08242018 WEEKEND

Friday, August 24, 2018

art books theatre film fashion music gardening puzzles food

Weekend

EXPLORE THE BEYOND Page 21

Artful healing Malcolm Rae finds new meaning in painting

pages 14 & 15

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

music

Local jazz artist snags Canadian ‘Miss Talent’ award

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Anuschka Wright on stage at the Miss Globe Canada pageant in Toronto.

elebrated jazz vocalist Anuschka Wright, producer of Nassau’s popular concert series “Jazz In Bloom”, continues to take the world by storm. Last Saturday, the talented songstress participated in the Miss Globe Canada pageant held in Toronto, Canada.

It was fate, she said, that lead her to be scouted and approached one day as she was waiting on a friend at a Starbucks in Montreal, the city where she currently resides.

Anuschka was one of 14 young women of various races, ages and backgrounds in the running for the title of Miss Globe Canada. She won the individual award of Miss Talent for her performance of “Losing My Mind” from the musical “The Follies.” The performance left audience members teary-eyed.

Anuschka has been singing since she was a child, in school and church choirs, and as a member of the Bahamas National Children’s Choir, with whom she travelled to exciting cities like Moscow and New York while still in primary school. She considers herself blessed to have had so many varying experiences as a young girl.

After leaving the choir in junior high, she took a break from organised groups until after high school, spending a year with the gospel ensemble Christian Music Association (CMA) lead by Charles Drake. During her time with them, she and her group won the Cacique Award for Best Gospel Song in 2009.

Incidentally, 2009 became a pivotal year for Anuschka for another reason.

After leaving CMA she made her professional debut as a soloist, joining the band Jazz Etc, led by upright bassist Adrian D’Aguilar. She fell instantly in love with the new musical environment and the genre.

Then in 2013, she hosted the first instalment of what has become her signature event in the Bahamas – ‘Jazz in Bloom’. Held on Father’s Day, the concert celebrated “life, honoured fathers

and envisioned possibilities”, and was a success with audience members.

Since then, she has staged the event every year around Father’s Day, inviting other talented jazz musicians to share the stage with her.

“At first we didn’t have a particular reason for the event to be on Father’s Day. But as we continued to consider dates we found there to be a great lack of quality event options for more mature persons to treat their fathers to,” she explained in a previous interview.

It has now been two years since Anuschka graduated with her degree in Jazz from Concordia University in Montreal and one year since the release of her first EP titled “Jazz for Sale.” Now with her exemplary performance in this recent pageant it is no wonder fans are left in excited anticipation for what lies ahead for the woman who has been described as “a jazz flower in full bloom”.

Fans can keep up with Anuschka on Facebook at ‘AaaWright’; on Instagram and Twitter at ‘aaawright’. She also has an official website, aaawright. com.

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Friday, August 24, 2018

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian weekend Lisa Wallace Make-up artist, founder of Beat Studios

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

Interview 4-5 Career diplomat Missouri ShermanPeter tells Cara Hunt about her 40 years in foreign service

Food 7 Breakfast at the Garden of Eden dished up by one of the leading boiled and stewed fish chefs

Theatre 8 - 9 Remembering true Bahamian icon James Catalyn

Entertainment 10 Enjoy brunch with the insightful ladies of the ‘Wine Down’ podcast

Community 11 - 12 ‘Adopt’ a child, make a difference with new back-to-school initiative, plus learn how inner-city communities are getting cleaner and healthier

Art 14 - 15 Watercolour artist Malcolm Rae celebrates his 77th birthday with raffle of original work

Film 17 ‘The Happytime Murders’ make the Muppets X-rated

Motivational 18 Soichiro Honda, the man who never quit

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy on the start of a new season

Books 20 - 21 Bahamas-based author looks into the far beyond, plus latest releases reviewed

Literary Lives 22 - 23 A country girl breaks down barriers with her writing

History 24 - 25 The world’s ‘most ancient’ cheese discovered, plus explore Hadrian’s Wall

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 Kim Aranha asks, ‘Can cats and dogs get along?’, plus Pet of the Week

“Saturday breakfast in bed.”

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik?

“I prefer a sweet wine...a nice mellow reserve would do.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“All on that sofa.”

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

“I can’t live without God.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go?

“I’m a Bahama Mama, so I would go island-hopping.”

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday

• ‘Paint Me Couture!’ by Dear Fashion Journal Media Time: 6pm Venue: The beach across from the Caves Sip some wine and paint live models wearing the latest in Bahamian fashion. This event takes place every Friday until October.

Admission is $55 per painter, which includes complimentary wine, a canvas, paint, and assistance by artist Justin Moultrie if needed.

For more information, e-mail Dearfashionjournal@gmail.com.

• Paella & Wine Time: 7pm Venue: 1er Cru You are invited to an evening hosted by Treasury Wines Estates Head of Luxury Education Ewan Proctor, a multi-award winning hospitality and wine industry professional. The event is an intimate interactive tasting and guests will be able to sample wine while educating themselves, eat a delicious paella, and take home their favourites wines. Admission is $30. RSVP is suggested: gricelle.richmond@ bristol.bs Call 601-9315 for more information.

Saturday

• The Summer Wine Down Brunch Party

Time: 11am - 4pm Venue: Halcyon Restaurant Enjoy bottomless mimosas and connect with the insightful hosts of the ‘Wine Down’ podcast.

SEE PAGE 10

• Rake, Scrape n Scorch Festival Time: 12noon - 8pm Venue: British Colonial Hilton Indulge in good ole fashioned island nostalgia with crab-catching and conch-cracking competitions, cultural showcases and live entertainment. Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for kids; self-parking for $5 available at The Pointe.

• Kalik’s Junkanoo Jam Time: 5pm - midnight Venue: Arawak Cay Come see your favourite Junkanoo groups perform, enjoy music

by Nassau’s leading deejays, and indulge in food and drink specials.

• Da SPOT Live Improv Comedy Show Time: 8pm Venue: The Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts Join Da SPOT cast for season 12 of their live improv comedy show.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Dundas Box Office or by calling 393-3728.

• One Blood 18: Old Skool Reggae Party

Time: 9pm - 2am Venue: Lukka Kairi restaurant Music by Selector Ty and Selector 3D, and an ‘irie’ dress code. Rock the night away with your favourite old school reggae jams. Admission is $20.

• Goodbye Summer GLOW Time: 9pm - 1am Venue: Sagini Inc, Robinson Road The Flip Squad presents a networking event designed to bring friendly faces and positive energy together in a comfortable environment. Glow sticks, glow necklaces and glow paint are free at the door.

• Radiance: The Absolut Rave!

Time: 9pm - 2am Venue: Celebrity Status, East Bay Street Enjoy black lights, rum, good food, musical performances by Project Nightlife’s Shazzy Sauce and DJ Spleen; EDM, house, techno, hip hop and dancehall mixes. August babies get in free with ID.

Sunday

• So Long Summer: Foam Beer Fest Time: 8pm Venue: Smuggler’s Square Big Boyz Production in association with Smuggler’s invite you to say farewell to summer with foam, beer and good music.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

interview She has worked with world leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth, and has headed one of the most effective cabinets in UN history, but this island girl tells Cara Hunt how she never forgot her roots and how God ‘ordered’ her path.

A Missouri Sherman-Peter

A

Missouri Sherman-Peter may describe herself as an accidental diplomat, but in the end, she said, she knows that every step of her illustrious, 43-year career in foreign service was ordered by God. After all, she says, how else could a little girl, the 15th of 16 children raised in poverty in the heart of Bain Town grow up to become a career diplomat who has sat as a delegate in 29 sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, travelled to more than 100 countries and has worked with world leaders such as Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro.

“My family was church mouse poor.

My parents were both illiterate when they moved from Andros to Nassau.

We did not have a stove in our home until I was 13. As children we would go into the bushes by what is now The Nassau Guardian to collect the wood for the fire hearth. All of us lived in a four-room house, not four bedrooms, mind, four rooms. I started babysitting at the age of eight,” she recalled.

It was while she was house cleaning as little girl that she received the first sign of God ordering her steps.

“My mother had a job as the maid in the Park Manor Hotel and she had us kids helping her. I was cleaning the rooms of an English teacher when this tall white man entered the apartment with a key,’ she said.

Ambassador Sherman-Peter said although she was young, she stood up to the visitor explaining that he could not come into the room unless he got permission from her mother.

“I told him that I could not let him in because if something went wrong or something went missing, my mother would be held responsible.”

The man eventually did get her mother’s permission to enter and get the item he came for.

“A while later he came to my mother and told her that he was coming to take to me to take the entrance exam for Queen’s College, which was almost an impossible dream at the time. My mother sent me with two of my brothers for protection to sit the exam because she didn’t know if the man’s intentions were honourable. I passed the exam and was able to attend Queen’s College where I became head girl and was on the track team. Going to Queen’s College opened so many doors for me,” she said Years later, when she was appointed High Commissioner to Canada, she started a newsletter and reached out to people who had a connection with the Bahamas living in Canada.

One of the first to reach out to her was John Verney.

“I was so excited. I said, ‘Do you remember me?’ and he said, ‘I remember a little arrogant maid at the Park Manor Hotel, but I do not know this woman who is calling herself the High Commissioner’.”

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Friday, August 24, 2018

Ambassador Sherman-Peter said a diplomatic career was something that she had never even contemplated.

“In my mind I was going to be a teacher. In fact, my family thought I was crazy, because I used to tear off pieces of newspapers to make the bushes read. I admired my teachers; they were my heroes. In my mind, I was going to open my own school,” she said.

