04242020 WEEKEND

Friday, April 24, 2020

art books film fashion music food puzzles animals entertainment

Weekend

HOME CHEFS Pages 8 - 9

Goddess reborn Bodine celebrates womanhood and heritage pages 16 - 17

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photography

A ROSE-COLOURED LENS

B

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

The many unique gates whet the appetite for the lush gardens within, which abound in Nassau and in the islands.

FROM top going clockwise: Love Beach Estates, Skyline Drive, Palmdale, Montague, Harbour Island; centre: Westward Villas.

Friday, April 24, 2020

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Friday, April 24, 2020

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian quarantine Kendenique Campbell Moss Marketing professional Q: What items are you stocking up on?

2 Photography The gates of The Bahamas

4-5 Interview Kaylandra Woodside pioneers date rape drug detection

7 Entertainment Comedy brings a smile in the lockdown

8-9 Food Quarantine cuisine

10 Gardening

How to grow vegetables in containers

“Fish, bread, egg whites, Lysol, fruits and vegetables.”

Q: What shows or movies are you bingewatching?

“Oz. Golden Girls, old Junkanoo footage, Grace and Frankie, and anything Mob related.”

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

11 Gardening

Seeds of success for junior achievers

“Sir Sidney Poitier, because he would have seen it all, white Hollywood... the amalgamation of all races.”

12 Community

Q:

Businesses stepping up during lockdown

13 Entertainment

Carnival back bigger and better in 2021

14-15 Art

The whole world in artist’s hands

16-17 Music

Bodine releases Sugar in a Plum

18 Film

Marvel stars come to Netflix drama

What do you miss most having to practice social distancing?

This weekend in history

19 Entertainment

Netflix top 10 in The Bahamas

20 Books

New books out this week

21 Books

Ending myths that harm women

22 History

What bubonic plague can tell us today

23 History

Book reveals historic snippets from country’s past

24-25 Literary Lives Edgar Allan Poe

26 Puzzles 27 Animals

Conversation on the couch

28 Internet

Apps to occupy and teach toddlers

April 24 •In 1913, the 792-foot Woolworth Building, at that time the tallest skyscraper in the world, officially opened in Manhattan as President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button at the White House to signal the lighting of the towering structure.

•In 1986, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, for whom King Edward VIII had given up the British throne, died in Paris at age 89.

• In 2003, China shut down a Beijing hospital as the global death toll from SARS surpassed 260.

Today’s birthdays: Movie director-producer Richard Donner (“Superman”) is 90. Actress Shirley MacLaine is 86. Actresssinger-director Barbra Streisand is 78. Actor-comedian Cedric the

“I miss Sunday dinner after mass. It kickstarts my week listening to old stories and sharing a meal. Sunday dinner gives me a sense of love and belonging to a unit. I am a touchyfeely person, I miss hugs after the sign of the peace, I miss tapping my brother or laying my head in my mom’s lap, I miss laying in my parents bed, and I miss the smell of my daddy after mass. Another aspect I will miss is maybe not having a Junkanoo parade this year; I can’t imagine Christmas without it.”

Q: If you had to be stuck somewhere other than your house, where would it be?

“Canada … trapped in an endless Hallmark movie where everything works out in the end.”

Entertainer is 56. Actor Djimon Hounsou is 56. 39. Singer Kelly Clarkson is 38.

April 25 • In 1507, a world map produced

by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term “America,” in honour of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci •In 1917, legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia.

• In 2002, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of the Grammy-winning trio TLC died in an SUV crash in Honduras; she was 30.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Al Pacino is 80. Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (“Dancing with the Stars”) is 76. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 75. Actor Hank Azaria is 56. Actress Renee Zellweger is 51. Actress Gina Torres is 51.

April 26 • In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry, Virginia, on an expedition to establish the first permanent

English settlement in the Western Hemisphere.

• In 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. (Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.)

• In 1994, voting began in South Africa’s first all-race elections, resulting in victory for the African National Congress and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president.

Today’s birthdays: Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 87. Singer Bobby Rydell is 78. Actor Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) is 62. Musician Roger Taylor (Duran Duran) is 60. Actor Jet Li (lee) is 57. Actor-comedian Kevin James is 55. Rapper T-Boz (TLC) is 50. First lady Melania Trump is 50. Actor Tom Welling (“Smallville”) is 43.

Actor Channing Tatum is 40.

- The Associated Press

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Friday, April 24, 2020

INTERVIEW

An exemplary student, she breezed through high school, and at age 15, started college in New York. There, she tells Cara Hunt, she will be researching a new method to detect even the smallest concentration of ‘date rape’ drugs in the urine of victims.

Kaylandra Woodside

G

rowing up in Stafford Creek, Andros, Kaylandra Woodside originally considered a career in journalism.

It was only after she enrolled at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Oswego that she discovered her true passion lies more with the scientific side of things and changed her major to Chemistry.

It’s a decision that she has never regretted and lead to her recently being awarded a grant to research the analysis of urine for the presence of the chemicals used in socalled ‘date rape’ drugs.

“When I was in high school I used to stay in my science teacher’s room. I was always interested in science, but I was also interested in writing as well and decided that I wanted to be a journalist.”

In high school, Kaylandra was an excellent student, graduating high school with a 3.90 GPA and scoring over 1,500 on her SATs. She wrote her Bahamas Junior Certificates (BJCs) in eighth grade and actually skipped grade nine. She then took her Bahamas Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSEs) in grade 11, although she did retake some in grade 12 to improve some of her grades.

“When I was in high school I used to stay in my science teacher’s room. I was always interested in science, but I was also interested in writing as well and decided that I wanted to be a journalist.”

And she graduated and became a college freshman at the age of just 15.

With the assistance of her Junior Achievement advisor Erica Morris, she applied to SUNY Oswego and received a scholarship to help her academic dreams come true.

It financial support was a major help to Kaylandra, who is the youngest of eight children, and who wanted to attend college abroad. “(SUNY Oswego) has a very good journalism programme and weatherman Al Roker is one of their famous

alumni. I wanted to do print journalism and to me the appeal was that I wanted to be able to tell other people’s stories,” she explained.

“I also really felt that it would help me develop my people skills.”

However, her natural curiosity concerning the world of chemistry led her to ultimately change her major.

“I was interested in learning about what things were made of, breaking them down, and so that led me to change my study path. I started with a combination of Biology and Chemistry and then to my major in hemistry. I don’t regret my decision at all. I really like it.”

Chemistry is not something Kaylandra just likes, it is also something that she excels at.

Last semester, she was named on the President’s List - an honour given to students who have attained a semester grade point average of 3.8 or higher while carrying required academic credits.

She was just in her final semester of college, and was busy completing the research studies that are required for chemistry majors to graduate, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill. SUNY Owesgo, like schools all over the world, was forced to

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close its doors and resort to virtual distance learning.

Kaylandra has already made a name for herself in research - she helped one of her professors with their research for a publication.

She was also awarded the Faculty – Student Challenge grant.

The purpose of the challenge grant programme is to promote and support student/faculty Summer scholarly collaborations that ultimately lead to publications, presentations, performances, and/or external grant applications.

It is the goal of the programme to assist faculty in providing motivated students, particularly undergraduates, with high-level scholarly and creative experiences.

Kaylandra will use the grant to study the detection and micro extraction of diphenhydramine in urine.

Diphenhydramine is a common ingredient in antihistamines used to relieve the symptoms of allergies like hay fever and the common cold. One of its side effects is drowsiness, which is why criminals use it in ‘date rape’ drugs to sedate their victims.

Kaylandra will be examining ways in which forensic scientists can identify even the smallest concentration

“I also really felt that it would help me develop my people skills.” of the drug in the urine of victims to help investigators prove that they were indeed given the drug.

And while she remains hopeful that she will be able to do her research this Summer, her undergraduate days are likely at an end.

“We have been not been able to go into the lab and all of our classes have been online, but we should be on track to graduate.”

In addition, to trying to complete her work, she is currently also dealing with living in New York, one of the states most affected by COVID-19 in the United States.

“I am doing OK,” she said of coping with the pandemic. “We are still allowed to go out but we have to do the social distancing and stay six feet apart from people and they recently told everyone that they have to wear a mask when they leave the house...and I am in contact with my

family and my friends and they are all OK.” After graduation, Kaylandra would like to remain in the US and get a job in a research facility, although she is not exactly sure which area she wants to focus on.

“I was thinking maybe forensic science or perhaps something in food science, developing scents and flavours.”

When she is not in the lab, she enjoys singing and dancing.

She said that her time at SUNY Owesgo has been amazing.

“This is a very welcoming institution. Once you find your niche you can connect with some great people who become true friends. I would say it’s a warm environment, but it’s in upstate New York, so it gets really cold,” she said.

