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02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

community

Urban Renewal kids immersed in Bahamian culture at summer camp

undreds of kids throughout New Providence are taking part in the the 2022 Urban Renewal Revitalised Summer Camp. A number of programmes are underway, including swimming, baseball and basketball, dance, arts and crafts, and music. In all of the camps, Minister of State for Social Services and Urban Development Lisa Rahming says there is a specific effort to instill Bahamian pride in the young participants. “I am so excited - seeing the kids having fun and participating in things Bahamian, like Junkanoo craft and music, straw and shell craft, limbo dancing and cultural dance,” said Minister Rahming. Apostle Henry Higgins, Stacy Lee and Tanya Sastry are among the Urban Renewal Summer Camp instructors who are passing on their skills and knowledge of Junkanoo music - from drumming to belling, and creating Junkanoo costumes by drawing, cut outs, pasting with crepe paper, beading and gemming, and more. By the first week of camp, kids had already made headpieces, shakers, masks and more. At the Urban Renewal Marathon Summer Camp, headed by Myrtle Andrews, youngsters are also learning the important Bahamian tradition of straw craft, and some have already completed their first shoulder pouches. Straw and shell craft instructor Del Ludy wants to make sure kids not only appreciate Bahamian culture through art and craft, but also gain skills they could use to make money for themselves in the future. Meanwhile, the dance instructors Harmony Cartwright and Mery Poliard are injecting Bahamian culture into dance routines. Dancers at Urban Renewal Fox Hill already made their first performance at the Fox Hill Flag Raising Ceremony, ahead of Emancipation Day and Fox Hill Day celebrations. Fire and limbo dancer Leroy Butler has been passing on his skills to the next generation. Steven Curtis and Anton Knowles are teaching interested kids the sport of baseball.

DR Eric Fox surrounded by enthusiastic kids learning conflict resolution skills Character development is also paramount for Urban Renewal Revitalised Summer Camps. Dr Eric Fox has been spending time giving the youth conflict resolution skills. At Urban Renewal Nassau Village, kids learned how to fly

drones. They are also using the educational colouring and activity book “Say No Then Go” by the National Child Protection Council, while being offered mentoring and motivation from summer camp instructors and

volunteers. Communities involved include Marathon, Freetown, Fox Hill, Englerston, Centreville, and Bain and Grants Town.

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Friday, July 29, 2022

entertainment

Award-winning playwright Gea Pierre returns with fun take on Bahamian love lives By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

ove, trust, family and sex all wrapped up “in a whole lot of fun” sums up a new theatrical production by award-winning Bahamian playwright Gea Pierre. “Forever Us” ends the Gea’s threeyear absence from the stage. Now, she along with her cast members are excited to present their newest production in Nassau, August 6-7, at the St John’s College Auditorium. Gea, who is the president and CEO of Out of the Ashes Entertainment, said it is a joy to be heading back to the stage. This is her first play since the pre-pandemic “Friends with Benefits” in 2019. The 14-member cast is made up a mixture of veterans and newcomers, including Remardo Russell, Mark Gardiner, Evan Williams, Shorell Dames, Desiree Joseph, Kenrick Blatch, Tempestt Bullard, Dawn Rolle, Berkley Turnquest, Sherone Brown, Fiona Daniels, Peter Gray, Dahjon Wildgoose, and Angel Russell. Gea said the play will take audiences on a wild ride from start to finish. “The play tells the story of the McCartney sisters and details their very interesting love lives. It is hilarious, relevant and authentically Bahamian,” she told Tribune Weekend. Get said there will be loads of humour and, of course, scandal. Love and romance, she said, always make for interesting stories and are topics almost everyone can relate to. She hopes audience members may be able to see themselves in some for the characters. And she promises they won’t be short-changed when it comes to the plot, which explores lust, betrayal and commitment. “The show was inspired by the belief of some that love is fairy tale. In the play, we will see love at its worst and its best. We also wanted to give audiences an outlet after a hard couple of years, so we created a product that would make people laugh,” she said.

THE CAST of “Forever Us” With “Forever Us”, Gea said she hopes to offer the same level of excellence that her many previous plays did. This play, she added, “is unique in that it explores economic status and what that means and how that influences success.” Gea has written more than 15 plays, the first one at just 15 years of age called “A Tribute to Mother”. “Forever Us”, she considers her most challenging to date. “We performed an entire production in the middle of a pandemic. We wondered if people would actually attend. What happened blew our minds, people not only showed up, they did so in droves. We performed under the new norm and did so safely and everyone enjoyed it,” she said. “We are presently working on our Christmas production Crazy Christmas, which is the final installment of the very popular Crazy Love Series,” she said. For more information contact 242-815-8258.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

interview

Shacara Lightbourne She is the local queen of the bees, exploring new revenue sources to be found in an ageold industry. The former dolphin trainer and current beekeeper tells Cara Hunt how more Bahamians can beneﬁt from setting up their own hives and creating an agro-tourism product.

