04092021 WEEKEND

Friday, April 9, 2021

interview gardening history relationships puzzles animals books

Weekend

Go to college!

Pages 04 + 05

Lasting love New show focuses on how to make marriage work

pgs 08 +09

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

fashion

The Weekend Fashion Report 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

HIT

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SPLIT

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Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) in custom Louis

Anna Taylor-Joy (“Queen’s Gambit”) in Vera Wang

Kerry Washington (“Little Fires Everywhere”) in Etro

Elle Fanning (“The Great”) in Gucci

Jurnee Smollett (“Lovecraft Country”) in Zuhair Murad

Karin says: “In her show, she’s a master of chess, and in real life she’s slowly becoming a master of the virtual red carpet. She looks fantastic in this retro nightgown inspired dress, but it’s less unique than her previous looks. Many have done the pale pink/black lace vintage look, but I guess not always quite as successfully.”

Karin says: “Another vintage look. This time, complete with swim cap. She even posted pictures of herself in the pool and said the SAGs were ‘going swimmingly’. It’s a cute idea, but the dress itself is nothing special and the colour doesn’t quite work for her.”

Karin says: “This is something totally different for Viola, and I’m loving it. She pulls the lime green off beautifully.

Apparently, this gown, which her stylist said symbolises ‘motivation and hope towards a better future’, took 140 hours to embroider. I think it was worth it.”

Cara says: “I am loving her straight hair; such a different look on her! And I really like this dress. Very unique with the sequined side panels (I don’t even mind the padded shoulders). And that lime green colour just screams ‘springtime’.”

Cara says: “She has that Golden Age Hollywood siren look down pat. It does look very much like lingerie, especially since she chose a dress that exactly matches her skin tone, but it works for her. She’s very confident in her choices and has now fully arrived a genuine style icon.”

Cara says: “I’m typically not a fan of Kerry’s red carpet looks, but this is cute. It’s a little retro and boho all at once. The pattern and beading of all those jewel-tone blues is lovely, so all in all it’s a really good look for Kerry.”

Karin says: ‘I’m sure this sparkly Gucci pantsuit cost a fortune, but ultimately it just looks like it was ripped straight out of the 1970s.

There isn’t anything special about it that would update this disco look; to give it a modern twist. It’s a bit boring in that it offers nothing new.”

Cara says: “I get ‘Brady Bunch’, 1970s sparkly pyjamas vibe when I look at this outfit.

It’s a fun look on her, but I don’t know if I love it. She is definitely being creative and doing something totally different, but I’m not sure I’m 100 percent sold on it.”

Karin says: “This is fabulous!

It’s a very classic look, and not that inventive, but it works. The combination of the off-the-shoulder design with the billowing train and the plunging neckline is perfect.

And I love the magenta colour and the matching statement necklace.”

Cara says: “This dress is simply gorgeous. I love everything about it: the drama, the sweeping Hollywood ball gown silhouette, and of course the jewellery and shoes are ‘goals’. However, I have to say I am not feeling the hair; definitely cheapens the look.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, April 9, 2021

Weekend Inside

My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Sonovia Pierre Entertainer

Interview 4 – 5

Charlotte Knowles-Thompson wants to help give Bahamian students a chance to go to college

Puzzles 6 Music 7, 10

New rapper Judah Forbes comes up ‘Out of the Trenches’, plus excitement mounts for first ever Bahamas Gospel Music Awards

Relationships 8-9

A new show by a renowned wedding planner seeks to find the secret to making love last and marriages work

Q: Beach or sofa?

“Sofa definitely. I work hard all week.”

Books 11

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik? “ A cocktail. My favourite is coconut rum and pineapple juice.”

Literary Lives 12 – 13

Q: What will you be binge-watching? “ ‘The Blacklist’...that guy’s mind is fascinating indeed.”

Forgotten Facts 14

Q: If you had to be quarantined with a celebrity, who would it be and why?

“I really like Matthew McConaughey.

He is quirky, sexy and can cook.”

Dr Timothy Barrett explores the ‘high cost of not living’ The prince of thriller writers works his black magic Remembering the goombay legend

10

Animals 15

A conversation on the job, plus Pet of the Week

Gardening 16

Exploring a backyard source of vitamins

‘BLESS A FAMILY’ WITH A MEAL

THE SHOWMAN eBistro and Thula Masks team up to help feed Bahamian families

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net Thula Masks, together with the Showman e-Bistro, wanted to do their bit to help the many Bahamian families who are struggling to put food on the table due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Easter, the hand-made mask company teamed up with the food delivery and catering service to raise funds for 100 $40 food boxes to be distributed to families in need.

The idea for this charitable initiative came from the son of Lisa Goudie, the principal of the Meridian School and a Showman customer.

When the first lockdowns started last year, Lisa decided to begin selling

Q: If you could go away for COVID-free weekend, where it would it be?

“A small villa vineyard, in the countryside of Italy. Good music and culture.”

hand-painted silk masks. The venture was so successful that she turned it into a proper business named Thula Masks.

Lisa involved her children, her 17-yearold daughter Aria and her 11-year-old son Kofi in the business as well. The kids even asked their mother to create a mask collection of their own. Additionally, it was Kofi who suggested that it would be a great idea to collaborate

with the Showman e-Bistro to help provide meals for families in need.

The Goudies reached out to the Showman e-Bistro, which was thrilled with the proposal.

“We told them however many boxes that they are able to sell, we would in turn match it and provide the same to help families,” said Ray Morrison, Showman’s director of public relations.

