03212021 WEEKEND

Friday, March 12, 2021

interview entertainment film fashion puzzles animals community

Weekend

BOYS’ FASHION Page 10

Power move Bahamian becomes top chef at electrifying Disney venue

pgs 4+5

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

entertainment

Gear up for St Paddy’s Day with films and shows all about Ireland

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

T

his weekend, sit back, relax, grab a Guinness, or pour yourself a glass of Baileys, and get a head start on the 2021 St Patrick Day’s festivities. To help get you in the mood to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint on March 17, here are eight movies and television shows whose characters and stunning scenery will make you fall in love with the Emerald Isle.

of tea and never takes no for an answer. Despite their isolation, the priests get into some seriously comical situations.

Movies

TV shows “Derry Girls” Fans of the regency era hit “Bridgerton” will immediately recognise a familiar face in this comedy show set in the 1990s: Nicola Coughlan aka Penelope Featherington. (It also star SaoirseMonica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Dylan Llewellyn.)

“Derry Girls” is set in Derry Northern Ireland during The Troubles of ‘90s and follows a group of friends who attend an all-girl Catholic school.

Despite the seriousness of the time period, the show is genuinely funny and heartwarming all at once. Consider it the Irish equivalent of Beverly Hills 90210 , but with more realistic family incomes.

“Ballykissinagel” This dramatic series follows the journey of a young priest, Father Peter Clifford (Stephen Tompkinson), who has been sent to minister in the small Irish town of Ballykissangel, much to the skepticism of the locals. What follows is a charming rendition of small-town drama and some very strong recurring chemistry between Father Clifford and pub owner Assumpta Fitzgerald (Dervla Kirwan). “Ballykissangel” was filmed in the village of Avoca in County Wicklow, Ireland.

DERRY Girls

LEAP Year

“In the Name of the Father” Daniel Day Lewis, Emma Thompson and Pete Postlewaite star in this movie based on the true life story of the Guildford Four – a group of people falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombing which killed four off-duty officers and a civilian. The story of their journey as they fight to prove their innocence makes for fascinating viewing. It received Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Pete Postlethwaite), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Emma Thompson), Best Director, and Best Picture.

“Leap Year” In this romantic road trip comedy, New York real estate worker Anna Brady (Amy Adams) heads to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on leap day, when tradition supposedly holds that men cannot refuse a woman’s proposal for marriage. Her plans are interrupted, however, by a series of events and are further complicated when she hires an Irish innkeeper (Matthew Goode) to take her to her boyfriend in Dublin. It’s pure romcom fun with some beautiful scenery to satisfy the eye.

“The Fall” This gritty crime drama set in Northern Ireland stars Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”, “The Crown”) as detective Stella Gibson, who is assigned to a murder investigation that has remained unsolved for more than 28 days. With a serial killer on the loose, she and her team must move quickly to close the case.

It’s been called a dark, sexy psychological thriller sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.

It also stars Jamie Dornan of “Fifty Shades” fame.

“Father Ted” This quirky sitcom about three priests assigned to the remote parish of Craggy Island off the coast of Ireland is the perfect choice for a relaxing on the weekend. Father Ted Crilly is banished to the island as punishment for using church funds to

“Once” Musical lovers will adore this tender story about a vacuum repair man and a Czech immigrant who bond over their dream of a career in music. While the two make beautiful songs together in the streets of Dublin, their growing passion for each other has to remain unrealised. The movie won the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film and won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the soundtrack received a Grammy nomination.

go to Las Vegas. He is forced to live with Father Dougal Maguire and Fatherr Jack Hackett, one a fresh-faced naive young priest and the other a foul-mouthed, rage-filled alcoholic. Mrs Doyle is their nosy housekeeper, who makes plentiful pots

“The Commitments” There’s just something about Irish films based on musicians, and the Commitments ranks way up there. In fact, some would say it’s the greatest Irish film ever made.

Set in the Northside of Dublin, the film tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a young music fanatic who assembles a group of workingclass youths to form a soul band named “The Commitments.”

Prepare to stomp your feet and sing along to a film which has received cult status over the years.

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, March 12, 2021

Weekend Inside

My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Gerald Bullard Bartender

Interview 4 – 5

Deundra Rolle has seen her dreams of becoming a top chef at a US restaurant come true in the “most magical place one earth”

Puzzles 6 Entertainment 7

Is “Coming 2 America” worth a second trip for fans of the original?

Fashion 8-10

A new boutique tailored to little boys’ fashion needs, plus the ‘Queen of Rags’ has big plans

Q: What will you be binge-watching?

“I will be binge-watching CNN for sure.”

Community 11

Dream coach helps women to achieve their goals

Q: What’s on your weekend menu?

“Steamed conch and grits are definitely on the menu.”

Literary Lives 12 – 13

Q: Beach or sofa?

“The sofa is where I am going to be.”

A passionate love affair in the desert

Forgotten Facts 14

The story behind the original Dirty Dick’s

Animals 15

Poetic justice for gamecocks, plus Pet of the Week

10

Gardening 16

It’s all about location for nursery manager Adam Boorman

THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY

• In 1781, the seventh planet of the solar system, Uranus, was discovered by Sir William Herschel.

• In 1664, England’s King Charles II granted an area of land on the East Coast of present-day North America known as New Netherland to his brother James, the Duke of York.

• In 1980, a Chicago jury found John Wayne Gacy Jr. guilty of the murders of 33 men and boys. (The next day, Gacy was sentenced to death; he was executed in May 1994.)

