02112022 WEEKEND

Friday, February 11, 2022

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Weekend

HILLSIDE HOUSE HISTORY Pages 08+09

Toast to Toronto Local chef fulfils her dream with Bahamian restaurant in Canada page 11

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 11, 2022

HOME Britta twin bed

Solid wood chest with cane doors

King-size bed with natural cane headboard

LIFE BY DESIGN Headboard for a look that is different

How to blend cane and mesh for a look that’s

FRESH AND NATURAL

W

ith the return to natural fibres and organic materials, caning and mesh have made a dramatic comeback in home trends.

Designers and do-it-yourselfers are finding uses for caning in just about every room of the house from lighting, wardrobes and beds to kitchen cabinets and vanities and right out into the garden.

Unlike solid textures, cane and mesh allow light to flow through spaces, lending an openness to the feeling and conveying a sense of comfort without being overbearing.

Simply put, cane, woven wicker and mesh add texture and interest.

If you have any doubt about the inviting nature of each, picture yourself walking into a room where there are two chairs, one with a solid wooden back and the other with cane. If you are like most of us, you will choose cane subconsciously recognising the softer feel. What becomes the more interesting question is the choice between cane and upholstered pieces. If treated properly, you can use both together with great success. On outdoor rattan or wicker style furniture, upholstered cushions, especially

with contrasting piping, make a statement that declares comfort awaits, come sit, put your feet up and take a well-deserved break.

Caning is made from stripping and weaving rattan which is a vine-like plant. Because of it is pliable, it allows you to form it to pretty much any shape you desire, enabling you to make something unique. That’s one reason why it has gained such popularity with DIY-ers who know it is easier to update cabinets and furniture when all you need is a jigsaw to cut out unwanted wood or pop glass out of its placeholder. A plan, a roll of caning, a staple gun and maybe a bit of staining and you have a beautifully updated piece of furniture.

Caning and mesh are perfect for boho, contemporary, rustic and coastal styles especially when used alongside rattan woven and linen upholstered furniture. You can also add a touch of glam to fixer upper cabinets and doors with unique or gold doorknobs to mix and blend styles. Tie in this use of texture with other reed or rattan accessories in the space. For more

BROOKE PYFROM subtle texture and brightness, use all white with white wood. For a deeper colour palate, combine dark wood and natural colour caning.

When working with cabinets, remember to check the spacing of the material you are working with prior to purchasing or ordering it. Meshing comes with different spacing and sizes that determine how opaque or see-through the finished cabinet door will be. This is important as it affects whether or not you’re able to see hidden items. To better hide what’s behind those doors, make sure to use caning with less spacing.

Whatever way you choose to add touches of mesh and caning without overkill, you can hardly go wrong. It’s a timeless texture that goes with everything and lasts while pieces around it can be changed and rearranged.

• Brooke Pyfrom is the proprietor of Oasis, Sandyport, and Oasis, East Shirley Street.

She sources exceptional pieces from around the world to combine trendy with traditional.

The Tribune | Weekend |03

Friday, February 11, 2022

ENTERTAINMENT

Bahamian designer Kevin Evans takes on

NYC FASHION WEEK

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

B

AHAMIAN Fashion Designer Kevin Evans is currently taking New York City’s Fashion Week by storm this weekend as he showcases his KE Collection in the Society Fashion Week event.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to showcase my pieces at one of the iconic fashion hubs of the world. I am being featured in the Anastasia magazine in New York, as well having my work advertised on one of the large screens in Time Square. This is exciting and humbling for me,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Kevin said he learned of New York Fashion Week via the internet and decided to reach out to organisers of the Society fashion runway show.

“I provided photos of my work,

Designer Kevin Evans

Local author releases two kids’ books promoting love

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net CONCERNED by the amount of hate being spewed by people on the internet, author B Jane Turnquest decided to write not one, but two new books to spread a message of love to young readers.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, she has two new releases about love for children: “Hannah and Hector, Love Collectors” and “Franc (Oh!) Phile!”.

Hannah and Hector are twins who share their top ten examples of how to spread love in the world, and how it can be done with time and talent, no money required. “ ‘Hannah and Hector, Love Collectors’ theme highlights kindness with action that can be extracted from Christian values.

Christian says faith without works is dead, and these twins show others that you can do noble acts, and do it with whatever you have,” the author told Tribune Weekend.

Her second book is “Franc (Oh!) Phile”, which is for readers aged nine and up, or those who are studying French and/or love world history.

The narrator in this pictorial travel book is based on a character in one of the author’s previously published books, ‘The Memoir That Makes You Go Mmm”, and it is about a Bahamian of French ancestry.

“It is an account of a girl who loves everything French. In her opinion, and with a list of factual feats and findings that has her faithful to fabulous France, the presenter aims to show the world that France is the greatest country,” said Jane.

This book has reached #1 on

and an invitation was subsequently extended to me. The rest, as they say, is history,” he said.

Kevin will be showing men’s upscale clothing, including suits, ties and winter wear.

BTVI celebrated its New York Citybound alumnus in grand style. In the lead-up to his participation in New York Fashion Week, the institute presented him with a replica of the first ever BTVI Fashion digital badge and a $2,000 donation to cover his airfare and accommodation fees.

Sharing a little about his journey in fashion, Kevin said between the years 2005 and 2008, he studied Tailoring and Fashion Design at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

His first showcase was at Islands of the World Fashion Week in 2009.

