05272022 WEEKEND

Friday, May 27, 2022

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Weekend

Haunted Nassau Page 04+05

Bold strokes Young artist builds new life with help of his paintbrush

pgs 08 +09

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 27, 2022

food

A rich culinary heritage

Greek chef puts emphasis on authenticity

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

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ENOWNED for its simple yet flavourful dishes, Greek cuisine is considered among the healthiest in the world, with ingredients such olive oil, fish, lean meats, herbs and grain, not to mention wine, at the heart of its most popular dishes.

Without paying special attention to these ingredients, as well as the cooking methods – an emphasis on baked rather than fried food – it would be impossible to stay true to authentic Greek fare.

Here in the Bahamas, Konstantinos Kapousouzoglou, owner of Nassau’s Kebab House, believes they have the key to keeping their menu options as authentically Greek as possible.

The restaurant opened in November 2021 and offers an alternative to the usual fare.

“In a very difficult market, coming out of the pandemic, we are steadily building our customer base, in a very competitive food business market in the Palmdale area,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Kebab House serves breakfast and lunch, Monday through Saturday.

The restaurant offers some Bahamian favourites like grilled chicken, pork chops and whole snapper, however, Kebab House chef Michael Lisgaris makes sure to put a Greek spin on things with his special seasoning and grilling method.

“In order to prepare authentic Greek food, apart from being a Greek national, you must have acquired the ability to cook these dishes by spending hours and hours in a kitchen, smelling and tasting at the same time,” said Mr Kapousouzoglou.

“How all the ingredients and the different spices are used, how they intermingle with each other, is key.

“In the Greek society, this usually happens very early in a person’s life when the grandmother (‘Giagia’) cooks for the family. The secrets pass from generation to generation. Our cook was privileged to be part of a family that had members that introduced him to the cooking art early on and then himself used this knowledge to create dishes for the restaurants he worked at throughout his professional life.”

Mr Lisgaris has been a chef for over 30 years.

“I enjoy very much being in a kitchen preparing simple and tasty dishes for my customers and friends,” he told Tribune Weekend.

ingredients following the traditional recipes precisely.

One particular dish is he an expert at preparing is pastitsio a type of Greek lasagna.

While there are also Bahamian dishes featured on Kebab House’s menu – this was no-brainer the chef said – there is a distinct difference in how they are prepared.

“I learned to cook early on in life by spending time in our house’s kitchen with my mother and grandmother who were cooking every day for the family.”

And in that kitchen, Mr Lisgaris’ skills were born and honed.

“The traditional Greek cuisine is a large cuisine with hundreds of different dishes. It is impossible for anyone to be an expert in all of these dishes, but definitely I am an expert in the dishes I cook every day at the restaurant,” he said.

And what makes the dishes authentically Greek? Mr Lisgaris said it all boils down to the

Mr Lisgaris noted that Bahamian food is prepared vastly different from Greek.

“Very different, because of the ingredients used (spices, seasoning, cooking only with extra virgin olive oil). Greek dishes are part of the Mediterranean cuisine which is known internationally for its health benefits and balanced nutritional values,” he said.

For those interested in trying Greek cuisine for the first, Mr Lisgaris encourages people to dive right in.

He suggests the traditional Greek kebab (served with two sides), the pastitsio, a Greek salad with gyro meat on top (lamb or chicken), or their lamb or chicken gyros, and for breakfast, a traditional Greek omelette with lamb and feta cheese.

Kebab House is located in the Madeira Plaza, Palmdale.

For more information, contact khbahamas@ gmail.com

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, May 27, 2022

entertainment

Artists team up to support veteran entertainer Paul Hanna during his health battles

By Felicity Darville

Musicians and lovers of music all over the Bahamas are coming together in a show of love and unity to support a trailblazer in the industry, Paul Hanna.

He and his wife Tanya are known for presenting some of the classiest performances, bringing together singers and musicians for worthy causes.

Their line-up always includes a host of entertainers, making their events exciting and memorable.

As Paul faces one of his biggest life battles, friends are coming together to host a special concert in his honour to assist with his medical expenses.

This Saturday, the Paul Hanna and Friends CD Release and Benefit Concert will be held at the Humidor, Graycliff. Leading the lineup of top-class artists is Paul’s wife and partner Tanya Hanna. Her interpretations of the American Song Book, jazz classics, popular R&B tunes and sophisticated Latin melodies have a universal

appeal that have kept her in high demand for private events both locally and abroad. She is joined by the likes of Pamela Woods; Richa Sands; the Vice Versa Trio; Karrington McKenzie; Troika Hanna; Osano Neely; the Jazz Cats; Dylan Knowles and Chris Justillien. The event will be hosted by Osano Neely and Erin Brown.

Just recently, on April 30, Paul was honoured alongside the late Sir Sidney Poitier during the UNESCO International Jazz Day. Under the theme: “Celebrating Our Pioneers”, UNESCO’s Bahamas Commission held a free outdoor variety concert showcasing both new and acclaimed artists.

Paul and Tanya are renowned Bahamian musicians, vocalists, songwriters, musical play writers, producers and community activists. They have performed together in the Caribbean, the US and Canada since 1984. They have worked with

MUSICIAN Paul Hanna

numerous internationally known artists including R&B singer Jeffrey Osbourne, percussionist Jeff Haynes, composer/producer Gary Haase, producer/singer Roger Ryan, jazz pianist Chick and Gail Corea and sax player and jazz lecturer the late Stan Getz.

