Issuu

Friday, May 21, 2021

art community interview gardening history food puzzles animals

Weekend

New banana bread Page 07

Capturing the dream Working with what nature gave you

pgs 08 +09

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 21, 2021

celebrity

“Cruella” premiere

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

FAIL

HIT

SPLIT

Emma Stone (“Estella/Cruella de Vil”)

Marsai Martin (“Black-ish”)

Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“Why Women Kill”)

Law Roach

Karin says: “It’s very stylish and all, but I gotta admit, I’m disappointed. The movie is all about over-the-top fashion, so I was hoping for something unique and outrageous. But she looks very chic.”

Karin says: “Someone else got the pantsuit memo, it seems. Marsai is looking extremely sharp in this houndstooth patterned two-piece with matching hat, which is just absolutely fab! These are the kinda theatrics we need.”

Karin says: “She seems to be channelling her inner Cynthia Erivo. But she looks amazing. Even though it’s basically only a solid black body suit with a sheer, wrap-around overdress on top.”

Cara says: “Well, she stayed on theme with the black and white and hint of red, but honestly this is sooo boring and basic. Emma, we have all been home for more than a year now, surely you had something in your closet that needed showing off?”

Cara says: “I think she looks adorable. This is how you pull off the menswear look with creativity and a feminine flair. It’s the perfect amount of fun...it is a Disney premiere after all.”

Cara says: “I love this. Anything black and sparkly has my vote. The black also just makes her hair pop….so fabulous! It’s simple, dramatic and fun all at the same time.

Karin says: “He’s the stylist to some of the biggest stars, but here he’s relishing being a Hollywood diva himself, channelling is inner Cruella. All I can say is that it looks hot and scratchy. But kind of cool.” Cara says: OK, first, I don’t know about the choice of fur, even faux fur, for the premiere of this particular movie (I mean, didn’t all of Cruella’s troubles start with a fur coat?), but it is a bold statement. And I want his hair; just gorgeous. It’s definitely a fashionable choice.

Photos by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The Weekend Fashion Report

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Friday, May 21, 2021

Weekend Inside

My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Sheronika Simeon

Miss Teen Bahamas International Q: What are you binge-watching? “ ‘Money Heist’. This became one of my favourite series to watch over the pandemic and I’m currently waiting on the new season.”

Interview 4 – 5

Khaliq Martin has gone from graduating from a Family Island high school to attending one of the leading law schools in the UK, to now receiving a prestigious scholarship not many international students receive

Puzzles 6 Food 7

Go bananas for a new banana bread venture

Community 8-9

Twin sisters help Bahamians capture their dreams with a nature-based company

Art 10

Doongalik marks 10th anniversary of founder’s death with opening of cultural library

Q: Beach or sofa? “Beach. The beach is a place where you can not only relax and enjoy nature, but you can also have fun there.”

Music 11

Funky D just can’t stop dancing

Literary Lives 12 – 13

The legend of the ‘Bebop Baroness’

Forgotten Facts 14

Adventures on the high seas

Animals 15

How a pandemic has turned into an epidemic for the BHS, plus Pet of the Week

Gardening 16

The beneficial milkweed assassin bug

Q: Water, juice, soda or daiquiri? “Water cleans and regulates the body’s pH balance, which is really good for your health and skin.”

THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY

is 80. Actor Mr. T is 69. Actor Judge Reinhold is 64. Actordirector Nick Cassavetes is 62. Actor Lisa Edelstein is 55.

R&B singer Vivian Green is 42. Actor Maggie Q is 42. Olympic gold medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 39. Tennis player Novak Djokovic is 34.

May 21

May 22

May 23

• In, 1553 Lady Jane Grey, aged 15, later Queen of England for nine days, marries Lord Guildford Dudley, aged 18. Charged with high treason, the couple were executed a year later. • In 1792, Japan’s Mount Unzen, located on the Shimabara Peninsula, erupts, creating a tsunami that kills about 15,000 people. It is Japan’s deadliest volcanic eruption to date. • In 1927, Charles Lindbergh, flying the Spirit of St Louis, lands in Paris, thereby completing the first nonstop solo air crossing of the Atlantic.

Today’s birthdays: R&B singer Ron Isley (The Isley Brothers)

• In 1570, Abraham Ortelius publishes the world’s first atlas ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (Theatre of the World) with 70 maps in Antwerp • In 1868, seven bandits from Reno Gang pull off the “Great Train Robbery”. They make off with $98,000 in cash from a train’s safe in Indiana. • In 1908, the Wright brothers register their flying machine for a US patent.

Today’s birthdays: R&B singer

Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 55. Model Naomi Campbell is 51. Actor Ginnifer Goodwin (“Once Upon a Time”) is 43.

Q: If you had to be quarantined with a celebrity, who would it be and why? “Rihanna. I believe that we could relate in many ways and because of that we would have interesting conversations. We’re both from the Caribbean, we both can dance, we both can sing, and we both went through some form of abuse.” Q: If you could go anywhere for a COVID-free vacation, where would it be? “Egypt. I’d love to go to Egypt to see the historical landmarks, to see inside the pyramids and to see mummies.”

