the infrastructure in place to accom- the human resource, the human capacity. Nothing will get done as it relates to a green development trajectory. ◄◄◄ From page XXIV

modate that we will obviously be promoting gridlock so that is something that we are looking at,” Minister Patterson said.

Additionally, the Government has long spoken about linking the hinterland to the coast and with oil revenues coming on stream this initiative has become more possible than ever before.

In terms of job creation, Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal explained that Guyana is basically starting at ground zero as it relates to developing an oil and gas sector and, therefore, at this stage,

XXV

From left: Exxon Mobil’s Country Manager, Mr. Rod Henson, President David Granger, Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil, Mr. Darren Woods, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge and Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Raphael Trotman during a meeting in August this year

XXVI

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

MONUMENTS OF GUYANA THE ENMORE MARTYRS' MONUMENT

ON April 22, 1948, almost 1 200 labourers from plantations Enmore, Non Pariel, Lusignan, Mon Repos, La Bonne Intention (LBI), Vryheids Lust and Ogle protested about the social conditions. Therefore, the sugar estates hired scabs (persons who worked despite the ongoing strike) to perform the duties of the striking cane cutters. Despite their actions, sugar production decreased. The Sugar Producer’s Association then enforced new measures to force the striking workers back on the fields. These included persecution for trespassing and eviction. However, the workers were determined and on June 5, 1948, they staged a massive protest in Georgetown. The cane harvesters were determined to make the estate owners take note of their plight. Thus, on June 15, 1948, the workers assembled at Plantation Enmore in an attempt to prevent the scabs from working in the factories. As the crowd attempted to gain entry to the plantation, police, armed with bayonets advanced on them. The scene became uncontrollable and three workers were killed on the spot while two succumbed to their injuries. In addition, 14 of the striking workers were injured. The death of the workers signalled the beginning of improved conditions for the sugar estate workers. In 1976, the Enmore Martyrs monument was constructed in remembrance of Rambarran, Lalabajee, Surujballi, Harry and Pooran. The monument was unveiled by Prime Minister Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, on June 19, 1977.

Turn to page XXX ►►►

The Enmore Martyrs Monument

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XXVII

Thief in the Tree Top

By Abdool Aziz AS a boy it was fun to duck into Old Moore’s orchard and enjoy his fruits, especially star-apples. He was sometimes asleep in his makeshift zinc hut or doing odd jobs on the farm. He was old, weak and poor-sighted.

One day, while eating a star-apple, it slipped from my hand and hit ‘Moorie’ on his head. I didn’t know he was under the tree. The old man saw it was half-eaten fruit. He stared up at the trees.

“You deh up deh na, me cetch you today, me go see weh you go run. Come down, aw waiting!” he said.

He took his cutlass and lashed the tree. “Ah chap you two piece thief! You daady tree dis?”

He sat down, the rake, the shovel and cutlass at his side. The angry farmer said: “Deh nat plant am, but dey want reap am. Look deese people. Dis go don hey today. Come down thief! Ah deh hey,” he said.

THE PANIC My appetite diminished, I felt fear.

I thought of stepping to a far off branch but it was too brittle to take my weight.

I thought of jumping down and fleeing.

My enemy now stood up walking around muttering. “Ah aint kay if ah get charge fo murder, ah gon kill he. Dis gat to stap.

Too many eye pass,” the man said.

He looked up into the tree “Come down nah, me cutlass want blood. You see this shovel, straight to you belly.

And dis rake to you head!”

I was really scared. He would surely get me if I jumped down. The hole in the fence was far away. I wouldn’t reach there in time. What to do? I panicked.

THE TRICK I must get Moorie away, but how?

Then I got a master plan. I picked a few green star-apples and began to pelt his zinc house. Moorie said: “Wha de hell, who ah pelt me house? All me food

open.” The man threw down the weapons and lumbered to his abode. “Me come back. Baccoo ah pelt me, dem ah na a gee me trouble.”

A soon as he disappeared in his shack, I scrambled down and fled, picking up his loaded bag of mangoes, genips and guavas. By the time the old man came back to the tree, I was far away under a palm tree enjoying the stolen fruits. That was the last day I stole his produce. I missed big trouble.

THE OLD MAN PASSED

Moorie died of old age. He had no next-of-kin and no one wanted to stand the expense of his funeral. I was a teacher then. I took my first pay cheque and buried him on his farm. My farewell words were: “Rest in Peace – You fed me when I was hungry. I eat this star-apple for you. Now the farm is open to all thanks to you.”

That orchard still stands decades now and her trees still bear luscious fruits and is open to the public. Moore’s farm – an Oasis for a weary traveller and my son, hungry like his dad.

XXVIII

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Common sense should guide you – In protecting your children on the roadways

By Telesha Ramnarine

ALTHOUGH the road traffic laws in Guyana do not specifically mandate parents to secure their young children via a car seat or backseat belt, “common sense” should dictate that they find a means to keep these little ones safe while using the roadways.

