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Friday, October 14, 2016

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Weekend

silver slipper returns Page 11

Taste with a twist Paradise Plates reaches new heights Charity, pages 13-15

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Friday, October 14, 2016

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian weekend Keeya Singer/songwriter Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday brunch?

4-5 Cara Hunt talks to Arthia Nixon about life as a journalist in Atlanta.

“Sunday brunch because breakfast time is entirely too early for me, and at brunch you get to drink and that is just more fun.”

Food 7 Grill and chill at Potter’s Cay Dock

Q: Wine, Kalik, rum or cocktail?

Interview

Drinks

8 A sip of luxury at the Ocean Club

Television 9 Mixing it up on ‘The Stew’

Society 10 A ‘Wok N Roll’ Chinese holiday

Entertainment 11 - 13 Postponed Silver Slipper revival to be even grander; Shakespeare in Paradise resumes shows, plus a new showcase highlights ‘underground’ rappers.

Charity 13 - 15 Leading chefs praise Paradise Plates’s efforts

Fashion Report 16 The hits and misses on the red carpet.

Podcasts 17 Exploring politics through your headphones Film 20 - 21 The latest cinema releases reviewed Literary Lives 22 - 25 Crime queen Agatha Christie’s own mysterious disappearance Forgotten Facts 25 Paul Aranha asks, ‘Who were the Eleutherian Adventurers?’ Puzzles 26 Animals 27 Taking proper care of pets after the hurricane

Gardening 28 Jack Hardy talks about the garden in October

Cover photo | Shawn Hanna

“No cocktails, because I kinda drink like an old man. I would rather some beer, cognac or gin. I don’t like sweet drinks.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“The beach...all you really need is a sofa on the beach, some snacks and drinks.”

Q: What could you not do without?

“I cannot do without my laptop because it is where I write and make my music. I need it.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go? “You know what is lit as hell, just going to the Family Islands with your friends and having a good time. You can find the best food, enjoy the fish fry and so much more. The United States is there, but to go to a Family Island and have fun.”

“I kinda drink like an old man... some beer, cognac or gin.”

Things 2 Do this weekend • Now that the storm has passed and the country remains in recovery mode, a lot of local events originally scheduled for this weekend have been cancelled. So here are a few ideas to pass the weekend and help others impacted by Hurricane Matthew. 1. Clean up Hurricane Matthew has left a path of destruction and a pile of dirt in its wake. It’s time to clean up and regroup – get the whole family involved and make it as fun as possible. If your home and garden weren’t badly damaged, consider lending a hand to someone who requires more work. 2. Donate Gather items that you can donate to those who have sustained heavy losses. It’s the perfect time to clear out your closet and give those items

of clothing you hardly wear to the less fortunate; same goes for all your leftover hurricane supplies like canned foods and extra batteries. 3. Volunteer Why not volunteer at the relief centres that have been set up? A number of charities have launched drives to help those most impacted by the storm. Volunteers are needed to help sort supplies and pack boxes. 4. Open your home If you are fortunate enough to have power and know a family who remains without electricity, invite them over for Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch. They will surely appreciate the chance to watch some TV, have a warm meal and recharge their electronic devices. 5. Write a new hurricane supply list

Now that you have come through the storm, I am sure you have realised there are things that would have made life a tad bit easier. Can you say portable gas stove and battery cell phone chargers? Write your list while the trauma is still fresh in your mind and then starting purchasing the necessary items for the next time. 6. Help your kids with school work The kids have been off school for a week now and have probably not done any work. Now is the time to complete homework and study before school reopens Monday. 7. Relax and recharge Hurricane Matthew has been a traumatic experience for everyone. This weekend is the chance to relax, catch up on sleep and spend time with your loved ones.

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interview She has made her life abroad, working as a journalist who has interviewed celebrities and presidential candidates, but at heart she is still an island girl from Eleuthera. Arthia Nixon tells Cara Hunt about life in Atlanta and how news coverage in the US differs drastically from in the Bahamas.