THE JOHN Harvard statue in Harvard Yard

• In 1994, the Church of England ordained its first women priests.

March 13

Liza Minnelli is 75. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is 74. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 73. Singer Marlon Jackson (The Jackson Five) is 64. Actor Courtney B

Q: If you could go anywhere for a COVIDfree weekend, where would it be?

“I would go to Eleuthera for a COVID-free weekend.”

his scholar’s library) to the “schoale or Colledge” founded two years earlier by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was so gratefully received that it was decided to name the institution in his honour.

March 12

Today’s birthdays: Actor-singer

Q: If you could be quarantined with a celebrity, who would it be?

“The celebrity of my life is my wife, so I will quarantine with her to stay out of trouble.”

Vance is 61. Actor Aaron Eckhart is 53. CNN reporter Jake Tapper is 52.

• In 1639, New College was renamed Harvard College for clergyman John Harvard, an English minister in Colonial America who died at the age of 30 of tuberculosis. His deathbed bequest (of roughly $180,000 in today’s money and

• In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure prohibiting Union military officers from returning fugitive slaves to their owners.

Today’s birthdays: Singersongwriter Neil Sedaka is 82. R&B/gospel singer Candi Staton is 81. Actor William H Macy is 71. Actor Dana Delany is 65. Rapper-actor Common is 49.

March 14 • In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.

• In 1967, the body of US

President John F Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

• In 2015, Robert Durst, a wealthy eccentric linked to two killings and his wife’s disappearance, was arrested by the FBI in New Orleans on a murder warrant a day before HBO aired the final episode of a serial documentary about his life. (Durst’s murder trial in Los Angeles was paused in July 2020 because of the coronavirus; it has yet to resume.)

Today’s birthdays: Former astronaut Frank Borman is 93. Actor Michael Caine is 88. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 88. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 80. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 63. Singermusician Taylor Hanson (Hanson) is 38. NBA star Stephen Curry is 33.

Actor Ansel Elgort is 27. Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles is 24.

– The Associated Press

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

interview

Deundra

Rolle

Her goal was always to prove that a Bahamian woman could run a successful restaurant in the US. And Deundra has achieved that goal. She tells Alesha Cadet about her new leadership role at an eclectic entertainment venue in the ‘most magical place on earth’.

D

isney World is said to be the place where dreams come true, and that has certainly been case for Deundra Rolle, at least when it comes to her chosen profession.

The Bahamian cook is now the executive chef of The Edison, a lavish, 1920s-themed restaurant, bar and entertainment destination located in Disney Springs, formerly Downtown Disney, in Orlando, Florida.

Deundra believes her appointment to a leadership role at such a prominent venue proves that more and more women are becoming empowered and asking for a seat at the table.

“I see that anything is possible for (women). They cannot take no for an answer…Keep the creative vibes and that feminine touch, and that will open doors for you to help open that door to that promotion,” she told Tribune Weekend.

When she first moved to the United States several years ago, Deundra said finding a job was difficult for her, as she was found to be either over-qualified for the position in question, or, on the other end of the spectrum, her previous work in the Bahamas was not recognised.

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, March 12, 2021

Deundra has always been a very busy woman and has tried her hand at many things over the years.

“I have worked in Disney for about 10 years. I worked in Disney Springs for about eight years separately. I’ve worked in hotels, mom-and-pop restaurants, under a professional chef as his assistant, I’ve worked banquets in hotels, I’ve worked in park and event operations, and also simple hotels while here in the States. I have my own business as a caterer and personal chef. Lastly, I am now the executive chef of The Edison Disney Springs,” she said.

The Edison, she explained, is designed to look like an abandoned 1920s power plant; an industrial gothic themed space. The food and beverages pay homage to that era as well, especially to Thomas Edison, after whom the restaurant is named, and other inventors and innovators of the time. With patios facing Lake Buena Visit, the restaurant features classic American cuisine.

Prior to her recent appointment, Deundra worked as the executive sous chef (second in command) at The Edison.

“So, I was partially conditioned to running the restaurant in the event the chef was not there. After his departure, I asked for the opportunity to show them what I was already doing. With COVID-19, the menu is a little smaller and we still need to bring in clientele, so now my task at hand is to help bring in food items that will attract the crowds and ensure that we are generating a profit,” she said.

In way, it could be said Deundra’s career as a cook started in her childhood years. Her grandmother, affectionately known as Mama to the family, had a tuck shop in Wilson Track back in her day. Deundra remembers her grandmother making benny cakes, and one day she asked for lessons on how to make the popular local candy made from benny (sesame) seeds. This experience turned into Deundra learning how to make the sweet treats for her grandmother to sell in her store. She went to ask for even more lessons and asked other family members if she could help them make Sunday dinner. Eventually, she became so adept at it the task that cooking Sunday dinner became her responsibility alone.

“The best thing for me in this profession is showing the beauty in the chaos. Working in any type of cuisine, the goal is the same: to be able to show the beauty in food.

THE EDISON serves up classic American cuisine and some other specialities

THE EDISON is made to look like a 1920s abandoned power plant

“

You will fall down, just don’t stay there, and keep praying.

Let your gift do the work for you.

Don’t take no for an answer.”

(Before a dish is created), there is a stream of chaos to ensure that (you end up with) a beautiful plate. It’s an art form,” said Deundra.

At The Edison in Disney Springs, she’s now preparing menu options like dry rub ribs, blackened mahi mahi, seared salmon, and, perfectly suited to a Bahamian chef, a grouper special.

