03162018 weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

art poetry history film fashion drinks environment puzzles animals

Weekend

BELLES OF THE BALL Page 14 & 15

Willique for women Local designer bets on luxury bags Interview, pages 4 & 5 upgrade your plan and we’ll upgrade your phone

upgrade your current freedom5 or freedom10 plan to any liberty plan and get 50% off any handset* terms and conditions apply. handsets under $99 not included. offer valid for existing ALIV customers, and good until March 31, 2018 or while supplies last.

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

film

A workshop for budding filmmakers

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ince 2004, the Bahamas International Film Festival has taught 1,000 students in schools across the country through an annual programme called the BIFF Film Workshop.

Starting this month, the nonprofit organisation will once again conduct workshop on three Saturdays, beginning this weekend at the Sandyport Beach Resort from 9am to 3pm.

There will be tutorials on pre-production, production and post-production, as well as screenwriting, casting, character selection, cinematography, editing, music composition and sound design, thus giving the students insight into what working in the film industry entails.

BIFF staff and the University of Georgia’s Film Department will assist with the workshop.

There is a $50 charge to participate and the space is limited. For more information e-mail festasst@bintlfilmfest. com In addition, BIFF has selected six schools and institutions to visit to give instructions on the art of filmmaking. These include A F Adderley, R M Bailey, D W Davis, Columbus Primary School, the Senior Citizens Charity, and the Bahamas Correctional Facility.

All participants will complete a short film to be showcased on ALIV mobile devices for competition and showcased at BIFF, which will take place from November 28 to December 6 this year.

The Film Workshop Programme is sponsored by ALIV, URCA, Sandyport Beach Resort and AETOS Holdings.

Visit www.bintlfilmfest.com for more information.

BIFF teaches students the art of filmmaking, from storyboarding to setting up the shot.

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Friday, March 16, 2018

Inside Weekend Interview 4-5 Cara Hunt talks to Londonbased designer Anya Pratt about her unique luxury handbags

Drinks 7 The Stash serves up popular beverages with a twist

Culture 8 - 9 Transforming Spaces 2018 presents the “Historic Nassau” art tour

Community 10 ALIV celebrates its staff

Poetry 11 Young poets called to take part in new nation-wide contest

Belles of the ball 14 - 15

‘An Evening with the Stars’ Autism Ball

Film 17 Alicia Vikander is the new ‘Tomb Raider’

Environment 18 The BNT hosts country’s biggest science conference

Jack Hardy 19 The secret to cuttings

Carnival 20 - 21 The Masqueraders reveal their ‘Jewels of Nassau’ costumes

Literary Lives 22 - 23 A master of acerbic wit a social satire

Forgotten Facts 25 Eleuthera’s Glass Window Bridge

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 Kim Aranha completes 5k for $5k, plus Pet of the Week

Cover | Remor Media/Danielle Romer

My perfect Bahamian weekend Odaz Lightbourne-Beneby Brand coach, internet marketer Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday brunch?

“Sunday brunch hands down! Sunday is my one true day off to recuperate from the hectic week so I can’t think of a better way to spend it.”

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik?

“Neither! I just recently recommitted to fitness so I try not to indulge.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“Beach! Because I go ‘grounding’ pretty regularly. Studies have shown being connected to the earth barefoot has many positive health and stress

releasing benefits. I love family time on the beach with my husband and babies.”

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

“I cannot live without WiFi/data.

Most of my work is internet based so WiFi to me is like oxygen. It’s not even an option at this point.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go?

“New York, New York! Because I MUST go to Broadway to watch ‘Dear Evan Hanson’ before it leaves the stage! I have been loving the soundtrack so I can’t wait to see it.”

Things 2 Do this weekend • Friday Time: 10am - 12noon (continues Saturday and Sunday) Venue: Hillside House The University of the Bahamas is partnering with Hillside House for the 14th Annual Transforming Spaces art tour. E-mail keisha. oliver@ub.edu.bs for bookings and information. SEE PAGE 8&9

• Instinct 2: From Darkness to Light Time: 6pm - 8pm Venue: The Current Gallery Baha Mar Instinct II: From Darkness to Light is an investigation into the dichotomies of concepts related to life and death, good and evil, love and hate, hope and despair and struggle and victory.

• Girls Weekend Time: 7.30pm (continues Saturday and Sunday) Venue: Motivation Ministry, Bay Street, two-storey yellow building opposite Hoffer Sport.

Dress in PJs and bring a pillow to enjoy chats about relationships, makeup, fitness, social media, finances, ‘mom hacks’, and more.

Admission is free. To RSVP, e-mail girlsweekend242.rsvpify.com.

• Broadway over Queen’s presents ‘West Side Story’ Time: 8pm Venue: Queen’s College, Geoffrey Brown Auditorium QC students and faculty perform the iconic Bernstein and Sondheim

musical. Additional performances take place on Saturday at 2pm and 6pm. Tickets are $15. Call 677-7616.

• Crazy Love 3: Crazy Til The End! Time: 8pm (encore on Saturday) Venue: Dundas Theatre Gea Pierre presents the conclusion of her popular dramedy series.

Tickets are $30 for VIP and $25 for general admission.

• Midnight Mas Time: 11.30pm Venue: Arawak Cay This J’ouvert street party kicks off Carnival season with water, powder, paint, music, rum, fireworks, as Enigma celebrates its Midnight Mas.

Saturday

• Bahamas Kennel Club International Dog Show 2018 Time: 8am (continues on Sunday) Venue: Clifford Park The dog show includes classes in conformation, rally, obedience and agility. There will be mixed breed classes, a special potcake class and fun classes such as best costume, best trick, fastest retrieve and more.

• Bahamas Jeep Club at the Annual Antique Car Show Time: 11am - 3.30pm Venue: Arawak Cay Ten Jeeps will be entered into the judging competition with a $1,000 grand price “People’s Choice Award” up for grabs.

• Bethany Assembly Community Clean-Up Time: 10am Venue: Bethany Assembly, Churchill Drive Bethany Assembly wants people to extend their hands and clean up the community. Join the effort as volunteers go door-to-door in the Churchill Subdivision.

• St Paddy’s Day at Green Parrot Time: 11.30am Venue: Green Parrot Bar & Grill, East Bay Street The eighth annual St Paddy’s Day party features green Sands beer, vodka shots, Reuben sandwiches and a beef stew special

• St Patrick’s Day at Hard Rock Café Time: 12noon Venue: Hard Rock Café, Charlotte Street Enjoy a street party with Play House Entertainment, Selecta Fawteeb and the Unruly Family.

Sunday • Learn How to Cook Vegetarian Time: 3pm - 6pm Venue: Better Living Health Centre, Balfour Avenue and Palm Beach Street Learn to cook vegetarian dishes and the ‘Daniel Fast’ referenced in the Bible. There is a $25 fee. Call 323-5473.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

interview Experiencing both tranquil, small island living as well as the glitz and glamour of London has helped Anya Pratt carve out a special niche for herself in the luxury market. The handbag designer tells Cara Hunt about the source of her inspiration and how eco-conscious fashion is the way forward.

Anya Willique Pratt

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nya Pratt is blazing her own path as the designer of a unique brand of luxury handbags under the Willique label.

And less than two years after launching her debut collection in the fashion mecca of London, she has already celebrated some major successes, having presented her handbag designs to Grammy Award nominees and other big-name celebrities, and even to the Bahamas’ Governor General.

Not bad for a young lady who grew up in Grand Bahama and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“I grew up in Freeport and my parents were entrepreneurs who owned a shoe store, so I was always surrounded by fashion and entrepreneurship,” she told Tribune Weekend.

After graduating from Freeport High in 2005, Anya decided to travel the world to gain her degree and experience other cultures.

Eventually, she she ended up in London, where she was bit hard by the fashion bug.

“I just fell in love with London, it is just so multicultural,” she said.

During her business classes, Anya was required to write a business plan. She used her hobby of making handbags as inspiration for the business plan and got the highest marks in her class for the project.

“After I finished school I was looking for something that I could do and I remembered the business plan and I thought, oh, I can use that.”

Anya explained that while she was always sewing things for herself, it had never occurred to her that this hobby could be turned into a lucrative career.

However, she said her father had once given her some practical advice that ultimately helped her take the plunge into the fashion industry.

“He told me that I should try to take something apart and see if I could put it back together. So I actually took a cereal box apart and put it back together,” she said.

After doing research for a few years, Anya decided that she would try her hand at designing bags.

“I am self-taught. I never took sewing classes, but I decided that I would just give it a try.”

Armed with little more than hope and a college business plan, Anya took a leap of faith and launched her business.

“I went to Italy to buy leather from this little town that I had heard of, and when I got there they told me that they only sold leather in bulk, so I ended up with all this leather tucked under my arm because I didn’t have any other way to carry it onto the plane,” she said.

She was able to launch Willique Luxury Handbags at London’s Library, a private members club, in 2016.

