05292020 WEEKEND

Friday, May 29, 2020

Weekend

art books entertainment music food gardening history puzzles animals STEEL PAN LEGACY Pages 8 & 9

Mural magic

Artists called on to capture Bahamian heritage

pg 07

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

photography

A Rose-Coloured Lens

The hummingbirds of the Bahamas

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EAUTY is all around us in the Bahamas, on land and in the sea. But many of us are too busy with everyday life to pause and really see and enjoy the astonishing sights that surround us.

Veteran photographer ROLAND ROSE captures both the ordinary and extraordinary and puts it in frame for us so we can see our environment in a new light.

The Bahama Woodstar hummingbirds.

Exquisite aerial artists enjoy nectar from various flowers.

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Friday, May 29, 2020

Inside Weekend

MY PERFECT BAHAMIAN QUARANTINE KEESHA BETHELL MEDIA PROFESSIONAL Q: What items are in your quarantine shopping cart?

2 Photography Hummingbirds of The Bahamas

4-5 Interview

Singer Malikah Pinder

7 Art

Call for mural artists

8-9 Music

Steel pan player makes history

10 Gardening

Advice on pruning trees

11 Crafts

DIY craft ideas

12 Books

New releases this week

“A gallon of limeade plus and a case of Bahama Blu to keep my palate hydrated, organic vanilla rice dream milk to go with my Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, and white cheddar popcorn.

Q: What shows or movies will you be binge-watching?

“ ‘The Blacklist’… Red is the smoothest criminal ever.”

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

“I’ve always wanted to become a successful, internationally known media mogul, actress, writer and philanthropist. So I would have a girls weekend quarantine getaway with Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, because combined they are already where I want to be. We would have conversations about how they became who they are today and how I could be successful in accomplishing my goals. I would soak in all their wisdom over glasses of wine flown in from

Oprah’s vineyard.”

Q: What do you miss most having to practice social distancing?

“Having unrestricted freedom. These weekend shutdowns in particular are killing me softly and slowly.”

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

“Sandals Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma. It’s like a huge oasis and 24-hour spa all in one.”

13 Books

Adventures in homeschooling

14-15 Art

Talk show sheds light on creatives

16 Food

Teen chef launches delivery service

17 Celebrity

What’s in a baby name?

18 Entertainment What’s new this week?

19 Entertainment What The Bahamas is watching on Netflix

20-21 Forgotten Facts The dead and the undead

22 History

Death ships spread disease

23-25 Literary Lives Maxwell Perkins

26 Puzzles 27 Animals

Find your silver lining

28 Community

Coronavirus – in the words of children

THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY May 29

• In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.

• In 1988, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S Gorbachev opened their historic summit in Moscow.

• In 2008, the Vatican issued a decree stating that anyone trying to ordain a woman as a priest and any woman who attempted to receive the ordination would incur automatic excommunication.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Anthony Geary (General Hospital’s Luke) is 73. Movie composer Danny Elfman is 67. Singer LaToya Jackson is 64. Actress Annette Bening is 62. Actor Rupert Everett is 61. Actor Adrian Paul (Highlander) is 61.

Rock musician Noel Gallagher

(Oasis) is 53. Singer Melanie Brown (Spice Girls) is 45. NBA player Carmelo Anthony is 36.

May 30

• In 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

• In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death in a stampede sparked by a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing.

• In 1912, aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright, 45, died in Dayton, Ohio, of typhoid fever more than eight years after he and his brother, Orville, launched their first airplane.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Colm Meaney (Star Trek’s Chief O’Brien) is 67. Actor Ted McGinley (Married...with Children) is 62.

Country singer Wynonna Judd is 56. Actor Mark Sheppard (Supernatural) is 56. Actress Idina Menzel is 49. Actor Trey Parker is 48. Rapper Cee Lo Green is 45. Rapper Remy Ma is 40.

May 31

• In 1859, the Big Ben clock tower in London went into operation, chiming for the first time.

• In 1921, a race riot erupted in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as white mobs began looting and levelling the affluent black district of Greenwood over reports a black man had assaulted a white woman in an elevator; hundreds are believed to have died.

• In 1961, South Africa became an independent republic as it withdrew from the British Commonwealth.

Today’s birthdays: Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 90. Actress Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey) is 77. Actor Tom Berenger is 70.

Actress Lea Thompson (Back to the Future) is 59. Rapper DMC is 56. Actress Brooke Shields is 55. Actress Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) is 48. Actor Colin Farrell is 44. Rapper Waka Flocka Flame is 34. Pop singer Normani Hamilton (Fifth Harmony) is 24.

- The Associated Press

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

interview

Malikah Pinder She dreams of becoming a famous actress one day, and maybe even working with Tyler Perry.

Having landed a scholarship for an acting school, the teacher from Eleuthera tells Cara Hunt about how she is baking ‘Bread for Broadway’ to get her started on her journey to stardom.

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ALIKAH Pinder has always dreamed of becoming famous one day, preferably as an actress.

And now the entertainer and elementary school teacher is hopeful her new-found baking skills will help her rise to stardom.

She recently launched a fundraising initiative called Bread for Broadway where people can purchase her homemade bread to help her raise money for acting school.

During a visit to Los Angeles last year she realised that she wanted to take a two-year conservatory course in acting.

“I was in LA and we drove past this school and I realised that I really wanted to do their programmee. I applied and I had to do an audition.

You had a choice of locations where you could audition and it just happened that one of them was in Orlando during what was a school break, and my aunt lives in Orlando, so everything just fell in line,” she told Tribune Weekend.

“I have always wanted to be an actress, and in some ways have always been pursuing it in varying ways, but I recently decided that I wanted to take the next step.”

Malikah’s audition skills proved to be solid, and she was even awarded a scholarship based on the quality of her performance. She now only needs to come up with the extra money for the tuition.

“I was awarded a merit scholarship because of my stellar performance. God has seriously been moving and opening doors for me since the very second I was bold enough to pursue this, but I must also do my part; we know that faith without works is dead.”

The Eleuthera native has already made a name for herself locally as the owner of “I Do Lyrics”, through which she sings for weddings and other special events, composes original songs and jingles, does character performances for kids’ parties, and hosts performance training opportunities for young people (for example a performing arts Summer camp and vocal coaching).

Malikah has also followed her other passion, teaching, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She currently works as a second grade teacher at Queen’s College.

“I love children, especially younger children and I really enjoyed my own time at school and that is why I went to into teaching,” she said.

MALIKAH on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during her visit to Los Angeles last year.

“I would love to work with Tyler Perry. He is really inspiring.

He built his career from the bottom up and he is a strong advocate for the Black community.”

Acting and teaching do overlap, she said, even that may surprise some people.

“I use a lot of drama in my classroom with my kids and then I also teach an after-school drama class - Centre Stage - which uses acting

to help the kids with their reading fluency and expression.”

One of the projects the class was working on before the COVID-19 pandemic was a dramatic movie version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

Unfortunately, the class was just one of the many activities that came to a screeching halt due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Like everyone else, I am at home in quarantine. I live alone, and I just really needed something to do to pass time, and so I decided to do some baking. Growing up my grandmother would always make bread and I used to be her little helper, although I couldn’t get the hang of the kneading the dough,” she said.

Malikah decided that quarantine was the perfect time to resume her hobby.

“It turned out very interesting,” she said. “The first time my bread didn’t even rise. The second

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Friday, May 29, 2020

MALIKAH is baking ‘Bread for Broadway’ to raise money for her tuition. time I made it, I didn’t have the right pans and so the bread didn’t spread right.”

However, the third time proved the charm.

“It turned out amazing. I just needed some trial and error and practice to get it right. And I started baking bread every day. Of course, I couldn’t eat all the bread myself, so I started giving it to family and friends. They loved it and they told me that they liked it so much, they would buy it and that is how I came up with the idea for Bread for Broadway, which is my fundraising initiative to raise the funds for my tuition,” she said.

Malikah is currently selling white and wheat bread for a minimum donation of $5 to help her make her make move to Los Angeles.

