08182017 weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

art film fashion music travel food design gardening

Weekend

ISLAND OASIS Pages 20&21

Tropical cool Mixing it up at ice cream parlour Food, pages 8&9

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

entertainment

2017 White Party declared ‘The best yet’

T

here are some things they just don’t teach in real estate 101 – like how to get the world to sit up and take notice of you when there are 500 others doing what you do, trying to get to the top of a very competitive field.

Three years ago, two local real estate agents, Ryan Knowles and Shamon Campbell, hit upon a solution that would brand them in a unique way.

Together they created ‘The White Party’, a local version of a trendy event that marries fashion, art, food, music and the luxury experience with an invitation-only crowd dressed in pure white glitz and glam.

Mr Knowles and Mr Campbell, both leading agents at HG Christie Real Estate, decided to use the concept of the white party to showcase some of their most spectacular properties.

“We had high-end listings and thought, ‘What better way to show them than to show them off at their grandest, under the stars, with entertainment and a group of people who would dress as elegantly as their surroundings,’ “ said Mr Knowles.

The first event was an instant hit.

In 2016, they did it again, and again enjoyed such a great reception that this year they decided to risk even more, to extend the one-day party to three days of celebration and to charge to cover expenses and provide proceeds for Hands for Hunger.

“We went all out, three days of entertainment, an art party at One Ocean, Paradise Island, which was a fantastic setting by the poolside overlooking Nassau harbour; so beautiful,” said Mr Knowles.

“The second day we hosted a beach party at the very private and secluded Villa Beata, and the third day was the most lavish bash, the full White Party at Gold Blossom Estate, Cable Beach, an historic, 1936-era, still stunning, five-acre estate whose famed celebrity

Shamon Campbell with reggae artist Willis Knowles guests included King Edward VII and Clark Gable. The waterfront estate along Goodman’s Bay on West Bay Street rents for $2,250 a day, and this time invited guests were able to get a sneak peak for a fraction of the price.”

“This was our best White Party – or White Parties – ever,” the duo agreed.

“We do not expect a direct sale from our White Party events, but the people who attend and experience these luxury properties at their finest are most likely those who have a client or colleague who may be interested.

Guests include lawyers, accountants, financial analysts, business people, private bankers, architects and more,” said Mr Knowles.

“Over the years, our partners have displayed fine timepieces, jewellery collections, cars, yachts and premium cigars among other items. This year, we included more live art with 3rilogy, who were a huge attention-getter,” said Mr Campbell.

Event partners included Aliv, Artscape, Bahamian Escapes Magazine, Bristol Wines & Spirits, Diane Phillips & Associates, JetLink Adventures, Tyreflex Star Motors (Mercedes Benz), NUA Insurance & Brokers, RBC Bahamas Limited and Warwick Paradise Island.

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Friday, August 18, 2017

Inside Weekend Interview 4 - 5 Cara Hunt talks to Barry Rassin, who has been named the first ever Bahamian Rotary International president

Event 7 Solar eclipse – when, where and how to see it safely

Food 8 - 9 New ice cream parlour fuses the traditional with the creative

Art 10 Enjoy ‘Canvas & Cocktails’ at the Biggity bistro

Design 11 Bahamian architect reaps the rewards of his 3D vision

Weddings 14 -15 A love of Junkanoo unites Corey Cartwright and Samantha Miller

Music 17 Grand Bahama’ Jah Hem releases ‘Lurking’ single and Sizzla prepares to drop new album

Film 18 ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ is a fun, action-packed escape

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy talks peppers

Travel 20 - 21 The Sandyport Resort offers an island oasis for the perfect staycation.

Literary Lives 22 - 24 Unexpected encounters of the rich and famous

Forgotten Facts 25 Paul Aranha on the history of airlines in the Bahamas

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 Sharks pay a high price, plus Pet of the Week

Cover | Farreno Ferguson

My perfect Bahamian weekend Danielle Anusiem CEO, Kalico Bay Kids Q: Beach or sofa?

“Sofa. It’s so comfy.. and pairs perfectly with Netflix.”

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

“Sunday brunch. It’s my only real day off. When you’re a retail CEO there’s no such thing as Saturday breakfast.

It’s more like Saturday coffee on the go!”

Q: Rum, wine, cocktail or Kalik?

“The very occasional cocktail.

Where’s the apple cider option?”

Q: What is the one thing that you can’t live without?

“God’s grace. It’s sufficient for me.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go and why?

“Dubai. It was the planned destination for our honeymoon, until I let my hubby talk me into an Orlando three-theme park getaway. Ugh... the things we do for love! He owes me big time!”

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday • Round Up The Flock Disco Zoo Day

Time: 9am - 3pm Venue: Ardastra Gardens Kids are invited to end their 2017 Summer break on a high note with lots of games, activities, crafts, water play and dancing. Admission is $25 per child ($15 for Ardastra, BREEF and BHS members as well as 2017 zoo campers). The event is open to kids aged five to 13. Contact 323-0067 or education@ardastra.com to sign up.

• 80s Karaoke Night

Time: 7pm Venue: Biggity Bistro, Bay Street Dust off your leg warmers and break out the neon for a night of strictly 80s tunes from DJ AI. Come dressed in your best 80s gear and get a free shot, or you can sing for a free shot. There will prizes for the best Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna performers, as well as for the raddest outfit. For more information visit www.biggity242. com.

• From Dusk to Dawn

Time: 7pm Venue: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk The Beauty Starts Here discussion group celebrates its first anniversary, reflecting on the past year and ushering members into their second year of ministry.

Saturday

• IL Cares Foundation Back to School Fair Time: 12noon - 3pm Venue: R M Bailey

Island Luck is expecting to host 3,000 kids to free school supplies, games, rides, eats and drinks, and lots of fun before the new school year starts.

• Annual Edwin “Smiley” Bastian Steak-out

Time: 12noon - 11pm Venue: Bahamas National Trust The event promises to offer great food and atmosphere for a charitable cause. There will also be games and activities for children to enjoy. The fundraiser is being hosted by the Rotary Club of South East Nassau. Meals are $12.

• Solomon’s Fresh Market’s ‘Eye On Health Seminar’

Time: 4pm - 6pm Venue: Solomon’s Fresh Market, Old Fort Bay Get informed about the topic of natural medicine vs pharmaceutical drugs with Dr Monique Thompson, founder of the Cornerstone Healing Institute.

• Lazy Hazy Daze of Summer - Eclipse

Time: 7pm - 2am Venue: Pirate Republic Brewing Co This will be the third and final edition of our summer beer and music festival series.

The cover charge is $5 and includes one drink ticket.

• Election Time – “What Colour You Is?”

Time: 8pm Venue: Dundas Centre for Performing Arts Da Spot 242 presents its latest improv show. Also featuring a spoken word performance by De’Angelo

Whyms. Tickets are $20.

• Drive-in Movie

Time: 7.30pm - 11pm Venue: Tailgater’s Sports Bar & Grill Enjoy a showing of “Wonder Woman” starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine on one jumbo screen and your choice of listening through the outside audio or live radio stream through your car.

Tickets are $10 per person and come with a bag of popcorn.

Sunday

• Floatilla

Time: 11am - 6pm Venue: Clifton Pier Beach SEE PAGE 11

• FNM Church Service and Victory Parade

Time: 3pm Venue: St Barnabas Anglican Church Join Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and the FNM celebrate the anniversary of their first election victory in 1992, featuring the Urban Renewal Band and the Genesis Warhawks Junkanoo group.

• The Sunday Cool Down

Time: 7pm Venue: Balmoral Club TC Business, Belvedere and The Balmoral present an event featuring Fred Ferguson & Tingum Dem Band. Bring your weekend to a smooth close while enjoying live music, good food and networking opportunities. Tickets are $25 and include one drink and valet service.

Don’t forget your business card for a chance to win a smartphone courtesy of BTC Business.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

interview Barry Rassin is the first Bahamian to be appointed to Rotary’s highest position, that of international president. He talks to Cara Hunt about heading a community of 1.2 million business and professional leaders worldwide, and how he hopes to attract young people to the service organisation.

Barry Rassin

R

otary International has been part of Barry Rassin’s life since 1980, and now after serving in various capacities both locally, regionally and globally, the businessman has been selected to serve as the international president of the organisation whose outreach touches more than 200 countries around the world.

“My initial reason for joining Rotary was because I was starting a new business and figured that it would be

a great way to meet the local businessmen that I knew I would need to meet,” Mr Rassin told Tribune Weekend.

Mr Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida and is the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as president of the Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser. He is a lifetime member of the American Hospital

Association and has served on several boards, including the Quality Council of the Bahamas, Health Education Council and Employer’s Confederation.