• In 1533, Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void, making way for England’s break with the Catholic Church and his marriage to Anne Boleyn, mother of the future Queen Elizabeth I. • In 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana. • In 1945, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi Gestapo, commits suicide after being captured by Allied forces.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Joan Collins is 88. Actor-comedian-

BONNIE and Clyde game show host Drew Carey is 63. Singer Maxwell is 48. Singer Jewel is 47. Game show contestant Ken Jennings is 47. Movie writerdirector Ryan Coogler is 35.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 21, 2021

interview

Khaliq Martin From humble beginnings to receiving one the most prestigious scholarships in his field, Khaliq has been on quite a journey. He tells Cara Hunt how he can’t wait to return home from his law studies in the UK to start making a real difference here in the Bahamas.

haliq Martin is one step closer to his lifelong dream of being an attorney now that he has received the prestigious Stanley Levy Memorial scholarship in the United Kingdom. Khaliq, who initially attended school in Nassau before transferring and graduating from the NGM Major High School in Long Island, is currently a finalyear student at the Kent Law School in Canterbury. “Growing up I had several family members who practiced law and inspired me to enter this profession,” he told Tribune Weekend. Khaliq added while he knows many consider the profession as stagnant and unmoving, he disagrees. “I feel that understanding all the facets of law is really important if you want to be able to affect change, and I want to be able to eventually come home and make an actual difference in my community, and that comes from changing laws,” he said. Khaliq began his tertiary education at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he received a BA in History with specialised honours. He also earned an undergraduate certificate in Refugee and Migration Studies. After graduation, he chose to attend law school in England because he wanted the opportunity to be able to be called to both the UK and the Bahamas Bar. “That way I have the ability to work in either jurisdiction,” he explained. He added that he also wanted to gain some experience of the colonial/Commonwealth relationship between the Bahamas and the UK as it relates to the law. Khaliq said the most challenging aspect of attending school an ocean away from home was finding a place and people he fit in with. “I think the most challenging thing for me was finding that sense of community while at university,” he said. The answer came through association not only with fellow Bahamian students, but also with other students from the Diaspora. While at Kent, he co-founded and co- chaired the Afro Diasporic Legal Network (ADLN). The ADLN is a collective of law students that encompass the intersection of being Black and from the African-Diaspora. It was created in recognition of a lack of Black legal supportive infrastructures at

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, May 21, 2021

the University of Kent despite the fact that such systems exist in many other institutions. The network aims to provide opportunities for Black students in the academic and professional legal sphere, to conduct knowledge exchanges, and provide peer-to-peer support in hopes of decreasing the social attainment gap at the University. The network was developed with three principles in mind: to support the political and legal education of Black law students, to provide academic, career, and wellness support, and to continue to push the bounds of inclusion for black students. Since its inception in 2019, the network was able to create four paid and credited experiences for law students. They were also able to coordinate legal research projects for students to amend the University’s accommodation agreement. Khaliq is also the president of the Kent International Law Student Society and is a part of the University of Kent’s Global Officer Leadership programme. Additionally, he is a volunteer with the Young Lives Foundation Charity, an awardwinning children’s charity that provides advocacy, promotes mentoring friendships and offers special activities to those who need. It was all these extra-curricular activities that have made Khaliq’s time at Kent so enjoyable and helped him feel part of a new community. They were also the reason despite the challenges brought on by the global pandemic that he wanted to stay in the UK when many of his fellow Bahamian students were wanting to return home to complete their studies remotely. “When I got the chance to come to school I promised myself that I would make the most of

every opportunity that I could, and even though I could have continued my studies at home, there were a lot of resources that I was able to utilise here and I was able to still participate in all of the organisations I am a part of, so it was a sacrifice that I made,” he said. All the sacrifices and hard work over the past several years have paid off now that he is the recipient of the Stanley Levy Memorial scholarship. The scholarship is one of the prestigious scholarships by the Honourable Society of Middle Temple which is one of the four Inns of Court in London, England. The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. The Inns are Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers –lawyers who mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation – must belong to one of them and they have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. Khaliq applied for the scholarship last Fall and received his conformation early this month. He had to undergo a lengthy application process, including being interviewed by three barristers, two of whom were benchers responsible for the governance of the Inn. “During the interview they wanted to deduce what my motivations were for a career at the Bar and if I gave serious considerations to the profession. They also asked me to describe a case and its significance to evidence my intellectual ability,” he said. This award will help fund Khaliq’s studies of the Bar Vocational Studies at City Law School at the University of London. The course includes

an integrated LLM in International Commercial Arbitration and International Commercial Trade. “I was very proud to receive this because it is a testament to what you can achieve through hard work, particularly given the humble beginnings that I had. This scholarship will pay for me to achieve my dream of being a barrister and takes the burden of financing it off my mind,” he said. “It’s also a tremendous honour because there are not may international students and I’m not sure if any other Bahamians who have received the scholarship.” In addition to his love of international law, Khaliq is also passionate about advancing the profession for Black students. “The annual reports from the Bar Standards Board reveals that more Black law students are pursuing the Bar, but not enough are securing pupillages (the final stage of training to become a barrister), and not enough Black barristers are receiving QC (Queen’s Counsel) titles. I hope to continue to centre and prioritise Black law students, and aid in making the legal profession more accessible for all of us,” he said. And he offered this advice to his fellow law students: “Don’t think that you have to sacrifice community and the things you care about to maintain your academics and legal extracurriculars. The balance is possible. Create a sustainable network where you and your peers can support each other. Deploy the empathy you want to see in this world. Additionally, if mooting seems scary initially, consider additional means and methods to evidence your ability to advocate. Get involved in a social campaign, organise a protest, set a target, achieve it, and demonstrate the results of your initiative.”