rowing up, Shacara Lightbourne never dreamed that she would one day be known as the “Bee Girl” of the Bahamas and would inspire dozens of others to start a career in the very specialised beekeeping industry. Schacara recently launched the country’s first “Bee College” – a workshop designed to assist aspiring beekeepers learn the basics to be able to enter this field of work. She is on a mission to educate Bahamians on the many revenue streams the industry can provide, as well as find ways to incorporate beekeeping into the country’s agro-tourism product. It has been quite an adventure to get to this point, but one she is excited to to be on. Shacara has always known that her career would focus on agriculture and animal science in one form of another. “I have a background in agriculture and animal and poultry science. But I really got my start when I was a teenager and my father made me work at a pig farm. He and my uncle had this apocalyptic mentality where they thought we needed to know how to source our own food and that money might possibly lose its value,” she explained. This childhood experience cemented her interest in animals. Originally, she attended the then College of the Bahamas where she studied agriculture. “When my father passed away, I needed to help my mother and so I did get a job as a dolphin trainer,” she said. She also attended the University of Saskatchewan where she briefly considered going to veterinary school before returning home. She then worked in various capacities related to agriculture or animal care, including working at Ardastra Gardens, the Bahamas National Trust, and partnering with Family Island farmers to sell their produce in New Providence before landing a job at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The IICA is a specialised agency that supports the efforts of its member states to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being. It has broad experience in areas such as technology and innovation for agriculture, agricultural health, food safety and quality, international agricultural trade, family farming, rural

development, natural resource management and the bio-economy. Part of Shacara’s job was to help increase the awareness of how vital agriculture is to the country and the many ways it can diversify the local economy. “A lot of people when they hear agriculture think that is just ‘digging in the dirt’, but it is the whole business of farm to table, so everything that happens in between to get to that point. You may not think about a food store in that way, for example, but that is an agro-business as well.”

Shacara worked at IICA for about a decade before she left to start a new adventure: her own company called Island Foodology where she serves as an agriculture consultant and trainer. While she was still at IICA, she had the opportunity to coordinate and participate in a beekeeping seminar designed to expose Bahamians to the industry. Initially, she was afraid of the process because she had had a cousin who died from bee stings, but once she participated in the course she was fascinated and knew that it was something that she would want to do herself.

Friday, July 29, 2022

“Bees have this societal approach to living that is something that we should utilise as humans. They all work together for the god of the hive. No one thinks individualistically; everyone in the hive has a specific job, and even though bees only live around 40 days, they give their all for those days. That, to me, is just fascinating.” Wanting to learn more about the process, Shacara attended a bee college in the states. The classes taught aspiring beekeepers how to set up and maintain their hives, when and how to spilt your hive honey collection and how to remove bees. Seeing that many Bahamians also had an interest in this particular field propelled her to hold a similar workshop here at home. Expanding beekeeping is also important in Family Islands, whose industry was destroyed in the recent hurricanes and much of the natural forestation has been destroyed. Her company partnered with the Savanah Bee Company and the Bees Beyond Boarders to host the Bahamas Bee College. These workshops included beginner and advanced level lessons as well as a session called ‘Products of the Hive’. Shacara said there is great financial potential in the bee industry but it is a career where you have to know what you are doing to be successful. “You have to make sure that the bees are content where they are, because if not, they will simply fly away. And you have to know their behaviour so that you can get them to act the way you need them to.” She said this was where her experience as a dolphin trainer came in handy. And of course, having the right safety gear and knowledge is essential. Usually, when one thinks of a career involving bees, collecting and selling honey and bee removal are the two areas that first come to mind. However, Shacara said there are so many other ways to generate income from bees. They include producing and selling mead, an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. You can also make and sell bees wax candles, which give a very clean burn and so are a great natural and environmentally friendly product. Also, bees wax cotton can be produced. This can be used to wrap food. Some people also utilise bee resin which they believe can help the body. Shacara has also made keychains with bees inside that have sold very well. Additionally, she said that there are many people who enjoy seeing bees in a new environment and said that there is great potential for the industry in agro-tourism. “Not all honey is the same,” she explained, “it gets it taste from the flowers and plants native to that environment, and so in the Bahamas that would include all of our native bush leaves and that adds a health component to our honey as MAKING mead from fermented honey well.”

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06 | The Tribune | Weekend

feeling (5,5) 27 Twisted, gyrated, inwardly tense (4)

23 Wash ourselves outside for 5 Cardigan; 6 Fragile; some time (4) 7 Complementary; 12 Overseer; 13 Numeral; Friday, 15 Pursue; 18 Point; 19 Cask.

