03222024 WEEKEND

Weekend Stars in paradise

International celebrities help make Atlantis wine and food festival a huge success pgs

Celebrating the French-speaking world

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

The University of the Bahamas celebrated the beauty and diversity of the French-speaking world as part of its Foreign Language Week observances.

The week is designed to give students a chance to embrace foreign languages outside of the classroom and has been a staple on the school’s calendar for many years now.

“Knowing a foreign language broadens your way of thinking because it helps you understand, appreciate and adapt to other cultures,” said Coffi McPhee Johnson, adjunct facility French lecturer at UB, who helped organise the Francophone Day events.

“This is a day that unites us in celebration of the French language and the diverse culture it represents.”

She explained that in a world where “barriers can often divide us

and technology distract us”, Francophone Day reminds us of the rich tapestry of cultures that make up the French -speaking world.

“It is a day to honour the heritage and linguistic diversity and the values of unity and collaboration which brings us together,” she said.

Coffi encouraged those in attendance to have a spirit of openness and understanding, and respect for one another’s cultures and traditions.

“Let us take this opportunity to learn from one another and celebrate our differences and to foster a sense of community that transcends boarders and languages,” she said.

“Take this opportunity to deepen your appreciation for the beauty and diversity of the non-English speaking world.”

The week included several activities, including a French Cineforum section with a screening of the movie “Intouchables” by Olivier Nakache.

Yesterday, a special culinary masterclass was held which featured a cooking demonstration of French cuisine with Chef Antoine Baillageon, the executive sous chef at Café Boulud located in the Baha Mar resort.

He began his journey with the Boulud brand at Maison Boulud in Montreal, Canada. As Chef de Partie, he learned about French tradition and the history of French gastronomy, and cultivated his style into Chef Daniel Boulud’s way of cooking, eventually earning him the position of executive sous chef. It was there that he began to understand the importance of local and seasonal produce, with Summer becoming his favourite season.

He gave a comparison of French and Bahamian cuisine and talked about his home town of Quebec.

Antoine said he always seeks to showcase the Bahamian culture and local ingredients while staying true to the French roots of the restaurant.

THE TEAM that helped make Francophone Day a reality

COFFI MCPHEE JOHNSON, adjunct facility French lecturer at UB

CHEF ANTOINE BAILLAGEON, the executive sous chef at Café Boulud Bahamas

music

Junkanoo meets Jazz

Conceived less than a year ago, the inaugural Junkanoo Jazz Concert, ‘Through the Music’, will debut at the Regency Theatre in Grand Bahama this Sunday, starting at 6pm.

Concert Director and Event Producer Jens Sweeting aims to showcase Bahamian talent and artistry through the unique fusion of Junkanoo and jazz music.

“When jazz encounters diverse cultures, those cultures inherently express themselves through the music’” said Jens, who has a Master’s degree in Music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

“This phenomenon gives rise to various jazz sub-genres like Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, Japanese jazz, Ethiopian jazz, and countless other variations. As a jazz musician from the Bahamas, Junkanoo jazz naturally emerged as the fusion of cultural influences.”

The inspiration behind the Junkanoo Jazz event is the desire to merge culture and passion, a concept Jens believes is a natural manifestation of exposing jazz to diverse cultures.

His band, Forces of Nature, featuring Erica Weir, Dontae Dames, and AJ Francis, will participate alongside local musicians Wannessa Hanna, Zhivargo, and Jade Moya. Guest artists trumpeter Mansa Campbell and saxophonist Gardener Stewart from New Providence will also present original compositions and wellknown pieces.

“The event will serve as a significant platform for individuals to showcase their compositions and share their narratives through music, which is the focal point of the gathering,” Jens explained. “Every featured musical piece will narrate a story, encompassing themes such as nostalgia, tragedy, resilience, overcoming challenges, and love. As the show unfolds, these themes intertwine, with each song paving the way for exploring the next theme.”

Trumpeter Mansa Campbell is looking forward to the opportunity to showcase this new genre to the Bahamain public.

“I’ve heard about Jens for a while, and this is the first time I’m getting to share my music with him. It will be a great opportunity for the

Bahamian public to hear what we have to offer and to witness firsthand the fusion of Junkanoo and jazz and expose them to something new. Jazz is not really popular amongst Bahamians, but with the addition of Junkanoo and our stories through music, I’m sure it’s going to connect with them,” he said.

To enhance the musical performances, the event will also feature a live painting by artist Matthew Wildgoose, interpreting the performance in real-time. The painting will be raffled off at the end of the show for a lucky audience member to take home.