28 Fine clue solved about new daughter being affected (10)

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

22 Mark pursuing old 10 Knot, 12 Gnu, 9 Cockpit, THe ALP award (5) 13 Startle, 14 Eel, 15 Sofa, 24 Implored leader toFriday, leave, 17 Retreat, 19 Porous,May 21, 2021 black squares: encouraged 20(5) Transfers. Down: 1 Pick-me-up, 30, 32, 34, 36, 3 2 Upon, 3 Roc, 4 Apparatus, Across: Gallow 5 Taints, 6 Rhine, 8 Educates, Halved, Adjourn 11 Take on, 13 Senor, 16 Fair, Rolling, Bronzy, 18 Ewe. Down: Fjords, A Singers, Abridg ● The TArgeT cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid Convex. Ex Target number represents a letter – or black square. uses VegeTAbLe 09 CroSS Do Asabet in Alphapuzzle, every of the alphabet words in (De able bagel bale bateletter beagle the main each is beat used.beet Butbeetle you have to beget complete too! YIELD begat belt the grid Across: body of beta betel bevel blagand bleat gablesquaresDown: use the given letters black below DECAY Chambers glebe VEGETABLE the gridtable to start. the grid is ‘rotationally 09 21st

THE ALPHABEATE

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

PAo AnG r E H

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

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 23; very good 35; excellent 46 (or more). Solution on Monday

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

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Coastal defence that is soon liquidated? (10) 6 Beat in a round of golf` (4) 10 Withdraw permission (5) 11 Pledge given by senator is broken (9) 12 A run caused by panic in the stock market perhaps (8) 13 A rug’s maybe the answer to icing (5) 15 Just means a stretch of cut turf (7) 17 Examine a boy that’s backward - a disgrace (7) 19 Gaunt-looking writer (7) 21 Unusually precise drills (7) 22 We hear forty of the Romans do better (5) 24 To create a stir, try some skill (8) 27 Scattered once and never to get together again (9) 28 Determined to have money in retirement (3,2) 29 At last he starts to warm up (4) 30 Anger badly out of place, generally speaking (2,3,5)

Down 1 and 14 Down: Fine people give heartfelt oaths (4,2,3,5) 2 The object wasn’t far from causing an accident (4,5) 3 Top colour (5) 4 He plays havoc when in good form (7) 5 Sounds like more work for the tenants (7) 7 Telling stories in bed? (5) 8 Maybe late singer’s one with wide range of skills? (10) 9 What gun runners take part in? (4,4) 14 See 1 Down 16 Where strain will cause a parting (4,4) 18 Painter who gives orders? (9) 20 Fabrics to be sold per yard perhaps (7) 21 Be nice to a dog and a bird for example (7) 23 Come out with me again and have a drink (5) 25 Flapping sails of hemp fibre (5) 26 Unrepeatable start of fairy story (4)

9 10

14 15

25 26

Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Develop, 5 Mauve, 8 Put on airs, 9 Dot, 10 Huge, 12 Rehearse, 14 Detach, 15 Plaice, 17 Overrate, 18 Seam, 21 Ear, 22 Hold water, 24 Ether, 25 Digress. Down: 1 Depth, 2 Vet, 3 Lane, 4 Privet, 5 Masterly, 6 Under fire, 7 Extreme, 11 Go to earth, 13 Scorcher, 14 Diocese, 16 Stolid, 19 Mores, 20 Swag, 23 Tie.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Jackpot, 5 Eagle, 8 Monastery, 9 Out, 10 Sago, 12 Distinct, 14 Thebes, 15 Saline, 17 Set meals, 18 Ogre, 21 Pie, 22 Intimates, 24 Testy, 25 Regency. Down: 1 Jambs, 2 Con, 3 Post, 4 Thetis, 5 Egyptian, 6 Grounding, 7 Entitle, 11 Greatness, 13 Serenity, 14 Tosspot, 16 Ulster, 19 Essay, 20 Smug, 23 Tin.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Precedence on the road (5,2,3) 6 Sudden misfortune (4) 10 Complete successfully (5) 11 Diocese’s principal church (9) 12 Unsafe (8) 13 Years of age 13-19 (5) 15 Opening (7) 17 Suffer from heat (7) 19 Drawn (7) 21 Illness (7) 22 Flooded (5) 24 Span of existence (8) 27 An intermediary (9) 28 Staff of office (5) 29 Secluded place (4) 30 Be on one’s way (4,6)

Down 1 To sway (4) 2 Basic training in subject (9) 3 Strained (5) 4 True (7) 5 Suitability (7) 7 Substantial (5) 8 US money market (4,6) 9 Plumage (8) 14 Robber of road travellers (10) 16 Soon (2,1,5) 18 Emotionally wounding (9) 20 Predicament (7) 21 Argument in justification (7) 23 Reproduction of sound (5) 25 Rome’s river (5) 26 Burden (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 on Monday 1