“I actually was at an event with one of my bags and there was a woman there who admired it and said that she wanted it, and it was Kelis, the singer who sings “My milk shake brings all the boys to the yard...”

“When she saw the bag, she told her assistant that she had to have the bag and to get my contacts, and so I ended up gifting one of my bags to her and she was one of my first clients,” said Anya.

The company is called Willique because it is actually Anya’s middle name.

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Friday, March 16, 2018

“My Dad’s name is William and so all of my five siblings have ‘Will’ as a part of their middle names. But originally it was going to be Erin Winston,” she said.

Willique represents a luxury bespoke handbag line that caters to those seeking a one-of-a-kind investment piece that captures the essence of time, place and memories. Each handcrafted piece, be it a purse or clutch, encompasses aspects of travel and personality, and boasts elements of abstract structures.

The first collection is called “The Wanderlust”, which stands for a strong desire to travel. Each bag is named after a place the designer has travelled to and gotten inspiration from.

For example “The Turks and The Bahamian” bag was inspired by bustling markets, vibrant colours and structures seen in these countries. Another bag is “The Cuban”, which featured handpainted. This design was inspired by Cuban artists in the streets of Havana.

The second collection is called ‘The Conscious Collection’. After making a conscious move to eco-fashion, Anya felt it necessary to adapt and evolve.

‘The Conscious Collection’ is a range of alternative, leather bespoke handbags crafted from a variety of sustainable materials.

“It’s a reflection of our commitments to an eco-conscious and animal friendly footprint. In our pursuit for the perfect leather alternative we have forged links with an innovative alternative leather company.

This collection caters to men and women,” she explained.

Anya has achieved many milestones in the brief time since launching Willique.

“I was able to take part in London Fashion Week 2016, which was amazing. Also, I was able to realise my dream to design a handbag for the Governor General, Dame Marguerite Pindling. The bag, which is called the ‘Dame’ bag, was inspired by Mrs Pindling, who is a trailblazer in fashion in the Bahamas. The design on the bag features not only her heritage but also each island of the Bahamas.”

Additionally, Anya said that if she could design a handbag for anyone in the world it would be Queen Elizabeth II. “That would really be at the top of my dream list,” she said.

Since starting her company, Anya said she has learned a lot about herself. First, she learned that she is really her own competition.

“There are a lot of luxury handbag designers out there, and yes, a lot of them are much bigger than Willique. But what I have learned is that I can’t look at them and what they offer, I have to just look at my brand and what I can offer. And what I

“It is an industry where sometimes people steal your design. I have learned that if that happens it must be because you are doing something right.” can offer is a personal relationship with my clients. I can sit with them and help them create something that is exactly what they want, and I have many repeat customers because of this,” she said.

Additionally, she said that she has learned to believe in herself and her talent.

“Fashion can be cut-throat. In my first year I had to learn that. It is an industry where sometimes people steal your design.

I have learned that if that happens it must be because you are doing something right.

But it (the industry) can also be joyous as well. I have learned to just trust and go with my instincts, and learned to be open to change, and to accepting critiques on my work,” she said.

“For the most part I always ask my client, ‘How do you want this product to make you feel?’ I want them to have a sense of themselves in the product. And I always want to give them a good investment for their money. That’s how you maintain a relationship with your clients.”

Moving forward, Anya said that she has a few design tricks up her sleeve that she can’t talk about quite yet, but said she is excited about the direction Willique will be taking in the near future.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

section

MOBILE

APP

Take us with you Everywhere you go!

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Friday, March 16, 2018

drinks

Brewing up a not so secret ‘Stash’

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

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small local beverage brewing company has put their spin on the peanut carrot drink that has become so popular with Bahamians by adding a not so secret ingredient.

Fans of the milk-based peanut and carrot blend, which is increasingly being sold by roadside vendors, may find the The Stash’s drink to be something quite different.

When The Stash, a company that takes a natural approach to its beverage production, started in 2016, its founders wanted to differentiate their beverages by producing drinks that would tantalise the taste buds while also providing an added kick – alcohol.

While the company has developed five different beverages so far, its peanut and carrot drink its biggest hit. The drink is made from peanuts, carrots and mixed with milk, sugar, and other ingredients.

“And the alcohol is the Stash part of the drink,” said Candin Moss, the company’s owner. “You go certain places and you say, ‘Can I have a carrot juice or peanut juice?’ But this puts a whole different twist on things.”

For those who have never had peanut juice, Candin said its taste and texture is similar to eggnog.

“Our peanut juice is similar to an eggnog – that smooth thick texture of the eggnog is what you get with The Stash. And you get that hint of alcohol, but it is not pungent,” he said.

While the drink is not a smoothie, Candin said consumers will still get all the

natural juices, but without any clumps or pulp. And if people want it without alcohol that is also an option.

“A lot of people like the carrot and peanut juice.

A lot of them have been informed about eating healthier and getting extra vitamins and nutrients, even from the smallest source like a drink. Once they hear that carrot is in the drink they know automatically vitamin B is in the drink,” said Candin.

In addition to the peanut and carrot flavoured juices, The Stash also carries a Oreo, Snickers and coffee flavoured beverage called Damage Control, which was inspired by the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

“I remember when we experienced (Hurricane Matthew); we went out to the end of its passing. We took chainsaws, rakes and other landscaping tools to help make a passage way for people,” said Candin.

“After all that we were so tired...I said, ‘How about we try and incorporate some coffee in this drink so we can stay up and go back on the road, which we did,” he said.

Candin said he has met many vegetarians and vegans who have expressed interest in The Stash’s drinks. And while most of his beverages are milkbased, for these costumes he also uses dairy-free products “I have been encountering many people interested in this style of drink. I thought, why not cater to them as well and use animal-free products,” he said.

As The Stash continues to grow so will its drink menu, he said. The company is expected to soon introduce a line of lemonades in the flavours strawberry, pineapple and kiwi-strawberry.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

culture

Transforming Spaces celebrates ‘Historic Nassau’ 2018 tour explores all forms of art

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

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communion and celebration of various creative disciplines is what the “Historic Nassau” art event at Hillside House Gallery will offer today through

“Da Workin Man” by Josh Duncombe

Print by Antonius Roberts

Sunday.

The University of the Bahamas (UB) has partnered with Hillside House for the 14th annual Transforming Spaces, which takes participants on a tour throughout New Providence to view a unique array of work from Bahamian artists.

These artworks will be on display at four participating galleries, including the D’Aguilar Art Foundation, Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, The Current at Baha Mar, as well as Hillside House.

Under the theme “Historic Nassau”, the three-day event promises to offer an engaging and interactive programme of live art, literary and musical performances, educational experiences, and creative workshops that for the first time bring together UB students, staff, faculty and alumni who will be highlighted in group exhibitions.

Curated by UB Assistant Professor and Visual Arts Programme Coordinator Keisha Oliver, with guidance from master artists Antonius Roberts and Max Taylor, “Historic Nassau” is designed to celebrate and reinterpret Bahamian traditions through a sense of community.

“Over the years, Transforming Spaces has been committed to supporting and engaging UB art students through volunteerism and exhibition opportunities. In the past Transforming Spaces has included The Pro Gallery as part of its bus tour route, it has hosted student exhibitions at Popop Studios Gallery

and the Towne Hotel, and more recently, engaged UB’s student art club, The Pro Society, to assist the organisation as tour guides,” Ms Oliver told Tribune Weekend.

Transforming Spaces began with a core group of participants — the late Jackson Burnside III, John Cox, Antonius Roberts, Tyrone Ferguson, Jay Koment and Erica James — who shared one common goal: to get artists to work together to expose Bahamian art.

It was an exciting time at the turn of the century. The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas opened its doors with an Inaugural National Exhibition in 2003, finally formally spotlighting Bahamian visual art in the eyes of the country and the region. This sparked a series of artistic projects and new galleries that continue to develop Bahamian visual art at a rapid pace to this day. Transforming Spaces was proud to be a defining voice in this conversation. Year after year, the tour has proven to be a great success as artists and art lovers alike look forward to that weekend in spring where participating galleries transform their spaces to present innovative displays of Bahamian art.

With the intent of celebrating all forms of art and culture during this year’s art tour, Ms Oliver said she designed an experience rooted in community and collaboration across a variety of creative disciplines.

A few highlights from this weekend’s activities include a showcase that will feature art reflecting sub-themes such as “Foresight”, “This is Remembering” and “Of The Same”.

And this evening a “Creative Entrepreneur” panel discussion will be hosted by the Shift The Culture community organisation starting at 6pm.

Other highlights will include the iCreate Music panel discussion tomorrow beginning at 10am featuring contemporary artists and producers from the local music industry who will share the secrets of their success, critique music by upcoming artists and students, and discuss the challenges of being a creative on the music scene of today.

On Sunday, the programming will focus on culinary and literary arts and include a “Community Read” at 11am hosted by The Blue Flamingo Literary Festival team, a conch salad competition hosted by Popeye

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Friday, March 16, 2018

“...’Historic Nassau’ is designed to celebrate and reinterpret Bahamian traditions through a sense of community.”