“Of course we aren’t 100 per cent sure what will happen with COVID, but I am scheduled to start in the Fall and so I want to be ready whenever things start,” she said.

MALIKAH has long dreamed of becoming a professional actress.

Her fundraising efforts have been very successful so far.

“I have had people say, ‘I’m a diet’ or they may not need a lot of bread, but they would message and say, ‘I want to make a donation; send me your bank details.’ The donations have been overwhelming. People have been watching my journey and are so nice to want to help me in this next chapter,” she said.

“Also, I partnered with organisations like the Urban Youth Development Programme and the Rotaract Sunset Club who have purchased dozens of loaves to donate to the community.

In these times, a loaf of bread can help feed people.”

Malikah is excited for her future and the roles she may have a chance to play and the people she may get to work with.

“In my own past experience, I tend to prefer roles that are the complete opposite of what I am, and so I like to play rowdy, biggity

characters. I also like comedy. I would love to work with Tyler Perry. He is really inspiring. He built his career from the bottom up and he is a strong advocate for the Black community. Working with him would be wonderful.”

Wherever her career takes her, Malikah is determined to continue her work with Bahamian children.

“No matter where I am or what I am doing, I know I will always come home and work with kids.”

The Summer drama programme she has organised back in Eleuthera for pre-teens and teens is nearing its fifth year.

“That’s a milestone for me and we usually end the Summer with a play, but to celebrate the fifth anniversary we would like to do something different. I’m thinking maybe doing a movie instead,” she said.

For now, as the world continues to wait, Malikah will continue to bake.

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Friday, May 29, 2020

Requirements for mural artists

art

Submissions must be accompanied by the following:

LEWIS STREET MURAL, Nassau. “Force of Labour” (2019), designed and painted by Matthew Rahming, Amaani Hepburn and Jevon Thompson.

Capturing Bahamian history

NAGB extends call for mural artists

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

A

RTISTS whose imagination and skills are vast enough to capture hundreds of years of Bahamian resilience, from the Lucayans, to the age of colonial rule, to the triumph of Independence, are being asked to submit proposals for mural designs to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas.

The gallery has extended its mural call to June 15 for those who believe they can conjure up an artistic rendering to chronicle the country’s evolution.

The team at the NAGB hopes the piece will spark discussions on the importance of preserving and sharing history with future generations.

The mural, they said, could serve as an invaluable educational tool.

The artist or group of artists whose design concept is selected will receive resources and a stipend to create the mural in a public space.

The NAGB’s Mural Programme is dedicated to fostering community collaborations and partnerships. It is one of several outreach initiatives that

focus on involving communities in the creation of art while increasing the organisation’s presence in communities of the Bahamas and fostering an awareness and knowledge of the NAGB’s National Collection.

“It allows us to work with diverse groups of people in communities throughout the country.

It is important that the communities where these murals are sited feel a sense of ownership for the artwork. The NAGB team works hard to ensure that the subject of the murals are relevant to the people who will see them every day and that all who are interested are able to participate in their creation,” said Katrina Cartwright, education and outreach manager at the gallery.

The main goal of the programme is to create a piece of public art for an outdoor environment that reflects the spirit of the Bahamian people and the richness of its historical experiences, using scenery specific to different time periods as well asmodern-day daily life.

It is also intended to engage local schools, art teachers and the creative community through

• Name of artist/collectives/group/school • Primary contact name • Address’ home phone, cell phone number • E-mail address • Statement of interest (no more than 50 words) • A narrative and design illustrating the concept is required upon submission. Include supplemental information such as a timeline for completion and approximate dimensions of the proposed mural.

Artists’ proposals for the mural should be a scale image or description based on the dimensions of the wall. Wall dimensions: 100” X 5 1/2”.

The mural must remain true to the theme, should support the NAGB’s mission and be thoughtful of the wider community.

Works should reflect artistic excellence, innovation and originality.

The artist’s experience should be adequate to meet the demands of the project.

The artist’s work is in keeping with the intended outcome of the programme.

If submitting as a school/group: Must include at least 10 students, teachers and staff; If submitting as a district: Must include students, teachers and staff from each school (volunteers welcome); If submitting as an artist collective/team: Must have at least artists and volunteers from the community.

If more than one artist is participating, all other participant names must be included.

All submissions are due on or before Monday, June 15, 2020 by 11:59 pm via e-mail to zmunroe@nagb.org.bs. Incomplete applications or those received after the deadline will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that the NAGB has received their submissions. If you do not receive verification within one week of submitting, please contact Zearier Munroe at zmunroe@nagb.org.bs .

a collaborative creative experience designed to teach, inspire, and foster a love of art and Bahamian culture.

“While we’ve had several entries, we decided to extend the call to give more artists the opportunity to submit and to increase our ability to choose the strongest, most well thought out submission,” Ms Cartwright said.

She said there is no telling just yet when selected artist will begin work in the murals.

“This all depends on the COVID-19 pandemic and where we will be as a country in the coming months. While an artist will be taking the lead on the creation of this mural, this is a community project and we would like to include our ARTribe members and other school and community groups if possible. Once we begin, the mural should be completed within a 3-month period, barring any unforeseen circumstances,” she said.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

music

Keeping a legacy alive Young steel pan player makes history

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

T

WENTY-one-yearold Megan Smith has already made history as the first Bahamian to play in the Panorama Steel Pan Band competition. Now she is spreading her love for the percussion instrument that is believed to have originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930s.

Last March, Megan travelled to Trinidad and Tobago to compete with the Republic Bank Exodus Steel Pan Orchestra.

Panorama is a major steel pan event held during the country’s Carnival season. It features a multitude of bands separated into three categories: small, medium and large conventional bands.

Exodus Steel Orchestra was a large band and was comprised of approximately 120 members. Practice was held every night from January 1, 2019 until the night before the competition, March 3.

Although she admitted it was gruelling, Megan said by the grace of God she was able to persevere, making the cut and making history.

But Megan’s dreams are much bigger than competing in a world-class competition.

She wants to share the beauty of the steel pan instrument, which she hopes will inspire others to study the instrument.

“I love the smooth and peaceful sound that it produces and the island vibe that one can get from it. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, once you hear the steel pan it automatically reminds you of the beautiful Caribbean islands,” she told Tribune Weekend.

Though there are only a handful of professional steel pan players in the Bahamas, Megan said interest in steadily growing.

“The steel pan is quickly increasing in popularity in the Bahamas. To my knowledge, there are a few schools that have a steel pan programme, which shows that persons are in fact interested in learning the steel pan. Steel pannists that I look up to in the Bahamas are Anita ‘Nita’ Ellis- Tynes, Samuel

“I love the smooth and peaceful sound that it produces and the island vibe that one can get from it.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, once you hear the steel pan it automatically reminds you of the beautiful Caribbean islands.”

‘Samboy’ Mackey, Wayne and Romal Smith, all of whom are very well-known in the industry,” she said.

Having already accomplished her goal of playing in Panorama, as she also she pursues a Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, she has now set her sights on educating the future generations all about the steel pan.

“It is also one of my goals to open up a steel pan school on the different islands so that Bahamians would have the opportunity to study, learn and share the same love that I have for the steel pan,” she said.

Being raised in a musical family – her aunts Allison Rolle and the late Bernadette Smith were both singers - and her

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Photo/Michael Joseph Photography

MEGAN Smith plays the steel pan with her family’s band and at competitions abroad

immediate family having a steel pan band, music played a huge role in her upbringing.

At the age of nine, Megan’s father, Komal Smith, started her off with drum lessons under the instruction of Leon Bowe and piano lessons with Dorothy Bethel. She later attended the Barak School of Music where she studied the drums.

She also attended Gray’s Music Center where she was introduced to the violin, and in 2018, she began saxophone lessons with Duke Errol Strachan.

“When I started playing the steel pan it was just another instrument to me, but as I got deeper in my studies I realised that the uniqueness of the instrument captured my attention. There are very few professional steel plan players in the Bahamas that I am aware of, thus I knew this was the instrument that I would like to further pursue,” she said.