9 10

3 2

1 x Battleship

3 x Destroyer

2 x cruiser

4 x submarine

SuMMiT symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the *Calls same if you turn the page upside down.89 and 60 you n Solution on Monday 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

20 Yesterday’s 20 13 12 36

Answer 2 Kakuro 31 32 15 8

■

● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to yo text DXBEAT to 84901. Texts cost £1 plus your usu

KEIJO 2

4 2

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, May 21, 2021

food

Going bananas for a traditional treat By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

he United States may have a National Banana Bread Day, February 23, but the sweet cake-like bread made from mashed bananas is most definitely a Bahamian staple, beloved by young and old across the archipelago. Bananas originated in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific around 8,000 to 5,000 BC and didn’t really make their way to this part of the world until the 1870s. By the 1930s, however, recipes listing bananas as an ingredient were everywhere, including recipes for banana bread. And of course, Bahamians have long had their very own take on this moist cake-like bread, including Richeaé and Nadario Ferguson, who are working from an old family recipe to offer people a treat they feel embodies the essence of the Bahamas. Through their Banana Bread & Co venture, they offer banana bread loaves and muffins in different sizes and with various toppings. “All our menu items can be complemented with your choice of chocolate, pecans, walnuts, or raisins. These toppings can be mixed and matched for a truly authentic Bahamian breakfast treat experience,” said Richeaé, who is currently also a fourth-year medical student at the University of the West Indies about to start her clinical training at the Princess Margaret Hospital. “Our menu items are also vegan or diabeticfriendly upon request. Our recipe, along with our customer experience, makes Banana Bread & Co one of a kind. We have been told repeatedly, many other producers of banana bread are inconsistent in their texture, taste and style. However, we have been praised for our consistency.” With her being a medical student and also a makeup artist (“Richeaé Alexandria Beauty”), and Nadario being a golfer and the owner of the cultural clothing company KUJIA, one may not immediately think of them as operating a banana bread company. But Richeaé said they complement each other perfectly. And the pandemic gave them the perfect opportunity to start a business together.

A GOOD banana bread has to be moist

Nadario, who works in the hospitality industry and is also a member of the national golf team, she said, “was not receiving a full salary and my tuition still needed to be paid.” “One Saturday morning, we had a conversation on how we would go about fulfilling this obligation. We started brainstorming ideas that ranged from online careers such as web design and app development to working as a driver for food delivery companies,” said Richeaé. “Finally, we landed on a business model I used as a side hustle during my first and second years of medical school while at Trinidad, which was selling banana bread with great success. We recognised there was a gap to be filled, and more persons should have the opportunity to experience this special Bahamian treat.” Right now, it’s only a home-based business that offers delivery and pick-up services, but within the next two years Richeaé said they hope to have their banana bread and muffins distributed in local coffee shops and delis across the country.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 21, 2021

film

Doongalik marks 10th anniversary of founder’s death with opening of cultural library By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

he widow of the late Jackson Burnside is marking the anniversary of the noted Bahamian architect and painter’s passing by immortalising his work through a cultural library at Doongalik Studios. Jackson Burnside founded the art gallery and studios in the 1970s along with his wife Pam and their kids. The couple spent their lifetime committed to promoting the country’s outstanding artistic talent, which they firmly believe can establish the Bahamas as an international centre of creativity. Now in commemoration of his death in 2001, Pam has spearheaded the rebranding of the gallery space to showcase the artwork and designs of her late husband for viewing, along with a selection of Bahamian books,

THE LATE Jackson Burnside

DVDs, exclusive ceramic art and woodwork for sale. The library is comprised of Burnside’s extensive collection of books on architecture, art, Junkanoo, design and business, and the present catalogue numbers almost one thousand items. The project is still a work in progress, as Burnside’s insight and wisdom from his wide interests in creativity and Bahamian culture can also be found in his many speeches and writings, as well as years of his ‘Junkanoo Talks’ radio shows that can be shared with the general public, both locally and internationally. “Last year we highlighted Jackson’s vision statement: ‘By the year 2020 more visitors will travel to the Bahamas because of its art, culture and heritage, rather than merely for its sun, sand and sea. 2020 was also the year when COVID-19 appeared, causing the whole world to pause, stop, and reassess. So,this year, on the 10th anniversary of Jackson’s death, we decided to rebrand the gallery to become a repository of his legacy by highlighting his artwork, as well as opening the Jackson Logan Burnside III Design Library and Research Centre that was established with in memoriam donations received in 2011,” said Pam. The rebranding of Doongalik, she said, is significant, as her late husband would not want his family to mourn him, but rather to celebrate and use his legacy as an educational tool “for the betterment of our country and our people - the greater good - which is where our focus has always been.” Donors to the library were offered a tour of the rebranded space during the anniversary week. The library, which will be suitable for high school and tertiary students, will be operational by appointment only later in the year. “The country has many public libraries, and of course there are institutions like schools, UB, NAGB, where libraries are a natural part of their makeup. What makes the Jackson Logan Burnside III Design Library and Resource Centre unique is the fact that it is comprised of Jackson’s personal books, writings,