Jens envisions turning this showcase into an annual event with hopes of expanding to include more acts, other islands, and eventually international locations. He was quick to thank the sponsors for his inaugural concert, who are helping bring this exciting fusion to the island.

“We’re aiming to turn this into a yearly thing. We’ve got two guest artists from New Providence, and we’re really looking forward to possibly hosting similar events there and on other islands like Eleuthera, who have already had a jazz event,” said Jens. “We’re not putting any caps on our plans, so if we can take this show to other countries, that would be an awesome opportunity, too.”

Tickets for the event are priced at $60 for general admission and $75 for VIP seats, available online at forcesofnatureband.com, in person at Lignum Vitae Market & Café, or by calling 242-804-7777.

FORCES of Nature

MANSA Campbell

JENS Sweeting

MATTHEW Wildgoose

Leah Eneas

She may consider herself a ‘late bloomer’, but this artist, actress and singer has made a significant mark on Bahamian society over the years. Now, she tells Cara Hunt, she hopes to get people to look at the age-old art of crochet in an entirely new way.

While many people associate the art of crochet with grandmothers making baby booties and blankets, Leah Eneas is hoping to showcase the more artistic side of this timeless craft.

She has enjoyed crocheting wearable and functional items for the past 25 years, and eventually has been able to turn passion into profit.

Leah’s crochet brand is called Late Bloomers – a name she chose because she says she peaked late in lot of areas in her life.

“I started crocheting in the summer of 1992,” she explained. “I was nine years old and just about to turn 10. I had begged my grandmother, Muriel Eneas, for years and years, and then she finally taught me.

I learned in about a day because I was just so excited about it.”

Leah said crochet appeals to her because it is relaxing and easy to learn and do.

She often carries her crochet tools and materials with her when she travels, picking it up when waiting for flights, for example. And she has found that it has become quite a conversation-starter and ice-breaker, allowing her to meet and contect people both young and old.

“It is a way to meet people, some of them who are also into the craft and often times older persons, and then we can start talking,” she said.

“And sometimes, they can teach me stuff, right there on the spot. Or if it is a younger person, then sometimes I get to teach them something right there on the spot. Or maybe I can spark the mind of someone, so that is cool and it has become an interesting way to meet people.”

Crochet has also become a way to make extra money for Leah.

“One day I just needed a black bag and so I just made one. And then I needed a black jacket and so I just made one. And then I made a top, and then people saw me with these things and would ask where I got it or how much it cost to make,” she said.

When she realised that there was a genuine market for crocheted items such as swimsuits and cover-ups, dresses, beach bags, sweaters, lingerie and other such pieces, she started the Late Bloomers brand.

And while she had originally never thought about turning her interest into profit, but she has now been selling her creations for almost 25 years.

The more artistic side of her crocheting has expanded into making other types of non-functional items, and she is eager to explore where this level of her creativity can take her.

Leah is preparing to submit her pieces to several art galleries about to launch.

She says she really wants to focus on her visual wall hangings and her visual crochet art.

“Because I don’t think that that is something that is very common. When people think crochet, they think baby booties and blankets, they think bikinis or whatever, but I make crochet wall hangings,” she said.

“I make very functional art and bags, all kinds of things.”

One of the things she really enjoys creating are crochet portraits

Leah said that her inspiration just comes from everyday life.

“I want to do portraits and I want to maybe even do some still images from crochet,” she said.

Over the years, Leah has put on several shows to promote her own designs.

The most recent event she hosted was a fashion show on National Heroes Day last October. It was held at Arawak Cay to celebrate Bahamian designers.

For that event, Leah crocheted a Goombay Punch beach cover-up and also made a very large scarf in the colours of the Bahamian flag.

“I was really happy to be a part of that,” she said.

When Leah puts down her crochet needle, you may see her partaking in her second favourite pastime - one she has also enjoyed since the age of ten.

She made her theatrical and dancing debut at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts in the musical, “All My Chirren”, a Bahamian dance parody.

this weekend in history

March 22

Leah attended Fisk University, a private historically Black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee.

There, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatics and Speech/Dance.

Leah has performed in a number of plays over the years, including “Once on This Island”, “The Colored Museum”, “Gospel at Colonus”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Women Talk”, and Winston Saunders’ “You Can Lead a Horse to Water”.

In May of 2002, Leah discovered er comedic talents and co-founded a variety show called “Da SPOT”.