DME I L I P L E

● 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 15; very good 23; excellent 30 (or more). Solution tomorrow

Call 0907 181 2585 for today’s Target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

BATTLESHIPS 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 2

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The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, July 29, 2022

entertainment

National Geographic show to highlight untapped Bahamian culinary experiences By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

rom trekking through the bushes of Andros looking for crabs, to diving for conch and understanding the ins and outs of this delicacy, Big Moe Cason, host of the National Geographic TV channel’s newest show, “World of Flavor”, went on a wild adventure in search of the most noteworthy culinary experiences the Bahamas has to offer. “World of Flavor” premiered on will soon be streamed on Disney +. The culinary island adventure is expected to air during later episode of the show. In the show, the US Navy veteran and champion pitmaster Big Moe sets out on a journey to discover mouthwatering dishes cooked over an open flame. He dives for fresh conch in the Bahamas, roasts gators in Louisiana, connects with his roots in South Carolina, and wades into piranha-infested waters in Colombia. He also explores the connections between American barbecue and cultures around the world along the way. In the midst of it, all Big Moe also serves up dishes that entice the locals wherever he visits. The series is produced by Hit + Run for National Geographic. For Hit + Run, executive producers are Rob Shaftel and Elizabeth Ashe and co-executive producers are Matt Koed and Noah Korn. The show takes cues from the show “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”, which is produced by Studio Ramsay Global for National Geographic and viewable on Disney +. Local Chef Simeon Hall Jr was featured along with other locals in the Bahamian segment. He said the experience was an amazing one. “The Bahamas was where they shot the first episode, it is not airing as the first, but it was the first,” he told Tribune Weekend. “As its core, the Bahamas is more than sun, sand and sea. They were able to unveil a part of the Bahamas that people don’t normally see.” And the highlight of experience, he said, was certainly the crabbing in Andros. “It was hilarious because I have never been on that level of crabbing

CELEBRITY Pitmaster Big Moe Cason enjoys international flavours. (Photo/ National Geogrpahic)

TV host Big Moe Cason with Chef Simeon Hall, Jr before. I have only gone on the side of the road and picked up crabs,” Chef Hall said. “We went to what I would call an Androsian forest and had to trek through little caves. The crab guide that we used was super and so familiar with the forests in Andros. Of course, we did not hesitate to bring that on camera.”

While Chef Hall is not certain what will make the final cut, the Bahamas certainly offered “amazing” content for the episode. “The Bahamas was one of (Big Moe’s) favourite destinations to shoot,” said Chef Hall. “He has never had an experience like crabbing before. Even the producers were enthralled with the experience. I think it will be an amazing episode.” Other highlights included Big Moe going diving and working with a local fisherman to make conch salad.

“We cooked for him first and then he cooked for us second. We had a sort of fish fry dinner to welcome him to the Bahamas and to the taste of the Bahamas,” said Chef Hall. He added that Bahamian Megan Minus played a big role in the show as she created the blueprint that was used by the production team in the other three destinations they filmed after the Bahamas. Chef Hall believes the new “World of Flavor” show will showcase the unique culinary culture of the Bahamas while diving into an aspect of tourism that has been untapped for some time. “I think we should make this a big deal,” said Chef Hall. “The reason this is a big deal is because it shows agri-tourism, culinary tourism, destination tourism in ways we do not always see. The Bahamas is always thought of as just sun, sand and sea. But that is not all who we are. Imagine a group coming down just to go crabbing. That is an experience. We still believe that it is a little bit too unpolished to serve our guests crab n’ dough. “We are moving slowly to seeing the value in creating the Bahamas as more of a food destination an; experience destination. My friend calls it a transformative vacation. “Our goal is to have this part of the Bahamas examined more for agri-tourism.” Chef Hall said culinary tourism is the fastest growing sector in the world. “I think the Bahamas is still lagging in terms of getting on board to how important that is. Everyone has travelled based on food. Most people know at least one restaurant or one experience they want to have when they travel anywhere on the planet,” he said. While he does his part to promote the Bahamas where he can, Chef Hall hopes Bahamians and the powers that be do what is necessary to position the country as a culinary destination.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

gardening

Breadfruit A sustainable food source

ood day, gardeners! I’ll bet that just about every single one of us consumes something that is made with flour, most likely every single day. With the rise in gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, there has been a rise in market options that are gluten free. Now, while celiac disease is extremely rare, gluten free foods have become somewhat of a trend. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, celiac disease affects one percent (1 out of 100) of the global population, but certainly this is a broad estimate. While there is no known cause, some relate it to the increase in the use of herbicides on wheat, rye and barley crops used in food production. In North America (where much of our food comes from), herbicide such as Roundup is sprayed on fields that have reached a certain point of ripeness, to kill the plants and dry the grains at a uniform rate for even and predictable harvesting. When I learned of this while on a visit to the Canadian countryside, I was floored. My first thought was, this is completely irresponsible and harmful! The Russian aggression in Ukraine has created fault lines in the global grain supply that feeds much of the world and the fertilizer that feeds the fields. Prices of commodities have increased, and the ripple effect is disrupting food access for some communities around the world, particularly the Middle East and parts of the African continent, according to any available news source on television or print. You see the process in our stores, we too must deal with the effects. Regardless, we have an opportunity right here at home to grow a crop