“Ole Fashioned Scooter” by Fritz Cox, a carpenter with the University of the Bahamas.

(l-r) Master artist John Beadle, UB Assistant Professor Keisha Oliver and UB Director of Counselling Anastacis Alleyne-Forbes at work.

The Conch Celebrity from 12pm, and a poetry night hosted by The Tingum Collective starting at 6pm.

UB’s Visual Arts Department will also host a series of art workshops in drawing, printmaking and bookbinding that will aim to give participants a taste of its programming and courses.

“We hope to have a variety of fine art and craft items made by students, staff and alumni on sale in the Hillside House courtyard. Our feature collection will include fine woodwork collection by Dr Danny Davis, assistant vice president of Institutional Strengthening and Accreditation, and handmade jewellery by Allia Dean, an alumni,” said Ms Oliver.

For the art tour, groups will be transported to and from the participating galleries in a comfortable, air-conditioned bus managed by a personal art guide. The buses will start and end at the Campbell Maritime Centre on West Bay Street, next to Xavier’s School.

For more information about this year’s Transforming Spaces tour, contact UB Visual Arts at 302-4422 or e-mail keisha. oliver@ub.edu.bs.

“Redefining Historic Nassau” by Val Flax, University of the Bahamas faculty

Master artist and printmaker Max Taylor shows his techniques to Dr Walteria Tucker-Rolle, UB Chair of Communication and Creative Arts.

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Friday, March 16, 2018

community

ALIV celebrates staff with ‘Marketing Month’

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

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here is a great feeling of pride and satisfaction that comes with being recognised for your work.

Whether it is an “Employee of the Month” photo plastered on a bulletin board or a coffee mug that simply says ‘Thanks’, the show of appreciation is gratifying.

For team members at ALIV it was a pleasure to designate the month of March as “Marketing Month” in effort to express gratitude to the hard-working staff at the telecommunications company “When I initially had the idea to celebrate March as ‘Marketing Month’ at ALIV, I was sitting at my desk the last week in February literally laughing so hard that my sides were hurting.

We were having another one of our moments in the afternoon where everyone was engaging in conversation and there were jokes and insiders one after the other. It was comedic gold. I kind of zone out a lot through the day and slip into deep thought and in that moment I just said to myself, this team is perfect,” said Jayme Pinder, ALIV events and sponsorship coordinator.

ALIV’s marketing team by extension is responsible for everything the public sees and hears regarding the company.

Divided into several sections, areas of their marketing tasks include content and production, public relations,

branding, social media and events, and sponsorship and community outreach.

Team members include Johnny Ingle, Sheridan Thompson, Theo McClain, Glenn Sherman, Bianca Bethel-Sawyer, Anissa Adderley, Norman Lightbourne, Vernal Adderley, Chantel O’Brian, Sasha Lightbourne, Ranechea Ellis, Talia Wildgoose, and Jayme Pinder.

“I was so amazed at how perfectly we all blend, how different but similar we are, and how much we all click despite having three people who just joined the team, including myself. It’s the perfect fit,” said Ms Pinder.

“I wanted to make March ‘Marketing Month’ for two reasons in particular. I think all of the mandatory group activities and events force you to communicate on a deeper level and really get to know all of the personalities on the team. We work together every single day and we talk every day, but there is only so much you can

discuss when we all have different portfolios and projects that we are working on throughout the day.”

She said this month is focused on bringing together and furthering the strength of the ALIV marketing team; helping to make the working environment a more comfortable place to spend eight hours a day. For her, the more comfortable and happy an employee is, the better they work and the better the end product is.

Expressing similar sentiments, Sasha Lightbourne, public relation representative at ALIV, said the marketing team is a talented one, filled with leaders from different backgrounds and spheres. From sharing ideas to weekly meetings, Ms Lightbourne said there are no “straight lines” in terms of roles at ALIV. “We encourage each other and the head of the team, Johnny Ingle, chief ALIV champion, allows everyone to achieve their full potential. So for

ALIV marketing team members pose in their finest.

example, you may be assigned to public relations but may find yourself adding value to an event that is being sponsored by the company,” said Ms Lightbourne.

She believes the ALIV marketing team has done a great job in transforming the way in which persons view the marketing field.

“Our print ad quality is also unlike anything ever seen before, so we have adopted 21st century trends and made them ALIV. Social media also plays a big role in marketing the company.

We have all social media pages which are constantly changing along with a full functional website. Without social media there is no marketing. Traditional marketing has been simply smashed by social media and our team’s manager, Norman Lightbourne, along with his team – Chantel and Vernal – does an excellent job at managing all our pages. We like to be on the top of what is happening in the country. It is only wise for any company to keep its nose to the ground,” said Ms Lightbourne.

With a full calendar of activities ahead for the remainder of the year, Bianca Bethel-Sawyer, ALIV events, sponsorship and community representative, said people can look forward to a number of Family Island launches, and events such as Miss Bahamas World, a Bahamas National Trust collaboration, Eco Camp, Bahamian Icon Awards, and more. The team is also working on securing a few regatta and homecoming festivals in 2018.

PHOTOS/SCHARAD LIGHTBOURNE

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Friday, March 16, 2018

poetry Young Bahamians, from primary school age to 30, are being encouraged to express themselves through poetry.

Jermaine Rolle, founder of the Bahamas Poetry Competition

Express yourself in a new nation-wide competition

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

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EARY of fake online poetry competitions that only want to extract money from unsuspecting writers, Bahamian poet Jermaine Rolle has launched his own local competition that seeks to give young creatives an avenue to express themselves as literary artists.

The Bahamas Poetry Competition is an online poetry contest with three divisions – primary, secondary and a young adults division. Since launching last month, the contest has received avid interest from aspiring poets eligible in the different categories.

“It is the aim of the competition to create an avenue where the youth of the Bahamas can express themselves as literary artists and be appreciated,” Mr Rolle told Tribune Weekend.

He believes that if people are given a platform to display their talents and creativity it will open their eyes to the possibilities that exist.

“So far it appears the young adult category (ages 18 to 30) is the most active, outpacing the primary school

“It is my belief that if we all discover and utilise our talents with passion, the world itself will be enriched.” division and the high school division. I’m encouraged by the interest expressed by students in the Family Islands. It is the intention of the competition to reach every island of the Bahamas. Most surprising is the demand for a division for writers over the age of 30, which may be a consideration next year,” he said.

The Ministry of Education has supplied qualified educators to assist with judging and has facilitated the dissemination of information about the competition throughout the

government schools. The competition also received the approval from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

It is the goal of Bahamas Poetry Competition to also ensure that top competitors are substantially rewarded. In addition, the competition gives the writers pertinent topics to compose a poem about, for example “Bullying” in the primary school division, “The Pros and Cons of Social Media” for high school students, and “Domestic Violence” in the young adult category.

“Firstly, it encourages the writer to think critically about a national issue. Secondly, it allows the writer to conceptually identify the problem and present possible solutions. Thirdly, it challenges the writer to be creative in addressing the topic,” said Mr Rolle.

“The vision of Bahamas Poetry Competition is to discover hidden talent that sparks creativity, that ignites a passion for writing. It is my belief that if we all discover and utilise our talents with passion, the world itself will be enriched.”

Mr Rolle believes that there are countless opportunities that await those who excel at poetry writing.

“One of the most obvious opportunities is for writers to publish books of poetry and follow in the footsteps

of iconic writers like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Shakespeare,” he said.

“However, poetry has served as the gateway for many careers, including songwriting, screenplay writing, playwriting, novel writing, journalism and others. My goal is to spark the creativity that ignites a passion for writing.”

A part from giving people a stage to showcase their talents, Mr Rolle said a competition of this nature also helps individuals exercise their sometimes dormant skills.

“I think students should participate in order to hone the craft of writing. It’s often by being challenged that persons realise the depth of their potential. Additionally, practice doesn’t mean perfection, but often it means progress. For students, I think writing is a skill that is vastly underestimated. The power of the written word improves an individual’s ability to express themselves, which is a useful conflict resolution skill,” he said.

Primary students can sign up for free; high schoolers pay $5, and young adults (18 - 30) pay $15.

For more information about the competition, visit www.bahamaspoetrycompetition.com.

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Friday, March 16, 2018

art

Bahamian artists shine in South Florida

The Bahamian exhibition on display at the Elliott.

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ore than 40 paintings from collections in Nassau travelled to South Florida to form the major part of the exhibition “Celebrate: Art of The Bahamas.”

The exhibition was the result of the collaboration between the Elliott Museum in Stuart, Florida and the

National Art Gallery of the Bahamas.

It featured Bahamian paintings from the national collection as well as works from the D’Aguilar Art Foundation and the Dawn Davies collection, all of which complemented paintings of the Bahamas by South Florida artists Jerry Rose, Howard Schafer and Stephen Scott Young.

Pam Burnside gives an in-depth talk to the museum’s patrons.

Bahamian master artist Max Taylor engages the audience at the Elliott Museum’s artist’s talk.

