01132023 WEEKEND

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Art born out of the pandemic

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acdet@tribunemedia.net

EVEN THOUGH she was at the time still employed, Bahamian woman Shezelle Mather said lockdowns in 2020 had her anxiety in overdrive. So during this time she dug deep into her love for art.

“I have always been a creative person, and during the pandemic I found myself needing an outlet to express myself. I started watching YouTube videos and learning new techniques,” said Shezelle.

She learned about acrylic painting, resin crafts, and worked on creating scenic paintings. Shezelle kept her mind off of the uncertainty of what was happening around the world and more on art.

“When craft stores opened, I bought some supplies and let my creative juices flow. I posted pictures of my work, and to my surprise so many of my Facebook friends commented on how nice they were. A few friends commissioned me to make items for them and that’s how Art By ZellyM started,” said Shezelle.

Moreover during that same year, now in December 2020, Shezelle had a few orders for custom made coasters. Her clients told her the colours they were interested in, and left everything else up to Shezelle.

“They said make something for me, so I did. When they sent me photos of my creations on their tables combined with their other decorations, it made me proud and I decided that this would be my new business venture,” said Shezelle.

She said the clients that give her a colour combination and trusted her enough to make something beautiful for them, are her best customers. Also, the repeat clients hold a special place as well.

“I have some friends who call on me every season to custom make items for them and I am so grateful for their support,” said Shezelle.

Art By ZellyM now offers custom-made art work, acrylic paintings, resin geode paintings, resin paintings, key chains, resin jewellery, souvenir items and more. Shezelle also offers one-on-one or small group resin classes where she teaches persons the basics of resin craft and instructs them in making their very own coaster sets. Classes are offered in her private studio in Garden hills, New Providence.

“No two items are identical. I use a variety of colour combinations, different items, whatever my

creative juices come up with. I work with many different mediums from acrylic paints, resin, sand shells, alcohol inks, mica powders, pigment pastes, canvas, wood, silicone molds, gems, and crystals. Every week I am adding new items to the list and I love to trying new techniques,” said Shezelle.

Sharing more about herself, Shazelle said she’s a mother of two wonderful children Latrell and Shazaria. She graduated from the Saint Augustine’s College (SAC) class of 1991, then went on to study geography at The College of the Bahamas (now the University of the Bahamas). She also holds a BSc in environmental science at Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg) in Lynchburg, Virginia.

She completed studies at the Caribbean Institute for meteorology and hydrology in Barbados where she did her forecasting certification. Shezelle is now employed at the Department of Meteorology’s forecast office section, and has been employed there for more than 28 years, working her way up from a meteorological trainee to now a meteorologist.

“I love my job but I am more passionate about creating art. I love being a creative business owner but it does have its share of challenges. The main one is getting your work out there and getting locals to purchase art work. Many people want custom made art but are hesitant to actually buy it. Especially abstract art,” said Shezelle.

She said being an entrepreneur is in her blood, with both her grandmothers being entrepreneurs, as well as all five of her siblings. Shezelle said it is a lot of work but she finds it satisfying to create her own path and earn additional income.

“My business has grown a lot and still is growing. I started out working on my kitchen counter, a small little space, now I have a whole art studio that I work out of.

“I have my products in a few tourism based businesses like the Gift Store in the Warwick hotel, Downhome Bahamas on Parliament Street, and The Craft Cottage on Village Road. I have been a vendor at numerous events in 2022 and my brand is growing along with my social media. I post regularly on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok,” said Shezelle.

Going forward, Shezelle said the goal is to grow the brand even more. She would like to see her paintings and artwork in local and international hotels, as well as some local AirBNB or boutique hotels on all the family islands.

“This year I am planning to host group classes in Grand Bahama and Eleuthera or any other islands where there are enough clients.

“In 2023, I hope to have my very first solo art show. I am not sure which gallery as yet but it’s definitely on my list of goals. I also want to build my website and start selling online to international customers,” said Shezelle.

Readers are asked to keep up with Art By ZellyM via Facebook at artbyzellm, Instagram at art_by_zellym, or email lavernelongley@hotmail. com.

SHEZELLE Mather

filmSee How the Main Sail Sets

ANEW documentary on the history of the National Family Island Regatta will have its world premiere in The Bahamas next week.

The documentary is produced by Charlie Smith, AKA Charlie Bahama, and executive producers Fred Munnings and Nadir Hassan.

See How The Main Sails Sets details the legacy of sailing and boatbuilding in The Bahamas, and has been filmed in a number of Family Islands, with assistance from Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources, and Family Island Affairs Clay G Sweeting.

It will make its world premiere at the Fusion Superplex on January 18, at 7pm.

The documentary explores Bahamian sloop sailing and highlights iconic sailors and boatbuilders.