that can be used to make flour that is gluten free and full of nutrients. Hemp would be a good guess. Why is it illegal? The hemp seed contains a power pack of nutrition within one convenient little package. More on that some other time, but today I’m talking about breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis). Breadfruit is coming into season now; I have one sitting my fridge waiting for me to give it attention and create something delicious. Breadfruit is also a powerhouse of nutritional value. “The fruits and seeds are good sources of carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, fatty acids, pro-vitamin A, potassium, and calcium with significant amounts of ascorbic acid, niacin, and iron. Propagating by seed is not popular, as seeds lose viability quickly and the germination percentage is low. Plant tissue culture techniques have allowed for mass clonal propagation, germplasm conservation and exchange, and improvement of crop species.” (Badrie and Broomes, 2010). Breadfruit is food. It can be made into value added, everyday products such as flour, pancake mixes, hummus, chips, fries, and so on. It can also be made into vodka. According to the Trees that Feed Foundation, “Breadfruit is a versatile fruit that is delicious both fresh, and when cooked with as flour. Drying and preserving breadfruit by turning it into flour retains all the nutrition of the fresh fruit, and has a very long shelf life allowing you to

have breadfruit products year-round. Breadfruit is also a popular glutenfree and vegan food substitute.” Growing up, I had never heard of half of the potential uses for breadfruit. It was always baked and used as a side dish with a bit of butter and garlic and maybe a few seasonings, salt and pepper, When the season was over that was that. I was most impressed to find that through the region, Jamaica, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, and many in between and more far flung, are using this easy to grow fruit for real food purposes, by making it into something that can be used for sustenance year-round. We too can do this and there is a qualified group involved in making this a reality, locally, at a roots level. Please consider taking a look at the website www.treesthatfeed.org to learn more about their mission to spread breadfruit to those who can use it most, and if you can, I believe that they are worthy of a small donation if it is your capacity to do so. Breadfruit trees are easy to grow and can be maintained at a manageable height through annual pruning and in fact I recommend at least a biennial pruning to manage the height and reduce the potential for damage in high wind.

Breadfruit trees are propagated by root cuttings and from tissue culture (to get the fastest fruiting and strongest root system, along with the most nutritious cultivars). Breadfruit holds the potential to be a wheat substitute. This is huge for us; we cannot cultivate wheat in this here island nation. Come see me and if you don’t have space, give a breadfruit tree to someone who does! Who knows, we may need them someday. As always, I wish you happy gardening.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, July 29, 2022

film

Review: Great voice cast anchors ‘DC League of Super-Pets’

Wonder Woman in particular even veers into uncanny Cocomelon territory with her minimally expressive face and unfocused eyes. Perhaps the superheroes were an afterthought to their animal counterparts. Johnson and Hart seem to have fun, too, but a fair amount of their charm as a comedic duo is lost without their physical presence — not that the audience of kids will know this or care. Parents might just be wishing they were watching this cast in live-action instead.

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

C films have a reputation for being a little too self-serious. They’ve made significant strides to chip away at that dark and dour image in recent years, but it lingers even with things like “The LEGO Batman Movie.” Sometimes it’s even easy to forget that when it comes down to it, superheroes are for kids. This makes “ DC League of SuperPets,” a straightforward cartoon with a sense of humour about itself and an all-star voice cast, somewhat refreshing. It also could be viewed as a shameless early advertisement to get impressionable young minds hooked on the Justice League so that several years from now when it’s inevitably rebooted, they’ll have a youthful, built-in audience. But we’ll take the charitable route here considering it does come from director Jared Stern and his “LEGO Batman” co-writer John Whittington, who have managed to find joy and humour within cynical toy-hawking, fan-recruiting constructs. After all, this is a film that gives us Kevin Hart as a shelter pup, Marc Maron as Lex Luthor, Kate McKinnon as a murderous guinea pig named Lulu, Natasha Lyonne as an ancient, libidinous turtle named Merton and Keanu Reeves as Batman. It’s impossible to top Will Arnett as the caped crusader, but Reeves makes a good case for himself delivering lines like “Batman works alone. Except for Gordon. And Alfred... and whoever Morgan Freeman played” in a way only he could. Wearing its heart on its sleeve, “DC League of Super-Pets” opens on the planet Krypton where a cherubic baby Kal-El is being sent to earth. But he’s not alone. A puppy named Krypto (Dwane Johnson) goes along for the ride and signs up to be the future Superman’s (John Krasinski) lifelong watcher and crimefighting pal. Krypto takes his

