02082019 WEEKEND

Friday, February 8, 2019

art books film fashion music travel entertainment gardening puzzles

Weekend

LOVE IS IN THE AIR Pages 8+9

The real deal

‘Housewives’ star shines in Bahamian fashion pg 7

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

music

Buju Banton

ready to reconnect with Bahamian fans

Crowd of over 15,000 expected to attend concert

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

S

INCE being released from a Georgia prison in December, Grammy Award-winning reggae superstar Buju Banton has been rehearsing several days a week, working out and keeping himself in a good frame of mind as he prepares for his long overdue performance in the Bahamas.

The singer, who had been serving time for drug-trafficking, will take the stage at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in Nassau on March 30.

Buju’s performance is part of “The Long Walk to Freedom” tour, which is kicking off in artist’s native Jamaica on March 16.

The Bahamas is the first stop on the tour outside of Jamaica. The “Long Walk to Freedom” tour is expected to take the artist to 30 plus countries around the world, including in the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.

In a special pre-recorded message released during a local press conference last week, Buju expressed his

Reggae star to assist at-risk Bahamian youth

excitement at his return to the Bahamas and being able to connect with fans.

“I remember years coming to Nassau, Bahamas to play at the national stadium…coming back many times after that; the fun we had,” he said. “Now it’s time for us to reconnect and pick up where we left off.”

Ronnie Tomlinson, public relations officer for Buju, said during the press conference that the singer is in high spirits and fans will get nothing less than his best.

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uju Banton has officially launched the Buju Banton Foundation and will use some of the proceeds to assist at-risk Bahamian youth.

He established the foundation to ensure that at-risk youth have equal opportunities to success through skills training and educational opportunities.

The foundation will target newborns to 20-year-olds.

“Born in abject poverty I know what it is for a child to go without basic necessities,” the singer said. “I also

“He is ready to see his fans,” said Ms Tomlinson. “He is still working out, he is energetic and in a great frame of mind.”

Even before his release following seven years in prison, Buju’s band had been increasing its practice sessions.

“The band has been doing rehearsals early, from November, and their practice sessions have ramped up more,” said Ms Tomlinson.

“We look forward to this show. Buju has a lot to tell his fans. This show will know what it is to be a youth with big dreams and lots of determination and unfortunately daunted and unable to achieve your destiny, due to lack of a helping hand.”

“It is not an easy road, my children.

However, Jah has blessed me. I have made it my mission through the Buju Banton Foundation to help by giving light to youth living in the darkness of poverty. Through provision of food, clothing, healthcare and education, thus, ensuring they, too, have equal opportunities to succeed.”

be one that is energetic and one that will be historical.”

A day before the concert, on Friday, March 29, Buju will be welcomed back to the Bahamas with an all-white party to be hosted at the FIFA Beach Soccer Stadium.

Then on Saturday night, thousands of fans are expected to attend the big concert event. Other popular artists will warm up the crowd and Buju promises to closes out the show with a “blazing performance.”

Fernerin Hanna, public relations officer for Paradise Productions, said Buju is set to perform for two hours to an anticipated crowd of over 15,000.

Ms Hanna added a few “friends” will also perform that night, including local artists. However, she said the names of these guests will be provided at a later date.

Buju’s triumphant return to the stage is highly anticipated and has been welcomed worldwide. Within 24 hours of his release, 10 of Buju’s albums climbed to the top 30 in the US reggae iTunes charts. He also reached the No 1 spot on the reggae album iTunes chart in the US, the UK and in various European countries.

Fellow artists such as Rihanna, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled and A$AP Rocky, among many others, have expressed love and support for Buju through their social media.

Buju is a five-time Grammy Award nominee, earning Best Reggae Album nods for “Inna Heights” (1999), “Friends For Life” (2004), “Too Bad” (2007) and “Rasta Got Soul”(2010).

While in prison, his 2011 album “Before The Dawn” won the music industry’s highest honour.

Early bird ticket sales began February 1 and these prices will last through March 1. These prices are: general Buju often tackles socio-political issues in his music. The Buju Banton Foundation is an extension of this.

Focused on implementing programmes that will develop, nurture and advance the best interests of at-risk youth, Buju sees this as the best way to enable them to become successful contributors to society.

The foundation’s board, which draws from an experienced team of professionals, is already hard at work. For more information, visit www.bujubantonfoundationworldwide.org.

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Friday, February 8, 2019

Inside Weekend Interview 4-5 Saucha Rolle becomes the youngest Bahamian model to walk in New York Fashion Week

Fashion 7 ‘Real Housewives’ star Porsha Williams wears Bahamian designer for magazine shoot

Art 8, 10, 14-15 Former beauty queen reinvents the box, plus The Current celebrates the pattern of love and Christopher Outten breaks out of the norm

Entertainment 9 Where to dine and indulge this Valentine’s Day

Society 11 Party for the Animals honours community members

Books 12 - 13 Bahamian queen of suspense returns with crime thriller, plus ‘Fifty Shades’ author pens new novel

Celebrity 17 ‘Real Housewives’ star Vicki Gunvalson visits Nassau’s Diamond International next week

Travel 18 Five romantic destinations for Valentine’s Day

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy’s odds and ends

Literary Lives 20 - 22 The genius behind ‘Primitive’ art with Melissa Maura

Forgotten Facts 23 Addington House and Bishop Venables

Film 24 - 25 ‘LEGO Movie 2’ and ‘Alita: Battle Angel’

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 The sad story of the conch

Cover photo | Stanley Babb

My perfect Bahamian weekend Vanessa Taylor Customer service representative

rejuvenating, with the fresh wind blowing in my hair and walking in the sand, which gives you a natural pedicure for free.”

Q: What is the one thing that you can’t live without?

“My daughter, who is my life. She is 15 and she is the one who always encourages me and motivates me.”

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

“Definitely Saturday breakfast, because everyone is off and you can hang out with your friends and mix and mingle.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go?

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik?

“I’d love to go to either Cuba or Jamaica. Cuba because I love salsa music and the culture of Cuba, and Jamaica because I love Bob Marley and have always wanted to see where he was born.”

“I like a nice, sweet wine most of the time, but it usually depends on what I’m eating, like fish or steak, to determine if it’s red or white.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“I love both, but the beach edges out the sofa because it is so

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday

• The Cultural Surface Opening

Time: 6pm Venue: Doongalik Studios

SEE PAGE 10

• The Current Open Studios

Time: 7pm - 9pm Venue: The Current at Baha Mar The Current’s Open Studios will feature conversations with their current resident artists Lillian Blades and Dr Ian Bethell-Bennet.

Saturday

• Coffee + Yoga

Time: 7am Venue: Louis & Steen’s New Orleans Coffeehouse

All levels are welcomed to join this one-hour beginner flow. This class will be reoccurring monthly at $20 per person and participants are asked that bring their own mats or beach towels. Pets are welcome.

• Farm To Table: Pop-Up Market

Time: 8am - 1pm Venue: Jemi Health and Wellness, Caves Village Fresh produce, seasonal fruits, fresh eggs, cakes and cookies, and more will be on offer.

• Seafood Lovers Pop-Up

Time: 12noon - 6pm Venue: New Providence Community Centre, Blake Road An event for all seafood lovers, families, foodies and friends. Enjoy

over 40 types of dishes, including sushi, paired with beverages, as well as henna painting, caricature drawings and cookie decorating.

It is hosted by Bahasocial 242.

• Movie Night At The Barn

Time: 4.30pm - 8pm Venue: Camperdown Riding Club

The movie is Pixar’s “Incredibles 2”.

Prior to the screening at 6pm, kids can enjoy pony rides. There will be a concession stand for pizza and popcorn. Tickets are $10 per person for the movie and $5 per pony ride.

• Nassau Night Market

Time: 6pm - midnight Venue: Market Slope (behind the Straw Market) The Nassau Night Market is back and in full swing! Come on out and experience flavourful foods and specialty drinks, browse through stalls of local art and other crafts.

• Rowland Sutherland on Flute

Time: 6.30pm Venue: The Current, Baha Mar The Nassau Music Society continues its diverse and exciting concert season with British flautist Rowland Sutherland. He takes the stage alongside top Bahamian jazz musicians Clinton Crawford on keys, Adrian D’Aguilar on bass and Kevin Dean on drums.

Sunday • Powerade Potcakeman

Triathlon 2019

Time: 7am Venue: Jaws Beach The event, which will benefit BAARK!, features a 750m swim, a five-mile bike ride and a 5km run. There will also be relays and kids and puppy aquathon events.