In 2014, he showcased at Miami Raw Fashion Week where he placed third out of 15,000 designers, and in 2017, Kevin showcased at Los Angeles

Fashion Week. He has also designed boxing attire for international boxers in Nigeria and the United States who were signed under Floyd Mayweather Promotions.

“Some may find this humorous, but I actually got the idea (of my brand) after watching the movie ‘The Matrix’ in 2004. I am inspired by designers like Georgio Armani and Tom Ford. I am inspired by the quality, detail, luxury and emphasis of their respective brands. My company is home-based in New Providence. I primarily specialise in well-styled and tailored suits for men,” he said.

“Following the New York Fashion Week showcase, I will be featuring my pieces at the Los Angeles Fashion Week on March 25. I look forward to featuring my work at other fashion showcases this year as time permits,” he said.

Amazon.

“The message here is to love your heritage, unapologetically, as it at the root of who you are,” she said.

Jane said she hopes her books can combat the hate being spread online.

“I see the level of savagery being voiced at the quick click of a finger, mainly on social media, and I am blown away that the cyber bullies are unaware that their words hurt and shame. Perhaps, I thought, if we go back and teach young minds to be kind, the future will have kinder people. And if we teach other to be more respectful, a happier society may come about,” she said.

Recently, schools across Nassau participated in Battle of the Book, a creative writing challenge.

Teachers and students received a

free electronic copy of “Hannah and Hector”.

The goal of the challenge was to see which student could write the most creative review. Jane was delighted to share her book with Bahamian students, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

The author looks forward to working with more schools and has formulated a selection of school visit packages, including free virtual visits and mini book fairs featuring her collection of almost 20 published children’s books.

She also currently working on a spin-off book to “Franc (Oh!) Phile” and writing her first middle-grade fantasy story, “Shake-A-Tail-Weather”.

“It is about the ChristianLucayan mermaid’s Sunkanoo… think Junkanoo under the wate..…and the time Bahamians over-fished,” she said.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 11, 2022

INTERVIEW

Deidre

MOSS

Having once dreamt of becoming a TV anchor, this student-cum-educator is now all about sharing knowledge with young Bahamians. She tells Cara Hunt about her podcast that seeks to shine a light on under-represented but pertinent social issues.

D

eidre Moss grew up watching the news and knew that someday she wanted to be a journalist just like the anchors she saw on TV. “I always watched the news as a child every day and that motivated to want a degree in journalism and mass communication,” she told Tribune Weekend.

Not only did she achieve her childhood dream by earning her first degree in Communications from the then College of the Bahamas, she went on to further her education by getting a BA in Public Administration and a MSC in Management.

Currently, she is working on a EDD in Higher Education.

“It is a lot of education,” she said, “but I have always believed in education, both for myself and to share with others.”

Ironically, Deidre said initially she didn’t want to become a teacher.

“I thought we had too many teachers in the family,” she said.

However, as her studies progressed, she realised that she truly did want to make an impact on young adults in particular by teaching at the college level.

“The girl who didn’t want to be a teacher grew up to be an educator with an extensive career in teaching. Some way, somehow, I drifted right back,” she said.

In addition to education and communication, she is also passionate about community service and raising awareness about important issues.

“I have been engaged in civic and community service for quite a few years. I know a bit of sign

language and so I have been able to engage in that community, as well as work with promoting awareness of the blind,” she said.

Deirdre also teaches Business Studies, Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

It was this passion for education and the community that led her to start her podcast, “Can We Talk?”

“The idea for the podcast came when I started studying for my PhD. Part of the requirement for the programme is that you have to present a thesis and then defend it in order to graduate. My thesis will be on disability studies and so I knew that I wanted to do something that would help me be prepared to defend my thesis. That is how the idea for the podcast came about, because I wanted a way to get comfortable speaking in that language,” she said.

The podcast started with her discussing research that had been done by her graduate school mentor on subjects relating to her thesis.

“But then it really snowballed into a number of issues that have been important to me over the years.

The podcast really highlights issues that people normally don’t feel comfortable talking about,” she said.

For example, some issues have included discussions on sexual violence and abuse against women and girls, discussions on diabetes awareness, AIDS, and so forth.

Deidre explained that the focus of the podcast is to shine a light on topics of interest from a local regional and international perspective on an all-inclusive platform.

And the podcast has done a lot more than help prepare her for her graduate studies.

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, February 11, 2022

“I have learned that you can do anything you set your mind to.

You do not have to sit around and wait on someone else; you can get up and do things for yourself and get things up and running,” she said.

Looking toward the future, Deidre said she wants to expand her “Can We Talk?” brand.

Her future goals include pursuing her passion for education and sharing knowledge.

“I want to work in underprivileged communities and offer mentoring to young girls,” she said.

Additionally, she wants to expand bringing awareness to pertinent but often overlooked issues, including inefficiencies in education, sexual abuse, and marginal and vulnerable communities.

Other areas she wants to make a difference in include highlighting the natural talents and raw abilities of Bahamians, especially young Bahamian women.

Deidre said she is looking forward to the next five years

and beyond.

“I want to expand my business – Moss Marketing and Media Group – to marketing and branding consultancy, media, seminars, communication, motivation and public speaking.

I also want to expand my platform ‘Can We Talk? with Deidre Moss’ to radio and television,” she said.

“In the next five years I see myself having an established media house - media school, teaching journalism, communication and marketing.”

Those interested in Deidre Moss’s podcast can check out her special Valentine’s Day show on Facebook Live this evening at 5pm.

Deidre will be joined by Valarina Taylor-Rolle, Rechea Delancy from Paradise Charcuterie, and Shawniqua Moss from Lux n’ Love.