Running time: 106 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four. KRYPTO, voiced by Dwayne Johnson (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) mission very seriously. In his eyes, he’s not just Superman’s best friend, he’s his only friend and things start to get a little tense when Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde) enters the picture. In his jealous rage one night (eating ice cream, watching “The Great British Bake Off” and listening to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”), Krypto doesn’t notice that Superman is in distress. His beloved owner is captured along with the rest of the Justice League by Lulu the guinea pig. It is McKinnon who really makes the movie as Lulu, a displaced Lex Luthor science experiment who has been biding her time in an animal shelter, building a device to wield the powers of orange kryptonite waiting for the right moment to strike at the Justice League. Her compatriots in the shelter are Hart’s Ace, a pig named PB (Vanessa Bayer), a squirrel Chip (Diego Luna) and Lyonne’s Merton, none of whom are ever selected for adoption (it’s always a kitten on their first day). But at least they get their freedom when Lulu’s plan works and suddenly, they all have superpowers. You can guess what happens from there. The visuals, though, are less inspired. These CG characters, especially the Justice League, are smooth and dull creatures, computer generated to the point of blandness.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

Literary lives – Wilbur Smith (1933-2021)

The master of swashbuckling adventures Sir Christopher Ondaatje remembers the Zambian born British-South African novelist who wrote historical fiction across four centuries from the viewpoint of both black and white families. “I write my books in my head, and not in a specific study with a view. The view is from my inner eyes.” – Wilbur Smith Wilbur Smith was born on January 9, 1933, in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), as was his young sister Adrienne, to Elfreda and Herbert James Smith – a metal worker who opened a sheet metal factory and then created a thirty thousand cattle ranch on the banks of the Kafue River near Mazabuku, by buying up a number of separate farms. “My father was a tough man. He was used to working with his hands and had massively developed arms from cutting metal. He was a boxer, a hunter, very much a man’s man. I don’t think he ever read a book in his life, including mine.” – Wilbur Smith When he was a baby, Smith was sick with cerebral malaria for ten days, but recovered. With his young sister he spent the first years of his life on his parents’ cattle ranch of forest, hills and savannah. His companions on the farm were the sons of ranch workers, small black boys, with the same interests. With them he ranged through the bush hiking, hunting, and trapping small birds and mammals. His mother read to him every night and encouraged him to read adventure stories. His father, however, discouraged his literary ambitions.

The young Smith went to boarding school in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). While there, he was lucky to have an English master who made him his protégé and told him that being a bookworm was praiseworthy and not something to be ashamed of. He later went to Michaelhouse – a boarding school in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. He was never really comfortable there, but did start a school newspaper – which won him some praise. He wanted to become a journalist. However, his father wanted him to get a “real” job. He attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1954. He worked in the gold mines and on whalers out of Walvis Bay and on a whaling factory ship. He lasted four weeks. “He served in the Rhodesian armed forces in their most embattled years and saw, as he recalls, terrible things. ‘When I was doing National Service in Rhodesia I saw little girls who had been held up by the legs and sliced down the middle. We had to fish them out of the pit lavatory ...’ “ – John Southerland Lives of the Novelists, 2011

After selling their ranch his parents retired to Kloof, near Durban in South Africa. Bad investments forced his father to return to work, forming a sheet metal manufacturing business which also failed. Smith, now 25, had to take a job as a tax assessor in the Inland Revenue Service in Salisbury. With plenty of spare time in the evenings, he turned back to his love of writing. He sold his first story “On Flinder’s Face” to Argosy magazine for £70 – twice his monthly salary. His first novel, The Gods First Make Me Mad (1962), got 20 rejections. Dejected he returned to work as an accountant, and tried another novel. “I wrote about my father ... and chunks of early African history. I wrote about Black people and white. I wrote about hunting and gold mining and carousing and women. I wrote about love and loving and hating ... I left out all the immature philosophies ... I even came up with a catchy title, ‘When the Lion Feeds’.” – Wilbur Smith Encouraged by his agent, Ursula Williams, in London he set about writing his first published

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Friday, July 29, 2022

novel, When the Lion Feeds (1964), published by William Heinemann. Originally guaranteeing an initial print run of 5,000 copies and an advance of £500, Heinemann changed the advance to £1,000 with an initial print run of 10,000. By publication date, Heinemann had increased the print run to twenty thousand. The book went on to be a bestseller around the world (except in South Africa, where it was banned). It enabled Smith to leave his accounting job and write full time.

Song (1991) followed. Smith then started a new cycle of novels set in Ancient Egypt: River God (1993) and The Seventh Scroll (1995). He returned to the Courtney family for Birds of Prey (1997) and Monsoon (1999), then published another Ancient Egypt novel Warlock (2001). Blue Horizon (2003) was another Courtney story, and Triumph of the Sun (2005) had the Courtneys meet the Ballantynes. The Quest (2007) was set in Ancient Egypt, after which Assegai (2009) returned to the Courtneys’. Those in Peril (2011) and Vicious Circle (2013) were contemporary, and Desert God (2014) brought Smith back to Ancient Egypt.