words of wisdom, speeches, and artefacts. He would be proud to know that his possessions are being used by others for their education, mental enrichment and enlightenment,” said Pam. Pam feels the new space can offer something meaningful to not only members of the creative community, but to any person who is interested in understanding what it means to be a Bahamian and wants to find out what makes Bahamians unique and special. “There is so much that our people have achieved in so many fields of endeavour that we can be rightfully proud of and be able ‘to lift up our heads to the rising sun’ to move ‘forward, upward, onward together’,” she said. As the gallery moves forward towards the future, Pam said it will do so with the view of preserving the legacy of cultural icons like her late husband as much as it can. “We are losing cultural giants left, right and centre - Sir Charles Carter as a case in point - and until we make the conscious effort to really celebrate and preserve their legacy in a tangible way by knowing and celebrating Bahamian history, we will continue to throw out the baby with the bathwater, and lose forever that essential essence of what it means to be a Bahamian and unite once again as a community that works together toward ‘a common loftier goal,” she said. “This stabilising foundation that is encased within our art, history, culture, and heritage, is what makes us the strong and creative people that we are. We have to understand our history and make sure that we instil its values and stories throughout each generation in order to exist together in the present and prepare to launch ourselves confidently into the future,” she told Tribune Weekend. The art gallery and store will be open for visiting from Monday to Wednesday, from 10am to 4pm, and on Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Scheduled paid group tours will also be offered.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, May 21, 2021

music

Funky D can’t stop dancing

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

VEN after decades of jumping on tables, stamping his feet and gyrating to the beat of his own songs, veteran music artist David “Funky D” Ferguson is still not tired. In fact, Funky D told Tribune Weekend that all he has is energy, as he was forced to take a break from his regular gig at SuperClub Breezes due to the pandemic. During his downtime, the artist went into the studio to record some fresh hits, which he says capture the energy and fire people are used to from his live performances. His new single, “Can’t Stop Dancing”, is just one of a slate of songs he will be releasing. “Many people are used to me performing live. I don’t just create songs. So, with this single I wanted it to be a song people can dance to. When you are out having some stew fish or some conch salad you are sitting down and hear the song you,” he said.

“Can’t Stop Dancing” was written and produced by the duo of Campbell Forbes and Maitland Thompson (Mega Mouth Music/Baheuro Studio Nassau) especially for Funky D, who is a seasoned singer, performer and dancer. His signature vocals and style have a tendency to make people want to get up and “take and scrape with this shaker and mover.” “You can almost feel yourself sliding along to the Fish Fry for that date and dance night out,” said his team. “Can’t Stop Dancing” is the second of his songs written and produced by Mega Mouth Music. The first was “Feel the Summer Breeze”, which is still getting lots of airtime on local radio stations. And the artist said there is much more to come from him and his team. As for Mega Mouth Music and Baheuro, the hits keep on coming, as the duo of Campbell and Maitland recently produced and released a song for new artist Nansi called “Get Up and Move”.

Nansi’s silky background vocals incidentally can be heard on both of Funky D’s latest tracks. The studio is currently assisting her with a local publicity campaign and social media promotion. Mega Mouth said it is always searching for promising new Bahamian artists to produce and mentor in a professional and positive manner. Their ambition is to bring their artists to an international level. The Mega Mouth team hopes Funky D, who they said, has exhibited “great professionalism and experience”, will come on board to mentor some of their artists and help with future music projects. Mega Mouth’s Campbell and Maitland have been working together for over 40 years. Campbell is an accomplished professional bass player, singer, performer, songwriter and arranger, and records and produces music in his recording studio regularly. Maitland is an accomplished guitarist, arranger, performer and is also a well-known recording engineer and producer in his own studio. In collaboration, they draw on each other’s strengths and talents in an effort to create professional recordings for artists of all genres.

12| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 21, 2021

literary lives - Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter

The Bebop Baroness

Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about the British-born jazz patron and writer – a scion of the Rothschild family. “She is known as ‘The Jazz Baroness’. She lives with a black man, a pianist ... saxophonist Charlie Parker died in her apartment. She had five children and lived with 306 cats. The family cut her off. Twenty songs were written for her. She raced Miles Davis down Fifth Avenue. Did you hear about the drugs? She went to prison so he wouldn’t have to. Who’s he? Thelonious Monk. It was a true love story, one of the greatest.” - Hannah Rothschild The Baroness (2012) Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild was born on December 10, 1913, in London, the youngest daughter of Charles Rothschild and his wife, Hungarian Baroness Rózsika Edle von Wertheimstein, daughter of Baron Alfred von Wertheimstein of Transylvania.