However, thanks to her mentor, the late Paul Adderley, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, her life would take a turn she never imagined.

It was Minister Adderley who recognised that she had the tenacity and determination necessary for a career in the foreign service even though she was a young mother of two with no real experience in the field.

Ambassador ShermanPeter was sent to New York to establish the infrastructure for the Bahamas mission to the United Nations, and then two years later the Bahamas Consular General at New York. It would be the start of her life’s work.

“This was right after Independence and so the Bahamas was just establishing its foreign service. It was a very exciting time and Minister Adderley certainly took such a chance on me and he stayed with me and my career and never let me go. He was very much like those parents who take you to the dock and throw you into the sea so you have no choice but to learn how to swim,” she said.

Ambassador ShermanPeter’s resumé spans more than four decades and is very impressive. In most cases, she blazed trails as the first to hold the position, whether it be as the first Bahamian, first Bahamian woman, or first woman at all.

In addition to serving as the Head/Consul General of the Bahamas Consulate General at New York, she has also been a deputy permanent representative to the United Nations for the Bahamas.

Additionally, she has served as the High Commissioner to Canada and as the non-resident High Commissioner of the Bahamas to Zimbabwe.

At home, her duties have included being the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Security and in the office of the the Attorney General, which at the time was drafting new legislation for international cooperation tax matters under consideration by the Bahamas.

She has advised the government on crime prevention, gender and women’s affairs, international narcotics control, trafficking of persons – areas she also worked on in committees of the UN. During her time at the UN she was elected to 11 positions and observed elections in countries as far away as Bangladesh and Pakistan .

She is particularly passionate about women’s issues and was a fierce advocate for both failed gender equality referendums.

“When you see the cruelty that people can inflict on other people it touches your soul,” she said in regards to trafficking of persons. This is also the reason why she is so

“My family was church mouse poor.

My parents were both illiterate when they moved from Andros to Nassau. We did not have a stove in our home until I was 13.” passionate about her work in creating the Bahamas’ guidelines for the prevention, suppression and punishment of trafficking of persons.

Ambassador Sherman-Peter has also worked for a number of international organisations,

including as an assistant director and special advisor in the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Even her appointment to that office came due to divine intervention, she said.

“I had heard about the position, but the deadline had past. I sent the application via fax anyway, explaining that I knew it was late, but I had just learnt about the position, then I went to the meeting I was scheduled to attend and was introduced to the Commonwealth Secretary-General who was at the UN. I was able to ask him to consider my application on his return. That was in November and I reported to work the following April.

Again my life has been led by ordered steps,” she said.

Ambassador Sherman-Peter served as the Chef De Cabinet to the President of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2003-2004.

The president that year was Minister Julian Hunt of St Lucia and the cabinet Ambassador Sherman-Peter headed was considered one of the most effective in UN history.

Her current position is as the Ambassador/Permanent Observer for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the United Nations.

In that capacity she represents CARICOM on the UN Remember Slavery committee and has also represented the organisation on the Commission on Human Rights, as well as on other United Nations bodies.

She has been in that position for almost four years and says it has been one of the most challenging but rewarding appointments of her professional life. She brought all of her experiences from numerous previous appointments to this job.

Although she is not now working for the Bahamas government, and many of the positions she has held have been with international organisations or as an expert or consultant including to three United Nations Secretary Generals, Ambassador Sherman-Peter said that as a diplomat no matter who you work for, you represent your country.

“People will always know that you are from the Bahamas,” she noted. “It is why in whatever position I have had, I have tried to keep the interest of the Bahamas in the forefront, including the engagement of Bahamians as experts.

She has also miraculously managed to raise two children who have travelled the world with her and grew up to be successful in their own right.

Her daughter Senaka Akaibi Peter is an oncological epidemiologist, and her son Sebastian Peter is a mechanical engineer and industrial designer.

Despite her long, illustrious career, Ambassador ShermanPeter says that she is not ready to slow down and is now turning her attention to writing books about the history of the Bahamas foreign service and her own “Ordered Steps” autobiography.

“I don’t get tired,” she said.

“When there is a project to get done I can’t rest until it is completed.”

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

section

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Friday, August 24, 2018

food PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA)

Yellow grits with Johnny cake

Chicken souse

Breakfast

in the

garden Nassau’s leading boiled and stewed fish chef is back in business

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

I

f you are a hobby cook who loves to try new dishes or are willing to take a stab at a native staple like stewed fish, Chef Thelma Mackey has this important piece of advice for you: “It’s all about the seasonings.”

“Anyone can do it, but it’s all about the taste and the seasonings that you use.”

But if cooking is not your forte, then Thelma would rather you enjoy her carefully prepared and expertly seasoned dishes. She is currently the chef at Residence Resorts at the Garden of Eden, which has introduced breakfast to its weekday and weekend offerings.

Garden of Eden is a quaint and quiet hotel which also features apartments, a restaurant and a bar located in the Eastwood community.

The resort has been putting on a popular Sunday buffet for the last three years, but recently they decided to offer a ‘true true’ Bahamian breakfast of boiled and stewed fish from Thursdays through Sundays.

The challenge was finding the right chef to ensure this breakfast staple was as delicious as it needed to be. And with the Nassau Stadium restaurant closing earlier this year – where Thelma made a name for herself over the past decade – she was free to take her skills to the Eastwood property.

“I gave 12 years to the Nassau Stadium and it was a good

Stewed fish relationship,” said Thelma.

“Unfortunately, they had to close and I needed work, but more importantly, my customers were looking for a place to go to continue to enjoy my boiled and stewed fish breakfast.”

Following the closure of her former place of employment, Thelma resettled in the United States for a while, but yearned to return home and cook her specialty dishes for local customers.

An opportunity became available when the management of Garden of Eden decided to offer Bahamian breakfast on weekends, focusing on boiled and stewed fish.

The search was on for the best Bahamian breakfast chef.

And Thelma was the woman for the job. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for some of the best boiled and stewed fish on the island. The Eleuthera native credits her island roots with her skills in the kitchen.

“I love being in the kitchen and cooking. I’m right at home and I guess my love and passion for cooking comes out in the food. So my customers enjoy it and I just get excited when I see them enjoying something I have prepared.”

Since Thelma started at the Garden of Eden a little over a month ago, the restaurant has seen an increase in customers.

Stewed fish, especially grouper, has remained one of the favourites of those who have tasted Thelma’s cooking.

It has long been thought that fresh fish is ideal for a stew or souse. However, Thelma said fresh catch is not necessary and can even be impractical at times.

“I can take a frozen fish and turn that into something nice.

Grouper, for example, is seasonal so you don’t have that fresh every day. You have to freeze it and put it in storage. You can then take it out and the way that you prepare it can make it taste like it is fresh.

It is in how you prepare it,” she said.

And when it comes to making side dishes for her stews, yellow grits is the way to go, she said.

“People don’t like white grits that much anymore. The other best thing to eat with it is Johnny cake and potato bread,” she explained.

Breakfast at the Garden of Eden is served Thursday through Sunday, from 7am to 3pm. Customers can call for pick-up or just come and dine in the restaurant.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

theatre

A salute to a true

Bahamian icon

By CARA HUNT Tribune features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

T

ributes have poured in all this week as the country mourns the death of James Catalyn, the charismatic performer who encouraged Bahamians from all walks of life to “laugh at we self.”

Mr Catalyn died on August 18 at the age of 78 following a life dedicated to the arts and the promotion of Bahamian culture.

His popular plays focused on political and social satire with a heavy use of Bahamian dialect. His theatre group, James Catalyn and Friends, which was founded in 1979, traditionally staged two Summer Madness productions annually, during June and September, at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts.

The group encouraged the audience to “Guard our heritage. Speak ‘Bahamianese’. Use English only when necessary.” He also encouraged Bahamians to find humour in all aspects of their life, coining the popular phrase “laughing at we self.”

In 2016, he was given a Queen’s Honour and was named as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Earlier this week, Tribune Weekend spoke with several members of the cultural community about the impact Mr Catalyn made and the legacy he leaves behind.

Graham Thordarson, an actor who grew up around the Dundas, accompanying his mother, the late actress Viveca Watkins, who was also a member of the James Catalyn and Friends group, told Tribune Weekend that “one of the great men in my life has been called home.”

“He was a man of dignity, a scholar, a gentleman, a mentor, an example, a fiercely proud Bahamian and a friend,” said Graham.

James Catalyn with Bahamian Icon Awards founder Addis Huyler

James Julius Catalyn will be remembered with reverence and with a little irreverence as well, because that’s how he lived.”

“James Julius Catalyn will be remembered with reverence and with a little irreverence as well, because that’s how he lived. James was a father figure to me and I look back and I realise that what I learned from James all boils down to one thing: respect.

James taught me that the most important thing in life is to have respect.

You will hear stories about how he was a disciplinarian and a stickler for

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Friday, August 24, 2018

James Catalyn and Friends have entertained Bahamian audiences for nearly four decades.

James Catalyn stands in front of artwork created by Tribune cartoonist Jamaal Rolle for the Bahamas’ Independence celebrations.

being on time. Even this was about respect; respect for others, respect for the people you work with and respect for the people who come to see you on stage.

“All our social and cultural ills are down to a lack of respect for our country, respect for our culture, respect for our own people respect for ourselves and each other. That’s what James taught me,” said Graham.

Mr Catalyn was also nominated for a Bahamian Icon Award and was one of a special group of Bahamians who

were asked to participate in the original public relations campaign for the inaugural awards ceremony.