Becoming an executive chef at an American restaurant was always the ultimate goal for her. She wanted to one day be able to proudly pronounce that a woman from the Bahamas was successfully running a popular restaurant in the US. “I wanted to be able to open doors I hadn’t even heard of. If I can motivate another Bahamian woman with my story, then I am more than happy to share to help them get to their goals. If we can keep the Bahamas’ name in mouths abroad, that’s great, especially in a positive light. People can know that great things come out of the Bahamas, the 242,” she said.

“Thankfully, the cooks and the team I have (at The Edison), have always supported me and that’s a great achievement to have. (In) the same way I can help them grow and develop to one day attain executive chef status, if their heart desires this as well.”

Deundra considers her mother, Sheena Bullard, her biggest influence and inspiration. She said her mom allowed her to go off to school abroad and pursue her dreams, all while fighting one of her biggest battles: cancer.

Everything she is doing now, all the milestones and goals she’s achieving, she is doing so for her mother.

“Whatever your heart is set on and you know that God placed it there, keep the faith and the focus.

It will align itself for you. You will fall down, just don’t stay there, and keep praying. Let your gift do the work for you. Don’t take no for an answer,” she said.

Once the pandemic is over and Bahamians can freely and safely travel again, Deundra said she would love to welcome her fellow countrymen and women at The Edison in Disney Springs.

“I’d love for them to experience the food here at The Edison as well as the drinks paired with the food.

The atmosphere is very unique and makes a place for bold food to stand out. I would be so honoured to have Bahamians come and support their fellow Bahamian so that they can spread the word about this unique and wonderful restaurant,” she said.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Lion, Jog, Embryo, Affair. down: Gap, Quaver, Income, Skin, Bark, Endow, Proxy, Enjoy, Raven, Rabbi, Cigar, Earth, Zany, Lift, Billet, Ironic, End.

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Dictionary (1999 edition)

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

Verb forms ending in s permitted.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 22; very good 33; excellent 43 (or more). Solution tomorrow

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

BATTLESHIPS Across 1 Sort of mistake that could make one late (5,5) 6 Duty on one type of passenger vehicle (4) 10 Acts on a revolving stage?

(5) 11 A drop of something to drink? (9) 12 New nation southeast from Baltic state (8) 13 He won’t play a principal part (5) 15 Makes one of use if in trouble (7) 17 One on a diet may turn out so (7) 19 Saucy girl accompanying passengers (7) 21 Tie up an unusually attractive plant (7) 22 Defence of the absent (5) 24 Push the boat out and depart (5,3) 27 But it doesn’t include meals in the dining car (5,4) 28 One sense in which the state is reconstituted (5) 29 Fisherman’s dance? (4) 30 Knocked flat - by a hard bargainer? (6,4)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Down 1 What must happen to Across: 1 Quarter, 5 Wrong, 8 In overweight egghead? (4) the open, 9 Tar, 10 Kind, 12 Fruitful, 14 Luxury, 15 Behind, 17 Slovenly, 2 The thing about an 18 Self, 21 Oak, 22 Old school, outburst is it leads to a 24 Tinge, 25 Endorse. beating (9) Down: 1 Quick, 2 Art, 3 Teem, 3 Girl gets over love for a 4 Report, 5 Winnipeg, 6 Out of cowboy (5) line, 7 Garbled, 11 Next of kin, 4 The din subsides once they 13 Gruesome, 14 Lose out, are ejected (7) 16 Pledge, 19 False, 20 Acid, 5 Got us in to arrange 23 Oar. excursions (7) 7 Maxim for our time (5) 8 The rat lied badly, but nothing to worry about (4,6) Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution 9 Player who might get a roasting (8) Across: 1 Peruses, 5 Auger, 14 Attendant who never answers back gets pushed 8 Come round, 9 Ass, 10 Side, 12 Sheepdog, 14 Call in, 15 Across, around (4,6) 17 Advances, 18 Seem, 21 Tar, 16 A Latin is possibly one of 22 Out of play, 24 Cadet, these (8) 25 Warfare.

18 The form aims often take Down: 1 Paces, 2 Rum, 3 Sure, 4 Sought, 5 Audience, 6 Grandiose, (9) 7 Resigns, 11 Delivered, 20 Take a liberty? (7) 13 Signpost, 14 Chaotic, 21 Stick out for what you’ve 16 Bestow, 19 Maybe, planned to do (7) 20 Afar, 23 Lea. 23 I tear out in an angry mood (5) 25 Braise a tender steak consumed (5) 26 One is distracted by northern light (4) Down Across 1 Significantly large 1 Suited for (4) particular purpose 6 7 8 2 Aim (9) (6-4) 9 3 Dynamism (5) 6 South American 4 Act as country (4) go-between (7) 10 Fact given (5) 5 Reward merited 11 Incredulity (9) (7) 12 Prevalent (2,3,3) 13 7 Expel by legal 13 To change (5) process (5) 15 Finger cover for 8 There for the sewing (7) 18 taking (2,3,5) 17 Pledge financial 9 Thrash (8) support for (7) 14 Without 19 Word of same interruption (2,1,7) meaning (7) 16 Stupid person (8) 21 Agitate (7) 18 Easily nauseated (9) 22 Attain (5) 25 20 Personal vocation 24 Hidden non(7) paying passenger 26 21 Plan (7) (8) 28 23 Cancel (5) 27 Hesitant (9) 25 Distinctive spicy 28 Due (5) smell (5) 29 Sword handle (4) 26 Old (4) 30 Single (10)

EASY PUZZLE

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

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12, 2021

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The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, March 12, 2021

film

review

Coming 2 America – Worth a second trip?