During her time at the university, she has worked in the Office of International Education and as a resident assistant.

“Part of that whole job is that you are there to be a resource to new students and help them adjust to college life. Overall my experience at school has been great. It has truly been life-changing.”

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section

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Friday, April 24, 2020

entertainment

Jokes to get you through the lockdown ‘Sarg’ makes his rounds and ‘Kalika’ goes stir crazy

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

W

hile you’re quarantined at home and maybe enjoying the peace and quiet, don’t be startled if you suddenly hear loud laughter coming from next door. Your neighbours may just be watching new content being put out by local comedians during this time of the coronavirus lockdown.

Zhane’o Newbold, who is the mastermind behind the character of Sarg, and Timico Sawyer, better known as “Sawyerboy” and for his depiction of the character Kalika, have been consistently releasing new jokes and skits for Bahamians to enjoy while they are self-isolating at home.

The content has been coming in the form of short videos on social media reflecting on current events, and the comedians hope they can help

SAWYERBOY and Kalika

to lighten the mood in these dark times.

Zhane’o, a relative newcomer to the scene, has been a professional comedian for the past three years. He created the character of Sarg, who Bahamians are quickly growing to love.

“He is a big-bellied police officer. He was supposed to be an inspector of the Royal Bahamas Police Force based on the khaki uniform, but everyone slapped the name ‘Sarg’ on him, so it stuck,” Zhane’o told Tribune Weekend.

And even during the quarantine, Sarg has been making his rounds, patrolling communities looking for curfew breakers.

“He stutters like there is no tomorrow. He loves money and bribes. He cusses a lot.

He does not follow the law because he thinks he is above it; whatever he says goes.”

For those who do not adhere to Sarg’s demands, “a slap, double slap or a jump-kick will follow. Overall people seem to like his personality, so hey,” Zhane’o said.

“Sarg has been trying to figure out how he going to make money. Ain’t no one on the road to book and ain’t no bribes coming in; Sarg say things slow. He cannot wait until everything opens back up. He gat couple things in Bain Town to sort out ASAP.” Timico created the character of Sawyerboy in 2013 and started off doing memes and a few videos at first. In the past seven years he has created over 10 different personas, but the one that stands out the most is the character of Kalika.

“Kalika is a quite common Bahamian female with trust issues, a lot of attitude, always ready to argue about

something she has a feeling about, but is also a sweet person when she’s ready, so basically she’s an Aquarius,” explained Timico.

Kalika character, he added, is a mixture of the women he has encountered in his own life – “85% percent of her being my ex-girlfriend.”

“Most of the scenarios I bring to life are actually real situations I’ve been in personally, like being accused of cheating because she had a bad dream, or when I open the door for a woman behind me, or if I let a female cross the road. She even accused me of cheating with Mrs Darville at church because she always saves me a seat next to her Mrs Darville is 87 years old!.

It’s out of control,” he said.

And out of control is exactly what ‘Kalika’ has been throughout the quarantine.

“Being quarantined with her has been one of the most stressful times in my life,” said ‘Sawyerboy’.

“She accused me of having an affair with the shower because I was taking regular baths; apparently I don’t bathe regularly. She really can’t cook to save her life. Don’t get me wrong now, her chicken noodles are crazy. I told her she could get Bamboo Shack to put it on their menu.

“If the government imposes another extended lockdown, Kalika said she would personally walk to the Prime Minister’s house every day to be fed, shower and use up their Netflix because she refuses to stay home too long.

She thinks they have a real pool as well and would rather be in that instead of the pool I made on the back of my truck with blue tarp.”

ZHANE’o Newbold as Sarg, a police officer who thinks he is above the law

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food

MANY Bahamians are discovering their inner chef during this quarantine.

Enjoying the ‘quarantine chef’ life

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

A

ll this unexpected and additional time at home has given Bahamians the opportunity to finally delve into all the hobbies they have been putting off.

Chief amongst those has been cooking. During this current lockdown to due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Bahamians have discovered their inner chef and have embarked on culinary adventures they only dreamed of before.

The “stay at home” order has encouraged folks to turn to that old cookbook they have never cracked openor to go back to creating their favourite “back in the day” meals that

CORNBREAD Buns By The Rolle

bring them comfort during difficult times.

Tribune Weekend spoke to a number of people who have chosen to spend more time in the kitchen over these past few weeks of quarantine.

Zalika Turnquest said she has been focusing on cooking healthy meals.

“What truly inspires me daily to prepare healthy dishes is that I am taking care of my body. Eating healthy helps me to feel at my best and helps with focusing on work, performing at my best and just living life to the fullest. Eating healthier has also been one of my biggest goals for 2020.

I’ve been preparing healthier portioned size dishes since the year started. And many of the dishes I have prepared during lockdown were my first time doing them, so and I am pleased with the outcome,” she said.

Ms Turnquest said she believes the increased time at home presents a challenge for many food lovers, and many are finding themselves snacking out of boredom and not getting enough or no exercise.

But she would like to encourage her fellow Bahamians to eat a well-balanced diet with fruits and vegetables along with the essential nutrients.

“I am excited to prepare other healthy dishes that I am certain will be considered healthy balanced meals. These include ideas such as a shrimp and avocado ‘wild’ salad and also a salmon stir fry,” she said.

For Lashaundra Ferguson, baking along with her son and family has made these difficult weeks less stressful. She and her friends are also part of a WhatsApp chat group whose members often share new recipes and photos of new food ideas.

“It’s five of us, and while I’m at work every day, my friends are working from home, sending photos of cherry cheesecakes, pound cake, brownies with ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries, banana pancakes and so much more. So after work one day I went to the store with a dessert shopping list for an Oreo cheesecake. Oreo, because it’s my son’s favourite

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Friday, April 24, 2020

“This is actually the first time in a long time my mom and I spent quality time together. She’s a great cook and I aspire to be a great cook like her someday, so this is the perfect time for her to teach me and pass the baton to me in the kitchen.” cookie and my first time trying it,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter the kind of memories you create, how small or how large, but the fact that you can sit around a table to laugh about it, that’s what makes this time period we are in important. 2020 will go down in history and what we did in quarantine and under a 24-hour curfew should be remembered for years to come.”

Ms Ferguson is now planning to try her hand at more desserts like pumpkin roll, guava and chocolate cakes.

Speaking of her quarantine cherry cheesecake, Takiyah Johnson said baking is something she has always enjoyed since her childhood days; and what better time than now to reignite that flame.

“I find it to be fun, relaxing, and I love the way the house smells from the sweetness that’s baking in the oven.

While we are quarantined there a limited things to do

LASHAUNDRA Ferguson’s Oreo Cheesecake.

ZALIKA’s Healthy Breakfast

TAKIYAH Johnson’s Homemade Cheescake

PRYIA’s Simmons’ Dessert

and I wanted to do something other than watch television.

Cheesecake is my favourite dessert and it’s something I haven’t baked in a very long time, I decided it was a good time to bake it,” she said.

“It’s important to create memories like this because of what we are going through right now; it’s going to be a part of our history. I find it to be a good idea to make memories to share with our children and grandchildren about what we went through and how we got through it day by day.”

Ms Ferguson has also used the advantages of social media to do some baking together with her parents.

“While on a FaceTime call with my parents we prepared and made cornbread for the first time; I’d say that was virtual fun. The next baking idea I have in mind is baking banana bread,” she said.

For Pryia Simmons, a medical student now quarantined at home with family on the island, this time calls for more home-grown dishes as opposed to the meals she would normally prepare while off at school.

“It was my first time preparing Bahamian dishes, as I usually prepare more modern day, easy, quick American meals,” she said. “ ‘Mommy and me’ time inspired me. This is actually the first time in a long time my mom and I spent quality time together. She’s a great cook and I aspire to be a great cook like her someday, so this is the perfect time for her to teach me and pass the baton to me in the kitchen. I still had to sneak in some of my favourite foods in there though. For example, we all made a lobster panini together, and I made a home-made brownie dessert for my dad. He is still raving about it. Many people enjoyed the photos I’ve shared of the food dishes and asked me to send the recipes. My next food adventure is learning how to make guava duff the old Bahamian way,” said Ms Simmons.

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GARDENING

Going to pot!

How to grow vegetables in containers

I

f you’ve got no space for a garden or raised beds, if you live in an apartment or in a condo with no garden space, there are still options to grow herbs, vegetables, and even some fruit in containers. The race is on to get seeds sown and to get seedlings planted. It seems that most seeds have been bought up all around town, and I am sure that everyone is working furiously to restock.

It’s the same with seedlings, except for all of you who have already got your seeds put down, hopefully you’re having success with them germinating and sprouting.