Addis Huyler, founder of the Bahamian Icon Awards, said that Mr Catalyn is the epitome what it means to be a Bahamian Icon.

“There is a generation of Bahamians who during the turn of Independence and in the late 70s helped us to establish what it means to be a Bahamian, and what it means to be an icon. They were the ones who didn’t just excel in their various industries. They set

the standards in their industries. They taught us about what was executable and what was not, what was excellent and what was not, what was good work and what was not. James Catalyn was one of those persons who taught us what it was to be an icon. He didn’t just teach us by telling us what was necessary, but he taught us by showing us, by reflecting back at us our lives in ways that made us laugh and cry and jump up and down and scream and grab our bellies in laughter. He taught

us that our life experience was valid as Bahamians,” said Mr Huyler.

Another young actress who was mentored by James Catalyn was Leslie Ellis Tynes “I may not have had the chance to portray some of my most beloved characters on stage had it not been for James Julius Catalyn. I got my start with you and became even better because of you. You’ve left an indelible mark on the performing arts community and your legacy will continue to live on. I salute you, sir,” she said.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

entertainment

‘Wine Down’ and brunch with insightful podcasters

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OUR dynamic women bare it all in a podcast series dedicated to creating a safe space to navigate life’s trials while dismantling gender stereotypes that limit personal growth.

With a full season under their belt, and a potential crossover to local television, the hosts of ‘The Wine Down’ are serving up bottomless mimosas and sharp wit as they connect with listeners over brunch this weekend.

“The Summer Wine Down Brunch Party is our first event,” said 22-yearold marketing executive Jayme Pinder, the podcast’s creator.

“We wanted a really chill environment for everyone to party and socialise as we say goodbye to summer,

and hello to a new season. There will be no formalities. We just want to have a good time with everyone in a good environment.”

“Vibes, good music, awesome food,” added Jazmine McPhee, a 28-year-old creative consultant.

The pair are joined by finance and media professionals Tavia Aumoithe, 25, and Ava Turnquest, 30, respectively.

Ms McPhee continued: “The universe has a way of bringing people together at certain times for an impactful purpose. Jayme just so happened to be the connective tissue that brought select friends together to share their unique perspectives with people who can relate to them. Once we got together

Tavia Aumoithe

Jazmine McPhee

Jayme Pinder, creator of the podcast ‘The Wine Down’ everyone just shared their voice on our various topics.

“The Wine Down is like being a fly on the wall,” said Ms McPhee, “watching women you know or relate to talk about the things people want to talk about, and even things you didn’t know you wanted to discuss. Friendships, relationships, money, career, just life in general.”

The podcast’s first season has 10 wide-ranging episodes that highlight

the eclectic mix of personalities, ideologies, and random insight from women who choose to live fearlessly in spite of insecurities and societal pressures.

It also features a fifth host, 25-year-old journalist Sloan Smith.

“It’s the glass of wine you need after a long day. We don’t tell you what you want to hear, we tell you what you need to hear. We are your girlfriends. We are THE girlfriends. We talk about everything from love, sex, relationships, friendships, finances and everything in between,” said Ms Pinder. “The message we want to get out is simply, you are not alone. You are not the only person experiencing this. You are not the only person who is feeling this. We are all on a journey and our podcast is our way of saying, ‘Hey, take my hand.

Let’s do this together’.”

Ms Aumoithe added: “I feel like I’m the comedic relief at times, but I really use my voice as a beacon for women who may not know how to open up.

A lot of things we discuss are vital and necessary for a healthy mindset, and growth physically mentally and emotionally.

“The message that I want to get out is that everybody is just growing through life and the main point for me is encourage people to focus on your path, your journey, and if you can help a sister, help one on the way.”

Although the group’s effortless, and at times raucous banter, belies a deep connection, most of the hosts had never met before embarking on this venture.

They credit this ease with one another to a common experience that exists in society across the gender spectrum, but is often skewed by harmful norms that promote isolation and discord.

“It’s almost been a year since we got together and it’s been amazing. I have no regrets,” said Ms Pinder.

Ms McPhee added: “No one is alone in their thinking. We’re not meant to do life alone. I think by sharing my experiences and my faith, I can help others to find their voice.”

You can listen to The Wine Down series on SoundCloud. The brunch event will be held from 11am to 4pm at Halcyon Restaurant this Saturday.

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Friday, August 24, 2018

community

Summer learning with a ‘FOCUS’ on building a better Bahamas

C

ompleting its eighth Summer Slam, FOCUS – a programme of the Lyford Cay Foundations – engaged 169 students this year from grades five to nine in creating solutions aimed at building a better Bahamas.

Summer Slam took place from June 22 to August 3 on the campus of University of the Bahamas.

College readiness and access are at the core of this tuition-free programme that selects 36 students in grade four each year for a rigorous and exciting eight-year journey to prepare them for college. FOCUS students commit to pursuing their education dreams by attending FOCUS on 15 Saturdays every school year and for a full 30 days of Summer Slam.

The intense summer programme proved to be a time of growth and learning for both students and their teaching interns, who consist mainly of Education majors from UB. While the arts, sports, field trips and other holistic learning activities are incorporated into Summer Slam, Summer learning truly comes alive for FOCUS students through projectbased learning hinged on driving questions. This Summer’s exploration spotlighted the theme “Building A Better Bahamas” and included: • “How can we support early learning through play?” (Grades five and six) • “How can we improve transportation in New Providence and between the main islands?” (Grades seven and eight) • “Can we design cost-effective communities that support cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability?” (Grade nine)

Programme coordinator of grades five to nine, Tiffany A Bain-Saunders, believes that project-based learning is what sets FOCUS apart from other experiences.

“In Summer Slam, students have the opportunity to take the lead and actively participate in their own learning process while solving real-world problems,” she said. “The projects

(l-r) Wellington Armbrister, guest, Kerminique Mackey and Terlyah Dorsett

(l-r) G’Shanna Marshall and Sumiayah Sherman

Kendreia Johnson

(l-r) Gabriella Allen, Dominic Lotmore, Kelton Hanna and Ataria Bethel

are not just student-centred, but student-driven.”

Cherise Walker, mother of FOCUS class of 2023 student Cherish Walker, an eighth grader at S C McPherson Junior High, credits the programme with helping her daughter to dream.

Ms Walker said: “Every year since Cherish was in grade four, she’s been excited about FOCUS and always wondering what there is to learn next.

Whether it’s learning about global warming and the environment or learning about transportation like she is now, she just gets excited. I find that FOCUS keeps her motivated in school.

She dreams of dancing and because of FOCUS she talks about attending Julliard for college.”

In addition to students in grades five to nine, 84 additional students from grades 10 to 12 also continued with “On Course to College”, fondly known to the students as OCTC, the second phase of FOCUS which transitions from project based learning to more individualised Summer learning experiences such as volunteer leadership and work experiences. OCTC students also participated in the FOCUS Summer Seminar which underscored success in high school and preparation for college.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

community

‘Adopt’ a child, make a difference KO Productions and BTC team up for back-to-school initiative

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

T

hey are known for throwing some of the most exciting events the local party scene has ever seen. But KO Productions wants the

public to know that partying isn’t all they do, and that philanthropy is also very important to them.

KO Productions, along with BTC, is imploring members of the public to

engage in a charitable effort before the new school year starts.

The production company has launched an initiative to encourage Bahamians to adopt one at-risk child and purchase any back-to-school items they might need for them.

Public relations representative Jayde Knowles told Tribune Weekend that those who adopt a child are welcome to send their stories to the team, which will then be shared.

“We are just reaching out the public to adopt an at-risk kid. We have some kids that are well (prepared) to go back to school, but then there are others who just aren’t,” she said. “So we are simple calling on members of the public to adopt a child and take care of their needs for school.

Ms Knowles noted that there are other back-to-school initiatives going on all throughout the country, but people should keep their campaign in mind because even a small gesture can make a big impact.

“We want people to find a child in the neighbourhood that they may have some ties to or even reach out to school who may know an at-risk child or children in need to assist them for the short-term just with back to school.

“You would be amazed to know how many children may want shoes that may cost about $30. That could be something to help with or getting them some pencils and books,” she said.

BTC has also collaborated with KO Productions to provide supplies to anyone that is reaching out.

“We partnered with BTC because BTC is also civilly minded. They care about the community as they do their corporate part financially to aid social initiatives. This is just a way outside of their direct sponsorships to help out and to engage other persons to be a part of the whole giving back. It may not have to be at a corporate level, but the difference that someone can make in their own small way can be priceless,” she said.

‘Project Exterminate the Waste’ aims for healthier, happier communities MISSION ‘Exterminate the Waste’ was on full display last week as local service club Voltar’s World and its corporate sponsor Bahamas Waste tackled yet another community cleanup in New Providence.

As part of its commitment to community partnership and development, Bahamas Waste continued to support this young group of hard-working volunteers who want to clean up the inner-city communities.

“For us, waste management is more than just a business,” said Operations Manager Ethelyn Davis. “We understand that cleaner communities are healthier communities, and healthy communities are happy ones; it’s really about improving the quality of life for residents in these areas.”

Since its formation last year, Voltar’s World, a service organisation targeting inner-city communities, has worked

with one mission in mind: to shift the way the public views waste disposal.

Their collaboration with Bahamas Waste has seen them execute a series of community clean-ups around the island to further their agenda of longlasting change.

“So far we’ve taken our efforts into areas such as Golden Isle, Bains Town, Millar Height’s, and now, into the Lewis Street community,” said Voltar’s World President Craig Lowe.