To witness Paul Hanna and Friends CD Release and Benefit Concert on Saturday from 6-8pm, visit www.ariamusicclass.com/shop. Donations towards Paul’s medical funds can also be made to: Tanya Hanna, CIBC First Caribbean Palmdale Branch 09786, checking account 201672710.

Poster couple determined to play their role for 32nd Bridal Show A new poster couple for Bahamas Bridal Show will be determined when the event returns this Sunday.

But until then, the outgoing poster couple – Donae and Dominic Duncombe – who were chosen in 2020, still have role to play.

When the married couple of three years arrived at the dress rehearsal last Sunday, the event’s emcee Nicole Henderson-Smith wanted to know from the show’s producer how to introduce them to the stage at year’s event.

“Are they the 2020 or 2022 poster couple of the year? This is a little confusing, but I will come up with something. They’ll now be recognised as the longest poster couple in the Bahamas Bridal Show,” she said.

Donae and Dominic, who tied the knot on June 15, 2019, will also return as new parents and join 20 other models on stage during the fashion show segment “One Lifetime” – the 32nd production of the Bahamas Bridal Show which was started in 1990 by Tommy Stubbs.

“We didn’t think they would return, like some of the models did,” said Mr Stubbs, the show’s executive producer. “The COVID-19 pandemic

impacted our fashion show cast like it did so many other things since spring 2020.”

Makeva Wallace, the fashion show’s choreographer and show coordinator, added: “Donae and Dominic saw it as their responsibility to return and finish what they started, and we are excited to have them back. Everyone was so happy to see them step back into their role on stage, and they remembered their choreographed scene like it was yesterday.”

This year’s theatrical theme scenes of the fashion show are: “I Do,” It’s My Day,” “Chosen,” “Pearls & Lace,” “Speechless,” and “One Lifetime.”

Besides the fashion show and demonstrations, many engaged couples on Sunday will be returning to the Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar to see a ballroom decorated wall to wall for them to enjoy and to see their wishes come true, finally.

“They’ve waited long enough,” said Mrs Henderson-Smith. “The pandemic affected many couple’s dream weddings. Many weddings were postponed since that dreaded March 2020.”

They will get a chance to win their share of $30,000 in gifts and prizes from the show’s 40-plus

OUTGOING poster couple Donae and Dominic Duncombe local businesses exhibiting or participating at the Bridal Show.

“Most couples who register their wedding for the show or makes a wish at buttonsformalwear. com will take home something special or memorable from the show,” said Mrs Henderson-Smith.

“I love presenting lucky couples with gifts and prizes over the many years from our generous exhibitors, but this time around will be more special than years past.”

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 27, 2022

leisure

Ghosts of Nassau New tour explores the spooky side of tourism

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

A

ccording to local folklore, some of the most popular and historic sites in and around Nassau are haunted.

But whether ghostly apparitions can actually be seen at these will be put to the test in a new quest with Bahamas Ghost Tours.

Around the world, ghost tours are big business. In London, England, for example, you can participate in a haunted pub crawl. In Savannah,

Georgia – purportedly America’s most haunted city – supernatural phenomena caused by bloody battles and mysterious murders can be explored in antebellum homes and across cemeteries.

If you’re not too easily spooked, these tours can be fun for the whole family as well as very informative for history buffs.

Here in Nassau, the new Ghost Tours are operated from the

Heritage Museum of the Bahamas on West Hill Street.

According to Maxine Morris, now manager at the museum, the tours were launched earlier this year this to offer locals and visitors alike a unique activity while also exploring the chilling side of Bahamian history.

Attached to the Graycliff property, the new Ghost Tours explore the area of the city once known as Charles Town (founded in 1670,

THE GHOST of Blackbeard is said to still haunt areas of Nassau burned down by Spanish raiders in 1684 and rebuilt as Nassau in 1695).

“We explore the Graycliff mansions and feel the paranormal energy using the ghost metres,” said Ms Morris.

The tour entails walking along one on the oldest streets in the Bahamas, viewing a variety of historical buildings found in the West Hill area, including the Graycliff Restaurant (a pirate hangout in its early days), the Old Sponge House, the Villa Doyle, historical churches, Potter’s Field Burial Ground, and the first freed slave plantation.

Highlighted throughout the tour will be the secret tunnel discovered under the Graycliff property which was once an escape route for the Governor’s home to Fort Charlotte.

The tour also includes a stop at the

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, May 27, 2022

THE VILLA DOYLE, home to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, is said to be haunted

THE BUENA Vista Estate boasts of two ghosts

haunted house known as the Buena Vista Estate (now home to the John Watling’s Distillery), where it is said two ghosts haunt the premises.

Though not featured as part of the tour, one of the most popular ghost stories is that of the infamous pirate known as Blackbeard. Born Edward Teach, his plundering exploits have inspired books, movies, and, you guessed it, ghost stories. To this day, some people claim to see Blackbeard’s ghost in and around the islands of the Bahamas.

It’s rumoured that Blackbeard still haunts the area which was once the site of the Old Fort Nassau.

Originally constructed in the early 1700s to defend the western entrance to Nassau Harbour, the fort was demolished in 1873.