Coordinator of the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC), Ramona

Doorgen, made this point during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine a few days ago at her office on Barrack Street, Kingston.

It is a constant eyesore when parents allow their toddlers and young children to occupy the front seat of a vehicle, to sit on their lap while driving, and to fasten themselves in the middle of the driver’s and Turn to page XXIX ►►►

Coordinator of GNRSC, Ms. Ramona Doorgen

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017 ◄◄◄ From page XXVIII

passenger seat.

The Guyana Road Traffic Act does make provision for a “child restraint system” designed to diminish the risk of injury to a child in the event of a collision or abrupt deceleration of a vehicle by limiting the mobility of the child.

According to the law, the device used for securing the child should be designed “either to be fixed directly to an anchorage point or be used in conjunction with an adult seat belt and held in place by the restraining action of the belt.”

Furthermore, the device should be “fitted in the vehicle by the manufacturer and is of a type which complies with such standards as may be prescribed by the minister by regulations in respect of the shape, quality, construction, installation and assembly of seat belts and other safety belt assemblies and anchorage points and child restraint systems.”

Traffic Chief, Dion Moore, told the Pepperpot Magazine that the ‘child restraint’ law is not currently being enforced by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and that they are now in sensitisation mode.

Once awareness would have been raised on this matter, Moore said enforcement will begin. He declined to comment on just how much longer the education period will last.

In the meantime, though, Moore is saying that children will naturally practice whatever they see the adults doing. “That’s why adults should do the right thing regarding the use of their cellphones while driving, wearing their seatbelts, and so forth,” he pointed out.

LAW CATERS FOR ‘CHILD RESTRAINT’ Doorgen, a road safety advocate for the past 11 years, recalled that Guyana in the past answered no when the ‘Global Status Report’ was being prepared, and it was asked if there was a law on child restraint in the country. However, it was during the preparation of the report for 2015 that the law was found.

“We never found it in the laws of Guyana but while we were looking for information for the 2015 report, we found it. We never found it. I don’t know why we never did. But we knew there was a need for it because of what we saw happening,” she explained.

Speaking about the practice of leaving a child unstrained in a vehicle, Doorgen noted: “There is potential danger when children are not strapped down to the seat.

Even if there’s not a law for children to be strapped down, you should encourage it.

Common sense could tell us that if a child is of a certain age and height, the front seat belt would not be able to strap him down securely. The seatbelt is for a particular size and weight and all of that. You don’t need a law to tell you that your child should sit in one place in the car; or a law before you can keep your child safe.

“We went to lots of training showing that when you have a child sitting in the back seat of a car and there’s a crash, even though you’re strapped down in the front seat, that child becomes like a loose bullet.

I think we need to stop with this thing of

what the law says. We need to think about what is safety for us. Safety begins with us.”

Doorgen said there is now a need to educate the population that a law for child restraint does exist.

She is hoping for the time when the culture regarding the protection of children will change to the extent that even taxi drivers will be mandated to carry a car seat.

“We have a million and one taxi services.

We can make them change. From the time you call your regular one and he doesn’t have a car seat, you call another who does have one. The next time you call him, you better believe he might have one.”

Doorgen also pointed out that parents have a duty to protect their children. “You can’t vex with children. If I’m alone in the back seat, I go to the edge and the middle

XXIX and push forward so I can converse with those in front. So it’s our duty to protect them. A child must not be moving around for no reason in a car.”

While the deaths of nine children were reported for 2016 under ‘road accidents’, two have been reported for 2017 so far.

And, while not all of them died as a result of poor safety measures in vehicles, Doorgen said the GNRSC aims to be proactive, and not just reactive.

The GNRSC is an auxiliary body to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and was formed under the Ministry of Public Security.

In observance of ‘Road Safety Month’ (November), overseas-based Guyanese, Amrita Samaroo, daughter of local singer, Celia Samaroo, donated about 12 car seats to the GNRSC for free distribution

XXX

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

MONUMENTS OF... ◄◄◄ From page XXVI

THE CHRISTIANBURG WATERWHEEL At the end of the 18th Century, the Dutch had settled in an area which was a former sugar estate. It was originally known as Stabroek. Later it was renamed by Governor Christian Finette, after his wife and his wife’s family; the Burgs. After the English invasion in 1803, John Patterson was given the task to establish quarters for the Government officials. He acquired some vessels from the Amerindians and began the production of logs. After finding great difficulty to transport the logs, Patterson surveyed Christianburg and found the Katabuli Creek which was an ideal location for production of timber. The force of the water flowing through the creek was strong enough to allow the construction of a hydro-powered sawmill. A large iron waterwheel was installed with the necessary equipment to allow Patterson to saw his logs before their transportation to Georgetown.