They will talk love and relationships and there will be opportunities to win prizes.

“I always watched the news as a child every day and that motivated to want a degree in journalism and mass communication.”

This weekend in history February 11 • In 1809, American engineer Robert Fulton patents the world’s first steamboat. Prior to that, in 1800, Fulton had been commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte of France to attempt to design a submarine. The inventor produced the Nautilus, the first practical submarine in history.

• In 1858, 14-year-old MarieBernarde Soubirous (later St Bernadette), a peasant girl in

southern France, claims to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. In total, she claimed to have seen 18 apparitions in a grotto near the Pyrenean market town of Lourdes. Today, the site is visited by millions of pilgrims annually.

• In 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released after 27 years imprisonment.

He spent the first 18 years at the Robben Island Prison where he was confined to a cell without a bed or plumbing and forced to carry out hard labour in a quarry.

February 12 • In 1912, the last emperor of China, Puyi (Qing dynasty name “Xuantong”), is forced to abdicate during the Xinhai Revolution, which led to the

establishment of the Republic of China. He later became the ruler of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo during World War II. • In 1914, the first featurelength film shot in Hollywood is released. “The Squaw Man” - a silent Western film – was directed by Cecil B DeMille and Oscar Apfel.

• In 1924, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premieres at the sold-out concert “Experiment in Modern Music” at the Aeolian Hall in New York City. The event sought to introduce audiences to the relatively new music genre called jazz.

February 13 • In 1258, Baghdad – a city of a million at the time – falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed. As tens of thousands

are slaughtered, the Islamic Golden Age comes to an end.

• In 1777, philosopher and writer the Marquis de Sade is arrested without charge – following years of sexual debauchery – and imprisoned in the Chateau de Vincennes in France. He successfully appealed his death sentence but remained imprisoned (with brief stints of freedom over the years). His perverse sexual preferences and erotic writings gave rise to the term “sadism”.

• In 1866, the legendary outlaw Jesse James holds up his first bank, the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri.

James and his gang reportedly escaped with at least $60,000 (equivalent to $1,061,000 in 2020) and killed a bystander outside.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Dozen, Lack, Dolly, Bathe, Coax, Rural, Numeral, Vanish, Slogan (clue). down: Bristle, Crave, Adjunct, Trunk, Scoff, Hapless, Sycophant, Twaddle, Smile, Dizzy, Courage, Chant, Exiling.

tV croSSword

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TARGET

across: 1 Aluminium, 7 Taxi, across: 5 Pugh, 7 Diners, 8 Carla, 8 Penny, 10 Gas, 11 Reader, 11 Brian, 12 Locklear, 13 Acme, clock-wiSE 13 Alleviate, 14 Nectar, 16 Tic, Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro 15 Herr, 16 Stewart, 17 King, 18 Evert, 19 Able, 20 Dissolves. is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to18 9,Turner, so 21Sudoku 1 Opts, 2 Tsar, 3 Arno, 4 Nora, Till, 22 Anna. down: with several given numbers.

The object is to place the 1 Attracted, 2 Labels, 3 Mind, 5 Rash, 6 Shop. the sum of each horizontal block equals the numberdown: to its1 Liar, 2 French, 3 Marc, 4 Net, 5 Ingrate, 6 Mysteries, numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, 4 Talent, 5 Proctor, 6 Game, left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number 8 Prevent, 9 Palaces, 12 Stable, QuiZ ofcontains thE wEEk each column and each 3x3 box the same number 9 Clark-Neal, 10 Crest, 14 Rowan, 15 Coal, 17 Mrs. on its top. No number may be used in the same block more 17 Kent, 19 Una, Ena. only20 once.

The difficulty level of the3 Conceptis 1 Australian 2 July Wet Wet Wet Sudoku than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro croSS douBt Frederick Forsyth 5 Bird 6 October increases Sunday tV show: Life On Marsfrom Monday4 to increases from Monday to Sunday.

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Quick croSSword● The across: 6 Contain; 7 Sever; Target 9 Gaunt; 10 Reverse; 12 Malediction; uses 14 Expostulate; 18 Distant; 19 Worry; words in 21 Miser; 22 Enchant. the main down: 1 Loyal; 2 Stanza; 3 Lid; 4 Desert; body of 5 Session; 8 Legible; 11 Destiny; Chambers 13 Exhibit; 15 Outlet; 16 Trophy; 17 Grant; 21st 20 End. Century Dictionary (1999 edition)

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals.

Verb forms ending in s permitted.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 11; very good 17; excellent 22 (or more). Solution tomorrow

Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 forAnswer today’s target solution Sudoku