Fort Fincastle, Fort Montagu and Fort Charlotte can also boast of their own ghost tales. It is said that the forts, which were built to defend Nassau from invasions during the 18th century, are pulsating with paranormal energy.

There is only one way to find out if the tales are true,

Ms Morris told Tribune Weekend.

“The tours are available in the day, but are more fun in the evening,” she said.

All participants are equipped with EMF metres so they can try their hand at taking readings of paranormal activities.

“The feedback has been great; each review gets better. We have had person who left shaken up and excited at the same time.

Life is full of adventure, so come and enjoy some history, a few laughs and terrifying fright night, who knows. Maybe, just maybe, one of the Charles Town ghosts will accompany you home,” said Ms Morris.

The Heritage Museum of the Bahamas opened in July 2014 and is the foundation of Graycliff’s new Heritage Village.

Located in the historically preserved Mountbatten House opposite the Graycliff Hotel on West Hill Street, the museum offers visitors an in-depth look at the history and heritage of the Bahamas, ranging from pre-historic times to the present.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

11 Stimulated; 13 Borehole; 16 Entrap; 17 Abroad; 18 Daub; 20 Cats.

E l n rG E YA l

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

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

Verb forms ending in s permitted.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 27; very good 40; excellent 53 (or more). Solution tomorrow

Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 today’s target solution Sudokufor Answer

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Down 1 Riding school discipline is a habit that comes with time (8) 2 Fruit leaves perhaps for pudding (4,4) 3 Not yet decided to start (4) 5 Lacking a centre of gravity? (12) 6 Extremely light (4) 7 Close in an attempt to be fashionable (6) 8 Danced and swam (6) 11 React badly to girl having a free hand (5,7) 15 The bosun is out to make more money (5) 16 Drain designed to reach the lowest point (5) 18 At sea no rating is lacking in knowledge (8) 19 It may end in explosion (8) 21 Generous protection for drivers (6) 22 Valiant choir somehow held a note (6) 26 I’m in a new car (4) 27 Money taken at gunpoint? (4)

Across 1 Make extensive use of troops? (6) 4 Air traffic control (8) 9 Possibly deduce it’s extracted (6) 10 In time a possible giver of pain (8) 12 Bias shown by the team (4) 13 He goes round a short way in a hurry (5) 14 The advantage of keenness (4) 17 There’s a lot to be said for having it (4,2,3,3) 20 Small boat may be blown up by pilots (6,6) 23 Employed American boy (4) 24 The right are right less often (5) 25 Fish has a tailpiece (4) 28 French state producing a vine crop (8) 29 Journey to the game (6) 30 A criminal picked up in response to a telephone call (8) 31 Decide not to go on? (6)

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Debar, 4 Codicil, 8 Spa, 9 For effect, 10 Imperil, 11 Alter, 13 Guinea, 15 Staple, 18 Beset, 19 Unearth, 21 Soft touch, 23 Wan, 24 Concept, 25 Serge.

Down: 1 Dashing, 2 Be at pains, 3 Refer, 4 Circle, 5 Defiant, 6 Cue, 7 Later, 12 Top drawer, 14 Entitle, 16 Enhance, 17 Tumult, 18 Basic, 20 Ethos, 22 Fun.

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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Down: 1 Nepotic, 2 Mistrusts, 3 Dread, 4 Arouse, 5 Shocker, 6 Ali, 7 Extol, 12 Battle-axe, 14 Avarice, 16 Respond, 17 Malign, 18 Topic, 20 Genoa, 22 Ran.

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EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Ancient Greek city-state (6) 4 The clothing business (3,5) 9 Spanish legislative assembly (6) 10 Excessive (8) 12 Field of activity (4) 13 Nonplussed (5) 14 Tolerate (4) 17 Deceitful person (6-6) 20 Make sudden financial gain (6,2,4) 23 In another direction (4) 24 Point in question (5) 25 Give up possession of (4) 28 Borderline (8) 29 A fraud (3-3) 30 Trusted followers (8) 31 Illusory (6)

Down 1 Praise publicly given (8) 2 A ranting speech (8) 3 Require (4) 5 Beneficial (12) 6 Sharp to taste (4) 7 Keen insight (6) 8 Urge strongly (6) 11 A veritable treasure-house (8,4) 15 Indolence (5) 16 Begin earnestly (3,2) 18 Irritating (8) 19 In good spirits (8) 21 Affection (6) 22 Colony of rabbits (6) 26 Soft inner plant tissue (4) 27 Indication (4)

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O U B E Y A Z T L H V

N O M E E P C U L F O

2022

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THE ALPHABEAT

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O F O B L D R N L O Q P Y G M E S A E U K L R X C Q E S E

17 Accrue; 18 Dash; absurdity (5) H I L 19 Turncoat; 26 L F 21 Unpleasant; Side.

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Friday, May 27, 2022

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

food

Getting creative with sushi

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

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ahamians’ love affair with sushi is a long-standing one. For years now, restaurants serving up this Japanese specialty have been thriving as they cater to the culinary preferences of their guests.

But to stay competitive, these restaurants have to offer something unique.

And that is exactly what Pwa Swan Sushi is striving to do.

Located on the J Line Fitness premises on Shirley Street, the restaurant has been in business for five years now, specialising in new and creative variations on the traditional sushi dish.