• Jazz in the Park: A Night of Love

Time: 5pm Venue: Clifton Heritage National Park Sway to the music of Cherelle & Jazz Etcetera while enjoying dinner and cocktails followed by a cultural show by Action and live art by Jamal Cyril. For more information, call 477-0978, 477-7092 or 424-7005.

• Rowland Sutherland on Flute

Time: 5pm Venue: St Paul’s Church Hall The Nassau Music Society presents it’s second evening with Rowland Sutherland. Tickets are $35 for members, $40 for nonmembers and $10 for students.

• Chinese New Year at 1er Cru

Time: 6.30pm - 10.30pm Venue: 1er Cru, Gladstone Road Immerse yourself in the traditional Chinese culture. Enjoy a fourcourse dinner plus a wine tasting and hors d’oeuvres.

Tickets are $65. RSVP at woknrollrestaurant@yahoo.com.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

At 16, she will become the youngest Bahamian model to walk in a New York Fashion Week show. The ‘Next Face’ winner tells Cara Hunt about the supermodels who inspire her and how she is ready to take on the world.

Saucha Rolle

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aucha Rolle may just be 16 years old, but already she is making waves as a model who one day hopes to be successful internationally.

This weekend, she is headed to the Big Apple where she will become the youngest Bahamian model to walk the catwalk for New York Fashion Week.

Fashion Week takes place twice a year in the major fashion capitals of the world: New York, London, Milan and Paris.

Traditionally, Fashion Weeks were held several months in advance of the season to allow the press and buyers a chance to preview designs for the following season. In February and March, designers showcase their Fall and Winter collections; in September and October, their Spring and Summer collections.

“I am very excited and very nervous at the same time,” Saucha told Tribune Weekend about her upcoming trip, which will be her first visit to New York City.

Saucha’s journey to modelling began when her art teacher noticed a fashion photo she had posted to her Instagram page.

“She saw it and then encouraged me to participate in ‘The Next Face’ modelling contest,” she noted.

The contest was created by Tribune staff photographer Shawn Hanna. He was inspired by the popular American reality TV show “America’s Next Top Model”.

The series-based competition The Next Face focuses on 10 Bahamian women who take on challenges involving beauty, themed photoshoots, entertainment and commercial.

Saucha went on to win this season’s competition.

“What I love about modelling are the pictures, seeing the final product and wondering ‘wow’, is that really me?”

“I am hoping that this experience will help me to gain exposure and learn more about the industry.

It can be hard to walk a runway and have to keep a straight face if people are

PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

interview

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, February 8, 2019

PHOTO/JAMES KETANT

“She was different and she stood out from the rest of the girls throughout the season...She wanted it, but she made it easy for you to notice her and like her.” cheering for you,” she said. “I am also very excited to see the (New York skyline) and be in the cold weather and maybe see snow.”

Saucha said that her favourite supermodel is Australian Duckie Thot.

Duckie Thot finished in third place on the eighth cycle of “Australia’s Next Top Model” and made her runway debut at the Yeezy Spring/ Summer 2017 show. She is best known for being the face of Fenty Beauty as well as playing the lead role in the “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired 2018 Pirelli Calendar.

“I love Duckie; her skin is amazing,” said Saucha.

Saucha has been working hard to prepare for her New York catwalk debut. She has been watching YouTube videos of models strutting their stuff, in particular British supermodel Naomi Campbell, and has been taking lessons from former Miss Bahamas Naomi Culmer.

Shawn Hanna told Tribune Weekend he knew Saucha the ‘it factor’ from day one.

“She was different and she stood out from the rest of the girls throughout the season. She was just able to

Saucha in The Urban Duo

successfully complete the challenges,” he said.

He said Saucha is “greedy” for success, but humble at the same time.

“What I mean by that is that there are people who want it, but it can be in a negative way. She wanted it, but she made it easy for you to notice her and like her. Another great thing I can say about Saucha is that she is really a chameleon in that she adapts very quickly to change, which is great for a model,” he said.

Shawn is set to accompany Saucha to New York Fashion Week and has a number of interesting things planned for his star.

Saucha will be walking in the Stevie Boi fashion show.

Stevie Boi is an American fashion designer and founder of the luxury eyewear line SB Shades. He started designing in 2007 and quit his job with the military to start his business selling eyewear.

His big break was landing his eyewear on the cover of Vogue Italia shot by renowned fashion photographer Steven Meisel, plus an additional sixpage spread entitled “The A Train”, featuring pieces from his collection “Coexist”.

Time magazine conducted an interview with Stevie Boi, which brought him great press coverage for his brand.

He was voted No 1 on Time magazine’s “9 Dream Jobs That Actually Pay” list.

In addition to the Stevie Boi show, Saucha will be taking part in “Street Walks”. “ ‘Street Walks’ are where all the fashion bloggers and reporters congregate and people dress up and walk around,” Shawn explained. “It is a great way to create a buzz. It is a place where you go when you feel stylish.”

Saucha said she would definitely encourage other aspiring models to follow their passion.

“If you really want to do it, then go for it. There is nothing about modelling that I dislike; I enjoy it 100 percent” she said.

If there was one designer she’d love to model for it would be Donatella Versace.

“I like her because she hates minimalism and so do I,’” she said.

The sponsors for Saucha’s trip include designer June K Woods, Yeisha Forbes (make-up), the Tovi Agency, Lavonne Ferguson, whose boutique ‘Shop The CC’ provided the wardrobe, and Amani hair.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, February 8, 2019

fashion

‘Real Housewives’ star wears Bahamian designer for magazine cover Theodore Elyett designs Porsha Williams’ dress

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ahamian fashion designer Theodore Elyett has landed the cover of Rolling Out Magazine by outfitting the glowing mom-to-be and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Porsha Williams in a yellow, off-the-shoulder maternity gown.

Porsha was photographed this Winter during her “baby-moon” vacation in the Bahamas. The image, captured by Bahamian celebrity photographer Stanley Babb, shows Porsha cradling her baby bump in Elyett’s flattering gown, featuring handmade floral appliqué along a plunging neckline, sequin inserts on the torso and his signature bishop sleeve with pleated cuff. The material for the gown was donated by Commonwealth Fabrics.

“This was a case of opportunity knocking, and I stepped up to the plate! Stanley contacted me about the project, and I had a lead time of 24-hours to construct the gown for Porsha. I immediately accepted the challenge and got to work,” said Elyett. “Was it easy? Not at all, but I knew that it would be an amazing opportunity for my brand to gain additional traction on the international stage. Porsha has a huge following, so I knew that I made the right decision and simply had to put in the work.”

The cover image has garnered more than 260,000 Instagram likes on the

Bahamian fashion designer Theodore Elyett dresses Porsha Williams. popular social media feed The Shade Room and has been featured by international publications including the Daily Mail and Bossip.

A contingent of Bahamian artists lent their talent to the shoot. Makeup artist Sarsha Lepeche executed a jewel-coloured glam look on Porsha, and filmmaker Judah Forbes shot the highlight video.

“I honestly cannot adequately express how grateful I am for Stanley’s gift and willingness to take Bahamian talent on his journey of success,” added Elyett.

This is the second international magazine cover Elyett and Babb

have collaborated on, following their Ellements Magazine cover in 2017 featuring Elyett’s “Bahamian Opulence” collection that showcased in Beijing.

The Rolling Out magazine cover comes on the heels of Elyett’s Commonwealth Fashion Exchange showcase at Buckingham Palace before a royal audience, where he rubbed shoulders with Sophie, Countess of Wessex; supermodel Naomi Campbell, and Vogue UK’s first black editor, Edward Enninful.

Elyett is seen as a trailblazer in Caribbean fashion. His fashion portfolio dates back to 1998 when he emerged

as a 13-year-old award-winning designer.

Since then, he has built a portfolio in the Caribbean, South America, North America, Africa and Asia. He became a Bahamian ambassador for the arts when he became a fan favourite and the winner of the reality TV show “Mission Catwalk”, season 3, in 2014. In recent years, he has showcased his designs at London Fashion Week, Royal Ascot 2018 and collaborated with the renowned Austrian crystal brand Swarovski.

Reflecting on the gravity of the Rolling Out magazine cover Elyett said: “After winning the 2018 Bahamian Icon Award for Fashion Design, I’m grateful that I can now add ‘celebrity designer’ to my portfolio.”

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

art

The pattern of

love

The Current celebrates couples

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

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aha Mar is rolling out the red carpet for lovers at The Current art centre and gallery all during the month of February with a series of events designed to let couples show each other “This is How Much I Love You”.