Before the premiere, there will be a reception for dignitaries led by director Charlie Smith, National Family Island Regatta chairman and commodore Danny Strachan; producers Mr Munnings and Mr Hasan; writer Dr Christopher Curry; former High Commissioner to Canada Philip Smith; music co-supervisor Ronald Simms and

the production team led by Burton Wallace of the MOVI Group.

Commodore Strachan said: “See How the Main Sail Sets is amplifying the national and global conversation around sailing and boatbuilding in The Bahamas and is the precursor to the government’s eventual declaration of sailing as the official sport of The Bahamas.”

He also spoke of how sailing and boatbuilding are highlighted in the documentary “as significant contributors to the cultural, civic, economic, lifestyle and recreational aspects of regatta events across the archipelagic nation”.

He said the goal of the documentary is to present an accurate and factual account on the origins of sailing and boatbuilding in The Bahamas and aid in launching a new era of tourism development and promotion.

The documentary also focuses attention on the ingenious ways by which women and young people are with what has long been a male-dominated industry.

The film was written by writer, archivist and historian Dr Christopher Curry with script

contributions by Charlie Bahama and narrator Philip P Smith.

Mr Munnings said: “It is an honour at this historical juncture to debut the documentary as the nation approaches its 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration and the 69th National Family Island Regatta. The Regatta executive committee, Commodore Strachan and the documentary team are humbled by this opportunity and we look forward to sharing the film with domestic and global audiences.”

The makers are in discussions over distribution rights locally and internationally.

Sponsors include the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources & Local Government; Ministry of Tourism, Aviation and Investment; Allen Exploration Campbell Shipping; Commonwealth Bank, Sarah and Henry St George and Peace and Plenty Resort; Caribbean Bottling Company; Exuma Foundation of Canada and Breezes Super Clubs; Bahamas Local; and Dayne D’Aguilar

The official release date is after April 18 and will be released with a theatrical cut as well as a director’s cut.

A Major interview

From starting his musical career singing in church to filming videos internationally, A Major has had music in his blood for his lifetime. He spoke to CARA HUNT about his early days, his inspirations - and what comes next.

For Anthony Major-Smith, or A Major as he is professionally called, life is a song.

The singer-songwriter has had music in his blood since the age of four when his mother and grandmother introduced him to formal music lessons.

“I got into music when I was extremely young, my mom and my grandmother were very serious about me getting into music and so from the time that I was around four, I went to piano and saxophone lessons and then we realised that I have a natural gift for it. Music has really

been my whole life,” he told Tribune Weekend.

He said that he began singing in church with the choir and at events such as talent shows and housewarmings.

In 2014, A Major put his songwriting skills to use and released his first mixtape, titled “Dark Pool”.

During this time, he was able to find his true voice and what his purpose was as an artist - to tell his story truthfully and artistically.

By the summer of 2017, he wrote and released his debut album, “The Weekend”, which was produced by Big Vezy.

After high school, he also knew that he wanted music to be a career and so he enrolled at the Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, where he studied music production and recording. He says it was a great insight to the behind-the-scenes process of a music career.

“I honestly think that music is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Nothing sounds better than when you get the music and the words in the right proportion.”

I would also say that I really love gospel, it just hits in a different way. I can’t even describe it. It’s

melodically and lyrically and the perfect combo. It just makes me smile. He added that he also enjoys performing and being able to touch people.

“Music brings people together,” he said.

A Major’s taste in music is eclectic.

“People say that I sound like different people to them, I don’t always agree with them. I would say that I may be influenced by different people in my music and focus my voice on certain sounds. I would say artists like the Weekend, Chris Brown Ariana Grande, Whitney

Houston, Mariah Carey, HER, Gabby Wilson and Sunny Walker.

I grew up listening to people like Teddy Pendergrass, Nat King Cole, Luther Vandross, but really, I like all music, it can be country, R&B, soul, pop gospel.

He is also an avid songwriter.

“Initially when I started, I would just write what was on my mind and me living through my past and my emotions as I went through it, I would write about it. But when I went to school, we learnt about the songwriting process and the rules of songwriting. I started trying to apply all these rules but I realised that I was just trying to do too much and it was not coming naturally to me anymore. So, I really had to go back and tap back into my natural ability.”

And all of those musical lessons also help in his writing process as he is able to figure many of the instrumentals for his songs as well.

“I used to do a lot of my own producing,” he explained. “But now Chavez Parker is my producer and so I can stray away from the actual production of things because it can be a lot when you are doing all the things, like writing, recording, producing.