“At Pwa Swan you will discover that our sushi and menu options are a twist and mixture of Japanese and Bahamian food culture,” said owner Chef Relo.

Growing up on Ida Street in Nassau, Chef Relo told Tribune Weekend he found his culinary passion early in life through. At age 16, he started his career as a cook at a local sushi restaurant where he learned the methods of the traditional Japanese kitchen. It did not take long for him to grow confident enough to open his own restaurant.

Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Hanaya Yohei is credited as being the inventor of modern sushi. He is believed to have come up with nigiri-zushi, the type of sushi most known today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed vinegared rice, around 1824 in Japan’s Edo period (1603-1867).

As sushi started spreading to the West in the 20th century, the dish became more varied, with different countries and cultures putting their own spin on it.

Here in the Bahamas, a country known for its seafood, sushi fit right in, and locals embraced it by adding touches of Bahamian cuisine to the dish.

This is also something Chef Relo explores and specialises in during his adventures in the kitchen.

“I launched Pwa Swan Sushi in July 2017 when I realised I had a stronger passion for creating my unique sushi style. With all of my knowledge and experience, I hired and trained a team,” he said.

“The motivation grew as I overcame challenges, and this became therapeutic.”

Chef Relo specialises in sushi options like Da Curfew Roll, which includes spicy kanikama (imitation crab meat), cream cheese, cucumber, and tempura salmon topped with a creamy sauce.

He also offers the Rainbow Roll, inspired by the Californian way of making sushi, topped with tuna, salmon, shrimp, eel sashimi and avocado.

His Eleuthera Roll includes tempura lobster, cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and pineapple topped with eel sauce.

Chef Relo said the feedback from guests has been amazing and shows him that Bahamians appreciate his unique brand of sushi.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 27, 2022

gardening

How to grow a poinsettia

G

ood day, gardeners. By special request, here are some tips on keeping a poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) growing throughout the year. We all know poinsettia as a Christmas plant because that is when the colour is shown.

Poinsettias also make a lovely year-round landscape plant. They are also relatively easy to keep growing in pots year-round.

A native of the highlands of Mexico, the poinsettia is a large growing shrub in its original environment. Poinsettias change color in response to shorter winter days.

Poinsettia flowers are actually made up of the bracts, which look like petals, and the tiny yellow flowers in the center, called cyathia.

The colourful bracts attract insects to the flowers and will drop after pollination. I have just last week seen poinsettias still full and red. From what I hear, just about every nursery in town has or had unsold poinsettias left over this year. If you have one or more, the next few weeks (the month of June) is the perfect time to get out your scissors or clippers and cut them back down to 6 or 8” in height, if a similar look is expected this Christmas as you got last Christmas.

A plant can be kept for some time in the pot it is in. To do so, at the same time as the branches are trimmed, trim the roots as well. Generally, it is recommended to pot up a size or two for best results though.

We can leave the root pruning to the bonsai artist for the moment.

After cutting the branches back to six or eight inches, prepare a fresh pot or container with sterile potting soil of decent quality. Remove the plant from the old pot, and gently shake the roots to loosen the root system a little, it won’t hurt the plant.

Fill one third of the new container with potting soil, and put the plant into the new pot, then fill the pot with potting soil to the top. Do not place the new soil level considerably higher than the old, when the new plant is put into the new pot.

The top of the soil (root ball) as it was in the old pot should also be at the top of the soil in the new pot.

Fertilize regularly (welcome to the most dubious statement in writing about growing anything). Better said, fertilize according to label directions, as every fertilizer will be slightly different.

Most “all purpose” fertilizers will give similar results if used in correct amounts. I prefer to fertilize as per visible plant needs rather than label directions, in other words: as needed.

I always fertilize when potting up. Fertilize to the size of the old pot, not the new one, until the roots fill the new pot. Then apply to the new pot size recommendations on the label.

Plants put into the ground will need less supplemental fertilizing than those put into pots. Keep the pests off of them and keep them relatively dry (rainfall is the best!). They do best for me in some shade. I

have grown a few leftovers in the full sun and did not have as much success than when grown in some shade.

Some direct sun is fine, and they will tolerate a full day of sun once established. Cut again in September, back to six, eight or then inches depending upon plant size desired.

Do not cut any later than early October for Christmas colour. Our day length is too long to get them fully blooming by Christmas.

If you can place it somewhere that it will get 14 or so hours of complete darkness (a closet bloomer), you will have Christmas colour. If you do not give it the darkness it needs to color up by Christmas, and you choose to leave it to flower naturally, the peak blooming time is more towards the end of January or so. Poinsettias tolerate dry soil much better than the tolerate wet soil. Allow to dry between waterings if possible, although higher moisture is needed when pushing new growth. Easiest thing is to take it somewhere and plant it in the ground!

Best flowering occurs away from streetlights and night lighting. Good luck, keep it growing!

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.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, May 27, 2022

entertainment

New this week: Dinosaurs, Def Leppard and ‘Top Gun’

By The Associated Press

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ere’s a collection curated by AP’s entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

MOVIES — In the satirical comedy “Emergency,” college seniors Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler) set out for an epic night of partying only to return home to a shocking scene: Their door is ajar and a woman is passed out on their floor. The men are Black and the

woman is white and they know that calling the police is not a straightforward proposition. The film, directed

by Carey Williams and written by KD Dávila, was one of the breakouts of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year for its penetrating look at racial dynamics in a heightened, comedic setting. It’s streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting today.