“We are just in the spirit of love this month,” said Cydne Coleby, the design and communications officer at The Current.

The events are themed to coincide with the launch of a line of merchandise inspired by a pattern created by the gallery’s creative art director, John Cox. The pattern uses an extracted part of a personal dialogue where one party looks to qualify or validate the other’s love for them.

“Usually the response is a phrase that suggests something infinite, like the stars in the sky, sand on the beach, or the fish in the sea. The main focus of the piece is to personify the idea of infinite measure, a measure both outwards as well as inward. The piece looks beyond infinity in an additive way; but also addresses love in terms of tolerance and discipline. It also speaks to our social and political relationship to society and, lastly it acts as a measure of validation of worth about our own image of self,” the gallery said in a statement.

The merchandise features the repetitious pattern and was hand-painted by Mr Cox. It will be discounted throughout the month; The Current is also launching a line of art supplies.

Additionally, On Valentine’s Day, The Current will host a special “This is How Much I Love You” sip and paint event.

Couples attending the event will each be given a canvas to paint on that will then be joined together to create a single image. The class will include all materials, a complimentary glass of wine or champagne, and a surprise Valentine’s Day gift.

There will be three sessions: 11am -1pm; 3pm- 5pm, and 6pm- 8pm; at a cost of $65 per person.

A pattern to celebrate by John Cox

Later that evening the gallery will also host a concert with Bahamian folk artist Matthew Pinder.

He will perform music from his latest album, “Too Young to Understand”. The concert begins at 7pm with wine and art and Matthew Pinder will begin his performance at 7.45pm.

Tickets are priced at $15 per person and $25 per couple.

Tickets for all the events are available at The Current.

New merchandise for The Current art gallery

The Tribune | Weekend | 09

Friday, February 8, 2019

entertainment

Wining and dining for

Valentine’s Day

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

I

t’s that time of the year again – the season to celebrate love in the most form.

Whether you’re going out on a date, have private picnic planned, or just intend to “Netflix and chill” at home, Valentine’s Day offers the perfect opportunity for lovers to display their feelings for each other.

Some may say “you should show love every day, and while this is true, just there is a a Mother’s and Father’s Day to celebrate parents, we have this special day set aside to make bigger and more visual than usual gestures and declarations of love.

If you are planning to go out to celebrate, the list of suitable venues is long. And for the second time, Baha Mar joins in the Valentine’s Day celebrations with menu specials and themed activities.

Vanessa Christie, director of Public Relations at Baha Mar, shared with Tribune Weekend some of the options lovers can choose from for February 14.

“Through our various restaurants and activities we invite our guests to experience Valentine’s Day in a way that perfectly fits their personality and preferences. Whether you want to treat yourself and your significant other to fine dining at one of our signature restaurants, enjoy the gentle relaxation of a couple’s massage at ESPA, or want to spark playful creativity at The Current’s Sip n’ Paint, the choice is yours,” she said.

The Bahamian community, she said, has really embraced the dining options at the resort, from breakfast at Café Madeleine to seafood dinners at 3 Tides and international cuisine at Commonwealth.

Spaces like The Jazz Bar have also become local favourites to enjoy live music and light bites.

At 3 Tides this Valentine’s Day, patrons can choose from special options such as the lobster bisque with tarragon crème fraiche, seared ahi

stack, wonton crisps, a seaweed salad, avocado, and wasabi aioli as a first course, and scallops with butternut squash hash, asparagus, oyster mushrooms, and caviar lemongrass beurre blanc for the main course.

The Regatta restaurant will offer salad, grill, bakery, sear and fry stations. Cafe Madeleine will host a Sip n’ Canvas Valentine’s Day Edition with bottomless champagne, small bites and dessert between the hours of 6pm and 8pm. Over at The Royal Blue Tavern the line-up will include a special menu, live music and other entertainment in collaboration with Bristol Wines.

For those looking for a cocktail session, The Jazz Bar will offer champagnes like Moet and Chandon Ice Imperial Brut, and Moet and Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose by the bottle.

The Blue Note Jazz Lounge will offer special desserts as well.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

art

I

n their first exhibition for 2019, Doongalik Studios presents “The Cultural Surface”, showcasing the artwork of Christopher Outten, who aims to go beyond the limits often placed Bahamian artists. The show opens today at 6pm. This is Mr Outten’s first showing at Doongalik.

“This recent body of work has been thematically focused on the people of my country – past and present – and their daily activities,” the artist said. “It delves into portraiture and figurative drawing with the occasional abstract painting and mixed media assemblages.

Observing people, their cultures and personal ways of life is the focus of my creative process, which I enjoy immensely,” he said.

To Mr Outten, art is everlasting.

“It represents human beings’ inherent need to express themselves.

Artistic expression is greatly affected by where an artist’s origins, or where they reside at the time the art is created; their world within and their world without,” he said.

“One would expect the Bahamas to be a fountain of cultural expression in terms of the art produced here, but there are unseen barriers that prevent emerging artists from reaching their full potential.

Bahamian artists are expected in Bahamian society to stay within the cultural norms of art which is the typical ‘pretty picture’ scenario of a beachscape or nature paintings.

This severely limits the creativity of young artists living here, myself included, when much of what is taught is the ‘non-imaginative usual’.

Straying outside of this norm is rarely well-received because the consumer has been conditioned to accept these preconceptions. It is my feeling that there is an overall lack of appreciation for the arts here, opportunities for displaying and selling art are few and far between, sufficient studio space for creating can be counted on one hand partially due to our relatively small population, and room for genuine extensive growth seems limited.”

Mr Outten said the works he will displaying include people, their emotions and activities in a sincere light, presented in fragmented portraits and figures with relief aspects accompanied by an assortment of sculpture-like wire paintings.

Breaking out of the norm

“..artists are expected in Bahamian society to stay within the cultural norms of art which is the typical ‘pretty picture’ scenario of a beachscape or nature paintings.”

“I endeavour to communicate an emotional expression that people can relate to as a whole,” he said.

A Nassau native, Mr Outten holds an Associates of Fine Arts from the University of the Bahamas and has been exhibiting publicly since 2013.

“There are many artists in today’s society: artists who enjoy making beautiful creations, as well as artists who find pleasure in materialising the most grotesque abominations

imaginable. Regardless of their creative preferences, they all share one goal in common: they strive to become iconic. An iconic artist is somebody who takes pride in the works they produce, and is unapologetic; somebody who has the work ethic and determination to make a livelihood out of their passion.

“I have found that in order to become this ideal artist one must have the drive to fight through adversity and discouragement, to dream big, and to set expectations high. The iconic artist always tries to push the boundaries of his or her imagination to achieve what seems impossible. I would love to share my aspirations by explaining my practice and thought process when creating my work.”

Mr Outten’s exhibition, which features 21 pieces, will remain on display until Saturday, March 2. For further information, contact the gallery at 394-1886.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, February 8, 2019

society

Party with the Animals!

Lissa McCombe receives the B-Humane Award

Members and guests of the Bahamas Humane Society braved the rain last Saturday night to honour those in the community who go above and beyond to help animals. A party and awards ceremony was held at the Bahamas National Trust’s lush Retreat on Village Road.

Winners of the Junior B-Humane Award, brothers Cody and Connor Cartwright

Shanika Cartwright receives the BHS Employee of the Year Award from Kim Aranha and shelter manager Percy Grant.

Veterinarian Dr Valentino Grant received the President’s Star Award for his service to animals in the Bahamas. He is pictured with BHS President Kim Aranha.

Robert Leigh Wood (centre) holds an umbrella over Stazzie (left), the musical guest of the evening, as the rain pours down; also pictured is Stazzie’s father, BHS board member Tony Appleyard.

Even the downpour couldn’t stop the party for animal lovers.

Francisco de Cardenas accepts the Corporate B-Humane Award on behalf of Bahamas Waste

Joe Mesnyk and his wife, BHS board member Metta McMillian-Hughes

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

books

New novel coming in April from “Fifty Shades” author NEW YORK (AP) — E L James is working up some new thrills The author of the blockbuster “Fifty Shades” trilogy has an “erotic love story” coming out April 16, Vintage Books announced last Thursday. It’s called “The Mister” and, according to Vintage, will again be a story of sex, wealth and other indulgences,

featuring a rich Londoner who “has rarely slept alone.” “‘The Mister’ is a contemporary romance set in London, Cornwall and Eastern Europe that introduces readers to the privileged and aristocratic young Englishman Maxim Trevelyan and the mysterious, talented and beautiful Alessia Demachi, who’s recently

Author E L James will release her new book, “The Mister”, in April. arrived in London owning little more than a dangerous and troublesome past,” the publisher announced.