“That is probably the hardest part of being in the business, interacting with people and doing all the

this weekend in history

January 13

• In 1968, legendary country singer Johnny Cash performed his famous concert for inmates at California’s Folsom Prison. It came at a time when his career was in decline, and when Cash was grappling with depression, and it turned his life around. The live album launched him back into the charts and became a defining part of his legacy.

marketing to get your name and your music out there,” he said.

In December 2021, he says that he was in a slump both emotionally and physically.

• In 1990, Douglas Wilder was elected the first black governor of an American state when he took office in Virginia.

• In 1999, one of the greatest basketballers who ever played – Michael Jordan – retired for the second time. Jordan had previously retired in 1993 but returned in 1995, playing for the Chicago Bulls. Over 12 full seasons with the Bulls, he won the NBA’s MVP title five times and won six NBA Finals MVP awards.

January 14

• In 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence. The treaty also settled the boundaries between the United States and what was

“My sister sent me a post about the Kalick Platinum challenge. I almost overlooked the opportunity but one day I just decided to get out

left of British North America.

• In 1973, Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl VII to cap the only perfect season in NFL history, winning 17 games and losing none.

• In 1741, a man synonymous with the word “traitor” was born – Benedict Arnold, the American general who during the Revolutionary War betrayed his country.

January 15

• In 1929, Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the most notable civil rights leaders the world has known, Dr King helped organise the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and led peaceful protests throughout the

of bed and go to an audition,” he said.

Fifteen semi- finalists were chosen among hundreds of entrants. The top four then competed in the finals where A Major was victorious, taking home $5000 and production of a music video sponsored by Kalik.

Along with a team from Kalik, he travelled to Toronto, Canada, to shoot the music video for his new single, “Don’t Settle”. “Traveling to Toronto, and shooting a music video for Kalik, with one of the best production company’s (Conch Boy Films) was a surreal and humbling experience,” he said.

The single “Don’t Settle” has a modern sound of Bahamian & African music. “I’m looking forward to getting this song out there as much as possible and having people appreciate the African and Bahamian aspects we included musically. I love when I drop something new and I go back to becoming a notable Bahamian artist,” he said.

“Don’t Settle” will be released today on all streaming platforms. There was a listening/watch party at UNWND restaurant and lounge yesterday.

American South. He became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

• It became known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” –when in 2009 pilot Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III, known as Sully, safely landed the airliner he was flying on New York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines to fail. There were 150 passengers on board. Everyone survived.

• In 1777, Vermont declared independence from the colony of New York – as part of a way to step away from the war being waged between New York and Britain.

“I honestly think that music is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Nothing sounds better than when you get the music and the words in the right proportion.”

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Sudoku Answer

THE ALPHABEATER

cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid number represents a letter – or black square. As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet is used. But you have to complete the grid too! use the given letters and black squares below the grid to start. the grid is ‘rotationally symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the same if you turn the page upside down.

targEt thE alphapuzzl

Solution tomorrow

forwardEd adder adore adored adorer afore arrow dare dared dear deodar doer dower draw drawer dread drew dwarf dwarfed fare fared faro farrow farrowed fear fedora fodder ford forded fore forward FORWARDED oared odder order rare read rear redo redraw reward reword road roar roared rode rowed rower wader wafer ward warded warder ware warred wear word worded wore

across: Plastic, Vanquish, Glides, Bedeck, Wheezing, Compost (clue). down: Spinal, Ethnic, Deepest, Staves, Bigamy, Stunned, Chatty.

Yesterday’s Kakuro Answer

FIND where

CRYPTIC PUZZLE

Across 1 Cold food consumed like a baby (10)

6 They take turns on and off (4) 10 Sailor turned to crime and is seen in the dock (5) 11 Destructive inflation (7,2) 12 Cultural pursuits impose a penalty on skills (4,4) 13 Poet who makes a big hit in American sport (5) 15 Use over-produced works of art. (7) 17 Moving passage from ‘Tristan’ (7) 19 Parties appeal to him (7) 21 The only luggage that one needs (7) 22 Number in tour round royal house (5) 24 Greek coasters in a storm (8) 27 Short race organised for a play group (9) 28 Animal’s low points (5) 29 Deposits of Ancient Rome perhaps (4) 30 Saintly expressions of love (10)

Down

1 Country copper with a degree (4)

2 Found a school? (9) 3 Needs to be close (5) 4 They’re out of town - and out of the country (7) 5 Regards the lot as OK perhaps (5,2) 7 A short guy picks up stick in an old wood (5) 8 Please try a new blend on its own (10) 9 Refreshment for a bouncer? (8) 14 Genuine hard work - to the lions anyhow (6,4) 16 Came back with the wrong plant outside (8) 18 Prepare the duvet for a makeshift bed (9) 20 The stone antiquarians treat so cryptically (7) 21 The acre ploughed up remains a measure of area (7) 23 A rotten thing to find (5) 25 Let in or out (5) 26 Canteen stew? (4)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Bewitch, 5 Cliff, 8 Old school, 9 Lag, 10 Dial, 12 Confront, 14 Walrus, 15 Jester, 17 Shoulder, 18 Snap, 21 Owe, 22 Cutthroat, 24 Tasty, 25 Pitiful.