The exhibit, two years in the making, was the result of friendships between members of the Nassau and Florida art communities. It opened in December 2017 to a group of art enthusiasts from the surrounding counties. On opening night audience of more than 200 guests were treated to a special artist’s talk and demonstration of block printing

by Bahamian master artist Max Taylor.

This was the first time a Bahamian themed show has been held at the Elliott and it exposed a new audience to the historical perspective of the growth of paintings of the Bahamas.

Initially, only itinerant artists who visited the ‘sunny isles’ painted the brilliant landscapes and Bahamian life. These earlier paintings from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries are an historical record of past years and it is educational to see them juxtaposed to the work of the Bahamian artists of a post-independence Bahamas and finally the work of current American painters.

Amanda Coulson, director of the NAGB said: “We were honoured to help coordinate this international exhibit and to share the growth of our national art scene with our near neighbours in South Florid.”

Jenny Esler, the executive director of the Elliott Museum, stated she was overwhelmed with the range and quality of the Bahamian work.

“This exhibit certainly has been a celebration of the Bahamian spirit as seen through the individual artists’ eyes,” she said.

Pam Burnside, widow of the Bahamian master artist Jackson Burnside III, visited the exhibition in February and presented an in-depth gallery talk to the museum’s patrons about the various artworks on display. The exhibition also formed the backdrop for local Martin County’s educator, Thelma Washington’s presentation in honour of National Black History Month. The exhibition closed on 25 February.

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Friday, March 16, 2018

celebrity

PART

I

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

HIT

FAIL

HIT

SPLIT

Eve ”Make It Out This Town”

Halsey ”Bad At Love”

Eris Baker ”This Is Us”

Jenna Dewan-Tatum ”World of Dance”

Karin says: “This kinda sets the tone for this week. It may be mean, but we’re going to see a lot of D-listers, has-beens and pimptastic outfits... like this one here. That being said, I actually think Eve looks very cool.

Yes, the jacket looks like a whole ostrich had to be sacrificed, but it works.”

Cara says: “I love it! I am here for the sacrificing of the ostrich. It’s a lot, yes, but paired with the simple white pants with the high slits, and the sleek top bun, I think it’s fine.”

Karin says: “You Tarzan, me Halsey?...

She always manages to uglify herself somehow. That yellow dye job looks terrible on her. As for that animal print ‘outfit’, what the heck is that half a bow thing covering her crotch?

Hideous. Maybe she was auditioning for another 10,000 BC remake?”

Cara says: “Usually I go wild for animal prints, but this outfit looks likes it was attacked by a herd of fashionhating beasts. Not only is it trashy and unflattering, but it’s too tight as well.”

Karin says: “This is cute, ageappropriate and rock n’ roll all at once! It’s really a hodgepodge of different styles and yet it works. Very ‘80s of course (Hello studded jeans jacket, my old friend!). I could have only dreamed about being this stylish at 12.”

Cara says: “She looks like she is having the best time dressing up. I especially love her lil’ bear ear puffs (I’m sure I have a picture of me wearing my hair like that somewhere). And I love all the individual pieces; they make for one stylish whole.”

Karin says: “Is this like the sexy Halloween version of a matador’s suit?

I think I like the embroidered blackand-red cropped jacket with matching tube top, but I’m not 100 per cent sold on the black shorts with these long bits of fabric hanging down.”

Cara says: “I agree with Karin, I think the top is all right, the embroidery is nice, and it’s a different look, but I don’t know if I like it with the bottoms with it either. It doesn’t really go together.”

PHOTOS BY JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

The Weekend Fashion Report 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards

• See PAGE 16 for more iHeartRadio Music Awards fashions

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

celebrity

PART

II

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

SPLIT

FAIL

HIT

SPLIT

Camila Cabello ”Havana”

Ashanti ”Say Less”

Kehlani ”Nowhere Fast”

Serayah McNeill ”Empire”

Karin says: “This is a mismatched mess, and yet I almost like it. OK, let’s see...we have sheer sleeves, a tuxedo-esque collar, velvet panels..and that’s only the top. It’s like a multiple personality disorder in dress form.”

Cara says: “The absence of the white collar that would have been helpful for starters, because the look is not hideous. I actually like the skirt, but its too playful and fun for the top. There is technically nothing wrong with it, but nothing right with it either.”

Karin says: “She looks like she borrowed some of Hugh Hefner’s fancier signature PJs and threw a on (faux?) fur stole to make it look extra over-the-top. I guess she was feeling like a boss. Sadly, she just looks a bit silly.”

Cara says: “Ashanti looks like she thew up glitter. It does looks very pimpish...where’s pimp hat? But it looks pimpish in that cheap way, not the stylish, making moves way. And the stole just makes an already horrid outfit just look ridiculous.”

Karin says: “Annnd another pimptastic look. That is one ugly coat, and it swallows poor Kehlani whole.

Seriously, where did she find this awful oversized trench coat on steroids?

There is not one redeeming factor about this look.”

Cara says: “I hope she was just really cold and borrowed the first thing she could find. That would excuse this look. What I cannot excuse or forgive are those horrid cheap white shoes. I hate them. And her makeup is just way too severe.”

Karin says: “I think we just saw a very similar look on the red carpet a few weeks ago. I might have been lenient then, but now I’m just tired of this NASCAR looking mess. Unless she rode in on a bike, this was unnecessary.

And way to go being a walking ad for Tommy Hilfiger.”

Cara says: “Model or waitress at a NASCAR event? Sure! Random red carpet outfit? Just no. It is just too costume-y to make sense for a nonethemed event.”

PHOTOS BY JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

The Weekend Fashion Report 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, March 16, 2018

film

review

With Vikander leading, ‘Tomb Raider’ isn’t half bad TOMB RAIDER RUNNING TIME: 118 MINS

I

n “Tomb Raider,” which has elements of “Indiana Jones,” ‘‘Batman” and even “Tron: Legacy,” but with an angsty young woman at the center instead of an angsty young man, Alicia Vikander takes a lot of beatings. She is punched in the face, and in the stomach, she is thrown against rocks and sent careening through a forest, she is impaled, hit by a car, left in an impossible one-handed dead hang at least four times, and she is choked, really choked, by both men and women alike.

And she pulls it off! The movie itself is another, more complicated, story, but this video game adaption is better than most with set pieces that are both fun and ridiculous (like a high-stakes escape room) that actually seem to approximate the experience of playing a video game.

After two pretty lousy attempts, and a lot of terrible video game adaptations on the way, Hollywood has resurrected “Tomb Raider,” and plucked the most recent supporting actress Oscar winner production could get their hands on. And like Angelina Jolie before her, Vikander has, exactly two years after her Academy Award win for an emotional drama, stepped into Lara Croft’s combat boots and decided to raid some tombs.

Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug (”The Wave”), Lara is introduced getting her butt kicked in a boxing ring. The gym membership that gives her access to these low-rent

Lara Croft returns for a new adventure.

Rocky-esque facilities is one she can’t afford to pay. She is scrappy and barely getting by on her bike courier service paycheck. But she’s also not past seeing a random business man on the street, thinking that perhaps it is her long-lost and presumed to be dead father (Dominic West) and going into a hazy flashback dream that distracts her enough to lose focus in the race and flip over a police car.

At the local police station, we learn the truth of Lara: This isn’t some working class girl at all, this is someone who grew up wealthier than most could imagine and whose inheritance won’t kick in until she signs some papers acknowledging that her father, who disappeared seven years ago, is dead. Just as she’s about to concede to her father’s deputy (Kristin Scott Thomas), she stumbles on a clue that sends her on a journey to find out what happened to her father on that remote island off the coast of Japan.

He was looking for some ancient “death queen” named Himiko that we spend the next half of the film talking about and searching for.

Lara swings by Hong Kong first and gets the son of a man her father knew, Lu Ren (a compelling but underused Daniel Wu) to join her on this adventure. One harrowing boat ride later and they’ve smashed into the island

Daniel Wu, left, and Alicia Vikander in a scene from “Tomb Raider.” (Ilze Kitshoff/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) and found themselves in the possession of Vogel (Walton Goggins), a mercenary who is trying to get the mummified Himiko off the island.

It’s here that the film’s set pieces really start to click, and Lara, whose bulging back muscles are shown off at every possible opportunity, is put through the ringer trying to escape from Vogel. That the production put her in cargo pants for the duration and not the Jolie short-shorts is perhaps a sign of progress too.

The film not-so-subtly borrows from a half dozen better films, but even so, there are definitely ways the story of “Tomb Raider” might have been improved.

As it stands, though, “Tomb Raider” is an often fun and visually compelling action pic, that is also sometimes unintentionally silly, with a great actress leading the whole thing.

LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

environment

A pathway to saving the Bahamas’ natural resources Conference seeks to bring scientists and policy-makers together

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

T

he Bahamas Natural Trust is beating “Pathways to Conservation” as it hosts what organisers are calling the country’s biggest science conference to date.