To start seeds, used egg cartons are a good option, especially the cardboard ones. Even an old two litre soda bottle cut in half with a

few holes punched into the bottom will work! Whether you’ve got seed trays, or anything else, continue to get your seeds sown. Save and dry seeds from tomato, sweet pepper, eggplant, squash, melon, and so on, this is your next crop, don’t throw them away.

Once you’ve got your seeds sown and they have sprouted, it will then be time to transplant them into your garden. For those of you with no space for a garden do not fret! Container gardening is one of the solutions available that is quickly and easily done. It’s this simple - any container will work! Take an old bucket, old car tyres, a kids play pool, anything that will hold soil in place, you can plant into anything! If you decide to go the soil-less route, hydroponic systems are great for saving space as they can be stacked.

Nursery pots, terra cotta, plastic, at this point it doesn’t

matter what you choose to grow in. The most important factor that remains is what soil to use. Poor quality soil (top soil) will always lead to poor quality produce, and conversely, high quality soil (potting soil) will at least give you a leg up and increase your chances of producing high quality greens and veg.

What happens below the soil line is reflected in what’s going on above the soil line.

The better your potting soil, the easier it is to reap greater rewards.

Nutrients will need to be added unless you’re using the top quality potting mixes with nutrients mixed in.

Whether you choose to apply liquid fertilizers that need to be applied regularly, granular fertilizers, or timed release capsules, be sure to read the directions on the label carefully so that you don’t burn your baby plants. Just like soils, fertilizers come in a wide range of qualities. You

get what you pay for, and fertilizers with micro nutrients will be more costly than those without, because there are more nutrients in them.

If there is one piece of advice that I would like to reiterate when it comes to container gardening it’s this; do not skimp on your potting soil or your fertilizers. If you want to grow your best quality, use the best quality ingredients.

What you put into your containers is what you’ll get out of them.

Keep up the amazing work, folks, and continue to get those seed sown and those seedlings transplanted. Happy gardening!

•Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery. For questions and comments, e-mail foxhillnursery@gmail.com.

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GARDENING

Success with seeds

Junior Achievers help Bahamians start their own gardens

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

T

he seeds produced by a group of young Bahamians have turned into a valuable resource as the country has gone into lockdown.

For their Junior Achiever project, the BTC Horizons group created a ‘Garden Buddie’ seed set, and with many Bahamians turning to home farming the sets almost immediately sold out.

Noel Seymour, a 12th grade student and the president of the BTC Horizons group, told Tribune Weekend they initially came up with the idea in January.

“We were looking for, first, a product that would be unique and then we also wanted a product that was environmentally friendly and in keeping with the government’s bid to protect the environment with the plastic ban,” he said.

Their idea, the Garden Buddie, was a starter garden set containing seven types of seedlings – onions, kale, sweet pepper, tomatoes, scotch bonnet, okra and thyme, which came packaged in biodegradable cups.

“We chose those particular ones because they are items that culturally are often used in cooking,” Noel explained.

And although they had enjoyed some success in selling their Garden Buddie sets a few weeks ago, they still had quite a lot of kits to sell.

But the arrival of the global COVID- 19 pandemic suddenly gave the students a jump in sales they never expected.

“We had more than 200 kits left a few weeks ago and we were beginning to think that the company was going to end up in deficit. I was on social media and I saw

THE JA group BTC Horizons came up with a starter kit they call Garden Buddie

someone posted asking where they could get seeds to start a garden.

“A lot of people said they were interested in starting home gardens, because they didn’t want to have to always go to the store, or they would go to the store and not be able to find the fresh produce they were looking.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to try sell a few more sets, and so I posted that my JA group was selling them and the response was overwhelming. My inbox was flooded with persons who wanted to buy them,” said Noel.

“I remember we made more than $500 in one day and we have sold all of our supply, more than 200 kits, and we should make about $6,000 in profit.”

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community

Small businesses step up to the plate during lockdown

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

W

hile most traditional brick and mortar businesses are still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic there is chance for small home-based companies to shine.

It is an opportunity Lyndon Wallace and his Quenchers beverage brand is taking full advantage of. Since the lockdown, he said, he has received a larger number of orders for his home-made drinks.

“We are actually receiving more orders than before.

For me, being able to see my dreams unfold is the greatest gratification I have ever experienced. Also, being just21 years old, I am able to inspire a lot of young people to go after what they want in life instead of what others want for their life,” he told Tribune Weekend.

His vision for his company to be more than a regular beverage manufacturing company or just another lemonade brand, but rather a lifestyle brand.

His company’s slogan, ‘Happiness starts with us’, he said, was inspired by his own experiences, both the setbacks and the triumphs.

“By this we mean happiness starts with us as people. We want people to understand that happiness is a choice, and no, you may not get to choose what happens to you all the time, but it is your choice how you react to it. I had the idea to start Quenchers since I was in the 10th grade, along with a number of other business ideas. I always told myself that the second I am able to start any one of my business

ideas, I will. It was while I was off to school in Arizona on a baseball scholarship and l had lost the scholarship due to an injury, I had to move back home where I got this started at 19 years old with very little money,” said Lyndon.

Lyndon started out small with his own special recipes for his original and strawberry flavoured lemonades.

And based on this customers’ feedback, he said he’s never changing those recipes.

“I remember a day where I packed over 100 bottles of juice in my father’s car to carry as samples to stores around the island. I carried samples to over 50 stores and restaurants and no one said yes to me. Some of those stores and restaurants are my clients today. I always have to remind myself that when I have bad days it is all a part of my story, and every time I think of that story it gives me

the drive to keep going,” he said.

And Lyndon is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make his business a success.

“As a small business owner I am forced to wear many hats, which then also forces me to make sacrifices when it comes to focusing on all aspects of my business...so I saw this as an opportunity to focus on those aspects which I have been neglecting;

marketing being one of them.

Most people’s number one excuse is that they don’t have enough time and right now all we have is time. In a time like this it is important for businesses to stay relevant, especially businesses which are unable to continue business as usual,” he said.

Moving forward, Lyndon said he has plans to expand Quenchers by hiring a team to ease his workload.

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entertainment

Bahamas Carnival to return bigger and better in 2021

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

R

EVELLERS and those who enjoy a great fete received a blow earlier this week when Bahamas Carnival Experience announced its 2020 event was officially cancelled.

Despite this disappointing announcement, organisers also had some good news: Carnival now scheduled for May 2021 and will be the biggest yet.

Earlier this week, the Bahamas Carnival Experience as well the Bahamas Carnival band owners released a statement about the event’s cancellation.

While they had hoped to showcase the event in the Fall, the COVID-19 outbreak makes it impossible to present the Carnival without putting the health of attendees and those participating in the road march in jeopardy.

The statement said: It is with a heavy heart that due to the circumstances worldwide and what we are facing locally due to the COVID-19 pandemic that we have decided to cancel Bahamas Carnival Experience 2020 and look forward to 2021 with the same energy and vigour that we had planned for this year. We ask that you stay safe, stay home and keep your love ones near.”

Kenlexis Mackey, vice president of Polantra Media, the production company Carnival, said the safety of people trumps everything.

“The public’s health and safety is our number one priority. We must learn from other’s mistakes, whereas we would not want to transmit the disease as rapidly and carelessly as they did in New Orleans, with such

large crowds at Mardi Gras recently,” she said.

By next year, the team believes recommendations on health and safety practices to govern large events will be made by the appropriate body and will be implemented for the local event.

“The goal is for the world to have shifted. At this point no protocol would have been in place to protect ourselves if we had gone on as scheduled.

Whatever the World Health Organisation, our local health officials and our government decide to put in place for the

approval of large gatherings, we will be guided by and adhere to. By that time other countries would have had large gatherings and functions and we will more than likely follow their best practices moving forward,” he said.

And he promises that next year’s event will be the best to date.

“We have no doubt in our mind that this year would have been the biggest one yet.

So 2021 Bahamas Carnival Experience will be bigger and better. So many persons would not have had the

opportunity to get together in the spirit of friendship and fellowship, therefore they will be looking forward to large events and entertainment. So as long as we can deliver on making sure we can protect them physically and from a health standpoint, there is no doubt that Bahamas Carnival will be the biggest one to date,” said Mr Mackey.

Jayde Knowles, PR representative for Polantra, added: “For most Carnival lovers, they will enjoy these festivities even more. This pandemic has taken away a lot away from

Carnival-goers: the freedom to express themselves through music, dance and for some, even culture. We as a people rarely like being told what to do, so imagine being told to stay at home, sit still until told otherwise, while cancelling all that was once loved and enjoyed on the outside. When the time comes again and we as a people are free to express ourselves, you will see a new love and a new appreciation for the meaning of celebration, and that is what Bahamas Carnival Experience is all about.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

music

Bodine celebrates women's 'plum role' assigned by nature New song is a declaration of Bahamian heritage

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

W

ith concerts cancelled, Carnival postponed, and gatherings of any size prohibited during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahamian entertainers have had to get creative to reach their audiences.

