02272021 WEEKEND

Friday, February 26, 2021

photography entertainment history fashion puzzles animals community

Weekend

‘LIL’ EATS’ Page 07

Thrifting made glam New e-magazine sees fashion differently

pg 10

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

photography

A Rose-Coloured Lens Bahamian food preparation

B

eauty is all around us in the Bahamas, on land and in the sea. But many of us are too busy with everyday life to pause and really see and enjoy the astonishing sights that surround us. Veteran photographer ROLAND ROSE captures both the ordinary and extraordinary, and puts it in frame for us so we can see our environment in a new light.

Friday, February 26, 2021

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, February 26, 2021

Weekend Inside

My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Leah Sands ‘Loctician’

Interview 4 – 5

Pastry Chef Ivana Moncur shows us the sweeter side of life with her new venue

Puzzles 6 Food 7

Parents Tracy and Jamal Smith want to share their ‘Lil Eats’ through a healthy and quick catering service

Entertainment 8-9

Aspiring dancers will get a chance to learn how to make their passion a viable career choice at the ArtSea Dance workshop 2021

Q: What will you be binge-watching?

“I will be binge=watching ‘Money Heist’. Let’s be honest, we all love a story where the antiheroes steal the spotlight.

Here they want to redistribute wealth not just amongst themselves, but also amongst the hostages and the rest of the country.”

Fashion 10

New online fashion magazine launches with a spotlight on thrifting and the Cancer Society of the Bahamas

Gardening 11

It’s the season to go completely nuts

Literary Lives 12 – 13

Celebrating a pioneer for Black women on screen

Forgotten Facts 14

The A-Z of memorable Bahamian women and surnames

Animals 15

Conversations at night, plus Pet of the Week

Community 16

Connect with society’s leaders during a virtual Bahamian Exchange

Cover Photo I CJermaine Photography for No Lbl

12+13

VIRTUAL ROMANCE EXPO SEEKS TO REVITALISE WEDDING INDUSTRY

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net WHILE the local wedding industry has been at a standstill for almost a year now, an upcoming event hopes to breathe some life into the market.

The Ministry of Tourism is seeking to find creative ways to boost the industry

as well as engage wedding professionals and couples that are soon to be married.

Promoting itself as one of the world’s leading destinations for weddings and honeymoons, the country is gearing up to host the “From the Bahamas With Love” expo.

The initiative features two

Q: What’s are your weekend plans?

“This weekend I want to relax and enjoy myself because there’s nothing like self-love.”

Q: Rum, wine Kalik or a cocktail to kick back with?

“I would prefer a cocktail

virtual events that will showcase the vast offerings for romantic escapes throughout the islands.

The expo will bring together industry leaders, partners, hotels, venues and services for what organisers hope will be a unique and educational experience for both trade and consumer participants.

The virtual expo kicks off on March 3, 2021 (from 1pm to 4pm EST), with an afternoon planned specifically for trade professionals, including travel agents and event planners. The second event will be held on March 10, 2021 (from 4pm to 7pm EST), and is open to consumers, including soon-to-be engaged or recently engaged couples, future brides and grooms, bachelorette party planners, honeymoon do-over seekers and more.

“The pandemic has caused many couples to postpone or reimagine their

because a cocktail is mixed… either as one type of alcohol with juices, as a soft drink and other fruits. Also, it looks fashionable and trendy.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“There’s nothing better than the beach. Feeling the fresh air and watching the waves has an extremely calming effect on me.”

Q: If you could take a COVID-free weekend vacation, where would it be?

“I would go to New York, and this is because there’s no other city on the planet with the type of energy that can compete with New York.”

romantic getaways over the last year, and the destination wants to ensure future planning is made as seamless as possible in 2021,” said Joy Jibrilu, Director General of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.

“From the Bahamas With Love”will feature a series of panel discussions with experts from across all romance industry sectors, along with opportunities to network directly with partners.

Virtual sessions will highlight current trends, how to accommodate various wedding styles and preferences, keeping the romance alive with activities and adventures for every type of couple, and more.

For more information, visit www.bahamas.com/from-thebahamas-with-love-trade.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 26, 2021

interview

Ivana Moncur Life just a got a little bit sweeter for Ivana, who is fulfilling a long-held dream of bringing her pastries to the people. She tells Cara Hunt how she got started in the baking world.

L

ong-time pastry chef Ivana Moncur is celebrating the recent opening of her new bakery, BakeHouse.

This new space, located in the Incudesk business centre on Chesapeake Road, is a dream Ivana has had for many years, even if being a pastry chef was not her first career choice.

“I have been baking from a very young age, but if you had asked me back then what career I wanted, I would have said a doctor or a dentist, just because I thought that was the answer you were supposed to give. Pastry chefs were not a popular choice back then,” she told Tribune Weekend.

Her thinking changed with the onset of cable channels like the Food Network.

“So, then I think I was in the ninth or tenth grade when I realised that being a pastry chef was a career that I could actually do.”

She initially attended the then College of the Bahamas before transferring to the Johnson & Wales University in Florida.

Ivana initially interned at the Atlantis resort, before she was hired and managed the Atlantis pastry shop which was responsible for all the wedding, birthday and specialty cakes requested by hotel guests staying at both Atlantis and Ocean Club.