He joined the Rotary Club of East Nassau back in 1980 and has remained a part of the club ever since.

“A lot has happened in the Rotary Club of East Nassau since I joined; we have definitely had a transformation.

Initially, we were an all-male club and then we expanded to include women.

I think that internationally Rotary is

about 22 per cent female, whereas our club is about 35 per cent female,” he said, What adds to the strong dynamic of the club is it’s ratio of older members like Sir Durward Knowles – whom he said “has really set the tone to keep us as the largest club in the district” – to younger members, who bring their own ideas to the table.

“It has helped us remain in a strong place,” he said.

Mr Rassin said that he is extremely proud of the work that the club has

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Friday, August 18, 2017

PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

“It is exciting to know that we can help one of the premier organisations make the world an even better place.” managed to accomplish.

“We have helped just about every organisation in Nassau, and we have also contributed to a few international projects as well. In particular, we have helped children’s organisations such as the Ranfurly Home for Children and the Children’s Emergency Hostel.

We donate food parcels to the senior citizens at the home in Fox Hill every two weeks, which is something that we have done for a very long time.”

Even before this prestigious appointment, Mr Rassin could boast of an impressive Rotary resume.

He received Rotary’s highest honour, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He and his wife, Esther, are major donors and benefactors of the Rotary Foundation.

Mr Rassin has also had many roles at the local, regional and international levels of the organisation, including positions like director and being the vice chair of the Rotary Foundation board of trustees. He was an Rotary International training leader, served on the international finance committee and as the aide to 2015/16 Rotary International President K R Ravindran, the first Sri Lankan to lead Rotary.

In these capacities, he has been able to travel all over the world and experience rewarding opportunities. But he said the organisation has given him so much more.

“All of my personal development has mostly come from being in Rotary,” he noted. “I remember my very first club speech, I was so nervous that I couldn’t even let go of the lectern to turn the pages. But over the years your skills improve.”

Additionally, he said he also lives by the Rotary International standards based on the four way test which asks: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and

better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

This character-building mindset is what the organisation also seeks to instil in young people even before they are of age to join a local Rotary club.

They have several Rotary youth arms, including the Interact Club targeted at young people ages 12 to 18, and the Rotaract Club for young adults 18 to 30 years old.

“We want to be that catalyst in young people from an early age so that they can progress with those values and build their self-confidence as soon as possible,” he said.

Mr Rassin is now preparing for his biggest role yet – president of Rotary International.

His nomination to the position comes after the sudden and unexpected death of Sam F Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International president-elect.

“Usually the presidential nominee has three years of training and preparing before he becomes the president elect because there is a lot of planning to be done, but in my case, I will be taking up the planning from where he left off, so there will be a lot to do,” he said.

After Mr Owori’s death, 15 Rotarians were asked to submit their names for consideration for the position – seven of whom who were then asked to go for a formal interview.

Mr Rassin is the choice of the

nominating committee for president of Rotary International for 2018/19. He will be declared the president-elect on September 1 if no challenging candidates are suggested.

The position is really a full-time one and includes him relocating to Chicago, Illinois, near Rotary’s headquarters, where he will have a home base as well.

Among his goals for his term will be to help obtain Rotary’s primary goal, the eradication of polio. He would also like to see Rotary remain a relevant organisation by increasing worldwide membership.

As president, he will aim to strengthen Rotary’s public image and its use of digital tools to maximise the organisation’s reach.

“With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to be part of and support a membership organisation that accomplishes so much good around the world. We have almost 36,000 clubs in almost every country in the world, but we have had members leave and we will have to look at what we can do to attract new people. especially young people. What we have found in some cases is there are young people who are wanting to do the service component of Rotary, but they are not that interested in joining a club, so we have to find new models and ways to still entice them to be a part of Rotary,” he said.

His new position will also demand a fair amount of travelling.

“My wife will be travelling with me and the role will involve quite a bit of travelling, but we are both excited and looking forward to all the places and experiences we will have in the next two years,” he said.

“It is exciting to know that we can help one of the premier organisations make the world an even better place.

I used to say that if I could inspire one person in this role as a Rotarian it would be worth it, but in this role I hope to inspire many,” he said.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

section

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Friday, August 18, 2017

event Solar eclipse 2017 – when, where and how to see it safely

BY WAYNE NEELY

T

his Monday, August 21, we will be treated to an awe-inspiring eclipse of the sun.

Unfortunately, here in the Bahamas we won’t get to experience a full total solar eclipse, but nevertheless approximately 80 per cent of the sun will be covered in the Northwest and Central Bahamas (Grand Bahama, Abaco, Bimini, Eleuthera, the Berry Islands, New Providence, Andros, Exuma, San Salvador, Long Island, Ragged Island, Cat Island and San Salvador), and about 75 per cent in the Southeast Bahamas (Crooked Island, Acklins, Inagua and Mayaguana).

Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights – a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere – the corona – will stretch from Grand Bahama in the North to Inagua in the South. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun’s disk.

What is it?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the sun for a viewer

on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness, leaving only the sun’s corona visible or exposed. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth’s surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of miles wide. For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about two minutes and 40 seconds. The last time the contiguous US saw a total eclipse was in 1979.

you project an image of the sun onto a screen. Both methods should produce clear images of the partial phase of an eclipse. The only time you can look at the sun with your naked eye is A) if you’re in the path of totality, where the sun will be completely covered by the moon, and B) during those two minutes or less when the sun is completely covered. During those brief and geographically constrained moments, the brightness of the sun is reduced to that of a full moon, which can be viewed safely without anything over your eyes.

Otherwise, any glimpse of the sun’s brightness is not only uncomfortable, it’s dangerous.

Times for partial and total phases of the eclipse vary depending on your location. In the Bahamas, the countdown will begin at 1.34pm and maximum viewing will be at 3.05pm and it ends at 4.25pm. The total duration of the eclipse will be two hours and 51 minutes in the Bahamas.

What happens if you ignore the warnings?

When can you see it?

How can you see it?

You never want to look directly at the sun without appropriate protection except during totality. That could severely hurt your eyes. However, there are many ways to safely view an eclipse of the sun including direct viewing – which requires some type of filtering device and indirect viewing where

Your eyes could be severely damaged. And, yes, you could go blind.

Looking directly at the powerful brightness of the sun can cause damage to the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye. When you look directly at the sun, the intensity of the light and the focus of the light is so great on the retina that it can burn or seriously damage it and if the exposure is great enough, that can and will lead to permanent reduction in vision and even blindness.

Even the smallest amount of exposure can cause blurry vision or temporary blindness. The problem is, you won’t know whether it’s temporary.

Why you need eclipse glasses

No matter how cute or fancy they may be, wearing your favourite pair of sunglasses – or a whole stack of sunglasses – won’t help. You’ll need eclipse certified glasses, which are regulated by an international safety standard.

They’re cheap and widely available.

Whether you use the cardboard eclipse glasses or a handheld card with a single rectangular view, the most important feature is the filter. Filters that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard reduce the sun’s brightness to a safe and comfortable level, like that of a full moon, and block harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation as well. Solar filters that meet this standard are about 100,000 times darker than ordinary sunglasses, and sunglasses don’t block infrared radiation. To test for safety, the only thing you can see through a safe solar filter is the sun itself. If you look through and the sun is too bright, out of focus or surrounded by a murky haze, or if you can see things like ordinary household lights, the glasses aren’t safe.

Please be safe and happy viewing!

• Wayne Neely is a meteorologist, international speaker, best-selling author and educator.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

food

New ice cream parlour fuses the traditional with the creative

PHOTOS/FARRENO FERGUSON

Atlantis’ Sun & Ice becomes centrepiece of Coral Towers lobby

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

A

tlantis’ newest culinary addition aims to not only treat people to authentically made Bahamian ice cream, but also teach visitors about the local culture in a unique way.

The Sun & Ice parlour is located in the newly renovated Coral Tower lobby and offers Bahamian ice cream, Italian inspired gelatos and cakes – all with locally sourced ingredients.

When Tribune Weekend visited last week, there were kids sitting in with their parents, couples stopping in from a hot day at the pool, and even employees enjoying a few minutes off the clock. And they were all enjoying a cup or cone of Sun & Ice’s signature servings.

Created by Bahamian Chef Wayne Moncur, Sun & Ice is inspired by the Bahamas’ warm tropical climate and the unconventional fusion of local fruits and flavours. The centrepiece of the new Coral Towers lobby, the ice cream parlour is the first element to be unveiled as part of the Coral

“...as a child we always went for ice cream on Sundays as a family, and it was always an amazing experience. What I wanted to do was share that experience with the new generation, doing it in an authentic Bahamian and organic way.”