‘Project Exterminate the Waste’, which is now a little over five months old, has brought together volunteers from all walks of life, all with a singular goal – to give back to the community; and their mission is far from over, as the group plans to continue their efforts to clean up often overlooked communities.

Lewis Street was provided with several 20-foot dumpsters which were

Neighbourhood children join in clean-up efforts along with members of Voltar’s World Club. (Photo/Ronnie Archer for Barefoot Marketing) filled to capacity and later properly disposed of.

“Once we have finished our work on Lewis Street, we are looking forward to another partnered event on September 22 geared at getting people up and moving in their communities,” said Mr Lowe.

Those interested in joining Voltar’s World Club as a volunteer can do so by

e-mailing voltarsworld242@gmail.com or by visiting the club’s social media page at https://www.facebook.com/ voltarsworld242.

“We welcome any help,” said Mr Lowe. “We need all hands on deck to make our island beautiful and for people in the community to feel proud of were they live.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, August 24, 2018

celebrity

PART

I

The Weekend Fashion Report 2018 MTV Video Music Awards

AP PHOTOS

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

HIT

FAIL

FAIL

SPLIT

Cardi B

Ariana Grande

Amber Rose

Tiffany Haddish

Karin says: “I’m normally not here for velvet in August, but she looks nice; amazing really, considering she just had a baby. The colour is a bit unusual and flatters her. And on the one hand I like the short hair on her, but on the other I can understand the criticism that it looks like an ‘auntie’ wig.”

Cara says: “Well, this is a lovely colour, that plum is stunning. The style of the dress is nice and that short hair is sooo nice. I love it.

Good job, Cardi...or as she would say ‘eeeooowww’.”

Karin says: “Will we ever see her without thigh-high boots? At least she got rid of the ever-present ponytail.

Otherwise, she looks like since she’s at Radio City Music Hall already she might has as well audition for the Rockettes. I just don’t get her aesthetic.”

Cara says: “I see ya lil’ pirate costume, Ariana. You know you are in a fashion drought when this is not the worst dressed outfit of the event.

It’s not great...OK it’s hideous...but at the same time considering some of the other looks…”

Karin says: “I don’t know what was going on at the VMAs this year, but it looked like a circus of the thirstiest D-listers ever. And here we have Amber, desperate for attention, so she dons a fetish-esque red Catwoman suit. I don’t think anyone was impressed or shocked. Yawn...”

Cara says: ““Well all righty then.

This doesn’t surprise me coming from Amber. She is all about attentionhogging and wanting to be noticed and she achieved that. The outfit is certainly out there; it’s a Halloween costume, that is all.”

Karin says: “The dress is actually quite pretty; sheer in all the right places thanks to a cool black and white concentric pattern. I just don’t think the matching head wrap does her any favours. Also, I’m all for subtle makeup making a comeback, but she needed a bright lip with the look.”

Cara says: “Oh Tiffany, I love you my girl, but you are better than this ‘circle my lady bits’ horror show you have on. Whoever told you to wear this is not your friend. love. Drop them like a hot potato; they don’t mean you any good.”

• For more VMA fashion, check out page 16

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

celebrity

PART

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

FAIL

HIT

HIT

SPLIT

Nicki Minaj

Camila Cabello

Jennifer Lopez

Karin says: “Just like all the nobodies at Monday night’s award show, Nicki once again showed how desperate she is for attention. And it’s totally unnecessary. I’m over the extra long hair extensions which just look straggly, and I’m over the fake butt hanging out all over the place.”

Cara says: “Nope, not feeling the swimsuit covered in tulle. I just don’t get this idea of ‘let’s throw something ridiculous over a skimpy bit of fabric and call it high fashion’. It’s a fail for me.”

Karin says: “Camila obviously thought she was going to a classier event than everybody else. The balloon gown is fine; nothing original, except for that splash of white which makes it look like someone threw a paint bucket all over her. Still, it’s a pretty enough outfit.”

Cara says: “Considering some of the real misses we’ve seen this week, this high-low gown isn’t half bad. The colour combo is nice and the boobs are behaving. I like it; maybe my favourite of the week.”

Millie Bobby Brown (”Stranger Things”) Karin says: “This is actually cute.

And for once, age appropriate. I guess every 14-year-old probably wants to look grown and show a little skin like the big stars. But I like it.

There are some interesting details, and on top of that, it’s looks comfy.”

Cara says: “There is a little piece of fabric at the waist of her pants that really annoys me. It’s like a hill, and I don’t get why it’s there. But misplaced hill aside, I think it’s a sweet little black number. She looks cute.”

Karin says: “Boooring. Considering she was the Vanguard Award recipient of 2018, I wish Jenny had made a little more effort. This is simply yet another silver lamé dress that thousands of women have worn on the red carpet, plus probably every third-tier Las Vegas performer. Also, I think we’re at that point where the super long hair ages her.”

Cara says: “I have to say, the dress is very shiny, very ‘space alien covered in foil’, but J-Lo makes it look glam.

She is rocking this look. And she sure showed those youngsters how to perform as well.”

AP PHOTOS

The Weekend Fashion Report 2018 MTV Video Music Awards

II

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, August 24, 2018

film

review An X-rated Muppets in ‘The Happytime Murders’ THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS RUNNING TIME 91 MINS

Joel McHale as FBI Agent Campbell and puppet private investigator Phil Philips (Bill Barretta).

I

t’s almost reassuring that in today’s often sanitised, assembly-line mainstream movie-making that a film can be as crude, as off-brand and as bad as “The Happytime Murders.”

Almost.

Starring Melissa McCarthy in a seedy, half-human, half-puppet Los Angeles, “The Happytime Murders” is an R-rated, adult-themed puppet adventure from Brian Henson, son of Jim. That in itself isn’t terrible. The elder Henson himself had adult aspirations for the Muppets. (They were, awkwardly, a part of the first season of “Saturday Night Live.”) From Edgar Bergen’s dummies to “Avenue Q” to “Team America” the thrill of puppets saying what they shouldn’t has long held some amusement.

But the humour of “The Happytime Murders,” a Jim Henson Company production featuring a new species of Muppet dubbed Miskreants, is so stale that I suspect even those bitter balcony critics Statler and Waldorf wouldn’t bother heckling it. “Happytime Murders” has been promoted as “No Sesame, All Street,” a tagline that resulted in a lawsuit from PBS (it was dismissed). And Henson (who directed “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and “Muppet Treasure Island”) seems to think the film can coast by purely on cheap giggles from puppets browsing for porn, snorting glitter through Twizzlers and being blown into clouds of cotton.

Melissa McCarthy in a scene from “The Happytime Murders.” (Hopper Stone/STX Entertainment via AP) It can’t. The result is a low point for the Jim Henson Company, a dispiriting and unmitigated misfire whose only upside is that it shows a sloppy, ill-considered movie can still get made, despite today’s quality controls.

“The Happytime Murders” is dispiriting not because it’s crude but because it’s so empty of wit, despite the comic firepower of McCarthy, Maya Rudolph and Elizabeth Banks — a trio not in need of puppet assistance. Yet the film’s clash of cute and coarse makes the toon mash-up “Who Framed

Roger Rabbit” look comparatively seamless.

And like “Roger Rabbit,” ‘‘The Happytime Murders” is a detective tale: a film noir with felt. Phil Phillips (puppeteer Bill Barretta) is a private eye like most before him — a cynical ex-cop with Venetian shades in his office — only Phil differs in that he’s occasionally mistaken for a blue sock.

In “The Happytime Murders,” the puppets are second-class citizens with few rights of their own, though more freedom than when they were earlier forced to be entertainers. “Times have changed,” Phil tells a sidewalk performer. “You don’t have to sing and dance for the man anymore.” To make it in Hollywood, some puppets, like

Phil’s brother, resort to bleaching their skin and donning more human-like noses.

Phil finds himself on the trail of a “Seven”-like killer who is killing all of the stars from a former puppet sitcom, “The Happytime Gang.” The case reunites him with his former partner (McCarthy). In their pursuit, the puppet deaths, whether by bullet or dog bite, are frequent and messy. For a movie about the dignity of the puppet in a human world, it derives a lot of glee from seeing them torn to shreds.

Maybe Muppets could make salient sociopolitical metaphors. Maybe letting them run amok in a grown-up world could be funny. Maybe Gonzo’s chicken fetish is worth investigation.

But such a parallel universe doesn’t exist in “The Happytime Murders,” which uses its premise for only a parade of ghastly scenes of sex, violence and expletives. None pay off, not even the prolonged finale of a deskside tryst, complete with a Silly String burst. Despite the (human) comedic talent, only Rudolph lands a single joke.

It’s all such a painfully far cry from the heights of the Henson empire. As Rowlf the Dog once sang, “I hope that something better comes along.”

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

motivational

The man who

never quit

Soichiro Honda, founder of the Honda Motor Company

By SPENCE M FINLAYSON

A

man that I admire greatly as a motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, wrote this story about Mr Honda in his best-selling book “Awaken The Giant” some years ago: In 1938, while he was still in school, Mr Honda took everything he owned and invested it in a little workshop where he began to develop his concept of a piston ring.

He wanted to sell his work to the Toyota Corporation, so he laboured day and night, up to his elbows in grease, sleeping in the machine shop, always believing he could produce the result.

He even pawned his wife’s jewellery to stay in business.

But when he finally completed the piston rings and presented them to Toyota, he was told they didn’t meet Toyota’s standards. He was sent back to school for two years, where he heard the derisive laughter of his instructors and fellow students as they talked about how absurd his designs were.