The wheel is still there today and it reminds us of the best examples of technology used to capitalise on the rich and natural environment of Guyana.

The Christianburg Waterwheel

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XXXI

Woman of all trades

By Neola Damon

Armed with the willingness and drive to launch herself into furniture making and tibisiri handcrafting, Pauline Chance, Macasema resident in the Kabakaburi community, (Region Two Pomeroon-Supenaam), is an example of an industrious woman.

Fifty-year-old, Pauline recounted that at the age of eight, her mother taught her how to make tibisiri handcraft. Tibisiri is a thin, pale, flexible fibre derived from the Ite palm, which can be woven into hammocks, bags, mats and baskets.

For Pauline, the satisfaction and pride she obtains from her crafting is something she willingly imparts to others; providing them with a skill that earns them a livelihood.

“There is a lot of young people and even the older folks who are willing to learn (tibisiri handcraft) in Macasema and because of this, I would train them in the different patterns in handcraft at the Macasema recreational centre or Kabakaburi centre as well.”

She noted, however, that despite some persons express interest, some later discontinue the classes for various reasons. However, for Pauline, the opportunity to teach others is encouragement enough to continue pursuing and honing her craft.

The Macasema resident said at this point, she is also concentrating on ways to expand the market for her bamboo furniture. Pauline explained she was taught the art of making bamboo furniture from Donrad Correia. In 2009, Correia travelled to China for the purpose of trading, particularly in bamboo furniture. On his return, he conducted a six-month class for Pauline and other interested persons.

After investing effort and labour into her business, Pauline related she temporarily halted work after persons expressed an unwillingness to purchase the items for the price it was worth.

Chance said, “It is really sad to know when we are in here, we do not get the price we want but when you go to the exhibition you get the price.

But the exhibition is one time a year and that is in September, the heritage month. We need a market every month or every week. People are willing to work, there are a lot of women in my community willing to work the handicraft but they need more money.”

Being the diligent worker she is, Pauline has resumed her bamboo furniture crafting, as persons have begun to place orders again. She did highlight that her venture does come with its challenges. She is presently sourcing borax or boric acid which is used for curing bamboo and which is both effective and more environmentally friendly. The cost of the chemical is prohibitive and this has slowed down operations since Pauline is unable to obtain funds to purchase the acid.

Chance is determined that her venture must continue and is appealing for government support to aid her community in expanding the business thereby providing employment for other residents.

The Macasema resident also highlighted that she also farms and produces cassareep, cassava bread, ‘fly’, piwari and casiri. A true Jill of all Trades. (DPI, GUYANA)

Pauline Chance, Macasema resident.

XXXII

A US politician has condemned the "predatory practices" seen in games that feature loot boxes or crates.

Games use them to give random rewards and they are acquired either through gameplay or by spending real cash.

Hawaiian state representative Chris Lee said games using boxes resembled casinos and called for laws to limit their use.

The condemnation comes as Belgian gambling regulators investigate the growing use of in-game rewards.

In a statement posted to YouTube, Mr Lee singled out the use of loot boxes in Electronic Arts' Star Wars Battlefront II game.

He called the game a "Star Wars-themed online ca-

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

Call to regulate video game loot boxes over gambling concerns

sino designed to lure kids into spending money".

'Optional feature' EA responded to Mr Lee's criticism via a statement released by the Entertainment Software Association.

It said the crates were not gambling and it was a gamer's decision about whether they took ad vantage of the "optional feature".

Battlefront II was changed to remove a way to pay for loot crates and rewards

The Battlefront II game has been criticised widely since its release earlier this month because of the way its loot box system worked.

The furore led EA to turn off a way for people to pay to get more loot boxes. Many complained it meant gamers with deep pockets would have an advantage because they could buy useful boosts for their character's abilities or get at powerful heroes more quickly.

The row has led Belgian's Gaming Commission to start its own investigation. It said because players paid money and received a random reward, the games could fall under its jurisdiction.

US authorities recently decided that games using loot crates do not constitute gambling because players do get some kind of reward when they acquire the boxes.

In the UK, the Gambling Commission took a similar stance and said the boxes did not come under its control because rewards were usable only in the game.

Ed Barton, an entertainment analyst at consultancy Ovum, said loot box mechanics were becoming an increasing part of games for which people had paid a full price.

Some games, such as Blizzard's Overwatch, he said, gave out only "cosmetic" boosts that did not affect how the game was played.

Psychological tricks But, he added, there were others that sought to totally monetise a game via loot boxes.

"There are a number of people who are uncomfortable that this mechanism is being put into games," said Mr Barton. Their unease stemmed from the psychological tricks gamemakers used to drive interest in getting and opening loot boxes.

The same tricks were used in gaming machines and casinos to keep people playing and paying, he said.