— “Navalny,” the riveting documentary about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been making the rounds in theatres and on CNN, but it is now available on HBO Max as well. Taut and suspenseful, Daniel Roher’s film plays more like a John le Carré thriller than a true

LADY Gaga for the ‘Top Gun - Maverick’ soundtrack APPLE TV + ‘Prehistoric Planet’ narrated by David Attenborough story. It has taken on even greater significance since the Russian war on Ukraine, too, according to many of the people involved.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

MUSIC — Def Leppard get back to basics with “Diamond Star Halos,” their 12th studio album and first work since 2015. The first single, “Kick,” is less hair metal and more classic arena rock. “You never quit” go the lyrics and that sounds apt for the band, too. Def Leppard recorded in three different countries, with singer Joe Elliott in Ireland, bassist Rick Savage in England, and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, as well as drummer Rick Allen, in the United States. The album nods to the members’ earliest collective influences, like David Bowie, T Rex, and Mott the Hoople, among others, and the title comes from T Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”

— The weekend’s big movie is also a place for new music. The soundtrack from “Top Gun: Maverick” features the singles “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga and “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic. There’s the return of “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, while Miles Teller, who plays Goose’s son, recorded a live rendition of “Great Balls of Fire.” The album also features original tracks by the movie’s composers but there’s no reprise of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” — perhaps that would have been a step too far into the danger zone.

— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

TELEVISION — The good old days for dinosaurs concluded some 60 million years ago, when they owned the ancient Earth in all its glory. That’s where “Prehistoric Planet” is set, using a mix of wildlife filmmaking, paleontology findings and visual effects for a promised “one-of-a-kind immersive experience.” Among the stars: the Mongolian Titan and the frightfully clawed Therizinosaurus, who along with other dinos are introduced in their respective land, sea and air habitats. The five-part Apple TV+ series boasts narrator David Attenborough and music by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

— “Keeping Company with Sondheim” follows the creation of Broadway’s reimagined, genderswapping version of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical “Company.” The documentary, filmed over a two-year period during the pandemic, also looks back at the original production’s debut during a bleak time for New York City.

Marianne Elliott, director of the new production, and members of the original 1970 cast were among those interviewed for the film airing Friday as part of PBS’ “Great Performances.” So was Sondheim, the theater giant who died last November at age 91.

— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 27, 2022

literary lives - Frances Burney

Reinventing the novel with a female voice Sir Christopher Ondaatje researches the life of the English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright, also known as Fanny Burney.

“Nothing is so delicate as the reputation of a woman; it is at once the most beautiful and most brittle of all human things.”

– Fanny Burney Frances “Fanny” Burney was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England on 13th June, 1752, to the musician Dr Charles Burney and his first wife, Esther Sleepe Burney.

Almost as soon as she learnt the alphabet she began composing small letters and stories, and joined her brothers and sisters in writing and acting in plays. Samuel “Daddy” Crisp, a playwright and family friend was a critical aspect of Frances Burney’s early literary education.

Frances’s mother, Esther Sleepe, was the daughter of a French refugee named Dubois and was brought up a Catholic. This French heritage influenced Burney’s later life and contributed to the attraction and subsequent marriage to Alexandre d’Arbley. Esther Burney died in 1762 when Frances was ten years old.

Frances’s father, noted for his charm and musical talents and composer, moved his family in 1760 to London – a move that improved their access to cultural elements of English society. They lived in an artistically social circle around their house in Poland Street, Soho. In 1767 Charles Burney eloped and married a second time to Elizabeth Allen, the wealthy widow of a King’s Lynn wine merchant. Allen had three children of her own, merging the two families into a situation fraught with tension. Their collective unhappiness brought the Burney children closer together.

In 1774, the family moved again to what was once Isaac Newton’s house on St Martin’s Street, Westminster.

Frances’s two sisters Esther and Susanna were favoured over Frances, perhaps because of their attractiveness and intelligence, or perhaps initially Frances may have had a mild form of dyslexia.

Esther and Susanna were sent to Paris for their education, while Frances studied at home, reading from the family collection: Plutarch’s Lives, works

by Shakespeare, histories, sermons, poetry, plays and novels. Biographies of Burney have noted her unusually ambitious self-education revealing her determination to overcome her early disability.

The first entry in Frances Burney’s journal, which was to extend over 72 years, was dated March 27, 1768, and addressed to “Nobody”. She was a talented storyteller with a strong sense of character, and used her journal-diary as a form of correspondence with family and friends recounting life events and observations, and a record of her extensive reading in her father’s library, as well as the behaviour of noted people in the arts who visited their home. She was particularly close to her sister Susanna, and sent her journal-letters to her throughout her adult life.

Frances was 15 when her father remarried, and her diary entries suggest that she felt pressure to abandon her writing as something unladylike that might annoy her father’s second wife. This concern forced her to burn her first manuscript The History of Caroline Evelyn, which she had written in secret. She felt she might have vexed Mrs Allen. Frances recorded in her diary the emotions that led to this dramatic act, and eventually recouped some of her effort by using her research as a foundation for her first novel Evelina, which follows the life of the fictional Caroline Evelyn’s daughter. Her sense of propriety also forced her to savagely edit earlier parts of her diary, destroying much valuable material that editors Lars Troide and Joyce Hemlow recovered while researching their later 20th century editions of the journals and letters Frances Burney’s Evelina or the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World was published anonymously in 1778 without her father’s knowledge or permission when she was 26 years old.