But rather than focusing on the pain of the experience, he decided to continue to focus on his goal.

Finally, after two more years, Toyota gave Mr Honda the contract he’d dreamed of.

His passion and belief paid off because he had known what he wanted, taken action, noticed what was working, and kept changing his approach until he got what he wanted. Then a new problem arose.

The Japanese government was gearing up for war, and they refused to give him the concrete that was necessary to build his factory.

Did he quit there? No. Did he focus on how unfair this was? Did it mean to him that his dream had died? Absolutely not.

Again, he decided to utilise the experience and developed another strategy. He and his team invented a process for creating their own concrete and then built their factory.

During the war, it was bombed twice, destroying major portions of the manufacturing facility. Honda’s response? He immediately rallied his team and they picked up the extra gasoline cans that the US fighters had discarded. He called them “gifts from President Truman” because they provided him with the raw materials he needed for his manufacturing process— materials that were unavailable at the time in Japan.

Finally, after surviving all of this, an earthquake levelled his factory.

Honda decided to sell his piston operation to Toyota.

Here is a man who clearly made strong decisions to succeed. He had a passion for and belief in what he was

Soichiro Honda (1906 – 1991)

A first edition Honda Super Cub from 1958 doing. He had a great strategy.

He took massive action. He kept changing his approach, but still he’d not produced the results that he was committed to. Yet he decided to persevere.

After the war, a tremendous gasoline shortage hit Japan and Mr Honda couldn’t even drive his car to get food for his family. Finally, in desperation, he attached a small motor to his bicycle. The next thing he

knew, his neighbours were asking if he could make one of his “motorised bikes” for them.

One after another, they jumped on the bandwagon until he ran out of motors. He decided to build a plant that would manufacture motors for his new invention, but unfortunately he didn’t have the capital.

As before, he made the decision to find a way no

matter what. His solution was to appeal to the 18,000 bicycle shop owners in Japan by writing them each a personal letter. He told them how they could play a role in revitalising Japan through the mobility that his invention could provide and convinced 5,000 of them to advance the capital he needed.

Still, his motorbike sold to only the most hardcore bicycle fans because it was too big and bulky. So he made one final adjustment, and created a much lighter, scaled-down version of his motorbike. He christened it “The Super Cub” and it became an overnight success, earning him the Emperor’s Award. Later, he began to export his motorbikes to the baby boomers of Europe and the United States, following up in the 1970s with the cars that have become so popular.

Today, the Honda Corporation employs over 100,000 people in both the United States and Japan and is considered one of the biggest car-making empires in Japan, outselling all but Toyota in the United States.

It succeeds because one man understood the power of a truly committed decision that is acted upon, no matter what the conditions, on a continuous basis.

Mr Honda’s life story and journey to the top is so inspiring. The man refused to give up and overcome every obstacle and challenge that was thrown his way. Pretty amazing, huh?

• Spence M Finlayson is the president of the Phoenix Institute for Positive Development & Empowerment.

He can be reached at 242601-6162 or by e-mail at phoenixinstitute@gmail.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, August 24, 2018

gardening

The new

season

It’s time to start preparing for the planting of carrots, rutabaga, turnips and other root crops, says Jack Hardy

I

f you took my advice, then your first tomatoes of the year are already in seed trays and maybe even above ground by now.

These can be nurtured in a semishaded location until of transplantable size then moved to gallon pots to increase more before going into the garden. This somewhat delayed process helps avoid an early attack by nematodes and ensures healthy wellrooted plants. Another set of tomatoes can be established in September, and so on.

With tomatoes under way it is time to plan the sowing of our other vegetable crops. September is still summer and the more tender plants like greens and lettuce must wait until October, though leaf lettuce can go in a few weeks ahead of heading lettuce.

During September we can establish root crops such as carrots, rutabaga, radish and turnips towards the end of the month. These are best sown in

blocks rather than rows and the seeds go straight into ground which has been cultivated and lightly fertilized with granular 6-6-6. Plant your seeds in damp ground and water frequently – every day initially, then once every two days.

Heading cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kale, snap beans, sweet peppers, scallions, cucumbers, and summer and winter squash can be started in September. Cucumber and squash should be sown in hills, areas of your garden that have been enriched with compost and peat moss and slightly raised to promote good drainage. The number of seeds you sow in each 18-inch diameter hill should be indicated on the seed packets. Remove the weaker brethren to end up with one winter squash, two summer squash, or three cucumber vines in each hill.

The other vegetables can be planted in rows, bush snap beans sown directly while sweet peppers and cabbages are raised in a seed tray. With all transplants it is wise to not only prepare the soil well but to choose a cloudy cooler than normal day for the operation. If warm and sunny weather is predicted you should make your transplants in the evening. Scallions should be grown in blocks and I have always grown them in large (3’x2’) containers with soil enriched by plenty of compost.

Vegetables grown in rows should be set far enough apart that the mature plants do not quite touch each other.

You can accommodate more plants in a row if you use a zig-zag technique with your plants slightly off centre first to one side then to the other.

If you prefer pole beans then the seed should be sown near a trellis to support them. Pole beans are heavier bearers than bush beans but take a little longer to become established and produce a harvest. They also have a longer growing season.

There is a distinct drop in nighttime temperature during October. The early part of the month is best for sowing greens, spinach, and leaf lettuce, the later part for heading and romaine lettuce. Delay your sowings if you feel the temperature has not dropped enough.

Broccoli and cauliflower can be sown at the end of the month and you can decide whether to use seed trays or plant directly into the ground. If you do plant directly then sow a few extra seeds in trays to replace any failures in a row. Both veggies, like cabbage, are gross feeders and like plenty of fertilizer and water.

November is the month when anything goes, more or less, and some gardeners like to start their vegetable gardens then. Life is easier but, of course, three months has been wasted.

Cool weather plants like celery and garden peas need plenty of water initially and peas should be staked even if the seed package says it is not necessary. Small branches pruned

from shrubs and trees make excellent supports.

You can also start onions and leeks in November and then transplant them in January. Either that or wait until the winter solstice (January 21) is over.

The onions you sow should be of a short day variety or the bulbs will not develop properly.

By December you will be in the situation where you are picking ripe tomatoes and peppers preparing salads with your lettuce and greens, and coleslaw with your cabbages.

I am sure you have noticed a few vegetables missing from this account.

Eggplants are warm weather lovers and are best planted in February. Irish potatoes are best grown starting in January. Southern peas such as cow peas and black-eye peas can be started in April.

There are still some vegetables missing because they are the ones that grow - more or less – all year round and include collards, corn, okra, hot peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and Malabar spinach.

From September onward we will be dealing with all the vegetables I have mentioned in detail, so do not miss your Tribune Weekend if you are a gardener. Any problems, contact me at the e-mail address listed below. Happy growing!

• For queries and comments e-mail jacktribune242@gmail.com

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

books

review

I

The top 10 Joshua Cohen’s ‘Attention’ books on demands your whole focus Apple’s iBooksUS

f curiosity is a writer’s greatest innate gift, Joshua Cohen may be America’s greatest living writer.

Or maybe just the most focused.

His first collection of non-fiction, emblazoned with the word “Attention” four times in bold font like crime scene tape on the cover, is dazzling in its scope, but, oh the irony, it’s also very hard to get through.

There are 46 pieces here, about everything from the Ringling Bros circus to Bernie Sanders. And those are just a couple recognisable topics. Throw in deep dives about Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, 1936 German Olympian Helene Mayer, and 29 pages about the author’s journey to Azerbaijan in search of wisdom from the “Mountain Jews” living in the Caucasus mountains, and what you have is a hodgepodge of writing that makes your head spin.

Digested in very small doses — an essay per night before bed, say, or a short one on the john — it will still take you weeks to reach the end of this book. And when you get there, you’ll probably have forgotten how Hrabal redeemed Socialist Realism.

Still, writing like this does deserve some praise. Cohen truly commits to his subjects, dropping knowledge and literary criticism all over the place. On Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa’s juxtaposition of natives and conquerors: “He has always believed that one

tradition can, and does, reinforce the other, but it seems that his belief gutters out when the indigenous becomes the popular.”

The whole book is like that, filled with topics that will be foreign to most readers, forcing them to really engage if they want to comprehend any of it.

Despite the author’s disdain for our modern society of distraction, it also helps to have Google close at hand.

Some context before each piece may have helped. When and why did Cohen write this? Was it published somewhere or scribbled in a journal? The best bits, for this reviewer, are the “From the Diaries” pages between pieces. Here’s one of my favorites, titled “WHY I’VE NEVER HAD SEX IN HUNGARY: Mom calls me in Budapest: ‘Bring me back that paprika paste. the kind in the squeeze tube. Aren’t all the women beautiful?. Don’t they all look like me?’”

If you enjoyed Cohen’s singular novel “Book of Numbers,” you’ll find essays here to love, too. You’ll just have to work at it.

ROB MERRILL Associated Press

New book inspired by rap song ‘The Deep’ NEW YORK (AP) — A book coming out next June is going “Deep.”

Saga Press announced Monday that it is publishing a book inspired by a rap song by Clipping, the experimental featuring Grammy winner and “Hamilton” actor Daveed Diggs. “The Deep” is written by Rivers Solomon and tells of an

DAVEED Diggs in the Broadway musical “Hamilton”

underwater society inhabited by descendants of African slave women.

Clipping is working on new music for the book, timed to its publication.

The group plans a vinyl release featuring the song “The Deep” and additional material.