"Loot box opening, the sirens, the noises, the way it slowly opens - it's all designed to stimulate your senses.

"It's like pulling the handle on a one-armed bandit - you don't know whether you will win," said Mr Barton. "The impact this has on your brain is pretty well established."

Marc Etches, head of the Gamble Aware charity, said it was increasingly worried about in-game reward systems.

"It is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between some increasingly common features in computer games and gambling," he told the BBC, adding that there was a danger that loot boxes were "normalising" gambling for many young people.

"Current legislation was not designed for this technology and loopholes need to be closed urgently," he said.(bbc.com)

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XXXIII

Nokia 8 Starts Receiving Android 8.0 Oreo Update Nokia 8, the flagship Nokia-branded Android smartphone from the house of HMD Global, has started receiving its Android 8.0 Oreo update. The news was announced

by Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, in a tweet on Friday. In India, the final Android 8.0 Oreo build rollout begins from Friday night. To recall, the smartphone had got a beta build of Android 8.0 Oreo last month, a build that users could install via an update over the air after signing up to be a beta tester.

The Nokia 8 Android 8.0 Oreo update 1518.1MB in size, and contains the November Android security update. All other Nokia Android smartphones from HMD Global will also receive their Android 8.0 Oreo updates in the near future, namely, the Nokia 2, Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6. In fact, they

should all also get their Android P update, as promised by HMD Global last month.

The Nokia 2 is the latest smartphone from HMD Global, and it went on sale in India on Friday. It is also the cheapest smartphone from the company, sporting a price tag of Rs. 6,999 (recommended best buy price).

As for the Nokia 8, the smartphone was unveiled globally back in August, and then launched in India in September, before going on sale in October. The dual-SIM (Nano) Nokia 8 bears a 5.3-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) IPS display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone is IP54 rated, which makes it splash proof. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC (4 Kryo cores clocked at 2.5GHz and 4 Kryo cores clocked at

YouTube outlines plan to protect kids from disturbing content The five new guidelines include removing ads from inappropriate videos and blocking predatory comments from videos that feature minors.

YouTube says it's trying to make the video site safer for kids.

After recent criticism that YouTube is not doing enough to crack down on disturbing and exploitative videos aimed at children, the Google-owned video service on Wednesday announced a five-point plan to "toughen" its approach on family-friendly content.

The new guidelines are: Tougher application of community guidelines and faster enforcement through technology Removing ads from inappropriate videos targeting families Blocking inappropriate comments on videos featuring minors Providing guidance for creators who make family-friendly content Engaging and learning from experts The rules follow reports earlier this month that exposed flaws in YouTube's algorithms and screening policies. The controversy stemmed from YouTube Kids, designed as a more child-friendly version of the video site.

The service's filters failed to recognize or pull down some videos that feature disturbing imagery but are aimed at children -- like Mickey Mouse laying in a pool of blood, or a claymation version of Spider Man urinating on Elsa, the Disney princess from "Frozen."

Videos featuring children doing innocuous activities like exercising are also riddled with predatory or sexual comments from viewers, something YouTube is attempting to curb with its new guidelines.

And more recently, the company took down several videos that featured children in abusive or vulnerable situations only after BuzzFeed brought the videos to the company's attention.

The new guidelines come as tech giants find themselves under intense scrutiny from Congress for the power and influence they have over what billions of people see online. Earlier this month, Google, Facebook and Twitter testified in marathon Senate and House hearings over the way Russian trolls abused their platforms to meddle in last year's US presidential election. Lawmakers grilled the tech companies over accountability for the algorithms they used.

Regulating family-friendly content isn't the only thing YouTube is working on. Earlier last week, Google said it's cracking down on terror videos in an effort to fight against online extremism.

Those extremist videos have landed YouTube in hot water before. Earlier this year, advertisers boycotted YouTube after their ads appeared next to extremist and hate content because of YouTube's automated advertising technology. Major brands, including AT&T and Johnson & Johnson, ditched advertising on the platform. But Ruth Porat, Google's CFO, said on an earnings conference call last month that most of the advertisers that boycotted have returned to the platform. (www.cnet.com)

1.8GHz) coupled with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The dual rear camera setup on the Nokia 8 includes two 13-megaixel sensors - one is an RGB sensor and features optical image stabilisation (OIS), while the other is a monochrome sensor. Both have an aperture of f/2.0, 1.12-micron pixel elements, phase detection autofocus, a 76.9-degree wide-angle lens, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), dual-tone LED flash, and an IR range finder.

On the front, the Nokia 8 bears another 13-megapixel sensor with PDAF, 1.12-micron pixels, an f/2.0 aperture, and an 78.4-degree wide-angle lens. All three cameras come with Carl Zeiss optics. The company is touting the 'bothies' feature with the smartphone, allowing users to take photos or videos using the front and rear

cameras simultaneously. The Nokia 8 is also optimised for one-touch live-streaming via Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Also on board is OZO Audio tech for spatial 360-degree audio recording (using 3 microphones), including an Audio Focus mode.