During her time at Atlantis, she also did a three-day workshop on creating sugar flowers by renowned master confectioner Chef Ron Ben-Israel.

He is noted for designing wedding cakes for many celebrities and his work is often featured in magazines such as Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides and the New York Magazine.

Ivana said making pastries and decorating allows her to express herself artistically.

“No matter what is going on, I can start decorating a wedding cake and a few hours by go and I forgot what was bothering me and the stress is gone,” she said.

“Baking is a blank canvas; you can make magic with just a few simple ingredients and completely blow someone away.” And her baking preferences vary all the time.

“My favourite thing to make lately has been all kinds of cookies. I have been going crazy making a ton of artisan cookies every day, and also doughnuts. But it doesn’t

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, February 26, 2021

remain the same. A while ago, it was wedding cakes. I can’t say what it will be in 2022.”

While there isn’t a pastry she dislikes making, she doesn’t enjoy making the same thing over and over again.

“I dislike having to mass produce because I sometimes get bored having to do the exact same thing over and over,” she said.

As for any baking disasters in the kitchen, luckily for her, with more than a decade worth’s of experience under her belt, they are few and far between.

“I remember when I first started, a long time ago, I made a wedding cake for my father’s friend.

I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t have everything that I needed and so as I set up the cake it fell apart and there was not time to make another one. I had to explain to the wedding planner what happened and so I made a fake cake for display and a sheet cake to serve. But with time, as you gain experience, those types of things really don’t happen,” she said.

Ivana makes cakes and pastries for all kinds of people, but there is one special person she would have loved to make a special treat for, but unfortunately, it’s no longer possible.

“My grandmother passed away right as my career was taking off,” she explained. “But if I could, I would want to prepare a whole plethora of desserts for her. That would have meant the world to her and she would have been so proud.”

Ivana knows her grandmother would have also been of the new venture she’s starting with the BakeHouse.

On Wednesday past, she hosted an intimate opening for the new location.

“This is something I have wanted to do for a while. Before this I was doing a lot of pop-ups.

They went well, but we really just outgrew the space. This allows me to have a more comfortable environment to produce more items. Because the thing with a pop- up is, you have to make the items and then transport them as well.

Having to work in a small space can be a disaster for me and so I am happy that now I have more dedicated space,” she said.

The storefront will also allow her to be able to interact with her clients a bit more.

“With the pop-ups sometimes, you never got to actually see people and chat with them, because you would get there and meet a line. Now I’ll be able to chat and get to know people and create a nice ambiance.”

Ivana will be making everything from artisan cookies to doughnuts and biscotti, as well as specialty seasonal treats and drinks.

less smart (7) 27 Lost out a great deal (4) 28 Routine use of weapons? (5,5)

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

down: 2 Preen; 3 Learner; 4 Coyote; 5 Taste; 6 Optical; 7 Stickleback; 8 Entertained; 14 Spanish; 16 Askance; 17 Beacon; 19 Spell; 21 Abuse.

Amf r i E nAm

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

TODAY’S TARGET Good 21; very good 31; excellent 42 (or more). Solution on Monday

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

BATTLESHIPS Across 1 Game in which Tom goes nap (4,6) 6 Dust one may well find on the bathroom shelf (4) 10 Lean over (5) 11 Being a hundred feet long one might say (9) 12 It was reconstituted before so to speak (2,2,4) 13 Put underground in Algonquin territory (5) 15 It’s certainly not for quiet reading (4,3) 17 Is stout perhaps so doesn’t dance (4,3) 19 A new role in flight control (7) 21 Look after if you like (4,3) 22 A bit of sorrow rather than anger (5) 24 Always faithful? (8) 27 Watch and see how long the music takes (9) 28 Ending in no score to a poor game (5) 29 Healthy dislike may make one so (4) 30 Changes position and rearranges one’s straps (10)

1

2

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4

Down 1 A number with deposit money (4) 2 It may be spotted in the woods wearing a cap (9) 3 Many take a break at the top of the hill (5) 4 Nine act in an oldfashioned way (7) 5 Soldiers who had a point in joining the army (7) 7 Get involved with an intermediary (5) 8 High church feature easily understood by the congregation (10) 9 Tend to have little rest for recreation (8) 14 A bather may do it if he can’t stand swimming (5,5) 16 Old gasbags? (8) 18 They do wrong to stop interrupting proposals (9) 20 Type of reaction that may be unclear (7) 21 Restaurant cutlery (7) 23 Had the intention of making a half turn? (5) 25 Alternative put up in top company (5) 26 Assemble in mother ship (4)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Fawning, 5 Amass, 8 Boomerang, 9 Rye, 10 Emit, 12 Act of God, 14 Gossip, 15 Catnap, 17 Sullivan, 18 Beam, 21 Run, 22 Augur well, 24 Chest, 25 Exploit.

Down: 1 Fable, 2 Woo, 3 Item, 4 Glance, 5 As good as, 6 Arrogance, 7 Speed up, 11 In silence, 13 Vigilant, 14 Gastric, 16 Haggle, 19 Mulct, 20 Drop, 23 Ego.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Organic, 5 Ranks, 8 Fusiliers, 9 Gum, 10 Rife, 12 Brighten, 14 Errors, 15 Meteor, 17 Research, 18 Area, 21 Tea, 22 Hairbrush, 24 Cider, 25 Tedious.