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Blow computers - they’re naturally dangerous (4,6) 6 One old convert from heathenism (4) 10 Commonly used for funds (5) 11 Touching on a merger with indifferent result (9) 12 Grim morgues out East (8) 13 Dance seen out in Burma (5) 15 He didn’t trust his wife to return a greeting (7) 17 Showed no respect and ate greedily (7) 19 It’s often faced with resolution (3,4) 21 Unusual glee shown after getting a pass in school (7) 22 The dark chessman it’s said (5) 24 Yet a crooked dealer may deal himself one (8) 27 Not bubbly but nevertheless a grape product (5,4) 28 Communication and letter to post (1-4) 29 A requirement of some magazine editors (4) 30 Payment for one episode of a serial (10)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Down 1 After a job? (4) Across: 1 Valiant, 5 Sight, 8 Get wind of, 9 Boo, 10 Espy, 2 No higher entertainment 12 Outstrip, 14 Supply, 15 Career, (5,4) 17 Indebted, 18 Skip, 21 Poe, 22 Lose heart, 24 Tommy, 3 Personal turning point in 25 Locally. bank legislation (5) Down: 1 Vague, 2 Lit, 3 Acid, 4 Top game can be the very 4 Tedium, 5 Soft soap, 6 Go berserk, 7 Trouper, 11 Pipe devil (7) dream, 13 Globally, 14 Snippet, 5 Books for people just like 16 Vessel, 19 Putty, 20 Chic, 23 Awl. you (7) 7 In fact a singular bit of information (5) 8 Their union offers security (4,3,3) Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution 9 Partly burned fuel that Across: 1 Reclaim, 5 Radar, draws well (8) 8 Generates, 9 Lip, 10 Tack, 14 It’s bright and early (7,3) 12 Triangle, 14 Farrow, 15 Scythe, 17 Amateurs, 18 Odes, 21 Own, 16 Speak falsely yet be quiet 22 Tombstone, 24 Tapes, (3,5) 25 Derided.

Down: 1 Right, 2 Can, 3 Airy, 18 Newcomer with a healthy 4 Mature, 5 Research, complexion (5,4) 6 Delighted, 7 Replete, 11 Curtain 20 Two names written in a up, 13 Rosettes, 14 Flat out, 16 Framed, 19 Steed, 20 Tsar, foreign language (7) 23 Odd. 21 A dog to hire for the present (7) 23 A leading publication? (5) 25 Delia’s perfect form (5) 26 Conspiracy story (4) Down Across 1 Out of favour (2,8) 1 An impatient 6 Catch one’s 6 7 8 desire (4) breath (4) 2 Croatian Adriatic 10 Venomous 9 snake (5) port (9) 11 Accuse 3 Inundate (5) specifically (4,5) 4 Throw off all 12 Consist of (8) 13 A revered restraint (3,4) 13 emblem (5) 5 To praise (7) 15 Caustic (7) 7 Acknowledge (5) 17 Of questionable 18 truth (7) 8 An expert (4,6) 19 Become 9 Changeable (8) airborne (4,3) 14 Inflammation of 21 Make ready (7) the eye (10) 22 Blank book for 16 Huge (8) stamps (5) 25 18 Typically (2,7) 24 To record in writing (8) 20 To pardon (7) 26 27 Manly (9) 21 Colouring 28 Quickly (5) 28 matter (7) 29 Principal (4) 23 Underlying (5) 30 Omen of imminent 25 Remiss (5) disaster (5,5) 26 Favourably (4)

EASY PUZZLE

FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off.

Solution tomorrow 1

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9 10 1

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4

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1

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1

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1

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3 x Destroyer

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4 x submarine

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THE ALPHABEAT

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the grid to start. the grid is ‘rotationally symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the same if you turn the page upside down.

Solution tomorrow

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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26

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27 Yesterday’s 22 21 4 18

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5 2 1 7 7 1 9 4 6 1 2 8 1 4 3 1 9 3

1

11, 2022

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34

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● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to text DXBEAT to 64343. Texts cost £1 plus your

WORD BUILDER Answer the clues so that each word contains the same letters as the previous word, plus or minus one.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Sol

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The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, February 11, 2022

ART

SIXTY 2 SIXTY

gallery celebrates love through art

S

PREADING love through art is on the agenda for one of Nassau’s newest galleries as it hosts a slate of activities ahead of Valentine’s Day this weekend.

The Sixty 2 Sixty gallery remains committed to engaging the community through its art exhibitions and tailored events. This weekend will see the gallery host three special events to engage people in art-filled fun.

The first event to kick off the weekend of activities are the Valentine’s sip and paint classes.

The classes will be held February 11-14, 6pm daily. For four days, couples will be instructed in painting techniques by a local artist.

Then there is the Valentine’s cupcake decorating class for kids between ages 9-15 on February 12 from 3pm-4 pm. Kids will learn how to decorate sweet treats from professional baker Shantell Pen of Sheshe’s Cupcakerie.

The following day, February 13, will see the gallery host the Shop and Sip event, from 12pm-5pm, where art lovers can buy Bahamian art and handmade accessories for men and women while enjoying light refreshments.

Artist June Collie of Sixty 2 Sixty said the event is for everyone who would like to support

Art by Kenel Augustin

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

local artists, learn about them, or who would like to learn a few painting skills themselves.

“We find that around any type of holiday or a special day, the public is more active.

We use that opportunity to promote art in the Bahamas,” said June.

“We offer events where the public can come into the gallery space and use that occasion to promote the gallery and local artists. When we do this, the public comes in and asks questions about the artist or the creative process, which we always take the time to explain. I find that folks always leave with more appreciation for art when you tell them how something is made. And of course, the second reason is that it’s Valentine’s Day, a day of celebrating love – the one thing we all need.”

Since opening two years ago, the gallery has grown to become a space where Bahamian artists and creatives can express their unique visions and skills.

“So far we have signed on 13 Bahamian artists to sell and promote their artwork through our platforms. We released our men’s handmade jewellery line in December 2021, which has been very popular. Also, we continually add new jewellery designs to our women’s

Guests at an paint n’ sip event

collection and have taken on a talented bag maker by the name of Sofia Dixon. We are now in the process of planning after-school art classes,” June told Tribune Weekend.

Currently, the work of artist Preston Hanna on display. June is also expected to display her very own work next month.