The Bahamas Natural History Conference is set to return next week for its fourth instalment featuring leading international scientists.

The conference will highlight more than 60 presenters and feature 13 workshops, which meetings taking place over the course of four days, beginning Monday, March 19, at the Baha Mar Convention Centre.

Even with a great amount of scientific research done throughout the Bahamas over the past decades, organisers noted that much of the information on the natural history of this country has so far only been accessible through libraries overseas or by paying for access to journals.

They believe conferences like this offer a great avenue for getting important information to resource managers,

decision-makers and the public at large.

The Bahamas Natural History Conference (BNHC) is the first of its kind for New Providence. The first instalment has held in 2013, attracting local and international researchers, educators, natural resource managers, students and naturalists.

Now, five years later, the conference aims to inspire the creation of new avenues for research and cooperation across disciplines while highlighting the benefits of studies of the environment, economy and society of the Bahamas.

Organisers said that many of the guests over the years attested that this conference marked the beginning of a more direct dialogue between the scientific community and national decision-makers.

This year’s guests will include Dr J Drew Lanham, the Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, South Carolina; Matthew Rand, director of Global Ocean Legacy at the Pew Charitable Trusts; David Campbell, author of the “Ephemeral Islands; Dr Caroline Stahala”, and marine biologist Dr Dean Grubbs, who will be giving a presentation on “The Secret Seahorses of Eleuthera”.

Topics will include botany, birds, invasive species, changing climates, marine resources and the human element. There will also be a protected plants roundtable, a sustainability funding workshop, and a screening of the film “An Ocean Mystery, the

“It is known that conservation achievement cannot happen through the advancement of science alone, and likewise, policy change cannot be embraced without public support.”

Missing Catch” narrated by actor and ocean conservationist Ted Danson.

Shelley Cant-Woodside, BNT director of Science and BNHC organiser, said the theme “Pathways to Conservation” emphasises the need to align a multidisciplinary approach within the diverse sectors to ensure successful conservation success of natural resources.

“It is known that conservation achievement cannot happen through the advancement of science alone, and likewise, policy change cannot be

Dr David Campbell, author of “The Ephemeral Islands: A Natural History of the Bahamas”

BNT Director of Parks Lakeshia Anderson

embraced without public support,” said Ms Cant-Woodside.

“It is the integration of these different and complex components that are the pathways to conservation success.

So BNHC’s theme is important as we think of future conferences, but more importantly in this conference we are seeing a number of organisations and scientists use the conference as an opportunity to talk about the future of the species they are studying. The Conch Clinic scheduled for the first day of the conference brings together stakeholders and researchers.”

She believes through this conference, the BNT can reach a larger audience, disseminate natural history information and provide a venue and opportunity for students to interact with scientific professionals who through their influence can open doors to both academic and practical careers for students interested in environmental science.

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, March 16, 2018

gardening

The secret to cuttings Growing something from cuttings can be challenging, but not when you follow the plant’s natural design, says Jack Hardy.

T

he normal way of reproducing a plant is the method used by the plant, which generally is seedage. Growing true to type fruit trees such as mango from seed is more or less impossible so grafting is used to establish a section of the parent tree on suitable root stock. Many hardwood trees can be propagated by air layers where a limb is rooted while still attached to the parent tree. Softwood shrubs are much easier to deal with and can be propagated with simple cuttings.

Some shrubs are easy to propagate from cuttings and others, like bougainvillea, are easy but take much longer to root than, say, hibiscus. The whole concept behind cuttings is to employ the plant’s natural design. If you look at a stem on a shrub you will notice points at which foliage and then branches will grow. These are growth nodes and may be several inches apart or clustered close together, as in crotons. The nodes may be bumps or look like scars.

An amazing feature of these nodes is that if they are buried below ground they will produce roots instead of foliage. If you take a short section of dracaena and lay it flat on the ground

Check for growth nodes to determine where to make the cut. and keep it moist you will in short order see shoots coming from the top exposed nodes and, on further investigation, find that the nodes touching the ground have produced roots.

There are many variations that can be employed in establishing cuttings.

With hog plums, for instance, all the rules are broken and you can establish a new tree by planting a large section of branch with full foliage as long as you do it at fruiting time.

The timing of making cuttings is important. As we head into spring we will have several months – until midsummer – when cuttings are easiest to establish. If you try to make cuttings in the fall you will have a higher rate of failure because the metabolism of the plant has decreased compared with spring. In this case you may wish to use a rooting hormone powder when you plant cuttings but rooting hormone is not necessary for spring plantings. The right time to make cuttings is now and the next few months.

Thick cuttings are easier to establish than thin ones. The roots are formed

from a very thin green layer between the wood core and the bark. Cut a whole limb from the centre of your donor shrub and then work from the bottom up. Find the lowest growth node and make a 45 degree cut starting about a quarter inch below the node.

This angled cut will close to double the amount of active green layer in contact with your potting medium. Make the next cut straight across just above a growth node about ten inches from your initial cut. Keep doing this until the limb starts getting thin or lacks bark.

The next stage is to remove all foliage. Some experienced gardeners will leave small budding growth in place but total removal of foliage is standard procedure. You now have a number of 10-inch cuttings ready to pot. There is no need for cuttings to be any longer than this. Too much wood below ground invites rot and too much height will create movement from the wind that will break tiny roots as they try to develop.

I should mention here that plants with milky sap such as frangipani should be allowed to dry out for a few days to a week just lying in the sun.

The ideal is to plant one cutting in a three-gallon pot filled with good potting mix and an extra handful or two of perlite to provide aeration and a degree of water retention. Once the cutting is well rooted and has lots of foliage it can be transplanted to its permanent growing location. If you put several cuttings in one pot you will have to disentangle the roots and have a much messier – and riskier – transplantation.

Although your cuttings will have a sharp end, resist the temptation to push them into the soil. Bury the bottom four or five inches by making a hole and then easing the soil back around the cutting. Firm the soil in place and water well initially. Watering thereafter should be light but frequent, maintaining moisture content but not over-watering.

The time it takes to establish an individual plant depends on the plant.

Crotons and dracaenas are fast rooters while Mussaenda seem to take forever.

Patience!

It is possible to make cuttings from the green – and fast-growing – ends of branches. For this you need a plastic storage bin from your local hardware outlet that is clear or translucent and has a tight-fitting lid. Drill drainage holes in the bottom and add about six inches of potting mix with lots of perlite. Water just enough to dampen throughout and plant your tip cuttings. Seal the lid and place the bin where it gets good light but no direct sun. Forget about it for two or three months. Your tip cuttings will be more delicate than hardwood cuttings but will grow faster and develop flowers quicker.

I have found that the end crowns of Bridal Bouquet frangipani are quite easy to root if protected from the sun. The crown flowers as a potted ornamental as the roots develop.

Remember this when a summer squall breaks off Bridal Bouquet limbs, which invariably happens.

• For questions and comments, e-mail gardenerjack@coralwave.com.

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

carnival

‘Jewels of Desire’ are ready to hit the road Masqueraders unveil 2018 costumes

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

T

he 2018 Carnival season is just around the corner and one group has decided to go big with its costumes this year by putting the creativity and craftsmanship of industry veterans on display.

The Bahamas Masqueraders have officially launched their “Jewels of Desire” line featuring elaborate headpieces, huge feathers, colourful embroidery and rhinestone details.

“We wanted to showcase the depth and uniqueness of our designers who collectively have over 30 years experience in Junkanoo, costume engineering and fashion design. The Bahamas is

considered the jewel of the Caribbean, and jewels represent the finest one has to offer,” said Beverton Moxey, Masqueraders co-founder.

The group also boasts co-founders Anton Dean and Rafel Dean, several acclaimed Bahamian fashion designers, musicians, artists, deejays and legendary Junkanooers.

It’s the group’s goal to passionately share their love for the local culture, music, dance, food, people and the breathtaking beauty of the Bahamas.

“We treasure our Masqueraders, just as one would their jewels, who continue to support us each and every year. The theme ‘Jewels of Desire’ pays homage to them for their loyalty. They are Bahamas Masqueraders royalty and we wish to provide them with a memorable luxurious experience,” said Mr Moxey.

The costumes are divided into four sections named after precious stones: Diamond Obsession, Ruby Royale, Sapphire Seduction and Topaz Luxe.

The Diamond Obsession costumes, Mr Moxey said, “are simply flawless”.

“These diamonds may be imitated but never duplicated,” he said.

When it comes to the Ruby Royale costumes, he is certain this par-

“There is definitely an appetite for Carnival and we need to feed this.”

ticular section will help revellers express their passion and celebrate the freedom Carnival brings with it. “The red of the ruby is the scintillating fire within; let it burn,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Sapphire Seduction costumes were inspired by the kings and queens of a bacchanal. He said for each person in this section, the road will become theirs and they alone can lay claim to the palatial jewels.

Lastly, the Topaz Luxe offers a sacred space to the gates of paradise.