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Friday, August 18, 2017

Tower’s complete renovation and re-branding.

Chef Moncur’s rich culinary heritage evolved from the humble kitchens of his grandmother, mother and aunt.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts at the Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, and has held the positions of executive sous chef at Atlantis and executive chef at the One&Only Ocean Club. In addition to being a chef, he is also a food stylist and food photographer, restaurant culinary consultant and soon-to-be cookbook author.

“This was a dream of mine from the Summer of 2008. I actually already had the business plan mapped out; it was just laying dormant. Through all my years of experience I said, ‘Why can’t I somehow marry savoury items and pair them with ice creams and gelato?’

I wanted to do this and these were the

plans I had in mind, because as a child we always went for ice cream on Sundays as a family, and it was always an amazing experience. What I wanted to do was share that experience with the new generation, doing it in an authentic Bahamian and organic way,” Chef Moncur told Tribune Weekend.

Speaking of the partnership with Atlantis, Chef Moncur said he is excited to join forces with the Paradise Island resort. He believes the Atlantis team is very genuine as it relates to promoting Bahamian culture, and Sun & Ice is the perfect opportunity for a collaboration.

The Sun & Ice menu includes sweet flavours such as: ‘The Dorothy’ with sea grape, vanilla and cherry ice cream; ‘The Auntie Ma’ with guava duff ice cream; the ‘Oh Cat Island’, a benny cake crumble ice cream; ‘The Junkanoo’ with red velvet, Oreo, and cream

cheese ice cream; the ‘Yeah Bey’ with sour sap and sugar banana ice-cream; ‘Irie Nuts’ with almond ice cream and roasted peanuts; the ‘Androsia’ with burnt coconut and granola ice cream; ‘The Spanish Wells’, classic vanilla made fresh with vanilla beans, and the company’s best-seller, ‘The Well Muddos’, a double chocolate brownie ice cream.

Also on offer are fresh desserts like coconut and pineapple tart, benny cake, piña colada flavoured cakes, cupcakes, peanut cakes and more.

There are also sandwiches and salads available.

“We are going to make this very Bahamian and very island. This whole scene here is going to change and progress as the weeks flow by. There is going to be décor added and Bahamian music playing in the background. Also I feel like with the names of the ice

creams, it creates a lot of conversation with the tourists who are unaware of the local lingo. Sometimes they can’t pronounce it, but that is where we get to teach them,” said Chef Moncur.

In a next week or so, he said, the menu will look a bit different, as they are adding natural sodas and drinks to the list. He is also happy to be able to involve local vendors in this endeavour moving forward.

“Right now I get my benny seeds from the guy on the side of road off Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.

Everybody makes a little bit of money.

All of our fruits that we use here, they come in from the Family Islands. For instance, the guava comes from Cat Island, and pineapple and dilly from Eleuthera,” said Chef Moncur.

Sun & Ice is currently open seven days a week from 11.30am to 10.30pm daily.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

art

New bistro gets creative

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

P

ositioning itself as a hub that brings together Nassau’s most creative people, Biggity will host its first ever Canvas & Cocktails event this Saturday.

The boutique and bistro, which is located on Bay Street, hopes this will be the first in a series. The inaugural event will be held from 6pm to 9pm.

Canvas & Cocktails will be a fun experience, said Amanda Ferguson, creative director and founder of the bistro which opened its doors four months ago.

Each month, the bistro will feature a different type of canvas art: stencil, life models, still life, finger painting, as well as different events for various art mediums.

“We have teamed up with a wonderful local company called Paint Your Own Pottery, which is absolutely amazing with all things artsy. We like to consider ourselves an artist hub, somewhere artists of all mediums can come and hang out over a cup of coffee or bush tea. Recently, we kicked off the Miscellaneous Poetry Tour at Biggity. It was overwhelmingly

In addition to fresh dishes, guests can enjoy the work of Paint Your Own Poetry during this Saturday’s Canvas & Cocktails event.

beautiful to have so much talent in one place,” said Ms Ferguson.

She believes that everyone has an artistic side to them and Biggity aims to bring out the inner creative genius in its guests.

“I am definitely not artistically inclined in fine motor skills like painting, drawing, et cetera, like most people.

This event will amaze you with what you can actually create when you free your mind. Paint Your Own Pottery will have a skilled instructor assisting each person with learning various techniques. This particular event is for adults only, however, we do have family events coming up.”

Ms Ferguson also noted that the walls of the bistro act as a rotating art gallery. So far, artwork by Jordanna Kelly, Toby Lunn and Stefan Davis has been on display.

As the bistro grows it will remain committed to marry great food with a great artistic experience for its patrons.

Biggity is a small service boutique and bistro. It offers three salads, one type of soup and sandwich each week.

Its menu changes weekly to utilise local farm products. Additionally, the bistro serves local bush teas, fresh coconut water, Switcha, local beers, and more.

All of the artwork displayed at Biggity is on sale by the artist. For more information contact 322-4576 or 376-1520.

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Friday, August 18, 2017

entertainment

Ending summer with a splash

Floatilla was inspired by Floatopia Miami

Pupstar hosts first ever ‘Floatilla

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

E

nsuring that Summer goes out with a bang, or rather a grand splash, Pupstar Entertainment is hosting it’s Floatilla event at Clifton Pier beach this Sunday.

The promotion company hopes to make it “an event you don’t want to miss.”

Floatilla is inspired by Floatopia (now Deltopia), a social event originated in Santa Barbara, California, in 2003.

The event encourages participants to bring their floats for an all-day beach

Like with its popular Sundance Beach Festival, Pupstar Entertainment hopes to give guests a fun experience against the backdrop of the Bahamas’ beautiful waters. experience with entertainment and activities around the clock, as well as food and bar facilities.

“What makes Floatilla special is that the event is hosted completely in the water. The bar, activities and DJ are all in the water. There are also various floating cabanas for rent at the location. This event will feature two of the most versatile DJs in the Bahamas – DJ Mayday and DJ Ignite,” said Pupstar’s president, Alicia “Puppy” Robinson.

After experiencing Floatopia Miami, Alicia said it seemed like a perfect event to bring to the Bahamas, with a few changes.

“Unlike the Miami event, Floatilla will be completely organised and allows the participants to only worry about bringing their float with them.

This is the first event of its kind here in the Bahamas,” she said.

“The Bahamas has some of the best beaches in the world, so why not create more events that showcase the beauty of the Bahamas. Everyone who has attended a Pupstar beach event, including the Sundance Beach Festival and the recent Sail Away, has expressed the need for more events that are surrounded by the beautiful beaches of the Bahamas. This event takes it a bit further by keeping everyone in the water for the day.”

Pupstar has been hosting several events to celebrate Summer, including their popular Movies in the Square in Pompey Square; Movies on the Harbour at the Harbourfront Restaurant; Drive-in Movies at the Tailgater’s Sports Bar on East Bay Street, as well as quarterly events like the Beer Pong tournaments at The Crew Pub. Alicia said she believes Pupstar En-

tertainment events create more than just a party atmosphere for locals; the goal is to always to help people make memories “to look back on for a lifetime”.

“People trust us to create a very organised and safe environment for them to enjoy,” said Alicia.

“We have created a calendar of events that we feel is sufficient for this year, but we have a lot of new events that will be coming in early 2018. We have recently added to our monthly outdoor movie series a special event called Movies on The Cay, which is a partnership with Link Bahamas and Seaspray Tours where we will transport persons and host movies at various remote locations, including Colonial Island and Gilligan’s Island. We anticipate an official launch date of September 24.”

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

design

Bahamian architect has 3D vision

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

W

E see them every day, we walk into them, work in them, and spend most of our lives inside of them.

And most of us do so without ever giving much thought to the complexity and artistry that goes into the architecture of buildings.

Unlike many of us, Harold Bosfield II always had an interest in buildings of all shapes and sizes. This deep-seated fascination propelled him into a career which today finds him as the lead 3D designer at a top architecture firm in Orlando, Florida.

As a 3D designer at Charlan Brock & Associates, the Bahamian architect

Harold Bosfield II

has produced numerous renderings for multi-family residential buildings, some of which have been featured online, others in newspapers. He was also recognised for his talent in the Caribbean American Passport magazine’s June and July issue and received the 2016/17 Rendering Award from his firm.

Harold’s initial choice of profession was to become an artist, however, he his fascination with how buildings were created and shaped would not let him go.