“We also have planned an online video series where we interviewed emerging local artists, giving viewers a chance to know new artists and have a look into the artist process when creating artwork. We will be posting these videos on our social media pages and YouTube page where you can access them at any time,” she said.

Sixty 2 Sixty’s main goal as a gallery is to keep Bahamians informed about art.

“We would like to continue to help nurture and professionalise emerging artists and introduce Bahamian base artists to a wider audience. To add to that, we found that more and more locals are becoming curious and interested in what we’re doing here at Sixty 2 Sixty Art Gallery and it’s exciting. We value that dialogue and can’t wait for more Bahamians to get involved in the local art scene,” she said.

For more information, contact 242-814-2872.

Guests with artist Preston Hanna

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 11, 2022

GARDENING

G

ood day, gardeners!

A couple of issues have come up in the past week regarding problems on palms, but one in particular is my focus today: frizzle top.

Frizzle top is an issue in several types of palms where the top of the palm takes on a frizzled, crinkled appearance, the growth becomes stunted and necrotic (dead leaf tissue).

According to the website Gardening Know How: “Palm fronds will exhibit dry, withered leaves. Areas where the soil has a high pH are most likely to have palms with crispy fronds.

At its earliest appearance, frizzle top will attack the young leaves as they emerge. Any new growth that does occur is limited to stubby petioles that do not grow terminal leaf tips. The disease causes yellow streaking and weak growth. Leaves on palms get necrotic streaking which affects all parts of the leaves except the base. Overall, the leaves will become yellow and tips fall off. The entire frond is eventually affected and will distort and curl. In some species, the leaf tips fall off and leave the plant looking scorched.

Frizzle top on palm trees will eventually cause the death of the tree if left unchecked.”

The common cause of frizzle top is a lack of manganese available to the palm. Our native soils trend towards the alkaline side of the pH scale, and the higher it goes, the less Manganese is available to the palm because it gets bound or

The

FRIZZLE TOP problem locked up in the soils and is not able to be used by the palm.

Cool weather slows down root growth and further inhibits manganese uptake to the growing tips of the palm. This problem can be exasperated and made worse by the application of Milorganite (sludge) or Black Know (composted manure) on or around palms, and locally, both of these products are commonly applied, and it seems to be common practice.

This has been verified in studies done at the University of Florida: “Composted sewage sludge and manure products have also been shown to strongly bind manganese when used as fertilizers or as soil

amendments for palms.”

So yes, if you’re using composted manure or sludge fertilizers around your palms you may likely be inviting the issue.

The problem of frizzle top is easily avoided by not only avoiding the use of sludges and manure based amendments, but also by regularly applying a complete fertilizer that includes manganese, or by regular application of manganese sulfate, and can also be cured by doing the same.

Once a palm has the issue of frizzle top, it can take two to three years to completely rectify the problem.

Prevention is always less costly and more efficient than the cure.

In this case, a regular application of a higher quality palm specific

fertilizer will completely avoid this issue ever happening. Of course, as always, the scheduling of fertilizer applications depends entirely upon the specific fertilizer being used.

Some fertilizers release nutrients immediately, some have immediate release and timed release blended together, and some are strictly timed release. This also typically reflects the quality, and yes, the price also.

A laboratory test is required to verify the specific levels or amounts of manganese in your soils, so most of us don’t know we have low levels of manganese until the symptoms of frizzle top shows up on palms. One thing we can do is to keep an eye on the pH of our soils by doing simple tests, and if the pH is high, we can go to the nutrient availability chart to see the likelihood of particular nutrients being available in the soil!

Thankfully, frizzle top is a problem that is easily fixed, and hence typically an affected palm can be saved. In the case of large palms this is far less expensive than removal. There is a lot of information available on the topic of frizzle top, and I only have so much space here to fill but I hope that this tidbit can be helpful to some of you! As always, I wish you happy gardening.

• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery.

You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@gmail.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, February 11, 2022

FOOD

Kaylandra Edgecombe

Visit

‘OLD NASSAU’ …in Canada

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

K

aylandra Edgecombe has been delighting the Greater Toronto Area with traditional Bahamian dishes since 2017. She has introduced Canadians to delicacies like cracked lobster, pea soup and dumplings, conch snacks, and even guava duff.

The chef, who hails from Bowen Sound, Andros, has resided in Canada for the past nine years and has always dreamed of one day opening a Bahamian restaurant in North America.

And now that dream has come true; the Old Nassau Restaurant is officially opening on Main Weston Road in Old Downtown Toronto on February 19.

“Canadians love Bahamian food. A lot of them

The Old Nassau Restaurant in Toronto is preparing for opening day

have actually been to the Bahamas and really enjoyed the cuisine and are so happy when they find it here. They have particularly expressed their love for ‘the conch meat’,” she told Tribune Weekend. “Canadians love how different our food is in comparison to other Caribbean food.”

Kaylandra has also made sure that the restaurant’s ambience makes guests feel like they are visiting the Bahama islands.

“When you walk into the new restaurant you will feel like you’re on a beach in the Bahamas.

Think poolside, beach in the background.

You will want to go to the Bahamas after visiting Old Nassau. It’s a vacation vibe, and something to brighten your day, especially in winter months here in Canada,” she said.

Kaylandra said it is her goal to create a distinct and recognisable Bahamian presence in Canada through food.

“I didn’t want people to describe our food as Caribbean food, because when foreigners think of Caribbean food, they mostly think jerk chicken.