The Koenigswarters separated in 1951 and she moved to New York City, leaving behind her five children and permanently renting a suite at the Stanhope Hotel. As soon as she announced their separation she was disinherited by the Rothschild family. Two years later Pannonica bought a house in New Jersey built for the German film director Josef von Sternberg. In New York, she became a friend and patron of many prominent jazz musicians, hosting jazz sessions in her hotel suite, often driving them in her Bentley car when they needed a lift to performances, as well as sometimes helping them to pay rent, buy groceries, or make hospital visits. “This was a time when no proper white woman, let alone a wealthy baroness, would openly associate with black people and when jazz was perceived as a serious threat not only to the prevailing social order, but to the integrity of Western culture, itself.” - David Kastin Nica’s Dream: The Life and Legend of the Jazz Baroness (2011) Pannonica was a pro-feminist at a time when nothing more was expected of a female Rothschild than being a wife and a mother. She was actually introduced to Thelonius Monk by jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams in Paris while attending the “Salon du Jazz 1954”. Although not a musician herself, she championed his work in the United States, and is sometimes referred to as the “Bebop Baroness” because of her patronage of Monk and

She was born into a branch of the wealthiest family in the world. Her paternal grandfather was Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild. Her name “Pannonica” (shortened to “Nica” as a nickname) was said to have come from a species of butterfly her father had discovered, although the source of the name was found by her greatniece to be the name of a rare species of moth, Eublemma pannonica. In 1935, Nica married the French diplomat Baron Jules de Koenigswarter – later a Free French hero. In 1937, they moved to the Château d’Abondant in Northern France which they bought from the American banker Henry Herman Harjes. She worked for Charles de Gaulle during World War II. “In 1948 ... something happened. On her way to the airport after her visit to New York, Nica stopped to visit a friend, the jazz pianist Teddy Wilson, who played her a recording of ‘Round Midnight’ by a then unknown jazz pianist Thelonius Monk. Unable to believe her ears, she listened to it twenty times in a row and was bewitched. Having missed her ’plane, she never went home again.” - Rachel Cooke The Guardian

JAZZ musician Thelonious Monk and Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter at the Five Spot, 1964. (Ben Martin, Time Life)

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Friday, May 21, 2021

Charlie “Bird” Parker – among others, including the powerful drummer Art Blakey, with whom she probably had an affair. “Bird and Nica were less close friends, but he had Nowhere else to go that stormy night in March 1955. Immediately after his arrival at her suite he began vomiting blood, and … refused to go to to the hospital. On the fourth day he began to choke, and suddenly died.” - AB Spellman Review, Nica’s Dream by David Kastin After Charlie Parker’s death in her Stanhope Hotel suite in 1955, Nica was asked to leave by the hotel management. Parker was a brilliant saxophonist and a certified heroin addict. She relocated to the Bolivar Hotel at 230 Central Park West – a building now commemorated in Thelonius Monk’s 1956 composition “Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are”. She even took criminal responsibility when she and Monk were charged with marijuana possession – illegal at the time. She bravely said the dope was hers. It was a dangerous decision as she faced a prison sentence of up to ten years, followed by immediate deportation. In the end, after a lengthy two-year legal battle, financed by her family, the case was dismissed in the Court of Appeals on a technicality, her lawyers arguing that the police had searched her car without her permission.

NICA with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson Pannonica used her inherited wealth to pay for the funerals of Monk and also several other jazz musician friends including Bud Powell, Sonny Clark and Coleman Hawkins.

She was a regular visitor to many of New York’s avant-garde jazz clubs, including the Five Spot Café, Village Vanguard, Birdland and Small’s. She bought a piano in 1957 for the Five Spot Café because she thought the existing piano was not good enough for Monk’s performance there. Nica was often seen at a round table in a corner of the café with other musicians. She wore a mink coat and sipped constantly from a silver flask containing Chivas Regal scotch whiskey.

Nica herself underwent a triple bypass surgery late in November 1988. She died soon afterwards of heart failure on November 30, 1988. As she requested, her children spread her ashes on the Hudson River “around midnight”. Several jazz compositions were created in her honour, including Horace Silver’s “Nica’s Dream”, Gigi Gryce’s “Nica’s Tempo”, Sonny Clark’s “Nica”, Kenny Drew’s “Blues for Nica” and Thelonius Monk’s mesmerising “Pannonica”.

A mystery surrounds the relationship of Nica de Koenigswarter and Thelonius Monk. Were they lovers? Or merely loving friends? Monk had a devoted wife, Nellie, from whom he was never officially separated. “I don’t think it was a steamy, hot love affair. There’s a tendency to sexualise every relationship, especially one that crosses class and race. When you look at Nica with him, in photographs and on film, she’s in love with him ... But I don’t believe that sex was at the heart of it, because I don’t believe it would have lasted so long if it had been. This was thirty years of being tested by Monk to the extreme ... I didn’t want to portray her as a sad groupie with lots of money. Was she using him? Was he using her? And why did Nellie put up with it? - Hannah Rothschild The Baroness (2012) The last years of Thelonius Monk were desperately fragile – when his mental health deteriorated so much that he left the jazz scene completely and retired to Nica’s cat-infested house in New Jersey.

CHARLIE Parker being taken to Bellevue, Manhattan’s leading psychiatric institution. He died in 1955 at Nica’s Stanhope Hotel apartment He died there of a brain haemorrhage on February 17, 1982. Nellie and Nica sat side by side in the front row of Saint Peter’s on Lexington Avenue at Monk’s funeral.

In October 2006, the French company Buchet Chastel published Pannonica de Koenigswarter’s book Les musiciens de jazz and leurs trois vœux (The jazz musicians and their three wishes). Compiled between 1961 and 1966 it is a book of interviews conducted by Nica, together with her Polaroid photographs. The book was edited by her great-niece Nadine de Koenigswarter. An English language edition was published in 2008 with the title Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats. • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; Nica’s Dream: The Life and legend of the Jazz Baroness (2011) by David Kastin; and The Baroness: The Search for Nica the Rebellious Rothschild (2012) by Hannah Rothschild.