One of them is Bodine Johnson, a veteran entertainer and educator, who despite the current lockdown has decided to release her latest single, “Sugar in a Plum”.

“We’ve seen the entertainment industry be really forced to find creative ways to engage their audiences, whether that’s with karaoke (sessions), TikTok app recordings, or live performances and appearances with partners. The key is to adjust,” Bodine told Tribune

Weekend as she sharedher motivation for releasing her new song now.

“I had to release ‘Sugar in a Plum’ because the message was too important to have to wait until the rest of the world gets too busy to internalise and absorb it. I also released it on my birthday, which was in the middle of the Easter season, because it’s a symbolic gesture of new birth and becoming one’s higher self. I’m now rebranding officially as BodineVictoria and the timing was perfect.”

In the first verse of the song, she sings what she hopes will become a mantra for women of colour everywhere: “I’ze a coconut goddess, cocoa skin drippin’ madness.” It’s a recitation of power, self-affirmation and beauty, she said.

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, April 24, 2020

“I remember thinking at one point during my childhood that I was ugly; with my open gate and overbite and dark skin and natural ‘peasy’ hair. I thought this about myself despite my parents’ constant reminders that I was beautiful, smart and a queen. It took me forever to appreciate my skin and my unique beauty, intelligence and power, and I realise that it’s something many women and young girls struggle with to this day.”

“Sugar in a Plum”, the singer said, has actually been four years in the making and has gone through multiple revisions. This version is Volume 1 in the series, with Volume 2 set to be released with another featured artist this Summer.

Bodine describes the sound of track as Junkanoo meets Afrobeats, and she flexes a bit of her hip hop skills as well to give the song a southern trap vibe, all sung in her Bahamian dialect, of course.

“Sugar in a Plum” was produced by Rik Carey with all original instrumentation, and features the expert guitar skills of Pat Carey.

“This record is a declaration of my Bahamian-ness and heritage. I want women to know that they are the sugar in a plum. We are the reason society moves forward; we are capable of balancing our professional obligations while maintaining our sensuality and sacred energy. There are quite a few metaphors in the lyrics that I’m hoping people come to not only recognise but internalise,” she said.

The early response and feedback from listeners has been very encouraging, Bodine said.

“It’s available on all streaming and web purchasing platforms. Across social media, it’s been played over 15,000 times. People from home and abroad have messaged me to say that they’ve

Photos/Farreno Ferguson

her travels around the Bahamas for her YouTube channel.

“My workspace is littered with blog topics for my website,www.bodinevictoria.com

I been humming the chorus.

One person, Zoe, has said listening to this song made them feel so good. Another person, Nefernici, said they they love how I incorporate ringplay songs in my music.

A private message I received said that it was just what she needed to pick herself up and get motivated. And

that’s what I want; I want people to get excited and motivated when they hear it.

It’s a mantra and an affirmation of excellence and beauty,” the singer said.

With more time in quarantine, Bodine said she will use this as an opportunity to edit hours of footage from

still have instrumentals that I have mild inspiration to write treatments for, music videos and collaboration proposals to review and revise. The world being at a stop gives me the time to really focus more on these creative endeavours.

Granted, I do still have lesson plans to write and assignments to mark digitally after I teach classes via the web for a few hours a day, but even then, there is a happiness I feel in the stillness of solitude. I don’t know, I feel as though the potential for success is endless.”

Bodine also recently launched a home-based web

cooking series, #BodinePot, after she had realised that her followers was equally as interested in her food as they were in her music.

“BodinePot started out as just me posting the process of my cooking meals to my Instagram stories. Then I noticed people were asking me questions. Keep in mind that my experience with cooking comes from being in Home Economics class and being the oldest daughter of seven children, so when I noticed the engagement for my stories going up, I branded it #BodinePot. I knew I was on to something when last Summer a video I posted about cleaning land crabs was seen 30,000 times,” she said.

“I soon realised that lots of people don’t really know how to cook traditional Bahamian food, not like a chef, but like a regular person does with our regular ingredients, so I share my take on my parent’s recipes.

People continue to follow and ask, so I’m engaging them using what I know. I’ve gotten lots of great advice from my followers.”

When asked what advice would she give to her supporters to stay focused during this time, Bodine said: “I realise that people’s responses to this is going to be different based on personality types and living conditions. I don’t want to be flippant and tell people everything’s going to be fine, because ‘fine’ is relative. I will say though that I’ve found that writing out a small list of things to do that are important to you, that you can do at home and control the outcome of, will lift your spirits. Get up in the morning, groom yourself and set intentions for your day.

Affirm yourself. Learn something new that you’ve never had the time for before. But most importantly, do something that makes you happy.”

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

FILM

A teeming, violent pre-pandemic world in the Russos’ ‘Extraction’ NEW YORK (AP) — The big-budget action thriller “Extraction” belongs, in many ways, to another world.

It’s set in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It’s in this urban sea of people and traffic that Chris Hemsworth’s battlescarred mercenary engages in a torrent of gun fights, car chases and hand-to-hand combat.

“Extraction,” produced with the Marvel-trained muscle of Joe and Anthony Russo (“Avengers Endgame,” “Captain America”), wasn’t shot in Dhaka but in Thailand and Ahmedabad, India. In India, it was one of the largest Hollywood productions to set down on the subcontinent.

The throngs there doubled for Dhaka and populated “Extraction,” a teeming movie made very obviously before the pandemic era of social distancing.

“There were thousands of people watching each day and erupting at the end of each take. It was like being in the Coliseum,” Hemsworth said in an interview by video conference from his home in Australia. “It’s interesting now to go: Would you be able to pull that off post-this? It would be very different.”

“Extraction,” which debuts Friday on Netflix, is the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave, the stunt coordinator on “Endgame” and other films and the former stunt double of Chris Evans’ Captain America. It’s a familiar kind of kinetic action movie featuring lengthy takes and violent choreography, but it benefits greatly from the atmosphere of an exotic, lesser seen and overwhelming locale. And, right now, “Extraction” is

CHRIS Hemsworth once again teams up with the Russo brothers (“Avengers - Endgame”) for the new action thriller “Extraction”. easily the biggest new spectacle arriving on any screen anytime soon.

The film re-teams Hemsworth with the Russos, a year after “Endgame,” in a script penned by Joe Russo a decade ago. He adapted it from the graphic novel “Ciudad,” which is set in Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este. But a couple years ago, when the Russos tapped Hargrave to direct, they went looking for a new city.

“There were a few projects that were circling Ciudad del Este as a location, one in particular at Netflix. When we came up with the idea to flip it to Sam, we started looking for another, fresh location,” said Joe Russo. “We had spent

some time in Mumbai on a promotional tour and that’s where we got the idea to do it in Bangladesh.”

Hargrave first scouted Dhaka in 2017, in between the shoots for “Infinity War” and “Endgame.”

“It’s very densely populated but it has an energy and vibrancy that’s unique,” said Hargrave. “You couldn’t look in any direction that’s not unique to the Western eye.”

Films set in far-flung locations with a white protagonist have sometimes been criticized for relying on “white savoir” tropes, a charge that has been lobbed by some at “Extraction.”

Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a mercenary hired to rescue the son of an Indian drug lord. He soon finds himself double-crossed and fighting legions to shield a boy (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) for reasons he’s not even himself sure of.

The cast is an exceedingly international one, including the Bollywood actors Randeep Hooda and Pankaj Tripathi.

Since launching in India in 2016, Netflix has increasingly prioritized reaching the subcontinent’s 1.3 billion people.

Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive, has previously forecast that the company’s next 100 million subscribers will come from India, and it has

poured some $400 million over 2019 and 2020 into expanding India-specific content. (Netflix declined to say how much “Extraction” cost to make.)

For the Russos, they see “Extraction” as an extension of the globe-spanning scale of Marvel, brought to a different genre and a smaller-screen platform.

“Joe and I got to see not just the fandom but the filmmaking community around the world,” said Anthony Russo.

“Having opportunities to tie into talented filmmakers from every corner of the globe is very exciting to us.”

The Russo brothers are currently editing their next film, the crime drama “Cherry,” remotely. They say they are, like much of the industry, trying to conceive and plan for how productions of any kind — let alone huge, rough-andtumble films like “Extraction” — can resume in the months ahead. The Directors Guild recently formed a committee led by Steven Soderbergh to examine possible on-set solutions.

That makes the visceral, peopled realm of “Extraction” a vision of a recent but, at least temporarily, vanished movie world. To Hemsworth, it was a thrilling one.