Down: 1 Brood, 2 Wad, 3 Tact, 4 Hoodoo, 5 Cold feet, 6 Illgotten, 7 Fighter, 11 All comers, 13 Publicly, 14 Washout, 16 Beat-up, 19 Petal, 20 Shut, 23 Oaf.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

Across: 1 Excerpt, 5 Doggo, 8 Headlines, 9 Ass, 10 Rats, 12 Recorder, 14 Strait, 15 Repose, 17 Maintain, 18 Send, 21 Roe, 22 Naturally, 24 Issue, 25 Rangoon.

Down: 1 Ether, 2 CIA, 3 Roll, 4 Tender, 5 Disposed, 6 Grandiose, 7 Observe, 11 Tardiness, 13 Distance, 14 Samurai, 16 Bitter, 19 Doyen, 20 Iron, 23 Leo.

EASY PUZZLE

Down 1 Be moodily silent (4)

Taciturnity (9)

Do without (5)

Plantation of fruit trees (7)

Specific (7)

West African republic (5)

Impartial (4-6)

Divert attention of (8)

Impetuous (4-6)

Intervening period (8)

Introductory (9) 20 Notwithstanding (7) 21 Coagulate (7)

Crisply brief (5)

Wealthy (4-6)

Stave off (5) 25 Metric unit of capacity (5) 26 Prolonged mutual enmity (4)

Fashion Police at the Golden Globes

With Cara Hunt and Jeffarah Gibson

HIT Angela Basset (Wakanda Forever)

Cara says: “This entire look is fiery perfection - does Ms Bassett even age? She looks incredible, like classic Hollywood meets melanated goddess from head to toe. I was so pleased for her win and her acceptance speech was pure class.”

Farah says: “Angela Bassett was so stunning on the red carpet in this sequin silver dress. She looked fresh, sophisticated and youthful in a nottoo-trying hard kind of way. The back of the dress is also where the magic happens with the low-back halter look.

MISS Letitia Wright (Wakanda Forever )

Cara says: “This is a no for me, it’s just not cute. First the cut of the dress is unflattering, the ombre/tie dye effect always just doesn’t work for me. I really don’t like it.”

Farah says: “I kept staring at Letitia and couldn’t make up my mind as to how I felt about this ensemble. I do not hate this harp two-toned Prada gown. But it’s something about this sleeveless silhouette in cream satin, complete with printed ombré orange paneling down its front wasn’t speaking to me.”

SPLIT

Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)

Cara says: “I have always loved Jennifer and it was nice to see her win her award and how happy her peers seemed for her. I think this dress was the perfect choice for her, I thought it was flattering on her and she looked very pretty.”

Farah says: “This look was not flattering at all on Jennifer. It made her look about six months pregnant and very underwhelming. The hairstyle is giving a 70s look.”

FAIL

Nicole Byer (Nailed it host)

Cara says: “This look is giving confusion. It’s just too much going on the sequins and the sleeves and the train and the gloves with the wild hair - it’s just way too much, my eyes are confused.”

Farrah says: “I disliked this look just as much as I disliked Jennifer’s look. This dress was a very poor choice. It did not accentuate her figure. Then she chose a wild style for hair. This did not come together… at all!”

gardening

Throwing Shade

Good day, gardeners. The weather has been lovely for gardening lately and many plants ought to be looking as good as ever at this time of year. The recent rain and the days of sunshine afterwards put together are a catalyst for growth flushes on landscape plants.

One of the best ways to help indoor plants to look their best is to move them outside when there is a decent rain. There is nothing quite like rainwater for plants. Be sure to move them back indoors or under cover before the sunshine returns, to avoid burning the leaves on any plant that is acclimatized to indoors.

If there is anything that you may have in the ground or in pots is not doing quite what you’d like, or expect them to do, it is a good time

to apply supplemental nutrients to help in forming new leaves and for pushing flowers or fruits.

As the days are getting incrementally longer now after the winter solstice, it is a perfect time to continue seeding or transplanting winter vegetable crops. There is still time to put down some annuals to brighten the garden over the next several months.

A long-time favorite is Impatiens, as they continuously flower throughout their lifecycle. Although they will not be happy in the sun once the weather warms up again, if they are planted in shade, it is possible to grow them as a perennial in our climate rather than as an annual.

One thing I must mention this week is the poor practice of topping mature trees. There was a gorgeous

old and mature Mahogany tree in the back of Little Blair that is visible from Bernard Road. It was quite a majestic tree before it was hacked back.