“All of our costumes will feature the finest of jewels, the best quality of feathers and the highest level of craftsmanship. Every year our goal is to provide our members with a bigger and better experience that exceeds what they have experienced with us previously and that goes beyond any expectation they could have imagined in terms of costuming, customer service and overall road fever product,” said Mr Moxey.

With the Bahamas Masqueraders, Mr Moxey said participants can look forward to a premium all-inclusive Carnival experience powered by the group’s title sponsor BTC. “Bahamas Masqueraders has solidified its brand and we intend to take this brand to the world with the message that Bahamas Carnival is here to stay. We intend, along with the Bahamas Carnival Band Owners Association, to let the world know that there is no other place to be during the first weekend in May than in Nassau at Bahamas Carnival,” said Mr Moxey.

“It is exhilarating to have come this far, as it represents a sense of achievement and we are extremely proud to be one of the founding bands of Bahamas

Friday, March 16, 2018

Carnival. We have celebrated many successes in the past four years.”

Just this month, the group partnered with the Eleuthera Fete Crew for their first ever Carnival launch event. With this partnership and more, Mr Moxey said group members are excited for the upcoming festival season.

“They are showing up daily at our Mas Camp. The energy level is high and we are planning for an unbelievable Carnival Road Fever experience,” he said “Up next is our Glow Fete on March 23, and this will be followed by the Ultimate Sail Away and Beach Fete on Easter Monday. We will also kick off our Soca Samplas events this month and this will happen every Friday until April 27.”

When asked about his thoughts on the recent privatisation of Carnival festival, Mr Moxey said the Masqueraders are all about giving international visitors a taste of the Bahamas, in effort

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

to entice them to come back again and again.

“We recognised that this comes with great responsibility and dedication.

As one of the largest bands, we are committed to providing our Masqueraders and sponsors with the best product. There is definitely an appetite for Carnival and we need to feed this,” said Mr Moxey.

“For our tourism product, the spin-off is huge. A successful Carnival will translate into thousands of heads and beds for our hotels and taxi drivers. Carnival provides the perfect platform for many job opportunities. In terms of costume production, we have a team of designers and production assistants working four to five months out of the year now.

Imagine the year-round employment as this festival continues to grow and the Bahamas Masqueraders’ Diamond Obsession (white), Sapphire numbers dictate the production of even Seduction (blue), Ruby Royale (red) and Topaz Luxe (gold) costumes. more costumes.”

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

literary lives – saki (hh munro)

A master of acerbic wit and social satire Sir Christopher Ondaatje reminds us of the brilliantly acerbic Edwardian short story writer.

J

ohn Sutherland, the Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of English Literature at University College, London introduces Saki in his erudite “Lives of the Novelists”: “No writer more trenchantly diagnosed the deposits of savagery beneath the high sheen of Edwardian society than “Saki”. Hector Hugh Munro (his birth name) was born in Burma. In an event which rivals the grotesque of his later stories, his mother died of shock after being charged by a runaway cow on a lane in rural Wessex.

His father was a serving officer in Burma (the family had strong Scottish military traditions), with only six weeks’ furlough every four years. In what was effectively an orphan, if not impoverished condition, the three Munro children – of whom Hector was the youngest – were entrusted to the care of two maiden aunts near Barnstaple, Devon. ‘Care’ is not the word the Munro offspring would have used.

Aunts Charlotte and Augusta hated each other and created a domestic climate that verged on ‘mental cruelty’,

H H Munro, alias Saki, (1870 – 1916) as Ethel Munro (Saki’s sister) recalled.

Graham Greene, that connoisseur of lost childhoods, saw Saki’s as one of the most creatively lost in literature.

He channelled his bitterness into therapeutic dark comedy.”

Hector Hugh Munro, far better known by his pen name “Saki”, and frequently as H H Munro, is often compared to O Henry and Dorothy Parker as master of the short story. He

was influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling – and he himself influenced A A Milne, Noël Coward and P G Wodehouse.

H H Munro was born on December 18 1870 in Akyab, Burma – then still part of the British Raj, and run from Calcutta under the authority of the Viceroy of India. He was the son of Charles Augustus Munro, an Inspector General for the Indian Imperial Police.

He was married to Mary Frances

Mercer, when was charged by a cow, miscarried, and never recovered.

The children were sent to Pilton village near Barnstaple in Devon, where they were subjugated to be raised by their grandmother and two maiden aunts in a strict and puritanical household. They were educated by governesses, and when young Munro was 13 years old he was boarded at Bedford School. When their father retired, the children accompanied him on his extensive European travels.

Hector followed his father into the Indian Imperial Police in Burma in 1893, but recurring bouts of malaria forced him to return to England.

He had already discovered his talent for writing and moved to London in 1896 as a journalist for the Westminster Gazette, Daily Express, and Morning Post. His first book, “The Rise of the Russian Empire”, was published in 1900 to a disappointing response. So he turned to political satire, “Alice in Downing Street”, using his pen name Saki for the first time. Francis Carruthers Gould did the sketches for the book, which was first published in the Westminster Gazette.

In 1902, he worked as a foreign correspondent for The Morning Post, which sent him first to the Balkans and then to Russia where he witnessed the 1905 revolution in St Petersberg.

He went on to Paris, after which he returned to London in 1908. He wrote sketches for The Morning Post, Bystander and Westminster Gazette, and lived at 97 Mortimer Street in Fitzrovia. He played bridge at the Cocoa Street Club and lived a simple solitary life. “Reginald in Russia” appeared in 1910, “The Chronicles of Clovis” in 1911, and “Beasts and Super-Beasts” in 1914. Many other short stories appeared in various newspapers, some not published during his lifetime.

Munro was homosexual at a time when sexual activity between men was a crime – so that part of Saki’s life was kept secret. The scandal and downfall of Oscar Wilde in 1895 had been a

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, March 16, 2018

Saki’s short stories were often mischievous and macabre, and satirised Edwardian society.

A YOUNG Hector Hugh Munro stern warning to those who broke the law.

Saki (a name commonly thought to be taken from the cup bearer in the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam) produced two novels, “The Unbearable Bassington” (1912), and “When William Came” (1913), but neither was to achieve the fame or acclaim of his poisonous, sarcastic short stories, which contrasted the convention and hypocrisies of Edwardian England. His effete and advanced Reginald stories and anecdotes produced a wide range of tone and were gathered into book form in 1904. They enjoyed a second success when published in hard covers.

The stories include Saki’s most famous phrase: “She was a good cook, as cooks go, and as cooks go, she went.”

The cruelty of his childhood beginnings seems to have been channelled into therapeutic dark comedy. In literature Saki slaughtered his vindictive maiden aunts over and over again, none more so than his memorable “Sredni Vashtar” in which story the boy Conradin has a tame, but incorrigibly vicious polecat-ferret, his most treasured possession. As John Sutherland summarises: “Conradin keeps Sredni, whom he has invested with divine properties, hidden in the back garden. His guardian, the odious Mrs De Ropp (a thinly

A photo taken of H H Munro as he served in the trenches of World War I. disguised Aunt Augusta) goes into the shed to investigate – and, if necessary, undertake some vermin extermination.

However, as she peers into the hutch, it is she who is exterminated.

“Conradin is sickly, but revives amazingly after he realises his aunt is lying dead with a blood-guzzling ferret at her throat. The story ends: ‘Whoever will break the news to the poor child? I couldn’t for the life of me!’ exclaimed a shrill voice. And while they debated the matter among themselves, Conradin made himself another piece of toast.”

In many of Saki’s stories, stuffy authoritarian elders are set against unrealistic forces of nature – polecats, hyenas, tigers. Adults, even if they are not eaten or killed, usually come off second best. “Gabriel-Ernest” about a feral werewolf; “The Interlopers” documenting hostile families in the Carpathian Mountains attacked by wolves; “The Schwartz-Metterklume Method” about a mischievous governess; “Esme” about a baroness and a friend who encounter a hyena while out fox-hunting; “Tobermory” about a guest at a country-house party who boasts that he has perfected a procedure for teaching animals human speech – with tragic consequences; “The Bull” about a farmer whose disliked artist half-brother boasts that his painting of a bull has realised £300 – much more than the worth of the farmer’s prize bull; and “The Open Window” about a witty 15-year old girl who invents a ghostly story for

a visiting relation who is so terrified that he refuses to stay in the house.

When questioned why he has left, the young niece explains that the visitor was afraid of dogs since he had been hunted by a pack of stray dogs in India and had to spend a night in a newly dug grave with the creatures grinning and foaming just above him. The last line summarises the story, saying of the niece, “Romance at short notice was her speciality.”

They are marvellous, effective, acid stories in droplet form.

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, H H Munro was 43 years old and officially too old to enlist. However, true to his ancient clan blood, he joined the 2nd King Edward’s Horse regiment as an ordinary trooper, refusing a commission. He was later transferred to the 22nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers where he rose to the rank of Lance Sergeant. He insisted on serving at the Front although he was over age and incapacitated by malaria. More than once he had returned to the battlefield when officially too sick or injured.