“We relate all our afflictions more frequently than we do our pleasures.”

– Fanny Burney Her eldest brother James posed as its author to Thomas Lowndes the publisher, and only extracted £21 as a payment for the manuscript.

Written in epistolary form Evelina portrays the English upper middle class through the eyes of a seventeen-year-old woman who has reached marriageable age. The novel immediately went through four editions.

“(Evelina) is a landmark in the development of the novel of manners.”

– Encyclopaedia Britannica Encouraged by the public’s warm reception of Evelina, in 1779 Burney began writing the dramatic play The Witlings satirising London society including the literary world and its pretensions.

The play tells the story of Celia and Beaufort, lovers kept apart by their families due to economic insufficiency.

In 1782, she published Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. The publishers Thomas Payne and Thomas Cadell paid her £250 for her novel, printed 2000 copies of the first edition, and reprinted it twice within a year. The plot revolves around a heroine, Cecilia Beverley, whose inheritance comes from an uncle who stipulates that she find a husband who will accept her name. The work received praise for the maturity of its thirdperson narration, and Jane Austen was inspired by a sentence in Cecilia to name her famous novel Pride and Prejudice.

Burney turned down a marriage proposal from Thomas Barlow, a man she had met only once, in 1775. That year also brought her failure in a romance with a clergyman George Owen Cambridge. She was 33 years old. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the rewards of her success as a novelist at fashionable gatherings in London.

In 1785, an association with Mary Granville Delaney, allowed Frances Burney to travel to the Court of King George III and Queen Charlotte,

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, May 27, 2022

throughout the operation – before the development of anaesthetics. “... When the dreadful steel was plunged into the breast – cutting through veins – arteries – flesh nerves – I needed no injunctions not to restrain my cries. I began a scream that lasted unintermittingly during the whole time of the incision ... presently the cutting was renewed ... to separate the bottom ... from the parts to which it adhered ... I then felt the knife rackling against the breast bone – scraping it.”

Frances Burney It remains one of the most compelling early accounts of a mastectomy. She survived, returned to England in 1812 to visit her ailing father and to avoid her son’s conscription into the French army.

Charles Burney died in 1814, and she returned to France after the Treaty of Paris had been concluded. In 1815 Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to power in France. D’Arbley, with the King’s Guard, remained loyal to King Louis XVIII and became involved in the following military actions. Burney joined her wounded husband in Trèves and then together they returned to Bath in England. Burney wrote an account of this experience and her Paris years in her Waterloo Journal of 1818 – 1832. D’Arblay was promoted to Lieutenant-General, but died shortly afterwards of cancer in 1818.

BURNEY’s novel ‘Evelina’, Volume II, 4th edition (1779) (1) where the Queen offered her the post of “Keeper of the Robes” with a salary of £200 a year. She hesitated, but unmarried at thirty-four she felt constrained to accept and thought that improved social status and income allowed her greater freedom to write. She accepted the post in 1786 and developed a warm relationship with the Queen and Princesses that lasted into her later years.

“Tis best to build no castles in the air.”

– Fanny Burney

Frances gave birth to a son Alexander Charles Louis.

“No man is in love when he marries. He may have loved before; I have even heard he has sometimes loved after; but at the time never. There is something in the formalities of the matrimonial preparations that drive away all the little cupidons.”

– Fanny Burney

Burney’s journals continued during her Court years. She recounted her life in Court, along with political events and the trial of Warren Hastings for “official conduct in India”. In 1790, she convinced her father, who had been appointed organist at Chelsea Hospital, to request she be released from the post, which she was. She had been courted by Colonel Stephen Digby of the Royal Household but he disappointedly married another woman of greater wealth.

Burney’s publication in 1796 of Camilla, or a Picture of Youth, a story of love and impoverishment, saved the young marriage from poverty. The first edition sold out; she made £1,000 (around £89,000 in today’s money), and sold the copyright for another £1,000 – enough money for them to build a house, Camilla Cottage, in Westhumble near Dorking in Surrey. The death of her sister and close friend Susanna cast a shadow on their happiness. However, she resumed her journal, at the request of her husband, for the benefit of their son.

The French Revolution began in 1789 and Burney became close to General Alexandre d’Arblay, once adjutant-general to Lafayette, a hero of the French Revolution. Burney’s father disapproved of d’Arblay’s poverty and Catholicism. Nevertheless, she and d’Arblay were married on July 28, 1793. On December 18, 1794,

In 1801, d’Arbley was offered a government post with Napoleon Bonaparte, and in 1802 Burney and her son followed him to Paris. The outbreak of war between France and England caused them to remain in exile for ten years. In 1810, Burney developed pains in her chest and underwent a mastectomy. She was conscious

In 1814, Burney published her fourth novel, The Wanderer: Or, Female Difficulties, The story of love and misalliance set in the French Revolution criticised the English treatment of foreigners, and pilloried the hypocritical social curbs put on women. Burney made £1,500 from the first run, but the work disappointed her followers and did not go into a second printing.