Unfortunately, it looks as if it had been planted too close to the utility lines, decades ago. I can see no other reason why it would have been seen as necessary to do. The top of the tree was removed entirely down to stumps of branches. It may as well be taken down and used for the wood as the health of the tree has been compromised and it is now quite a poor sight. It is struggling to put out new growth, and when it catches itself properly again, the new branching will be very weak and even more of a potential problem than it was in the first place, which essentially defeats the purpose.

If any landscaper or maintenance person recommends topping trees, I would highly suggest getting another opinion. To my trained eye, it would have been possible to remove two or three of the branches that may have been a potential problem for the utility lines, and the others left exactly as they were. We need more trees to be planted in public spaces and roadsides. If you are to plant a tree, please be aware of utility lines, and do not plant any decent sized tree within 30 or 50 feet of the lines. Hopefully that will give the next generation a tree that is valuable.

If there is shade from a tree, while Impatiens prefer to be planted in the shade of a tree, one plant that will not perform well in the shade of a tree is

Bougainvillea. If there are Bougainvillea plants in your yard that are not bright and loaded with color, my bet would be that they receive too much shade and not enough sunshine.

Leafy greens also love this weather, and they also prefer being in a little bit of shade. Most are very easy to grow, even for beginners. Any lettuce mix is a great place to start, and most are easily grown from seed.

Any edible crop can be grown in pots or in the ground, and unless you’ve got a garden bed that has been amended and tended to in order to soften the ground and add organic material, often the best results are obtained by growing in large pots and a decent or betterquality potting or planting soil.

Shade is very important to help cool the house, and to provide some relief to plants and pets from what will be a scorching sun, in a couple months’ time. Not only that, but I can also tell you by looking at any parking lot with a shade tree in it, that people would most often prefer to park their car in some shade. When taking a moment to catch oneself while outdoors, would you choose to do that in the full sun, or in the shade of a tree? As always, I wish you happy gardening.

• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at Fox Hill Nursery on Bernard Road. You can contact him with any ques- tions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@ gmail.com.

ONE plant that will not thrive in shade is Bougainvillea.

literary lives

A Tea Planter’s Story

In a diversion this week, SIR CHRISTOPHER ONDAATJE remembers a strange encounter in the Travellers Club in London - inspired by a chance meeting with a fan of one of his own books, The Man-Eater of Punanai, and illuminating life in the tea fields of Ceylon.

“Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.”

Henry Fielding (1758)

I met Mark Beamish at the Travellers Club in London, just after I moved to England from Canada. The president of the club, knowing my background in Ceylon, introduced the two of us.

We then sat together at a small dinner following a speech by the former governor of Hong Kong. This was in 1997, and Britain had only just given up control of her colony to the Chinese. We soon discovered that we had much in common: Ceylon, the world of tea planting and colonial life in general. Beamish had read my autobiographical book, The Man-Eater of Punanai, which he much enjoyed. He said he loved Ceylon and had fond memories of the island. But unfortunately Sri Lanka had ruined him. Then he told me his story — some of it at dinner, the rest in the club’s library over coffee and brandy.

He was then, I would guess, in his late seventies, and both broad and stout, easy-going, obviously used to good living. One could immediately see that he would have been quite a popular figure among the up-country planters in Ceylon. He told me that he had promised himself that he would retire on his 50th birthday.

In 1945, when he was 20, he had left England and gone out to Ceylon as a “creeper”, that is an

apprentice, for Carsons, probably the best tea management company in Ceylon; and over the next 30 years had worked his way up to become “Periya Dorai”—the senior planter at Nemwood, one of the largest and most productive tea estates near Nuwara Eliya. He had never married but planned to settle down after he retired to Somerset, somewhere near Taunton, where he had gone to school. He was good at cricket at school, in fact got a full colour, and planned to spend a great deal of his time at the Somerset County Cricket Club supporting the county team. In preparation, he had become a member.

And then 1975 rolled around — the year he planned to retire. He would turn 50 on 5 December that year. By now he was not only the senior planter on the Nemwood Estate but also one of the partners in the very profitable Land’s End Tea Company, which owned Nemwood and

THE TEA industry in Ceylon was long dominated by the British

two other smaller estates near Horton Plains. Nearly everything he had was invested in this company and he was hoping to make enough money to retire from the sale of his interest. Life in tea had been lonely, but on the whole he had been contented. Like other British planters he had spent many a pleasant evening in Nuwara Eliya’s Hill Club—an exclusive watering hole. The lives of most Hill Club members were devoted to tea.