The Nokia 8 comes with 64GB of inbuilt UFS2.1 storage, expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB) in a hybrid dual-SIM configuration. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C (v3.1), and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, digital compass, gyroscope, and a proximity sensor. Bearing a 3090mAh non-removable battery, the Nokia 8 measures 151.5x73.7x7.9mm.(gadgets.ndtv.com)

XXXIV

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

St. John Association Guyana receives a portable defibrillator.

Ambassador Roland de Rosiere of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Mrs. Olga Christiani - Council Member and Vibert Parvatan - Chairman of St. John Association Guyana.

The St. John Association Guyana (St. John Ambulance Brigade), this week, received a boost in its capacity when Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Guyana, Viscount Roland de Rosiere presented a portable defibrillator to the Association’s Chairman.

An automatic external defibrillator provides electric shock to a heart that has stopped beating and this unit is regarded as one of the most important tools in saving the lives of sudden cardiac arrest in casualties.The defibrillator analyses the casualty’s heart rhythm and tells you what action is to be taken at each stage.

The Ambassador’s visit to St. John is the second this year.

The first meeting was held in May when he saw the facility and was the Guest Speaker at a Meeting of the Brigade.

Arising out of discussions with the Chairman – Vibert Parvatan, was the apparent need to strengthen the capability of St. John Ambulance Brigade in its outreach programmes.

St. John Association Guyana, consistent with its mandate and its mission, provides trained First Aid Teams where large numbers are assembled in public places. Such programmes facilitate on the spot responses to emergencies which may arise including heart attacks.

The First Aiders are trained to apply CPR (Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation) with the aim of restarting the heart and keeping it beating until professional service takes over at hospitals.

In some cases, CPR alone will not restart the heart, but it is an important step in the chain of survival.

Mr. Parvatan on behalf of the St. John Association expressed sincere thanks to Ambassador de Rosiere and observed that in its planned expansion programme, the St. John Association will have trained First Aiders in all of the ten regions in Guyana and in that regard critical tooling will be a necessity.

Some of the First Aid tutors of St. John have already been trained in the use and application of the external defibrillator, benefiting from the annual Caribbean First Aid Training Courses conducted through St. John International Office London.

The Ambassador de Rosiere also advocated that such equipment should be placed at all public places, such as airports, banks, etc.

Ambassador expressed his pleasure to be able to cooperate with St. John as both Orders formed the Alliance with the German, Swedish and Dutch St. Johns. They all share the same origin, the Hospital founded over 900 years ago by the Blessed Gerard in Jerusalem, and pursue the same ideals to help the sick and the poor, which is achieved in large part, thanks to the many who volunteer.

Embassy Councillor Robert Paul M.D., who lives in Finland, is spending two weeks volunteering at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

XXXV

XXXVI

In early 2005, Charlie Tritschler, a former Apple veteran, walked into an old law library in Palo Alto, California, where a small group of Amazon employees was working on a secret project and looking to bring him onboard. The space included floor-to-ceiling book stacks and the team worked at boxy carrel desks. But, incongruous to the setting, a table nearby held a mess of computer guts including an e-ink panel and a development board.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 26, 2017

2 big innovations that made Amazon's Kindle a success That jumble of electronic parts was a very early prototype of what would eventually become the Kindle e-reader, Amazon's first consumer device. The team of seven employees needed somebody, hopefully Tritschler, to take on product management.

"I caught the bug almost immediately," he said.

This month, the Kindle reached its 10-year anniversary.

To mark the occasion, Tritschler and David Naggar, vice president of Kindle content, spoke to CNET about two of the Kindle's biggest -- and first -- innovations: The hardware itself and the self-publishing platform Kindle Direct Publishing.

Maybe you haven't used a Kindle in a while or maybe you're a diehard Kindle reader. Regardless, the device itself became a big deal. While it wasn't the first e-reader out there, it helped usher in e-books after several other failed attempts to popularize the format. It kicked off Amazon's big expansion into consumer devices, with the e-commerce company now offering its own line of tablets, TV streamers and smart speakers. And -- much to the chagrin of some publishers -- it helped Amazon gain an even tighter grip on the book world.

It didn't, however, kill off printed books -- a fear held for years following the Kindle's launch. On the contrary, hardcovers and paperbacks still account for most book sales.

Amazon is now the undisputed leader in e-readers, holding 60 percent of worldwide device sales this year, according to Euromonitor. But, the future of e-readers is less rosy: total sales, which include Rakuten's Kobo and Barnes & Nobles' Nook, have been shrinking for six years running, Euromonitor said. For many customers, tablets have replaced e-readers, and phones in turn have replaced tablets.