James, whose “Fifty Shades” books have sold more than 100 million copies and launched a billion dollar movie franchise, says “The Mister” is a modern fairy tale.

“I’m so excited to finally get this passionate new romance out into the world,” James said in a statement.

“It’s a Cinderella story for the twentyfirst century. Maxim and Alessia have led me on a fascinating journey and I hope that my readers will be swept away by their thrilling and sensual tale, just as I was while writing, and that, like me, they fall in love with them.”

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Friday, February 8, 2019

books

Bahamian queen of suspense returns with crime thriller

Tanya R Taylor wins spot in Amazon Prime’s reading programme

By FAY KNOWLES

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est-selling Bahamian author Tanya R Taylor’s has released the second book in her Nick Myers series, “One Dead Politician: A Crime Thriller With An Unexpected Twist”, and it has already climbed to No 30 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases in Political Thrillers and Suspense list.

In “One Dead Politician”, “corruption, scandals and kickbacks all make for good politics, and murder.

And on February 17, the author will release “Wicked Little Saints (The Cornelius Saga Book 11)”. Ms. Taylor said readers can now reserve a copy on Amazon at a special pre-order price. “Wicked Little Saints” will be her 24th published book.

Ms Taylor’s popular Cornelius Saga series has attracted the attention of Amazon’s US Prime reading programme.

This programme is intended to promote authors and their books to Amazon’s most engaged customers. Amazon informed Ms Taylor: “We have a limited number of spots available in the

The 11th instalment in the Cornelius Saga will be released on February 17.

US programme and are delighted to offer you the opportunity to increase visibility for your title ‘Cornelius: A Cozy Paranormal Mystery (The Cornelius Saga Book 1)’.”

In her upcoming release, “Wicked Little Saints”, not everything is as it appears in the sparsely populated town of Nirvana.

Three years earlier before the story stars, a bus full of middle grade

school children went missing under mysterious circumstances.

Rachelle Wigby has just had her second nervous breakdown due to the unknown whereabouts of her daughter, Priscilla.

Dr Barns, Rachelle’s estranged brother, feels it’s time someone got to the bottom of what happened to his niece.

Elsewhere, Dr Mira Cullen is made aware of the plight of her boss’s family and feels

compelled to help in any way she can. After embarking upon the investigation using nothing but the unusual gifts she was born with, she will attempt to bring this puzzling mystery to a satisfactory close. The question is, what kind of unfathomable and disturbing secrets will she uncover along the way?

Meanwhile, the crime thriller “One Dead Politician” is described by readers as “gripping,

fast-paced” and suspenseful.

The book follows Detective Nick Myers of the Los Angeles Police Department who is sent hundreds of miles away to impart his specialised training and modernised investigative techniques to the police force in a small Caribbean nation. There, he finds himself unexpectedly entangled in political rifts that will ultimately result in a prominent politician losing his life.

Myers’ expertise as a top detective will be put to the test as he sets out to solve the mystery behind who would want Jackson Cunningham dead – a man he’d met and admired. What he discovers in the end will come as a complete surprise, not only to the citizens of the developing nation, but also to him as a seasoned investigator.

Ms Taylor is the author of several No 1 best-sellers across the various Amazon stores. All of her books have made Amazon Kindle’s Top 100 Paid Bestsellers’ List in several categories, some next to Dean Koontz and the “Master of Horror” Stephen King.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

celebrity The Weekend Fashion Report 71st Annual DGA Awards

FAIL

FAIL

FAIL

FAIL

SPLIT

Aisha Tyler ”Criminal Minds”

Keri Russell ”The Americans”

Octavia Spencer ”Green Book”

Constance Wu ”Crazy Rich Asians”

Karin says: “I really dislike these basic all-sequined gowns. They’re fine if you’re a regular old Joe (Joette?), but as a celeb you need something a bit more stylish than your mom’s go-to dress for fancy occasions.”

Cara says: “I’m not that impressed with the dress. It’s very shiny and just looks a bit cheap to be honest. I really don’t like the shoes with the dress either. Looks like no effort was made.”

Karin says: “She’s a bit late with the sheer gown trend.

At least if she’d pulled if off!

But, no, she commits the capital offence of having the nude sheath underneath be extra visible. And girl, where are you going with that one, awkward sleeve?”

Cara says: “The lining of this dress is distracting. It is not a great fit either, it looks a bit too big and is just not all that flattering on her. Also, the floral lace pattern looks too old-fashioned.”

Karin says: “So Octavia just to throw on any old sweater over a black lace dress. And it doesn’t match! I’m tired of seeing her in these drab, black gowns. Get yourself some royal blue or bright red. It would work wonders.”

Cara says: “This week is just not working for me. I love Octavia, but I feel that the length of this dress is just awkward and it’s just so unshapely. It’s not t

Sarah Paulson ”American Horror Story” Karin says: “We know she’s somewhat of an eccentric, but what is this?! This had to come from some Marshal’s rack. I refuse to believe she paid more than $20 for this mess. Sequins, a black elastic waist and a rosette to emphasise the weird midriff cut-out...why?”

Cara says: “I don’t know what’s worse, the horrible fabric, whatever that is on the dress at the midriff or the shoes that just further cut the outfit up and make her look stumpy. She doesn’t even look like she likes her outfit. She looks uncomfortable.”

Karin says: “In what has turned out to be a very rough week for fashion, this is probably the best. It’s not amazing or anything, but at least it doesn’t offend the eyes.

I don’t love the white feathers, but I can live with them.”

Cara says: “In a week where the fashion was not inspiring, this outfit actually isn’t that bad. At least it fits her and has visual appeal. It’s fun so yeah, its my only real hit of the week.”

PHOTOS BY CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

The Tribune | Weekend |17

Friday, February 8, 2019

celebrity

‘Real Housewives’ star comes to Nassau

Orange Country cast member to share her love of tanzanite stones

V

icki Gunvalson, star of Bravo TV’s hit reality series, “The Real Housewives of Orange County”, is headed to the Bahamas.

Mrs Gunvalson is scheduled to visit Diamonds International and Tanzanite International in Nassau on Monday, February 11, and Tuesday, February 12, from 9am to 11am and 1pm to 2pm to share her love of Safi Kilima Tanzanite and the Diamonds International brand portfolio with customers.

“I know quality when I see it,” said Mrs Gunvalson, who founded the successful Coto Insurance company based in Orange County, California. “It’s no wonder that tanzanite is 1,000 times rarer than a diamond – the vibrant colour is spectacular. I look forward to meeting the Safi Kilima Tanzanite customer and connecting with them over our love for high-quality jewellery

and the Caribbean’s largest tanzanite brand.”

Mrs Gunvalson is an original cast member of Bravo TV’s first “Real Housewives” franchise. Since “The Real Housewives of Orange County” premiered in 2006, she has been a key member of the cast and fan favourite over the past 13 years.

Diamonds International President and CEO Morris Gad said of her upcoming visit: “I’m very excited about this personal appearance in one of our top stores, Diamonds International and Tanzanite International Bahamas.

Knowing the global reach of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” and Vicki herself, we know our customers will enjoy this personal appearance. I am so pleased I can share this passion for Safi Kilima Tanzanite with Vicki and our customers.”

Mr Gad founded Diamonds International in 1988, and while the Safi

Kilima Tanzanite brand is the newest proprietary collection in their portfolio, tanzanite itself celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.

Tanzanite is a trade name that was first used by Tiffany & Co for gemquality specimens of the mineral zoisite with a blue-violet colour. The name ‘tanzanite’ comes Tanzania in eastern Africa, where the world’s only known tanzanite deposit of commercial importance can be found. The mines are all located in an area of about eight square miles in the Merelani Hills, near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose tanzanite as a December birthstone, the first change to their birthstone list since 1912.

Founded in 2010, Safi Kilima Tanzanite is a global leader in tanzanite.

Vicki Gunvalson of “The Real The brand is exclusive to Diamonds Housewives of Orange County” International and Tanzanite Interna(Photo/Bravo TV) tional stores.

Kelly Rowland to host Essence Black Women awards Rowland to host Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards

By MESFIN FEKADU, AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kelly Rowland will host the 12th annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards this month.

Essence announced Tuesday that the Grammy-winning singer, who has had some acting roles, will host the February 21 luncheon honouring actresses Regina Hall, Jenifer Lewis, Amandla Stenberg and Kiki Layne.

Rowland says in a statement she’s happy to “shine a light on four exceptional women for their art and social activism.”