EDDIE Murphy returns as now King Akeem (right) and Arsenio Hall as his best friend and aide Semmi

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

W

hen I heard a sequel to the 1988 comedy “Coming to America” was in the works, I was cautiously excited.

The plot even seemed reasonable. Prince Akeem and Lisa have been happily married for the past 30 years and have three daughters. Due to the laws of succession, his oldest daughter is not eligible to take the throne.

When Akeem learns that he fathered a son, Lavelle, during a one-night stand in Queens, New York, he returns to America so that his son can join him in Zamunda as the of the kingdom.

It’s not that much of a stretch what comes next.

Lavelle is set to marry the daughter of a militaristic neighbour nation to connect the two kingdoms, but instead he falls in love instead with his royal groomer Mirembe.

The original movie is one of my all-time favourites that I have rewatched and laughed over hundreds of times since it was first released. (And no, the fact that it was more than 30 years ago doesn’t make me feel old at all.)

But like Mirembe says during a discussion on American films, “This is true about sequels. If something is good, why ruin it?”

And while the star cast of “Coming 2 America” gave a valiant performance, they simply didn’t have much of a script to work with.

If I had to describe this movie in one word, I would say “ ghetto.”

Even a funeral scene narrated by Morgan Forman full of cameos by the likes of En Vogue,

JERMAINE Fowler as Lavelle, the new heir of Zamunda, and Leslie Jones as his mother, Mary Junson Salt N Pepa and Gladys Knight just seemed ridiculous.

From the stereotypical portrayal of Lavelle’s family as loud and unsophisticated, to the lack of character development, to the jokes that simply weren’t funny, this movie missed the mark in so many ways for me.

The original “Coming to America” was effortlessly funny. It seemed like there were so many classic moments and jokes that have made their way into our popular culture.

This sequel has not one such joke, and instead relies on flashbacks or new characters retelling the same jokes without the flawless delivery of the original cast.

And let’s not forget that “Coming to America” is at its heart a love story about two people from different worlds whose love transcends their differences.

Lavelle and Mirembe’s romance may be one for the ages, but it would have been nice to see that develop and grow rather than rushed through as if it were an afterthought.

And even the subplots concerning the question gender roles in the 21st century and what life has been like for the characters over the decades are just glossed over.

I wanted to enjoy this movie, and it was indeed fun seeing some of the old favourites again, but overall “Coming 2 America” just was not worth a second trip.

Coming to America stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Teyana Taylor, Wesley Snipes, and James Earl Jones. It is now available to view on Amazon Prime.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

fashion

Friday, March 12, 2021

The Tribune | Weekend | 09

Friday, March 12, 2021

Aspiring designer glories in glad rags

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

A

s a high school student, it was Lescia Greene’s wish to learn all about cosmetology, with a view of pursuing a career in the field later on. However, the only course available to her at the time was the one for clothing construction. So, she took the class in the 11th grade and learned the fundamentals of sewing. Little did she know that this would be the start of her career in fashion design.

“

Teaching myself how to free-hand cut was very tedious and timeconsuming, but I was determined to get where I wanted to be. I used myself as a model and made my own clothing.”

“It came to me easy, even with having to catch up on two previous terms. My teacher, Mrs Brown, had so much confidence in me due to my constant good grades that she told me I would be her first A-student for the BGCSE examination,” she told Tribune Weekend.

During her time in high school, Lescia earned the award for the highest BGCSE grades in the Bahamas for clothing construction. After graduation, she wanted to attend an art institute to become a fashion designer, but due to a lack of funds this was not to be. Her dream had seemingly come to an end.

It wasn’t until her son was about to turn one in 2015 that she regained her passion for sewing. It was her son, she said, who motivated her to dust off her old sewing machine, which had barely been used in over a year.

“At this point I became desperate to learn how to cut patterns of different styles, how to measure persons and how to apply these measurements to cut the pattern. Teaching myself how to freehand cut was very tedious and time-consuming, but I was determined to get where I wanted to be. I used myself as a model and made my own clothing. Soon enough I had my first client and I realised I needed a name for my new business, something unique. Eventually, after a while, Queen of Rags was created,” said the now 26-year-old.

Under her Queen of Rags brand, Lescia makes formal attire for funerals, christenings, weddings, birthdays and other special occasions. Her business is home-based, with an area reserved for consultations and fittings. Over the years she has been inspired by both international and local designers.

“Bahamian designer Alicia Seymour was one of my inspirations because of the versatility and creativity of the designs created by her. International designer Valdrin Sahiti (from Kosovo) has inspired me with his brilliant designs and choice of fabrics that make them standout,” she said.

As for her own creations, Lescia said she forever evolving and willing to learn new skills.

“I am working towards expanding my skills by sketching my creative looks that I imagine in my mind. Working on my marketing skills for my business is also what’s keeping me motivated and encouraged during the pandemic, even though things have slowed down. No matter how great I got, I (was always) still willing to learn more. I trusted in God to get me where I am today and I never lost my faith.”

During the pandemic, she said, most of her clients requested matching masks for their custommade outfits, as well as masks for their work attire and holiday celebrations. She is looking forward to the new spring trends like puff sleeves, prints, pastel colours and netting.

For 2021, she plans to take part in more fashion shows and create more of her own designs to showcase the versatility of her brand.

DESIGNS by Queen of Rags

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

fashion

Young mother launches boys boutique during pandemic

W

hen Sasha Johnson had her son just a little over a year ago, one of the things that became apparent to her early on was that there were very limited options when it came to clothing choices for little boys in the Bahamas.