Bucking that trend, Amazon said its global Kindle sales are up globally since last year and this year's Prime Day was the single biggest day of Kindle sales ever.

"The strength of Amazon is they know who are buying them," Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner analyst covering consumer devices, adding that the company can use Amazon account data to respond to customers' interests faster than competitors. "As long as Amazon thinks it's profitable, they are going to make it."

Books via free wireless Tritschler, who worked as a product manager for Apple's PowerBook line, was invited to visit the law library by Gregg Zehr, a former colleague from Apple who was heading Amazon's new hardware skunkworks called Lab126. The team was using office space it borrowed from A9, Amazon's search subsidiary, which took over an old law firm office in Palo Alto.

"It was a pretty small, intimate kind of startup inside a big company environment," Tritschler said.

The team set a lofty goal for themselves. While e-readers at the time required you to connect to your computer to download new books, Amazon sought to offer a ubiquitous, wireless connection to download new content on the go.

"We created that rallying cry of any book from anywhere in the world in 60 seconds or less," Tritschler said. "Which the first time we wrote that down it was like, 'Gulp!'"

Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos was heavily involved in the process and challenged the team to find a way to create that wireless connection, insisting it's what customers wanted. They pulled off the feat by adding into the device a phone modem, jury-rigging the chip for downloads instead of voice calls. They partnered with Sprint, which provided the wholesale cell service.

As the Lab126 team prepared to launch the new device, they joined Bezos for a two-day offsite meeting. Bezos, currently the richest person in the world but also a fan of frugality, invite the team to his parents' house in the Seattle area while his parents were on vacation in Italy, Tritschler said.

Ten years later, Tritschler said tens of thousands of people still use the original Kindle device.

"I smile everytime I see one on a plane," Tritschler said. (cnet.com)

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English THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Stone walls do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage. RICHARD LOVELACE (1618-1658), To Althea, From Prison STUDY SUCCESS Dear Student, Pay attention to good word usage or how effectively you choose words for expressing ideas; and take heed that good word choices are determined in a large measure by the words at your disposal, which include standards.

With guiding standards, you can be on target with the best words in given contexts. Beyond other factors, keep in mind the characteristics of good thinking as you choose words. Let correctness, clarity, and effectiveness be your watch. Be wise.

Love you GOOD WRITING 1. The Process Do you know what makes good writers produce good writing? Yes? Writers are like artists; they piece together potent ideas to create meaning. You can do the same, too. In fact, you do it all the time unknowingly when you try to think-up a story. But you labour to remember your experiences over time. You have to remedy that.

Collect wide-ranging pieces of experiences; and when you write, group experiences depending upon what sound of composition you want; upon what resonance you want. Match them up and glue them together for each time and purpose of writing.

Good writing really needs good background preparation. Watch out regularly for interesting things, places, persons, sayings, descriptions and happenings about and around you. Some clever students keep a pocket book or set of cards and, over time, create an arsenal from which they draw to produce good writing.

Remember to be ready with snapshots to create well-intentioned collages; be ever careful to arrange and link your details; realise that snapshots are as good as they are used.

2. Improvement in Writing Writing with improvement is writing with the fol-

lowing techniques guiding you.

- Have a deliberate choice of narrator’s point of view.

- Create mechanisms for your readers to visualize places and persons.

- Imagine the vibrant creations of both the story’s location and its action.

- Have a list of striking details you want to include in your story.

- Use your kind of energetic verbs, adjectives, nouns.

3. Combining of Sentences When you combine sentences, think about the following strategies and use them well: i) The things you do when you combine sentences in narrative writing. ii) What to observe about the combinations: How they help your writing style. iii) Are your skills enabling you to do all of the following? i) combine your short sentences into more complex and good sentences ii) express your ideas with more precision and clarity iii) know when shorter sentences are better to be used iv) be ready to delete repeated words v) be ready to use connecting words vi) be ready to rearrange words vii) be ready to change the form of words Something to Do A…Combining sentences; a top to bottom approach With a study partner, combine each cluster of numbered items into one or more sentences: 1. a) Rain drops on the grass below her window sparkled and danced. b) Their glittering shapes were fulsome and many. c) The birthday girl nodded to the dance leader. d) The nod was decisive. e) The dance leader was ready work with the scenery.

2. a) Daniel longed for the alarm bell to sound. b) He knew it was time for his medication. c) His intention was to run quickly to the locker room.

d) The run took him a whole twenty minutes.

B.. Using good/ well and bad/ badly correctly Reminder: Good and bad are adjectives.

They precede nouns and follow linking verbs.

Well can be used as an adjective to mean “in good health.” Otherwise, well and badly as adverbs and can be used to modify action verbs.

The forest ranger families might well look ___ in the longevity ratings. They eat foods grown naturally on their demarcated lands.

Practise with these Complete each sentence below by adding good, well, bad, or badly.