Arthia Nixon

rthia Nixon has always known that writing would play a big role in her life. The Eleuthera native has been a journalist for the past 16 years and has made a name for herself both in the Bahamas, where she first began her career as a staff reporter with The Tribune, and now in Atlanta, Georgia, where she works as a reporter and publicist. “I think I have always been interested in being a writer, if not a journalist. As a child I would rewrite the endings of my books like ‘Anne of Green Gables’. Books were my friends. I learned to love, respect and collect them, and I always had a passion for writing. My dad was the type of person who made me read a lot. He made me read newspapers and he even made me read words out the dictionary. At one point he even screwed the light bulb out of my bedroom because I would be reading until three or four o’clock in the morning when I had an exam the next day,” she told Tribune Weekend. And it was this love for the written word that propelled Arthia to consider a career in writing when she was in high school. Journalism, she said. seemed like the perfect fit. “I thought maybe I would write for movies, songs, books, but at 16 I came to Nassau and I said I wanted to find a job. I went to The Tribune and (former managing editor) John Marquis took a chance on me. I was the youngest reporter on staff and that’s how I become a seasoned journalist.” Sixteen years later, she is still going

strong and enjoying every moment of it. “The thing I enjoy the most about journalism and writing is that the written word never expires. People will continue to quote it, be inspired by it and be uplifted by it. It will continue to make you laugh and cry.” And journalism also presents a great opportunity to document history, she added. “I love human interest and feature stories. I love telling stories. In in the past few weeks I have had the oppor-

“The thing I enjoy the most about journalism and writing is that the written word never expires. People will continue to quote it, be inspired by it and be uplifted by it. It will continue to make you laugh and cry.” tunity to interview people like former presidential candidate Ted Cruz, senators, and I interviewed a parent with a child with a disease so rare that only 50 people in the US have been diagnosed with it. I have interviewed beauty queens and movie stars. I interviewed a 102-year-old man who remembers when electricity came into his house as a child,” she said. While there have been many notable stories in the course of her career, Arthia said the most interesting and heart-wrenching case she has ever

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Friday, October 14, 2016

covered was the case of the four missing boys in Grand Bahama which occurred between 2002 and 2003. Cordell Farrington was eventually arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Mackinson Colas, 11; Junior Reme, 11; Deangelo McKenzie, 13, and Desmond Rolle, 14. He brutally attacked them and hid their bodies in secluded areas, only to return weeks later to collect the remains and store them in boxes at the home of his unsuspecting former girlfriend. “I just wanted to capture the human interest behind it...in that these are not just statistics, these are children; these were lives interrupted,” she said. Another memorable aspect of her career has been meeting a plethora of interesting people that she otherwise would not have met. “The highlights have been the conversations, the friendships I have made and the tears of joys when people contact you to say your story touched them. It’s also funny how people think they know you personally because they have read your work,” she said. These days, Arthia has found professional success in Atlanta. “At present I am a lead reporter at the Times-Georgian newspaper and a staff writer with West Georgia Living Magazine,” she said. She has also worked for examiner.com and was the Caribbean editor and writer for the Florida and Georgia Star, which are the oldest African American newspapers out of Jacksonville, Florida and South Georgia, respectively. Additionally, she has done public relations for a number of Caribbean persons and companies based in Atlanta and is very active in the Caribbean community in that city. Currently, she is involved in plans to organise a hurricane relief drive in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. In her reporting job, her

present beat is a combination of business, politics and faith and values. She has been especially busy on the political beat in recent months, given that it is an election year in the US. And while most eyes are on the presidential campaign, Arthia said there is a lot of action on the local state level with elections for councilmen, commissioners and mayors. “To see the way the government runs is definitely a wonderful thing to see,” she said. Being versed in politics on the city, county, state federal levels in the US, Arthia admits that Bahamian politics are a completely different ball. She also noted the difference in journalism style between the two countries. “With American journalism you do have a lot more sensationalism as opposed to the stating the facts, and there is no ‘when in doubt leave it out’ method I learned at The Tribune,” she said. However, she also has some criticism for news coverage in her home country. “Bahamian journalism is very limited in the fact that they focus attention