“It ratcheted up the pressure of shooting within those places being so densely populated,” said the actor, recalling elaborate action scenes with hundreds of people. “Sam threw us in a location that added to it tenfold.”

• “Extraction” debuts on Netflix today JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

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Friday, April 24, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT

Top 10 NetFLix movies and shows in the Bahamas

W

ith Bahamians practicing social distancing, working from home, and the kiddies stuck in the house, it’s time to turn to Netflix for some entertainment. Here are the top 10 movies and shows Bahamians are watching this week:

for a loop. Starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie.

6

. EARTH AND BLOOD (FILM; 1H 20M)

Saïd owns a sawmill deep in the woods, which he decides to sell. Little does he know that one of his apprentices was cornered by his brother and forced to hide a large amount of cocaine inside the factory.

1

. THE LAST DANCE (SERIES; TEN EPISODES)

7

A docuseries that gives a definitive account of Michael Jordan’s career and the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, packed with unaired footage from the 1997-98 season.

. BLINDSPOT (SERIES; FIVE SEASONS)

A mysterious tattooed woman is found naked inside a travel bag in Times Square by the FBI. She has no recollection of her own past or identity. But her tattoos contain clues to crimes they will have to solve.

2

. TOO HOT TO HANDLE (REALITY TV SERIES; EIGHT EPISODES)

On the shores of paradise, gorgeous singles meet and mingle.

But there’s a twist. To win a $100,000 grand prize, they’ll have to give up sex.

TOO Hot to Handle

3

. #BLACKAF (SERIES; EIGHT EPISODES)

Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.

Starring Vin Diesel and Jason Statham.

9

. MONEY HEIST (SERIES; FOUR SEASONS)

A father takes an irreverent and honest approach to parenting and relationships.

StarringRashida Jonesand Kenya Barris,creator of “Black-ish”, “Grown-ish” and “Mixed-ish”.

Set in Madrid, a mysterious man known as “The Professor” recruits a group of eight people, who choose cities for codenames, to carry out an ambitious plan that involves entering the Royal Mint of Spain, and escaping with €2.4 billion.

4

. OUTER BANKS (SERIES; TEN EPISODES)

A group of teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks stumble upon a treasure map that unearths a long buried secret.

10

. SERGIO (FILM; 1H 58M)

5

. FOCUS (FILM; 1H 44M)

In the midst of veteran con man Nicky’s latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans

8

. FAST & FURIOUS 7 (FILM; 2H 17M)

THE LAST Dance

A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

books

New page-turners this week • IF IT BLEEDS BY STEPHEN KING (HORROR/ MYSTERY)

• THE BOOK OF LONGINGS BY SUE MONK KIDD (HISTORICAL FICTION)

From the No 1 New York Times bestselling author comes a collection of four new novellas - Mr Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds.

The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his long and successful career, and many have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).

Ana is a rebellious young woman, a gifted writer with a curious, brilliant mind, who writes secret narratives about the neglected and silenced women around her. Raised in a wealthy family in Galilee, she is sheltered from the brutality of Rome’s occupation of Israel.

Ana is expected to marry an elderly widower to further her father’s ambitions, a prospect that horrifies her. A chance encounter with the eighteenyear-old Jesus changes everything: his ideas and his passion are intoxicating.

• THIRD A KISS (GODDESS ISLES SERIES)

BY PEPPER WINTERS (ROMANCE) “There was hate once.

Hate born from dangerous attraction and fate’s cruel design.

There was love once.

Love destined to kill us if we didn’t surrender to our war.”

Eleanor Grace suffers an awful affliction. She’s falling for a man who doesn’t deserve her affection or her forgiveness. But there is no cure, so she does something reckless, stupid—she throws safety to the sea and leaps into danger.

Sully Sinclair suffers the same affliction. He’s falling for a goddess who will never earn his trust or his heart if he can help it. However, he wasn’t prepared for the lengths she’d go. How far she’d push to either stop such a bond or kill them both trying.

An elixir given to a monster.

A goddess running for her life.

An ending neither of them can survive.

• GOOD MORNING, DESTROYER OF MEN’S SOULS: A BOOK ABOUT WOMEN, ADDICTION AND LOVE BY NINA RENATA ARON (NON-FICTION) The disease he has is addiction,” Nina Renata Aron writes of her boyfriend, K. “The disease I have is loving him.” Their love affair is dramatic, urgent, overwhelming-an intoxicating antidote to the long, lonely days of early motherhood. Soon after they get together, K starts using again, and years of relapses and broken promises follow.

Even as his addiction deepens, she stays, convinced she is the one who can get him sober.

After an adolescence marred by family trauma and addiction, Nina can’t help but feel responsible for those suffering around her. How can she break this pattern? If she leaves K, has she failed him?

Writing in prose at once unflinching and acrobatic, Aron delivers a piercing memoir of romance and addiction, drawing on intimate anecdotes as well as academic research to crack open the long-feminised and overlooked phenomenon of codependency.

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, April 24, 2020

books

A COLLABORATION OF THE 'WRITE' KIND New book seeks to end myths detrimental to women

By FAY KNOWLES

A

s an award-winning, best-selling author, Tanya R Taylor doesn’t rest on her laurels. Not only does she continue to study the best methods of marketing her many best-sellers, but she also explores other ways to showcase her popular writing. One of these is collaborating with other authors.

Ms Taylor said: “I have been honoured to meet some very successful authors on social media and we sometimes share each other’s books in our newsletters.”

The Bahamian author writes in various genres, including paranormal romance, fantasy, thrillers, science-fiction, mystery and suspense. She has penned several No 1 best-sellers across the various Amazon stores. All of her books have made Amazon Kindle’s Top 100 Paid Best-sellers’ List in several categories.

Never one to restrict herself to just one genre, Ms Taylor has stepped out of comfort zone once again and has co-authored “I Didn’t Know I Was Beautiful: The Real & Raw Facts That Every Woman on The Planet Should Know”, due to be released on May 30.

The book is available for preorder right now.

She said of the collaboration with her co-author Tara Tomlinson: “We each have particular topics in the book that we cover.”

Ms Taylor joins a long line of best-selling authors who

have discovered the benefits of collaboration.

Together with Ms Tomlinson, she explores the questions every young girl and woman has asked herself at one point in her life: “Am I pretty? Am I good enough?”. Theseare simple questions that when answered incorrectly, the authors say, often have profound consequences.

“The answers to value and self-worth are usually related to the scope of one’s past, be it childhood or adulthood, and unfortunately many girls grow up and women continue along life’s journey with the most pertinent questions about who they really are unanswered, incorrectly answered or ignored. Consequently, they learn to settle for less than they deserve and never expect anything worthwhile to happen for them, while they teach their own daughters to do the same without having to utter a single word. A dangerous concept, isn’t it? So many are scarred emotionally, develop unhealthy habits and unknowingly become their own worst enemy.”

With their new book, Ms Taylor and Ms Tomlinson seek to change all that and address the questions that have long been avoided to the detriment of women all over the world. They hope this will be an inspiring read for young girls and women of all ages, cultures and creed.

“It’s now time to face reality, overcome the stubborn barriers and claim what is rightfully yours. You deserve the best

and to soar like an eagle for the simple fact that you are woman,” the authors said.

“This book will finally, after centuries of women not realising the power of who they are, break through the myth that you must have the approval of others in order to be secure within yourself; that you must look a certain way or have certain credentials to be worth anything in this world.”

Ms Taylor has even heard from a male reader who said this book will be just what he needs. She suggests the book will make a great gift for men to buy for their wives, girlfriends or sisters, and men may even choose to get a copy for themselves.

“Although the book is geared more toward women,

I am certain some of the issues addressed that women encounter - brought front and centre in this book - can be beneficial to men as well.

We’re all human beings and we all go through things,” said Ms Taylor.

BAHAMIAN author Tanya R Taylor

• For more information about Tanya R Taylor’s books, go to her Amazon author pageor visit her website: www.tanyar-taylor.com.

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

HISTORY

How the rich reacted to the bubonic plague has eerie similarities to today’s pandemic

By KATHRYN MCKINLEY Professor of English, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (THE CONVERSATION) - The coronavirus can infect anyone, but recent reporting has shown your socioeconomic status can play a big role, with a combination of job security, access to health care and mobility widening the gap in infection and mortality rates between rich and poor.

The wealthy work remotely and flee to resorts or pastoral second homes, while the urban poor are packed into small apartments and compelled to keep showing up to work.

As a medievalist, I’ve seen a version of this story before.

Following the 1348 Black Death in Italy, the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a collection of 100 novellas titled, “The Decameron.”