“No Bahamian family should have to go hungry. So unique silk masks were sold at $20 to facilitate… feeding families with children.”

The response to the ‘Bless a Family’ initiative and Thula Masks’ new handpainted silk masks in a variety of colours and designs was overwhelmingly positive.

Mr Morrison said it’s important for the Showman team to create awareness of community issues, so having the support of the public for this project, and also inspiring the support of corporate Bahamas, made this undertaking a tremendous success.

He is happy to report that the target goal was met and distribution of the meals will take place on Tuesday, April 13. Both Showman and Thula Masks are interested in making the initiative an ongoing project.

Mr Morrison said the Showman e-Bistro has more exciting announcements to make soon, including the official opening of a restaurant featuring multi-cultural cuisine.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

interview

Charlotte Knowles-Thompson A personal tragedy set this mom-of-two on a path to help Bahamian kids achieve their dreams of attending college. No matter their financial situation, she tells Cara Hunt, there are always ways to help families snag a scholarship, and she is here to offer her expertise and connections.

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ine years ago, life changed dramatically for Charlotte Knowles-Thompson. Her husband died and she was suddenly left to raise their two children alone.

“When my husband passed away, unfortunately he had no benefits and so I was left in a financial hardship. I actually lost my home. I had to pull my children out of private school,” she told Tribune Weekend.

While it was a difficult choice, she said it ended up being a blessing in disguise. This drastic change inspired her help dozens of children through her scholarship programme – The Charlotte Knowles-Thompson Agency.

“I have two children, a boy and a girl, and I know that I wanted them to have a better life and be able to make a decent living, and even though I was no longer able to afford a private school education, I really wanted them to be able to attend college. It’s an opportunity that I never had personally, and I wanted that for my kids,” she said.

Charlotte knew that the only way this would be possible was if her children received some financial assistance.

“I started doing all my research to see what was available. I knew that my daughter wanted to become a chef and my son was interested in going into information technology, and so I started looking at schools that offered those programmes and ways that we could secure scholarships to them.

“I was able to get scholarships for both of my children to attend the College of the Bahamas and then my daughter received assistance from the Lyford Cay Foundation, among others, and she was able to go to Johnson and Wales University.

“My son eventually transferred to BTVI where he got several of his certifications and then he also was able to go off to school on a scholarship as well. Now they are both college graduates,” she said.

Charlotte said her children have several friends whom she was also able to assist with their education aspirations.

ARIEL PRATT, a Troy University student

“I hate when I hear that young ladies have so much potential, but they don’t have the financial resources to further their education and instead fall victim to some boy filling their heads with sweet nothings and end up pregnant or with limited options when what they really wanted was to go to school.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, April 9, 2021

DEREK ADAMS, a football star at UNA

CHRISTIAN STRACHAN, who has a full scholarship to Jacksonville State University

CHARLOTTE and Bishop Laish Boyd’s son, Nathan Boyd, at one of her college symposiums

“I realised that this was a way I could truly help our young people. And so, this has become something that I have become truly passionate about.”

The Charlotte Knowles-Thompson Agency is an education consultancy service that assists students free of charge to find the best schools with scholarships and financial assistance.

Part of her services include helping students apply for their American and Canadian student visas.

“In many cases, I partner with visa companies, so they will prepare the visa application for the students but waive their fee for doing it, so that (the students) only have to pay the embassy fees because every little bit of savings can help,” she said.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t stop Charlotte from doing her good deeds.

“During my vacation from my full-time job pre-COVID, I visited high schools and facilitated college fairs for parents and students. I have not stopped helping, and during COVID I brought the colleges to the students and hosted 12 virtual fairs since lockdown.

“Since Fall 2020, 15 students started their degrees online and in January they left to study on campus. Some of them are on full scholarships and others on 50 per cent scholarships,” she said.

She said are so many opportunities out there just waiting for qualified students to take advantage of.

“You would be surprised at what is available.

You can get financial assistance in so many ways.

For instance, if you play an instrument, you may

be able to qualify even if music is not your major,” she said.

“What I have been able to do is form connections and relationships with the schools and so they can say to me, ‘We have funds for a particular thing if you have a student that matches the criteria’, or I can say, ‘I have this student who is excellent. Can you provide any assistance for them?’ And in so many cases we can get them the assistance that they need. Many times when you apply to a school on your own, you are one of thousands of applicants and your application can get lost in the crowd, so having someone who can push that application through and knows someone to call is so important.”

The pandemic has actually not hindered her efforts, she added, rather it has helped.

“Schools are still accepting students, and in many cases they are waiving a lot of the requirements such as SATs or the college admission tests, and locally the BGCSEs, because they know that the students have not been able to sit them. They are waiving a lot of the application fees and some of the school fees, because they know students’ families may be financially challenged, and that helps lower the costs,” she said.

Virtual lessons have also allowed the students to be able to start the school year without the expense of moving right away.

“What a lot of the schools are also saying is if we are waiving the exam results, you have to show us the grades from grade 9 to 12 and that has helped a lot of students who may have consistently

good grades but maybe not the test results,” she explained.

Charlotte has a particular passion for assisting female students.

“I hate when I hear that young ladies have so much potential, but they don’t have the financial resources to further their education and instead fall victim to some boy filling their heads with sweet nothings and end up pregnant or with limited options when what they really wanted was to go to school,” she said.

Charlotte urges parents to do all they can to assist their children in making their academic dreams come true.

“We have to want more for our children. We need to give them the best start to have a good life, and that is often, although not always, a college education. You have to encourage your children to do their very best and research all the options available to them. And it is not just grades.