Down: 1 Offer, 2 Gas, 3 Nile, 4 Cherry, 5 Resigned, 6 Night gear, 7 Seminar, 11 Firm stand, 13 Breather, 14 Erratic, 16 Script, 19 Aches, 20 Abed, 23 UFO.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 As a precaution (4,2,4) 6 Find faulty pettily (4) 10 A slight trace (5) 11 Having difficulties (2,3,4) 12 Erroneous (8) 13 Subject to (5) 15 Foot-operated lever (7) 17 City on Lake Michigan (7) 19 Wretched (7) 21 Overlook voluntarily (7) 22 A synthetic polymer (5) 24 Brought up (8) 27 Accepting bribes (2,3,4) 28 Self-possession (5) 29 Nimble (4) 30 Approximately (4,2,4)

Down 1 Fibre used for sacks (4) 2 Opinion (9) 3 Unskilful (5) 4 Pucker up (7) 5 Diabolical (7) 7 Audibly (5) 8 Banknotes (5,5) 9 False belief (8) 14 Astounding (10) 16 Champion (8) 18 Simultaneously (2,3,4) 20 In the distant past (4,3) 21 Funeral procession (7) 23 Subsequent (5) 25 Lying farther north (5) 26 Previously unknown information (4)

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 on Monday 1

2

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9 10 3

B

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3

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1 2

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1

U S Z W S O O L

R Y I E S E H C

T S O R F U N X

V S J Y T R A C

T T O C S V T A

3

C T H I Z P S P

E T D V P J O G

Q P C A R T E R

N O S I N N E T

G L U T H E R L

2

1 x Battleship

3 x Destroyer

2 x cruiser

4 x submarine

3

targEt thE alphapuzzl cAn you crack the Alphabeater?

Each grid Rooster, What, Holy, rhEuMatic number represents a letteracross: – or black square.

Exported, Zealot, Rained, Jun acute arum atrium auric cerium As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet Angora, Quantify, Bust, Heed,( chum chute cruet curate cure ea is used. you have to complete Ionised. the grid too! curie curt But cute cuter cutie ecru down:squares Groove, Usurer, haircut hurtgiven matureletters much mute use the and black below Pony, rectum rheum RHEUMATIC ruche Likened, Attest, Elicit (clue), the thrum grid to start. ‘rotationally Anyone, Warring, Bash thru truce true the urea grid isProper, Gamete, Reside. symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the *C same if you turn the page upside down.

Solution on Monday 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

8

4

28

3

16

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37

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Kakuro Answer 36 33 25 27 33

40

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9

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31

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K

21

A

1

B Z K B E Y P V

THE ALPHABEAT

● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st 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 or verb forms ending in “s”.

CRYPTIC PUZZLE

E D B Y P L E K

Friday, February 26, 2021

TARGET 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.

B L A T N O M W

31 Yesterday’s 15 2 28

■

■

P

● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to text DXBEAT to 84901. Texts cost £1 plus your u

KEIJO 2 2 2

4

1

1

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1

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4

1

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3

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, February 26, 2021

food

The Smith family shares homemade ‘Lil’ Eats’ via new catering service

By CARA HUNT | Tribune Features Writer | cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

A

s children return to the classroom and more and more regular activities resume, life will only get more hectic for working parents – parents like Tracy and Jamal Smith, who struggled to put healthy and delicious dinners on the table at the end of a busy workday.

“I have a culinary background, but it can be difficult to come home and prepare a full meal with a busy work schedule. I also knew that it was not only me having this struggle,” Tracy told Tribune Weekend.

The answer to this conundrum was starting a new business: Lil Eats Pop-Ups and Catering.

“What we do is make getting dinner on the table a lot easier by doing all the prep work for you. We prepare and season and cook the food and deliver it to you frozen and then all you have to do is warm it up, either on the stove, crock pot or in the oven,” she explained.

“Our motto is from frozen to fed.”

As for the company’s name, there is a family connection.

Whenever my family had small gatherings, it would always be, ‘Come over and we will have lil’ eats’, and so that is how we came up with the name,” said Tracy.

There are a wide range of options on the menu, such as shrimp stir fry, lasagna, Bahamian steamed chicken, soups, side dishes and dessert items such as cookie dough and guava duff. People can choose between two- or four-person serving options.

Tracy said they hope to also provide special occasion meals such as for Mother’s Day or other holidays.

Her menu, she added, can assist those with special dietary needs, such as vegetarians.

She feels there is a definite need for healthy options that are quick here in the Bahamas, where fast food is often the go-to choice for families.

“I think people go for fast foods because of the time factor, which may not be the healthiest option,” she said.

“(My menu) is also a great option for persons who may not normally cook a certain meal, but they can come home and it’s ready to go whenever they are ready.”

Tracy said she has seen a growing demand for her services.