These stories, though fictional, give us a window into medieval life during the Black Death – and how some of the same fissures opened up between the rich and the poor. Cultural historians today see “The Decameron” as an invaluable source of information on everyday life in 14th-century Italy.

Boccaccio was born in 1313 as the illegitimate son of a Florentine banker. A product of the middle class, he wrote, in “The Decameron,” stories about merchants and servants.

This was unusual for his time, as medieval literature tended to focus on the lives of the nobility.

“The Decameron” begins with a gripping, graphic description of the Black Death, which was so virulent that a person who contracted

FRANZ Xavier Winterhalter’s ‘The Decameron’ (1837). (Heritage Images) it would die within four to seven days. Between 1347 and 1351, it killed between 40% and 50% of Europe’s population. Some of Boccaccio’s own family members died.

In this opening section, Boccaccio describes the rich secluding themselves at home, where they enjoy quality wines and provisions, music and other entertainment. The very wealthiest – whom Boccaccio describes as “ruthless” – deserted their neighborhoods altogether, retreating to comfortable estates in the countryside, “as though the plague was meant to harry only those remaining within their city walls.”

Meanwhile, the middle class or poor, forced to stay at home, “caught the plague by the thousand right there in their own neighborhood, day after day” and swiftly passed away.

Servants dutifully attended to the sick in wealthy households,

often succumbing to the illness themselves. Many, unable to leave Florence and convinced of their imminent death, decided to simply drink and party away their final days in nihilistic revelries, while in rural areas, laborers died “like brute beasts rather than human beings; night and day, with never a doctor to attend them.”

After the bleak description of the plague, Boccaccio shifts to the 100 stories. They’re narrated by 10 nobles who have fled the pallor of death hanging over Florence to luxuriate in amply stocked country mansions. From there, they tell their tales.

One key issue in “The Decameron” is how wealth and advantage can impair people’s abilities to empathize with the hardships of others.

Boccaccio begins the forward with the proverb, “It is inherently human to show pity to

those who are afflicted.” Yet in many of the tales he goes on to present characters who are sharply indifferent to the pain of others, blinded by their own drives and ambition.

In one fantasy story, a dead man returns from hell every Friday and ritually slaughters the same woman who had rejected him when he was alive. In another, a widow fends off a leering priest by tricking him into sleeping with her maid. In a third, the narrator praises a character for his undying loyalty to his friend when, in fact, he has profoundly betrayed that friend over many years.

Humans, Boccaccio seems to be saying, can think of themselves as upstanding and moral – but unawares, they may show indifference to others. We see this in the 10 storytellers themselves: They make a pact to live virtuously in their wellappointed retreats. Yet while

they pamper themselves, they indulge in some stories that illustrate brutality, betrayal and exploitation.

Boccaccio wanted to challenge his readers, and make them think about their responsibilities to others. “The Decameron” raises the questions: How do the rich relate to the poor during times of widespread suffering? What is the value of a life?

In our own pandemic, with millions unemployed due to a virus that has killed thousands, these issues are strikingly relevant.

• This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here:https://theconversation.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, April 24, 2020

History

More about books and their covers Forgotten facts | Paul C Aranha

C

onfirming what I wrote in my previous article, “Never Judge a Book by its Cover”, and despite the rather boring cover of the “Bahama Islands 1966-1967 Report”, I now offer more snippets from that booklet.

Under the heading “Social Security” it says about the Bahamas: “No state contributory social security system exists, but a noncontributory old-age pension is provided by legislation, at the rate of B$13 per month.

Men who have attained the age of 65 years, and women of 60 years, are entitled to the pension, provided that they are not worth more than B$245.”

We’ve come a long way since then, but there is still a long way to go.

On the subject of town planning: In the early part of 1966, the Town Planning Committee introduced density restrictions, to apply throughout the Island of New Providence.

“By and large, members of the public have regarded these as being, if inconvenient, desirable and beneficial to all, in the long term. The general figure used is 50 persons per acre and the maximum, at present, 70 persons per acre...”

An acre is 43,560 square feet, which in Old England denoted the amount of land one yoke of oxen could plough in a day.

ON PRISONS: “There has been a great increase in the number of inmates, largely brought on by the imprisonment of illegal Haitian immigrants. It necessitated an increase of the prison’s

AND GENERAL GARDEN WORKER - $19.30;

budget. The increased expenditure included a greater amount for rations, which resulted in a great improvement in the food served. The daily average number of prisoners in the New Providence prison was 317 for 1966 and 306 for 1967.”

Standard rates of wages are given extensive coverage. The following are a few examples.

CLASS - $1.86; DIESEL MECHANIC - $2.36;

Minimum hourly rates:

HEAD BAKER - $63.65; BEACH BOYS - $16.05; CHAMBERMAID - $17.10; KITCHEN CLEANER - $23.00; PAGE BOY - $10.95,

AUTOMOTIVE MECHANIC $2.01; CARPENTER, FIRST

ELECTRICIANS - $1.96; MASON - $1.86; PAINTERS - $1.68; PLUMBERS - $2,02; TILE MAKERS - $1.68; TILE SETTER - $2,01, AND WELDERS - $2.36.

Many hotel workers were paid a weekly salary:

Hotel workers who were paid by the hour received a little less than similar freelance workers: CARPENTER - $1.33; PAINTER $1.24, AND PLUMBER - $1,24.

Compared to wages paid in 2020, the pay scales are unbelievably low, but the purchasing power of a dollar really was much greater in 1966/67. For comparison, when Bahamasair was born (1973) the director of flight operations and the chief pilot earned about $1,000 a month.

The most important change since 1967 must be the arrival of the

coronavirus, which none can deny. I hope you are coping with the unusual, but oh so necessary restrictions, and will remain safe and healthy.

A hundred years from now The Tribune can look back on the COVID-19 pandemic as a ‘Forgotten Fact’.

Once again, I am inspired

by Dame Vera Lynn and remember her singing “When the lights go on again, all over the world.”

Mankind made so many sacrifices during World War II, but the battle was won.

Together we can defeat COVID-19. Please be careful and please keep well. God bless us all!

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

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

literary lives – Edgar Allan Poe

Master of Macabre – Part I Sir Christopher Ondaatje remembers the American writer, poet, editor and literary critic best known for his poetry, short stories, and tales of mystery and the macabre.

returned to Richmond where he was not welcomed.

Shunning Richmond in 1827, Poe travelled to Boston.

He adopted the pseudonym Henri Le Rennet and tried to survive on menial clerical jobs. Finding it impossible, he enlisted in the United States Army as a private claiming that he was 22 years old even though he was only 18.

While serving at Fort Independence on a salary of $5 a month, Poe published (at his own expense) his first 40-page collection of poetry entitled “Tamerlane and Other Poems” attributed to “a Bostonian”. Only 50 copies were printed and the book received no attention.

Poe’s regiment was posted to South Carolina in November and somehow he managed to get a job preparing shells for artillery. His pay was doubled to $10 a month, but Poe tried to wangle out of his five-year enlistment. This was impossible but he revealed his age and his real name to his commanding officer, a Lieutenant Howard, who would only release Poe if he reconciled

E

dgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, the second child of the English-born actress Elizabeth Arnold-Hopkins Poe and David Poe Jr. He had an elder brother and a younger sister. Their grandfather emigrated from County Cavan in Ireland around 1750.

His father had abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year from consumption. Poe was adopted, although not legally, by a wealthy merchant, John Allan, who dealt in a variety of goods, including tombstones and slaves. The Allans gave him the name of Edgar Allan Poe. John Allan was a severe disciplinarian. In 1815, he took his foster son with him to Britain with his wife, where they stayed first in Irvine, Scotland, where Allan was born, and then in London where he was boarded in Chelsea and then in the Reverend John Bransby’s Manor House School at Stoke Newington four miles north of London. Poe moved back to Richmond, Virginia in 1820. When he was 15 years old he served as the lieutenant of the Richmond youth honour guard celebrating

POE was first stationed at Boston’s Fort Independence while in the Army.

THE EARLIEST known portrait of Poe discovered by historian Robert Lee Traylor (1864-1907) the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette.

In 1825, John Allan’s uncle William Galt died, leaving Allan a considerable inheritance of $750,000, equivalent in today’s money to over $17 million. Allan purchased Moldavia – a two-storey brick house in Richmond.

In 1826, Poe registered at the University of Virginia to study ancient and modern

languages. The infant university, founded by Thomas Jefferson, had strict rules against gambling, guns, and alcohol, but the chaotic self governing system allowed Poe to completely ignore the university’s rules, and he fell out with his foster father over gambling debts. Allan did furnish additional funds, but Poe’s debts increased and he

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, April 24, 2020

with his unsympathetic foster father John Allan.