“It was this interest which pushed me in the direction of architecture, where I can still use my artistic skills but also gain the technical knowledge of building and construction,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Growing up, Harold excelled in the sport of swimming and water polo during the early stages of his life, having represented the Bahamas in the

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Friday, August 18, 2017

Bahamian architect Harold Bosfield II (right) at work CARIFTA games and at CISC from 2005 to 2008, but he was also born with a natural gift for the artistic. He is very skillful in pencil sketching, colour pencil sketching and sometimes paint. He graduated from Jordan Prince Williams High School in Nassau in 2007.

Harold graduated with his Associates of Arts in Architecture in 2010 from the College of the Bahamas, now the University of the Bahamas.

He was then offered an architecture scholarship from the Florida A&M University where he studied for the remainder of his collegiate career. It was during his years at FAMU that he learned and developed his skills in 3D rendering. He attained his Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture in 2013 and his Master of Science degree in Architecture in 2014.

“My mother introduced me to a family member who was and still is in the profession today, Neville Bosfield. He taught me the fundamentals of architecture. Between him and my first year at the University of the Bahamas, I quickly saw how much

my artistic skills can play a role in architecture,” he said.

Harold is proficient in several different computer programmes, including AutoCAD, Revit and Photoshop, but his expertise lies in 3D graphics and rendering.

“As time goes by, technology is always improving. With technology advancing every day, new architectural software is always on the rise with the goal to improve quality in architectural drawings and presentations,” he said.

“The ability I have is to create realistic designs through computer graphics. This gives a client a realistic impression of what to expect once a project is complete.”

This is what Harold enjoys most about the expansive field he works – giving people endless, unique options.

“One can specialise in a specific area in architecture. For example, landscape architecture, urban design, interior design, sustainable and environmental design and many more,” he said.

Three-dimensional renderings by Harold Bosfield II

“The ability I have is to create realistic designs through computer graphics. This gives a client a realistic impression of what to expect once a project is complete.”

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

celebrity The Weekend Fashion Report Teen Choice Awards

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

FAIL

FAIL

HIT

FAIL

Bella Thorne ”Famous in Love”

Naya Rivera ”Glee”

Millie Bobby Brown ”Stranger Things”

Bebe Rexha, singer

Karin says: “This girl has made a career of getting noticed on social media...and ‘dating’ Scott Disick. So of course she was going to wear something to get her maximum attention.

That said, I actually like the hair and the lace coat. The ill-fitting faux leather pants, however, are atrocious.”

Cara says: “It just screams ‘I’m half naked, look at me’, and I really don’t like any of it. I mean OK, it’s a sparkly bra top with some cheap leather pants – unimpressive. The best part of the outfit is the coat actually and that’s not even all that.”

Karin says: “Yes, we know, the denim-on-denim trend is back...more like denim-on-denim crime. It might be back, but that doesn’t make it less hideous, as evidenced here. I also hate the puffy 80s sleeves. Just terrible all around.”

Cara says: “Oh no, not cute in any way!

Too much pouf, and the tapered collar adds a be-denimed pirate vibe. The jeans are like a horrid wash and then she finishes the look with those Payless grammy white shoes; just heaps of ugliness.”

Karin says: “Millie has been quite the break-out star this year and she is dressing accordingly, showing us some stylish attitude. This is so colourful and fun, and just a touch eccentric. I love it! Especially the small touches like the shoes and the round shades.”

Cara says: “This wouldn’t work for a lot of people, but Millie pulls it off. It’s such a pretty yellow – perfect for the summer – and I really love those multi-coloured shoes. They make her look pop even more. It’s the perfect choice for her.”

Karin says: “Sigh, another take on the reconstructed tuxedo. It’s not a terrible look, it’s just nothing special. The Teen Choice Awards are where you can go a little crazy and creative, but this is just ‘blah’. Her over-dyed hair is looking rough as well.”

Cara says: “I am not feeling this look.

It has a bit too much going on. She has a bustier with a halter underneath and then like a tuxedo shrug thing with attached sleeves. Is it a tuxedo? Is it supposed to be fun, elegant, both? No one knows.”

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Friday, August 18, 2017

music

Jah Hem admits to ‘Lurking’

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

L

urking is not usually considered an admirable activity, but Grand Bahama artist Hem “Jah Hem” Solomon said lying low and out of sight actually helped him meet his wife and inspired his new song.

His new single is actually called “Lurking” and is based on a real occurrence.

“You would never believe what inspired me to do this song ‘Lurking’.

It is actually a true story. It is the way I met my wife of 19 years,” he told Tribune Weekend.

“My wife used to live right down the street from me during my childhood.

I used to hide behind the wall and watch her play in the street day after day. That time she was 10 years old and I was 11 years old. At the age of 17 we started dating. And because I was ‘lurking’, I have my wife today,” he said.

Jah Hem started singing professionally in 2000 while living in Florida. He then moved back the Bahamas in 2003 where his solo career took off.

Real life has always been the inspiration behind Jah Hem’s music.

“What I love most about ‘Lurking’ is that it is real – real meaning a lot of people do it on a daily basis. You have guys that hang out in certain bars just because they are interested in a certain barmaid, or people who go to particular restaurant to see the smile on someone’s face. Everyone lurks. That is just the plain truth,” he said.

“That there is nothing wrong with lurking, also known as ‘cutting up’, like we say in the Bahamas. Stalking is a different story. So know the difference.”

The artist is currently working on music video for the song, which he believes is going to be a hit.

“I have a few projects on the table.

This Fall, I am heading to down to Jamaica to work on an album with Grammy-winning producers Sly and Robbie,” he said.

In the meantime, Jah Hem is also working on another track with Grammy Award-winning producer Jason “J-Vibe” Farmer.

“Jason and Cyclone Music Group out of Freeport are the producers of my new single ‘Lurking’. I am also working on a few tracks with Bahamian producer Padrino and Ashanti, also known as Qilla Fang, here in Freeport,” he said.

New Sizzla album offers something for old and new fans

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net JAMAICAN reggae sensation Sizzla Kalonji, who last month delighted Bahamian audiences during Heineken’s ‘Live Your Music’ concert, is about to drop a new album.

Speaking with Tribune Weekend, international record producer JonFX shared his experience working on the highly anticipated record titled “I’m Yours”.

The lead single by the same name has already been released on the streaming service Spotify, and JonFX noted that the reception from the public has been more than positive, with the song ranking as the most played Sizzla track on the digital platform.

The new album features Ghanaian artists such Mz Vee, a BET-nominated

Afro-pop dancehall artist, and Stonebwoy, an award-winning Afro-pop and reggae musician.

Album tracks include “Fair Chance”, which has a dub reggae vibe; “Incomplete”, a culture record, and “My Girl”, which is described as a “new era” song.

“I have been working with Sizzla from the days of Caveman Studios in the late 90s in Kingston, Jamaica,” said JonFX. “The ‘I’m Yours’ album is a summary of Sizzla, yesterday and today. It is something that some older fans and some newer fans may appreciate.”

JonFX is best known for producing tracks such as the “Gun Session Remix” featuring Akon, Shabba Ranks, Sizzla and Vybz Kartel; the “Gyptian’s Hold You” album; I-Wayne’s “Book Of Life”; the “Cloud Nine Riddim” featuring Sean Paul, Shabba Ranks, and Erup’s “Baby”.

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

film

review

‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ a fun, actionpacked escape THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD RUNNING TIME: 118 MINS

THERE’S not a whole lot that’s new about “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”. Its mismatched-pals premise is the stuff of classic buddy comedies.

Stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson play their typical character types: Reynolds the handsome do-gooder; Jackson the unflappable badass whose favorite word is mother(expletive). And like many movie heroes past, they’re tasked with taking down a brutal dictator.

Yet that kind of familiar framework is what makes this action-packed mashup of gun battles, car chases, fist fights and international intrigue such a delight: Leave reality’s chaos at the door, and lose yourself in a world where the bad guys get what’s coming to them and Sam Jackson spontaneously breaks into song. (He actually sings three times in this film — once in Italian! With nuns! Plus his own, original F-word-laden tune.)

And did I mention there’s a love-story subplot?

Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, a well-manicured, tightly wound, type-A personality who works in “executive protection,” providing high-end, highstakes bodyguard services for society’s unsavories. His career and polished image take a nosedive after a weapons dealer he was protecting is killed by a sniper. Bryce blames his Interpol detective ex-girlfriend, Amelia (Elodie Yung), for the deadly mistake, believing she leaked information to her law-enforcement colleagues.

A couple years later, Amelia is tapped to transport notorious hit-man Darius Kincaid (Jackson) to International Criminal Court, where he’s to be the sole witness testifying against murderous Belarusian dictator Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman, always perfect). Dukhovich deploys his bottomless army of goons to take out their convoy and ultimately eliminate Kincaid, who promised his testimony in exchange for the release of his wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek), from jail.