“A lot of people have contacted us on Facebook or social media, but we really want them to use our website which is set up to take orders. Life is only going to get busier with school reopening ad additives resuming,” she said.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 26, 2021

fashion

‘No Lbl’ magazine launches with a spotlight on Cancer Society thrift store

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

A

fter successfully demonstrating how to thrift like a pro and ‘upcycle’ and restyle second-hand clothing, Kejuana Beneby is back with several new ventures.

This time around she’s giving back to the community and launching an online magazine.

Last year, Kejuana’s curated collection of upcycled fashion under her brand ‘No Lbl’, which was featured in The Tribune, caught the attention of the Bahamian public.

‘No Lbl’ (pronounced ‘no label’) is not only the name of her company, but also her personal approach to the fashion industry.

In a time when seemingly everyone is showing off on social media, trying to wear as many brand logos as possible, this Bahamian model-turned-designer is focusing on upcycling and making stylish clothing that won’t break the bank.

Now she’s expanded from doing photo shoots of curated collections to presenting her fashion choices, as well as other interesting creative, in a new e-magazine also called ‘No Lbl’.

The debut issue will feature a collaboration with a very special store: the Cancer Society of the Bahamas’ Thrift Boutique, which helps raise funds for the much-needed Cancer Care Centre.

After seeing the piece about her in Tribune Weekend, the Cancer Society reached out to Kejuana for assistance. The designer said she had always wanted to give back or volunteer her creative services for good cause, but could never think of how exactly to go about it.

When she was informed about the Cancer Society’s thrift store, Kejuana said her first instinct was “to buy something, anything, to support the cause.”

“And after purchasing an amazing vintage beaded gown, I thought about how I can contribute further.”

The Cancer Society’s administrator, Erin Storr, told her the boutique could benefit from a stronger social media presence. Kejuana agreed to put together a strategy and volunteered as the fashion marketing consultant for the store.

Since then, Kejuana and the team at the Cancer Society have done a full revamp of the shop space and put together photoshoots featuring items from the boutique. The latest project in this collaboration is the cover story for the first issue of the ‘No Lbl’ magazine.

“I used everything that I learned through the DIY graphics and photography techniques to elevate and transform the ‘No Lbl’ series into a full e-magazine publication…I was able to collaborate with other creatives to make the entire project a success…I had Sheena Heastie as my right-hand (woman).

We were able to plan and execute two of the major shoots for the magazine: the Cancer Society cover

A SEGMENT from Lakelle Mackey’s ‘Colour Therapy’ for the No Lbl magazinea

THE CANCER Society presents ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ for the debut issue. (Photo CJermaine) story that was shot by CJermaine and the Goddess shoot that was photographed by Sheena,” she said.

For the debut issue, it was important for Kejuana to focus on thrifting.

“I think that social media can be a blessing and curse; we have fast fashion and empty consumerism shoved in our faces on the daily. A large majority of us equate success to name brands and labels.

For the ‘No Lbl’ magazine it was important for us, especially for the debut issue, to bring attention to thrifting, and more importantly, thrifting with a cause. There’s a negative connotation attached to thrifting and second-hand pieces, so I think it was important to present the idea of thrifting in a different light,” she said.

“Thrifting can actually by quite glamorous in its own right. And what’s better than a good affordable find? Knowing that the revenue made from your purchase is being used for a good cause.”

Kejuana said she was also able secure content for the issue that features some really interesting creative brands here in the Bahamas, from other Bahamians living abroad, and from around the Caribbean.

“Initially the dream was to release an issue once a month, but we’re thinking every quarter would definitely be more feasible,” said Kejuana.

The magazine is now available on Kejuana’s website, at www.kbadstudio.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, February 26, 2021

gardening

This is nuts!

T

ree nuts like almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts, typically grow in cooler zones no higher than zone 9, which is central Florida and north of there. But there is an option for our climate with the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale).

The cashew is a tropical, evergreen tree that can reach a height of 50 feet unless pruned to maintain it at a workable size. It is native to Central America, the Caribbean basin, and northern South America and the species name occidentale refers to the western (or Occidental) world where it originated. The fruit of the cashew tree is what is known as an accessory fruit, sometimes called a pseudocarp (the technical term for “false fruit”).

There are two parts to the cashew fruit, with the fleshy part (the “cashew apple”) being edible in its raw form or cooked, fermented in vinegar or fermented into an alcoholic drink. Apparently, the cashew apple is also made into preserves, jams, and chutneys and is said to be widely used in countries such as India and Brazil. The kidneyshaped seed, or drupe, is what we know as the cashew nut. These must be processed to remove the shell as part of the shell contains a resin that is unfit for consumption and can also cause irritation or an allergic reaction in humans similar to that of poison ivy, which is a related species. Gloves and long sleeves are recommended! The inner part that we know as the edible cashew can be eaten raw or roasted, it is also processed into powders and non-dairy “milks”.

Cashews contain very high nutritional values, consisting of carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, minerals and healthy levels of what are referred to as “good” fats. Cashew trees are easy to grow in sandy or loamy well drained soils, but they will not do well in a location that has standing water or poorly drained soils. In our area it is recommended to prune the tree to maintain strong branching habits, as it has been said that they do not tolerate high winds very well unless they are worked to have wide, strong branching angles.