on Nassau. As a Eleuthera girl I will always big up the Family Islands. I think that they need to have reporters assigned to each islands,” she said. However, Arthia said she impressed with the creative ways Bahamians are taking on the role of being citizen journalists, using social media to inform the public about occurrences. Looking toward the future, she said she would like to publish a collection of her articles and produce documentaries. She also has some interesting ideas about her dream interview subject. “I would go back in time. I would interview Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because they were journalists back in the day covering Christ,” she said. Arthia said she is amazed by what she has been able to accomplish thus far. “I had no idea I would go from Eleuthera to be a national reporter to an international reporter just a Google search away. In my future, I am going to write as long as my hand is up and my eyes can see, and even when they go I will still tell stories.”

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food

Grill and chill at Potter’s Cay Dock By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

he Juss Grill is determined to add a uniquely different flavour and nutritional aspect to the usual offerings at the Potter’s Cay Dock. The restaurant, which is located on the eastern side of the popular hangout spot, opened on February 28 and business has been steadily growing ever since, said Treva Armbrister, Juss Grill’s owner. The restaurant’s motto is, “We don’t chill, we grill”, but considering its fantastic water’s edge location and tasty group platters that are perfect for sharing, you can bet it’s a popular chill spot as well. “While 99 per cent of the restaurants on Potter’s Cay serve the regular fried foods, we wanted to bring a new flavour in addition to catering to persons who are more health conscience or are simply trying to stay away from the fried foods, so we decided to grill – hence the name,” Ms Armbrister

explained. The restaurant specialises in an array of tempting dishes, including grilled grouper, conch, baby back ribs, chicken and pork, “conchy” conch fritters, snappers, cracked conch and cracked crawfish. “We also have a variety of different platters that we offer, too,” she said. Platters can include seafood combos as well as wings and meat. AP Photo/Matthew Mead

The secret to great tofu is all in the pressing My mom started travelling abroad when I was in high school. And after each of her trips, we cooked a meal from the country she’d just visited. It was after her trip to Italy that I became a huge fan of veal. Veal, of course, is notoriously bland, so what’s the appeal? I love it because it functions mostly as a firm landing strip for the delicious sauce of your choice, and I’m a nut for sauces. Recently, I figured out that tofu plays the same role for vegetarians as veal does for carnivores. Made from soybeans, water and a coagulant, tofu is notably healthy — low in calories, devoid of saturated fat and a great source of protein, calcium and iron. But there’s the little matter of tofu’s flabby texture and its flavour (or lack thereof), which is why I’ve

always shied away from the stuff. It turns out, though, that properly prepared tofu is a great sponge for flavour, a natural fact exploited to good effect in this light entree for the new year. The first step is to lose the excess water in tofu, which will — Duh! — water down your dish. So you force out the excess water by putting a weighted plate on top of the tofu and let it press and drain for about 30 minutes. The tofu becomes firmer and less watery the longer you press it. This also ensures that when you cook it, the tofu will have a springy texture and a crispy exterior.` The crispy slices of tofu are a wonderful foil for an intense chili-orange sauce. The sauce is complemented with broccoli and red pepper. Serve it