She made her American feature film debut in 2009 in “Way of the Dolphin” directed by Michael Sellers. She was the only Bahamian in the cast with a major speaking role.

She’s since filmed another American feature named called “Bahamian Son”, which opened the 2013 Bahamas International Film Festival.

Leah isn’t only an actress and artist, she’s a singer, too. She started singing publicly in Nashville in 2000 and has been featured on albums like David Olney’s “The Wheel”, a country music album. Over the years, she’s been a lead vocalist in three different bands” Black Cotton, Spok’N

THE SMITH College’s first womens basketball team

AFRICAN crochet wall hanging

Case, Proxy, Muzzled, Troll, Tidy, Mercury (clue).

Down: Spinal, Comet, Rail, Capsized, Virtuous, Alpaca, Fridge, Quixotic, Amicable, Pour, Ether, Tickle.

TV CROSSWORD

Across: 1 Cilla, 6 Fall, 8 Good Ship, 10 Anton, 11 Beast, 12 Fowler, 15 Ally, 16 Riding, 17 Hunt, 19 Edmonds, 21 Egan, 22 Daryl.

WORDS

NOTED

MUDDLESOME

Modern Pentathlon Canoe Slalom

Beach Volleyball

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.

Down: 2 Idle, 3 Agatha, 4 As If, 5 Applegate, 6 Fanning, 7 Len, 9 OHanlon, 13 Rory, 14 And Mindy, 17 Hope, 18 Twin, 20 Mia.

TV show: Fool Me Once

CLOCK-WISE

Name, Meal, Alto, Tobe, Beet, Etna

QUIZ OF THE WEEK

SUMTHING

9+8=17, 7x2=14, 2x6=12

SMALL CROSSWORD

Across: 1 Influenza, 7 Nave, 8 Weird, 10 Gem, 11 Osprey, 13 Leicester, 14 Edwina, 16 Eli, 18 No one, 19 Toll, 20 Tennessee.

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 Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

1 Cricket, 2 Miles, 3 Only Fools And Horses, 4 1970s, 5 Alfred Hitchcock, 6 Liam Neeson, 7 Wales, 8 Absolutely Fabulous, 9 Cider With Rosie, 10 Providence.

Down: 1 Insolvent, 2 Nausea, 3 Lear, 4 Eel, 5 Nightie, 6 Admirable, 8 Wheedle, 9 Opinion, 12 Gentle, 15 Wets, 17 Inn.

CROSS DOUBT

Across: SCRUB

Down: STOOD

QUICK CROSSWORD

●

CRYPTIC PUZZLE

Across 1

in by medical orderly (10)

6 Member of a body (4)

10 It is paid for what babyminders do after six (5)

11 Some repast eaten little by little (9)

12 Con man? (8)

13 Brother’s daughter is said to be in French resort (5)

15 Antipathy that is largely contrived (7)

17 Given first-class fare (7)

19 Understanding French (7)

21 Rudolph’s Canadian cousin? (7)

22 We’ve a new way to make cloth (5)

24 Request with certain satisfaction (8)

27 There’s a lot to be said for being this (9)

28 Quick breathing (5)

29 Arkwright’s lack of response in the surgery? (4)

30 The unusually stern needs of affection (10)

Down

1 Touch and go (4)

2 The first man to fly an aircraft (4,5)

3 Dismissed by the party and overcome (5)

4 Warrior unit yet to be disciplined for profanity (7)

5 One helping a superior it’s said (7)

7 She’ll show anger with heartless nurse (5)

8 Its author must love to write it (6,4)

9 He hasn’t yet made a score (8)

14 One keeps dry on it (5,5)

16 He hoists a flag but not for the winner (6-2)

18 Rake in and reel a bit carelessly (9)

20 Go off in a bad temper? (7)

21 Folded when credit was derestricted (7)

23 Arterial way of vital importance (5)

25 Steps look sound (5)

26 Make sure head of finance goes over the charges (4)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Crack up, 5 Motif, 8 On the rack, 9 Rig, 10 Dash, 12 Quagmire, 14 Overly, 15 Mozart, 17 In accord, 18 Seep, 21 Odd, 22 Off limits, 24 Scent, 25 Tannery.

Down: 1 Crowd, 2 Act, 3 Keen, 4 Prague, 5 Make good, 6 Terminate, 7 Figment, 11 Skedaddle, 13 Blackout, 14 Ominous, 16 Profit, 19 Pesky, 20 Sign, 23 Ire.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

Across: 1 Inertia, 5 Hooks, 8 Easy chair, 9 Hal, 10 Loot, 12 Choleric, 14 Ageing, 15 Egoist, 17 Hedgerow, 18 Hero, 21 Ida, 22 Orderlies, 24 Tenet, 25 Drawers.