I have seen huge trees in Cuba and Costa Rica, very close to the sea where they are subject to salt air, as well as inland in dryer, more arid areas. The tree is drought tolerant once established, and they can fruit quite quickly, usually within a couple years of planting or as soon as the roots establish sufficient growth to support fruiting. The leaves of the cashew are also a viable feed for livestock.

This is a great tree to plant if you have sufficient area in your garden, and it will provide edible delights for many years to come. So long as the ground drains well, the cashew grows successfully in our soils. Unlike some of the out of zone fruit trees like peaches, apples, and pears that may or may not give a few fruit, the cashew is at home in our archipelago!

Peanuts are not a tree nut, they grow in the ground, but they too are easy to grow and can be fun for the kids. The perennial peanut that is used

YOUNG cashew fruits in the landscape is edible, but not to the quality or the quantity as annual peanuts. The perennial peanut is used more as an ornamental groundcover than as an edible nut. They are salt tolerant, and the flowers are edible, as well as the foliage being a good forage crop for livestock. The annual peanut is simple to grow, just get some raw peanuts and plant them in a pot or in the ground and before too long you’ll be on your way to growing peanuts! Let the plant do what it does, and after a few months it will start to go backwards and look a bit yellowed and shabby, this is the sign that the peanuts are ready below the soil level. Roast them for a while and enjoy. So go nuts, plant a cashew or some peanut, and 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.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 26, 2021

literary lives

Cicely Tyson Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about the American actress and fashion model, who, in a career that spanned over 70 years, became famous for portraying strong African-American women.

“When I told my mother that I wanted to be an actress, she said, you can’t live here and do that, and so I moved out. I was determined to prove her wrong because she was so sure that I was going to go astray. And that’s the juice that kept me going.”

– Cicely Tyson Cicely Tyson was born in East Harlem, New York, on December 19, 1924. She was one of three children born to Fredericka Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson – a carpenter and painter. Both her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies.

The Tyson family were Episcopalians and she grew up in a religious environment. Tyson’s mother objected strongly to her becoming an actress, but changed her mind when she saw her appear on the stage. But that was not for quite a few years.

She had a daughter when she was 17 years old.

When she was 18 she married Kenneth Franklin, but her husband abandoned her less than 18 months later. The marriage, however, was not formally dissolved until 1956. By then she had clawed her way through modelling into an acting career.

A photographer for Ebony magazine discovered the young Tyson and she became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was in the NBC television series Frontiers of Faith in 1951, and she had her first film role in Carib Gold in 1956. After that she had small roles in the 1959 films Odds Against Tomorrow and The Last Angry Man. Her first stage appearance was in Vinnette Carroll’s production of Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA in 1958 – which was when her mother saw her daughter perform. By then she was 34 years old and had endured a tough grinding road to small-time recognition.

“Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They’re what make the instrument stretch – what make you go beyond the norm.”

- Cicely Tyson In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet’s The Blacks together with a number of well-known celebrities: James Earl Jones, Godfrey Cambridge,

Louis Gossett Jr, and Charles Gordone. She played the part of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop. The play was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the ‘60s, running for 1,408 performances. It was a turning point in her career.

She won the 1961/62 Vernon Rice Award for her next performance in the off-Broadway production of Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.

David Susskind, the theatrical producer, had seen Tyson in The Blacks as well as Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, and he cast her in the CBS TV series East Side/West Side (1963-1964), where she played the secretary of a social worker played by George C Scott. At that time she was the only African-American member of a TV cast. East Side/West Side was unique in its early treatment of racial issues. One of its episodes of an AfricanAmerican couple in Harlem was blacked-out in Atlanta and Shreveport, Louisiana.

In the mid-1960s, while appearing in the soap opera The Guiding Light, she started dating Miles Davis, the jazz trumpeter, while he was in the process of divorcing his wife Frances Davis. He used a photo of Tyson on his 1967 record Sorcerer.

The couple intended to get married and Davis announced to the press that he intended to marry her as soon as his 1968 divorce was finalised. However, in September 1968, he married singer Betty Davis instead.

“One of the things I have always said about a man-woman relationship is that I don’t want anybody to walk ahead of me and I don’t want anybody to walk behind me. I want a man who will walk beside me. And that’s how I feel about equal rights.”

- Cicely Tyson Before 1968, she appeared with Sammy Davis Jr in the film A Man Called Adam (1966), and

starred in the film version of The Comedians (1967) based on the Graham Greene novel. She also had a part in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968).

The 1972, American Panavision Drama Sounder, from the 1970 novel by William H Armstrong, was the film that propelled Cicely Tyson to stardom. The film, about an African-American sharecropping family and their dog Sounder in 1933 Deep South Louisiana raising sugar cane for their white landlord, was both a critical and box-office success. Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan and was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award and the prestigious National Society of Film Critics Award. Two years later, in 1974, she played the title role in the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman. Her portrayal of a centenarian black woman’s life from slavery until her death before the Civil Rights Movement won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, and an Emmy for Actress of the year. She was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a leading role for her work in the same film.

Tyson had television roles in Roots (1971), King (1978), The Marva Collins Story (1981), and Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story (1986). She received Emmy and NAACP Image Awards for all her performances.