Rowland has had roles on “Empire,” ‘‘Girlfriends” and “Think Like a Man.” She will play Gladys Knight in the new BET series “American Soul,” which focuses on the iconic music TV programme “Soul Train” and its creator Don Cornelius. It debuts Tuesday.

The Academy Awards will take place February 25 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Singer and actress Kelly Rowland (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

travel

Five romantic destinations for

Valentine’s Day

By SANIA DUNCOMBE

E

very year, Valentine’s Day rolls around and every year Bahamians break out their favourite red outfits and sit patiently at work waiting for their big bouquets or baskets to come through the office doors. We think it’s time this tradition gets an upgrade! There’s a whole big wide world out there full of romantic destinations waiting to be explored by adventurous lovers.

Before you book your regular table for two at your usual restaurant or share a tropical, conch salad with two spoons at a local hangout, the Going Places Travel agency has some alternative suggestions. Whether you want a last-minute getaway or need some time to plan for V-Day 2020, here are five romantic places around the world to whisk your loved away.

• THE BIG APPLE

Start spreading the news... New York is the city where you can enjoy Valentine’s Day in many different ways. Partake in high tea at the infamous Russian Tea Room, followed by an opera experience at the legendary Carnegie Hall or a musical on Broadway. Or put on your walking shoes and explore historic streets that have been reworked with a modern twist, handin-hand, taking in the world’s most infamous cultural melting pot. Visit Lady Liberty, Grand Central Station and the modern LOVE statue (another perfect spot to propose, by the way!).

Travel advisor tip: This location is the easiest and most affordable lastminute off-island escape for Valentine’s Day 2019.

• EXUMA

OK, hear me out...Exuma is everything! Anyone paying attention has seen the azure waters of the Exumas sparkling all over TV screens and social media. Exuma is a literal paradise nestled along the Tropic of Cancer. This V-Day, take your lover to

the island voted ‘Top Island’ by Travel + Leisure and make it a weekend of relaxation and pure island vibes. Keep it low key and personal with a bed and breakfast along the beach, or indulge in the luxury of a private villa or hotel.

Do something a little different and connect with a local tour operator to plan a private picnic for two on one of the many exotic Exuma Cays during low tide.

Travel advisor tip: February is still considered peak season in the Bahamas. Consult with a travel agent who can pair your romance needs with the right type of hotel and help you book during the right time to get the best pricing.

• ASPEN, COLORADO

Trade powdery white sand for pillowy snow banks. Aspen, situated in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, is the perfect chilly location for creating blazing hot nights in front of a warm

fireplace. Imagine a snow-filled day of trying new things like skiing the Buttermilk mountains or driving snowmobiles around the T-lazy-7 ranch.

Then prepare to turn up the heat at night with a romantic night-in for two at one of ski lodges, complete with fireplace, hot tub and a bed full of red rose petals.

• BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIAN ISLANDS

Bora Bora has made the overthe-water villas the absolute dream destination for romance junkies.

Absolute seclusion and privacy are the top reasons to make this utopia top of your list for a steamy getaway. Pick one of the many resorts that offer an overthe-water room experience. This time next year, you and the love of your life can be staring out at the crystal clear waters from your bedroom while you lay in each other’s arms.

Travel advisor tip: Travel time to the French Polynesia can be eight to 12 hours depending on your connections. If you are uncomfortable spending over 12 hours in the air at a time, consider connecting in a city where you can spend a few days before making the longer trip to the islands.

We recommend a few days in Miami or Los Angeles.

• THE AMALFI COAST, ITALY

If you’re planning on proposing to the love of your life, you won’t find a more beautiful and scenic locale.

The Amalfi Coast is the perfect blend of Mediterranean romance and old world Italian charm. Plan a boat ride along the coastline to take in the beauty of the seaside towns and see the mountains dotted with rustic villages and colourful fauna. You’re sure to find the perfect high point with a view to pop the question. Italy is, of course, also perfect for foodies.

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, February 8, 2019

gardening

Odds and ends Jack Hardy welcomes bees in his garden, enjoys the beauty of his borage plants and re-pots his strawberries.

I

used borage as potted plants this winter to make a change from petunias. Along with the borage I have deep purple vinca and several chrysanthemums. The borage is giving me what I expected.

The plants are tall, slightly over two feet, and bear those beautiful drooping sky blue flowers that attract bees.

They can be considered above average in maintenance because the lower leaves have to be trimmed away on a regular basis. I know Chris Farrington of Green Turtle Cay loves borage as a flowering plant but several people who have seen my display said they were not familiar with the herb. Much as I love borage, I have never used it for its herbal qualities.

The presence of the bees was very gratifying. I ended up pulling some tomatillo plants in December because they were not being pollinated. There were plenty of flowers but no bees to service them. Local government used to spray Malathion quite regularly in order to control mosquitoes but I have not noticed any activity in the past two years, thank goodness. I was sitting on my back porch one time when the spraying took place from the road and had immediately to take a shower.

I know local government was trying its best, but I really felt that indiscriminate spraying of my property was close to an invasion of my privacy. I am very careful in my use of insecticides and

employ them discriminately. A drench of Malathion – an insecticide that kills bees – is not welcome.

We need bees to pollinate so many of our garden vegetables, cucumbers among them. For years now I have been using patio type cucumbers almost exclusively. The fruit size and number of fruits produced is almost identical to production from full sized

Borage starflowers

Purple chrysanthemum vines. Patio cucumbers can be grown in pots and climb an inserted tomato tower, a great convenience. I believe the patio varieties have a shorter lifespan but that is of little import.

Cucumber leaves are made rather unattractive by molds and mildew so it is just as well to grow them, harvest them, and pull them, meanwhile having more on the way.

Perhaps it’s a sign of my age but as well as eating cucumbers I use them to treat my eyes. On those days my eyes feel gritty or I am feeling sleepy when I should be wide awake I like to rub my eyes with a thin slice of cucumber.

I know health spas use cucumber slices for the same purpose but for that treatment you have to lie down and take some time. A quick rub over the eye sockets is enough to be refreshing.

I can add to the recent article on strawberries because I found myself with about 40 plants recently that were extra to my calculated needs. Strawberries are perennials and will live for several years. They bear fruits well for two or three years then run out of steam. If our Bahamian soil were less

alkaline we could then plant the strawberries as a fairly attractive ground cover, especially around the base of fruit trees.

I decided to re-pot my extra strawberries into three-gallon containers, three plants to a pot. Strawberries like growing together and do so naturally in the wild. Each pot of three plants should give substantial fruit in the next few months as they are first-year growth. I will note which plants are most productive and transplant them to individual three-gallon pots in late autumn. The others? I may very well plant them around mango trees after adding a soil-neutralising bag of potting mix around the base and treating the area with Miracid spray every few weeks.

Those plants that rely on rain and tree detritus absorbed by rain are particularly sensitive to the quality of water. The spongy roots of orchids and the inner leaves of bromeliads should not be subjected to water that comes from most Bahamian faucets. Here in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, we have access to the best-tasting water you

could want and I have been told that we have enough to provide the water needs of all the islands. Unfortunately Water & Sewerage does not obtain the district’s water supply from the island’s main aquifers. Marsh Harbour water is brackish. Put some into a plastic party cup and freeze it overnight. Lick the bottom of the ice cylinder. It’s as salty as sea water.

I am sure Nassau has the same problems. City water is anathema to most plants, orchids and bromeliads in particular. I keep five-gallon buckets under my house eaves and use rainwater for the monthly fertilizer soak of my orchids. Bromeliads rarely need watering but when it is necessary I use a watering can filled with rainwater.

Unfortunately my cabbages and tomatoes have to suffer city water.

The chrysanthemums I mentioned earlier were all bought from my local nursery over the years. Every now and then mums appear as a seasonal offering – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mothers Day – in a mass display that is really impressive. When the flowers fade they can be clipped away, a very shallow pruning and give another flush of bloom.

In order to get the dense flowering display nurseries like there are usually two or three mums in each container.

It is best to separate these plants carefully and pot them singly. Mums are perennials so once established will be a joy for years. Mums are also easy to propagate from simple cuttings.

• For queries and comments e-mail jacktribune242@gmail.com

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

literary lives – melissa maura

The genius behind ‘Primitive’ art Sir Christopher Ondaatje describes “an extreme experience” with the artist Melissa Maura, and writes about the exotic fantasies and artists which have inspired this much loved Bahamian artist.