Megan began playing professionally at the age of 15 with her father’s band, The Smith Foundation Steel Pan Band.

“During my time with the band we performed locally around the Bahamas at major hotels and private events.

Internationally, we played at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota at the request of the university’s Archipelago Association along with the student government association. The band consists of myself on the single tenor, Wayne and Romal Smith on the double tenor, Komal Smith on the guitar and Ray Bethell on the keyboard, and occasionally, Stephen Colebrook on the keyboard,” she said.

Megan also had the opportunity to play with the late John “Chippie” Chipman and his band.

“Ultimately, I intend to carry on the Smith Foundation Steel Pan Band legacy alongside my brothers. The band is available for but not limited to, weddings, birthdays and graduations,” she said.

For more information, contact 242-809-4880 or megansmithnib@hotmail.com.

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Friday, May 29, 2020

gardening

Out on a limb

By Adam Boorman

T

HE rains are here! So are the weeds, and more weeds, don’t turn around.... yep, more weeds. Trees can be a weed, but much, much, larger! New growth is abundant and the garden is jumping, especially as we’ve been lucky to have rain mixed with sunshine, the combination of which will make the trees jump.

Trees can get very thick and full and even more so at this time of year unless preventative pruning is being done.

This is important. It’s one thing to put a beautiful, shady, life-giving tree in the yard and let it grow, and grow, and grow some more. It is another thing entirely to have a healthy, sturdy, stable and low liability tree. Low liability? Yes, meaning, it is not a threat to your housing, your car in the driveway, or that perfectly straight wall or precisely smooth pavement that was recently laid down, when the stronger winds of Summer storms and hurricanes blow through.

There are trees, such as the tropical almond Terminalia catappa that will get huge. They’re a common tree in the region. When they’re too close to a neighbours structure or wall, that liability just went up. Trees need to be controlled in the residential setting, even a landowner with ample space will benefit from annual or semi-annual tree cleaning and pruning. This is often easier said than done. Machinery is needed; tree skills are needed, as well as geometry, physics, mathematical calculations and heavy equipment.

Removing a huge tree is cause for many more headaches than it is to preventatively prune.

I can show you a few examples of poorly maintained trees and the damage that they can do, as can anyone who has been through a major hurricane, let alone a Nor’easter in the cooler months.

There are proficient professionals, and there are start-ups. There is the seasoned property manager, and there is the new homeowner. All may have to manage the trees in, on, or around their property. Tree maintenance is an essential task!

For example, there is an old cotton tree on East Bay Streer that has been recently pruned, as apparently there were sections that had been weakened through termites, age, or poor pruning practices in the past. Whatever the reason, it was apparent that the tree

was becoming a liability, and it had to be dealt with. Now is a great time to get that sort of work done. With more rain comes more leaf growth, which creates more weight, which compounds the situation even further, so, the sooner the better.

When properly managed, even the largest tree can be suitably used in tight quarters, or beside roadways, or structures, without the headache of becoming a high-liability tree. Granted, there are species that grow smaller in height and structure, and small to medium sized trees (cordia, crape myrtle, many fruit trees, et cetera) are the typical ideal size for residential areas, in scope and scale to the property space of course. A large property will have the space to allow trees to get large, whereas a smaller residential lot likely will not.

If you’ve got a huge tree, or even a smaller to medium sized tree, then now is a great time to either get up into that tree with a chainsaw or find a professional to do it, either way, tree pruning is highly recommended (not tree topping, please don’t do it – that is another topic altogether). By increasing the airflow through the tree, decreasing the weight, removing dead or decaying portions, and size control, a properly managed tree can be a joy for generations to come.

If a large tree is not properly maintained through the years, it can very easily become a high-liability tree. I am gearing myself up to get trimming and pruning some of our large (huge) trees, and I don’t look forward to it as it’s a lot of hot work, but it has to be done to keep large trees in the low liability column, and to not let them become a high-liability tree. I’ve called in some folks more experienced than myself to deal with our largest liability tree, as they have gotten out of control and require more hands and equipment than I have at my disposal.

The (faster) growing season and hurricane season is right here upon us, and now is a great time to do, or to have done, some preventative pruning and tree maintenance. It may just save a lot of clean-ups, headaches, and liability in the future! Happy gardening!

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

A FIDDLE leaf fig that has had some work done, but needs to be thinned before storm season ramps up.

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crafts

Upholding cultural heritage with online DIY classes

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

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AVE you ever wanted to know how artisans make their straw bags or how designers make their popular wire-wrapped jewellery or home décor pieces?

Well, a local craft supply store is here to help. Shell Craft Supplies wants to inspire people with DIY ideas they can master in the comfort of their own homes. The shop’s team is doing this by hosting live crafting demonstrations on Facebook.

“The overall goal is to inspire the creativity in our citizens. We hope that Bahamians would use this time to be productive despite being confined at home. I hope that we will see a rise in more Bahamians manufacturing Bahamian-made products to service our tourism industry,” said Rosie Calixte of Shell Craft Supplies.

YouTube videos and Pinterest posts showing DIY methods to craft everything from polymer clay jewellery to miniature dollhouses have become extremely popular in recent years. The problem often is, however, that supplies for those ideas are hard or expensive to come by here in the Bahamas.

Enter Shell Craft Supplies, which offers materials specifically for the local market and the local tastes – everything from of shells to straw plait. Before the quarantine, they also offered jewellery-making classes and sip and paint events. And now they are adding to their repertoire by providing online classes on how to use the materials they sell.

“We thought (Facebook sessions) were a good opportunity to give back to our dedicated customers as well as a wider audience that are at home during this time using social media. We hope that Bahamians and those watching will pick up new skills, and that the creativity within can be awakened by the classes. We’ve done beginners’ jewellery making, painted straw bags, ornament making, shell frames, and we have a series of new classes to come,” said Ms Calixte.

“We have a lot of people reaching out for our classes and we feel that more so now than ever, the audience is wider with so many people at home. It’s an opportunity for people to look at entrepreneurship.”

She said the response has been really promising. One viewer in the live session left the comment: “Seeing this brings back

so many memories of my childhood in the market, working with straw bags and jewellery boxes.”

Another said: “This is great; sticking to our Bahamian heritage.”

Ms Calixte said it seems Bahamians have developed a real taste for DIY projects, especially those that uphold our cultural identity and heritage, and are looking forward to more live demonstrations.

“We have a lot more classes to share. It gives us an opportunity to feature the skills of our local artisans that are comparable to anyone in the world,” she said.

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Friday, May 29, 2020

books

New page-turners this week • HIDEAWAY BY NORA ROBERTS (MYSTERY) One day, she thought, one moment, one innocent game. How was it that day, that moment, that game never seemed to end?

Caitlyn Sullivan is just nine years old when a game of hide and seek at a family party will change her life forever.

The betrayal she experienced that night will shape Caitlyn’s life - and for years she runs and runs, hiding from the aftermath of the trauma.

But Caitlyn comes to realise that if she wants to not just survive but thrive, she must return to the family home to face up to her past.

What happened that night may always haunt Caitlyn but she must decide if it’s what you’re running from that matters. Or who finds you.

• THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY BY NATALIE JENNER (LITERARY FICTION) It’s only a few months since the war ended, but the little village of Chawton is about to be hit by another devastating blow. The heart of the community and site of Jane Austen’s cherished former home, Chawton estate, is in danger of being sold to the highest bidder.

Eight villagers are brought together by their love for the famous author’s novels to create The Jane Austen Society.

As new friendships form and the pain of the past begins to heal, surely they can find a way to preserve Austen’s legacy before it is too late? And

there may even be a few unexpected surprises along the way...

• THE JEWEL THIEF BY JEANNIE MOBLEY (ROMANCE/YOUNG ADULT) A lush, slow-burn romance set in 17th century France, and based on the history of the Hope Diamond.