With that in mind, and despite a global pandemic, Sasha began her research and considered the idea of opening her own store. COVID-19 naturally forced the idea into an online space, allowing for not just Bahamian mothers, but for anyone to browse and purchase.

Her online boutique focuses on clothing for boys from newborn

“

Just because they are young and are boys does not mean they cannot be fashion-forward.”

to age 10 (up to size 7T) as well as accessories.

“The idea for starting Ohh Boy Boutique came after I had my son in December of 2019,” Sasha said.

“I was searching locally for a nontraditional christening outfit, at a reasonable price of course, and was unable to find anything. During my search, I noticed that basically every store catered mainly to girls, while only having a small selection for boys. Another thing I noticed was that most of the boys clothing were covered with dinosaurs and cars.

Just because they are young and are boys does not mean they cannot be fashion-forward.”

SASHA Johnson and her son Shai

She said the solution was to create an online store that caters to boys – smart casual apparel as well as accessories like bowties and suspenders at an affordable price.

Sasha also explained that starting the business during a global pandemic was not as difficult as many may think it was.

She said the pandemic has changed the way businesses operate, many moving to an online platform. Being online boutique, she said, makes it easy for her to run her business and it’s also convenient for customers.

“Girls clothing usually represent what seems like about 70 percent of most children’s clothing stores,” Sasha said. “I didn’t notice this until I had my son. So, I would say he’s definitely the initial inspiration for starting Ohh Boy Boutique. In addition to that, I married into a ‘boy’ family. My husband is one of four boys. His older brother has three sons and one of his younger brothers has two sons, and we have one—so this was fate!”

Potential customers will soon be able to visit her website, www.ohhboyboutique.com, and browse all the different options. They will have two options for delivery: free Saturday delivery or two-day delivery at a cost of $5.

Currently, the business will only be accepting cash on delivery.

Sasha is hoping that the online boutique will make it easier for mothers - and family and friends - with dressing their young sons, especially first-time mothers, for church, for a play date, of even just for Sunday drive to get ice-cream.

You can reach the Ohh Boy Boutique on Facebook and Instagram, or e-mail them at info@ohhboyboutique.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, March 12, 2021

community

Dream coach helps women achieve their goals

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

T

IPSY Tuesdays may sound like a day set aside to indulge in boozy beverages, but it’s far from it. In fact, it’s a forum designed especially for women to become “intoxicated” with the right information that can ultimately promote the success they crave in any given area of their life.

The forum is the brainchild of Arkia Higgs, just one of several initiatives she has come up with to encourages wellness in mind, body, and spirit.

As a trained physiotherapist, Mrs Higgs, a married mother of two, is all too familiar with many of the physical struggles and challenges people often endure.

Amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to direct her passion for helping others and coaching people through their physical impediments towards motivating and inspiring women. As a motivational speaker/dream coach, she hopes to help women overcome their fears and doubts and to be all they could ever aspire to be.

According to Mrs Higgs, while so many women spend most of their lives nurturing, encouraging and serving those around them, the reality is that after expending so much of their energy, they too, need time to be refilled, inspired and motivated.

“I feel as though as women we pour out a lot and sometimes, we are running on empty for years, just holding on to broken pieces. We take care of the family, the home and those around us, and it eventually can take a toll and wear you down. In our culture we as women often present this facade, as though we have it all together and we do not need to ask for help, when that is definitely not the case,” she told Tribune Weekend.

She added: “I used to think that I didn’t need people, that I could do it all on my own. I was a one-woman show. I have truly come to learn and appreciate the power of community, women helping women, people helping people. We all need someone. Someone needs to hear our stories and struggles to know that they are not alone. That’s the message I want to share.”

In 2020, Mrs Higgs launched Tipsy Tuesdays.

Through the forum she was able to provide a platform for various female speakers to offer timely advice, motivation and practical tips for women.

“I started coming on with different topics, the struggle and pain people go through, giving them practical strategies and tips. I also intend to get more into the health and wellness aspect,” said Mrs Higgs, who envisages one day having a global stage for her message.

Mrs Higgs knows first-hand the struggles many Bahamian women are facing.

“

I used to think that I didn’t need people, that I could do it all on my own…I have truly come to learn and appreciate the power of community, women helping women, people helping people.”

“I’ve really been through a lot over the past few years,” she said, referring to financial challenges trying to complete college and the loss of a child.

“People say to me, ‘Wow, you’re strong’, but it’s the Holy Spirit that has enabled me to keep going.

God just put it in my heart that everything I went through was for a purpose, and that was to help others get through their own personal struggles.

Overcoming our obstacles or being overcome by them often comes down to the choices that we make,” she said.

Having built her own health and wellness business, Mrs Higgs is looking to help bring holistic empowerment to women in her community.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

literary lives - Honoré de Balzac ­­

A passion in the desert Part I

Sir Christopher Ondaatje recalls the great French novelist and playwright (May 20, 1799 – August 18, 1850) whose novel sequence La Comédie humaine presented a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life and is generally viewed as his magnum opus. He presents an edited version of one of the author’s best-loved short stories – an unusual love story between man and beast.

“The fact is that love is of two kinds, one which commands, and one which obeys. The two are quite distinct, and the passion to which the one gives rise is not the passion of the other.”

- Honoré de Balzac During the expedition in Upper Egypt under General Desaix, a Provencal soldier fell into the hands of the Maugrabins, and was taken by these Arabs into the deserts beyond the falls of the Nile.