On a dark winter morning in November 1916, in the lines alongside the blood-soaked village of BeaumontHamel during the battle of the Ancre, the troops, standing around, sank to the ground to rest. Munro sought the refuge of a shallow shell crater with the lip as a back-rest. A friend engaged him in conversation. His friend then heard him shout, “Put that bloody cigarette out!” and heard the sharp snap of a rifle shot. A sharp eyed sniper had got him.

Saki once wrote: “To have reached thirty is to have failed in life.”

He had reached 45. H H Munro is listed on the Thiepval Memorial as one of the many soldiers whose bodies were never found. His sister Ethel Munro methodically destroyed all his personal papers, thus preserving forever the secrets of his life. We know more about his death than is life.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of “The Last Colonial”. The author acknowledged that he has quoted liberally from “Saki: A Life of Hector Hugh Munro” by A J Langguth, “Biography” by Ethel M. Munro, Wikipedia, and “The Satire of Saki” by George James Spears.

NEXT WEEK: The life of one of Hollywood’s most brilliant and versatile filmmakers.

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

history

Did Abraham Lincoln’s bromance alter the course of American history?

(THE CONVERSATION) In the spring of 1837, a “long, gawky, ugly, shapeless man” walked into Joshua Speed’s dry goods store in Springfield, Illinois, requesting supplies for a bed.

Speed said the cost would be US$17, which ended up being too pricey for the visitor, who asked instead for credit until Christmas. The 23-yearold Speed was nonetheless taken with this stranger; he “threw such charm around him” and betrayed a “perfect naturalness.”

The stranger was none other than a 28-year-old Abraham Lincoln, a quarter-century before he would take the oath as the 16th US president.

Speed spontaneously came up with an alternative plan. He said he had a large room upstairs above the store and a double bed he was happy to share. Without a word, Lincoln picked up saddlebags that contained his life’s possessions and walked upstairs. He came back down and said, with a big smile, “Well, Speed, I’m moved.”

So began what would become one of the most important friendships in American history. It was a friendship that proved redemptive for Lincoln, helping him through two serious, suicidal bouts of depression that threatened his relationship with his future wife and his political ambitions. It is a story I tell in my new book, “Your Friend Forever, A. Lincoln: The Enduring Friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed.”

Love and loss After Lincoln moved in, the two men became inseparable, sharing stories, feelings, fears, hopes and dreams.

Speed intensely idealised the impressive, articulate and very funny Lincoln, who in turn felt safe opening up to his younger friend. They shared that common bed for nearly four years, though all the evidence suggests their relationship was not

sexual. It was, instead, a paradigmatic 19th-century male friendship.

Lincoln especially struggled with intimacy. His first love, Ann Rutledge, had died suddenly in 1835, leaving him distraught. When he moved to Springfield, Lincoln was not in a good place. But he was still hopeful for love.

In late 1839, 21-year-old Mary Todd moved to Springfield from Lexington, Kentucky. Mary moved in with her older sister, Elizabeth Edwards, and her husband, Ninian, in their imposing mansion. A sprightly, appealing woman, Mary was fluent in French, could cite long passages of poetry from memory, had an excellent sense of humour and closely followed politics.

Lincoln met her at a soiree in the Edwards’ mansion – he often attended these events with Speed – and became immediately enchanted with Mary. By the following summer, the two were engaged to be married, with a date set for January 1, 1841.

But in a move that has baffled historians, Lincoln broke off the engagement in late December 1840 and fell into a suicidal depression.

Bedridden, he was prone to hallucinations, and his friends were worried enough to hide his razor.

What historians haven’t noted – and what I was able to discover in the course of my research – is that Speed, whose father had died in the spring of 1840, had been planning to return to Louisville, Kentucky, to straighten out the affairs of the family’s large plantation. In August and September, Speed began to post notices in the local paper, calling in his debts as he prepared to sell his store and return to Louisville.

Speed ended up not leaving until the spring of 1841. But in the fall of 1840, as his marriage to Mary Todd approached, Lincoln lived with the prospect of losing his best friend.

My argument is that Lincoln became confused – even panicked – at the

looming loss of Speed coupled with the fastapproaching wedding date.

A brief reunion Late in the summer of 1841, Lincoln visited Speed’s Louisville plantation. Reunited, the friends took long walks together, and Speed’s mother, Lucy, doted on Lincoln. Around this time, Speed met and quickly became engaged to Fanny Henning – at which point he also got depressed, just as Lincoln had earlier in the year.

Speed’s fears of intimacy, as he later wrote in a letter, mirrored those of Lincoln. He even feared being separated again from his friend and ended up returning to Springfield for the rest of the fall to be with Lincoln.

But by the end of the year, Speed felt he needed to go back to Kentucky to prepare for his marriage in February. It was wrenching for both men to be separated again.

During those first two months of 1842, Lincoln wrote a remarkable series of letters to Speed leading up to the marriage on February 15.

(Unfortunately, we don’t have Speed’s replies.)

“You know my desire to befriend you is everlasting,” Lincoln wrote in one of these letters, “that I will never cease, while I know how to do any thing.”

Lincoln’s special knowledge of Speed’s inner life pervades the very fabric of the letters. “Feeling, as I know you do,” begins the very first sentence of the first letter. In another letter, Lincoln notes, “You well know that I do not feel my own sorrows much more keenly than I do yours.”

“You will feel very badly,” he says knowingly of Speed’s fears about consummating the marriage. And later: “…it is the peculiar misfortune of both you and me, to dream dreams of Elysium (paradise in classical mythology) far exceeding all that any thing earthly can realise.”

Abraham Lincoln as a young man.

Testing the waters of intimacy As Speed’s marriage approached, Lincoln projected his own confused fantasies onto his friend to vicariously test the waters of intimacy. (Lincoln and Mary Todd, at that point, weren’t in contact.)

It seems Speed barely tumbled out of his wedding bed on the morning of February 16 to write his friend of his successful consummation – and how the roof didn’t fall in – which elicited a fervid response from Lincoln: “I received yours of the 12th written the day you went down to William’s place, some days since; but delayed answering it, till I should receive the promised one, of the 16th, which came last night. I opened that latter, with intense anxiety and trepidation – so much, that although it turned out better than I expected, I have hardly yet, at the distance of ten hours, become calm.”

It’s remarkable to think that the 33-year-old Abraham Lincoln was still feeling anxious a full 10 hours after reading the news of Speed’s successful wedding. Was this an emotional turning point for Lincoln? It’s as if his fears of intimacy were suddenly allayed: If Joshua could do it, so could he. Within a few months, he resumed his courtship of Mary Todd, who had graciously waited for him.

They married on November 4, 1842.

Lincoln would remain often sad and melancholy, but he was never again clinically depressed and suicidal. His friendship with Speed proved therapeutic, even redemptive.

Charles B Strozier City University of New York

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, March 16, 2018

history

The Glass Window Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha

St Patrick

This weekend in world history “Some charming excursions may be made from Harbour Island: one to the Glass Windows, a limestone arch eightyfive feet above the sea. In 1872 a very extraordinary tidal wave rose without warning, washing under the arch and entirely over the island, carrying away several young people who were picnicing there.” (Harpers New Monthly Magazine, 1874)

“T

he most beautiful place from space.”

– Scott Kelly

American NASA astronaut Scott Kelly wrote of the Bahamas: “A large archipelago with a stunning contrast from light to dark colours. The vibrant deep blue of the ocean mixes with a much brighter turquoise, swirled with something almost like gold, where the sun bounces off the sandy shallows and reefs.”

Why then would any Bahamian, when describing the shallow water side of Eleuthera’s Glass Window Bridge, disown the uniquely beautiful Bahamian water of the Great Bahama Bank and erroneously refer to it as “the shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea”.

Let us not forget that most of the Caribbean Sea is not shallow. Between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands it is 25,217 feet deep.

In 1492, Columbus made the first recorded crossing of the Atlantic

Ocean and landed on the island of today’s San Salvador, at the western edge of the Atlantic, where we still are.

I grew up in a Bahamas where Bahamians did not like being called West Indians and we were proud that our 700 islands are not in the Caribbean Sea. West Indians were our friends from places like Trinidad, Jamaica and many islands in between, including Barbados – though Barbados, too, is geographically in the Atlantic. Many of those West Indians stayed here and contributed their talents to the Bahamas.

Nevertheless, at boarding school in England, I was happy to identify with the West Indies Cricket Team when they beat England at Lords for the very first time.

The spin bowling pair of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine became household names in England, thanks to the poem “Victory Calypso”.

In recent years, the terms ‘Caribbean Basin’ and ‘the Caribbean’ have found their way into our vocabulary,

though I’m not sure what they define.

Perhaps we fit into that description, but that does not move us into the Caribbean Sea. As Europeans, led by Spaniards, settled in the Americas, Panama became a hub of the Spain’s New World and the waters to the south of the Isthmus of Panama were the South Sea. Today we know it as the Pacific Ocean, though we still romanticise about the exotic South Sea Islands.