Her story begins in Paris. The only daughter of the King’s crown jeweller, Juliette marvels at the large, deep-blue diamond Louis XIV has commanded her father to make shine like the sun. But Jean Pitau has never cut a diamond quite like this, and shaping it is a risky endeavour. As Jean spirals into depression, Juliette takes it upon herself to cut the stone, and with every misstep, brings her family closer to ruin.

Her story resumes in a cold, dark cell of the Bastille prison. Charged with stealing the King’s diamond, Juliette has but one chance to convince him that her motives were pure. If she fails, this night may very well be her last. Though, death wouldn’t be her worst fate. Because recording Juliette’s confession is René, a court-appointed scribe, and the man she loves. But René holds his own grudge against Juliette, and this is her one and only chance to win back his heart.

• EMMA AND THE MINOTAUR BY JON HERRERA (FANTASY)

Like a song in the wind, the tale drifted out into the world. It started its journey in a dark glade deep inside Glenridge Forest. Those who had been there to witness the story carried it with them into the City of Saint Martin.

From there, told and retold, the tale transformed and grew wings of its own. Farther and farther, the tale flew, reshaping itself into the form given to it by the voice of the teller. The story morphed and shifted, ever molding itself to the temperament of the land beneath it.

The tale reached every corner of the world. To some, it was only a children’s bedtime story. But others, in times to come, would find in it solace and truth.

The residents of the City of Saint Martin are disappearing. Those who hear the music of the forest are compelled to follow it and are never seen again.

At the same time, creatures of myth and legend are returning to our world. Led by the colossal Minotaur, they hide in the shadows of Glenridge Forest, waiting for a day soon to come. But why are they here?

What is the World of Light?

Join young Emma Wilkins as she uncovers the truth behind the mystery and learns the identity of the great power behind it all.

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Friday, May 29, 2020

books

A mother’s adventures in homeschooling

New children’s book takes humorous approach to an ordeal

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

A

N AUTHOR’S experiences with homeschooling with her son is the plot of her latest children’s book published during quarantine.

“The Contrary Contrite Chronicles of a Child during The Great Confinement” draws from B Jane Turnquest’s experience of doing her best to homeschool her son. Knowing she is not alone in her struggle teaching her own kids, she decided to chronicle the experience, and sometimes ordeal, in the new book.

“This is a humorous behavioral biography of my son during this COVID-19 lockdown, so the story simply unfolds; not orchestrated in any way, to be honest,” she told Tribune Weekend.

During lockdown and taking over the teacher role, the author said she learned a great deal about her son, lessons she would have more than likely missed had it not been for the quarantine.

“Younger children associate home with relaxing and this presented major struggles as I tried to get my four-year-old son to settle down and do an hour’s worth of schoolwork,” she said.

What was supposed only take an hour turned into half a day.

“I got the reins on the situation, and he adapted to this new structure. Quickly, I found myself lacking patience with my son. He was not an easy student as it relates to focusing on his work, which he is more than capable of doing.

“One of the things that I got to see was that his handwriting was borderline hieroglyphic; it looked like he had his own secret code. He can write properly and legibly, but did not care to, wanting to rush and get on with his life and adventures.

The idea came to me instead of scolding him repeatedly, which I do not consider to be positive discipline, I could kill two birds with one stone.”

So Ms Turnquest made her son write lines.

“I employed this method with a bit of leniency.

Whenever my son did something wrong, I would let him write an apology or note why it was wrong, dangerous, or disrespectful. His handwriting has improved, and we garnered enough material to write this book,” she said.

Out of this experience came the book, which she describes as “a firm but gentle parenting guide and part quirky look at dealing with a fouryear-old in a challenging and new environment.”

“Life goes on – make lemonade if you got a lemony situation, and don’t forget the sugar,” has been her attitude throughout the ordeal, she said.

Ultimately, Ms Turnquest hopes parents who read this book along with their kids get the message to make light of difficult circumstances when their child is watching.

“It is the parent’s responsibility to create a healthy new or temporary normal,” she said.

This is the not first children’s story published by the author. Her first was in collaboration with primary school students entitled “Relit - The Great Retelling” published in 2012.

“Next on my list is ‘The Memoir That Makes You Go Mmm’, another children’s book that is being wrapped up. This one is fiction and equally quirky,” she said.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

food BACON loaded baked potatoes

Vel muddasic...Teen chef launches delivery service during lockdown

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

S

HE’S only 18 years old, but Trueraine Cox has long since dreamed of becoming a chef and opening her very own restaurant.

Fate, it seems, finally pushed her into starting her own business this year. First, she lost her job as a chef at a takeout restaurant and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Out of work and finding herself looking at a new landscape when it comes to the food industry, she decided this was the right time to launch the Vel Muddasic delivery service. She also had a lot of support from her sister, Trueranda Cox, who is now her business partner in this new venture.

“While I am managing the kitchen, my older sister Trueranda manages everything else. It is the perfect blend of the skills we both bring to the table. For us, it’s nice to realise that two sisters well under 30, from humble beginnings, are making moves to owning their own future.

Hopefully, the success story that comes from this inspires other young people to know that anything is within their reach. Look for the opportunities in the challenges and setbacks, and always learn from your experiences,” said Ms Cox.

The teenager has always had a knack for cooking.

“All throughout school I took part in cooking classes and had a few teachers and mentors along the way that nurtured that gift in me. In the ninth grade I was even the runner-up for the Young Chefs competition. My passion in the kitchen is driven by putting smiles on people’s faces when they eat my food,” she said.

With her Vel Muddasic service, she currently offers a limited menu that includes five flavours of chicken wings - guava BBQ, tropical BBQ, spicy, plain, and buffalo. The wings are served with either shrimp, a loaded baked potato, loaded mash potato, or loaded fries. In the coming weeks, she plans to offer “specials of the day”, or as she calls them, “lockdown platters”.

“So far it has been a great learning experience. We are still in the starting-up phase of the business and every day that I get to do what I love is a day that I’m thankful for. Our official launch has been delayed due to lockdown measures currently in place due to COVID-19, but instead of just waiting, we decided to just start on a very small scale offering deliveries from home until our official launch,” she said.

SPICY buffalo wings with loaded baked potato “I must say that the feedback has been amazing... a few persons that called or messaged us after receiving their meal said, ‘vel muddasic, that food was good.’ That always puts a smile on our faces and we enjoy listening to their feedback and seeing how much fun they are having with the name.”

The young entrepreneur said she is looking forward to the day they can open their own restaurant.

“This lockdown has been a blessing in disguise; giving us an opportunity to plan for that specific goal - a restaurant - get our products out there and generating ‘buzz on the street’ so to speak without the overhead costs of renting.

One thing we noticed is that there is a demand for good food. And as long as that demand exists we will continue to grow and evolve to meet that need,” said Ms Cox.

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, May 29, 2020

celebrity

What’s in a name?

Bahamians weigh in on Elon Musk’s son ‘X Æ A-Xii’

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

C

ELEBRITIES have been known to give their children strange names.

Remember Saint, Apple, North, Pilot Inspektor and

Blue Ivy? There was even a non-celebrity mother who became internet famous two years ago when airline staff allegedly made fun of her daughter’s name: Abcde (pronounced “Ab-si-dee”). Reportedly, more than 300 women in the US are called Abcde and the name can even be found five times between 1840 and 1860 according to the US census records.

But South African businessman and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his singer girlfriend Grimes (who herself has an unusual nickname) may have taken the cake when it comes to naming their first child together.

The couple initially named their newborn son X Æ A-12 Musk.

And while the proud parents claim it makes perfect sense to name their child something that resembles a serial number, it seems they weren’t completely on the same page with its pronunciation.

The pair used the X Æ A-12 spelling in the initial tweet naming their child.

Grimes in her tweet explained that X stood for the unknown variable, Æ her elven spelling of Ai (love and/ or artificial intelligence) and the 2-12 was the precursor to R-17 (the couple’s favourite aircraft - “no weapons, no defences, just speed, great in battle, but non-violent” - and the A equals archangel, her favourite song.