Cicely Tyson renewed her relationship with Miles Davis in 1978 and they were married on November 26, 1981 in Atlanta. It was a turbulent marriage because of Davis’ violent temper and constant infidelity. Davis credits Tyson for saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction. They lived in California and New York City until Tyson filed for divorce in 1988. Their

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Friday, February 26, 2021

TYSON with her 1974 Emmys, just two of her many film and acting awards divorce was finalised in 1989, two years before Davis died.

“The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are. Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.”

- Cicely Tyson Tyson was 65 when she appeared in the TV miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, and 67 when she played Sipsey in Fried Green Tomatoes – a huge hit. In the 1994-95 TV series she played a civil rights activist and attorney modelled after defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Other notable film roles included Hoodlum (1997), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), and the TV film Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) – for which she received her third Emmy Award.

This was followed by A Lesson Before Dying (1999) and Because of Winn-Dixie (2005). She was 81 years old and still acting. She was more in demand than ever. After appearing in Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010) she narrated the awardwinning Paul Robeson documentary Up From the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream.

“If each person in this world will simply take a small piece of this ... amazing quilt, and work it regardless of the colour of the yarn, we will have harmony on this planet.”

CICELY Tyson had a troubled marriage and divorce from Miles Davis - Cicely Tyson Tyson was a committed actress, lecturer, activist, and one of the most respected talents in American theatre and film history. She continued her acting career well into her 80s, appearing in her first music video in Willow Smith’s 21st Century Girl (2011). That same year she played Constantine Jefferson, a black maid in Jackson, Mississippi, in the critically acclaimed period drama The Help. Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, the film won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

On June 9, 2013, Cicely Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful. At 88 years old, she was the oldest recipient of the Best Actress Tony Award. She also won the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. That same year she had a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia. She still hadn’t finished with her acting career, and early in 2014 she gueststarred in the drama series How to Get Away with Murder, playing the part of Ophelia Harkness in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Again she was

TYSON receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama isn 2016 nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. In a final film appearance she appeared in the Netflix movie A Fall From Grace (2020).

“I am not a quitter. I will fight until I drop. It is just a matter of having some faith in the fact that as long as your are able to draw breath in the universe, you have a chance.”

- Cicely Tyson Cicely Tyson was a recipient of the Kennedy Centre Honors in 2015, and was awarded the United States highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama in November 2016. Her autobiography Just As I Am was published on 26 January 2021. She was promoting her book during her final weeks. When asked how she wanted to be remembered she replied, “I’ve done my best.

That’s all.”

Cicely Tyson died on January 28, 2021. She was 96 years old.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. The author acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; and from Just As I Am (2016) by Cicely Tyson.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 26, 2021

history

The A – Z of the Bahamas Part III

I

n a previous A-Z article, I gave a list of the top 20 girls’ names in the Bahamas. Today, let’s take a look at family names, then a few of the countless ‘girls’ who have contributed so much to our society.

At the top of the surname list are Adderley, Albury, Bethel, Davis, Sands and Saunders – who all arrived as Eleutherian Adventurers in 1648.

More than 100 years later (around 1783) we experienced a ‘mass’ influx of Loyalist settlers who brought their slaves and gave us a wide variety of new surnames.

Michael Craton found that, following emancipation, many slaves took the surnames of their previous owners and Rolle became the mostused surname in the Bahamas. This appears to still be true.

A short list of surnames includes, but is not limited to: Bain, Bethell, Bowleg, Edgecombe, Lowe, Malone, Pinder, Pyfrom, Rahming, Roberts, Roker, Rolle, Russel, and Sawyer.

Many surnames go back to a specific island. Hanna, Heastie and Tynes make one think of Acklins; Bowe, Forbes, McKenzie suggest Exumam and Burrows, Cartwright, Darville, Dean, Fox, Knowles, Simms, Taylor and Turnquest point to Long Island. There are many others.

There are Chinese-, Greek-, Haitian-, Lebanese-, Scottish- and West Indian-Bahamians, to mention a few.

My own surname is from Brazil (via Inagua).

In alphabetical order, here are just a few of our important Bahamian ladies: • BETHEL, Keva Marie (Eldon) was born in New Providence on August 18, 1935, to Rowena (née Hill) and Sidney Eldon. She was educated at Queen’s College in Nassau, Kirby Lodge School, in Cambridgeshire, and Cambridge University, returning home to excel as an educator. She and her husband, Clement Bethel, produced two children, Nicolette and Edward.

Keva had only one sibling, the Rt Rev Michael Eldon, first Bahamian bishop of Nassau and the Turks and Caicos Islands. She worked her way up the Bahamian educational system and joined the College of The Bahamas in 1975, at its inception. It 1995,

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS

THE HISTORICAL Museum in Hope Town is named in honour of the settlement’s mother, Wyannie Malone.

Middle Temple She returned home and was called to the Bahamian Bar on July 11, 1953 – becoming the first female lawyer in the Bahamas. She practised criminal and company law.

She and her husband, Enrico Cozzi, moved to England, where she died at the age of 80.

WHILE dressing to meet her first visitors as Governor-General, Dame Ivy Dumont was asked whether she would wear a hat. She replied she would follow the established protocol: “None of my predecessors wore a hat.” she became the inaugural president of the University of the Bahamas.