A

bout a year ago I was walking across the submerged flats on Hog Cay off the north-western tip of Long Island – the island paradise owned by Peter Graham, a well-known Bahamian lawyer and his family. Well, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The so-called

“flats” were nothing of the kind. They were uneven pot holes and sometimes deeper quicksand type cavities under about two feet of water. Every step was a hazard and it was extremely difficult to hold my footing. What was worse, I was starting to panic and wondered whether I would ever get to the safety of the shore. It was tiring and actually quite dangerous – for me anyway.

But not for someone as sure-footed and strong as the artist Melissa Maura and her friend Jane Lewis. They saw the trouble I was in and made their way over to me and literally, with one strong arm under each of my armpits, held me up and guided me to safety. They might have saved my life.

They certainly restored my flagging

confidence. Later, after an evening sundowner, I joked about the experience. But it wasn’t a laughing matter at the time.

Melissa Maura is a very talented and much loved Bahamian artist who was born on February 7, 1956 in Nassau at the Princess Margaret Hospital. She went to St Andrew’s School – then on Shirley Street opposite the editorial offices of The Tribune. In 1973, her parents put her into Oriel School in Cheltenham, England, then back to Nassau, and then to London where she attended the Heatherley School of Fine Art for a year, taking life drawing classes and learning etching and anatomy – an essential grounding for

anyone seriously interested in painting figures, both human and animal.

It was at Heatherley that she first came across the paintings of Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), the French post-impressionist painter in the Naive or Primitive manner.

“It blew my mind. He filled me with wonder. His paintings were dark but enchanting. ‘The Tiger in Tropical Storm (Surprised!)’ – actually the first of his many jungle scenes in 1891 – was the one that most affected me. But also ‘The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope’ (1905) and ‘The Sleeping Gypsy’ (1897).”

The Tribune | Weekend |21

Friday, February 8, 2019

a half-serious, half-burlesque banquet in his studio which grew in fame not so much because of Rousseau but because it happened at a particular time of a revolutionary art movement.

Picasso’s event became known as the Banquet Rousseau and was attended by many influential people in the Parisian art world, including Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Metzinger, Juan Gris, Max Jacob, Marie Laurencin, André Salmon – the writer, Maurice Raynal, Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler, Leo Stein, and the powerfully opinionated Gertrude Stein. I looked it up – just to see what André Salmon had written about it some years later in Les Soires de Paris. On January 15. 1914 he wrote this about “Le Banquet Rousseau”: “Here the nights of the Blue Period passed ... here the days of the Rose

“Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!)” (1891) was the first of many jungle scenes for which Henri Rousseau is best known.

Rousseau’s influence shows clearly on Melissa Maura’s work. He started painting seriously in his early 40s, and when he was 49 years old he retired from his government job collecting taxes on goods entering Paris. Ridiculed during his lifetime by critics, he came to be recognised as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality. He was inventive and exerted an extensive influence on several generations of avant-garde artists

– including Maura – who told me an interesting story.

Evidently it is possible that Picasso discovered Rousseau. Or perhaps partially discovered him. He certainly promoted him. The story is that Picasso stumbled on a painting

by Rousseau which was being sold on the street just as a piece of canvas to be painted over. He instantly recognised Rousseau’s genius and sought out the unknown artist. He then held

Melissa Maura at work

Period flowered ... here the Demoiselles d’Avignon halted in their dance to regroup themselves in accordance with the golden number and the secret of the fourth dimension ... here fraternised the poets elevated by serious criticism into the School of the Rue Ravignan ... here in these shadowy corridors lived the true worshippers of fire ... here one evening in the year 1908 unrolled the pageantry of the first and last banquet offered by his admirers to the painter Henri Rousseau called the Douanier.”

Artists sometimes have accidental beginnings to spark their recognition.

And so it was with Melissa Maura. It was the lush green tropical foliage as well as the exotic depiction of animals that influenced her. This and children’s books and their incredible illustrations:

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Arthur Rackham (”Rip Van Winkle”, “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm”, “Aesop’s Fables”); Ernest H Shepard (”The Wind in the Willows”); Nicola Bayley (”The Jungle Book”). The paintings, like those of Rousseau, were at first criticised for being seemingly childlike.

“These paintings are not at all childlike. These artists are the masters of the genre of created fantasy and of Naive paintings. They are phenomenally creative. It is not easy to illustrate someone else’s story, or in fact to tell a story in a simple illustration. It is pure genius.”

Melissa Maura came back to Nassau when she was 15 and began painting in earnest. She sold her first painting in 1974, “Two Leopards and a Cub”.

It was only a small painting but it was a tremendous breakthrough for her – to make the connection and to find someone who appreciated and loved what she loved most. It gave her confidence, and she has never looked back.

“What people don’t realise is that there is a sophistication to Primitive painting that is difficult to achieve.

Over the years I have collected photos, feathers, articles, and illustrations in several untidy scrapbooks. Before I start anything I will thumb through every one of my scrapbooks – everything from old postcards to letters.

They are my journals and the source of my artistic inspiration.”

Melissa Maura started out painting acrylic on canvas, and then a few years later she watched a carpenter cutting a shape of a flamingo with a jigsaw – and the technique fascinated her. She never got it out of her system.

So, although she didn’t give up on her canvases – and, she says, never will – she too began working with a jig-saw, and cutting out animal shapes and painting them. It was a new dimension.

She soon found out that painting on wood was not as simple as it seemed.

It was important to get a good grade of plywood – and then to sand and prime it several times until she got a good tactile surface that will last.

“I still have my first cut-out painting of a zebra – which I painted thirty years ago. It was a whole new horizon. I want to keep it – not sell it – because it is part of my history, heritage, and my discovery of this technique.”

Friday, February 8, 2019

Artwork by Melissa Maura

Maura has participated in many group exhibitions in the Bahamas, and two one-man shows. The first solo exhibition was at the old Resorts International – now the site of Atlantis. She sold everything. The second solo show called “Jungle Capers” was held in an office building in downtown Nassau – about 20 or 25 paintings. Again she sold everything. It takes a long time to do a single painting – sometimes several months. So to collect paintings for a show takes an eternity. She now has only one or two paintings – and small ones – that have not been sold.

I asked her whether she was superstitious. “Not at all,” she replied. “But I am quite spiritual.”

“I am very comfortable with nature – it is my religion. I only have to put my hand on a tree to get the connection I need. Even just putting my bare feet on the ground – on the grass – on the rocks. It just feeds me.”

She loves birds and animals, understandably. It all started at the Bahamas Humane Society when she was a child.

She would go there and clean cages, walk the dogs, bathe the puppies, and

that evolved into her taking injured birds or wild animals home with her where she nursed them back to health and then released them back into the wild. She was completely self-taught.

She found a book on rehabilitation of wildlife and studied it. But, as she explained, there is no substitute for hands-on experience. It is everything.

These intimate experiences with wildlife have crept into her much sought-after paintings which have captured the soul of her subjects.

Although not many people now remember this, Melissa Maura used to sing Opera for about 20 years – here in Nassau – and sang several times in Government House with her duet partner Maria Klonaris – now Maria Wilson. She was a very accomplished soprano. But then she damaged her vocal chords and sadly had to stop singing. It was an emotional tragedy and changed her life. It had a huge impact on her. However music continues to be a hugely powerful force for the emotional and sensitive artist.

“I’ve always been happy. I have no regrets about anything that has happened to me. If I have any particular ambition it is to excel at what I am doing – to be as good as I can be – and perhaps some day to be totally self sufficient.”

God willing, this amazingly talented and gifted artist will achieve all the success and acclaim she deserves.

NEXT WEEK: One of the founders of the Romantic movement • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial.

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, February 8, 2019

history

Addington House and Bishop Venables Forgotten facts | Paul C Aranha

T

his 1865 painting of the “Bishop’s House, Nassau”

by Lilla King was sent to me by Ann Morley Carmel, but it bears no resemblance to the Addington House on Shirley Street that I remembered, so I had to find an explanation.

I was relieved to learn that Lilla King was, in fact, the maiden name of the wife of Addington Venables, the second Bishop of Nassau, and in 1864, when the Venables arrived in Nassau, there was no official residence for the Bishop, so they lived in rented rooms above a shop on Bay Street while looking for a suitable house that the bishop could buy. They found that house on Shirley Street, just west of Union Street (now called Elizabeth Avenue) – the house in the painting.

Originally it had been the home of the Commander of Fort Fincastle, but the most recent inhabitant was the Chief Justice. Fortunately, the Bishop was of “independent means” and could afford to buy the property, where he and his family lived for the rest of their stay in the Bahamas.