When it comes to the pronounciation, the new mother, whose birth name is Claire Elise Boucher, said: “It’s just X, like the letter X. Then A I, like how you say the letters A then I.” Elon, however, explained: “I mean it’s just X, the letter X. And then the Æ is like pronounced ‘Ash’... and then, A-12...A-12 is my contribution.”

Fortunately for the baby, his parents had to rethink the name as it was not accepted as a registered name in the state of California. So now they’ve decided on X Æ A-Xii, because “Roman numerals. Looks

SOUTH African billionaire Elon Musk and singer Grimes have settled on the name ‘X Æ A-Xii’ for their newborn son. better tbh,” said Grimes in an Instagram post.

Bahamians, many of whom have names which may be considered unusual and unique (but far from the realm of X Æ A-12) , were watching all this unfold online.

Several Tribune Weekend readers weighed in on the unusual name choice.

“This is what happens when you have more money than sense, and a bunch of people around you who are afraid to tell you that you’re stupid,” said Lauren.

“I think that celebrities are the only people who do this foolishness,” added Tanya said. “Their children go to private schools with other children with equally weird names and they don’t have to worry about their names being looked at on a resume, because they don’t have to work like the rest of us. You could imagine one lil’ Bahamian boy with that name trying to make a life for himself, not to mention all the teasing he would get during his life.”

While Precious is of the view that parents have the right to name their children anything they wish, this particular name choice should be not be allowed.

“My name is Precious, which is quirky enough, and I am pregnant with a boy, but I always said if I had a girl I would name her Royalty Reign, which some of my family thinks is silly, but at least they are actual names not a bunch of random letters and numbers. You can be creative, but you have to remember that you don’t have to carry your choice, your child does,” she said.

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

entertainment

New this week: Lady Gaga, ‘Space Force,’ and ‘The Vast of Night’

By The Associated Press

H

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

MUSIC

Lady Gaga: After taking a departure from her electro pop sound with 2016’s “Joanne” and 2018’s “A Star is Born,” Lady Gaga is ready to just dance with her new album out Friday. “Chromatica” features the upbeat singles “Stupid Love” and “Rain on Me,” with Ariana Grande. Elton John and K-pop girl group Blackpink also make appearances on the album, which was originally supposed to be released in April but was pushed backed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rap bars from behind bars: While serving time at San Quentin State Prison, music producer David Jassy taught inmates how to write and produce music. Now an album of those songs recorded at the prison and backed by J Cole, Common and Kim Kardashian West will be released today. In 2010, Jassy was convicted of murder, assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery. Earlier this year his sentence was commuted by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said in his letter that

Jassy had been “extremely committed to his rehabilitation.” The new album is called “San Quentin Mixtape, Vol 1” and features 17 young rappers telling their stories.

- Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu

FILM

“The Vast of Night”: Tonight, head over to Amazon Prime Video to check out a debut feature that’s earned its director, Andrew Patterson, comparisons to a young Christopher Nolan. Set over the course of one night in 1950s New Mexico, the film follows two teenagers who notice an unusual audio frequency on the radio and take it upon themselves to investigate. “Rolling Stone” critic David Fear said, “It knows exactly how to work its retro ‘Twilight Zone’ mojo without feeling like a third-generation copy of film-brat nostalgia.”

“The High Note”: Also available as of today for rental from Focus Features is a new feel-good musical starring Tracee Ellis Ross as a worldfamous singer (no, she’s not playing her mom) feeling confined by societal expectations around her age, and her personal assistant (Dakota Johnson) who has bigger ambitions for herself.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

TELEVISION

Steve Carell, the hapless boss of “The Office,” is back with a new comedy series. In Netflix’s 10-episode “Space Force,” he plays Mark R Naird, a four-star general whose dream job is running the Air Force. Instead, he’s chosen to lead the newly formed military branch charged with putting Americans back on the moon and, by the way, dominating space. Carell heads a cast that includes John Malkovich and Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy O Yang among the co-stars. The comedy is out today, accompanied by “Inside Joke: Space Force,” a behind-the-scenes podcast hosted by Yang and with new episodes released on Mondays and Thursday.

AMC’s “Quiz” revisits the real-life 2001 scandal of a couple accused of trying to cheat the British version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” of $1 million, aided by a studio audience member who allegedly coughed to signal the answers. “Quiz” has unimpeachable credentials: It was written by playwright James Graham (“Ink”), directed by filmmaker Stephen Frears (“The Queen”), and stars Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”), Sian Clifford (“Fleabag”) and Michael Sheen (“Masters of Sex”).

The three-part drama debuts 10pm on Sunday, with the subsequent episodes airing at 9pm on June 7 and 14.

- TV Writer Lynn Elber

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, May 29, 2020

entertainment DYNASTY

Dynasty (series; 10 Top 10 1.episodes) Netflix movies and shows . Blood and Water 2(series; six episodes) in the Bahamas

This reboot of the popular 1980’s show follows two of America’s wealthiest families as they feud for control over their fortune and their children.

A local teen uncovers her family’s secret past and navigates the complicated world of a South African high school in this tense, slow-burn series.

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

3

. Mercury Rising (film; 1h 51m)

Shadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code. Starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin.

Miami Vice (film; 2h 4.12m)

Based on the 1980s TV action/ drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as

their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined. Starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell.

out from under him. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam, and directed by Guy Ritchie.

The Lovebirds (film; 1h Anchor Baby (film; 1h 5.27m) 8.37m) A couple experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. Starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani.

Sweet Magnolias 6.(series; 10 episodes)

Three South Carolina women, best friends since high school, shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career, and family.

A Nigerian couple living in the US face agonising fallout when they defy deportation orders in the hopes of giving their unborn child citizenship.

Control Z (series; eight 9.episodes) When a hacker begins releasing students’ secrets to the entire high school, the socially isolated but observant Sofía works to uncover his/her identity.

The Last Dance Gentlemen (film; 10.(series; ten episodes) 7.1hThe53m) An American expat tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, triggering plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain

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

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

forgotten facts

The dead and the undead

By Paul C Aranha

P

ERHAPS the greatest benefit of my writing these articles is getting calls and messages from a lot of people, most of whom I have never met. And in the days since I wrote about Ted Pyfrom’s goggles and shooters, I’ve received many enquiries about cholera graves; people wanting to know whether they are still there and how to find them.

The answers are simple, and the easiest way to visit the cholera graves is to use the small car park, at the very eastern end of Dowdeswell Street. To your south, you’ll see St Matthew’s Anglican church with its tall steeple. Between you and the church building you’ll see a large portion of this Anglican graveyard. To the right of that is the government-owned Eastern Cemetery, recognisable by its covered lychgate.

The entire block, surrounded by Church Street, East Bay Street and Dowdeswell Street, is nothing but cemeteries - three of them.

The one I haven’t mentioned up to now is the Jewish Cemetery, with its only entrance on East Shirley Street, more or less opposite the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. Before I move on to the cholera graves, there is another small cemetery at the eastern end of the Eastern Parade. It’s the very old Centre Burial Ground and there you can find a gravestone that bears the date 1733.

Enter the Eastern Cemetery through its lychgate and once you are in the cemetery you walk straight up the slope and the black stones are on your left. (See aerial photograph.)

If you’re anything like the people who called me, you’ll wonder what a lychgate is. It’s a name that comes from the German word ‘Leiche’, meaning corpse, so it is a gate through which a corpse enters the graveyard.

As a kid, my friends and I spent many hours playing in these cemeteries, and jumping from one cholera stone to the next was a favourite game. I’m sure there used to be far more stones than are visible today. I had to get permission from Rosa, our family maid, to play in the graveyards and she did not like the idea of my disturbing the dead. Her parting order was always, “Don’t slip on one of them cholera graves and get cut unless you wan’ die from cholera.” My beloved Rosa had me convinced that not only would I die, but I’d be dead before I could run the few hundred yards back to my home.