It was only on the death of Allan’s wife Frances the following February, in 1829, that he agreed to support Poe’s attempt to be discharged if he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Poe was discharged on April 5, 1829 and moved back to Baltimore before entering West Point, staying with his widowed aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia Eliza Clemm – his first cousin.

Also in 1829, he published his second book, “Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems”.

John Allan married his second wife Louisa Patterson in October 1830, soon after Poe matriculated as a cadet in West Point. The bitter quarrels he had had with his foster father erupted again which led to Allan disowning and disinheriting Poe, who decided to leave West Point by purposely getting court-martialled. On February 8, 1831 he was tried for gross neglect of duty and disobedience and pleaded not guilty in order to induce dismissal. He left immediately for New York and published a third volume of poems - titled “Poems” - partly financed by fellow cadets at West Point.

He returned to Baltimore and his aunt in March 1831.

“Despite Baudelaire’s admiration, no writer is less the ‘flâneur’ or congenital wastrel than Edgar Allan Poe. It was the pattern of his life to succeed brilliantly, then move on before getting bogged down in the consequences of his own brilliance. If necessary he would drink himself out of the sinecures friends were willing to set up for him ... so, too, with his career as an author. He went from journal to journal, dashing off poems, savage reviews, and stories like a writing Gatling gun. He routinely broke contracts …”

- John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists, 2011 When he was 26, he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm.

AN EXAMPLE of Poe’s handwriting

VIRGINIA Eliza Clemm was 13 years old when she married Poe “True to her name, she probably remained virginal.

There is little evidence that Poe had interest (or time) for carnal relationships – although he liked women. His closest

bond was with his widowed mother-in-law, ‘Muddy’ Clemm. Scurrilous accusations of incest were, inevitably, circulated after his death.”

- John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists, 2011 The Baltimore Saturday Visitor awarded Poe a prize for his short story “MS. Found in a Bottle” which led to a job with Thomas W White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, Virginia.

He became assistant editor, but White discharged him within a few weeks for being drunk on the job. He was reinstated after promising good behaviour and he returned to Richmond with Virginia and her mother. The Messenger’s circulation increased from 700 to 3,500 during the period from 1835 to 1837. Poe published poems, book reviews and stories in the paper. With all his failings he was a tireless editor.

Poe remained at the Messenger until January 1837 and enhanced his reputation as a (trenchant) critic. “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” was published in 1838 – a collection of disconnected narratives.

“There is a veritable holocaust of some 25 mariners disposed of (one consumed cannibalistically by the survivors, none granted easeful

deaths) before the yarn proper gets underway. Death, inevitably, awaits Pym, still not 20 years old.” - John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists, 2011 In the summer of 1839, Poe became assistant editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine. That year his collection “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” were published in two volumes. He received mixed reviews and earned little money for the publication. He left Burton’s after a year and found a position as a writer-editor with Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine, which he joined in 1841. It was the high point of his life. Amazingly, his effort and contributions increased the circulation from 10,000 copies to an astonishing 40,000 copies a month.

While still at Graham’s magazine, Poe published a prospectus announcing his intentions to start his own journal called The Stylus, although originally intended to be named The Penn. He bought and paid for advertising space in Philadelphia’s Saturday Evening Post in the June 6, 1840 issue. The journal was never produced before Poe’s death. He also hoped to be appointed to the Custom House in Philadelphia with the help from President Tyler’s son Robert.

However, he failed to attend the arranged meeting with Frederick Thomas in mid September stating that he was sick, although Thomas believed him to be drunk.

NEXT WEEK: Edgar Allan Poe writes his most famous poem.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; Lives of the Novelists (2011) by John Sutherland; and Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy (1992) by Jeffrey Meyers.

Sneak, Inquiry, Banjo, Them, Seventy. wordS down: Abound (clue), Moist, Form, Mystique, Hangover, Nitwit, Enzyme, Sober Preamble, Operatic, Unit, Refer, Employ.

MuddlESoME

Beagle 9 Jill Ireland 10 James.

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

tV croSSword

SuMthiNg 3x7=21, 6+4=10, 9+3=12

Gregory’s Girl, Chalet Girl, The Good Girl

SMall croSSword

4 1 327 2 223Stay 9 away 1 2 from 2 an 1 empty 7space 8 9 (5) 4 6 3 2 Friday, April 24, 242Navigation aid that looks 3 2 1 1 4 5 3 1 4 both ways (5) 1 3 2 6 1

with spin (9) 27 Encourage chief to be a boffin (7) 28 Recent problem with European chap (7)

1 3 9 1 7 1 2 3 1 2 4

TARGET

across: 1 Furniture, 7 Or so, 8 Siren, across: 1 Chris, 6 Over, 8 Turturro, 10 Arg, 11 Themes, 13 Situation, 10 Aston, 11 Small, 12 Hanson, clock-wiSE 14 Grouse, 16 ECU, 18 Picky, 19 Ewer, Best described as a number crossword, 15 theRick, task16inLamarr, Kakuro 17 Star, Sweetness.

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on 20 a 9x9 grid is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so Coma, Mali, lime, meal, Allo, loco is todown: 19 Goodrem, 21 Wilf, 22 Patsy. with several given numbers.

The object place1 Footsteps, the 2 Urchin, 3 Norm, the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its down: 2the Hamm, 3 Styler, numbers 4 Ruth, 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the4each Tip, 5 row, Uranium, 6 Engineers, left, and the sum of each vertical block equals number 5 Goes Wrong, 6 Of Sport, 7 Ren, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number 8 Swear by, 9 Lettuce, 12 Tosses, on its top. No number may be used in the same block more of thE wEEk Rebecca, 13Kakuro Nell, 14 Humphrys, only once. QuiZ The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku 15 Open, 17 Ike. than once. The difficulty level of the 9 Conceptis increases from Monday to Sunday 17 Snow, 18 Ralf, 20 Ola. 1 Kevin 2 A spider 3 Paul Young increases from Monday to Sunday. croSS douBt 4 Damien Hirst 5 Sajid Javid tV show: Best Home Cook 6 The Mavericks 7 Aberdeen F.C. across: PROOF 8 1980s 9 Johnny Vegas, down: PILOT 10 Twelfth Night

1 2 2 3

P E i nP E rml

The Quick croSSword● Target

across: 1 Questionable; 7 Topic; uses 8 Grove; 9 Tip; 10 Expressed; 11 Thrice; 12 Stormy; words in the19 main 15 Titivated; 17 Boo; 18 Vaunt; Apart; body of 21 Estrangement. down: 1 Quantitative; 2 Top; Chambers 3 Occupy; 21st combat; 4 Augmented; 5 Looks; 6 Deadly Century 7 Toper; 10 Excavator; 13 Robot; 14 Attain; 16 Truss; 20 Axe. Dictionary (1999 edition)

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

TODAY’S TARGET Good 17; very good 25; excellent 34 (or more). Solution tomorrow

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

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 A team captain who knows the score (4,6) 6 Tom is pleased to do it (4) 10 Commanding officer married and broken in spirit (5) 11 He goes to court for a simple quarrel (9) 12 Makes one spout more freely? (5,3) 13 He goes out with Irene (5) 15 Offensive rumour about a retired doctor (7) 17 Find her with nothing on in bed, smoking one? (7) 19 Old Greek hunter made to work to a great age (7) 21 He produces his pass when he’s being charged (7) 22 Monster fish? (5) 24 The sort of alibi which has not been forged (4-4) 27 Thus a pop age provides a form of entertainment (4,5) 28 Dance devised by a doctor in South America (5) 29 Still equal (4) 30 Looked happier when the light improved? (10)

1

2

3

4

Down 1 A dollar for a rabbit perhaps (4) 2 A fresh run on the daily presses (9) 3 Left an Arab port with a cargo on board (5) 4 Give the O.K. to a piano on test (7) 5 It’s snappy if long drawn out (7) 7 University head in no panic to get to wedding (5) 8 Thinks about alternative kinds of telescopes (10) 9 Capital charges may well arouse it when reported (8) 14 If your words are this, you won’t want to eat them (2,3,5) 16 Superintend but miss something? (8) 18 Even work might not suit this handy person (3,3,3) 20 Central rule can be broken (7) 21 Man with guts will be needed to ride it (7) 23 Give people your address? (5) 25 Inlay having three points in it (5) 26 Property to come down (4)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Clothed, 5 Boost, 8 Poke fun at, 9 Tug, 10 Dupe, 12 Adjacent, 14 Satire, 15 Vagary, 17 At length, 18 Herd, 21 Pen, 22 Daredevil, 24 Trend, 25 Emanate.