Outgunned and desperate, Amelia turns to Bryce for help, promising to help restore his career if he can get Kincaid to The Hague safely. Thus begins the odd-couple pairing of Reynolds and Jackson and premise for various physical and verbal throw-downs, with the bad guys and each other.

When Bryce says he’s there to keep Kincaid out of harm’s way, Kincaid replies, “I am harm’s way.”

And he proves it, taking out baddies even while handcuffed and outracing a fleet of armored cars while whipping a speedboat through Amsterdam’s canals. Jackson soars in roles like these, and his performance is as bulletproof as Kincaid is rumored to be. The 68-year-old is as thrilling an action star as any decades younger. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn he does his own stunts, and insisted on manning that speedboat himself.

Jackson’s Kincaid is also the story’s

Selma Hayek and Samuel L Jackson in a scene from “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”.

Samuel L. Jackson, left, and Ryan Reynolds in a scene ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard.’ wise elder, giving Bryce romance advice as they dodge Dukhovich’s thugs.

Reynolds works his comic and superhero action chops and Hayek is at her fieriest as a barmaid unafraid to cut a guy’s carotid with a broken bottle.

Director Patrick Hughes (”The Expendables 3”) keeps the action grounded in the story’s narrative without compromising the excitement. The movie is loud, with several explosions that could shake a nervous viewer from her seat, but the chases are epic, especially the speedboat scene, during

which Reynolds’ character kept pace on a motorcycle.

Screenwriter Tom O’Connor mitigates the serious matter in his story — the trial of a tyrant for war crimes against his own people — with brisk banter and thrilling fight sequences, along with a touch of sweetness as it becomes clear that both Bryce and Kincaid are motivated by love.

If only movies could make that universal.

SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer

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Friday, August 18, 2017

gardening

Some like it hot Peppers are one of the most useful vegetables we can grow in our home gardens, says Jack Hardy.

Whether hot or sweet, they can play a part in salsas, salads and souses.

O

nce established pepper plants live and produce for a long time, sometimes years, their variety is extensive.

Bell peppers are the most popular peppers and in many ways are the trickiest to grow. They demand rich soil and frequent watering without ever becoming waterlogged. If they flower too early, the buds must be picked off or the production of large fruit by a small plant will debilitate it irreparably. Fruits must be picked or cut away from the parent plant once they are mature. If fruits are left on for too long the plant will consider its duty done and stop production, sometimes for months. Or die.

Bell peppers come in many colours, the most popular being green, red, orange and yellow. Green bell peppers will turn red in time but if you want

red peppers it is best to sow a red variety (such as Big Red) rather than allow green fruits to stay on the plant a long time. Orange and yellow bell peppers are more expensive in the food store than green but are grown under identical conditions.

There are many sweet peppers that are not bell peppers, prime among them being Cubanelle and sweet banana, both heirlooms. Long and tapering peppers also come in hot form but most are what may be considered ‘warm’.

Anaheim, NuMex and hot banana peppers fall into this category. They are great used in salsas and can also be stuffed with cheese for rellenos.

Then there are the really hot peppers and the selection is enormous. The world’s biggest seller is the jalapeño, a pepper with a wide range of heat. The fruits are large enough to slice comfortably and this is the usual method of presentation in condiment form. The slices can be quick-pickled or preserved by traditional picking methods. Jalapeños are rarely eaten raw.

It’s quite the opposite for bird peppers. Virtually every Bahamian meal benefits from mashed bird peppers on the side of the plate, and for dishes like stew fish and conch salad some consider them a necessity. Bird pepper gives a sting to the palate on first contact but thereafter behaves itself very well. It is medium hot and juicy.

There is a novelty pepper called Thai bird that has very similar fruits to our local bird pepper, but grow on a plant only six inches tall. You could put the plant pot on the breakfast table and get diners to help themselves to guaranteed fresh peppers. You may come across bird peppers that are tiny, a mere quarter inch in length. These are usually called bird’s eye peppers and are great for seasoning dry sherry as a condiment for use with conch chowder and Bloody Mary cocktails.

The other notable Bahamian pepper is goat pepper, much larger and hotter than bird pepper and rarely used raw. The orange goat pepper is

Peppers come in different colours, shapes and sizes, and have different uses and are of varying degrees of heat. similar to habanero peppers – Scotch Bonnet and such – that have come to dominate the condiment market. The true goat pepper is endangered through cross pollination, something the home gardener can do little to prevent. Habanero peppers are widely available and now dominate the Bahamian pepper scene.

The name ‘finger peppers’ refers to medium long hot peppers that were third choice for most Bahamians after bird and goat pepper. The most identifiable of these finger peppers is tabasco, a chunky version that delivers medium heat and is genuinely all-purpose in its usefulness.

The wiri wiri pepper has been introduced to the Bahamas from Guyana over the past few decades and has established itself as a firm favourite.

The cherry-like fruits grow on sturdy plants that can grow to four or five feet tall. The taste is reminiscent of goat pepper but somewhat milder. I like to boil them up with Crystal or Red Cayenne hot sauce, bottle them in a wide-mouth jar and use as a condiment. There are, however, some peppers that it is hard to find a niche for. Serrano peppers grow well and are handsome but resist drying with their thick flesh and are packed with seeds.

Poblano is another pepper I have little

use for.

The fruits are large and handsome but the flesh is tough and the flavour coarse.

Mexicans smoke poblano and call it ancho, but outside of Mexican cuisine the pepper has little merit.

Pepper seeds take two or three time longer than tomato seeds to germinate.

If you start them in seed trays they need to be transplanted to larger pots before becoming root bound. Transplanting to the garden usually takes place at budding time. Pepper plants love full sun and benefit from an application now and then of phosphorous (0-50-0) to improve yields. Regularly check the undersides of leaves for whitefly eggs and spray with soap solution as a preventative.

I have already mentioned cross pollination. The home gardener cannot prevent this and the result is hot peppers that become remarkably mild. In my experience, small peppers like bird and tabasco do not seem to lose their heat, but larger fruits like jalapeño and habanero certainly do. Cross pollination only takes place in (and after) the second generation. Pepper seeds you buy from the nursery will grow true: the seeds you get from your own fruits may not grow true, even though they are open pollinated. It is of no use separating sweet peppers from hot in your garden because bees can fly for miles.

• For questions and comments e-mail j.hardy@coralwave.com

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

travel

An island oasis on your doorstep

By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

M

illions of people come to the Bahamas to enjoy our sun, sand and sea, and the charm of the country’s smaller resorts. However, many Bahamians fail to enjoy what can be found right in their own backyard.

Instead, most opt to travel to abroad, often to Florida. However, if you factor in airfare and transportation, planning an overseas vacation can be an expensive venture for families that just want a few days to unwind during a holiday break.

Enter the staycation – a fabulous way to stop, smell the roses (or rather the hibiscus) and recharge your batteries – whether it be for a quick holiday weekend or an extended stay with the kids, but without much of the financial burden associated with travel abroad.

This past August Monday holiday was the perfect time for my family to take a few days to experience just how much fun a staycation right here in New Providence can be.

It was a special weekend for us because we were celebrating our second wedding anniversary and my husband’s birthday. It was also a great option for our family because I am seven months pregnant and not really up to hopping on a plane for a full-fledged vacation this summer. However, I still wanted my seven-year-old to get a chance to burn some energy pool-side.

We were invited to spend three nights at the beautiful Sandyport Beach Resort. The resort features 72 colourful villas with views of either the picturesque tropical garden or the canal at the back of Sandyport. The resort offers a choice of one-, two- or three-room suites, and most have en suite kitchens or kitchenettes. The rooms are decorated with a fresh, beachy, island décor centered around Bahamian scenes and marine life.

The resort’s location is also perfect, because once you enter the property you can basically pretend the rest of Nassau does not exist.

That is because Sandyport is a contained ven-

“We are very fortunate in that we’ve really got some winning attributes: a location that gives our guests tranquillity and yet plenty of entertainment just a mile away on the Cable Beach strip, truly friendly staff and an authentic island-feel experience.” ue. There is a small grocery store attached to the gas station and there are several dining options on in the Olde Town Marina, like the Italian restaurant Spritz and the sports bar Twisted Lime. The resort also has its own restaurant, Blue Sail. Just take a stroll under the bridge at the canal entrance to reach the restaurant, which features a unique Mediterranean/French fusion menu and tables overlooking the gorgeous ocean.

Blue Sail’s menu includes lunch treats like flatbread pizzas, hamburgers, paninis, pastas, tacos and seafood.

The beauty of the resort – beyond its stunning views, of course – is that it is really provides a blank canvas to tailor-make the staycation of your dreams at the price point you want.