1. The Jonestown Medical Research Centre recently announced that cocoa butter may be as ____ as coconut fat in restoring skin tissue.

2. Drinking even one bottle of Guinness stout every day is not ____ for your health either.

3. Your favourite foods filled with red meat and eggs or brimming with sausages and bacon can make you feel ____.

4. Nutrition experts are seemingly fearful to agree on whether people should take vitamin supplements or simply eat ____.

5. At the end of it all, Josephina simple prayed: “Get well Jonas. The good Lord has answered your prayers already. Have patience for your healing.”

C…Make the correct selections in the following sentences. Pay attention to clarity and meaning.

1. Gordon (never said, did not say) whether he would definitely be able to attend the inauguration.

2. Although these bonds were tax-free, they (did not but earn, never earned more than, earned only) 3.8 per cent profit.

3. Griffin can’t (help but worry, help worrying) about the rising disrespect for women.

4. The teaching department (has, hasn’t) scarcely any tutors departing its door.

5. Ms London (did not say, never said) that she was not relaxing her hair at your salon any more.

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Bollywood news

'Baahubali's actress Rohini: We live in a time of strict censorship Censorship is not just for cinema but literature too in contemporary India, National Award-winning actress Rohini said on Friday, while also claiming that the chaos following protests against 'Padmavati' was also being used to divert attention from "real" crises in the country.

'Baahubali's actress Rohini was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 48th International Film Festival of India, which has been marred by the controversy following the unceremonious dropping of two films 'S Durga' and 'Nude' from the Indian Panorama, that resulted in the resignation of three jury members.

The Andhra Pradesh-born actress, who won the National Award in 1995, said that the canvas of censorship covered literature as well as cinema, citing the example of Tamil writer Perumal Murugan whose novel 'Madhorubhagan' (One Part Woman), which triggered protests as well as litigation. As a result, Murugan had threatened that he would give up writing.

"We live in a time of strict censorship. You can see many things happening over the last three years, which includes the protests against Perumal Murugan's novel," Rohini told reporters. "There is no freedom of expression and freedom

of speech. If somebody says something, they get arrested or raided," she said.

Commenting on the protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film 'Padmavati', Rohini said that the agitations against the film drowned out the protests held by 3,000 odd farmers in the national capital on November 20. "I think the controversy over 'Padmavati' was a tactic to divert people's attention.

Because if you talk about cinema, everyone will speak about it," Rohini said.

Speaking about the ongoing controversy at IFFI over Malayalam film 'S Durga', Rohini said that censorship in the sphere of art and literature must be protested against. "We have to protest and stand our ground. We have to say that it's not right. We should send out a message that nobody is taking it lying down. You cannot curb freedom of expression and speech. We will protest and win back," she said.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Friday turned down a request from the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting to stay the court's earlier order, which directed the IFFI authorities to screen a certified copy of 'S Durga' at the festival.(timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Kapil Sharma all set to make his Hollywood debut?

Firangi actor Kapil Sharma might share a happy news with his fans soon. He recently revealed that he has been offered a Hollywood project titled Comedy Curry, by Big Mama Works.

Ace comedian Kapil Sharma is busy with the promotions of his second Bollywood film Firangi. While his fans are all excited to see him on the big screen, if reports are to be believed, Kapil will soon share another happy news with his loved ones. Kapil recently revealed that he has been offered a Hollywood project titled Comedy Curry, by Big Mama Works. The makers of the film plan to rope in the comedian

along with a Hollywood actor for a series and Kapil is in talks for the same.

As per a report by Zoom, Kapil shared that he is in talks with Hollywood filmmakers. But he also added that no significant development has occurred over the telephonic call, and will happen only once he visits them in the USA. “I’ll let everyone know once it’s finalized. I have received a script from the west and they (makers) are very popular – Big Mama Works. And I’ll definitely go there and meet them once since nothing major can be discussed over a telephonic conversation. But it’ll be a good thing if it materialises,”

shared the actor in an interview.

Period drama Firangi’s director Rajiv Dhingra also talked about Kapil Sharma’s debut international project. He said, “It’s an internal baat. Kapil has received an offer from Hollywood. A company called Big Mama made a series and they want to make a Hollywood series with Kapil, with one Hollywood star and one Indian star, which will be apt for both the countries and name I guess is Comedy Curry.”

When indianexpress.com contacted Kapil Sharma’s team they confirmed that he is in talks. We all will be anxiously waiting to hear about any update on this upcoming project of Kapil. For now, we are waiting to see his film Firangi, which also stars Ishita Dutta and is produced by Kapil. Firangi is slated to release on 1 December.(timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Entertainment

Ninjaman Conviction Caused By Fight Over Kitchen Space Ninjaman is staring down a life sentence in prison and will likely run into the likes of Vybz Kartel who he once had a beef with.