Down: 1 Ideal, 2 Ems, 3 Tack, 4 Apathy, 5 Horology, 6 Otherwise, 7 Solicit, 11 Overdrawn, 13 In revolt, 14 Atheist, 16 Loaded, 19 Oasis, 20 Aria, 23 Ice.

EASY PUZZLE

A E I D F S T S I

Across: 1 Catamaran, 8 Lei, 9 Abracadabra, 11 Vicious, 12 Liken, 13 Expect, 15 Ideals, 17 Photo, 18 Rebukes, 20 Abbreviated, 22 Net, 23 Religious. Down: 2 Alb, 3 Macho, 4 Radish, 5 Nobbled, 6 Black market, 7 Diagnosis, 10 Reciprocate, 11 Viewpoint, 14 Crowbar, 16 Ordeal, 19 Bring, 21 Emu.

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 12; very good 18; excellent 24 (or more). Solution tomorrow

Yesterday’s Sudoku Answer

Call 0907 181 2585 for today’s Target

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

THE ALPHABEATER

TARGET

ALUMINIUM

CAN you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid number represents a letter – or black square. As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet is used. But you have to complete the grid too! Use the given letters and black squares below the grid to start. The grid is ‘rotationally symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the same if you turn the page upside down.

Extra letter

0907 181

ALUMINIUM anil ilium imam lain lima mail maim main mini minim minimal nail

Solution tomorrow

Yesterday’s Kakuro Answer

(Deduct three each extra clue

Full solution

0907 181

*Calls cost 80p per your telephone network access

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

WORD BUILDER

Star-studded Wine & Food Festival is a smashing succe

s

Wyclef Jean, Martha Stewart and celebrity chefs delight patrons at second annual event

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

“You just had to be there!”

This has been the general consensus of all those who attended last week’s second annual Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival. The star-studded event featured something for everyone: for those who wanted to go all out with their culinary experience as well as for those who wanted to keep it more low-key. There were options like the Wine Down that invited guests to the Atlantis Bridge Suite or the master class and lunch with Chef Michael White during which he revealed the secret to crafting the perfect pasta dish.

WYCLEF Jean performs at Jerk Jam

‘Taste of Paradise’ brings the best of the Bahamas to the world

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS | Tribune Staff Reporter | lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL and worldrenowned chefs alike put their talents to the test to highlight local cuisine during the ‘A Taste of Paradise’ event which was held as part of the second Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival last week

Featuring Food Network chefs such as Andrew Zimmern, Michael White and Alon Shaya, the five-day event was presented by Atlantis Paradise Island and included tastings, wine pairings, culinary demonstrations and classes, happy hours, and meals curated by various experts.

Local participating restaurants included Wild Thyme, Café Johnny Canoe, Mudda Freeze, McKenzie’s Fresh Conch Salad, POW, Bahamian Bistro, BASK and POW, just to name a few. Each restaurant offered its renditions of Bahamian dishes.

Patrons were able to sample some of the most unique and delicacies and crafted cocktails while the band Synergy delivered the musical backdrop.

Jason Spencer, Marketing and Entertainment Vice-President at Atlantis, called the event a success, with an equal percentage of resort guests and local patrons attending.

“We wanted to showcase all of our local partners and chefs here in Nassau and bring the best of the Bahamas to the world, and I think we really accomplished that tonight with multiple partners from

all throughout the island,” said Mr Spencer.

The beachside event was relocated to Paradise Harbour to accommodate the large number of guests, according to Mr Spencer.

Some of the food featured included typical Bahamian dishes such as conch chowder, conch salad and guava duff. However, there were also local staples with a twist. These included a peas n’ rice risotto, curry

conch chowder, and guava duff with coconut ice cream.

Devean McPhee, chef and owner of the Wild Thyme restaurant, described their dish of choice:

“Peas n’ rice is a Bahamian staple, so we wanted to bring that in a bite size form for the festival and highlight Bahamian cuisine,” he said.

In explaining the dish, he said: “What we did is, we did a peas n’ rice risotto; we did fry snapper,

plantain, thyme, and coleslaw, and we put it in an eggroll.”