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Friday, May 21, 2021

history

The adventures of Frank Chapman – Part I A voyage on the Estrella

n 1902, Frank M Chapman, an authority on birds and the curator of ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, came to the Bahamas to study birds, particularly the flamingo. And what better place for flamingos than Inagua? His account of his two trips, on FORGOTTEN FACTS the Estrella, goes like this: “On April 22, I sailed from Nassau on the 60-ft schooner Estrella, with a crew of seven Bahamians, headed for Inagua, but our plan to visit Inagua was prevented, by an attack of measles which, on the third day out, fell to my lot. Returning to Nassau, Mrs Chapman and I were placed in an abandoned lunatic ward of the Bahamas hospital which, on one side, was bounded by the lepers’ compound, while the quarters for the insane was somewhat further removed on the other side. At our door a large was a large cistern, occupied by a thriving colony of tree-toads, whose united voices echoing in their cavernous home often made it impossible to distinguish the cries of our demented neighbours. This experience was not devoid of novelty. The Estrella was rated an exceptionally seaworthy vessel in the Bahamas, but the Bahamian sailors’ standard of excellence, would not, I fear, pass in a marine insurance office. From the beginning of the cruise, she leaked so badly that, after his turn at the wheel, every man was obliged to pump for a certain period. This period gradually increased in length and the matter was brought to a focus, when we were about to sail from Inagua to Nassau, by the discovery of numerous jelly fish in the hold, Even the Bahamian seamen could not ignore this sign and Capt Styles announced that the Estrella would probably sink to the bottom, if we sailed without stopping her leaks. How this was to be done, without a dry-dock, was not apparent but voyagers here learned early the necessity of self-reliance and we now watched a manoeuvre such as pirates had, doubtless, often practiced in these waters, instead of turning our boat seaward,

PAUL C ARANHA

THE ESTRELLA we headed for the shore and, on the full of the early morning tide, ran the Estrella aground. The crew, with the assistance of Bahamian spongers from a nearby vessel, began to pass the ballast up from below, with the energy one would pass water-buckets at a fire, and our decks were soon as littered with old iron as the backyard of a junk shop. When they overflowed, boatloads of old chain, stones, etc, we sent ashore as the tide fell, the schooner canted more and more to starboard, until she lay at a sickening angle. The removal of the ballast now exposed the bottom of the boat and revealed the leak – a hole through which one could shove an arm. Oakum and soap soon stopped the leak and, with the unwieldy ballast stowed, an anchor was run astern, and when the Estrella was pulled off the bar, at the return of the tide, we all agreed that we had never seen a better day’s work.” Frank Chapman’s experiences in the Bahamas continue in next week’s Tribune Weekend. ORNITHOLOGIST Frank M Chapman (1864 1945)

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

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Friday, May 21, 2021

animals

Out of pandemic comes epidemic By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters

e all know how trying the last 15 months have been. Each of us has their own stories of woe and frustrations. It has been, at times, a real challenge to stay positive and not fall into the trap of feeling totally despondent and sorry for oneself. As individuals, we depend on human interaction, and when that is curtailed suddenly and our freedom of movement seriously restricted, it’s a lot to cope with I get it, and I know each of us probably think we have had it worse than the next person; maybe. But the problem is bigger and goes further than our friends and ourselves. The Bahamas Humane Society is coping with an increase of surrenders that is more than alarming. Out of this pandemic has grown an epidemic of animal abandonment and surrenders. To explain more carefully: a pandemic is an epidemic that crosses international borders, a status that COVID-19 has most certainly earned since March 2020. An epidemic is an outbreak or product of sudden rapid spread, growth or development. This is what is happening in the companion animal world in Nassau. The Bahamas Humane Society is besieged with unwanted animals every single day, why? There are three categories of surrenders: The first is the stray animal found wandering around on the street scrounging for scraps of food, who is invariably in need of medical help and fattening up. These are often poor souls who have had rocks thrown at them their entire lives, and ultimately when patched up and adopted out, turn into the most faithful and loving of family members. The second category is the countless amount of puppies and kittens that pour in. These last couple of months has brought a deluge of small furry babies, frequently torn away from the mothers way too soon. Irresponsible people allow their animals

THE BHS is being inundated with abandoned pets, puppies and kittens to roam... “strike one” against them. Further, they do not have them spayed or neutered... “strike two” against them. And these two infractions are compounded by the fact that when the pups or kittens are but a few days old they snatch them from the mothers and dump them at the shelter... “strike three” against them. Let me explain the problem here. These baby animals need their mother’s milk. They need the comfort and nurturing that only a mother can give. They need the proximity of litter mates. We humans cannot replace that care. When you literally snatch the babes away from feeding from the mum, you kick off a series of events. You burden the BHS and their amazing volunteers with the daunting responsibility of

bottle-feeding these babies every few hours. They don’t do well in a shelter environment so we have to find foster homes. It is an enormous undertaking. Some of them die, causing great distress to the caregivers. Baby animals need their mothers to learn how to behave and how to react to various situations. By denying them that natural privilege you deny them properly learning social skills. All of this could be avoided if these selfish owners would have allowed their pets to be spayed or neutered. This ridiculous mindset that the animal pines if not allowed to become a mother is nonsense. Taking the babies away when they are tiny makes the mother suffer, and how!

pet of the week

for. Come to the BHS to meet me or call 323-5138 for more information. I look forward to meeting you!”