They have to be well-rounded individuals, so make sure that they are involved in their schools, their churches and their community. Document everything so that they have a portfolio to go along with their transcripts. Schools and organisations offering scholarships like to see well-rounded individuals,” she advised.

Charlotte is slowly starting to get recognised for her efforts on behalf of the country’s youth.

“I have recently been awarded the Ministry of Finance Small Business grant and a six-month free promotion by Kemis.net that I used to have a website built and media promotions respectively,” she said.

down: 1(6) Spider; about husband 2 Encouragement; 27 21 ‘Snake and Swan’ by 5 Envious;April artist (5)3 Panda; Friday, Sabre-rattling; 7 Leeway; 22 Reside in6cottage (5) Refer; 13a Outsize; 24 About to8manage Campus; repeated15 series (5) 16 Aspic; 17 Trance; 20 Adage.

27 Catch relaxation for audience of circus act (7) 28 Family has empty time, unpleasant (7)

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Jnr c i G i Eo

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

● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)

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

Verb forms ending in s permitted.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 16; very good 24; excellent 31 (or more). Solution tomorrow

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

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Immodest assertion one isn’t ashamed to make (5,5) 6 He’s an American at heart (4) 10 Punish with stick? (5) 11 New aria I’d not broadcast from the centre (9) 12 Suppose it is the piano one takes up again (8) 13 She makes peace in Greece (5) 15 Dress again in regal fashion (7) 17 Sew lots perhaps but be the last to finish (7) 19 Many not able to provide a word of opposite meaning (7) 21 Reduce each damaged pen (7) 22 A joint to keep a watch on (5) 24 Colourful range of crumpets? (8) 27 Don’t forget to have another get together (9) 28 Went on a horse to the ring for the show (5) 29 I’d turn about with disastrous result (4) 30 Mathematician made riches in a way (10)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Down 1 Father of twins? (4) Across: 1 Measles, 5 Moist, 2 Brave’s not another word for 8 Like a shot, 9 Set, 10 Neat, 12 Fruitful, 14 Heaven, 15 Far being vigilant (9) cry, 17 Profound, 18 Pomp, 21 Fee, 22 Etiquette, 24 Lobby, 3 Unused grounds (5) 25 Honeyed.

4 Stern-looking sportsmen (7) Down: 1 Melon, 2 Ask, 3 Lean, 4 Sahara, 5 Mythical, 6 Ipso 5 A devout leader insists facto, 7 Totally, 11 At a low ebb, they’re cruel (7) 13 Recovery, 14 Hopeful, 16 Enrich, 19 Plead, 20 Ruin, 7 Rear lights we hear (5) 23 Toy. 8 Harmony in a musical instrument (10) 9 A singer has to object to one wrong note (8) Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution 14 A sphere lacking reality (5,5) Across: 1 Immoral, 5 Tessa, 16 Any in let out naturally (8) 8 Face-saver, 9 Ago, 10 Raps, 18 Once beaten, explained 12 Reticent, 14 Static, 15 Curate, 17 Eyesight, 18 Zero, 21 Per, everything (9) 22 Elections, 24 Ewers, 20 There’ll be friction as long as 25 Dearest. he’s at work (7) Down: 1 Infer, 2 Mac, 3 Rash, 4 Levies, 5 Terminus, 21 The ache so placed is 6 Stalemate, 7 Apostle, naturally spotted (7) 11 Plane tree, 13 Tidiness, 14 Steeple, 16 Shield, 19 Onset, 23 Imprisoned dog is made to 20 Etna, 23 One. suffer (5) 25 Drum sound used in both rumba and samba (5) 26 Grass cutters are said to be extinct in New Zealand (4) Across Down 1 Immense (4) 1 Making insistent 2 Bound by intimate 6 7 8 outcry (10) ties (5-4) 6 50 per cent (4) 9 3 Relinquish (5) 10 Range over 4 Ecstatic delight (7) searchingly (5) 5 Unavailing (7) 11 Rat-charming folk 7 Plentiful (5) tale character (4,5) 8 Over a large area 13 12 Determined (8) (3,3,4) 13 Gullible (5) 9 Small handheld 15 Dishonourable (7) telescope (8) 18 17 Superficial (7) 14 Incivility (10) 16 Suddenly lose 19 Go back over (7) consciousness 21 Strife (7) (5,3) 22 Unpleasant 18 Appear in surprise (5) exaggerated form 24 Good enough (8) (4,5) 25 27 Important person’s 20 Make intelligible 26 attendants (9) (7) 28 Ship’s place at 21 Make out (7) 28 wharf (5) 23 Semiaquatic furry 29 A limited period (4) mammal (5) 25 Saunter (5) 30 However things 26 An attempt (4) turn out (2,3,5)

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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U T H D A R T L

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The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, April 9, 2021

music Excitement mounts for first ever Bahamas Gospel Music Awards

ANTONIO Rolle

DJ Godson

DJ Councilor

LATASHA Taylor like an erotic version of a Disney fairy tale.

“I didn’t have a problem with the premise. I think every woman deep down fantasises about a sexy billionaire falling madly in love with her and sweeping her off her feet. They also have fantasies about having a day of wild sex like Massimo and Laura had on the watch, but they may just not want to say that out loud,” she said.

Malika said she is always not here for those criticising a movie they haven’t even watched.