Now tea, a plant of the Camellia family, requires sun and rain and grows mainly in the south-west of the island of Ceylon. High-grown tea grows on hill slopes at altitudes up to nearly 6500 feet and is considered to be the best quality. Elevations between 1500 and 3200 feet are categorised as mid-country, those below 1500 feet as low-country. High-grown tea in the early 1970s accounted for a little over a quarter of the total output of Ceylon, low-country tea over half of Ceylon’s total output. Beamish concentrated on the high-grown variety. High-grown seemed a safe investment—much safer than coffee. Every tea planter knew that tea cultivation in Ceylon took off only after a blight started to destroy the coffee plantations, which until the 1870s had been Ceylon’s main industry.

In the middle of the year, Beamish advised the other partners of the Land’s End Company of his intention to sell up. Not surprisingly, there were many prospective buyers. His fellow directors had determined that the price for his holding would be set on the morning of his birthday at a meeting

scheduled at the Hill Club, followed by a celebratory lunch.

But then, on 17 October, the Bandaranaike government dropped a bombshell on the tea industry. The government amended the Land Reform Law, so that all the tea plantations were effectively nationalised. The management of the estates would be entrusted to two large state-run companies.

It was an enormous shock to the industry, without precedent in the history of Ceylon. Many private owners of estates, both foreign and local, at first had absolutely no idea what valuation the government would put on their holdings. The entire industry was in complete disarray. In the end, the government unilaterally decided to pay £75, or about Rs. 1125, per acre — an unbelievably low price. Beamish had paid more than seven times that figure for his interest in the company, and had borrowed heavily to do so. He was expecting to get as much as Rs. 12,000 when he sold his shares — which would certainly have given him enough money to retire. As it was, he was now deeply in debt, with no job, and little or no chance of paying back the money he had borrowed from the Chartered Bank in Colombo. The government gave him 30 days to vacate the estate bungalow with all his personal possessions. It was a bitter blow. Like most other European planters, Beamish had no choice but to return to England, taking with him what little he had.

He left Colombo two days after his birthday in December on a P&O liner which took three weeks to dock in Southampton. His married sister, who had paid for his ticket, met him when he arrived and took him to her cottage in Berkshire.

THE MAN-Eater of Punanai, by Sir Christopher Ondaatje

A TEA field in Ceylon

Eventually, he got a job planting in south India. But he spent most of his life repaying debts and struggling to make ends meet.

I felt sorry for Beamish. I told him that our family too had a rough time after Ceylon was given its independence in 1948. We had virtually to start over again in England, and eventually in Canada. Then I made signs that it was time to leave because it was past eleven o’clock. But Beamish urged me to stay after the others had left and said their goodbyes.

“I know this is a sad story,” he said, “but I wanted you to stay because it isn’t the whole story. I have never told anyone else what I am about to tell you. But having read your book about the Punanai leopard, I know that you are fascinated by local hearsay and superstition. In fact, you may understand what happened to me more than I do.”

“I told you I never married but the truth is that for much of the time I was running Nemwood — I suppose for the best part of ten years — I had a Tamil girl as a mistress. She was beautiful and only 16 years old when I hired her as a servant to help my cook in the kitchen. However, over time she was gradually given the responsibility for looking after my clothes, bringing me my morning tea and that sort of thing. Well, one thing led to another, when planters were left on their own for endless days and nights away from civilisation, and one morning when she brought me my tea we became lovers. I think both of us knew what we were

doing. She spoke very little English, but I have never felt the need for much conversation. I don’t think the other servants knew what was going on for several months, but inevitably they found out; there are few secrets kept in an isolated planter’s bungalow on a tea estate. Nothing is said, but everything is noticed. I never discussed her with any of my employees and certainly never with any of my fellow planters at the Hill Club. Probably they would have frowned on this kind of a relationship for a senior planter.

“Anyway, everyone including my servants knew in 1975 that I would be retiring and leaving Ceylon at the end of the year. And I suppose they all knew that my money was tied up in the estate and the Land’s End Tea Company. Of course they couldn’t possibly have known the details, but they might, perfectly reasonably, have expected that I would treat them generously for all the years they had spent looking after me.

“Well, one evening early in the year my little Tamil friend came to me and in her broken English asked me whether I was leaving the estate and leaving the country at the end of the year. It was a direct question and I took her to mean she was inquiring what was to become of her. So I explained that she would be well looked after. I would get her a job and give her enough money so that she could be independent and not have to work if she didn’t want to. But then I realised that this wasn’t at all what she was getting at. Somehow, she managed to get across to me, if I was

going to leave the estate, I should get out now. Immediately. She was quite insistent and was soon in a terrible state. I couldn’t calm her down. I presumed that she felt something terrible was going to happen to her, so I continued to assure her that everything was safe and she would be looked after. On several later occasions during the year she urged me to leave everything immediately. It was of course impossible, and she must have known this after so many years of our being together. Just a few months later, of course, the awful nationalisation news broke. I couldn’t help but remember her anguished pleas. I am sure now that she was not at all concerned with herself — she was warning me of a coming catastrophe.”