In order to place a sufficient distance between themselves and the French army, the Maugrabins only halted when night was upon them. They camped round a well overshadowed by palm trees under which they had previously concealed a store of provisions. Not surmising that the notion of flight would occur to their prisoner, they contented themselves with binding his hands, and after eating a few dates, and giving provender to their horses, went to sleep.

When the brave Provencal saw that his enemies were no longer watching him, he made use of his teeth to steal a scimitar, fixed the blade between his knees, and cut the cords; in a moment he was free. He at once seized a rifle and a dagger, then taking the precautions to provide himself with a sack of dried dates, oats, and powder and shot, and to fasten a scimitar to his waist, he leaped on to a horse, and spurred on vigorously in the direction where he thought to find the French army.

So impatient was he that he pressed on the already tired courser at such speed, that its flanks were lacerated with his spurs, and at last the poor animal died, leaving the Frenchman alone in the desert. After walking some time in the sand the soldier was obliged to stop, as the day had already ended.

In spite of the beauty of an Oriental sky at night, he felt he had not strength enough to go on. Fortunately, he had been able to find a small hill, on the summit of which a few palm trees shot up into the air. His fatigue was so great that he lay down upon a rock of granite, capriciously cut out like a camp bed; there he fell asleep without taking any precaution to defend himself while he slept. He was awakened by the sun, whose pitiless rays fell with all their force on the granite and produced an intolerable heat.

But when, after counting the palm trees, he cast his eyes around him, the most horrible despair was infused into his soul. Before him stretched an ocean without limit. The dark sand of the desert spread further than eye could reach in every direction, and glittered like steel struck with bright light. The silence was awful in its wild and terrible majesty.

The Provencal threw his arms round the trunk of one of the palm trees, as though it were the body of a friend, and then, in the shelter of the thin, straight shadow that the palm cast upon the granite, he wept. The Provencal was twenty-two years old: he loaded his carbine.

Viewing alternately the dark expanse of the desert and the blue expanse of the day, the soldier dreamed of France.

He went down the opposite side of the hill to that by which he had come up the day before. At a short distance he saw some palm trees full of dates.

He hoped to live long enough to hear the sound of cannon; for at this time Bonaparte was traversing Egypt.

This thought gave him new life. The palm tree seemed to bend with the weight of the ripe

HONORÉ de Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, March 12, 2021

fruit. He shook some of it down. He went up again to the top of the hill, and spent the rest of the day in cutting down one of the sterile palm trees, which the night before had served him for shelter. A vague memory made him think of the animals of the desert; and in case they might come to drink at the spring, visible from the base of the rocks but lost further down, he resolved to guard himself from their visits by placing a barrier at the entrance of his hermitage.

At eventide the king of the desert fell; the sound of its fall resounded far and wide, like a sigh in the solitude; the soldier shuddered as though he had heard some voice predicting woe. He tore off from a tree the tall broad green leaves which are its poetic adornment, and used them to mend the mat on which he was asleep.

Fatigued by the heat and his work, he fell asleep under the red curtains of his wet cave.

In the middle of the night his sleep was troubled by an extraordinary noise; he sat up, and the deep silence around him allowed him to distinguish the alternative accents of a respiration whose savage energy could not belong to a human creature.

A profound terror, increased still further by the darkness, the silence, and his waking images, froze his heart within him. He almost felt his hair stand on end, when by straining his eyes to their utmost he perceived through the shadow two faint yellow lights. At first he attributed these lights to the reflections of his own pupils, but soon the vivid brilliance of the night aided him gradually to distinguish a huge animal lying but two steps from him.

The Provencal was not sufficiently educated to know under what species his enemy ought to be classed; but his fright was all the greater, as his ignorance led him to imagine all terrors at once; he endured a cruel torture, noting every variation of the breathing close to him without daring to make the slightest movement. An odour, pungent like that of a fox, but more penetrating, more profound – filled the cave, and when the Provencal became sensible of this, his terror reached its height.

Presently the reflection of the moon descending on the horizon lit up the den, rendering gradually visible and resplendent the spotted skin of a panther.

This lion of Egypt slept, curled up like a big dog, the peaceful possessor of a sumptuous niche at the gate of a hotel; its eyes opened for a moment and closed again; its face was turned towards the man.

A thousand confused thoughts passed through the

A LEOPARD in the desert Frenchman’s mind.

He listened to his own heart beating in the midst of the silence, and cursed the too violent pulsations, fearing to disturb that sleep which allowed him time to think of some means of escape.

Twice he placed his hand on his scimitar, intending to cut off the head of his enemy; but the difficulty of cutting the stiff short hair compelled him to abandon this daring project.

For a moment the courage of the soldier began to fail. Nevertheless, a bold thought brought daylight to his soul, so he, seeing in this merely a tragic episode, resolved to play his part with honour to the last.

When the sun appeared, the panther suddenly opened her eyes; then she put out her paws with energy, as if to stretch them and get rid of cramp.

At last, she yawned, showing the formidable apparatus of her teeth and pointed tongue, rough as a file.

This tranquil and formidable hostess snored in an attitude as graceful as that of a cat lying on a cushion. Her blood-stained paws, nervous and well armed, were stretched out before her face, which rested upon them, and from which radiated her straight slender whiskers, like threads of silver.