“I always love how the people who never actually watch films or shows like ‘Fifty Shades’ or ‘365 Days’ or even Scandal are always the ones to be so judgmental. ‘Oh, he is violent, he’s forcing her to have sex with him; you cant watch that!’ But anyone who watched it knows exactly what happened. She was equally attracted to him and wanted an affair with him. It was consensual, even if it started off creepy. So no, there was nothing alarming about this movie.

Now, I agree the sex scenes bordered on pornography and it’s definitely not a movie youngsters should have easy access to,” she said.

LEONARDO Evans

GANDHI Pinder

Media specialist Desirée said she doesn’t understand where all the outrage over this film is coming from.

“I’ll start this off by saying I loved the movie and I plan to watch it again. But I also want to say, during the first 20 minutes of the movie I was completely lost as to what was going on. Then that quickly turned into, ‘oh, this is creepy, what the heck is happening here?’ Then this turned into ‘awww, sexy, cute’ and so forth.

Yes, it was a lot going on. There are so many reviews on this movie, but I love that it kept me interested I wasn’t bored. And any woman that doesn’t admit Massimo is sexy is crazy. That man is walking eye candy.

I feel there’s a lot that can be taken from the movie, but I just took it as fun; no serious judgement needed.

How can someone say they enjoyed ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and think ‘365 Days’ is creepy? Both men were dominant and weird, both women fell in love; it didn’t even take Laura the contractual time to do so. Moreover, I understand there are two more parts to come. I can’t wait to watch,” she said.

However, not all Bahamian women are enthused about the love story of Massimo and his captive Laura.

“I read the movie synopsis and I knew it was not one for me,” said Marie, a banker who scrolled right on by when it came up on her Netflix feed. “It just seems so ridiculous. In what world is it OK to kidnap someone because you want them to share romantic feelings for you. How is a love story romantic when its foundation is based on the fact that you treated me like I am your personal property. I know people compare it to ‘Beauty and the Beast’, but at least Beauty went to the castle willingly. It seems a bit cringe to me.”

Married mother-of-two Michelle said theme aside, she was just not impressed with the movie in general.

“I have no problem with the kidnap plot; crime happens in all kinds of really enjoyable movies. My problem was that this was supposed to be a love story. I want to crush on the guy and live vicariously through the girl, but they were both so creepy and unlikable that they me and then there were so many plot holes; it was a confusing mess,” she said.

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

T

he erotic drama “365 Days” has taken the Bahamas by storm. Like in most countries around the world, the Polish film has been in Netflix’s top 10 for the last three weeks.

The movie, based on Polish author’s Blanka Lipińska’s trilogy of books, can best be described as “Fifty Shades of Grey” meets “Beauty and the Beast”, with a huge dose of Stockholm syndrome and featuring sex scenes that leave little to the imagination.

But what exactly is the appeal of a movie in which a man, a Sicilian Mafia boss no less, kidnaps a young woman and holds her hostage, giving her 365 days to fall in love with him before he releases her.

A multitude of critics have spoken out against the premise, saying it glorifies violence against woman; some have even called for its removal from Netflix.

Bahamian fans of “365 Days”, however, say they are able to separate fantasy from reality and the film should be seen as sexy, harmless fun.

“I know that the premise of the movie seems dark, and in reality I would never condone violence, but this is just fiction,” attorney Tia* told Tribune Weekend.

“Did I find the movie sexy? Yes, I did. Did I think it was a good movie?

No one ever said it was trying to be Oscar material, but I thought it was silly fun; a way to pass some time in lockdown. I didn’t do too much social analysis on it.

Malika, who works in human resources, said to her the movie is

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

music

Judah comes up ‘Out of the Trenches’ with debut album

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

T

he name of Judah Forbes’ debut album may be little confusing. “I’m Not A Rapper” is the title or the record, and that’s because he wasn’t a rapper until the moment he released his first album.

Judah told Tribune Weekend he believes his story as a music artist will begin with this album. It’s a project, he said, which demanded transparency and truth from him.

In the past, Judah operated entertainment businesses like NDO Films, Picture Perfect Photo Booth and Party Masters Rentals, but now he has found his calling in music.

Since releasing his first single, “Out The Trenches” under his stage name “JU”, he has received feedback that felt “unreal” at times. He said people are constantly requesting replays of the song on the radio and tagging him on social media platforms.

“Many persons have also been expressing how proud they are, and I can truly feel the support, which has been

JUDAH Forbes’

tremendous, to the extent of feeling like a celebrity. In addition to calls, messages and tags, many have also told me they are inspired by the way I stepped out of my comfort zone, which drives them to do the same,” he said. “That is an accomplishment, to get others to go after their dreams and to be an encouragement.”

A track off the album that his close to his heart, he said, is “Out the Trenches”, because it speaks about where he came from and where he is today. It also shows, he added, that anyone can determine their own path, taking their past struggles and using them to grow, making them a part of your journey.

“Our past helps us prepare for what is to come. It shows that anyone can come from what some people might see as the trenches. I use myself as an example, and people like me do come from places like that. It is just a mindset; do not let it determine where you should be in life,” he said. “As I reflect on a time

Photos/Scharad Lightbourne

in my life coming from no electricity and daily runs to the water pump through Johnson Alley off Wulff Road with my father…seeing that part of my life and seeing the current state I am in now, I appreciate the blessings and how everything made me humble…we all can go from rags to riches.”

Judah was in the studio with his friend, gospel rapper Najie Dunn, when he came up with the beat and lyrics for “Out the Trenches”. “ ‘The trenches to the penthouse’ line was the line that gave me goose bumps and butterflies. As I repeated it, Najie automatically felt the same feeling and from there we decided that was what we will build the story on,” he said.