You may wish to make it a couples romantic weekend – and of course the en suite Jacuzzi in the canal-view rooms will add to many memorable Sandyport nights – or you can do as we did and enjoy a chance to unwind as a family. Having a living room with a sofa pull-out bed as well as master bedroom ensures that there is enough space for everyone. Additionally, you may want to invite a few other family members to get rooms and make it a reunion weekend for all to enjoy. Other amenities include a shuffle board, tennis and basketball courts, and a

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Friday, August 18, 2017

useful self-serve laundry.

The resort is perfect for kids as there is an awesome kiddie pool complete with two water slides, as well as two other pools. The pool area is where we spent most of our time. We plans to go to the beach and stroll along the Cable Beach strip, but once my son Dylan discovered that a friend from his Ardastra Gardens Zoo Camp was also staying and he made friends with some of the other children there, it was impossible to get him out of the pool for the entire weekend. And because the pool is kid-friendly in depth and my son is fairly confident in water, I was able to relax a bit more.

And you can tailor your food options to fit your budget. You may choose to eat at Blue Sail or one of the Olde Town

Marina choices for every meal, or bring your own groceries and take advantage of the amenities in your kitchen. You can also venture out on to the Cable Beach strip where options abound at every price.

We did a combination of meals where we bought things to cook but also went out for a few meals. One of our favourite meals was enjoyed on our balcony watching the sunset over the canal when we arrived on Friday evening. It was the perfect start to our four-day weekend.

Sandyport Beach Resort has been described as a “serene” place to stay when in Nassau. Travel writer Brendan Spiegel included the popular resort in an article featuring 11 of the island’s best attractions for the tourist seeking

a subtler, more authentic Bahamian experience. Additionally, Travel & Leisure magazine wrote that it was “one of the best boutique resorts in the Bahamas.”

Vernon Moss, Sandyport Resort general manager, said the hospitality, location and tropical look and ambiance offer a true reflection of island life and colonial charm.

“We are very fortunate in that we’ve really got some winning attributes: a location that gives our guests tranquillity and yet plenty of entertainment just a mile away on the Cable Beach strip, truly friendly staff and an authentic island-feel experience. We have just 72 rooms and suites, so our guests really do become friends. Our team make it our life’s work to see you are doing ex-

actly what you want to do as far as excursions of any kind off-property. Lady Sarah, our ‘happiness manager’, is your information touch point for all activities. If swimming with sharks isn’t your thing, then perhaps a little kiss and cuddle with the dolphins might appeal, or a trip to the casino or spa at Baha Mar and a tour of the John Watling’s rum factory, with samples. No pressure! Nothing to say you can’t just stay at the Sandyport beach on your comfy lounger or in a hammock gazing out to sea with a nice cool one,” he said.

Sandyport is a resort that our little family came to love and one we would happily return to. As my seven-yearold said upon our departure, “Mommy, it was awesome. I want to stay there all the time!”

22| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

literary lives craig brown

Unexpected encounters of the rich and famous

Sir Christopher Ondaatje recounts tales from the English satirist’s book “One on One”, which tells of 101 extraordinary true meetings between the famous and the infamous, the artistic and the philistine, the pompous and the comical.

T

he ambition to tell stories and to listen to them is something inherent in all of us. It is one of the oldest arts in all the world.

So when a well-known English critic and satirist produces a brilliant masterpiece one is first astounded but then not surprised to find that the book has attracted continued praise and increasing worldwide sales. The book in question, “One on One”, is entirely a work of non-fiction and is a glorious treatise creating a chain that encompasses many characters, famous and infamous, in unlikely and staggeringly amusing connections.

Craig Brown, the author of “One on One”, is probably best known for his parodies in Private Eye – the fortnightly British current affairs magazine. He was born in Wokingham, Berkshire and educated at Eton and Bristol University. He has written for The Tatler, The Spectator, The Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, The Evening Standard, and also written comedy shows for both radio and TV, as well as two other books 1966 and “All That and This is Craig Brown: The Tony Years” about the

last Tony Blair government in England.

“One on One” has been described in The Guardian as being “... 101 stories of chance encounters between well-known figures, beginning with the story of a young man, John Scott-Ellis, who ran over Adolf Hitler in 1931.”

Hitler was unhurt and shook hands with Scott-Ellis and his passengers. Three years later, in 1934, Hitler was sitting in a box at The Residenztheater (now Cuvilliés Theatre) waiting for the opera to begin. By now he was German Chancellor and the talk of the world. In the adjoining box 21-yearold John Scott-Ellis was celebrating his honeymoon with his young German bride.

He noticed Hitler in the box to his left so leaned over, ignoring the bodyguards, and asked the Führer whether he remembered being knocked over in the street three years ago. To his surprise Hitler remembered it well. He was quite charming for a few moments – and then the overture began.

The two men never met again, but Scott-Ellis often told of his unexpected encounter: “For a few seconds, perhaps, I had the history of Europe in my rather clumsy

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Friday, August 18, 2017

hands. He was only shaken up, but had I killed him, it would have changed the history of the world.”

This is the first of many strange encounters – all connected: the 23-year-old Rudyard Kipling meeting the 53-year-old Mark Twain in Elmira, US. Seventeen years later, when Kipling was famous, Twain was nostalgic about the meeting: “He is a stranger to me but is a most remarkable man – and I am the other one. Between us, we cover all knowledge; he knows all that can be known, and I know the rest.”

Twain then goes on to meet Martha Keller, who in turn meets Martha Graham, who meets Madonna, who meets Michael Jackson, who meets Nancy Reagan, who meets Andy Warhol, who meets Jackie Kennedy, and so on. Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Windsor, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Alec Guinness, Evelyn Waugh and Igor Stravinsky. Walt Disney meets P L Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. Frank Lloyd Wright meets Marilyn Monroe, and witnesses the disintegration of her marriage to Arthur Miller.

“He makes me think I’m stupid.

I’m afraid to bring things up, because maybe I am stupid. I’m in a f.....g prison and my jailer is named Arthur Miller ... Every morning he goes into that goddam study of his and I don’t see him for hours and hours. I am just sitting around; I haven’t a goddam thing to do.”

Miller and Monroe divorced in 1961 and Monroe died in August 1962.

Marilyn Monroe met Nikita Khruschev in 1959 in Hollywood, where he said to her, “You’re a very lovely young lady,” squeezing her hand. “He squeezed my hand so long and so hard I thought he would break it,” she later recalled. “I guess it was better than having to kiss him.”

Bizarre meetings and episodes exposé Frank Sinatra’s outbursts in Las Vegas and Los Angeles; and an unexpected chance meeting between the poet Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin in The Chelsea Hotel (212 West 23rd Street, New York – the home of young show-business celebrities) at 4am going up in a tiny lift.

Leonard Cohen asked the wildeyed Joplin whether she was looking for anyone. “Yes,” she replied. “I am looking for Kris Kristofferson”.

“Little lady,” said Cohen, making his voice gruffer. “You’re in luck. I am Kris Kristofferson.” “I thought he was bigger”, Joplin said. “I used to be

Marilyn Monroe said of her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller: “He makes “One on One” recounts a daisy chain of 101 true encounters of history’s most famous persons.

me

“For a few seconds, perhaps, I had the history of Europe in my rather clumsy hands. (Hitler) was only shaken up, but had I killed him, it would have changed the history of the world.” bigger, but I’ve been sick,” Leonard Cohen replied. And thus started their brief romance on the fourth floor of the Chelsea Hotel. Later Cohen recalled that it was not uncommon for women to offer themselves to him in an elevator, adding, “Those were generous times.” (The Chelsea Hotel was the setting for many songs, including “Chelsea Morning” by Joni Mitchell, “Third Week in Chelsea” by Jefferson Airplane, and “Sara” by Bob Dylan, which includes the line, “Stayin’ up for days in the Chelsea Hotel.”) Three years after Janis Joplin’s chance meeting with Leonard Cohen she died of a heroin overdose.

For a gay Western man in the 1950s, Craig Brown recollects, there was nowhere quite like Tangier, and he conjures up the story of Allen Ginsberg and his boyfriend Peter Orlovsky

arriving to stay with Ginsberg’s old lover William Burroughs, who was working on his manuscript “The Naked Lunch”. The avant garde artist Francis Bacon also arrived in Tangier and soon became involved in their nightly routine of chewing majoun – a type of hashish candy. Ginsberg, hoping to be immortalised on canvas by Bacon, preferably in the nude, handed Bacon some photographs of himself and his lover naked in bed. Bacon pocketed the photographs, though he had no interest in the naked Ginsberg or his boyfriend. However, something else had caught his eye: the disintegrating old mattress. “These photographs were terribly useful,” he explained later.