At this moment the panther turned her head toward the man and looked at him fixedly, without moving. The rigidity of her metallic eyes and their insupportable lustre made him shudder, especially when the animal walked towards him. But he let her come quite close to him; then with a movement both gentle and amorous, as though he were caressing the most beautiful of women, he passed his hand over her whole body, from the head to the tail, scratching the flexible vertebrae which divided the panther’s yellow back. The animal waved her tail voluptuously, and her eyes grew gentle; and when for the third time the Frenchman accomplished this interesting flattery, she gave forth one of the purrings by which cats express their pleasure; but this murmur issued from a throat so powerful and so deep that it resounded through the cave like the last vibration of an organ in a church.

The presence of the panther, even asleep, could not fail to produce the effect which the magnetic eyes of the serpent are said to have on the nightingale.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; and The Project Gutenberg: A Passion in the Desert.

He could now examine the panther at ease; its muzzle was smeared with blood. It was a female.

The fur on her belly and flanks was glistening white; many small marks like velvet formed beautiful bracelets round her feet; her sinuous tail was also white, ending with black rings; the overpart of her dress, yellow like burnished gold, very lissome and soft, had the characteristic blotches in the form of rosettes, which distinguish the panther from every other feline species.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

history

The original Dirty Dick’s

I

try to plan trips to London around postcard fairs, where dozens of dealers put their wares on display and would-be buyers stroll around, searching for things to buy.

I was shopping for vintage Bahamian postcards, which not all dealers have. But my favourite card was bought from a dealer who had only five Bahamian cards. When I saw the third, I called out, “I’ve found it!”

Asked what I had found, I said, “A picture of my father, riding a bicycle” and the entire room applauded.

My favourite dealer, who had more Bahamian cards than all the others put together, allowed me to thumb through his stock. One day, I found several postcards of Dirty Dick’s, a restaurant and bar that used to be on the south side of Bay Street, between Market and Frederick Streets.

I never set foot in Dirty Dick’s, but it was a Nassau landmark, a favourite watering hole for Nassau’s leading citizens. Founded in 1935, it was owned by B Kilroy Thompson.

In a 1940 issue of the NASSAU magazine, I came upon a short article about Dirty

1735 - 1809). He had been quite a dandy in his youth but following the death of his fiancée on their wedding day, he refused to wash or clean, and for the rest of his life lived in squalor. His house and warehouse became so filthy that he became a celebrity of dirt and the name of the pub, which Bentley once owned, was changed from The Old Jerusalem to Dirty Dick’s.

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

DIRTY Dyck’s LONDON Dick’s and learned that it was named after its London counterpart, which explained the postcard that the dealer had wrongly put into his Bahamas file.

The original Dirty Dick’s pub, on Bishopsgate, London, has existed for over 250 years and was founded by a merchant of the name Nathaniel Bentley (c.

THE ORIGINAL Dirty Dick’s on Bishopsgate, London

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS

DIRTY Dick’s was located on the ground floor of what used be the Clifton family’s home, which B Kilroy Thompson, shown here at left front wearing black and white shoes, bought for his liquor business

THE LATE Richard Dean, known as Sweet Richard, Nassau’s leading limbo dancer, was a common sight on Bay Street

The Tribune | Weekend | 15

Friday, March 12, 2021

animals

Talk about poetic justice

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters Man has some very unattractive ways of entertaining himself and others. Many countries are even proud of their shameless blood sports.

I was particularly surprised when I visited Puerto Rico for an animal conference a few years ago to see that there was a large cockfighting arena right next door to the fancy hotel we were staying in and where the conference was being held in.

It really surprised me that the “sport” was right out in the open with large signs advertising times and days for the next event.

We do have cock fighting in the Bahamas, but it is very clandestine, because it is against the law, and of course is considered animal cruelty.

Over the years the Bahamas Humane Society has broken up many illegal fights and confiscated the poor roosters that were involved in the disgusting sport.

These poor roosters are fitted with razor sharp spurs on their legs, the objective is to fight until death, the blood spurts and flows and the spectators cheer in lusty encouragement. What is there in this that I am missing, why would any person want to watch this spectacle for fun?

Frequently, the cock is not killed but noticeably injured and will spend much time in pain whilst he is treated in order to go back in to the ring.

But the spectators want blood and they call for the kill, and cheer for that kill. This is their idea of a fun night out.

I can’t resist from playing amateur psychiatrist by saying that this is what is wrong with our world today.

Some poor person dies and immediately there is a crowd of people where the deceased passed on, they want to catch a glimpse of the body, why? What is this morbid fascination of the dead, why do we flock when

A COCKFIGHT in Tamil Nadu, India. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years an ambulance or hearse turns up on our street? That morbid fixation with death becomes entertainment.

Recently, I read a story from India that I could not help but feel that the outcome was well deserved.

An Indian man who participated in illegal cockfights had just attached a three-inch blade to his rooster’s leg as the rooster was trying to escape.

The rooster somehow managed to stab the man in the groin during the struggle and the wound caused a huge amount of blood loss. The owner died in hospital and the rooster was caught and freed to a farm where he will live with countless hens. There just seems so much

wrong with this story. Why do you want to force roosters to fight and badly injure each other? Is the rush of adrenaline so great that certain humans cannot stay way from it?

However, this man’s fate is no great surprise, as similar accidents happen the world over. There is also a recent report of a rooster killing a Philippine policeman in the province of North Samar.

I am not sure what he was doing at the fight, but the cock struck the man’s leg with the blade attached to him and subsequently the man died because the blade cut through his thigh and the femoral artery was

pet of the week

pretty special and will always be sure to be greeted with a wagging tail!

Cindy’s about two years old, so well past those puppy antics, but has lots of energy so might even enjoy morning walks on the beach.

Are you the right fit for Cindy?