A music video to accompany the song is also in the works.

“As I took on the role of the executive producer, I met a young Black, talented (woman) who will be directing as she is also up-and-coming in the media world. She will be on the

team along with JIGGY Productions and Kyle William. We are still in the planning stages as this is projected to be a big-budget video. There will be more on this in the weeks to come when we get ready to release. What I can say for sure is that this will be one for the books,” said Judah.

As for living and creating in the “new normal”, the artist said it felt like the perfect time to uplift and inspire others.

“Based on the changes, COVID-19 demanded most persons to change their lifestyles and not travel as much as we are all used to. Therefore, I took the opportunity of persons being at home for the most part.

They are scrolling on social media, which helps with circulation and rollout of this project,” he said.

Judah will soon be releasing additional singles, and said he has already received requests to be featured on other artists’ songs, both here at home and abroad.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, April 9, 2021

books

Review: “Once – The High Cost of Not Living”

by Dr Timothy Barrett

By Diane Phillips

D

r Timothy Barrett – psychiatrist, university lecturer, sports coach, behavioral guru, Olympic athlete, former drug addict – has condensed a life’s journey of learning the value of time into his new book, “Once – The High Cost of Not Living”.

On one easy-to-digest page after another, Barrett manages to make you stop what you are doing and think hard about time. He jolts us into facing time’s fickleness, how every minute evaporates without leaving a chance of getting it back. He spells out the fleeting nature of life, how easy it is to whittle it away, forgetting the truth about time; the one resource no one can stretch, bend, regenerate or replenish no matter how rich, how influential or how powerful they are.

And it was that obsession with time that drove Barrett to switch the title from the book’s original catchy name, “The High Cost of Not Living” to the simple “Once”.

This is the story of your life – and mine – and everyone else’s and how it unfolds in a minute, a gesture, a thought or idle condition at a time. It is a written portrait of a silent clock ticking away relentlessly even as you read this with no way to go back and recapture the minute before. As the title implies, the book is a deep dive into the limits of having a single chance to live any one minute before it vanishes, and a tough, but digestible reminder that what happens during that minute is not up to anyone else but you.

If that’s all it were – a 200-page diatribe on life is not a dress rehearsal – it could end up like so many ably-written how-to books. It would join the ranks of the classics like Dr. David Burns’ “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy” or Dawna Markova’s “Wide Open, On Living with Passion and Purpose”.

But Barrett’s book goes several steps further.

Sure, there is a temptation to want to like it because he’s a Bahamian and one of the country’s finest minds. But reasons to like reasons to like “Once” are far more varied and important. It is not just that the author came from a highly successful family or that he attended the finest

schools, or that he was on top the world enjoying a burgeoning career in medicine and psychiatry before sliding into an abyss when a dalliance with life’s temptations took him down a path of drugs and dependency. It is not just that he fought the hardscrabble battle to rise out of the depths and back to a better, more productive life than ever before. (And note that he says ‘recovered’, eschewing the term ‘recovering’ because that’s a label that defines you for life and it may work for some, but not for all.)

Reasons to like “Once” extend beyond labelling the author as a hero or sports star, one of the Bahamian track team members who helped save Israeli Olympians’ lives by hiding them in their room in the midst of the brutal Palestinian terror attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Certainly, it could be any of those reasons that we, as Bahamians, relate to Barrett’s work – pride in a fellow citizen who stands for all things possible and has proven by his own actions that you can alter your course mid-stream by the decisions you make, forgive, learn, re-mould yourself and grow better with time.

But the need to read this book goes beyond a son of the soil connection. Barrett doesn’t just fill us with inspiration about doing better. He gives us the how to’s of getting there. And I dare you to try them.

He starts with the concept of accepting the reality of living versus not living. Considered seriously, that is a heck of a place to start. He moves on to the importance of writing a manual for what it would take to create the state of living, rather than settling for the latter, not living or just existing.

Begin, he advises, with drafting a short mission statement and longer vision statement about your life just as a company does about its. What do you want to see yourself as? It is harder to do than you think. Then, he suggests, repeat that mission statement in your head frequently.

Barrett takes you on a journey of nine principles, each intertwined with the respect for time, including the focus on work where you spend the single largest portion of your time for the longest stretch of your life span. He offers a primer on balancing work and life outside work.

He distinguishes between the need to create the best developmental, formative and productive years, the major chapters of existence. Years of practice in medicine, psychiatry and human resource consulting have convinced him that the most productive years are between 50 and 70.

“As we grow in understanding and wisdom throughout the sixth decade and then enter the seventh decade, we hit our stride and we peak in relation to reducing errors and increasing productivity,” he writes.

He quotes Stevie Wonder, Mark Twain, even a Mercedes Benz tag line. But his most forceful source, where passion bursts through, comes from Henry David Thoreau’s muscular approach when he promises himself to “suck out all the marrow out of life.” It is reminiscent of the late Dr Myles Munroe’s declaration that he wanted to “die empty,” content to know he had spent everything he had in his soul before his heart stopped beating.

There is not a page in the book that is not worth reading if you are willing to act, if you are willing to do the work of taking personal responsibility to get life right given “its precious, priceless and irreplaceable time.”

If you care about how you spend your time you would do well to spend two hours of what you have left of it devouring “Once”. It could change your life, if you are willing to live up to its premise.