“I hired a caravan, parked it in the mountains, and wrote the second book. I knew it was sort of a watershed. I was thirty years of age, single again, and I could take the chance.”

Charles Pick, his publisher, had retired from Heinemann in 1985 and joined Smith as his literary agent, moving to Pan Macmillan. In December 2012 Smith left his publisher of 45 years, Pan Macmillan, to move to Harper Collins as part of a six-book deal with co-writers, as well as doing his own books. The first co-written book was Golden Lion (2015), a Courtney novel. The Next Predator (2016) was contemporary. Pharaoh (2016) was back to Ancient Egypt. He also co-wrote two children’s books Cloudburst and Thunderbolt for Piccadilly Press in 2021.

– Wilbur Smith When the Lion Feeds established the pattern of all the books that followed – over 30 African yarns.

“Nothing small for Wilbur Smith: he needed a continent-sized canvas for his vision of Africa and his stories clump, massively, into multi-volume sequences or ‘sagas’, in which characters and dynastic families separate and intertwine over hundreds of years. Call them mega-novels. The geo-politics are complex ... He is the Rider Haggard of our time.”

“When the Lion Feeds” (1964) was initially rejected by 20 publishers but went on to become the first in a successful series of what Stephen Kin

– John Sutherland Lives of the Novelists, 2011 Smith’s second novel was The Dark of the Sun (1965) about mercenaries during the Congo Crisis. Film rights were bought by George Englund and MGM and it was filmed in 1968 starring Rod Taylor. Unintentionally, the Courtney family from When the Lion Feeds became a series of a dozen books, with The Sound of Thunder being the third published. While he was writing it, Prime Minister Ian Smith (no relation to the author) unilaterally declared Rhodesian independence. The resulting political violence forced Wilbur Smith to move to the safety of Salisbury where he served at night as a member of the reserve Rhodesian Police. As he didn’t share Ian Smith’s political views, he moved with his now pregnant wife to Onrus River near Hermanus in South Africa. Shout at the Devil was published in 1968; followed by Gold Mine in 1970 and The Diamond Hunters in 1971. The Courtney series eventually followed the foundation, rise and fall of modern South Africa from the 17th to the late 20th century. Smith’s second Ballantyne series followed the Rhodesian colonial dynasty from slave-trading through ranching, to the postMugabe exile. The Sunbird (1972), Eagle in the Sky (1974), The Eye of the Tiger (1975), Cry Wolf (1976), A Sparrow Falls (1977), Hungry as the Sea (1978), and Wild Justice were the last of his first series.

SMITH was born in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)

Smith began his second series of books about the fictitious Ballantyne family who helped colonise Rhodesia with A Falcon Flies (1980), Men of Men (1981), The Angels Weep (1982), and The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984).

The Burning Shore (1985) saw Smith return to the Courtney family from World War I onwards. Power of the Sword (1986), Rage (1987), A Time to Die (1989), Golden Fox (1990), and Elephant

In 2017, Smith left Harper Collins to join Bonnier Zaffre, which gave them language rights to eight new books, together with English language rights to thirty-four backlist titles, and the promise of two titles a year with co-authors. He was eighty-four years old. In 2018, he published his autobiography On Leopard Rock. Smith was married four times: Anne Rennie in Rhodesia in 1957; and Jewell Slabbart in Salisbury in 1964. They had a son after When the Lion Feeds was published. He then married Danielle Thomas a young divorcée in 1971. She died of brain cancer in 1999. “She manipulated me. I was making a lot of money and she spent it by the wheelbarrow load.” – Wilbur Smith He met his fourth wife, a Tadjik woman named Mokhiniso Rakhimova, in London in 2000. She was 39 years younger than he was. He had homes in London, Bishopscourt in Cape Town, Switzerland and Malta. He also bought 27 acres on the south end of the island of Cerf in the Seychelles, but sold it in 2001. Wilbur Smith died unexpectedly on November 13, 2021 at his Cape Town home. He was 88 years old. He left behind an enormous wealth of literary material, as well as outlines for future stories.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

history

What a difference a century makes – The Berry Islands 100 years ago

reat Stirrups Cay and Little Stirrups Cay are the northernmost cays in the Berry Islands, situated where the shallow Great Bahama Bank meets the ocean-deep waters of the muchtravelled Northwest Providence Channel. There, in 1863, the Imperial Lighthouse Service built a 137-feet high lighthouse, plus living quarters for the light-keepers, and their families. After the light was decommissioned, the island was abandoned to nature. Being on the Northwest Bahama Channel made these two cays ideal sites for cruise ship ports. Royal Caribbean Cruises (now Royal Caribbean Group) bought Little Stirrups Cay, changed its name to Coco Cay and set about creating a destination for their cruise ship passengers. In 1977, Norwegian Cruise Line bought Great Stirrups Cay and turned it into a cruise destination for their passengers. Unlike so many cays in the Berry Islands, each of these cays, each of which offers all modern conveniences – electricity, running water, restaurants, and places to play. Some of the other cays, including, but not limited to Chub Cay, Frozen & Alders Cay, Great Harbour Cay also have all the ‘mod cons’. Anyone, who has seen the two Stirrups cays, might find it difficult to believe how primitive they, and the Berry Islands in general, were in the 1920s. Many still are.