Sauteed tofu with broccoli and red peppers in chili-orange sauce from a recipe by Sara Moulton. on brown rice and you’re looking at a one-dish meal, light but filling. My husband, a die-hard carnivore, had no idea that this was a healthy vegetarian

dish. He just scarfed it down and said thank you. SARA MOULTON Associated Press

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drinks

A sip of luxury Ocean Club & Diageo Reserve host exclusive bartending event

hree of the world’s best bartenders visited the One&Only Club on Paradise Island recently to delight guests with their unique mixology skills. The one-night-only event was part of One&Only Resorts ongoing collaboration with another ultra-luxury lifestyle brand, Diageo Reserve. The two brands are working towards bringing the worlds of distinctive resorts and refined, world-class mixology experiences together. Similar to how chefs are appreciated and celebrated for their craft in various competitions, the Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of Year competition seeks to do the same for bartenders, revolutionising the craft of cocktailmixing with the goal of helping people drink better cocktails. This year saw 56 bartenders putting their skills to test to win the title of world’s best bartender. Following the final challenge and awards presentation of the World Class bartending competition, which was held in Miami on September 29, One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island hosted a guest bartending event featuring two of the 2016 World Class finalists – Dries Botty of Josephine’s in Antwerp and Jonas Anderson of MASH Penthouse in Copenhagen – as well as Ariel Leizgold from Bellboy in Tel Aviv, a 2015’s finalist. The three guest bartenders created and served three bespoke cocktails to locals and hotel guests during the popup event in the Hartford Wing Courtyard on October 1.

“A Lesson in Tiki” cocktail

2016 World Class finalist Jonas Anderson of Denmark

2015’s World Class finalist Ariel Leizgold from Bellboy in Tel Aviv

2016 World Class finalist Dries Botty of Belgium mixes a “Call Me Old Fashioned’ cocktail.

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television Photos/Shawn Hanna

Mixing it up on ‘The Stew’ New TV talk show a hit with Bahamian viewers By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

IEWERS can expect lots of fun, great conversations and exciting interviews from the ladies of the newest local daytime television show “The Stew”. Bahamians are already comparing “The Stew” to popular American shows such as “The View”, “The Real” and “The Talk”. Tribune Weekend recently visited the colourful set and met the co-hosts Aneka Stuart, Leslie Ellis-Tynes and Janay Pyfrom-Symonette, who were excited to explain what their show is all about. “ ‘The Stew’ is just like the name says, a mixture of things,” said Aneka, the show’s style guru. “What everyone is thinking about, we are here talking about, that is relationships, entertainment, politics, international headlines, social ills, beauty, style, finance, and whatever is plaguing our nation. It is a melting pot of all of those things.” Aneka said she is relieved and happy that Bahamians have responded so well to the show. She knows viewers can be harsh with their criticism sometimes, but for the most part she said Bahamians have been pleased with the seven episodes they have aired so far. “It’s crazy how people take ownership of it too, using words like ‘we’

and ‘our’ as if they are taking ownership of the show. I think that makes me feel the most proud and excited because Bahamians are holding on to it like they want to be a part of it and celebrate the show,” said Aneka. With 48 episodes to shoot this season, Aneka said the studio has been a whirlwind of activity. To date, the ladies had the pleasure of interviewing guests like famed American record producer DJ Khaled, hip hop superstar TI, Bahamian rapper Trey, the legendary Ronnie Butler, the Pelicans’ Buddy Hield and Jamaican singer Nesbitt. And according to the panel, that is just a taste of what is still to come. Co-host Leslie, who has a background in radio, is the one responsible for the arts and entertainment section of “The Stew”. While working in radio, she said, she was able to lend her voice to causes she deemed worthy, and she feels “The Stew” can present another such avenue – another way to express her personality. “Even though I know people are judging if they are at the ‘take it or leave it’ stage now, if I say a certain thing and it doesn’t align with what you think or what your values are, that is OK, because we are all different individuals and we are free to be who we are and feel what we want to feel. I just really like the opportunity mostly to be able to reach people in this format. I also have interest in human interest stories and charities, so I am hoping to get more into that as time goes on,” said Leslie. Meanwhile, co-host Janay admits that the show takes her out of her comfort zone, and that is a good thing. She heads the “Fab Frugal” segment of the show, where she provides tips on managing finances in a fabulously frugal way. “It means a lot to me to have been pushed in a space where I am not so comfortable, but I am really excited to grow. With that comes great responsibility and I like to be able to be relevant and be able to relate

The co-hosts of the “The Stew” put their spin on the popular daytime talk show format to people watching. We have a lot of international followers as well who comment, saying it is pretty interesting to stay in touch, whether they are off to school or people just visiting; they enjoy it,” said Janay. As the show evolves, Janay said viewers will see them put their very own spin on the daytime talk show format, while also incorporating some elements of popular international

shows. “Hopefully, we will be able to get a studio audience one day and will be able to interact with an audience and bring on certain segments where we clear off the set to bring people up to take part in beauty sessions and things like that,” said Janay. “The Stew” airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm on Island Luck TV, channel 224.