And if it is any consolation, consider this: The author himself had a second chance and he used his time to get it right, knowing the ancient adage that you only go this way once prevailed even as he determined to turn the worst of times into the best of times with the time he had left.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

literary lives – Dennis Wheatley

The prince of thrillers Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about the English writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world’s best-selling authors between the 1930s and ‘60s.

start of his writing career. He had been a prolific reader at school and three novels from his school years seemed to inspire his adventure stories: The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) by Anthony Hope; The Scarlett Pimpernel (1905) by Baroness Orczy, and The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas.

Wheatley married in 1922 shortly after his wartime friend Eric Tombe was murdered. His decomposed body was found in a cesspit and his murderer never discovered. Wheatley did, however, immortalise Tombe as the scar-faced vigilante Gregory Sallust in Black August (1934).

“The laws of man are made only to be broken because they are stupid and unjust.”

– Dennis Wheatley

“One could never hold happiness for very long, one had to snatch it whenever it came one’s way.”

– Dennis Wheatley

Dennis Wheatley was born in Brixton Hill, London, on January 8, 1897 – the eldest of three children in the family, which owned Wheatley & Son of Mayfair, a wine business. He hated school and was expelled from Dulwich College for allegedly forming a “secret society” – which he later wrote about in the introduction to his book The Devil Rides Out (1934).

Wheatley’s wife was an heiress, and their son Anthony was born soon afterwards. But his marriage failed because of his adultery. Thereafter his writing consumed him. He was opportunistic and an astute merchandiser. His first book, Three Inquisitive People (1932), did not find a publisher until 1940, by which time Wheatley had made a name for himself. It was his second wife who alerted him to the gap left by Edgar Wallace, the popular author of thrillers, who had died in 1932.

On leaving school he spent a year in Germany (1913) where he learned all about Hock and Moselwein, and witnessed the militarisation of the country. On the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918) he was one of the first to sign up and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery. He received his basic training at Biscot Camp in Luton. He was assigned to the City of London Brigade, and the 36th (Ulster) Division. He was gassed in a chlorine attack during Passchendaele resulting in chronic bronchitis and was invalided out, having served in Flanders, on the Ypres Salient, and in Cambrai and Saint Quentin in France.

His next novel, The Forbidden Territory, published by Hutchinson in 1933, was an immediate success, reprinted seven times in seven weeks. Wheatley then decided to use the theme of “black magic” for his next book. The release in 1934 of The Devil Rides Out was hailed by James Hilton “as the best thing of its kind since Dracula

by Bram Stoker”. This cemented his reputation and he anointed himself as “The Prince of Thriller Writers”. He was adept at self-promotion.

Once he had found his public, Wheatley varied his many books skilfully in a series of linked works. Themes included the French Revolution, Satanism, World War II, and espionage.

Wheatley’s diary reveals that his life was startlingly promiscuous, with venereal disease being much more of a danger to him than the enemy.

“In all his novels, Wheatley was at pains to introduce at least one ‘hot scene’ – typically a fragrant English maiden whose virtue is at peril from some foreign violator. ‘The Devil Rides Out’ ... would be the first of eight such occult romances.

In them he drew on “research”, as he called it, about necromantic rituals, which were in fact picked up second hand ...

– Lives of the Novelists (2011) John Sutherland

“During the war Wheatley fell in with a male companion who would have a profound effect on him. On demobilisation they became inseparable friends. Eric Tombe, a self-professed decadent, introduced him to the occult and to interesting deliquencies ... He was a trickster and led his ... friend into dangerous places. He was eventually murdered by an even shiftier rogue than himself.

– John Sutherland Lives of the Novelists (2011) In 1919, Wheatley took over the management of the family wine business. However, 12 years later, the business slumped at the start of the Great Depression and he sold it. This was the

DENNIS Wheatley in 1975 (Portrait by Allan Warren)

Each of his major series included at least one book pitting the hero against some manifestation of the supernatural. He came to be considered an authority on Satanism, exorcism, and black magic.

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Friday, April 9, 2021

stories by other writers for the British publisher Sphere, “The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult”.

“The gods are being kind to me in my old age.

Most beautiful women are eight good, stupid or vicious.”

– Dennis Wheatley He hated the British Labour government and its punitive tax measures but was too patriotic to flee into tax exile.

Two weeks before his death on November 10, 1977 Wheatley received conditional absolution from his friend Cyril Robert Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough. He was cremated at Tooting and his ashes interred at Brookwood Cemetery.

Wheatley believed in reincarnation and decreed that his family hold a champagne party for his return rather than a wake for his departure.

THE FIRST edition of ‘Forbidden Territory’

WHEATLEY was seen as an authority on Satanism, exorcism and black magic

Wheatley cleverly wove in interactions between his characters and historical events.

He capitalised on the 1936 rage for detective novels, and pioneered the “Crime Dossier” by selling books in a box containing physical clues: cigarette ends, sealing wax, string and paper envelopes. They sold incredibly well and by 1939 he had created no less than 14 best-sellers.

During the Second World War he was an important part of the London Controlling Section. He had a shrewd imagination and, when German invasion seemed inevitable, he turned around all the road signs in Southern England, causing untold confusion among the unknowing British locals. He was commissioned a second time as a Wing Commander with the RAF and advocated that the entire German population be sterilised. He left with a US Bronze Star for his war efforts.

After the war he was selling over a million copies of his books a year. Some books were made into films, the most notable being The Devil Rides Out in 1968. He also wrote nonfiction: The Russian Revolution, a life of King Charles of England, and some autobiographies.