Rosa and our gardener Wallace taught me to show respect for the dead by standing at

attention and holding my breath when a hearse drove past. Some of my friends had been told to close their eyes tightly. Rosa shared ancient the beliefs that gave the world the once very rigid protocols about death and burial; protocols that are still observed, though their original significance has been forgotten.

In the distant past, it was believed that the spirit of a dead person wanted to remain on earth and would seize any opportunity to inhabit the body of anyone that it could see.

The people most at risk were, of course, the family members, but visitors and others wore all black for protection, and no other reason. Black was particularly effective outdoors.

If your body were lucky enough to not be taken over by the spirit, these fears dictated how the departed had to be buried - six feet underground, in a coffin whose lid had been nailed down tightly and on top of which a heavy weight was placed before the grave was filled with earth.

But the fear went even further, so that to protect the living to the fullest an even heavier stone had to be placed on the ground, over the grave. And as time went by that stone became the place to carve the names of the dead.

Over the ages, people became less superstitious. But before the introduction of embalming it was quite possible for someone to be pronounced dead when, in fact, they were still alive. Their body was in a catatonic state, resembling death. Edgar Allen Poe was A LYCHGATE is the gate through which the corpse enters obsessed by this happening, so he designed a coffin for himself that he could open from a graveyard. within.

Friday, May 29, 2020

One can only speculate as to how many people were buried too soon, and it was not unknown for an “undead” loved one to be laid to rest inside a family vault and be discovered, months or years later, as a skeleton, holding to the iron gate of the vault, having starved to death. A very logical solution was to fit the coffin with a piece of string or rope, connected to a bell, as Poe did much later.

But for this to work there had to be someone near enough to hear the bell.

This translated into a night watchman, who was paid to spend the night at the grave.

If you know anyone whose job requires shift work, night watchmen who work very late, or very early, shifts, you will often hear them talk about “having the graveyard shift”.

It used to be unthinkable to wear anything but all black to a funeral, and so many of the items used in the church service are, or used to be, black. For example, the pall began as a heavy black cloth to spread over a coffin, to keep the dead in. We know it best today in the word “pallbearer”.

In his metaphysical poem “L’Immortalité”, the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine called death “the celestial liberator”, and left the reader almost wishing to die.

“In Willkommen und Abschied”, the great German poet Wolfgang von Goethe said: “You watched me go, in deep distress. And yet, to be so loved, what gladness! To love, oh gods, what happiness!”

In English, in Thomas Grey’s “Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard” (where the phrase “far from the madding crowd” originated), the poet tells us, “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r, and all that beauty, all that wealth, e’er gave, awaits alike th’ inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”

These great poets did not paint death in black.

The Tribune | Weekend |21

PEOPLE in Victorian times were so afraid of being buried alive, they devised ‘safety coffins’ with bells above ground in the event they needed to alert the night watchman patrolling the graveyard.

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

history

Fleas to flu to coronavirus: how ‘death ships’ spread disease through the ages

“The kind of ‘assisted emigrant’ we can not afford to admit.” So reads the caption of this 1883 Puck drawing, which shows members of the New York Board of Health wielding a bottle of carbolic acid in an attempt to keep cholera at bay.

BY JOY DAMOUSI | Director, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University

O

NE of the haunting images of this pandemic will be stationary cruise ships – deadly carriers of COVID19 – at anchor in harbours and unwanted. Docked in ports and

feared.

The news of the dramatic spread of the virus on the Diamond Princess from early February made the news real for many Australians who’d enjoyed holidays on the seas. Quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, over 700 of the ship’s crew and passengers became infected. To date, 14 deaths have been recorded.

The Diamond Princess’s sister ship, the Ruby Princess, brought the pandemic to Australian shores. Now under criminal investigation, the events of the Ruby Princess forced a spotlight on the petri dish cruise ships can become. The ship has been linked to 21 deaths.

History shows the devastating role ships can play in transmitting viruses across vast continents and over many centuries.

RATS IN THE RANKS

Merchant ships carrying rats with infected fleas were transmitters of the Plague of Justinian (541-542 AD) that devastated the Byzantine Empire.

Ships carrying grain from Egypt were home to flea-infested rats that fed off the granaries.

Constantinople was especially inflicted, with estimates as high as 5,000 casualties a day.

Globally, up to 50 million people are estimated to have been killed – half the world’s population.

The Black Death was also carried by rats on merchant ships through the trade routes of Europe. It struck Europe in 1347, when 12 ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina.

Subsequently called “death ships”, those on board were either dead or sick. Soon, the Black

Death spread to ports around the world, such as Marseilles, Rome and Florence, and by 1348 had reached London with devastating impact.

The Italian writer, poet and scholar, Giovanni Boccaccio, wrote how terror swept through Florence with relatives deserting infected family members. Almost inconceivably, he wrote, “fathers and mothers refused to nurse their own children, as though they did not belong to them”.

Ships started being turned away from European ports in 1347. Venice was the first city to close, with those permitted to enter forced into a 40-day quarantine: the word “quarantine” derives from the Italian quarantena, or 40 days.

By January 1349, mass graves proliferated outside of London to bury the increasing numbers of dead.

Army and naval ships, as well as travellers around the globe, also carried cholera pandemics throughout the 19th century. In the first pandemic in 1817, British army and navy ships are believed to have spread cholera beyond India where the outbreaks originated.

By the 1820s, cholera had spread throughout Asia, reaching Thailand, Indonesia, China and Japan through shipping. British troops spread it to the Persian Gulf, eventually moving through Turkey and Syria.

Subsequent outbreaks from the 1820s through to the 1860s relied on trade and troops to spread the disease across continents.

AT WAR WITH THE SPANISH FLU

The Spanish influenza of 1918-1919 was originally carried by soldiers on overcrowded troop ships during the first world war. The rate of transmission on these ships was rapid, and soldiers died in large numbers.

One New Zealand rifleman wrote in his diary in September 1918: “More deaths and burials total now 42. A crying shame but it is only to be expected when human beings are herded together the way they have been on this boat.”

The flu was transmitted throughout Europe in France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. Threequarters of French troops and over half of British troops fell ill in 1918. Hundreds of thousands of US soldiers travelling on troop ships across the Atlantic and back provided the perfect conditions for transmission.

THE FATE OF CRUISING

A new and lethal carrier in the 21st century has emerged in the pleasure industry of cruise ships. The explosion of cruise holidays in the past 20 years has led to a proliferation of luxury liners plying the seas.

Like historical pandemics, the current crisis shares the characteristic of rapid spread through ships.

The unknown is in what form cruise ships will continue to operate. Unlike the port-to-port trade and armed forces that carried viruses across continents centuries ago, the services cruise lines offer are non-essential.

Whatever happens, the global spread of COVID-19 reminds us “death ships” are an enduring feature of the history of pandemics.

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

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, May 29, 2020

literary lives | Maxwell Perkins

The genius of America’s greatest editor

Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about the American book editor, best remembered for discovering authors F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe.

W

ILLIAM Maxwell Evarts Perkins was born to Edward Clifford Perkins, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Evarts Perkins on September 20, 1884. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, attended St Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and then graduated from Harvard College in 1907. Although an economics major in college, he also studied under Charles Townsend Copeland, a literature professor who prepared Perkins for his editorial career.

Perkins’ first job was as a reporter for The New York Times, but he joined the publishing house of Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1910 – initially as an advertising manager. He was 26years old.

Although Scribner’s was better known for publishing authors such as John Galsworthy, Henry James and Edith Wharton, Perkins was keener to work with younger talents than the company’s traditionally minded authors. He signed up Scott Fitzgerald in 1919, in the teeth of his older colleagues’ disapproval. The working title of Fitzgerald’s debut was The Romantic Egoist, and it was rejected, but under Perkins’ careful attention it was radically revised and retitled This Side of Paradise and published in 1920. It marked a watershed in American publishing that would always be associated with Perkins.