Guests were able to dance the night away and partake in various photo opportunities. The night ended with the sounds of Junkanoo. Proceeds from the event will support the Atlantis Blue Project Foundation, which dedicated to saving marine life and its habitats throughout the Bahamian and Caribbean seas.

theatre

Ringplay opens its 2024 Repertory Season with two plays

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

The curtain may have come down on the first production of Ringplay Production’s 2024 Repertory Season, but there is much more in store for theatre lovers.

Last weekend saw the season’s opening with the staging of the two one-act plays: “Them” and “A Merry Regiment of Women”.

Now, the Ringplay theatre company is gearing up for their second production of the year: “Ralphie’s Barbershop”, which opens on April 11.

Until that time, resident director of Ringplay, Anthony “Skeebo” Roberts, said he will bask in what he believes was a successful staging of their first two productions.

The final showing of “Them” and “A Merry Regiment of Women” was held in the Philip A Burrows Black Box Theatre at the Dundas.

The first play, “Them”, Mr Roberts’ admits is complicated in nature and “one may have to see it twice just to get it.”

“It was written by Winston Saunders. It is a piece that is timed basically around the late 1960s, early ‘70s (when many expatriates lived in the Bahamas).

“There was some bigotry about what that meant and how they would fit into the larger context of national development and what not. And this particular lady (main character) is really white in appearance, although we didn’t depict that physically, but her idea of having been brought up white and feeling and enjoying a white sort of like culture. Then having to experience a different culture when she moves to the United States and Canada, and again, the uncertainty of what was going to happen when she returned home. It causes whatever makeup

she may have had to come through psychologically.”

The plays also highlights the “sweethearting” culture in the Bahamas.

“That is coupled with the fact that within our culture there is also the tendency of men to step out and away from their marriage and or whatever.

“And she (the main character) is caught up in this sort of quagmire where the child begins to realise something is unnatural about her

occurrence, but she is still ignoring it, and of course, after 36 years, what you see is really the effect of the whole story impacted upon her, and she really goes off.”

The second piece, “A Merry Regiment of Women”, Mr Roberts said, was by Rae Shirley. Six of Shakespeare’s great women and three extraordinary men meet in a totally contemporary play.

This was the first Reparatory Season opener for Ringplay since 2020.

“We are starting again and hopefully we won’t be interrupted with anything as devastating as COVID,” said Mr Roberts.

“We are looking forward to bringing in more people, especially young people.”

He hopes they will help project the direction they’d like to go in in terms of performance and source material.

An actor himself, Mr Roberts will playing the titular Ralphie in the upcoming “Ralphie’s Barbershop”.

SCENES from “A Merry Regiment of Women”

literary lives - Jesse Owens (1913 -1980)

The ‘Buckeye Bullet’ who became a legend Part II

Sir Christopher Ondaatje remembers the great American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the infamous 1936 Olympic Games.

“When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?

- Jesse Owens

After the Olympic Games ended, the US Olympic team was invited to compete in Sweden. Jesse Owens, hoping to capitalise on his success by accepting lucrative endorsement offers, returned to the United States.

US athletic officials were furious and withdrew his amateur status – which ended his career. Owens argued that racial discrimination had affected his entire athletic career, such as not being eligible for scholarships in college, and therefore being unable to take classes between training and working to pay his way. He had to give up athletics to earn money wherever he could. After the Olympics he found it difficult to earn a living and took on jobs as a gas station attendant, playground janitor, and manager of a dry-cleaning store.

At times he resorted to racing against motorbikes, cars, trucks and horses for cash prizes.

“People say it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals – but you can’t eat gold medals.”

- Jesse Owens

He also made appearances at baseball games and other events.

By 1937 commercial offers had all but completely disappeared.

In 1942, through a friend Willis Ward, Owens got a job at the Ford Motor Company as assistant personnel director in Detroit, serving as the liaison between black and white workers, and an advocate for African-American employees in the personnel department. Owens remained with Ford

until 1946 when he moved his family to Chicago and opened his own public relations agency. But this didn’t last long. In 1946, Owens joined Abe Saperstein in the formation of the West Coast Negro Baseball League. Owens was vice-president and the owner of the Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds franchise. He toured with the Rosebuds, sometimes entertaining the audience between doubleheader games by competing against horses. The WCBA disbanded after only two months.

Owens helped promote the film Mom and Dad in African-American neighbourhoods, and tried to make a living as a sports promoter, essentially giving local sprinters a ten or twenty yard start and then beating them in a 100 yard dash. He also challenged and defeated racehorses. But financial opportunities were thin.