He was immensely rich, having semi-retired to a famous Georgian country house in Lymington where he collected fine wines, antique furniture, paintings, and edited several collections of short

WHEATLEY

as a young soldier in World War I

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; The Devil is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley (2009) by Phil Baker; and Lives of the Novelists (2011) by John Sutherland.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

history

Remembering the goombay legend

W

hen Bahamians talk of Blind Blake, one can be sure that they are referring to our legendary Alphonso Higgs, who was born in Inagua and made a name of himself, with his music. There was also an American Blind Blake, whose image erroneously appeared in my 2015 article.

Blind Blake’s music on the six-stringed guitar told of significant events in Bahamian history. His more than 30 years at the Royal Victoria Hotel gave him a reputation of being a Bahamian troubadour and recently, on social media, someone claimed that the traditional Bahamian song JOHN B SAIL was written by Blake, but this is not true.

My son, Stephen (a true-true historian), remembering that I had written about Blake, sent me a fascinating article that appeared in a December 1916 edition of Harper’s Monthly Magazine, when Blake was about one year old. That article printed the words of JOHN B SAIL:

I feel so break-up, I want to go home.

(Chorus) Send all the things from ashore, Let all the breezes blow, I’m so sorry but I can no longer stay, Good-bye to you — Tra-la-la-lu, This is the worst trip since I was born.

(Chorus) Although Blake did not write the JOHN B SAIL lyrics, for about three decades Blind Blake was considered the most important figure in the tourist entertainment industry, known for his ‘goombay’ (don’t call it calypso) music and lyrics. Here are some of his more popular songs:

Bad Woman Conch Ain’t Got No Bone Consumptive Sara Jane Delia Gone Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-One Foolish Frog Hold ‘im Joe J P Morgan John B Sail Jones (Oh Jones) Jump in the Line Lord, Got Tomatoes Love, Love Alone Monkey Song Never Interfere With Man and Wife Oh, Look Misery Peas and Rice and Coconut Oil Pretty Boy Run Come See Jerusalem Watermelon Spoilin’ on the Vine Wheel and Turn Me Yes, Yes, Yes

Came on the sloop John B My grandfather and me, Round Nassau town we did roam.

Drinking all night, we got in a fight, We feel so break-up, we want to go home.

(Chorus) So, hoist up the John B sails, See how the mainsail set, Send for the captain ashore — let me go home, Lemme go home, lemme go home, I feel so break-up, I want to go home.

The first mate he got drunk, Break up the people trunk, Constable come aboard, take him away — Mr. Johnstone, please leave me alone, I feel so break-up, I want to go home.

(Chorus) The poor cook got the fits, Throw away all o’ my grits, Captain’s pig done eat up all o’ my corn.

Lemme go home, I want to go home, I feel so break-up, I want to go home.

(Chorus) Steamboat go by steam, Sailboat go by sail, My girl’s hat ‘ain’t got no tail.

Lemme go home, I want to go home,

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS

BLIND Blake – Blake Alphonso Higgs (1916-1986)

‘Love, love alone’ might have been the most popular. Tourists loved it, particularly the Americans, and often requested he play and sing it. It tells how King Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor) abdicated the British throne “for the woman he loved” (Wallis Simpson). When the Duke was Governor of the Bahamas, he and his Duchess would ask Blake to play it for them. Its opening lines were, “On the tenth of December, we heard the talk that he gave the throne to the Duke of York (father of Queen Elizabeth II).”

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Friday, April 9, 2021

animals

A conversation on the job

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters

Chief: “Bud, I want to ask you a question.”

Buddy: “Sure Chief, what?”

Chief and Buddy are discussing Chief’s next trip to Florida.

This is hopefully Chief’s last chemo treatment.

Chief: “Hey, Buddy?”

Buddy: “Yes, Chief?”

Chief: “Which collar should I wear to travel to Fort Lauderdale next week?”

Buddy: “What do you mean which collar? You always wear the same Swiss collar with the metal cows on it. The one your Swiss foster mother Star gave you!”

Chief: “I know I do, but I was thinking it was time to break out into something more hip…you know a bit more of a ‘cool potcake’ look?”

Buddy: “Chiefie, didn’t you just turn 15 the other day?”

Chief: “Yes, I think so. We don’t really know because I was rescued.”

Buddy: “Don’t you think it’s a bit late to worry about your cool image?

Really?”

Chief: “Buddy, did you know that this weekend is my 15th birthday?

At least the day that Mum chose considering that they said I was about two months old when I was saved off the road, in the middle of June Back in 2006.”

Buddy: “Yes, Chief. I have a birthday present for you too!”

Chief: “Don’t tell me what it is Buddy, you are not good at keeping secrets!”

Buddy: “I won’t say a word, but it tastes good.”

Chief: “Buddy, not another word.”

Buddy: “OK, I’ll be good. Chiefie, you know we are pretty old for dogs.

You are 15 and I am 14. Why do you suppose we have lived this long?”

Chief: “That’s easy, Buddy, it’s all about love. We dogs need to be loved. The more we are loved, the more we love back and we want to live longer to be with the humans that we love so much. You remember how four years ago your human had you at his wedding, right there with him, waiting for his bride?”

Buddy: “Yup, I was very proud to do that. I wore the same tie as the father of the bride and the father of the groom, my tail was so busy wagging. Got a bit tearful halfway through the ceremony, my little boy, suddenly all big and grown up! I remember the day, when I was a tiny puppy and he chose me. That was a proud day! I was running around the garden and he scooped me up and said, ‘This one!’ with a huge hug.