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society

A ‘Wok N Roll’ Chinese holiday

Shrimp and broccoli in garlic sauce

By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

oyal customers recently helped the Wok N Roll Restaurant and Bar on Cable Beach celebrate a special Chinese holiday. The establishment rolled out the red carpet and invited guests to attend a special dinner in honour of the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This is the second year in a row that the restaurant marked the occasion with a dinner. Like last year, it was celebrated on October 1, which marked the beginning of China’s “Golden Week” – a full week of festivities for Chinese people. “We encourage guests to wear Oriental attire and award prizes to the best dressed, which adds an element of fun to the evening,” said the restaurant’s co-owner Lana Lee-Brogdon. During this year’s event, guests were able to choose dishes from a special menu created by Wok N Roll’s head chef, Guoxiong He. “As usual, we began the evening with a cocktail reception, serving our house made crab rangoon, spring rolls, chicken skewers and prawn crackers. Our main menu for this event started with a mushroom eggdrop soup, followed by three entrée courses. The first course was lobster Cantonese – a traditional dish with chunks of lobster meat in a savoury black bean sauce. This was followed by crispy orange beef – tenderloin beef in the chef’s tangy orange sauce on a bed of crunchy wonton strips. The final dish was jumbo shrimp and broccoli in garlic sauce,” said Mrs Lee-Brogdon. She said the restaurant has had several special dinner events over the years which have always been supported by their loyal customers. “Maximum seating is 46 persons, so we tend to fill up quickly. In November, we celebrate our fourth anniversary and are planning a ‘Sip and Sample’ event. In February we will have a Chinese New Year celebration,” she added.

Dr David Allen (left) with Wok N Roll owner Henry Lee

Loyal customers join in the celebrations

Maria Lee with Eloy Roldan

Repeat guest Jeanne Thompson with family members

The Bethels – Winners of the “Best Dressed”

Head waiter Walter serves hors d’oeuvres

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entertainment

Postponed Silver Slipper revival to be even grander Photo/Tim Clarke

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

hile Hurricane Matthew forced the postponement of the one-night revival of Nassau’s legendary Silver Slipper nightclub, organisers said the delay simply means they have more time to make the event even grander than initially envisioned. “The Final Curtain: A Magical Evening” was scheduled for October 9, but was cancelled due the storm. A new date and time will now be determined by organisers and announced later on. This unique way to celebrate the bygone era of the Silver Slipper nightclub was the idea a group of private citizens consisting of Ray Munnings, John Bostwick, Kay Kay Tong and Ulrich Voges. It is their goal to bring back the gaiety and splendour of Nassau’s entertainment scene of the 1950s and 60s. Recreating the entire Silver Slipper experience means the showcase will take place at its original Over-the-Hill location. The current owners of the property, Kay Kay Tong and her fam-

Shakespeare in Paradise resumes shows Shakespeare in Paradise will complete it’s 2016 theatre festival from October 20 to October 23 with performances of “You Can Lead A Horse To Water” following the cancellation of shows due to Hurricane Matthew. Tickets already purchased for performances of this show will be honoured on one of the new dates. Organisers have asked that persons check with the box office to confirm their seats. “You Can Lead A Horse To Water”