“Anybody can find out if he is a writer. If he were a writer when he tried to write of some particular day, he would find in the effort that he could recall exactly how the light fell and

MAXWELL Perkins (1884 – 1947)

how the temperature felt, and all the quality of it. Most people cannot do it. If they can do it, they may never be successful in a pecuniary sense but that ability is at the bottom of writing, I am sure.” - Maxwell Perkins F Scott Fitzgerald’s profligacy and alcoholism strained his relationship with Maxwell Perkins.

Nevertheless, Perkins remained Fitzgerald’s friend to the end of Fitzgerald’s short life. Perkins was 12 years older than Fitzgerald and his editorial relationship with the author was particularly evidenced in The Great Gatsby (1925) – originally

titled Trimalchio in West Egg, and which benefitted substantially from Perkins’ criticism.

“The amount of meaning you get into a sentence, the dimensions and intensity of the impression you make a paragraph carry, are most extraordinary ... You once told me you were not a natural writer – my God! You have plainly mastered the craft, of course, but you needed far more than craftsmanship for this.” Perkins in a letter to Fitzgerald about The Great Gatsby

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, May 29, 2020

THE SUMMER home of the Evarts family in Vermont. Maxwell Perkins and his siblings inherited the estate in 1940. It was in the family for almost 200 years. Today it’s been transformed into the luxurious Snapdragon Inn.

A SCENE from the 2016 movie “Genius”, based on the book “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius” by A Scott Berg. Colin Firth plays Perkins and Jude Law plays author Thomas Wolfe.

Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe, he worked with many other writers and was the first to publish J P Marquand and Erskine Caldwell. He was also responsible for the success of The Yearling (1938) by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings – which won the Pulitzer Prize. Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country (1946) was another Perkins discovery and publication, as was Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, signing a contract in 1947 with Marguerite Young. However Perkins’ health was failing and he did not live to see the success of Marguerite Young’s book – published in 1965, or James Jones’ From Here to Eternity (1951), nor Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952) which was dedicated to his memory.

“What we publishers think is that our function is to bring everything out into the open, on the theory that we have an adult population that knows values, or can learn them, and let them decide.” - Maxwell Perkins

there was the impossible anguish and regret of all the work I had not done, of all the work I had to do - and I know now I’m just a grain of dust, and I feel as if a great window has been opened on life I did not know about before — and if I come through this I hope to God I am a better man, and in some strange way I can’t explain I know I am a deeper and wiser one - If I get on my feet and out of here, it will be months before I head back, but if I get on my feet, I’ll come back.

Whatever happens - I had this “hunch” and wanted to write you and tell you, no matter what happens or has happened, I shall always think of you and feel about you the way it was that 4th of July 3 yrs. ago when you met me at the boat, and we went out on the cafe on the river and had a

drink and later went on top of the tall building and all the strangeness and the glory and the power of life and the city were below Yours Always, Tom” - Wolfe in a letter to Maxwell Perkins, August 12, 1938

In 1910 Maxwell Perkins married Louise Saunders of Plainfield, New Jersey, who bore him five daughters. He died in Stamford, Connecticut from pneumonia on June 17, 1947. Perkins remains the most widely known literary editor of American literature.

Thomas Wolfe died 18 days before his 38th birthday. His next two novels, The Web and a Rock (193), and You Can’t Go Home Again (1940), were edited by Edward Aswell and published

by Harper and Bros. Maxwell Perkins served as Wolfe’s literary executor.

Although Perkins’ reputation as an editor with Scribner’s is most closely linked with Scott

•Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; The Sons of Maxwell Perkins: Letters of F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and their Editor by Matthew Bruccoli (2004); and Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (1978) by A Scott Berg.

27 Owing largely, initially, to fight (4) 28 Old ship in dankest condition, without a stitch (5-5)

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

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.

AMD HG l uE P

● 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 or verb forms ending in “s”.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 19; very good 26; excellent 37 (or more). Solution on Monday

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

BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Prudence West is taking Benedictine (6) 4 Can’t be fired at bosses’ order (8) 9 Strong ringleader and ring smashed (6) 10 Outcome of the grain harvest (6,2) 12 Even well-done steaks may be nowadays (4) 13 Trail used by a tank (5) 14 A row about it is put back (4) 17 Advance from bank to bank? (8,4) 20 They’re the last to go to the wall (6,6) 23 A long time and a bad one (4) 24 A rather attractive sort of accent (5) 25 He’s got to go inside (4) 28 Indian rain-makers (8) 29 Work hard to complete the last part (3,3) 30 They may wilt and droop in the centres (8) 31 Leaves the broken plates (6)

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EASY PUZZLE

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Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Down 1 Possibly wore drab Across: 1 Child, 4 Pageant, clothes (8) 8 Ant, 9 Tall order, 10 Slender, 11 Gravy, 13 Chancy, 15 Warren, 2 Out of town - and out of 18 Hokum, 19 Drought, 21 To the country (8) the fore, 23 Rob, 24 Hapless, 3 Deal exclusively with 25 Testy. someone in a furious Down: 1 Classic, 2 In the dark, temper (4) 3 Dated, 4 Paltry, 5 Georgia, 5 Beaming they take the 6 Aid, 7 Tardy, 12 As regards, 14 Compete, 16 Notably, cash girl’s change (12) 17 Odious, 18 Hitch, 20 Overt, 6 A nymph in the chorus (4) 22 Tip. 7 It’s very hot when it’s clear on the hill (6) 8 Watch for a second coming (6) 11 An original Christmas Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution gift (12) 15 Silver down at melting Across: 1 Cowls, 4 Library, point? (5) 8 Met, 9 Inventory, 10 Address, 11 Hopes, 13 Spades, 15 Feline, 16 Quiet Bohemian 18 Ounce, 19 Clement, celebration (5) 18 A song about a subject one 21 Inanimate, 23 Etc, 24 Elapses, 25 Tasks. can’t stand (8) Down: 1 Compass, 2 Withdrawn, 19 Practically of an equally 3 Snipe, 4 Lavish, 5 Banshee, high standard (2,4,2) 6 Ago, 7 Yo-yos, 12 Priceless, 21 Sailor joins a Scotsman on 14 Eyelids, 16 Entices, 17 Scraps, 18 Olive, 20 Erect, 22 Ava. the roads (6) 22 Carpenter likely to become a union member? (6) 26 Chemical gives rise to difficulties (4) 27 New deal for a depressed area (4) Down Across 1 Dignified and 1 Waste time in decent (8) trifling (6) 6 7 8 2 Trachea (8) 4 Contraband (8) 3 To incline (4) 9 Sailcloth (6) 5 Be up to 10 Superficial (4-4) standard (4,3,5) 12 Wholly 6 Band of engrossed (4) criminals (4) 13 To some 14 7 Stay in extent (5) 16 hiding (3,3) 14 Before long (4) 8 Rely (6) 17 Unique 11 Criticise in kind (12) 18 19 severely (4,2,6) 20 Task freely 15 A fair chance (5) undertaken (6,2,4) 16 Muscular (5) 23 Antiaircraft fire (4) 18 Loss of 24 A language of status (8) India (5) 25 19 In anger (8) 25 Impudent (4) 27 21 State as a fact (6) 28 Cite as example (8) 22 Small dark plum (6) 29 Useless (2-4) 26 Collapse (4) 30 La Gioconda (4,4) 27 Sullenly 31 Full of odd obstinate (4) ideas (6)

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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

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4

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2

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0

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3

F

3

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1

Across: 1 Construct, 7 Cherub, Friday, May 29, 2020 9 Endless, 10 Asks, 12 Dec, THe ALPHAbe 13 Greeted, 14 Ion, 15 Soda, 17 Stopper, 19 Enters, 20 Agreement. black squares: 1, 5, 10, 1 Down: 1 Creative, 2 Owns, 3 Nod, 24, 27, 29, 33, 37, 40.

4 Therefore, 5 Resits, 6 Cured, Across: Event, Horizon, 8 Baccarat, 11 Settee, 13 Going, Chop, Oath, Rainbow, La 16 Dean, 18 Pie. Ytterbium, Orbit, Foreve Down: Chalky, Vouch, Tr Toss,grid Magi, Abbey, Mouth cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each TArgeT Extra Firepower, D number represents a letter – or black square. Joke, Juice, 090 DebAuCHeD As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet (Deduc ache ached adduce beach beached CroSS DoubT each ext isbeech used.cede Butceded you have complete chub to cube cubed the grid too!