And then he said, ‘Hi, Buddy’.

Chief: “Oh Buddy, that is such a sweet story! Me and my two brothers and one sister were saved along Blake Road. The other three had found good homes and I was the last one. Mum came with Dad to ‘look’ at me. Ha, who in the world goes to look at a puppy without leaving with him? Anyway, short story, they took

one look at me and it was love at first sight. So this is why we are doing so well at such grand ages, all thanks to love.”

Buddy: “And of course good care.

Our family keeps up with our shots and vaccines. Mum takes us to the vet whenever she finds something that doesn’t look right.”

Chief: “Well, what do you think of that TV show where they compete, grooming the dogs like they were zebras, or elephants or lions. All crazy colours?”

Buddy: “Well, I would not stand still for all that time for those humans to make me look utterly ridiculous! I think we dogs are absolutely gorgeous as we are, there is no need for us to be trimmed and coloured and paraded like toys.”

Chief: “Yes, I am lucky they loved me enough to fly me to Florida for that leg surgery and now I am getting chemotherapy in Florida.

Chief: “I kind of agree with you.

It’s not really about the dog is it?

It seems to me to be more about to talents of the groomer, and the dog just stands there and has no say at all.”

Buddy: “I think I would prefer to be an agility dog. That looks like fun, running around up and down and in and out of things…That’s more about the dog.”

Mum and I fly to Florida together because when I flew alone I refused to stop barking. I did not like being in a crate. No. I want to be sitting in the plane properly/ So I made lots of noise and now Mum travels with me.

That was an easy fix!”

Buddy: “Chiefie, you are so smart.”

Chief: “I kind of like that we don’t have to do anything we don’t want to. We get our meals, fresh water and people opening and closing doors all day.”

Buddy: “Yes, we definitely have the good life. I wish every dog was loved as we are.”

pet of the week

An eager pup

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

“Are you here to adopt me? I’m Isaac and I’m about four months old. I’m very puppy playful but willing to learn and very smart. I like most other dogs, especially if they’re puppies, and cats are fascinating. I’m very sociable and would be the life of your party if you welcome me into your home.

Beach? Sure! Walks? Love’ em!

Well, I probably will, once you teach

PHOTO/ Linda GillAranha me how to use a leash. Come in to the Bahamas Humane Society so we can talk or call 323-5138 for more information. I look forward to making your acquaintance!”

• The BHS Thrift Shop sells gently used items to raise money

for the shelter. If you’re spring cleaning, please consider donating to the shop. Shop hours are Wednesday-Friday 11am to 3pm, and Saturday 10am to 2pm, or donations can be left at the main shelter if the shop is closed.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 9, 2021

gardening

Edible plants in focus: A backyard vitamin source

S

auropus androgynus is the botanical name for a plant that goes by many common names (Katuk, star gooseberry, or sweet leaf), as well as many others depending upon the region.

I like the sound of the name Katuk, and I usually refer to this plant as that. I learned about this plant from an edible plant collector in Abaco who introduced it to me.

As timing had it, I was able to source some very shortly after that, and I have been growing it ever since.

I snack on the leaves all year round. I haven’t used it in cooking yet. It is reportedly versatile in its uses, from stir-fry to stews, rice dishes and sautées, and it is considered a vegetable plant. I eat mostly the tender leaves and new shoots, raw, in green salads and on their own as a little pick me up through the day. I’ve seen the stems of the new shoots referred to as “tropical asparagus”, and they are one of my favourite parts of the plant to eat.

The flavour is similar to pea flavour, but flavours are quite difficult to translate. The fruits are also edible and they fruit most of the year along the entire underside of the branch and leaves, which is a unique characteristic that gives this plant a very interesting and attractive aesthetic value. The fruits are edible, and while the birds always (without fail, there’s something about their timing!) beat me to them, I haven’t had the chance to taste the fruit to describe the flavor, but they are shaped somewhat like a gooseberry (similar to our ten cent piece but smaller).

The colour of the fruit is attractive also. It begins white and gradually goes through shades of light pink and dark pink. Easy to maintain, S. androgynous grows to a shrub up to eight or 10 feet tall, mostly depending upon the soil depth and moisture levels. They are tolerant of dry, sandy soils, also of heavier, wetter soils, which makes them very adaptable to many conditions.

SAUROPUS androgynus

S. androgynus is also tolerant of a wide range of light conditions, from a dense shade all the way through to full sun. They’ll dry out a lot faster in the full sun (as anything will) and

the leaves tend to grow a bit smaller when grown in the sun as compared to in a bit of shade. The amount of light that they receive does not seem to affect the growth rate much, nor the fruiting amounts and regularity, from my observations.

Katuk is loaded in vitamins (links provided for reference), just as so many obscure plants are. In Southeast Asia, the plant is purported to be used as medicine and an herbal remedy for many ailments as well as being a vegetable plant. In our climate, tender leafy greens will be degrading rapidly at this time of year (unless in a controlled environment).

I like to have the Katuk plant available for leafy greens through the summer when it is much more difficult to grow leafy salad greens (outside of a controlled environment), for the

next six months, due to the heat and humidity. I would suggest heavy pruning a few times a year to promote softer, more tender growth, but at all stages this is a valuable plant and certainly one that I recommend having around.

What edibles can be planted now: asparagus, beans, carrots, collards, corn, eggplant, okra, pigeon peas, potato, pumpkin, watermelon, herbs.

Feeling adventurous and seeking new flavours and a vitamin rack in your own backyard? Grow on, give Sauropus androgynus a try! 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.