Diggs originated the roles of Thomas Jefferson and

the Marquis de Lafayette in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s celebrated musical. He is currently starring in the film “Blindspotting,” which he co-wrote and co-produced.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

. Texas Ranger

by James Patterson . Crazy Rich Asians

by Kevin Kwan . Unbreak My Heart

by Lauren Blakely . Girl, Wash Your Face

by Rachel Hollis . Loving Frank

by Nancy Horan . Tailspin

by Sandra Brown . Sharp Objects

by Gillian Flynn . Paradox

by Catherine Coulter . Mackenzie’s Mountain

by Linda Howard . All We Ever Wanted

by Emily Giffin

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, August 24, 2018

books

• Tribune Weekend

has five copies of “Tales From Alternate Earths 2” to give away to the first five people who e-mail chipchat@outlook.com and answer the following question correctly: Aldous Huxley’s futuristic story “Brave New World” takes place in the year 2450 A F. What does ‘A F’ stand for?

From the Bahamas to the far beyond

Nassau-based author invites local writers to dream big

A

UTHOR Leo McBride may reside in New Providence with his family, but he has a vision of the world that reaches far beyond these shores and is very different from our own universe.

The science fiction author has published eight short story anthologies including the work of other writers – and his latest book, “Tales From Alternate Earths 2”, has just been released.

“Science fiction is really all about asking ‘what if?’,” he said. “Even if you look at recent big budget sci-fi movies, they’re all about that question – ‘The Arrival’ (starring Amy

Adams) asks what if we made contact with alien intelligence, ‘The Martian’ (starring Matt Damon) asks what if someone had to survive on their own on Mars like a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, ‘Ready Player One’ (by Steven Spielberg) asks what if people spent more time in a virtual world than the real one.

“That’s the question that opens up the whole story – and can really hold up a mirror to the world we live in.

With the new book, that question is at the heart of it, because each story asks what if history had taken a different turn and how would the world be if things had gone differently.”

Leo, 46, published his first book three years ago, along with a group of fellow writers under the banner of Inklings Press.

“A group of friends had all been working away at stories and novels for a long while – and we decided we really wanted to get some of our work out there for people to read. So we worked together and published the first book, originally only available as an e-book, and now Inklings Press is onto its seventh release, all of them in

AUTHOR Leo McBride

print too – plus one collection of my own. It’s been a very busy time – but really rewarding when a reader tells you they enjoyed the book.”

The new book is a sequel to earlier volume “Tales From Alternate Earths”, from which one of the stories won a Sidewise Award, the top award in the alternative history field.

“Our first collection of alternative history was the most popular book we’ve released – and it’s a really popular branch of science fiction right now, with TV shows such as The Man in the High Castle and Timeless. It’s intriguing to make one change in history then watch the dominoes fall to work out how the world would alter. For my story, I take a dive under the ocean and ask what if Jacques Cousteau’s undersea colonisation had continued – to the point where an undersea city was created, not so far from our Bahamian shores.”

Also in the new anthology are authors from around the world – from Bulgaria, Finland, the US, the UK and Australia, but for his next project, Leo wants to involve more Bahamian writers.

“I have a new magazine coming out next month, and I hope to encourage more local writers of science fiction to get involved. The magazine is called Altered Instinct, and writers can find me on Twitter as @AlteredInstinct – or e-mail me. I’d love to help showcase the work of Bahamians and perhaps help spread the word about their work around the world.

“It’s not just science fiction – it’s also a bit of fantasy and a bit of horror, all the kinds of books I grew up reading or movies or shows like ‘Doctor Who’ or ‘Star Trek’ that I watched as a kid.

I love stories that explore the limits of what might be possible – and that perhaps lift our heads to the horizon and show us what we can do if we really try.”

“Tales From Alternate Earths 2” is available on Amazon now – and you can contact Leo on chipchat@outlook. com to pick up a copy of the paperback or to find out more about his future publications.

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

literary lives – edna o’brien

A country girl breaks down barriers Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about the Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men.

E

dna O’Brien was born on December 15, 1930 in Tuamgraney, County Clare, in the west of Ireland to a strong, controlling mother who for a while had worked as a maid in Brooklyn, New York, for a wellto-do Irish family.

O’Brien was the youngest of a strict religious family. From 1941 to 1946 she was educated by the Sisters of Mercy which contributed to her suffocating childhood. “Fervid, enclosed, and catastrophic” were the words she used. Her father was a drunk and physically violent to the women on his peasant, rundown farm. Once wealthy, the O’Briens lived a life full of contradictions.

“We had an avenue, but it was full of potholes; there was a gatehouse, but another couple lived there; we had lots of fields, but they weren’t all stocked and tilled. I remember fields high with ragwort. I

remember my father giving them to other people.

There was a prodigality, which I regret to tell you I have inherited.”

O’Brien’s father was the “ogre figure”. She yearned to get away and rebelled against the coercive and stifling religion into which she was born.

When she was 18, O’Brien left the miseries of the family farm to go to Dublin to qualify as a chemist’s assistant. She worked in a shop by day with few prospects other than those which had destroyed her mother. She was granted a pharmacist’s licence in 1950. In Dublin she was led away from her mundane job in the chemist shop by Ernst Gébler, a CzechIrish novelist – an intellectual, 15 years older, in the process of divorcing his American wife. When O’Brien’s father heard that she was living in sin with a married man he stormed into the couple’s house and a fisticuffs brawl ensued. The couple went on to marry when Gébler was granted his divorce in 1954.

The marriage produced two sons.

In 1960 the family moved to London, where O’Brien began to write. She started work as a reader for Hutchinson – the publisher - where, because she had recounted her Irish experiences, the company commissioned her to write a novel and gave her a £50 advance. Ten years later the marriage was angrily dissolved when O’Brien’s writing started to eclipse that of her husband. Infidelities did not help matters.

“The Country Girls” (1960) was the first book of a trilogy of novels which later included “The Lonely

The Tribune | Weekend |23

Friday, August 24, 2018

Girl” (1962) and “Girls in Their Married Bliss” (1964). The books were banned in Ireland because of their portrayals of the sex lives of their characters.

“The Country Girls” is the story of two girls who grow up in the Irish countryside, go to a convent school from which they are expelled, and journey to Dublin and London in search of love and adventure.

“When I say I have written from the beginning, I mean that all real writers write from the beginning, that the vocation, the obsession, is already there, and that the obsession derives from an intensity of feeling which normal life cannot accommodate. I started writing snippets when I was eight or nine, but I wrote my first novel when I left Ireland and came to live in London. I had never been outside Ireland and it was November when I arrived in England. I found everything so different, so alien. Waterloo Station was full of people who were nevertheless faceless.

There were wreaths on the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday, and I felt bewildered and lost – an outsider. So in a sense ‘The Country Girls’, which I wrote in those first few weeks after my arrival, was my experience of Ireland and my farewell to it.”

“August is a Wicked Month”, and “Night” were her next books which further explored the relationship between the sexes, often from the point of view of women who lose themselves in love, and later must struggle to regain their sovereignty.

In the 1960s she was a patient of the trendy guru R D Laing. He treated her with LSD, which for her was “terrifying” and she doubted whether the treatment had been helpful. For a while O’Brien may have been hospitalised. Much later, in 2002, O’Brien wrote about a harrowing experience in a mental institution in “In The Forest”.

In the decades following her trilogy O’Brien wrote fluently with considerable success – novels, drama and non-fiction. John Sutherland in “Lives of the Novelists” (2013) writes: “Anger blazes, inextinguishably if sometimes smoulderingly, in virtually every word she put on paper. She revisits the woes of marriage, and pays out sadistic husbands in Time and Tide (1992). She revisits the sexual nastiness of Ireland in ‘A Pagan Place’ (1970), in which the girl heroine is seduced by a priest (this, O’Brien

A young Edna O’Brien

says, is her favourite among her own novels). Her campaign against the Irish Church has been unremitting.

In one of the most strident of her novels Down by the River (1996), an incestuously raped fourteen-year-old becomes the focus of a right-to-abortion battle ... Her two-minded feelings about the IRA are laid out in ‘House of Splendid Isolation’ (1994).”

Sutherland rightfully suspects that the Priesthood of her native land would like to make a bonfire of all her works.

In 1980 Edna O’Brien wrote a play, “Virginia”, about Virginia Woolf – originally staged at the Stratford Festival in Canada, and subsequently and successfully in the West End of London at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. It was later staged at The Public Theatre in New York in 1985.

Edna with her ex-husband Ernest Gébler and their children, Carlo and Sasha

Edna O’Brien’s childhood home, the five-bedroom Drewsborough House, in County Clare, Ireland.

With her inimitable gift for describing the occasions of heartbreak, O’Brien has written four more novels in the years between 1999 and 2015: “Wild Decembers” (1999) charts the quick and critical demise of two Western Irish men – Joseph Brennan and Mick Bugler; “The Light of Evening” (2006) is a passionate, tormented book attempting to portray the terrible force of mother-love as it is dragged by other loves into a woman’s world, and “The Little Red Chairs” (2015) – her 23rd book of fiction since “The Country Girls” in 1960 – a strange work of alternate history in which a psychopathic healer and sex therapist, later exposed as a Bosnian war criminal, enters a small town in Western Ireland and casts a spell over the town’s women.

She has published no less than nine short story collections, one of which, “Saints and Sinners” (2011), was the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Other awards include the Kingsley Amis Award in 1962 for “The Country Girls”, and the Yorkshire Post Book Award in 1970 for “A Pagan Place”. She won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 1990 for “Lantern Slides” which contains 12 short stories that deal with love, incest, passion, ageing, death and loneliness. In 2006 she was appointed adjunct Professor of English Literature in University College, Dublin; and in 2009 she was honoured with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the year’s Irish Book Awards in Dublin.