“There was no television, no big advertising, no endorsements then. Not for a Black man, anyway.”

- Jesse Owens

In 1965, Owens was hired as a running instructor for the New York Mets.

Owens ran a dry cleaning business, and worked as a gas station attendant to earn a living. Eventually he filed for bankruptcy. In 1966, he was prosecuted for tax evasion.

Republican President Dwight D Eisenhower enlisted Owens as a goodwill ambassador to India, the Philippines and Malaya, to promote physical exercise as well as tout the cause of American freedom and economic opportunity in the developing world. This continued into the 1960s and 1970s.

Owens continued his product endorsement with Quaker Oats, Sears and Roebuck, Johnson and Johnson, and the United States Olympic Committee. In 1972, he and his wife retired to Arizona.

Four years later his 1972 biography was published, where he said:

“Any Black man who wasn’t a militant in 1970 was either blind or a coward.”

Owens travelled to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics as a special guest of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and former boxer Max Schmeling. A few months before his death he had tried unsuccessfully to convince President Jimmy Carter to withdraw his boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He argued that the Olympic ideal was supposed to be observed as a time-out from war and that it was above politics.

Jesse Owens was a heavy cigarette smoker, beginning when he was thirty-two years old. In December 1979, he was hospitalised on and off for an extremely aggressive and drug-resistant type of lung cancer. He died on March 31, 1980, of the

disease in Tucson, Arizona, when he was sixty-six years old.

Even though President Jimmy Carter ignored Owens’s request to cancel the Olympic boycott in 1980, he issued a tribute to him after he died:

“Perhaps no athlete better symbolised the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry.”

DR WALTER SCHREIBER, acting mayor of West Berlin, congratulates Owens in 1951, telling him, ‘Hitler wouldn’t shake your hands, I give you both h

OWENS with German Chancellor Willy Brandt at the Munich Olympics in 1972

OWENS makes a nostalgic visit to the scene of his great Olympic triumph, on June 9, 1964_

Art and conservation efforts blossom in Eleuthera this weekend

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

Residents and visitors to Eleuthera will get the opportunity to celebrate Bahamian art, nature and culture at Sunday’s “Art in Bloom” event.

As part of the island’s Spring Art and Cultural Festival 2024, event will take place at the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve (LLNPP), Banks Road, in Governor’s Harbour. It will feature local artists and craft vendors, native food, beer and spirits, kids’ activities and live entertainment.

“The goal of the event is to showcase local artists, craftspeople, and food and beverage vendors against the beautiful, awe-inspiring backdrop of the Preserve; while raising awareness about the work of the Bahamas National Trust,” said Elijah Sands, senior communications Officer at BNT.

The Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve is Eleuthera’s first national park and one of 33 national parks managed by the BNT.

Elijah said “Art in Bloom” is an event for everyone, with proceeds supporting ongoing conservation efforts through scientific and educational programming available at the LLNPP.

“The event has been held a few times in the past, but this is the first time in several years. With this return, we’ve rebranded from ‘Art in the Park’ to ‘Art in Bloom’. This is a celebration, so get ready for an atmosphere of excitement and fun,” he said.

Highlights of the event will include lots of games for kids and live music for the adults, as well as food, drinks, and of course, art.

“With many unique artists and vendors on display, and the Preserve itself being a national park with trails, boardwalks, wetland areas, and other exciting features, there are ample things to explore and something for everyone to enjoy - whether they’re interested in nature, art, food, supporting local businesses, or just having a good time,” said Elijah.

When asked how the idea for the event initially came

about, Elijah said it was inspired by one of the BNT’s biggest fundraisers of the year is the annual Wine & Art Festival each Fall, which has been ongoing for more than 30 years.

It celebrates Bahamian art and culture while raising awareness and money for conservation. With this in mind, organisers wanted to give Eleuthera their own event to look forward to, where local artists and

vendors could get similar exposure and the local community could have their own experience that combines art, culture and nature.

“Being a botanical garden, Spring was the perfect season to host such an event at the Preserve, when the national park is bursting with life and colour. ‘Art in Bloom’ is also the only fundraiser for the BNT on Eleuthera, with proceeds specifically dedicated to the LLNPP,” said Elijah.

He said it is an exciting and inspiring feeling to see so many different aspects of Bahamian culture meshed together in this unique event. The BNT team is also proud to utilise the event as a platform for local artists and to bring the community together, united for a day of fun and the common cause of conserving what’s important.