“But how could she possibly have known?” I asked.

“She couldn’t possibly have known. Not about the nationalisation anyway. But you know these people. They are brilliantly intuitive and rely on huniangs and spells, demonology and witchcraft, vederalas, astrology and all kinds of other things we westerners don’t understand. She definitely knew that as far as we two were concerned, and I suppose she herself, some dreadful event was about to happen — and it did. I’ve never been able to put her words out of my mind. Life would have been a lot different for me if I had paid some attention to her. It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?”

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial.

PICKING tea leaves in Ceylon

history

First Black Bahamian Airline Pilot

On January 8, the centre pages of The Tribune reminded us that it was Sir Etienne Dupuch who ended racial discrimination in the Bahamas.

I think Sir Etienne would be proud of my long-time friend and colleague Harcourt Fernander, who passed away on January 7, at the age of 87.

Harcourt was the first Black Bahamian to become an airline pilot. The date was December 5, 1965, when he was hired as a First Officer (co-pilot).

Harcourt and I met at the Nassau Flying Club (at Oakes Field). He wanted to learn to fly and I became his flight instructor. Neither of us gave any thought to his becoming an accomplished airline pilot. He just wanted to get a Private Pilot’s Licence, so he could “fly around a bit”.

Harcourt was a man who never stopped being a “student” pilot. He never stopped studying, to learn the ever-changing intricacies of aviation.

When F/O Fernander was being trained to fly the 30-seat Douglas DC-3, little did he realise that he had created history, paving the way for other black Bahamians, like John Gordon, Howard Heastie, Godfrey Symonette, Arthur Bunch and countless other black Bahamians, including Patrice (Clarke) Washington, this country’s first female airline pilot.

It was not until June 19 that F/O Fernander and Capt Aranha operated our first flight together – from Nassau to Georgetown, to Deadman’s Cay, back to Georgetown and back to Nassau, four hours and ten minutes on the air.

By 1967, both Harcourt and I were flying BAL’s

brand new, turbine-powered, Hawker-Siddeley 748 – quite an advance for both of us, but promotion was always dependent on a pilot’s place on the Seniority List. The qualified candidate with the lowest seniority number got the job. In October 1970, when BAL was put into liquidation, I was #18 and Harcourt was #33, but these numbers no longer meant anything. Both of us were unemployed! At this point, our careers parted. While the former instructor ended up running Trans Island Airways, the former “student” was flying Bahamas World Airways’ big Boeings all over the world, to countless places that I have never seen; far exceeding my total hours flown.

The thing that never changed is our friendship. At least once a month, we chatted, for hours, on the phone.

I have only a sketchy knowledge of Harcourt’s career as a reservist in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, but I was always pleased to see him work his way up the ranks.

My heart goes out to the Fernander family. I will miss your Bahamian hero.

HARCOURT FERNANDER, left, and Paul Aranha at the Bahamas Historical Society’s Museum

PAUL C ARANHA FORGOTTEN FACTS

Animal matters

Kim Aranha

animals Beyonce

PET OF THE WEEK

The magical world of the sea

One of the most exciting and unusual creatures in our seas has to be the sea horse.

It is not very common to see one, I have been fortunate to see them a few times off a dock or attached to the pylons of the dock. The ones that I have seen here in the Bahamas are very tiny, but not as small as the pink ones my son Scott photographed in Indonesia which were the size of a grain of rice.

The sea horse got its name because somebody, a very long time ago, decided that his head looked like that of a horse. I guess, when you think of the difference in size of the two, sea horse is stretching the imagination a bit. However, it is what it is, and they fell into the genus of Hippocampus, meaning horse monster. What a challenge to be a three-inch-long monster, who looks so sweet.

There are 54 different species of sea horse in existence. They all live in shallow waters that remain relatively warm throughout the year. Here in the Bahamas we are blessed with the dwarf seahorse.

There are many colour variations spread across those 54 species. The sea horse is gifted with the capability to change colours to match with what they are holding on to at the time.

It may surprise some that the sea horse is a fish in spite of the grandiose name, they have gills to breathe even through they have a tail that can grasp hold of things and they a neck that can actually move.

Sad to admit, they are very poor swimmers indeed, they swim in an upright position with their heads above the rest of their bodies and they use the dorsal fin located on their backs to move. They will never win the underwater speed challenge as top speed tends to clock in at about five feet in an hour. Their area of movement is a

very small square footage.

But oh, what a treat, when you happen to come upon a group of sea horses having a conference somewhere, it is incredibly special.