The former site of the Silver Slipper nightclub. ily, are in the process of redesigning the area as a warehouse facility. Organisers have been working hard over the past few weeks to pull off the one-night gala event in a short space of time. But due to Hurricane Matthew, Mr Voges told Tribune Weekend, they now have more time to plan, and therefore the whole affair will be even more

splendid than if it had been held on its original date. “We felt the high standard we have set for this spectacular one-time only event will not be met if we cannot give it the adequate love and attention in the final and crucial days before the event,” he said. “The organising team is even more encouraged now with some more time

at hand to create an even more impressive and true tribute to the Silver Slipper.” When all the plans have been carried out and the ‘Magical Evening’ finally takes place, the venue will for the first time in decades come alive with the sights and sounds of its golden era, with a 16-piece Silver Slipper big band paying homage to entertainers like Maureen “Bahama Mama” Duvalier, Nat King Cole, Freddie Munnings Sr, Sweet Richard, Peanuts Taylor and others. On stage, conductor “Duke” Errol Strachan will lead a mix of the best Bahamian musicians, while Raphael “Ray” Munnings is expected to give a world-class tribute to the stars. The guests will arrive at the Post Office/Ministry of Health parking lot on East Hill Street, where the Silver Slipper team will greet them. From there, horse-drawn carriages will take them Over-the-Hill in style. The streets on the way to the club will also be prepared and filled with surprises, including dressed-up characters who will help give the impression of a journey back in time. The night will also feature a special dinner created by Chefs Simeon Hall Jr and Jamaal Petty.

will be performed Thursday, October 20, through Saturday, October 22, at 8pm nightly. There will also be a matinee performance on the October 22 at 1pm. All performances will take place in the Winston V Saunders Theatre. “You Can Lead A Horse To Water” by playwright Winston Saunders is one of this year’s signature productions. It tells the true story of a man on trial for the murder of his mother. The play is the most critically acclaimed Bahamian production to date. It had a six-week run with an American cast in San Francisco and a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival

Fringe, at the Grand Valley State University in Michigan and at CARIFESTA in Trinidad. Scheduled performances of the other Shakespeare in Paradise shows have been cancelled. If you have purchased tickets for any of those shows please call the box office for a refund or to exchange them for a showing of “You Can Lead A Horse To Water” without charge. The box office is now open daily from 10am to 4pm. Call 393-3728 or 394-7179. You can also visit the Facebook page or e-mail tickets2016@ shakespeareinparadise.org. Student discounts will continue to be available.

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entertainment

New event showcases local ‘underground’ hip hop artists By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

ollowing a successful event in September, the 242 Underground Kings Showcase returns later this month with a new instalment, promising even better vibes and performances. The next showcase, which is the newest platform for up-and-coming local rappers, is set for October 29 at Woodes Rogers Wharf. The event is presented by the Vendetta Group along with Slawta House Music. It is the brainchild of Bahamian hip hop artists Sasha Dunn and Slawta House, who said they saw the need for a venue to cater to music lovers who want to support the local rap scene, but had no place to listen to artists. The duo said the hip hop artists themselves are of course also benefiting from having a platform to display their craft. The official line-up during the recent staging of the 242 Underground Kings Showcase, which was held at the Gamex Sporting Lounge, featured StarLyfe, Stunnavelli Bree-z, CB Leeky, Sir’Roc The Rapper, Juju, and Slawta House and Sasha Dunn. “Once the word went out that the show was going the calls started coming in from everywhere, from other artists that wanted to participate. We developed a vetting system for the artists to be able to hit the stage on

Sasha Dunn

Sir’Roc The Rapper

Stunnavelli Bree-z

Slawta House

StarLyfe

CB Leeky

the night of the event. The show was hosted by Tru Story and it was opened by a powerful rap team of lyricists by the name of StarLyfe, whose powerpacked performance set the bar extremely high for all the following acts. They where then followed up by JuJu, a young hip hop artist with a creative storytelling style that easily draws the crowd in,” said Mr Dunn. The event also featured Slawta House and Sir’Roc joining forces for a song. “The pair performed together

superbly with great energy and skill,” said Mr Dunn. There were also some unexpected performances on the night. “Bobo Ike was an artist not set to perform, but he did a stellar job with his fiery and infectious chants which got the crowd hyped,” said Mr Dunn. “A next notable artist who was not scheduled but did an amazing job was female MC Hollie Wood. She killed the show with her punch line heavy style of flow.”