The dancehall legend was convicted on Monday by a seven-member jury panel. The artist, born Desmond Ballentine, his son Janiel, and Dennis Clayton were all found guilty of the killing of Ricardo Johnson, a crime that could have been easily avoided. According to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, Ninjaman’s legal troubles started from a simple domestic dispute on Marl Road, Kingston 13, over kitchen space.

“One of the tenants was an old lady, and she made a report to her granddaughter, who was the baby mother of Dennis Clayton, one of the accused,” DPP, Paula Llewellyn, said. The prosecution star witness, who we will not name, testified in court

to visit his friend, who is the main witness. Clayton and the now dead fourth suspect fled the scene while issuing threats. Later that day, Ricardo Johnson, and the main witness went to Johnson’s home and that’s when Clayton showed up in a car with Ninjaman and his son Janiel, who threatened to shoot the

that the artist fired two shots after him, but he managed to escape the gunfire. His friend Johnson, aka Ricky Trooper, was shot and killed.

“There was a quarrel between Witness A (the main prosecution witness) and Mr. Clayton,” the DPP added.

“They got into a physical fight and Mr. Clayton won the fight. Mr. Clayton said, ‘I am going to go for a gun and shoot yuh.” DPP Llewellyn noted that Dennis Clayton, one of the convicted men,

visited a yard on Marl Road on March 16, 2009, where he got into a physical fight with the main witness, who was the landlord of the tenant.

The following morning (March 17) at around 8 o’clock, Clayton and a fourth suspect in the murder case, who is now deceased, went to the same yard where another argument developed between himself and the main witness.

The victim, Ricardo Johnson, who lives a few houses down on the same street, was there

Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys denies rape accusation Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has said he is “shocked and saddened” to be accused of rape by an ex-member of a girl band.

In a blog post published earlier this month, Melissa Schuman claimed Carter forced her into a sex act against her will and raped her when she was 18.

“He was relentless, refusing to take my nos for an answer,” she alleged.

In a statement, Carter said Ms Schuman had “never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual”.

“It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm,” he went on.

The accusations are the latest in a slew of claims to be made against leading figures in the film, music and broadcasting industries.

In a lengthy post, Melissa Schuman says she was invited to Carter’s apartment while they were shooting a made-for-TV movie in

2003.

Schuman, then 18 and a member of girl group Dream, alleges Carter performed oral sex on her and got “upset” when she declined to reciprocate.

She claims she was subsequently “forced to engage in an act against [her] will” before being thrown onto a bed and raped.

Schuman and Carter subsequently recorded a duet and performed together, which Carter said was evidence that he “was always respectful and supportive... both personally and professionally”.

Schuman said she had decided to come forward after reading a report last month that claimed Carter was investigated for sexual assault against a 20-year-old fan in 2006.

No charges were brought against Carter, whose band - best known for such 90s hits as I Want It That Way and Everybody - currently has a residency in Las Vegas.

witness.

The three men left and later returned with a group of men with bats and boards to confront the witness and Johnson on Lower Marl Road, according to the DPP. The two men ran to the back of a house and went through a fence. “According Witness A, Desmond Ballentine shot

at him,” the DPP said. Johnson had a cutlass in his hand and was pushing against the fence to prevent the men from coming through and that’s when he was shot dead.

Ninjaman says he is innocent of the crime and the main witness is currently in the witness protection programme.

Callaloo Cook-up Rice

Ingredients 1/2 lb Pickled pig’s tail (1 large-tail) or pig’s foot 1 lb Beef stew meat, cubed 2 tb Oil 1/2 lb Raw tripe * 5 c Water 1 md Onion, peeled and chopped 2 Garlic cloves, peeled and -chopped 1 lb Calalloo (Spinach) leaves, chopped (see -note) 1/4 ts Chopped fresh Habanero-(Scotch Bonnet) pepper ** 5 Ounce can coconut milk Salt and pepper 1 lb long-grain rice 1/2 c Chopped red bell pepper, -for garnish * (may substitute chicken) Instructions Put the pig’s tail in pot and cover with water; bring to a boil, and boil for 1 hour. Drain and set aside.

Brown beef in oil, then add tripe and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook at a gentle boil for about 1 hour. Add pig’s tail and cook until liquid has reduced to about 3 cups. Cut tripe into pieces and cut meat from pig’s foot; return meats to pot.

Add onion, garlic, taro leaves, Habanero, coconut milk and salt and

pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add rice. Cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until mixture “looks nice and green.” Garnish with chopped red pepper.

Notes In Guyana, where the dish originates, Cook-Up Rice is a must-have dish on Old Year’s Night (New Year’s Eve). Large pots of Cook-Up Rice are made with bits of ham, tripe, salted pork and fresh beef.

The peas/beans of choice usually being black-eye peas.

By Bridgette de Souza