But our food is totally different; we’re heavy on the seafood, especially conch,” she said.

Kaylandra started her journey towards becoming a restaurant owner five years ago.

“The business person in me saw the lack in the market, the foodie in me just wanted every Bahamian (in Canada) to have good down-home food,” she said.

“I had been cooking and feeding my Bahamian friends, then people started asking for catering. I took my first big gig for an employee at Bahamas Tourism and the rest is history. The word spread and everyone was asking for a plate. So for five years, I had been cooking from home, doing catering and pop-ups just to remain relevant, but the plan was always to open a Bahamian restaurant here in Toronto,” she said.

In addition to her grandfather, Thomas Mackey, who instilled in her a love of entrepreneurship, her biggest influences are her grandmother, Madline Mackey, and her mother, Shirley Mackey, who “had me in the kitchen cooking since I was eight; not making cereal, but cooking peas n’ rice for Sunday dinner.”

Old Nassau offers everything from crack conch to chicken in a bag, peas n’ rice, macaroni, grouper fingers, fried snapper, conch fritter and switcha.

“Being a Bahamian entrepreneur abroad is special. It’s sometimes so hard to get a business off the ground in our own country and extremely hard in another country, especially because of all of the red tape, regulations etcetera.

To be establishing a storefront business during a time like this is also something to be very proud of. The fact that I can raise my country’s flag and say, ‘Come try our food’ in a global pandemic is something I am so grateful to be able to do,” said Kaylandra.

Following its soft opening next week, Old Nassau will celebrate a grand opening in sometime in July, with a have a Junkanoo rush-out and the launch of a food truck.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 11, 2022

LITERARY LIVES – OPRAH WINFREY

From queen of daytime to America’s richest

SELF-MADE WOMAN PART I

Sir Christopher Ondaatje reveals details of the American talk show host, TV producer, actress, author and philanthropist. She was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was at one time the only Black billionaire and ranked as probably the most influential woman in the world.

“You can have it all.

Just not all at once.”

and a full scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied communication, but did not actually receive her degree until 1987, by which time she was already a well-known TV personality, and thirty-three years old. Later, her grandmother recalled how the young Winfrey would talk to her corncob doll and even interview the crows on her property fence.

– Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey was born Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to an unmarried teenage mother, Vernita Lee, who was a housemaid. Winfrey’s father is noted as Vernon Winfrey, a coal miner turned barber who was in the US Armed Forces when she was born. However, another US Army veteran, Noah Robinson, Sr claims that in reality he was Oprah’s biological father.

After Winfrey was born, her mother travelled north and she spent the first six years with her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae Presley Lee. She was so poor that Oprah wore dresses made of potato sacks and was ridiculed by the other children.

Her grandmother taught her to read before she was three and took her to the local church where she was nicknamed “The Preacher” because of her ability to recite verses from the Bible.

When she was six her mother reclaimed her and moved to Milwaukee. Her mother became pregnant again and gave birth to Oprah’s younger half-sister Patricia, who died of cocaine addiction in 2003.

She found it difficult to raise two

daughters and sent Winfrey to her father Vernon in Nashville. While she was there her mother gave birth to a third daughter who was put up for adoption. When Winfrey moved back with her mother, Verita Lee gave birth to Winfrey’s half brother Jeffrey who died of AIDS in 1989.

When Winfrey was nine she was molested by her cousin, uncle and a family friend. At thirteen she ran away from home, became pregnant at fourteen, but her son was born prematurely and died soon afterwards.

Winfrey was sent to Lincoln High School in Milwaukee where she did so well that she was transferred to affluent Nicolet High School. She was still poor and rode to school on a bus with fellow African-

Americans who were servants of her classmates. She stole money from her mother to keep up with her friends, so her mother sent her back to live with her father, a strict disciplinarian who forced her to concentrate on education.

She became an honours student, was voted “most popular girl” and joined her high school speech team, placing second in the nation in dramatic interpretation.

Her first job was in a local grocery store. When she was seventeen she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. This led to being hired by the local Black radio station WVOL to broadcast the news part-time. She held this job during her senior high school year and in her first two years of college. She won an oratory contest

Winfrey became the youngest news anchor and the first Black female personality at Nashville’s WLAC-TV (now WTVF-TV). In 1976. she moved to WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o’clock news. From there she was recruited to co-host WJZ’s talk show People Are Talking which premiered on August 14, 1978.

She was instantly popular, and in 1984 relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV’s half-hour morning talk show AM Chicago – a low rated show. Within months it became the highest rated talk show, overtaking Phil Donahue’s long running programme. The movie critic Roger Ebert prophesied that she would generate forty times as much revenue as his television show At The Movies and convinced her to sign a syndication deal with King World. It was then renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and expanded to a full hour.

In 1985, separate from her television duties, Winfrey costarred in Steven Spielberg’s The Colour Purple (1985) as distraught housewife Sofia. She

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, February 11, 2022

was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

a film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in 2005. The made-for-television film starred Halle Berry in the lead female role.

The first broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show was on September 8, 1986. Winfrey’s syndicated show displaced Donahue as the number one talk show in America.

On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on the late show with David Letterman for the first time in sixteen years to promote The Colour Purple on Broadway, which she had produced.

“In a field dominated by white males, she is a Black female of ample bulk ... What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humour and above all empathy.

The episode was hailed as being “the television event of the decade and helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than eleven years: almost fourteen million viewers. There were rumours of a feud between Winfrey and Letterman – which both denied, and on September 10, 2007 Letterman made his first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show when its season premiere was filmed in New York City.