Edna O’Brien celebrates her 87th year in 2018 and has promised a book of memoirs – hopefully with names.

In her very first memoir, “Country Girl”, she describes her convent-girl background and her infatuation with one of her nun-teachers. In 2011 she titled her collection of short stories “Saints and Sinners” with lyric and mimetic precision. It is not difficult to speculate as to which of the two categories this gifted author has placed herself.

NEXT WEEK: One of the greatest explorers of the 20th century

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of “The Last Colonial”.

He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; Edna O’Brien: The Art of Fiction by Shusha Guppy in Paris Review (1984), and Lives of the Novelists (2103) by John Sutherland.

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018

history

‘Most ancient’ solid cheese

found in dug-up Egyptian jar

Studies show white mass discovered in ancient tomb is 3,200 years old, made of cow and goat milk CAIRO (AP) — For thousands of years beneath Egypt’s desert sands a solidified whitish substance sat in a broken jar. Scientists now say it’s “probably the most ancient archaeological solid residue of cheese ever found.”

Archaeologists came across the finding while cleaning the sands around a 19th dynasty tomb at the vast Saqqara necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis. The tomb of Ptahmes, the mayor of ancient Memphis, was initially discovered in 1885 but had been swallowed by shifting sands until its rediscovery in 2010.

The whitish solidified mass was found during the excavation work between 2013 and 2014, along with a canvas fabric which may have been used to cover the jar, possibly to preserve its contents, a study published this week in Analytical Chemistry said. The 3,200-year-old cheese was found to be made from a mixture of cow milk and that of a sheep or goat.

“It (the sample) was subjected to thousands of cycles of hydration and de-hydration due to the rainfalls and the Nile floods and also the very strong alkaline environment transformed all the fats and it was not possible to use conventional techniques,” Enrico Greco, the study’s lead author, said.

Cheese-making has been depicted on wall murals of ancient Egyptian

A white mass identified as ancient Egyptian cheese. (Photo/University of Catania and Cairo University)

The Saqqara necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis. (Photo/Erik Hermans)

tombs from 2,000 BC. Also, a 2012 study published in the science journal Nature traces the earliest evidence of the industry to the sixth millennium BC in northern Europe, some 7,000 years ago.

Older cheese residues discovered were typically attributed to natural fermented milk like yoghurt or kefir, but the discovery at Saqqara revealed no trace of proteins from natural milk

fermentation, Greco said. “For this reason we can say that it is the oldest solid cheese ever found to date.”

There is little information on this particular cheese-making process but “it was necessary to develop a specific technology and procedures that did not exist before,” Greco said. “This is a very important point in the history of dairy food.”

Among the study’s significant findings were the signs of bacteria

potentially causing the deadly disease brucellosis, caught through the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. If confirmed, it would be “the first biomolecular direct evidence” of the disease’s existence during the pharaonic period, according to the study.

MENNA ZAKI Associated Press

Romanian, German archaeologists find 3,400-year-old fortress BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian and German archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric fortress dating back as far as 3,400 years in western Romania.

Archaeologist Florin Gogaltan told The Associated Press that the find represented “one of the biggest prehistoric fortresses in Europe in the Bronze Age.” Gogaltan, a researcher at the Archaeology Institute in Cluj northwestern Romania, said the

team used specialized archaeological magnetic equipment to take underground measurements.

Last week, they completed a dig uncovering 135 acres of the 198-acre site, built between 1,400 BC and 1,200 BC, located near the town of Santana, and plan to continue next year.

Gogaltan worked with Rudiger Krause, a professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt, and Gogaltan

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient fortress complex four times the size of Troy. said German archaeologists helped with financing and specialized equipment.

Romanian archaeologists first began to excavate the site in 2009.

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, August 24, 2018

history

A border fence from ancient times:

Hadrian’s Wall in England BRAMPTON, England (AP) — “Looks like we brought the weather with us from California,” the elderly tourist says, pulling on a hat and strolling past me. He disappears up a grass slope, beneath a brilliant, blue sky, his wife beside him.

It’s the first of several American accents I hear that morning. Perhaps they’ve come to see what a real border fence looks like.

Because that’s precisely what’s drawn them, and me, to this remote and spectacular part of northern England: an imposing, defensive barrier meant to keep the bad guys out and the good guys safe.

At least, that’s how the ancient Romans would have seen it.

Hadrian’s Wall — named after the emperor who commissioned it — was begun in the second century, in the year 122. Soldiers toiled for a decade or so, piling stone upon stone until it stretched from coast to coast, across the very top of what’s now northern England: a distance of 118 kilometres (73 miles).

It stood up to 15 feet high with walls 9.8 feet wide. It bristled with towers, forts and watch posts, called milecastles, and gave commanding views of the surrounding countryside.

Trendy designers today like to talk of statement walls. This was, indeed, a statement wall. It was where civilisation ended.

The wall let the Romans control who and what came into the empire.

And it kept the peace. Beyond it were war-mongering communities in what is, today, Scotland, itching to ravage the settlements of refined Roman Britain and bring down fire on the hated invaders.

Hadrian’s Wall kept them out.

Almost 2,000 years on, long sections on Hadrian’s Wall still stand, remarkably well-preserved. The thick stone line snakes for miles across rugged uplands, and down into wooded valleys.

Sheep rest in the lee of a section of Hadrian’s Wall.

The remains of stone abutments at Willowford, Cumbria, in northern England. (AP Photos Jerry Harmer) UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 1987 for its “extraordinarily high cultural value.”

My family and I start at the ruins of Birdoswald Fort, said by English Heritage – a charity that looks after historic sites – to have the most impressive

remaining defences of all the original 16 forts. We then follow the wall, in blazing sunshine, as it undulates eastward.

But they soon tire of this huge slab of history, preferring the lure of a shady river bank and a packed lunch.

I go on alone, past the impressive remains of abutments that once supported a triple bridge across the River Irthing. The wall’s thick spine ascends a hill ahead of me.

You are not meant to climb up on it, but I have an urge to connect. I run my hand against the sun-warmed stones; some a whitish-grey, others blackened by an eternity of wild, northern winters. I marvel that the last person to touch them, before me, was quite possibly the man who laid them, back when Hadrian’s Wall marked the extreme northern edge of the Roman empire’s vast reach.

Sitting on the edge of an escarpment, among the ruins of Harrow’s Scar milecastle, a ruddy-faced walker is taking a breather. Bill Vincent is halfway through a six-day trek along the wall’s entire length, coast to coast, “to mark the start of my 60th year.”

I ask him whether he thinks about the history as he walks: the garrisons, shivering behind the ramparts; the tattooed tribal warriors, staring resentfully at this massive stone affront.

“Yes, you can’t help but do that,” he says, “but, to be honest, I think more about my feet.” ___ If You Go...

HADRIAN’S WALL: By car, Birdoswald Fort is four miles west of Greenhead, off the B6318. There are signposts as you get nearer. Sat nav: CA8 7DD. There is a pay car park a short distance away. Visitors can combine Birdoswald Fort with Housesteads Fort, a short drive away. By train, the nearest train stations are at Brampton and Haltwhistle, about seven miles away. By bus, the local Go Northeast company runs seasonal routes to points along Hadrian’s Wall with its AD 122 service, https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/ ad122/

JERRY HARMER Associated Press

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.

a322c5601I 0901 322 5607 0901 N H a TarGeT THe aLPHa

Excellent: 10 mins Yesterday’s solution: MoLar (across) driLL (down) 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

e t m a c I N H a

body of SOLUTIONthe alphabet is used chambers you have to complet Friday, August 24, 2018 grid too! Use the giv 21st Both today’s words in a moment Halve your target time! letters and black squ century below the grid to sta dictionary *Calls cost 75p plus your telephone company’s grid is ‘rotationally network access (1999 charge. symmetrical’ – in oth edition) words, it looks the s

STUCK? CALL FOR A CLUE

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 caN you crack the the target once only. each must contain the alphabeater? each grid uses centre letter and there must be at number represents a letter least one nine-letter word. No words in – or black square. as in plurals or verb forms ending in “s”. the main

you turn the page up down. solution tom

edition) entree genet gent getter greet words, it looks the same if

I 36 9 extra letter c J0907 181 2 17 three 21 minu K(Deduct Leach extra clue lette 13 Full solutio 19 M0907 181 2 N*Calls cost 80p per plus your telephone 28 7 co O network access ch P 24 Q 7 PLay More R S 38 7 T 38 U 10 V 18 W 14 X 28 Y 15 Z

yesterday’s solu Black squares: 5 A 15, 14, 39 18, 21, 3424, 2 29, 31, 35, 39.