“This event is the only fundraiser for the BNT on Eleuthera, so it’s extremely important for supporting conservation initiatives at the Preserve. In terms of the local Eleutheran community specifically, the LLNPP provides a recreational space to

safely enjoy nature and supports tourism on the island,” he said.

“In terms of the Bahamas in general, it preserves a unique aspect of our history and culture in the form of bush medicine, conserves Bahamian biodiversity, and positions the country as a regional leader in plant education and conservation.”

Like all national parks, he added, it is a natural treasure to be admired and protected for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations of Bahamians.

“This event is not only an opportunity to support this national park and all it protects, but for Bahamians to experience and enjoy their park first-hand. When you attend ‘Art in Bloom’, you’re also supporting all the local vendors and artisans on display and selling their products,” he said.

“I am looking forward to the variety of vendors. This is an amazing opportunity for exposure for them, and a chance to experience and explore something new for attendees.”

SCENES from previous years

Sometimes the most wonderful things happen right in your own home when you absolutely least expect it.

This happened many years ago. I have written about it before, but it is such a beautiful story I want to tell you about it again.

In those days I had budgies in a wonderful old big Victorian cage.

I went into my study, heard my little birds singing and talking busily to each other.

It was getting late, so I sat down in the sitting room to watch a movie on TV. All four dogs, Spats, Abigail, Chief and Buddy (we did not have Bella yet) were at my feet in various states of sleep. All of a sudden Chief jumps up and asks to go out for a walk.

I opened the door to the pool and out he went. In a few moments he was back. He lay down again, but was apparently unable to settle. Up again asking to go out. Once again out around the pool, and in a matter of moments he was back in the sitting room. He would sit staring at me, whining, getting up and going in to the hall back again, bark, whine.

Finally I could not take it any longer; the movie was impossible to watch with this hyper puppy that would not leave me in peace. “Oh, OK, Chief,” I told him, “You win”.

I went over to the front door where Chief was standing, whining, with his ears cocked forward and his tail wagging in triumph that he had finally got me to do his bidding.

I opened the front door and Chief took a couple of steps out and then turned around with a smile on his face (I promise you, he was smiling).

“Come on, Chief”, I said to him, “Go into the garden and do what you want to do!”

While I was looking at my ridiculously happy potcake, something whizzed over my head and into the house. “%#@%&#@” said I, as I ducked, “a bird has just flown into the house!!!!!” (Lots of exclamation marks needed here; because I was surprised and dreading the hunt of catching it without it getting hurt and putting it back outside again).

My husband and I searched high and low, no bird, until Chief walked over to the corner in the hall near the kitchen. There on the floor was a very small, very blue little budgie!

I always kept cages of all size in the garage in case a sick or young bird needed help. We slipped the little bird

PET OF THE WEEK

( PHOTO BY LINDA GILLARANHA )

Animal matters

Kim Aranha

A Wiggly Piggly

By The Bahamas Humane Society

No one at the Bahamas Humane Society is quite sure what mix of dog(s) Piggly is. This small mixed breed seems to have some sort of terrier in him, but which?

Whichever it is, Piggly has lots of energy and is curious about the world around him. He’s friendly with most other dogs and could be trained to know cats. People are definitely his favourite animal, though.

He’d love a home that could keep him occupied, perhaps with lots of toys, long walks, and fun days at the beach. Are

you the right match for Piggly? If so, come to the BHS to meet him or call 323-5138 for more information. Piggly looks forward to meeting you.

• The BHS Thrift Shop is open and ready to sell you all kinds of wonderful things, from housewares to giftwares, to books, clothes, and much more. Open Wednesday/ Thursday/Friday from 11am to 3pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm. All proceeds go to the BHS.

The tale of Boomerang

into the cage and gave him a quick once over.

“Are you sure that this is not your bird,” my husband asked me. “Of course not, my bird is in his cage with the others.” “Yeah, right!”

I took my “new” little blue friend down the hall and took a look into

the large cage. Only two birds, but the cage door was closed! Upon careful examination, I saw that the bars had been separated somehow and my Blueberry Bird had indeed flown out; not only out of the cage but somehow out of the house.

It was a blustery evening, showers

passing through and gusts of quite strong winds. It is a miracle that Blueberry Bird had not get blown off course and flown to another part of New Providence. He could have ended up as dinner for one of the many cats who wander around our neighbourhood.