• COZZI, Patricia Cole (1926– 2006), daughter of A K Cole (Comptroller of Customs) was called to the British Bar in 1953 after completing her law studies at London’s

• DUMONT, Dame Ivy Leona, DCMG – Born at Roses, Long Island on October 2, 1930, to Alphonso and Liz Turnquest and married to Reginald Dumont. For her autobiography, published in 2009, she chose the title ‘Roses to Mount Fitzwilliam’. Her career started as a teacher, but she soon moved to administrate duties and served as Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Utilities. After 13 years in banking, she returned to government as a cabinet minister to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, but the best was still to come. In 2001, the Governor-General resigned and, on November 13, Ivy was appointed as his interim replacement. She was confirmed as Governor-General on January 1, 2002, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

• GOLDEN GIRLS – In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, four Bahamian sprinters – Eldice Clarke,

Paula Davis, Debbie Ferguson, and Savatheda Fynes brought home the Gold in the 4 x 100 m Relay. It was the Bahamas’ first Gold Medal in track and field.

• MALONE, WYANNIE – might be considered the ‘founding mother’ of Hope Town families. In 1785, she and her four children emigrated from South Carolina to Hope Town, Abaco. Though details about her life are scarce her offspring are legend and the museum at Hope Town carries her name.

• SAWYER, Dame Joan DCE PC – is a Bahamian judge who served as Chief Justice of the Bahamas from 1996-2001 and President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas from 2001 to 2010. She was the first woman to ever serve in either of those two positions. The wife of Geoffrey Sawyer, she was born in Georgetown, Exuma.

• WILLIAMS-DARLING, Tonique – born in Nassau on January 17, 1976, is a Bahamian sprint athlete, who won the gold medal in the 400 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and has a long list of victories in many other events. She is married to fellow Bahamian Track and Field (400 metres) athlete Dennis Darling.

For her achievements, the Bahamas government honoured Tonique by naming a major east/west highway the “Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.”

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Friday, February 26, 2021

animals pet of the week

Puppy love

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

S

ix-week-old Lexi isn’t quite ready for adoption yet. She still needs a few more weeks to grow up and be spayed, but she’s here to represent all the puppies at the Bahamas Humane Society that are ready for adoption.

At the moment, only dogs and pups are available, as the cats and kittens are being prepped for an airlift to Canada. (Potcats in the snow!)

Lexi says you need to be sure to have all or part of your yard fencedin, if you wish to adopt, and you have to realise that a dog or pup is a lifetime commitment.

BHS animals come spayed and neutered, but you will be responsible for future vaccinations and any other medical bills or grooming bills that may arise.

Lexi challenges you to adopt rather than shop for your new family member. Are you up for the challenge? If so, please contact the BHS today at 323-5138 to find out more information. Lexi says you’ll have a win-win life at the end. You win (wags and cuddles, and a loving friend) and the pet you adopt wins (love, cuddles and a home for life).

What more could one wish for?

Conversations at night

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters Buddy: “Hey, Chiefie.”

Chief: “Yes, Buddy?”

Buddy: “I’ve been thinking…”

Buddy: Lots of hotels in America are dog friendly. People really like us in the States. Lots of people don’t really like us around in the Bahamas. You have been to America so often Chief you almost have a US passport.”

Chief: “Don’t do too much of that, Bud, wears out our precious brain cells.”

Buddy: “What’s it like to only have three legs?”

Chief: “Well Bud, it was quite a surprise at first. I suddenly collapsed in tremendous pain, shrieking.”

Buddy: “I know, Chief, we all heard you. I won’t lie, you even frightened me! And you know how brave I am.”

Chief: “Bud, it was the scariest ever. Mum tried to reassure me, but I could see she was afraid too.

Humans really put a lot of love into us you know.”

Buddy: “Yes, they do, but that is because we take such good care of them.”

Chief: “True, let me tell you, Buddy, I was so happy to get back home from the hospital and see all my humans at the airport waiting for me! And then getting home to you…”

Buddy: “I was relieved to see you come through that door even if you didn’t walk very well at first.”

Chief: “I am really moving now, Buddy. I can do my inspection of the garden daily, checking in on the new arrivals. Incidentally, I see that the lizard family by the aloes have had a bunch of little ones recently.”

Buddy: “Yes, I saw them. We have to keep Garmin away from them.”

Chief: “Getting back to the three legs, Buddy, I think that we dogs are far smarter than humans, and you know why?”

Photo/Linda Gill-Aranha

Chief: “That is pretty easy actually, but I don’t like being away from Mum, so I bark too much on the plane. Now Mum is coming with me next trip. And I will get to stay in a really nice hotel.”

Buddy: “No, Chiefie why?”

Chief: “Because we have the wisdom to accept the inevitable without worry. I woke us in the Hollywood Animal Hospital all wrapped up in bandages and the nice people there helped me to my feet and helped me outside. There was blue sky, there were birds singing, they had kind voices, and, this is the good bit, one of them said to me “Mummy loves you.” And I remembered all of you at home in Nassau, just waiting for me to get back to take care of you. I did not waste any time fretting about having only three legs! Number four was gone and not coming back, so I just did my best.”