Across: FLOOR cuedthe dacegiven debauch DEBAUCHED use letters and black squares below fu Down: ALARM decade deuced the griddeduce to start. the each grid educe is ‘rotationally 090 educed

THE ALPHABEATER

TARGET 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

I O T A S K L T D B Z X J E28X I A P

SMALL CroSSWorD 27

0

1

1 x Battleship

3 x Destroyer

2 x cruiser

4 x submarine

3

SuMMiT uP symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the *Calls cos your te same if you turn the page upside down.

101 and 60 netwo 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

40

19

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33

27

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16

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36

12

39

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35

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25

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38

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40

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18

24

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39

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32 29 9 9 Yesterday’s

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36

Kakuro Answer 21 6 12 28 9

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39

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34

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■ 32 ■

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

KEIJO

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Pl t

nu d ap

The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, May 29, 2020

animals

PET OF THE WEEK

Find your silver lining Animal Matters | KIM ARANHA

O

N THURSDAY, May 21, my profession got the green light to gently return to life.

Life as we will need to learn to live it. Life behind the mask, life without hugs, life at a distance, but life slowly morphing towards hope and a rebirth! We have all been going through an extraordinary time and have perhaps learned a lot about ourselves and our own existences.

Lockdown and lockup are tedious beyond description. We love our homes and we love our families, but did we ever sign on to total immersion?

Eighty, 90, 100, breakfasts, lunches and dinners together with no outside involvement is not what we are used to and this can lead to restlessness.

But there are silver linings to cloudy skies, but sometimes you need to dig a bit deeper with a little creativity to find your personal silver lining. These past 11 weeks of COVID-19 have most definitely given me cause for thought.

The most daunting factor is that being older; this is a huge wake-up call for us, as to how we plan to spend the remainder of our years.

Our mortality had been highlighted as never before and the likelihood of slipping back into yesterday as we know and remember it is highly doubtful, perhaps never in our lifetime.

The expression “new normal” is thrown around like a football at a family picnic, but not explained because quite simply none of us actually know what the “new normal” really is or will be.

Is the new normal going to be all about being told and controlled by authorities right down to what we may or may not do? Is that how we will finish our glorious ride through this unpredictable life that we have lived already in large percentage?

Food for thought for sure. Silver lining is that we have lots of time to think about this, think about the future - how, where and what kind of life to expect for the remainder of 2020 and going forward.

I usually travel a lot and I am usually out a lot. I label myself a “social animal”’ who thrives on interaction and connecting with others. In retrospect, there must have been days when my beloved elderly dogs despaired because they barely saw me.

Chiefie would take up sentry duty behind the fence where he has a clear view is the gate and watch and wait for me to come home. Obviously I did always come home, but how great that we

have had so much time together over the past 11 weeks: those days, weeks, and hours of humanpet connection that have enriched my soul and brought me an inner peace like nothing else can.

There have been quizzical, touching moments that are indelibly inked in my heart and memory.

When you have elderly dogs and cats you know that they are not going to be there forever, you treasure every instance, every snuggle and lick and hold it dear to you and the last 11 weeks we have chalked up more moments than the average fur family does in years!

My silver lining is very plain to see, and I dedicate these immortal words written by the great George Gershwin to my seniors with whom I am enjoying my daily lockups and downs: “The more I read the papers The less I comprehend The world and all its capers And how it soon will end Nothing seems to be lasting But that isn’t our affair We’ve got something permanent I mean in the way we care It’s very clear our love is here to stay Not for a year, but ever and a day.”

The tail that bangs against your leg as you open the treats, the paw that reaches out during the night to make sure you really are still there, that flurry of excitement when you come back from the supermarket, those are all things that are here to stay.

Over the next few months we can but hope that we will settle into that unknown realm of the “new normal” with good grace and not too many hardships. We need to support our struggling economy, support Bahamian businesses, shop locally and try to infuse the economy with the few dollars that are out there to be spent.

There will come a time when this period will be viewed as historical and grandchildren will ask wideeyed what it was really like to live through a pandemic.

Perhaps at the end of the day we will have learned something. Will we appreciate what we have more? Will we love more and hate less? Will we be kinder to Mother Nature?

I know that I want to grab all things positive with both hands and savour the moment and never let go.

Photo/Patricia Vazquez

Get your Mocha fix!

By The Bahamas Humane Society

W

E ALL know people who need their coffee fix in the morning. Are you one of those? How about a Mocha fix instead? This lovely lady, who’s not really mochacoloured, is about a year old.

Mocha is people friendly and gets along with most of the other dogs. She might even be able to learn to like cats, given the chance. Have you been in search of the perfect cup? Mocha might just fit the bill. Give the Bahamas Humane Society a call at 323-5138 or 325-6742 to find out more about this beauty. Mocha looks forward to meeting you!

•The BHS is Nassau’s oldest charity and as such we are feeling the pinch from the national shutdown. While we are an essential service, our fundraisers and Thrift Shop are on hold until further notice, so we need your help more than ever. To make a donation, please contact Donna at b_humane@hotmail.com.

Thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts and warm fuzzy paws!

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 29, 2020

community

Kids explain coronavirus and the ‘new normal’

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

T

HE last few weeks have been rough on everyone, but it’s been especially tough for the youngest members of the family.

Children have been suddenly thrust into a world of masks, missing their friends and having to remain home and learn through Google Classroom, all the while witnessing their parents get stressed out about finances, their jobs and remaining safe from a virus that has caused a global pandemic.

Tribune Weekend spoke to a few Bahamian youngsters to get their take on the whole situation.

“The coronavirus means you have to wash your hands and keep your fingers out of your mouth so you don’t get sick,” said twoyear-old Sachi Johnson. “I miss my Nana and Papa and I want to go the beach,” she added.

While it’s hard to explain to a two-yearold exactly why these things aren’t possible right now, her older brother, six-year-old Saské, understands that the new safety measures and restrictions are important for everyone’s well- being.

“I know why I have to wear a mask, but I hate wearing it, I feel like I can’t breathe,” he said. “And it is hard to do my school work from home. My teacher gives me so many lines I have to write. I want to go back to school, I miss playing with my friends.”

The siblings’ parents have tried to help them stay occupied during their isolation.

“We planted a garden and we go outside and play with our toys like my pool and bouncy castle. But I can’t wait to be for this to be over, I want to go hiking in the forest,” said Saské For six-year-old Morgan Johnson, social distancing has meant not being able to play with her cousins or meet the new babies that have been born into the family during the last two months.

“We have to stay inside because there is a virus that came from China, it is the coronavirus and it is called COVID-19,” she explained.

“You have to stay home so that you don’t get sick or cause someone else to get sick,” she added. “I miss school, I miss my friends; my teacher is my friend.”

After she does her schoolwork, Morgan said her favourite part of the day is when she and her brother Evan are allowed to play on their devices and watch Netflix.

SIBLINGS Sachi and Saské enjoy their backyard.

EVAN and Morgan Johnson admit they miss going to school.

The cancellation of school has been particularly disappointing for her 11-year-old brother.

In normal circumstances, he would have been happily preparing for his sixth-grade graduation. It’s not likely a ceremony will happen any time soon.

“I feel pretty disappointed, but I know that I will have a graduation in grade 12,” he said.

“I miss playing games with my friends at school. We used to play this one game, but every day it would be different than the other day.”

These days he and his friends remain connected via Gmail and text messages.

If he feels bored, he tries to distract himself by playing games or watching TV. He said this pandemic can be scary.

“People can die, and you can’t be around people because it can spread. People like to interact, they like to hug and now they can’t,” he said.

However, Evan is sure that things will improve soon.

“The last major pandemic was the Spanish Flu and this is not as bad as that was,” he said.