“The lovers weren’t interesting, but there was something about the way the mattress spilled over the metal spindles of the bed that was so despairing. So I

decided to keep them and use them.”

In London, 20 years later, Lucian Freud invited his fellow painter Francis Bacon to a ball thrown by Lady Rothermere, where Princess Margaret, emboldened by champagne and egged on by her fellow party-goers, decided to put on a performance with her tolerated talent for playing the piano, singing and mimicry. The Princess then began a series of terrible impersonations, singing off-key but with increasing gusto, with her jubilant fellow guests begging for more.

Suddenly, when she had just embarked on Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It”, the sound of menacing jeering, hissing and booing eclipsed Margaret’s singing, whereupon she faltered, then halted, turned scarlet, and left the stage. As Francis Bacon, the cause of the hissing and jeering, explained, “Her singing was really too awful. Someone had to stop her.”

Kenneth Tynan, Truman Capote, Peggy Lee, President Richard Nixon, Elvis Presley and The Beatles are conveniently connected by Craig Brown, followed by Noel Coward, Prince Felix Youssoupoff, Grigori Rasputin and Tsar Nicholas II. Prince Youssoupoff admitted that he was involved in the murder of Rasputin. When asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “No. I shot a dog.”

Tsar Nicholas II was tricked by Harry Houdini in Kremlin Square, Moscow, and a little while later Houdini baffled Theodore Roosevelt.

H G Wells, also in Moscow, spoke no Russian and interviewed Josef Stalin, who spoke no English. Through a translator they politely argued about the different ideals of capitalism and communism. Presently they got bogged down in metaphor. Stalin compared the proletariat to a ship – “Big ships go on long voyages.” But Wells counteracted, “Ships need navigators.” “What is a navigator without a ship? An idle man,” said Stalin. “You, Mr Wells, evidently start out with the assumption that all men are good. I, however, do not forget that there are many wicked men. I do not believe in the goodness of the bourgeoisie.” Although the meeting was scheduled for 40 minutes, it lasted for over three hours. Despite their different opinions, Stalin ended the conversation by reassuring Wells, “We Bolsheviks call it self-criticism. It is widely used in the USSR.” Craig Brown’s entertaining masterpiece is a dramatic waltz through the

Continued on page 24

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Friday, August 18, 2017

Continued from page 23 corridors of communication. His stories are full of facts – many of which I have never read before. They are brief and never boring. He has a dry sense of humour.

Maxim Gorky travelled over five hundred miles to meet Leo Tolstoy, only to find he was too ill to see him. But he eventually does and discusses Gorky’s short stories, one of which was “Twenty-Six Men and a Girl”. “Chastity”, said Tolstoy, “is not natural in a healthy young girl.

If the girl is over 15 and healthy, she wants to be hugged and squeezed ... her flesh already knows that what is incomprehensible is nevertheless inevitable.” A year after the meeting Gorky is arrested for revolutionary activities, but Tolstoy intercedes on his behalf and he is released from prison.

Pyotr llich Tchaikovsky also meets Tolstoy but their musical opinions clash. Tolstoy considers Beethoven untalented which Tchaikovsky thinks stupid – particularly from such a writer of genius. Despite that, Tolstoy cries when he hears Nikolai Rubinstein playing Tchaikovsky’s “Andante” in D major. Curiously, Tchaikovsky was very critical of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, which he said was “camouflaged with pretensions to depths of psychological analysis”. Some time later, in May 1888, Tchaikovsky, had the task of examining Sergei Rachmaninoff on his entrance application of the Moscow Conservatory. He was impressed and enthusiastic about the young Rachmaninoff and the board accepted him. A few months later that year, in November, Tchaikovsky died of cholera. Rachmaninoff immediately started composing his “Trio Élégiaque” for piano, violin and cello – and dedicated it “to the memory of a great artist.”

Forty-three years later, Rachmaninoff’s youthful “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” was his most popular piece. But despite its popularity he had grown to detest it. He regretted ever having written it. Between concerts in Texas and Los Angeles, Rachmaninoff stayed at the Garden of Allah. It was the Los Angeles precursor of New York’s Chelsea Hotel and a refuge for East Coast celebrities. Harpo Marx used the sprawling hotel to stay in and as a haven for practising his harp. One day the sound of a piano shattered the peace of the hotel. It was Rachmaninoff practising. Marx stormed over to the office to register his complaint but the management

Science fiction writer H G Wells met Soviet Union dictator Josef Stalin and politely argued about the different ideals of capitalism and communism. prevaricated. So Marx reverted to the single weapon left in his armoury, his harp, and he got rid of Rachmaninoff by playing the first four bars of “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” over and over again, fortissimo. His fingers were numb but he didn’t stop. Suddenly the sound of the piano was no more and there was a prolonged continuing silence. Rachmaninoff had asked to be moved to a distant bungalow. Six years after this Harpo Marx exacted further revenge. In “A Day at the Races” he appeared in a battered top hat, playing the piano with increasing ferocity. The more he played the piano, the more he wrecked it; by the end, he reduced it to smithereens, leaving only the plate, which he then picked up and played as a harp. The piece he destroyed in this memorable scene was Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor”.

Craig Brown clearly relishes the farcical probabilities of his stories: Bernard Shaw crashes his bicycle into Bertrand Russell, who in turn butters bread for the sensuous young actress Sarah Miles. A young Edward Heath, the future prime minister of England, sings to the artist Walter Sickert, who in turn instructs Winston Churchill to “slow down and work from drawings rather than plunging into a riot of colour.” J D Salinger seeks out Ernest Hemingway drinking at the Ritz Hotel bar in Paris at the end of the war in August 1944; and nearly a quarter of a century later Cecil Beaton is offered some LSD by a youthful Mick Jagger.

Michael Barrymore, the disgraced British comedian, is befriended by Diana, Princess of Wales, only a few weeks before she is killed in a car crash in Paris; and Princess Grace of Monaco is very nearly persuaded by Alfred Hitchcock to resume her film career in “Marnie”.

The stories and encounters go on and on, and the reader feels privileged to be involved in such a feast of story telling. You cannot put the book down, and if you do it will be difficult not to pick it up again and start reading about yet another confrontation: Howard Hawks playing golf with Howard Hughes in California and agreeing to do the movie “The Outlaw”. During filming Hughes found himself forced to invent a cantilevered under-wired brassiere for the voluptuous Jane Russell. She was tied with leather thongs between two trees and writhed around as though trying to escape. Hughes was delighted with the result, but the film was censored and Hughes had to take the matter to appeal – which he eventually won. Three years later, Jane Russell was one of the most famous actresses in America.

I have dined out on many of Craig Brown’s sagas: Roald Dahl giving writing tips to Kingsley Amis, who in turn is snubbed by the photographer Anthony Armstrong Jones – the future husband of Princess Margaret.

Salvador Dali sketches Sigmund Freud in 1938, and Freud analyses Gustav Mahler in Holland. Mahler refused

to kneel before Auguste Rodin when the sculptor was working on his bust, and in one of Brown’s most revealing sketches he writes about Isadora Duncan, who mesmerised the 50-yearold Rodin, whose attraction to Miss Duncan was instant. He was desperate to sculpt her. She danced for him and reminisced: “He gazed at me with lowered lids, his eyes blazing, and then, with the same expression that he had before his works, he came toward me. He ran his hands over my neck, breast, stroked my arms and ran his hands over my hips, my bare legs and feet. He began to knead my whole body as if it were clay, while from him emanated heat that scorched and melted me. My whole desire was to yield to him my entire being and indeed I would have done so if it had not ... caused me to become frightened, and I withdrew, threw my dress over my tunic, and sent him away bewildered.”

In later life she came to regret the sudden attack of scruples, a seizure she ensured would never be repeated.

“What a pity! How often I have regretted this childish incomprehension which lost to me the divine chance of giving my virginity to the Great God Pan, the mighty Rodin. Surely Art and all life would have been richer thereby!”

In an abnormal coda at the end of his book Craig Brown has written this brief paragraph with geometric precision: “My work as a humorist relies on distortion. However, I have tried to keep this book on the straight and narrow; everything in it is documented.

When accounts of the same meeting differ, as they almost always do, I have sided with the most likely. To lend order to a book that revolves around chance, I have described each of the 101 meetings in exactly 1001 words, which makes ‘One on One’ 101,101 words long. The acknowledgements, prefacing quotes, author’s blurb and list of my other books each consist of 101 words, as does this note.”

What an extraordinary literary experience!