The truth be told these little fellows have a very good appetite and spend a great deal of their time eating. They don’t have a stomach so there is nowhere to put the food, and they have no teeth to chew. In fact, one hungry sea horse can eat up to 3,000 brine shrimp per day. They also enjoy plankton, small fish and small crustaceans. They feed rather like miniature

By The Bahamas Humane Society

Happy New Year! We hope you’re rested from your holidays and ready to welcome some new faces into your home this year! Ten-weekold Beyonce is hoping she’ll be the newest star in your family this month. Beyonce is a chihuahua/potcake mix so will likely stay smaller than the average. She sometimes has a lot to say, though being photographed seems to have kept her quiet. She’s the smallest of the siblings but gets along well with them and other pups, and could prob-

vacuum cleaners sucking up small sized food hidden in little wrinkles in the sand or in the rocks.

What a remarkable lifestyle for these fantastical creatures, but there is more that makes them unique and as different as possible from ant of their fellow sea creatures.

Their private life is amazing, they have a tendency to be monogamous, not totally though, they have been known to willingly go off with another sea horse, but they do enjoy the company of their mate. The gentleman go to great lengths to catch the lady’s

ably be trained to live with a cat. If you’ve been needing a new star in your life, Beyonce might just fit the bill. Call the Bahamas Humane Society at 325-6742 for more information. Beyonce looks forward to meeting you!

The BHS Thrift Shop is open and ready to sell you all kinds of wonderful things! Books, clothing, housewares, giftware, art, and much more! Wed/Thurs/Fri 11am3pm and Saturday 10am2pm. Bring your bag!

eye and when they do so, they stage a wrestling match to see who will get the girl… the winner and his bride have a very elaborate and minutely choreographed courtship dance, which I will not go into here (if you are sufficiently intrigued, I suggest that you go to Wikipedia where it is written out in stages and in painstaking detail. Gosh the person who took on that task must have spent a huge amount of time to record and describe the steps). The actual ritual is lengthy and can take hours. First date is usually on a piece of sea grass or underwater plant, tails anchoring them to the same plant, they gradually proceed to wrapping their tales around each other.

I have saved the absolute best for last and that is that the male sea horse carries the babies in a pouch. After mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch where he then fertilises them. And carries them for two to four weeks until they hatch. There can be thousands of eggs, but only about .5% make it to adulthood they are gobbled up quickly. As soon as they hatch, they have to find something to hang on to so they can stay safe and hide, changing colours is a great help to hide from predators.

The poor sea horse is much sought after, there is an unfortunate theory in Asian medicine that they contain healing properties, other people want them in their aquariums, and fish want to eat them, they have little defense and move so slowly that their only hope is to go unnoticed and be allowed to live their life as no other marine animal does.

PHOTO OF BEYONCE BY LINDA GILL-ARANHA.

Call for child actors, singers, dancer and musicians

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

KIDS with a knack for the performing arts are invited to let their voices be heard and talents be seen during auditions for the upcoming Kids on Broadway Production.

Presented by the Clef School for the Performing Arts, the auditions will be held tomorrow at St Johns College from 3-6pm. Children between the ages of seven and 13 who can sing, act, dance and play an instrument are being called on for tomorrow’s activity.

Francyss Pratt, a music educator and producer of the Kids on Broadway to be held in April, said it has been a dream for so long to bring kids together and put on a broadway like showcase.

She finally found the gumption do so.

“I was just sitting down and thinking how this is something I wanted to do… I’m going to do this,” she told Tribune Weekend.

“I love Broadway. I thought it would be a wonderful idea to have a kids on Broadway show here.”

Though she has a wealth of experience being a graduate of Clef University and being musical educator for the past 19 years, putting on this showcase is still a slightly intimidating venture.

She admitted kids are not the only ones who feel their nerves.

“I was thinking how am I going to do this? I decided to network and talk to friends I have in the performing arts. I’m featuring their schools as well as string violinists.

“Auditions will take place at St John’s College and each discipline is for an hour. I am looking for sponsors to sponsor a venue, workers, as well as children who cannot afford the costuming, videography, sound and lighting.”

Ms Pratt said this venture is one she is certainly stepping out on faith with. However, she is not to be deterred as being able to give talented kids a platform and help them excel through the arts is her greatest passion.

“This is for children all across New Providence. Whoever has the talent and the interest and those students who are unsung heroes, who we do not notice often, we want to bring that out,” she said.

“I love children and I love the arts and it’s something that people do not recognise that much in The Bahamas. I would love to do this bi-annually, one in the spring and one in the Christmas.”

Her dream is to one day go international with the production.

“Not to put myself on the market but the kids and the country,” she said.

As it relates to the performing arts, Ms Pratt said there are numerous opportunities for children to flourish in the field.