If so, please contact 323-5138 for more information. Cindy is waiting!

Charming Cindy

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

C

indy arrived at the Bahamas Humane Society with puppies in tow. Now that they’ve been weaned and she’s been spayed, Cindy is footloose, fancy free, and hoping to find a place to call her own.

She’s friendly with other dogs and doesn’t even seem to mind cats, or humans. Well, humans are

severed and he bled out on the way to hospital.

I believe that there are still places in Nassau and the Family Islands where cockfights take place, and we do try to put a stop to them whenever we hear of one. It can be very dangerous for our Bahamas Humane Society inspectors to go to places such as a pit where the fight is supposed to take place. There is a great deal of money that changes hands during a fight as people gamble on the outcome, and they do not welcome interference.

It is not unlike the thrill of the kill some people tell me they experience when they watch a bull fight in Spain.

The crowds cheer each time the bull has another little spear stabbed into his back as the matador does all he can do to enrage the bull. It is lust for blood; in my opinion, a very dangerous emotion.

It is beyond my imagination how people can get excited to see animals fight each other, or one animal fight against a human. It honestly confuses me that there are people out there who enjoy these events.

I suppose that I should not be surprised or too shocked considering some countries still have public executions.

Nevertheless, I do feel that the rooster who killed his owner is the perfect example of poetic justice.

People just don’t get it and appear to think that they can inflict any amount of pain or punishment on an animal and every now and then reality rises up and the animal (probably unintentionally) gets the upper hand.

(Photo/Linda Gill-Aranha)

• The BHS Thrift Shop will be holding a jewellery sale on Saturday, March 27 from 10 am to 2pm. Be sure to mark your calendars so you don’t forget. Find something shiny for your loved one or perhaps a treat for yourself. All proceeds go to the BHS.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, March 12, 2021

gardening

Location, location, location

I

’m not trying to convince you of where to set up shop or where to build your home. We are here to talk about the garden. Whether it’s on a large piece of land or on a patio, or on a windowsill of an efficiency apartment, location is everything when it comes to growing plants (including lawn grass and fruit trees or vegetables) successfully.

What does the right or wrong location involve? Too much sunlight and a shade loving plant will not thrive. Too much shade and a sun loving plant will not thrive. Dry, dusty, poor quality soils will not support a plant that wants rich, moist, humus as a medium. Wet, poorly drained, heavy soils will not support plants that want lighter, well drained, fast drying media.

I recently visited a beautiful home, on a beautiful piece of property, with a horrific landscape.

Horrific because for the most part the location of the plants used was all wrong. Planting a palm that will eventually grow to 30 feet or more, underneath the eve of a single storey roof, is not a good idea. Planting a shrub that will happily grow eight to 16 feet in height, against a building and beneath a window, is not a good idea. Unless of course the aim is to plant something that needs constant maintenance to make it work, I can only guess as to why these things happen.

Placement of plant material in the landscape will determine the amount of maintenance, and the success of the planting. No plant stops growing.

I often have to take a moment when asked “how big will this get?” Plants do not stop growing. Now yes, some plants reach a certain height and then they provide the desired results, edible parts of the plant, such as on broccoli or cauliflower, but mostly I’m alluding to landscape plants, shrubs, trees, palms, etcetera. While most plants never stop growing, many will slow as they mature, and

this could be considered the point at which a given plant “tops out” in regard to height.

One of the gardener’s most valuable tools is a pair of clippers or a saw. Be the boss of your plants, don’t let them take over! Some folks are wary of cutting (pruning) their landscape material. Some folks over-prune and turn shrubs into a green box with nothing but wood inside and a layer of green on the exterior. Do not be afraid to cut shrubs or trees, but do so while considering airflow and light penetration. This can turn into a long-winded discussion quickly.

The awful practice of topping off trees is overused, just as much as decisive, targeted pruning is under used. Back to location…many plants can be manipulated to different shapes and heights. Most of us do not have time to be out in the garden sculpting lawn ornaments though. Consider the growth rate of a plant without pruning before choosing a location for it. Fast growing plants equal more maintenance. Sunlight is necessary for plant growth, unless full spectrum lights are being used to supplement light. The north side of a building can be a difficult location for sun loving plants, but maybe ideally suited to shade loving plants.

The sun is getting higher in the sky each day now, and plants that may have been shaded during the winter months are likely being exposed to more sunlight. This may stress them out and cause them to need more watering or in extreme circumstances, may burn the leaf. Conversely it may trigger them into a rapid period of growth and blooms! A windblown location is not suited to

sensitive plants. A location that has minimal airflow may create a maintenance headache caused by increased presence of pests and lacklustre growth. Here’s a bonus: If a plant is unhappy, most of the time, it can be moved! Dig it up and place it in a different location. Container gardening makes this simple.

On a completely different note: I have noticed folks dealing with critters getting to their tomato or sweet peppers and damaging or eating them.

My first recommendation is to use more native material in the garden to provide an alternate food source for whatever critter maybe being a pest.

Caging, netting, or barriers of sorts can help, but it is food that they are after, whether it is rats, mice, birds, raccoons, etcetera, they seek food. Seeds are much higher in nutrition for wildlife than tomato or sweet pepper. By planting more native trees (gumelemi for example, provides lots of seeds) and shrubs (firebush provides ample seed --- the term native is tenuous here though as many are intentionally or naturally hybridized with other non-native varieties, but that too is another discussion), we provide a food source for critters and it creates a more balanced system, and they’ll leave the vegetable plants alone! Food for thought. 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.