- Time Magazine, 1988 “She’s a roundhouse, a full course meal, big, brassy, loud, aggressive, hyper, laughable, lovable, soulful, tender, low-down, earthy and hungry. And she may know the way to Phil Donahue’s jugular.”

– Howard Rosenberg TV Columnist To start with, The Oprah Winfrey Show was only a tabloid talk show, but in the mid 1990s it broadened out to include heart disease, geopolitics, spirituality and meditation. She interviewed celebrities on social issues, cancer, charity work and substance abuse. She was accused of promoting “junk science” – like Dr Oz’s miracle weight loss pills and Suzanne Somers’s promotion of bioidenticals – but she openly featured what she believed was above criticism and marched on.

She produced and co-starred in the drama miniseries The Women of Brewster Place (1989).

She co-founded the women’s cable TV network Oxygen, which was the initial network for Oprah After the Show programme from 2002 to 2006, before moving to Oprah.com, where she sold her stake in the network.

She was also the president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards) – a film and TV production company behind The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr Phil, Rachael Ray, The Dr Oz Show, and many others. She moderated three ABC Afterschool Specials from 1992 – 1994.

Oprah Winfrey on her talk show, November 16, 1988. (AP File, CHARLES BENNET)

In 1993, Winfrey hosted a prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became one of the most watched events in American television history, with an audience of thirty-six million.

In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the film Beloved based on Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prizewinning novel about slavery. Despite major advertising and two episodes of her talk show dedicated to the film, and good reviews, Beloved opened to bad box-office results, and lost approximately $30 million.

Not all of her projects were money makers. While promoting the film, co-star Thandiwe Newton described Witney as “a very strong technical actress ... She’s acute.

She’s got a mind like a razor blade.”

Harpo productions released

On January 15, 2008, Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to change Discovery Health Channel into a new channel called OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. It was delayed but launched on January 1, 2011.

The series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show aired on May 25, 2011.

In June 2018, Apple announced a multi-year content partnership with Winfrey where she would create new programs exclusively for Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV. The first show, Oprah’s Book Club, premiered on 1 November 2019. The second show, Oprah Talks COVID-19, debuted on March 21, 2020. A third show, The Opera Conversation, debuted on July 30, 2020.

In 2021, Winfrey conducted an interview with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry, which was broadcast globally to international attention and some media criticism. * * * Looking back it is obvious that Oprah Winfrey, despite being the gifted and intelligent talk-show interviewer, used her television power to blend public

and private matters into a kind of confession as a form of therapy.

“TV is most often viewed in the privacy of our homes. Like a family member, it sits down to meals with us and talks to us in the lonely afternoons. Grasping this paradox ... she makes people care because she cares. That is Winfrey’s genius, and will be her legacy, as the characters she has wrought in the talk show continue to permeate our culture and shape our lives.”

– Time magazine Not only that, Winfrey has used her incredible popularity as a talkshow host to catapult her into the corporate word, creating television network channels, partnering with powerful media companies like Apple; producing, promoting and performing in films; and launching book clubs to tremendous personal financial advantage. She has hosted and promoted political candidates as in the case of Barack Obama who appeared twice on her show – even though those appearances were made prior to his declaration as a presidential candidate.

Born in rural poverty, Winfrey became a millionaire when she was thirty-two when her talk show received national recognition – and then went on to negotiate ownership rights to the television company and start her own production company.

She replaced Bill Cosby as the only African-American on the Forbes 400 List, with a net worth of $340 million when she was forty-one. She is now believed to be the richest AfricanAmerican of the 20th century, and by 2006 was the highest paid entertainer in the United States.

She has now become the richest self-made woman in America.

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

He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia, including personal quotations and admissions in the medium’s biography; Oprah Winfrey: A Biography (2004) by Helen S Garson; and The Life You Want (2015) by Oprah Winfrey.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 11, 2022

HISTORY

Are you a

PONDITE?

L

ooking at the map, you can see that The Pond starts at Church Street and stretches eastward to include Okra Hill. It is bounded on the north by East Bay Street and on the south by Shirley Street.

The late James A Catalyn, himself a ‘Pondite’, described the neighbourhood as “not too high on the social list”. The Pond has given us an impressive list of achievers, including Sir Milo Butler, the first Bahamian to become Governor General, and Sir Gerald Cash, who succeeded him.

You can’t argue with success.

My family home was about a quarter of a mile from The Pond, but Betty, the eldest of my siblings, was

a Pondite, born on East Bay Street, on the corner of Okra Hill, and was a life-long friend of the Butler and Cash families. She made her career as a civil servant and seems to have been the longest-serving civil servant. She retired as chairman of the Public Service, the Police and the Defence Force Commissions.

Catalyn, a successful actor and, poet, chaired the committee for the 1985 Pond Reunion, and one of my Christmas presents was a copy of the programme for that very successful event. Here are some things that it revealed: Around 1897, there was a swampy pond, just east of Church Street.

This was filled in to create a new subdivision, but heavy rain always flooded the area, so that boats and

wash tubs had to used to move along the streets.

I remember how much fun the children had riding in their tin tubs.

On Mackey PAUL C Street, ARANHA The Pond FORGOTTEN FACTS became the home of the first Coca Cola plant. Other businesses included Mr.Hanna’s printing press, Turtle’s cigarette factory, Cole’s Bakery (just cross East Shirley Street).

There were boatbuilders, sailmakers and rope makers, shoemaking and repair, and the list goes on.