After d’Arblay’s death, Burney moved to London to be near her son – now a Fellow at Christ’s College. In 1832, she published in three volumes the Memoirs of Doctor Burney praising her father’s accomplishments.

Burney outlived her son who died in 1837, and her sister Charlotte Broome who died the following year. She herself died on January 6, 1840, and is buried with her son and husband in Walcot Cemetery in Bath. A gravestone was later erected in the churchyard of St Swithin’s across the road adjacent to that of Jane Austen’s father, George Austen.

In 2013, a marble plaque was unveiled in the gallery of St Swithin’s Church, Bath to record Burney’s life.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; The Novels and Journals of Fanny Burney (1987) by D D Devlin; and Mothering the Novel: Frances Burney and the Next Generation of Women Novelists (2015)

by Jacqueline Pearson.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 27, 2022

history

Fox Hill in the mid20th century

F

oxhill Parade is a delightful 60-page book published in 2005, written by Harolene Munnings-Brown and Cassia Brown, with illustrations by Candace Brown. It’s a very easy read. I tried to locate the authors, but even the publisher doesn’t know how to contact any of them, but I give them full credit for most of what I write in this article.

My copy of the book is dedicated to my cousin, the late Gerrie Black, who lived in Johnson Road. “…it was an evening in September…Mama had cooked pea soup and dumplings, with salt beef and dried conch. Daddy was home and everyone was feeling mellow.

‘Daddy, tell us some stories, please,’ which was all Daddy needed, to start him off: ‘Once upon a time, we had an uncle named Ol’Line. Dat wasn’t he real name, but we call ‘im dat.

Talk about bad ways? One time, when he was beatin’ his wife, he pull a whole plait of hair out her head.

Anyway, he decide he wanted more money, so he said he was goin’ to make agreement with the Devil.

He had one son, named Rafferty sorta simple like; and he make up his mind to sell Rafferty to the Devil.

So, he gone to the graveyard, in the middle of the night, and call up one spirit, outa some grave, who he did know. He do some foolishness, witchcraft, then gone back home.

Tween time, something start foolin’ with Rafferty, in da nights, an’ It get so bad he couldn’t sleep at home. He hadda sleep to differen’ people house. People were sorry for him, especially cause he head ain’t too good.

Sometimes, he used ta come down to lay with Dittany, fa comp’ny. Dittany was about six an’ Rafferty was about 20 - and she had just about as much sense as him.

The spirit use to do all kinds a tings to ‘im. Sometimes, it used to pull Rafferty’s ‘privates’ and all! One day, someone give him some benny (sesame seeds) an’ tell ‘im to throw dem where he goin’ to sleep an’, by da time the spirit done pick up all the benny seeds, it’ll be morning and

Rafferty woulda get a good night’s sleep. But Rafferty eat all the benny, so dat didn’t work.

One night, Rafferty was sleeping here, in our front room, and we use’ ta go to bed early – no TV and ting like dat. In the middle of the night, we hear dis soun’, like a horse an’ carriage comin’ up da yard. It wake us up sharp.

When we peep out thru da winda sash, dis horse and carriage, with two man in it, was in front of da porch… dey and de horse had no head. While

we looked, dey ride straight through da house, straight over Rafferty.

He ain’t live too long, ya know.

Spirit wear ‘im out too bad. He could sleep no more than three night in the same place, before Spirit find him and he dead by the time he was about 26’.”

In the words of Robert Ripley.

“Believe it, or not.”

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

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS

The Tribune | Weekend | 15

Friday, May 27, 2022

animals

What happened to the surreys?

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters When did you last drive through the city of Nassau, along on Bay Street?

Several larger-than-life cruise ships are blocking the sun, tourists are making their way to Junkanoo Beach, but what’s missing in this picture? Where are the horse-drawn surreys?

The cruise ships are back and so are the visitors clattering down the gangplanks. Pre-COVID there was a designated area for the surrey drivers to wait in a shaded environment, with water available. There was a line of surreys along Woodes Rogers Walk. They were supposed to have constant access to fresh, cool water, only that was not always a fact.

There is not a surrey to be seen, not a neigh or whinny to be heard.

The surrey industry is to all intents and purposes closed down, for the time being. This places a huge stress on the drivers, owners and the horses. How can they continue to care for and attend to these horses if they are not working? Who is helping these horses? How are they getting adequate care? What is their future?

I cannot answer that last question, but I certainly can fill you in on the massive responsibility it has been to play “fairy godmother” to an industry that belongs in the Dark Ages.

When COVID started it was midMarch 2020; 26 months ago. The entire world came to a screeching halt, breaks grinding, and with that halt, life as we all knew it changed in momentous ways for everybody.

Suddenly we could no longer pick up and go to the supermarket. We had to call COVID hotlines for permission to drive to the pharmacy. There were Defence Force tents pitched in front of Doctors Hospital, on Blake Road… everything stopped and so did the cruise ships. From one day to the next we entered a completely

different world, and still now we are being influenced by the events of two years ago.

The cruise ships provided 99.9 percent of the tourists for the surrey horse rides. The horses would stand under the shaded area and wait their turn. I was never a fan of the drivers or the horses driving down Bay Street behind dirty trucks and busses, spewing out toxic exhaust fumes straight into the faces, and therefore lungs, of the horse and his driver.