The Bishop’s father, Thomas Venables, was private secretary to Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (1757-1844), and afterwards, Sir Robert Peel – two prime

Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. ministers of Britain who became the Bishop’s godfathers, and from whom he took his forenames Addington Robert Peel Venables. His mother was Anne King. In 1862, he married his cousin, Elizabeth Ann Venables King, known as Lilla.

In June 1876, Bishop Venables became ill and went to Hartford, Connecticut for medical treatment. He died there later that year, at the early age of 49. The Bishop’s wife and young children, who inherited the house, agreed to

Addington Venables was an Anglican colonial bishop

sell it to the Diocese of Nassau for 800 pounds, and it became a permanent residence for the Bishop of the Diocese. It was given the name Addington House and the hill on which it stands became known as “Bishop’s Hill”. The old house was replaced by the building in which the late Bishop Michael Eldon lived.

The Bishop sailed the sea of his See in the Bishop’s yacht, which he named The Message of Peace, and even after his death, his successor used the same name for the new (1881), Bahamian-built schooner from the boatyard of my great grandfather, Francisco Jessemy de Souza Leal Aranha.

Bishop Venables is memorialised in a splendid stained

The stained glass window in St Matthew’s Church memorialises Bishop Venables glass window in St Matthew’s Church and the Venables family plot is south of the church, near the Church Street wall.

• For questions and comments, e-mail islandairman@ gmail.com

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019

film

Could ‘Alita’ be Hollywood’s breakthrough manga movie?

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The manga movie “Alita: Battle Angel” has been 20 years in the making, and producer Jon Landau thinks it will finally represent the breakthrough success in Hollywood for a genre which has proved problematic.

“I think this is definitely the breakthrough one because of the story that Kishiro wrote,” said Landau, referring to Japanese author Yukito Kishiro, who wrote the graphic novels, or manga, upon which the movie is based.

“You know, other mangas that have not worked have been very Asian-centric in their world, and in their stories,” Landau said. “And Kishiro wrote a melting-pot world. He didn’t write a central character that was Asian. He wrote universal themes of discovery, of self-awareness, for these characters.

And that’s what’s relatable to people across the globe.”

The film has an estimated budget of $200 million and when it opens in February, Twentieth Century Fox will be hoping for a much better reception than Paramount’s 2017 flop “Ghost in the Shell.”

That manga movie didn’t seem to connect with audiences, grossing just $41 million in the US and $170 million worldwide, with some critics accusing it of “whitewashing” after Scarlett Johansson was cast in the lead role.

“Alita” tells the story of cyborg Alita (Rosa Salazar) who awakens without memory in a dystopic world where she’s taken in by a compassionate father figure Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). As she learns to navigate her new world, she begins to discover her latent fighting powers and develops feelings for street-smart Hugo (Keean Johnson).

Landau said director James Cameron first fell in love with the Alita novels in 1999, and spent five years working on a script that ballooned to nearly 200 pages with 600 pages of notes. He says Cameron got waylaid working on “Avatar” (2009) and its sequels before one day having a social lunch with director Robert Rodriguez.

Rosa Salazar, her image altered by special effects, stars as Alita

“He said if you can crack this down to a shooting length, you can direct it,” Landau recalls. “And Robert did.”

During principal filming in Austin, Texas, Salazar wore a motion-capture suit so her character could later be animated to reflect its look in the novels. When the first trailers came out last year, some viewers said Alita’s eyes appeared huge to the point of being creepy.

Senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, from the Weta Digital studio in New Zealand’s capital Wellington, said they discussed the eyes with Cameron, and he had the opposite reaction, telling them they had held back and should go bigger.

“And it wasn’t the size of the eyes, it was the size of the pupils,” Letteri said. “Because that was a quality in the book, that sort of doll-like quality, and he thought we should bring that out more. And it worked.”

Salazar, who previously appeared in “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” (2015), said she completed many months of martial arts training in disciplines like Muay Thai to prepare for the fight sequences.

“It was a lot of working through soreness, working through pain, getting my endurance up,” she said.

She broke some ribs during her training, she said.

“I fell on my ribs doing a whip kick,” she said. “My other foot just kind of gave out, my other leg kind of swept from under me, and I fell directly on my ribs. I couldn’t breathe for a little while.”

She said she always trusted her character would look good on the screen after Rodriguez showed her some concept art before she got the role.

“They had a vision,” she said. “They stuck to that vision. I trust their vision.

And then that is what we ended up with.”

She said she can empathize with the way Alita transforms from a girl to a woman in the movie, after shedding one body for another. “I could relate to that when I was 14 and I felt like a mutant,” she said.

Waltz, who played Col. Hans Landa in “Inglourious Basterds,” said he had no experience with graphic novels before reading up on Alita.

“The manga, comic, graphic novel thing is not my world at all,” he said.

“I know nothing about it. And I realize that there is a vast field to be discovered.”

Other roles in the movie are played

by Mahershala Ali (Vector), Eiza Gonzalez (Nyssiana) and Jennifer Connelly (Chiren).

NICK PERRY Associated Press

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Friday, February 8, 2019

film

review

Everything is pretty good in ‘The LEGO Movie 2’ THE LOGO MOVIE II RUNNING TIME: 106 MINS

Emmet, left, and Rex Dangervest, are both voiced by Chris Pratt. (Warner Bros Pictures via AP)

“T

he LEGO Movie” is a hard act to follow. Its world was so fresh and vibrant and unexpected, it’s no wonder that it spawned a number of spinoffs of varying quality.

But the big test was always going to be the sequel and whether or not it could recreate the magic of the first. And I’m pleased to report that “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part “ is pretty darn good, but also you can’t help shake the feeling that it’s just never going to live up to the exciting newness of the first.

The script, written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is once again whipsmart. Jokes and clever pop culture references whizz by at lightning speed and you’ll be lucky to catch even half of them on the first watch. Even the songs (there are a few more this time) are packed with Lord and Miller wit.

And you’ll definitely want to stay for the credits song which, oddly enough, is one of the best parts of the movie despite not really being part of the movie.

But there’s something that’s lost in this round. With a new director at the helm in Mike Mitchell (”Trolls,” ‘‘Sky High”) you sense sometimes that the film is just going through the motions.

Still, it has charm and winking fun to spare and kids will likely adore it just as much.

The movie starts by establishing the introduction of a little sister, and all

Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, from left, Metalbeard, voiced by Nick Offerman, Lucy/Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks and Unikitty, voiced by Alison Brie. the chaos and destruction and cuteness that implies. Her LEGOs are oversized and adorable, and really throw the more traditional LEGOs of the brother’s world for a loop, wrecking all the meticulous buildings of Bricksburg.

An abrupt cut to five years later finds Emmet (Chris Pratt), Wyldstyle/ Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett), Unikitty (Alison Brie), Benny (Charlie Day), MetalBeard (Nick Offerman) and all the favourites of the first living in a “Mad Max” homage they call Apocalypseburg (which they say is “grittier and cooler” than Bricksburg). Emmet is still Emmet, though, bright, cheery and optimistic even while everyone else is brooding and scowling. He even builds a cookie cutter house for himself and Lucy with a picket fence, a front yard, and a toaster room, you know, so they can eat toaster waffles anytime.

Lucy tells Emmett she wishes he could grow up, like her, but before their fight is resolved, aliens from the Systar system attack and take Lucy, Batman, Benny and Unikitty hostage for a marriage ceremony on their planet. Left behind, Emmet goes off to rescue them and teams up with a new character, Rex Dangervest, who is also voiced by Pratt, in a very self-aware riff on his own movie stardom. He’s a “galaxy-defending archaeologist, cowboy and raptor trainer” who enjoys showing off his “chiselled features that used to be hidden under baby fat.”

Rex’s crew is made up entirely of velociraptors, who sound like the Jurassic Park/World velociraptors but here are given subtitles. It’s an inspired bit that made me laugh every time.

He and the Systar System people like General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) and Queen Watevre Wa’Nabi

(Tiffany Haddish) are all delightful, and refreshingly new. But the film does start to drag on just a big, and even feel rather similar to “Toy Story 3” at times. It’s not entirely their fault, once the real world element was revealed in the first “LEGO Movie,” there are only so many directions you can go and the big stakes that all toys face being forgotten and the threat of being shoved away into storage.

I’m not sure just how much more the studio can mine out of this concept that was once so brilliant. But happily, “The LEGO Movie 2” doesn’t destroy everything the first worked so hard to build. It’s just trying very hard to be exactly the same.

LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

18 mins Good: 14 mins Excellent: 10 mins Yesterday’s solution: eLiTe (across) TiTLe (down)

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro increases from Monday to Sunday.