Down: 1 Cupid, 2 Oak, 3 Haft, 4 Denude, 5 Betrayal, 6 On the wane, 7 Tightly, 11 Petulance, 13 Trinidad, 14 Stay put, 16 Starve, 19 Delve, 20 Idea, 23 Via.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Grown-up, 5 Rowan, 8 Realistic, 9 Tic, 10 Oust, 12 Converse, 14 Snappy, 15 Dreams, 17 Pole Star, 18 Skid, 21 Oar, 22 Anthology, 24 Taste, 25 Yielded.

Down: 1 Garbo, 2 Ova, 3 Nail, 4 Pathos, 5 Recovery, 6 Watermark, 7 Nucleus, 11 Small arms, 13 Apostate, 14 Support, 16 Pastry, 19 Dryad, 20 Home, 23 Odd.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Mischievous Irish sprite (10) 6 Admonish (4) 10 Oscillate (5) 11 Sudden fatal event (9) 12 Preface (8) 13 Reinvigorate (5) 15 Method of operation (7) 17 File of detailed records (7) 19 Large landlocked sea (7) 21 Abject (7) 22 Home (5) 24 Of the Middle Ages (8) 27 Blamelessness (9) 28 External appearance (5) 29 Rambling story (4) 30 Maintain solidarity (5,5)

Down 1 Luxuriant (4) 2 Toxic (9) 3 Bird of prey (5) 4 Repulsive (7) 5 Without others’ help (7) 7 Very tired (3,2) 8 Of topical interest (10) 9 Personal magnetic charm (8) 14 A distinctive skill (10) 16 Testimony (8) 18 Fake (9) 20 Merely token (7) 21 Sorrow (7) 23 Proprietor (5) 25 Enthusiastic (5) 26 Smaller amount (4)

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

Solution tomorrow 1

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9 10

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2

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3

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1

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1

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2

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4

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2

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4

1

0

4

3

1

1

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1 x Battleship

3 x Destroyer

2 x cruiser

4 x submarine

0

3

1

4

2

2

4

1

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2020

THE ALPHABEATER

5 8 6 4 9 1 7 3 8

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Solution tomorrow A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, April 24, 2020

ANIMALS

A conversation on the couch Animal matters | KIM ARANHA Buddy: “Hey, Chiefie, you awake?”

Chief: “Well, I am now.

What do you want? I was just settling into my afternoon, before my snack, in anticipation to being stroked, snooze.”

Buddy: “Well, have you noticed how much the two legg’eds are hanging around the house? Especially Mom, she is usually always going out! Now there are days that she literally never leaves the property! Do you think she’s OK?” Chief: “Yeah, she is fine.

She just loves us so much she is never going to out again.”

Buddy: “Chief, that’s not realistic. She is not even going shopping… strangers deliver packages. Thank goodness there is always lots for us!

Today she read the paper after lunch!”

Chief: “She has become such a neat freak; wiping everything off in the garage before it comes in to the house. That was never the routine, she is removing all the good smells too!”

Buddy: “Two legg’eds don’t get that smell thing” Buddy: “And dinner Chief, have you noticed they don’t go out to dinner. Now we have to watch what THEY choose on TV. I did like it when we had a bit more freedom in the house.”

Chief: “Do you notice how they are always looking at us? And when we are asleep, Mom goes on about how sweet we look, really? What’s that all about? I’ve been doing this sleeping thing for 14 years, it’s really easy. Usually during the day we can just veg out where ever we want and bark when we want.”

Buddy: “Yes, and these silly barking rules are a real imposition. Do we tell them when to speak? And when they do, we wag our tails and pretend we think they have been really smart. Mom keeps saying, ‘Shhh, Buddy be quiet’; she has such poor human ears she can’t hear that I am on a trans-island conversation...that foxy little gal in Old Fort was contacting me…. Just FYI,

CHIEF and Buddy she told me she liked my grey muzzle.”

Chief: “At least she is not in such a hurry to get out of bed these days. I like my beauty sleep you know. Not like crazy Bella who thinks she has to go out in the garden the moment the sun comes up!”

Buddy: “Bella likes to squeak to get their attention, and then she picks up all the cushions and carries them everywhere. Not sure what her problem is.”

Chief: “I know, but have you noticed, it works? She gets her own way when she does that?”

Buddy: “Hey, Chiefie?”

Chief: “Yes, Buddy, still here.”

Buddy: “How much longer do you think they are all going to stay home for. I was

talking to the dogs across the street and they said their two legg’eds we talking about ‘the long haul’. I have been looking around for that, but we don’t seam to have one of those at home.”

Chief: “I think that’s an expression they use… means forever.”

Buddy: “I kind of like having them home so much.

Lots more treats, that’s for sure.”

Chief: “I really love her, you know. I don’t have to sit at the fence during the day waiting for her car to pull in. Now I like to sit under her desk, so she has nowhere to put her feet (canine giggle). After an hour or so I move onto the sofa where I can watch her.”

Buddy: “Yeah, our sofa!

Move over Chief, you are

taking up all the space! Hey, Chief, wake up for goodness sake!”

Chief: “Oops, sorry Bud. Last night I kept hearing that Gaulin flying around. He drinks out of the pool, but wakes me up. Don’t let her sneak out of her office while I am asleep, she likes to try to do that.”

Buddy: “I know. How can we do our jobs if they try to slip out. Besides, she might be heading to the kitchen, and where there’s food, there’s me!”

Chief: “Our most important job is to keep an eye on them and protect them from bad people… Have you noticed how the garbage truck always runs away when we bark at it.

Big green metal monster that makes lots of noise, but when we start barking it high-tails down the road. That always makes me feel good.”

Buddy: “It doesn’t matter how old we are Chiefie, we will always have to take care of them. They need our love and companionship.”

Chief: “They call it unconditional love…Hey, Buddy?”

Buddy: “Yes, Chiefie?”

Chief: “Can we go back to sleep now? I have to nap before my next snack and before she comes over to tell us how wonderful we are. Tail wagging will be expected and some licks… that makes the two legg’eds very happy you know.”

The BHS battles through lockdown The Bahamas Humane Society is considered an essential service and continues to function even during lockdown. Animals still need to be fed. Cages still need to be cleaned.

Emergencies still happen. Vet clinic hours are 8.30am to 11.30am, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, by appointment only.

Emergencies can be brought in, but do please call before you come.

A limited number of adoptions are still happening, again by appointment only.

• The BHS is a charity, not a government branch, and as a charity we cannot do this without your help. Please consider donating while we try to make it through. Contact b_humane@hotmail.com for donation information or check the pinned post on our Facebook page.

Thank you in advance!

Stay home, and stay safe.

Woofs and meows from the kids!

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 24, 2020

internet

Apps to occupy and educate your toddlers

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

B

eing in quarantine with a toddler or even two can be a terrifying and exhausting prospect.

After all, they are not like older children who can occupy themselves with schoolwork or other activities that don’t require constant supervision.

And without a normal routine that many children their age thrive on, a toddler’s antics can quickly make their parents feel like they are losing their minds, especially if those parents are also trying to juggle working from home with family life.

While its definitely a good idea to monitor and limit tablet and TV time- how many episodes of non-stop Peppa Pig does it take before parents despair? - there are those times that finding a way to keep kids quiet for a moment or two is vital. And if they can learn at the same time then it’s a win-win situation for all concerned.

Here are Tribune Weekend’s picks for online activities that can occupy the youngest members of the family so mom and dad have a chance to get other things accomplished.

ABC Mouse – This is one of the best learning apps out there. Not only does it have targeted activities for children between the ages of two to eight that will challenge them as they advance to new levels, the site is so easy navigate that children can happily hop on and be engrossed for a long while.

Your child will love designing their look a-like aviator and selecting and taking care

ABC Mouse the world through videos, audio recordings and games.

Children can learn about animals in eight different habitats and collect more than 100 different digital animals. As they move through the app, they can collect points which they can then use for food or other items for their animals.

ZOO Moo

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox - This is an iPad and iPhone app that will help your toddler learn about colours, counting, shapes, sizes, and matching them all together. Of course there is a cute monkey along for the educational ride.

PINKFONG

LEGO Duplo World

of their own personal virtual pet with items they can purchase with their reward points. Now is a great time for parents to give ABC Mouse a chance as the site is offering a free month-long trial.

Zoo Moo – If your toddler is an animal lover, Zoo Moo is the perfect app for them. It helps children to learn more about animals from all over

Lego Duplo World – The littlest members of the family will love interacting with the colorful virtual versions of their favourite toys. Some of the activities include memory games, number sequencing, and sorting colours and shapes.

Pinkfong apps – Of course every parent on the planet knows Pinkfong as they creators of that annoying (I mean cute) “Baby Shark” song. The app has been downloaded more than 150 million times. The Shark family joins other Pinkfong characters for fun games, music and colouring activities.