Here are excerpts from the Surveyor General’s Report: Great Stirrups Cay – “There are some patches of good land…good drinking water can be found…along the South shore, the water is shallow…only at high tide could a boat of 4¼ feet draft manoeuver around the shore…on the North side are deep surroundings and ocean…sandflies and mosquitos abound.” Little Stirrups Cay – “Fresh water is found on this cay. All around Little Stirrups Cay, water deep enough for

THE GREAT Stirrup Cay Lighthouse was built in 1863

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS vessels of 5 feet draft can be found… there is no harbour…boats go to Bullocks Harbour, in stormy weather…during the ‘wrecking’ period, Capt. Cameron, the former owner of Cockroach Cay, left his own domain and settled at the Eastern end of Little Stirrups Cay. After the ‘wreckers’ went out of business, he settled in Nassau.” Bird Cay – “Most southerly of the Berry Islands …about ½ mile west of Whale There is a settlement, with six dwelling houses, and about 20 people…most of the inhabitants are members of the Kerr family.

The Balfour family, save one, have all died, or gone away…the Kerrs seem to be dying of tuberculosis… There are also two cocoanut groves – and several detached sisal fields… potable water to be had on the cay… the barest necessities are to be found on the cay – and none of the little conveniences that make life worth living…no fruits grown and the excuse given is that they are spongers, not farmers.” Little Harbour Cay – “With the exception of Bullocks Harbour, it is the most important of the Berry Island group. The land is elevated, up to 30’ high…rising from the sea at a steep angle…there is an excellent, though small, harbour safe, in all winds. The island…was sold to one Agnes Johnson. The descendants of Agnes Johnson, who number about 80, have about a dozen well-built houses here and seem to be law-abiding and hospitable… and are more-comfortably

fixed than the people in most of the inhabited cays…there is a church. They have planted coconuts, apples and guavas…they raise sisal and some praedials…these people are not farmer folk - most of the cultivation of produce being carried on by men from other islands, who have married into this community.” Whale Cay – “The nearest to Nassau…has thousands of bearing cocoanut trees… producing fruit of very large size. At the S.E. point, a small harbour light has been erected…a caretaker, who is also lightkeeper, lives on the cay – at present, not owning even a small sailboat, he has no means of communicating with the neighbouring cays, unless they come to visit him.

The Tribune | Weekend | 15

Friday, July 29, 2022

animals

The sounds of the woodpeckers haunt me By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters

ome weeks it is harder than others to get inspiration for an article that will interest and that is a little different. On occasions like this, I like to reach back to my youth and remember the nature we enjoyed many years ago that is fast becoming sparse and unusual. One very vivid memory from my youth on Bird Cay in the Berry Islands would be lying on the grass and listening to the incessant tap, tap, tapping of the woodpeckers who lived on the island. Sometimes more than one woodpecker would be at work at a time and the combined tapping was a wonderful symphony. Little did I realise in those days that some 50 years later I would be yearning to hear just one busily at work. You do still see evidence of the woodpeckers’ work on many coconut trees around the island, but not nearly as prolific as it used to be. Invariably, the rings are quite high on the tree, I don’t know if that means that they are old holes and the tree has grown, or if the woodpecker has chosen to stay high up and away for harmful animals on the ground, which would include us. The woodpeckers that are most common to the Bahamas are the hairy woodpecker (Spanish woodpecker), the red-headed woodpecker and yellow-bellied sapsucker. The hairy woodpecker is black and white, sporting a red patch on the back of its head that stands out like a stop sign when it is pecking away. They are about eight inches long, however, their colouring tends to blend in with the bark of the tree they are working on, so thank goodness for that red patch! Only the handsome male sports the red markings, as all too often in nature,

the female is a lot drabber in appearance than her dashing husband. Both sexes of the yellow-bellied sapsucker have red foreheads, only males have red throats, once again the dashing male! The West Indian woodpecker (redheaded woodpecker) is the largest of the three types of woodpeckers that occur in the Bahamas; they are about 10 inches long. The scarlet crown of the male extends down the back of the neck, and in females the red is restricted to the rear of the head and back of the neck. At least with this species the female has some glamour. Woodpeckers have a very special job in the conservation of nature. Their tapping is to uncover insects to eat and to carry to their babies. They punch holes into the trees, removing the dead bark and cleaning up colonies of carpenter ants, which in turn stops those insects from traveling to other trees. They also eat the eggs of the insects that they uncover. Their diet is not restricted to those insects