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

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CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Funny story about oriental seafood (6) 4 Reductions in capital growth (8) 9 Two bills I stuck on a tree (6) 10 Cop involved with the trial gets heated (8) 12 Double act no longer seen (4) 13 Big portion of Norwegian trout (5) 14 Well-established business (4) 17 Early news from a rare book sale (5,7) 20 It gives an impression of permanence (9,3) 23 Some steak or grouse perhaps (4) 24 Boards a coach (5) 25 Water thoroughly (4) 28 Is it won by the fastest guns in the West? (4,4) 29 Many a call for courage (6) 30 Negative poles seen to change? Absurd (8) 31 Turn meant to amuse, perhaps (6)

Down 1 Switch choices occasionally (2,3,3) 2 Quality that needs raising? (8) 3 Live wildly in sin (4) 5 Family ties for the mother’s boy? (5,7) 6 Cable from a European centre (4) 7 Make straight for this (6) 8 I’m unfortunately upset by highly spiced foreign food (6) 11 Bows? Nonsense! (12) 15 Tolerate a show of resistance (5) 16 Work of monumental stupidity (5) 18 By which railways earn extra money? (8) 19 It gives us illumination - like a star? (8) 21 Get the boat in somehow (6) 22 A money changer who had a farm (6) 26 At liberty to be generous (4) 27 Vehicle to move before take-off (4)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Wrong, 4 Frantic, 8 Set, 9 Footloose, 10 Reflect, 11 Other, 13 Loathe, 15 Edward, 18 Sudan, 19 Tearful, 21 Armadillo, 23 Ray, 24 Paragon, 25 Dated.

Down: 1 Wastrel, 2 Out of hand, 3 Gaffe, 4 Frosty, 5 All told, 6 Too, 7 Clear, 12 Headfirst, 14 Hangdog, 16 Delayed, 17 Stolen, 18 Swamp, 20 Avoid, 22 Mar.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Liszt, 4 Stumble, 8 Cam, 9 Trappists, 10 Fancied, 11 Entry, 13 Raisin, 15 Insult, 18 Risen, 19 Kitchen, 21 Given away, 23 Obi, 24 Dresser, 25 Tenor.

Down: 1 Lucifer, 2 Semantics, 3 Tutti, 4 Shandy, 5 Umpteen, 6 Bus, 7 Essay, 12 Touch down, 14 Innings, 16 Tangier, 17 Skewer, 18 Rigid, 20 Tryst, 22 Vie.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Understand fully (6) 4 Close examination (8) 9 Handsome young man (6) 10 Pettily bothersome (8) 12 Brisk steady pace (4) 13 Highly skilled (5) 14 Mark left by wound (4) 17 Principal assistant (5-4,3) 20 Remaining unresolved (4,2,3,3) 23 Alcove (4) 24 Ardent enthusiast (5) 25 To caution (4) 28 Compassionate (8) 29 Elephant driver (6) 30 Surreptitious (8) 31 Occult (6)

Down 1 Break (8) 2 Exhaustive (8) 3 Leave out (4) 5 Simultaneous but unrelated (12) 6 Advocate strongly (4) 7 Stupidity (6) 8 Semi-solid milk food (6) 11 Important scientific advance (12) 15 Excessive (5) 16 Secret store (5) 18 Idler (8) 19 Wildly excited (8) 21 Hostility (6) 22 Origin (6) 26 To grind (4) 27 Vague (4)

Today’s TarGeT Good 13; very good 20; excellent 26 (or more). solution tomorrow. yesTerday’s soLUTion bend bidden bidder bide bided bier bind binder bird bode boded bodied bond bonded bone boned bonfire bonier bore bored born borne bred bride brief brine fibre fibro forbid forBidden inbred orbed rebind robe robed robin

call 0907 181 2585 for today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

*SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390

Boxer, Radar, Turncoat, Hefty. down: Ant, Ovum, Earwax, Glaze, Prick, Purvey, Jovial, Snags, Craze, Upshot, Stud, Aft.

extra letter clues

0907 181 2560 (Deduct three minutes for each extra clue letter heard)

full solution

0907 181 2558

Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, February 8, 2019

animals PET OF THE A perfect home for a perfect lady WEEK

Animal matters Kim Aranha

By The Bahamas Humane Society

The sad story of

T PHOTO/PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

conch

T

he conch, the almighty conch, the staple food of all virile Bahamians, the main ingredient of our beloved conch salad, our pride and joy: the revered conch.

I find it alarming that the fishermen and conch merchants are so determined that the information provided

by American scientists is inaccurate, as one fisherman is reported as having said, “What do they know about our conch? We know more about them than they know, we live here.”

That is just plain silly. We may know the ins and outs of our country, but it is absolute nonsense to challenge the findings of these very qualified and trained marine scientists who have spent years conducting meticulous research in order to come up with the very real warning that they have provided all Bahamians recently.

The bottom line is simple and straight forward: go on harvesting conch the way we are harvesting and there will be no more conch for our grandchildren to enjoy.

To have a healthy and thriving conch population there is a quota needed per hectare (2.5 acres). This number is roughly 50 adult conch.

At present the number per hectare is around 20 adult conch, if you are lucky. Sometimes when we are out boating and cross over the sandbanks where it is easy to see the smallest conch through the water, I am amazed and appalled that I do not see a single one. In those areas the number per hectare must plummet to nearly zero.

You can skim across the sand banks without seeing a conch shell, dead or alive, anywhere. What a tragedy!

When I was young the wealth of conch was absolutely overwhelming. You

could walk out in the morning and pick up what you needed for lunch or dinner, there was never a shortage; they were large and easy to find.

It always strikes me as strange that in a country where we are so proud of our heritage we go out of our way to destroy it so completely that it will never come back. How difficult is it for people to understand the simple laws of conservation. You must preserve and nurture these fragile creatures in order for them to grow and multiply; plunder and ravage was the way of man centuries ago.

In the 21st century we are supposed to understand the importance of conservation in order to preserve.

The Bahamas National Trust launched a wonderful music video a few years back of what will happen

his lovely lady was found in the Ridgeland Park area with her nursing pups and was brought to the Bahamas Humane Society for care. Sadly, not all the pups made it, though Hunter is ready for adoption as well, but Mama is now looking for that perfect home where she can settle in, be a great yard dog, and maybe even get the hang of that thing called a leash.

All BHS adoption animals are spayed and neutered so Ridgeland won’t have the stress of more pups to add to her life, but she wouldn’t mind sharing her new home with another dog (so long as they leave

when there are no conch left. It was upbeat, poignant and educational, but alas, nobody appears to have given it the attention it deserves.

We have had laws and regulations spelling out the minimum size a conch has to be before it is harvested, for years, but I will wager that if you conduct a thorough examination of the conch picked up for sale many of them do not meet the regulated size Why not? One asks oneself, why are people ignoring these warning shots being sent up by the Bahamas National Trust and BREEF? Why is there not more control at the ramps where the conch are being sold, why are we exporting so many conch ?

The answer is two-fold: empathy and greed. The people making money out of the sale of conch and the export

her food alone!). She doesn’t care for cats, but is very sweet with people of all ages. Do you have the perfect spot for Ridgeland? If so, come in to the BHS to meet or call 323-5138 for more information.

Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10 am to 4pm on Saturday. Ridgeland looks forward to meeting you!

• The fourth annual Jewellery Sale at the BHS Thrift Shop this Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Come and find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for that special someone or something shiny for yourself. All proceeds go to the BHS.

of conch are members of the elite “all for me baby” club, and founder members of the “I want it all now, to hell with the future” foundation.

They have not a care for the future, no interest on what kind of world they are leaving behind for their children and grandchildren…greed for more dollar bills in their bulging pockets rules all.

Then you have the group who suffer from such an alarming lack of empathy that I think it is safe to say that they are totally devoid of it. They simply don’t care and do not wish to think that in 25 years there will be no more conch to buy. They have a special corner of their brain where they put things that they do not want to face or deal with, and the conch and it’s imminent extinction is high on that list.

I see how hard the Bahamas National Trust and BREEF work, struggling to help our Bahamas, to improve our Bahamas, to keep our land beautiful, pristine and healthy.

They write articles, visit schools, explain and educate, all with a view to improving and maintaining the natural resources of the Bahamas.

I see this mammoth effort that they make, for the good of others, and yet it is often as if they were fighting a battle against precisely the people whom they are trying to protect nature’s resources for. Instead of people thanking these expert conservationists for their input and advice, they fight them needlessly. Such a shame.

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 8, 2019