Buddy: “I agree, Chief, humans go on and on worrying about what might happen, their test results, how much longer they have on earth, the afterlife, and they forget to enjoy what they are doing today and enjoying the moment for what it is. How did they know Mum loves you?”

Chief: “She told them to say that to me because she knows that I know what that means, and it makes me feel all safe and happy inside. Just like the beach towels she put in my crate that smelled like her and you, Buddy, to make me feel safe.”

Buddy: “So, what is the chemo like that you have to go back over every month to have?”

Chief: “Yes, I have done my share of trips, but Buddy there is no place like home, with our own beds and food bowls. I found when I have been away I really missed my garden. There is so much going on in the backyard that humans are not even aware of! Now we are almost in March, the bird families will start building their nests. All that little cheeping of baby birds…”

Buddy: “Yes, that’s fine until they try to dive-bomb you because they are protecting the little darlings!”

Chief: “You know, Buddy, you and I have big birthdays coming up, I will be 15 and you will be 14. That is pretty old for two big dogs.”

Buddy: “I bet you Mum writes an article about us when our birthdays come. She always likes to share with other people how very smart we are.”

Chief: “Not just smart, but I actually think that we are incredibly wise.

We are in the twilight of our lives and we know how to sit in the sun and feel the wind on our faces and enjoy how good it feels. We don’t stress over tomorrow or yesterday, we love now, and we live for that ‘right now’ feeling. When my friend Archie died, I realised how important now really is. It was all so very quick, and he was gone. But I can tell you, he enjoyed every day with his mud crater.”

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, February 26, 2021

community

Connect with society’s leaders on a personal level for virtual Bahamian Exchange

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

T

he annual event that welcomes tough questions, different viewpoints, as well as respectful dialogue, is coming back for another instalment; this time in a virtual setting.

The fifth annual Bahamian Exchange hosted by Queen’s College Centre for Further Education and KBII Communication will take place on Friday, March 12, 2021.

As in previous years, the idea is to create an environment for people in small groups to have 20-minute conversations with well-known and influential Bahamians. These group talks are designed to allow for experts in various fields – be it in business or humanitarian work, education, sports, culture or entertainment – to share their insights and experiences and to engage with members of the public on a personal level.

This year’s featured participants will include Barry Rassin, former World President of Rotary International; Astra Armbrister-Rolle, the Bahamas Consul to Atlanta, Georgia; Sebastian Bastian, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Olympic swimmer; Timico Sawyer, founder of Sawyerboy TV, and Xavia Higgs, founder of POW. “Surveys and public forums identified these individuals as people of interest amongst Bahamians. (They) are respected forward thinkers who are shifting mindsets in our community and beyond,” said Katherine Beneby, Director of Operations and Marketing at Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

Whether it be in face-to-face, or in a virtual format like this year’s event, she believes the Bahamian Exchange helps create a foundation for trust in our community and ultimately can lead to improved connections, opportunities and mentorships.

The Bahamian Exchange was launched during the 2016/17 school

XAVIA Higgs

ARIANNA Vanderpool-Wallace

TIMICO Sawyer

BARRY Rassin

year and it revitalised the Queen’s College Centre for Further Education, said Ms Beneby.

“We launched this experience as a community initiative. We held our first event in March 2017, and it was not well-attended due to the idea being new to the Bahamas. Now that people have either heard about it or experienced it, there is more understanding, momentum, and excitement about the event,” she said.

Under the theme “Unlock New Possibilities,” this year’s annual virtual instalment will utilise a ‘break-out rooms’ feature.

Ms Beneby believes being in a space with forward-thinking individuals who are adjusting to the new normal promises to be empowering for all viewers.

“As the event organiser, I live by my motto, which is ‘living my legacy now’. I take great pride in this experience, and I am grateful to Queen’s

College, Bahamas First, the features, volunteers and participants who have bought into this vision. I hope that at least one interaction will make a lasting impact on a participant’s life or business,” she said.

And she is not deterred by the virtual nature of this year’s event.

“It feels great to host the event on a virtual platform. The internet has furthered our reach with features and participants who are not currently living in the Bahamas,” she said. “The virtual setting has challenged us to bring in other creative elements to add to the experience.”

She added that Queen’s College Centre for Further Education is committed to impacting the community through lifelong learning. Last year, they partnered with the Grace Management Group to host master classes in May and hosted ‘Webinar Wednesdays’ during the months of June and July. The team also facilitated a webinar on “How to Set Up a Proper at Home Work Station” with Paramount Rehabilitation and Fitness, and “Christmas Craft Ideas’’ with Always by Allia during the Fall 2020 semester.

“For 2021, we have hosted career coaching every Friday in February.

All of the aforementioned initiatives are free outreach efforts that complement our offers that require an investment by the participant.

We will continue to equip, train and empower individuals to reach their full potential through personal and professional development opportunities. We must create the stories we want to tell, and the Queen’s College Centre for Further Education is an environment that supports the best version of those stories,” said Ms Beneby.

All those interested the Bahamian Exchange 2021 are asked to register online at www.qccfe.com/ event-details/bahamian-exchange.