THE WEST Indian woodpecker (Photo_eBird) exclusively, their menu includes nuts and fruits, and of course, sap from the tree they are boring into. Nature equipped them with all the attributes necessary for the job. The description online (from the Bahamas National Trust) of how the whole drilling thing works is so good that I am going to copy it here verbatim: “It has a sharp stout bill with a chisel-like tip for chipping and digging into tree trunks and branches. Bones between the beak and the unusually thick skull are not as rigidly joined as they are in other birds. Spongy, shock-absorbing tissues connect these flexible joints; strong neck muscles provide force for drilling

and bristly feathers shield the nostrils from dust and wood chips. The tip of the woodpecker’s tongue is pointed and barbed. It is nearly twice as long as the woodpecker’s head and winds around the inside back of the skull when retracted. After a hole is bored, the long flexible tongue feels out, impales and withdraws the larvae. To grip trees, a woodpecker has short muscular legs and sharply clawed feet. Stiff pointed tail feathers catch on the rough bark to brace the hammering body.” An interesting piece of woodpecker information is that some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Woodpeckers “drum” on all sorts of things, sometimes drainpipes, garbage can lids, even tin roofs! This is usually to establish their territory or to attract a mate. A soft gentler tapping is communication between mates, or between parents and their babies. Isn’t nature just amazing? The big question is where are these engaging and industrious little fellows now? I long to sit outside and hear them at work. I want to share those magical moments with my grandson as he grows up, moments that made an indelible mark in my memories of younger days that should be accessible to the little ones of today, but so many of those amazing and captivating moments are no longer with us, no longer for us to share and marvel over. I would love to hear if you see any woodpeckers out there.

pet of the week

Bonded kittens Idris and Isha are looking for their forever home By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

his adorable duo is in foster care with a wonderful family. They have been raised around

(Photo/Steph Hickman) children and just love to cuddle each other and their foster humans. They also love to play and have a great time. We’ve told them it’s hard to find a family to adopt them together but

we would try our very hardest to find them a purrfect home together. They are litter trained, have had two vaccines and are spayed/neutered, ready for adoption today. We would love to tell them the great news that they could stay together forever. Help make their wish come true! If you are interested in adopting this pair, please contact the shelter directly at 323-5138. Idris and Isha look forward to meeting you!

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, July 29, 2022

pageants

THE OFFICIAL crowning of Miss Bahamas Teen winner Timoya Walton

MISS Teen Spectacular Bahamas Iheoma Nwankwo

Queen’s College student snags Miss Bahamas Teen title

eating out 13 other teen beauties, Queen’s College student Timoya Walton won the crown and title of Miss Bahamas Teen 2022. At the ninth annual pageant’s finale, held at the Magaritaville Beach Resort, the 14 young contestants competed in several segments, including sportswear, top model, talent, evening gown, and judges’ interview.

MISS Bahamas Teen 2022 Timoya Walton Timoya, an 11th grade student, won the judges over with her charm and poise and will represent the Bahamas internationally at Miss Teen Universe. She believes in promoting self-love, is deeply involved in activities at her school and the Church of God of Prophecy East Street. “I entered to promote my platform, which is promoting and educating others on the importance of self-love and to prove to all those that said I couldn’t be Miss Bahamas Teen due to my height that I could. So, for me, this was about loving and believing in myself enough to be a representation for others to do the same,” she told Tribune Weekend. Her platform, “The love I see for me”, she said, “centers around promoting and educating others on the importance of self-love. It is important to me because I see people in my daily

MISS Black Teen International Ambassador Bahamas Destinee Seymour

life and on social media, including my generation, struggle to love themselves for who they are. And I want to be able to show why this is so important now more than ever.” For the first time, the Miss Bahamas Teen Organisation has also offered opportunities for all of its runners-ups to continue to build their advocacies and careers in the pageant industry. The first, second and third runners-up will have the chance to compete in international pageants like Miss Teen World, Miss Teen Spectacular, and Black Teen International Ambassador, respectively. Following the coronation of Miss Bahamas Teen, first runner-up Penelope Lightbourn accepted the title of Teen Universe Bahamas from another entity. In doing so, she has relinquished her duties to the second runner-up , Iheoma Nwankwo.

Iheoma will assume the role and responsibilities of first runner-up should Timoya for any reason be unable to fulfill her duties. Also being offered an opportunity to represent the Bahamas was second runner-up Destinee Seymour who will compete in the Miss Black Ambassador pageant in October. Timoya will still be representing the Bahamas at Miss Teen Universe, the largest youth beauty pageant in the world that will be held in Miami in November. “I truly cannot wait to meet new people, learn about their cultures, build new bonds, and carry home the crown, seeing that the last title holder, (Bahamian) Amani Stuart, was the first runner-up of Miss Teen Universe in 2019. No pressure, but I’m just ready to showcase myself and my country in November,” she said.