Jimmie and Joe Gibson were reliable fisherman. Robbie Atwell, a tinsmith, made pots and pans, and Willie Nabbie repaired kerosene stoves. Ellsworth Burrows was a carpenter and Cassandra Gardiner was the midwife. Thomas Butler was the gravedigger. Kenneth Carroll ran the Texaco gas station.

People from Fox Hill and numerous Out Islands came to live in The Pond.

‘Petty Shops’ were plentiful and pigeon peas sold for three pence a quart; coconut creams, peanut candy, peppermint candy and potato bread were ubiquitous.

Pondites called Bay Street ‘Front Street’ and Shirley Street was ‘Back Street’. Ernest Street was known as ‘Middle Road’. Pondites were a happy, helpful people.

Milo Butler’s, on Ernest Street, was the biggest store, and I was often sent there to buy kerosene. The Butlers and their 10 children lived upstairs.

Like the Aranhas, many Pond families attended St Matthew’s Church and the children enjoyed playing among the graves in the churchyard. Many of those kids are now at rest there.

The last time I attended St Matthew’s I was delighted that my childhood friend, Roosie Godet, was still up at the altar.

• For questions and comments, please send an e-mail to islandairman@gmail.com

The Tribune | Weekend | 15

Friday, February 11, 2022

ANIMALS

PET PATIENTS

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters

H

aving a pet in your home can be one of the most rewarding steps you ever take. The joy and happiness of pet custodianship will bring laughter and love into your life and the lives of everybody in the house.

However, it is not always easy and can be time-consuming. You need to weigh the pros and cons before embarking on a decision that could last for many years.

Some animals are more timeconsuming than others, veterinary bills can be high when they get sick, and nursing a sick animal back to health can be demanding, not to mention stressful when you see them suffering and you can’t reassure them that the medicine will make it better soon.

I still recommend telling your animal positive things because it makes them feel safe and reassured.

The mental approach to sickness is just as important with your pet as it is in with a human. Reassurance is harder to convey because they do not possess the gift of speech, we must be mindful to present a positive picture with a happy voice (that comes from within). If we fret, so will they. Since they do not possess the ability to talk and ask questions, their intuition is superior to ours and they pick up signals that we do not even know that we are sending out.

As many of you know, the past eight months have been a nightmare as far as the health of my elderly dogs is concerned. Both Chiefie and Buddy have left us for Rainbow Bridge at the ripe old ages of 15 and almost 15. Now my youngest of the pack, Boss, at eleven has an enlarged heart and we suspect suffered a stroke last week. It has been an unbelievable rollercoaster of energy spurts and total despondency. There are times that I feel totally helpless. It can be tremendously stressful and scary to have

Boss recuperating

a patient who cannot tell you freely how and what he feels. There is a lot of guesswork, based on knowing your pet well, and having a good communication with your veterinarian.

Animals send us signals when they are not feeling well, sometimes we do not read them as calls for help; any unusual behaviour can be just that. Have they suddenly stopped greeting you at the door or asking for attention? Are they off their food, are they moving more slowly, or lying in an unusual place or position? All of these even subtle

down a few days ago I thought his back was bugging him. When he started to cough, I thought he must have caught a kennel cough caused by lying outside on the cold ground, but that cough was sufficient to get him to the vet on day one, and thank goodness I did. It was not kennel cough but symptoms of an enlarged heart. I would have never suspected that my boy had a heart problem.

Right up to Thursday he was running around the garden and jumping up on people.

Alas, shortly after his first diagnosis, when back home, he had what we suspect might have been a stroke. Much like in humans, it threw him and us for a loop. However, with patience and energy bursts we are making gradual progress. This morning when he was in the sitting room, with the sliding doors open, guess who took himself out to smell the flowers? I decided that he needed to be encouraged to rejoin the family as opposed to being holed up in my office. I want him to be more mentally stimulated messages can mean that there is as you would want a human patient something wrong. I am not telling to be. Make them part of everyday you that if your dog fails to bark at the doorbell once, or your kitty does life whilst lying on their bed watching the action around them, it will not come over to watch TV with entertain them and encourage them. you on a single occasion, or your If you are blessed to have a senior parrot has not requested his usual pet, at some point one illness or treat, that you have to rush to the phone and call your vet in hysteria. another will come to your doorstep and you need to be ready to face it It means continue to observe. We directly, not pretending that it is all have off days, or can be in an not there. Grab it with both hands, unsociable mood on occasion, but be proactive, get the medicines, ask if it continues, you need to wonder the questions. Love, love, love, and why and investigate further.

My boy Boss has a long history of nurture as much as possible.

Look for the signs, folks… back problems, so when he slowed

pet of the week

WINNIE THE POTCAKE

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

W

ee Winnie here is already somewhat of a local celebrity, having had a photo op with the Prime Minister’s wife Ann Marie Davis last week. But Winnie’s still at the Bahamas Humane Society awaiting her forever home.

She’s about ten weeks old.

While she’s a little shy with strangers, Winnie has a wagging tail and potcake grin for those she trusts, and that could be you!

Do you need a snuggly potcake in your life? Call 323-5138

for more information or come meet Winnie at the BHS. She’s looking forward to meeting you!

• The BHS Thrift Shop will be having a Valentine’s Day Special on Saturday, February 12, 10am to 2pm. Everything storewide will be 50 percent off.

Happy Valentine’s! Thank you to all who donate to and shop at the Thrift Shop. You help keep the BHS running.

Photo/Fiona Fraser

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Friday, February 11, 2022