B across: Optic, N Witch, C 37 Mahjong, 8 O Ops, Azaleas, alphapuzzle, every letter of Kit, D Godsons, Bathe, M body of the alphabet is used. But Today’s TarGeT Equal. chambers 25 E 17 Good 22; very good 33; excellent you have to complete the down: Jaywalk, O tomorrow. grid too! Use the given 21st 44 (or more). solution Foxtrotted, Etch, F letters and black squares Flavours, Scum, E century 33 36 G yesTerday’s soLUTion below the grid to start. the Skew, Unchaste, dictionary dent detente deter deterge Oppositely, Oven grid is ‘rotationally H (1999 deTerGenT egret enter entered Squeeze. symmetrical’ – in other

greeted netted regent rent

you turn the page upside HOW many words of four letters rented rete teed teen teeter down. solution tomorrow. or more can you make from the tend tender tenet tent tented tenter tern tree treed trend letters shown here? In making a yesterday’s solution word, each letter may be used Black squares: 5, 8, 11, 14, 15, 18,2585 21, 24, 27, call 0907 181Yesterday’s for 28, once only. each must contain the Yesterday’s 29, 31, 35, 39. centre letter and there must be at today’s target solution Sudoku Answer Kakuro Answer *Calls across: cost 80p perOptic, minute Nerve, least one nine-letter word. No plus your telephone company’s Witch, Mahjong, Offsets, access charge. plurals or verb forms ending in “s”. network

Kit, Ops, Azaleas,

Godsons, Bathe, Mixer, Today’s TarGeT *SP: Spoke – Helpline Equal. 0333 202 3390 Good 22; very good 33; excellent down: Jaywalk, Obit, 44 (or more). solution tomorrow.

Foxtrotted, Etch,

CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 Speak indistinctly, having knocked back a double rum (6) 4 Opportunities for introductions (8) 9 Monotony I find in strangely muted setting (6) 10 Riled tiger ate bird (8) 12 Stick around a street (4) 13 Turn out a bad scholar? (5) 14 Mark a little less carefully (4) 17 Get the job and take a place to work (6,6) 20 Perhaps I still desire stimulating drinks produced by them (12) 23 Get carried away (4) 24 It’s light and portable (5) 25 Still one might doubt its existence (4) 28 Licensed carrier (5,3) 29 Fellow after a gnu, perhaps, is armed (6) 30 All the money that may be made with apples, perhaps (8) 31 Doesn’t become the worse for drink (6)

Down 1 Motherly resolution to alter man (8) 2 I can read somehow in bright light (8) 3 Wild ox was in favour, usually (4) 5 Priority shown by the vain resident? (5,2,5) 6 Usual amount and not a large number (4) 7 Warning - the water must be above freezing point (6) 8 Cattle drives (6) 11 Descriptive of those who always contrive to tie on extra (12) 15 Rent a seaside place in Croatia (5) 16 Suitable group to play an eightsome reel? (5) 18 Communications worker who makes a sporting decision? (8) 19 Allotted as indicated (8) 21 Supply lines (6) 22 Newspaperman to be found in dire trouble (6) 26 After hesitation leave thus (4) 27 Back one’s fancy in a leisurely craft? (4)

Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Swing, 4 Drastic, 8 Oak, 9 On one’s own, 10 Ageless, 11 Agony, 13 Height, 15 Reefer, 18 Sight, 19 Arduous, 21 Out of true, 23 Odd, 24 Penalty, 25 Merge.

Down: 1 Stomach, 2 In keeping, 3 Globe, 4 Drowsy, 5 Average, 6 Too, 7 Canny, 12 Off colour, 14 Hateful, 16 Residue, 17 Fairly, 18 Snoop, 20 Dream, 22 Tin.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Plane, 4 Sampler, 8 Eat, 9 Breakdown, 10 Screwed, 11 Weeds, 13 Dropsy, 15 Bypass, 18 Motel, 19 Put-down, 21 Ferry boat, 23 Amp, 24 Impedes, 25 Erect.

Down: 1 Pressed, 2 Aftermost, 3 Elbow, 4 Steady, 5 Make way, 6 Leo, 7 Rents, 12 Elaborate, 14 Splayed, 16 Sunspot, 17 Spoors, 18 Mufti, 20 Title, 22 Rap.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 To notice (6) 4 Shrink (8) 9 Capricious (6) 10 Plan of campaign (8) 12 Sole (4) 13 18 holes (5) 14 Narrow Scottish valley (4) 17 Too much to tolerate (12) 20 Severe reprimand (8-4) 23 Candid (4) 24 Loud call (5) 25 For fear that (4) 28 Grotesque imitation (8) 29 Speak ill of (6) 30 Quick witty reply (8) 31 To each one (6)

Down 1 Narcissus (8) 2 Needing delicate handling (8) 3 Young horse (4) 5 Showy (12) 6 Group working together (4) 7 Ancient (3-3) 8 Difficult (6) 11 The Establishment (6,4,2) 15 Blazing (5) 16 Captain of The Bounty (5) 18 Headlong plunge (8) 19 Example (8) 21 Muzzle-loading cannon (6) 22 Abscond (6) 26 Sustain (4) 27 Twist out of shape (4)

yesTerday’s soLUTion dent detente deter deterge deTerGenT egret enter entered entree genet gent getter greet greeted netted regent rent rented rete teed teen teeter tend tender tenet tent tented tenter tern tree treed trend

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

*SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390

Flavours, Scum, Era, Skew, Unchaste, Baud, Oppositely, Oven, Squeeze.

extra letter clues

0907 181 2560

(Deduct three minutes for each extra clue letter heard)

Full solution

0907 181 2558

1

*Calls cost 80p per minute 21 plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

2

3

4

22

23

24

● Alternatively, for six E

PLay More Crosswords

The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, August 24, 2018

animals

The trouble with

cats and dogs Animal matters | KIM ARANHA

W

hen I was young I thought that all dogs hated cats and all cats were afraid of dogs. But over the years I have seen so many cats and dogs be friends and bond that it made me wonder why some felines and canines are buddies while others are archenemies.

It appears that the deciding factor to friendship or hatred is influenced by socialisation when they first encounter one another. There is actually no inborn animosity, more an adverse reaction to the unknown and nobody to put it in check instantly before the animals develop a dislike and cement it with negative behaviour towards each other. It really depends what happens the very first time they meet, which in turn means they need to be very young.

Potcakes particularly love to chase down and hunt smaller animals. I suppose it is the survivor in them that perhaps triggers off the instinct to chase, catch, and kill…the need to survive. I have found that even if the dog is not hungry and not scavenging, the instinct is so instilled that the chase in inevitable. My beloved

Chiefie is an 85-pound heavy cat hater and would kill if he got a chance.

In his youth he would kill rats if they had the temerity to venture into our garden when building was taking place nearby (why does building bring rats I wonder… trash?).

There are some cats in our neighbourhood and at times I think they must have a death wish when I look out my window and see one brazenly sunning itself on a lounger around our pool. I go downstairs alone, without my dogs, and make a racket, scaring it on its way…but really, why would they do that?

Just recently a relative of mine adopted two adorable little kittens from the shelter to keep her large Shepherd dog company. In order for the relationship to be successful she needed young kittens who would have no preconceived ideas about dogs and fear them, and the big dog would be kind and gentle because they are babies.

So what about the countless images and stories of dogs chasing Kitty up a tree, Kitty too scared to come down, and the fearless fireman climbing up the rescue ladder to bring the cat down, who is initially frozen in terror and is now half clawing her rescuers face off? All

true, I’m afraid. In America rescuing kittens from trees is not unusual. I wonder if it has ever been done here by the public sector?

I found an amusing blog on the internet written by a veterinarian. It is a little tongue in cheek, but it does hit the nail on the head, so to speak, when comparing the two species. I have copied it here for you to enjoy: “Dogs have a leash and go for their walks with owners …cats do their own thing.

Dogs have masters … cats have servants.

Dogs eat fast … cats enjoy their food slowly.

Dogs love garbage … cats love toys.

Dogs follow … cats contemplate.”

Most of this is true. and even though it makes us chuckle. we can see our cats and dogs in this. The writer further points out these very basic differences: “Their genetics make them behave quite different: Dogs wag their tails when they want to indicate friendly excitement… cats wave their tail before an attack.

Dogs pant when excited … cats open their mouth in stress or when they hiss.

Dogs put their ears back to show submission … cats show their aggression with their ears.

Dogs lift their front paws to indicate friendly intent … cats will scratch you.

Dogs crouch playfully into a ‘down dog’ position … cats are ready to pounce.

Dogs roll on their backs to be pet … cats may not let you.”

Just imagine the crossed messages a cat must be getting from a friendly dog who wants to play and uses all the “wrong” (in cat talk) body language?

The bottom line actually appears to be to teach them that it is OK to be friends, and this is best achieved when they are both young. It is also a personality issue and if the dog is very territorial it just may not work out. If they are young together they will not have had time to set up territories.

Potcakes tend to be very territorial, and hunters, so I would suggest if you want a dog/cat household you get them both as babies and start from scratch (not pun intended). The Bahamas Humane Society has lots of puppy and kittens just waiting for a loving family to come along, so we sincerely hope that you will consider not shopping but adopting.

PET OF THE WEEK Radiant Rebecca

(PHOTO/PATRICIA VAZQUEZ)

O

ne-year-old Rebecca has been at the Bahamas Humane Society for several months now. While her stunning brindle colour catches people’s eyes, for some reason this very jolly, alert potcake has been passed over for adoption. Rebecca loves to go for walks and is interested in finding out more about this thing called a ‘beach’. She gets along well with other dogs, and might be convinced cats are friendly if you’re patient with her. She’d be best as a yard dog where her alertness will be sure to protect you from burglars. The BHS is a no-kill shelter so Rebecca is welcome to stay as long as needed, but she’d prefer a home sooner rather than later. Have you been looking for just the right potcake? Rebecca’s smart, and friendly, and looks forward to making your acquaintance!

Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday, or you can call 3235138 for more information. Rebecca is waiting...

•

Come and join us for Bingo Night at the Green Parrot, Nassau side! Tuesday, August 28, at 7pm. Pay as you play (so, one card, two, or dozens), and winner takes half the pot while the BHS keeps the other half. It’s a fun way to raise funds, so come and hang out with us.

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 24, 2018