I wonder how many former surrey horse drivers will have serious lung cancer when in their 40s in 2042?

Nobody else seemed to care even when I tried to showcase the health dangers for these young men… money talks and when you are in your 20s you are going to live forever, unblemished.

We, at the Bahamas Humane Society, very shortly after the massive shutdown reached out to the horse owners and asked them how they were coping. Horses are very expensive family members. They are not like a taxi that can be parked out of the sun and left until needed. Horses need, food, water, worming, teeth floating, hoof trimming whether they are working or not, and of course exercise.

The surrey horse always earned his keep by working, he brought money in and, in turn, food was bought with a percentage of the cash the horse generated. So, no tourists, total lockdown, translated into no work, thus no money coming in.

For the past 26 months we at the Bahamas Humane Society have been helping subsidise the surrey horse lunch box to the tune of $5,500

pet of the week

Miss Maple on the case

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY ”Hi, there! My name’s Maple, since I’m kind of maple candy coloured, and it’s fitting since the Bahamian Beaver Poutine truck has now taken up residence at the Bahamas Humane Society. I’m about three months old, and with my sibling here, I’d love to find myself a home of my very own

as this cage is kind of small for the two of us. I’m smart and friendly, and more than willing to learn how best to be your friend, your pal, your partner in all kinds of adventures. Do you need a daring companion like me by your side? Then come to the BHS and meet me, or call 323-5138 for more information. I look forward to meeting you!”

If you can’t adopt, foster.

If you can’t foster, volunteer.

If you can’t volunteer, donate.

If you can’t donate, educate!

Help make a difference!

worth of food a month delivered to or picked up by the owners. We have received not a penny of help from any government entities. Nobody else ever voiced concern as to how this industry would survive, that 27 months ago was fiercely protected by various ministries.

It was impossible to engage the Ministry of Tourism or Agriculture three years ago as to the way forward for these last century relics, “Oh no, the surreys were here to stay” and then when in need, very quickly forgotten. The Humane Society could not sit by and watch animals suffer and so we reached out a hand that was gratefully accepted. The horses over all have fared well through this epidemic, they still are in their stalls dotted around the island, and no plans have materialised for their future.

Do they even have a future? Will they be considered in the new plans for downtown Nassau? The ships come in and leave, the horses stay at home and the Bahamas Humane Society shells out considerable cash every month to ensure that they can be properly cared for. There is something dreadfully wrong with this picture and it is my humble opinion that plans should be made for the surrey horse industry one way or another, and that, if the various ministries wish them to continue to operate, then they must step up and help, freeing the BHS of this responsibility.

16| The Tribune | Weekend

food

Fancy fungi

Local company grows colourful gourmet mushrooms

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

M

ushrooms are not only a rich, low-calorie source of protein, fibre and antioxidants, they can also be extremely tasty, especially the gourmet variety.

A colourful gourmet variety that is being grown right here in the Bahamas in a state-of-the-art facility is oyster mushroom from Well Mudda Fungus.

The new company has made mushrooms its business and is growing them with the help of local scientists and technicians in a climate-controlled production facility located just off Carmichael Road in New Providence.

“We are formally trained scientists with qualifications up to the Master’s degree level in Sustainable Agriculture and Indoor Production, and have been technicians in the local agricultural space for the last nearly eight years in the public and private sectors,” said owner Zakita Bethel.

She and her team have been experimenting with mushroom growing for the last five years – exploring different varieties and growing conditions, and connecting with others who have similar interests in mycology, the study of fungi.

In mid-2020, they began beta-testing their current phase by solidifying the varieties they would introduce to the market, testing the market’s interest, and starting a quest for funding. Through funding opportunities through the Small Business Development Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture, they were able to begin building and launching Well Mudda Fungus.

Zakita said they are proud to be able supply Bahamians with quality home-grown food.

“As a food producer in the Bahamas we have the unique opportunity and privilege to connect directly with Bahamians and residents who understand the value of locally-produced food and are ecstatic to support our work. Connecting with them is one of the key highlights of working in the entrepreneurial space in the Bahamas, particularly in this time

where inflation is a menace to the daily wallet. Additionally, the ability to work directly with a supportive team of like-minded technicians and entrepreneurs also is a key benefit of our entrepreneurial journey,” said Zakita.

“As an agribusiness in this country, we envision consistency and sustainability - with both retailers and wholesalers offering fair price for carrying our fresh and processed products. We want to make the consumption of fresh, gourmet mushrooms an experience that all can partake in within the context of a local food production sector that is supported from all levels of society.”

Well Mudda Fungus currently offers oyster mushrooms primarily in the varieties of gold, blue-grey and pink. They are also in the process of growing shiitake mushrooms over the next few months.

“Our mushrooms are fresh, locally-grown, harvested daily, have interesting colour options, are visually appealing, have great aroma, texture, and cooking profile; a chef’s dream in the Bahamas,” said Zakita.

“They are ideal for vegans and those on a plant-based and nonmeat lifestyle as their protein levels and wider nutritional profile are substantial.”

Well Mudda Fungus sells directly from its social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok at wellmuddafungus, and via WhatsApp at 814-2643.

OYSTER mushrooms in gold, pink and blue-grey varieties