The moment that we opened the cage, Blueberry flew right up onto his swing where he often sat to survey his world and watch me on the computer or phone, serenading me all the while. The other two birds immediately flew over to him and sat right close, snuggled up to him, chirping and “talking” quietly long into the night after the light was turned off and their cover was put on the cage. This excessively affectionate behaviour continued for several days until the normal behaviour of independence returned.

In honour of his return home Blueberry was renamed Boomerang.

Now, here comes the million dollar question: Did Chief hear Boomerang at the front door trying to get back home to the safety and security of the warm house? Had they been able to communicate? Chief’s behaviour certainly was out of character that night. He has never behaved like that before nor has he ever behaved like that again. I believe that Chief did know that Boomerang was stranded outside and could hear him at the door and knew that it was his duty to get me to open the door and he did not rest until he had achieved his mission.

I believe Blueberry Bird knew exactly what he was doing.The power of animal psyche is very real.

BOOMERANG the budgie, formerly known as Blueberry Bird

A sight to behold

Good day, gardeners. Spring has sprung and many plants and trees have signalled that the winter months are passed.

There’s a tree that I enjoy that has signalled the spring season’s arrival, commonly named the Horseflesh tree, also referred to as the Horseflesh Mahogany. Its new growth can be stunning, as it’s a deep orange or red in appearance and is a joy to see when new foliage is springing in the spring, and when viewed in a coppice, particularly from above, on a second storey of a building, for example.

Botanically named Lysiloma sabicu, in the Fabaceae family, the Horseflesh tree is a gorgeous sight to behold, in my opinion. Very much commercially underappreciated and under-utilised, this tree is a native to the Lucayan archipelago, mainly in the central and northern islands, south to Cuba and Hispaniola, and west to the keys of Florida. It grows abundantly in dry broadleaf forests, shrublands and coppice areas.

In the area that I’m living in, it grows up to the backside of the northern and eastern facing hills and dunes on the Atlantic Ocean, and within a hundred feet or so of the Exuma Sound and the Bight of Eleuthera. Having quite a high tolerance to salt air, it’s a very versatile tree that makes a gorgeous addition to any landscape, and is suitable for residential lots due to its relatively small to medium sized growth habits and branching structure. It’s manageable growth patterns make it a prize selection in a residential or commercial setting.

I regret to say that I’ve witnessed the demise of many of these trees in New Providence, due to the lack of care, awareness, appreciation or knowledge of the forestry regulations and laws.

The Horseflesh is designated as a tree of “Cultural or Historical and Economic Protected Trees” in Part 2 of the Forestry Act (No. 20 of 2020) Forestry (Declaration of Protected Trees) Order 2021. The declaration made amendments to the pre-existing Order of the Forestry Act (No. 20 of 2010) Forestry Regulations 2014.

Who of any of us actually knows about these regulations?! I only have a vague knowledge that they’re even there. In that regard it’s impossible to blame anyone for removing any of these trees. How is anyone not intimately involved in agribusiness to have any sort of clue as to what is or is not protected? I am no student of our laws and I would have no idea of the list of protected trees were I not involved in the business of trees. Is it redundant that the regulations are in place? Is it futile, pointless maybe? I wonder what it would take for a full understanding of the laws and regulations of our country, it wasn’t taught in school, not even the most basic fundamentals. One must seek out the information for themselves; there’s no public education programme or dissemination of information to the public save for the self motivated students of our laws or government. Needless to say that when I’ve seen these trees being removed, it’s too late to have a discussion on their value, even if the person responsible for removal were willing to listen, let alone if

they were to care. Zero public education, zero public disclosure, zero authoritative enforcement, and zero visibility of any forestry authority, all put together in essence equals zero credence to the regulations.

I am not a proponent or a fan of government intrusion, in my personal life, finances, business, and of all things, my garden! I despise intrusive and heavy-handed government entirely. So there is a contradiction in that I call for enforcement of regulation, yet I do not desire for regulations to impact my life.

All of that aside, the Horseflesh is an excellent tree. Wind and salt tolerant, slow growing, hard wood, manageable in size and growth habit, and an economically valuable tree. I think it ought to be used in commercial and residential design, and ought to be identified in any land clearing for possible preservation. It’s beautiful due to its orange and red new foliage, and is a valuable tree. The wood has been and very well may be still used in wood carving, house trim, furniture and boat building. If

one is cut down, three or ten ought be planted in its place.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. We can. Preservation of our natural environment is a hedge against the global ills, and can be valuable in terms of sustenance, material and aesthetics. As always, I wish you happy gardening. -

A HORSEFLESH tree