NEXT WEEK: French novelist Honoré de Balzac • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is an adventurer and writer resident in the Bahamas. A Sri Lankan-born Canadian-Englishman, he is the author of several books, including “The Last Colonial”.

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, August 18, 2017

history Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha

Things that used to fly

“If (the new Bahamasair) building becomes a reality, I suggest that it be named after Edward F Albury or Thomas Alverd Bethel – Bahamians who were there on day one.”

M

y writings about Bahamas Airways Limited (BAL), the first airline in the Bahamas, have stirred up a lot of confused discussion about the whole subject of aviation in these islands. Young people know little, if anything, about Bahamas Airways. Others confuse BAL with Bahamas World Airways (BWA) or think BAL used to fly to Luxembourg.

I spent over 10 years researching and writing the history of Bahamas Airways Limited (1936-1970), which my publisher promises will be ready for release in October. It would take many more years to compile complete histories of the all the others, so this is just a short review of scheduled airlines that were.

BAL’s first serious competitor for scheduled routes was Skyways Bahamas Limited, founded by Leonard Thompson. Leonard learned to fly in the RCAF and was a prisoner of war in Germany. After the war, he became BAL’s first Bahamian pilot. Philip Farrington was the second.

Leonard worked his way up to general manger of BAL, before creating Skyways. Interestingly, he sold Skyways to two English investors, Eric Rylands and David Brown. Then, Skyways bought Bahamas Airways from BOAC. Two years later, the Ryland/Brown enterprise was on the edge of bankruptcy, until BOAC Associated Companies re-acquired the shares in BAL. Out Island Airways (OIA) grew out of an air taxi service called Island

Bahamas Airways was the country’s first airline. It operated from 1936 to 1970.

The site of Bahamasair’s future headquarters on John F Kennedy Drive.

Flying Service. Its principals were Edward Albury, Gil Hensler and Sherlock Hackley. It grew steadily, until BAL was put into voluntary liquidation in 1970.

International Air Bahama (IAB) had only one route – between Luxembourg and Nassau. It changed owners, logos and equipment (Boeing and Douglas), but is generally remembered as having only one Douglas DC-8, which operated six round-trip flights a week and offered passengers the lowest trans-Atlantic fare. They had an enviable on-time record, but lost customers

to Laker Airlines’ new low-cost service from London to Miami. IAB reduced the frequency of its flight, until it finally stopped flying.

When BWA appeared on the scene, the owners of Bahamas Airways Limited perceived it as a threat to BAL’s position in the Bahamas. As a result, BAL stopped operations on October 9, 1970, leaving air services in the Bahamas in total disarray.

For a while, BWA did operate a scheduled service to Frankfurt, but most of its extensive operations were charter flights, far afield from the Bahamas. It stopped flying shortly after Robert Vesco left the Bahamas.

Whereas BAL had served the entire archipelago for about three years, the inter-island routes were divided between Out Island Airways (NW Bahamas) and Flamingo Airlines (SE Bahamas). Freeport was served by both.

In 1973, when the government decided to create Bahamasair Holdings Limited. OIA and Flamingo were invited to participate. Flamingo did not participate, but the OIA shareholders became shareholders. OIA employees were incorporated into Bahamasair with their dates of joining OIA. Fla-

mingo employees started anew of the first day of Bahamasair.

Trinity Air Bahamas was the brainchild of Dr E Achara, who brought so many babies into the world while dreaming of owning his own airline, flying long-range, non-stop flights between Nassau and Tokyo. He settled for a short-lived service to Fort Lauderdale.

Nassau now has a greater variety of scheduled carriers than used to be allowed, but even at Bahamasair, their roots in OIA seem to have been forgotten.

On John F Kennedy drive, just to the west of the Airport Police Station, a piece of land has been cleared and a prominent sign tells us it is the site for the new Bahamasair headquarters. If this building becomes a reality, I suggest that it be named after Edward F Albury or Thomas Alverd Bethel – Bahamians who were there on day one. I suspect that Tommy Bethel was the airline’s longest-serving employee.

Anyone who shares my opinion should make his/her voice heard.

• E-mail comments and responses to islandairman@gmail.com

rerUn (across) UnfiT (down)

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.

section

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

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PLay More Cro

The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, August 18, 2017

animals

Sharks pay a high price

S

ummer is here, the sea is calm, boating is rampant, and the animals that live in the sea are paying the high price of having homo sapiens in their territory.

Day after day we see and hear of one disgraceful marine animal story after the other.

Perhaps the most disgusting was the video clip going around is of a shark on a hook, with his throat slit, blood in the water and two clueless humans, excited when they see an absolutely splendid tiger shark move in to “attack” and eat the dead shark. The inane conversation between the men on the boat is peppered with curse words, and remarks such as: “This is why you do not swim in Harbour Island” and “Only at the beach”. There are so many inaccuracies and so much wrong with this video.

To start with, the capture and killing of a shark for fun is illegal. Sharks are now protected in the Bahamas. We pride ourselves on having a very diverse and healthy shark population in this country and people from all over the world come here to dive with the sharks.

Worldwide, approximately 100 million sharks are killed a year, many for their fins and many by foolish people who go on mindless killing sprees to inflate their ego.

I note, if you are offended that I call these fishermen foolish and their actions mindless, I make no apology. It is foolish to kill a species that is heading towards extinction. It saddens me to see this kind of irresponsible behaviour in the Bahamas. We, as a country, were responsible enough to pass a protection law for sharks, and our citizens are irresponsible enough to ignore it and post their disgusting behaviour online.

I worry for that strong and healthy tiger shark who came in to eat the reef

Looking spiffy and ready to go

By The Bahamas Humane Society

PET OF THE WEEK

“W

on’t you adopt me, Victoria?”

“I’d love to, Tuxedo, but I’m only here to help with the photos today.”

Tuxedo is a very loving young male kitten, about four months old. He’s sociable with other cats and would really love to have a home of his own to hang out in. He’s playful and inquisitive. Tuxedo is one of many younger cats available for adoption so he’d like you to know he’d be fine if you adopt two! Do you have arms to cuddle Tuxedo and a loving home with toys and a cosy bed for him? If so, come in to the Bahamas Humane Society or call 3235138 for more information. Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday.

Tuxedo looks forward to being your friend!

• Bingo Night is coming soon!

PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

Animal matters Kim Aranha

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, August 22, 7 pm at the Green Parrot, East Bay Street. Cards range from $1 to $5 per round. Winner takes half, the BHS takes half. Come out for a fun evening!

Sharks are a tourist attraction and protected by Bahamian laws. shark. The large hook was near where he was feeding. Did those jabbering fellows on the boat catch and kill that tiger shark, too? Why not, I guess, as they have shown no respect for the law of the land, no respect for conservation, no respect for nature, in fact, no

respect for anything except boosting their egos in a pathetic stab at being macho. The real macho man is one who cares about the future of this country and this planet.

When will people in this country collectively “get it”? It seams to matter

little if you tell them and explain to them that these creatures are protected. They delight in killing. The joy of ending a life of a magnificent creature sends them into some sort of pseudo euphoria and they are so proud of their actions that in spite of it being against the law, they post the clip to Facebook. A psychologist’s dream…

Let’s get to the other silly remark: “This is why you don’t swim in Harbour Island”. Great publicity for an island that depends on tourism; patriotic to the maximum. Then the other “great fisherman” comments: “Only at the beach.”

Well, that is about as weak a comment as you will find. That shark is in very shallow water. Sharks have not read the rule book that says “Thou shark wilt not approach a beach”.

They come in fast and strong whenever and wherever they wish, including the beaches.

The third thing that is unpleasant is the attraction of seeing an animal eat another of his species, though I am not naive enough to not know that sharks will eat each other, but it is not a pleasant sight. In fact, tiger and bull sharks will eat practically anything.

Perhaps it is time to really devote some consideration as to why anybody would want to do what is depicted in this video, and secondly, why do these men have no regard for the laws of the Bahamas? And thirdly, why do they care so little about our environment?

We know this happened in Harbour Island, or just off Harbour Island, because of their easy banter back and forth. There was no effort to hide the location. I am guessing that they posted the video because they are unquestionably proud of their rather lame and pathetic “achievement”.

They have single-handedly contributed to the slow demise of a species that is relentlessly being overfished and killed for their fins, for their teeth, for the trophy photo, and apparently for some kind of warped thrill.

There are some wonderful men and women in this country, faithfully devoted to conservation and the protection of the environment, but alas, the actions of a couple of moronic and thoughtless humans can undo years of good and dedicated work.

If you see this video and if anybody recognises the voices in this clip I urge you to please report them to the Bahamas National Trust and the Royal Bahamas Police Force for blatantly breaking the laws of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 18, 2017

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