Frisky Fred By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY “Hi, there. I’m Fred! I’m one of the adoption cats at the Bahamas Humane Society. Just ignore that look-a-like behind me; I’m the genuine article, and it’s me you’ve come to adopt. I’m very sociable and friendly, and about two years old, so I’m over those kitten antics. If you need a loving loyal cat at your house, I’m the cat you’re looking

The Bahamas Humane Society, with the support of BAARK!, is holding Sunday Spay (and neuter) event every two weeks for free. The next one is Sunday, May 30. Call 4277729; there no cost and could avoid so much suffering. The third category is the pets that people just don’t want any more. This is the saddest and the cruelest of blows. Friends (supposedly), bonded companion animals just discarded without a second thought. Is it finances you might ask? Not often. We have a food bank that we offer. We will help with meds, and we help with fences. No, they just don’t want them. If you saw the poor dejected animal suddenly in a shelter environment you would understand how wrong this all is. But, alas, nobody cares. Our shelter is brimming over with animals. We are NO KILL, which everybody endorses, but there is a finite amount of space. Our staff is run ragged, our volunteers are exhausted, and raising money becomes an obsession. We need more employees, but that costs money. We need more food, money again, medications, ditto. The present climate in the Bahamas for animals is deplorable. The BHS struggles to keep a float, and 90 percent of our problems could be avoided by responsible animal ownership and nationally sponsored spay and neuter programmes of mammoth proportions. This is a gigantic problem that is not getting better. Should you wish to assist the Bahamas Humane Society in any capacity, please contact me at berryislandgirl@ gmail.com and I can direct you to the appropriate department.

PHOTO/Linda Gill-Aranha

•The BHS Thrift Shop is open! Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 11am to 3pm, and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. We sell gently used items to raise funds for the shelter. If you’d like to donate, we’d be grateful to accept your donations! If the shop is closed, please leave them in the main shelter. Thank you!

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 21, 2021

gardening

Beneficial insects in focus: Milkweed assassin bug

elus longipes, also known as the milkweed assassin bug, is one of the most effective predatory beneficial insects to have in the garden. They can be seen gathering in large groups at times (as can the milkweed bug – keep reading!), and at first sight they are often mistaken as a “bad” bug, if there ever was such a thing. Zelus longipes is widely distributed in southern North America (Gulf Coast and South Atlantic states; southern California and southwestern Arizona in United States), Central America, South America (except Chile) through central Argentina, and the West Indies. The reference to milkweed in their name is because one of their favourite host plants is milkweed (we have the Asclepias curassavica commonly named the tropical milkweed which grows in our region, and this is often one of the first plants that they can be found on. I have also noticed that another preferred host plant is hibiscus). The milkweed assassin bug is often confused with the milkweed bug (of which there are a handful of species including Lygaeus turcicus, Lygaeus kalmia and Oncopeltus fasciatus), which can look similar at first sight, but upon closer inspection the differences become obvious (an internet search is recommended to confirm the differences by eye). While both are similar in colour, the patterns of colouration, the legs, antennae, and body shape differ. An easy way to tell the difference (in the adult stage) is the most common milkweed bug in our region has an orange ‘X’ with black colouration that goes from the back of the head to the back end, whereas the milkweed assassin bug has a more banded pattern with segmented black and orange, but most obviously it has conspicuously longer legs and antennae and a slimmer body. Why is the milkweed assassin bug a beneficial insect? It is beneficial because it is predatory and it will lay in wait for many pests that can damage edible and ornamental crops and insects that act as pests to humans, such as mosquitoes, flies, earthworms, cucumber beetles, and caterpillars. I have

MILKWEED assassin bug also read from a few sources and seconded in a citrus seminar through the University of Florida that they are an effective predator of the Asian citrus psyllid, a dangerous and damaging pest of, you guessed it…. citrus. The Asian citrus psyllid transmits the Huanglongbing (HLB) bacteria that causes citrus greening. Any insect that helps to control the Asian psyllid vector is beneficial and an important predator to have around. Aphids and lace bugs (not to be confused with lacewing, another beneficial insect) are also controlled by the assassin bug, and I have found that moving assassin bugs from milkweed to vegetable crops is effective enough that I rarely find the need to spray vegetable crops for pests. I cannot confirm this just yet, but I suspect that the assassin bug also preys on immature mealybugs, and possibly also immature soft scale insects. So, do not be alarmed if you see a group of assassin bugs patrolling your garden, these are

valuable predators, and they make a spray free garden more possible! To encourage them to stick around in your garden, I recommend using the tropical milkweed as an attractor and if you have hibiscus, or (even though it is getting a bit late for them) tomato plants, keep an eye open for assassin bugs and feel free to move them to any area of your garden where pest problems persist. Please avoid spraying, and especially please avoid spraying toxic chemicals in your garden, as there are most likely many beneficial insects making their home in the garden, of which the assassin bug is one of the most important. 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.