Logically, the waters between Panama and Yucatan, Cuba and the Antilles were the North Sea, as clearly shown on old maps of the area. Much later, in recognition of the original Carib inhabitants of many of the islands, the name was changed to the Caribbean Sea, of which the Bahama Islands are not a part. Great Inagua, the closest island to the Caribbean Sea, is more than 50 miles away.

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

March 16

• 1850 – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of adultery and betrayal in colonial America, “The Scarlet Letter”, is published.

• 1926 – American Robert H Goddard successfully launches the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket travelled for 2.5 seconds at a speed of about 60 mph, reaching an altitude of 41 feet.

March 17 • 461 – Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, dies at Saul, Downpatrick, where he had built his first church.

• 1905 – Albert Einstein finishes his scientific paper detailing his Quantum Theory of Light, one of the foundations of modern physics.

March 18 • 1911 – Irving Berlin copyrights the biggest pop song of the early 20th century, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, a multimillion-selling smash hit.

• 1965 – Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

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

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

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CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Healing service for which the pay’s too uncertain (10) 6 French country is profitable (4) 10 Money of European country drops a point (5) 11 Latin to a disgusting extent (2,7) 12 Stay for an execution (8) 13 Everything unqualified (5) 15 He flies from Moldavia to Rumania (7) 17 Cooked me instead! (7) 19 Parts that should be easy to grasp (7) 21 Concentrated on treating tennis elbow initially (7) 22 Expose oneself to some vain curiosity (5) 24 Tail does perhaps become cut off (8) 27 Trade died badly, if workers were so weary (4,5) 28 A bit on the side? (5) 29 Sounds like the way for a bit of junketing (4) 30 Will it give a ghostly light? (6,4)

o c i c E t TarGeT THe aLP

Yesterday’s solution: CoUnT, PoLLs (across or down)

Down 1 Fools break up the sofa (4) 2 Actor that is serious at reading farce (9) 3 Award for a zero mark? (5) 4 No expert, but someone of a mature disposition (7) 5 The runs arranged for horses (7) 7 Get involved with an intermediary (5) 8 Ordinary fare? (6,4) 9 Result of division not quite correct (8) 14 Light that goes up and down (4,6) 16 Permit - strange to relate (8) 18 Little laughter is heard from this brave wife (9) 20 It’s important to one’s standing as a rider (7) 21 Tidy description of a friar? (2,5) 23 Girl left in charge (5) 25 Sailor a short distance nearer the stern (5) 26 Prevent mugs getting knocked over (4)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Marshal, 5 Heave, 8 Right-wing, 9 Lad, 10 Luck, 12 Leftover, 14 Centre, 15 Ice age, 17 Of a piece, 18 Tend, 21 Sin, 22 Temporary, 24 Surly, 25 Nonstop.

Down: 1 Moral, 2 Rig, 3 Hate, 4 Loiter, 5 High-tech, 6 Alleviate, 7 Endorse, 11 Container, 13 Artistry, 14 Croesus, 16 Acumen, 19 Dry up, 20 Go on, 23 Apt.

*SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390 Hip, Sequencer, Civic,

Today’s TarGeT Good 18; very good 27; excellent 36 (or more). solution tomorrow.

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Forts, Proxy. down: Persona, Resow, Fez, Exhume, Deism, Jabberwocky, Space, Forcer, Got, Index, Ability.

Extra letter clues

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

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Avenues, 5 Moses, 8 Testament, 9 Ale, 10 Yves, 12 Strike up, 14 Ration, 15 Bazaar, 17 Pomander, 18 Veil, 21 Ego, 22 Oppresses, 24 Sheet, 25 Roister.

Down: 1 Aptly, 2 Ems, 3 Utah, 4 Siesta, 5 Mythical, 6 Stage name, 7 Sleeper, 11 Extempore, 13 Point out, 14 Repress, 16 Temper, 19 Loser, 20 Peri, 23 Set.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Bizarre (10) 6 Accompanied by (4) 10 Magic formula of words (5) 11 Bill (9) 12 Carthaginian general (8) 13 Furry aquatic mammal (5) 15 Equivocal (7) 17 Quiet (7) 19 Communication (7) 21 Amplify (7) 22 To guide (5) 24 Acclaim (8) 27 Bring in (9) 28 Stage in development (5) 29 Want (4) 30 As regards oneself (10)

Down 1 Expel (4) 2 On the other hand (4,5) 3 Exhausted (3,2) 4 Made to last (7) 5 Temporal (7) 7 Fool (5) 8 Big gambler (4,6) 9 Huge (8) 14 Discernment (10) 16 Idleness (8) 18 Anticipate (9) 20 Defame (7) 21 Directly stated (7) 23 Supple (5) 25 Trembling poplar (5) 26 Depend (4)

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

*SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390

full solution

0907 181 2558

R S T U V W X Y Z

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*Calls cost 80p per minute 21 plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

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PLay More Cross

The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, March 16, 2018

animals Animal matters Kim Aranha

PET OF THE WEEK

$5k for 5k

Purposeful Petra

By The Bahamas Humane Society

“H

ello! My name’s Petra. No, I’m not the city in Jordan, but rather a lovely two-yearold potcake at the Bahamas Humane Society. I’m waiting to be adopted and hoping you’ll come and take me home. I love to go for walks. However, I’m strong on the lead, so let Mom or Dad do the walking, OK kids? I do love children and other dogs, but it would be safer if there were no cats in my prospective home. I’m very smart and could be trained to be an indoor dog. But indoors or outdoors, I’ll be sure to guard your home as if it were my own, which it will be after you adopt me, right?

“The BHS is a no-kill shelter so I can stay here as long as needed, but please come in to check me out between 11am and 4pm, Monday to Friday, or 10am to 4pm on Saturday, or call 323-5138 for more information. I am eager to make your acquaintance!”

PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

A

year ago, in fact a year ago, tomorrow, March 17, I decided to opt for a healthier way of life and started to live differently. I changed how and what I ate. I started working out and going to the gym, and I totally changed my sleeping habits. Healthy food, daily visits to the gym, early to bed and early to raise...

Subsequently, I feel younger and far better.

Back in November my niece, marathon runner Dr Kathryn de Souza, challenged me to compete in a 5K race in Rome, Italy. I love the city, but I had never thought of doing something like that before.

The challenge was very real and I spent many hours a week getting ready for the event.

Last month, I decided to write to friends and ask them if they would sponsor me by donating funds to the Bahamas Humane Society. An appropriate amount to raise would be $5k for 5k – $5,000 for five kilometres, the length of the course.

At first I thought that perhaps I was being a little cheeky asking for people to give me money for participating in a challenge, but then I figured, if the animals benefit, what could possibly be wrong?

The response has been really pretty amazing. I wrote a group letter to many people in my address book. I apologised to those who were not interested, but wrote to them anyway, just in case.

Some people sponsored me with a flat rate and others sponsored me per kilometre. Either way was good with me. So far I have surpassed the targeted $5,000 handsomely and still have quite a few pledges to come in that I have to collect.

The weather in Rome was chilly and very wet...rain, rain and more rain. Last Sunday was a bleak day, with steel grey clouds. At eight in the morning I found myself surrounded by 15,000 runners all waiting for their specific wave to start. It was a fascinating experience and something I had never been part of before.

Unfortunately, I was suffering from the flu, and the temptation to declare myself unfit was very tempting, but I had travelled many thousands of miles to be in this event and I had lots of donation money for the shelter riding on my ability to compete and complete. So in spite of the rain, the cough, runny nose and cold weather, I am proud to say that I completed the challenge in honour of all the animals the Bahamas Humane Society rescues yearly.

It was an awesome experience and made even more so by the support re-

ceived from my friends who so generously sponsored me. It is still not too late if the spirit of generosity moves you. I shall be happily receiving funds through the end of this month. Donations can be made by cheque to the Bahamas Humane Society or on the website: www.bahamashumanesociety. com by clicking on the “donate today” button and providing your credit card information.

I returned to Nassau on Tuesday night and was greeted by my happy potcakes who didn’t know what I had been up to but gave me such a

Kim Aranha at the end of her 5k challenge in Rome, Italy with her niece and inspiration, Dr Kathryn de Souza.

welcome that I felt they just may have known more than I thought.

The success of my sponsorship made me think that perhaps fundraising needs to be approached in many different manners and that people enjoy contributing in different ways; not everybody is attracted by the same appeals.

Now, if I can ever get rid of the residue of this Italian-grown influenza I can back on track and find another challenge that will inspire me to move out of my comfort zone and reach for more. This has certainly shown me that you are never too old to take on new challenges. On the contrary, it helps keep you alive and younger.

We all have special interests and gifts and it should be encouraged to use those qualities to help those who cannot help themselves. So many organisations are looking for support and volunteers, there are so many of us out there, that there should be more than enough help to go around and assist all the worthy organisations in the Bahamas.

Each journey starts with a single step. Every donation goal starts with the first dollar. You know what they say: “Reach for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.”

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 16, 2018

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