Bahamas participates in Atlanta film conference THE Bahamas Film Commission got a first-hand look at the jurisdiction that is quickly becoming an industry leader. Clarence Rolle, general manager of the Bahamas Film & Television Commission, was among film commissioners attending Cineposium in Atlanta, Georgia recently. The conference brings film commissioners

together as a form of professional development and to examine emerging trends and challenges in the film industry. Among other things, the commissioners looked at how Atlanta and the state of Georgia have over the past few years grown to become the second largest filming centre in the United States, and the third largest in the world.

Mr Dunn closed out the show with his tracks “Shark In Dem Waters” and “100 lbs”. He said he hopes the 242 Underground Kings Showcase becomes an event where artists can hone their skills and delight local hip hop fans. “We want the artists to continue improve on their individual craft; continue to keep pushing,” he said. For more information, follow Sasha Dunn or Slawta House’s page on Facebook or Instagram pages.

Clarence Rolle, of the Bahamas Film Commission, with William Fichtner, the star of television shows such as “Prison Break” and movies such as “Contact”. Fichtner stopped in on Cineposium while filming his latest film, “Finding Steve McQueen”, in Atlanta.

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charity

Leading chefs praise Paradise Plates’ efforts By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

aising money for a pertinent cause with flair and style was what Hands for Hunger did on October 1 when they successfully pulled off the eighth annual Paradise Plates fundraiser. Held at Atlantis’ Imperial Ballroom, the gala event saw hundreds of guests turn up wearing their finest, ready to mix and mingle and dance the night away. But most importantly, they came to enjoy the array of gourmet food prepared by leading chefs from new and established restaurants in Nassau, the Family Islands and even Miami, along with the offerings from vintners, brewers and beverage purveyors who created signature cocktails for the occasion. The purpose for this celebration was to raise money for Hands For Hunger, the non-profit humanitarian organisation committed to the elimination of unnecessary hunger and the reduction of food waste throughout New Providence. This year’s event also marked a special milestone, as Hands for Hunger has now delivered 1,000,000 lbs of fresh, surplus food to those in need. Speaking to Tribune Weekend, vendors talked about the special dishes they whipped up and explained why it was so important for them to take part in this fundraiser. Cassava Grille’s Nakia Bain said this was their first time participating and they were excited to do their part to make the latest instalment of Paradise Plates a success. “We were excited to come here and display our foods. On display we have our curried conch and it is resting on espresso and coffee Johnny cake. We also have our homemade tomato jam and more. We like to say our food is an experience as opposed to just having something to eat. Paradise Plates is important to us because there are a

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PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

Continued from page 13

One of the key factors is, if you have it, you should give it. Because it doesn’t make sense keeping it to yourself.” lot of people that need food and there is no point in having waste when we have a lot of people to feed,” she said. “We love these events and we hope Hands For Hunger is successful in raising many funds in order to keep it going.” Graycliff Chocolate Factory’s Dawn Pinder said she has been a fan of Paradise Plates for years and this time around wanted to take a more active role in the proceedings. “I love it and I have always attended Paradise Plates as a guest so I decided to join this year. Hands For Hunger – the name says it all. They do amazing stuff year after year and we are proud to participate in that. Tonight we actually introduced our new alcohol line in the Chocolate Factory consisting of Hennessy, vodka and tequila,” said Ms Pinder. Racquel David, head chef at Drifters at the Fish Fry, emphasised the importance of initiatives like this to assist those in inner-city communities. “It feels great to be around a lot of other restaurants and this is all a great idea because we have persons who are working and still find themselves hungry, so we have to keep this going, especially for the persons in the Overthe-Hill communities. I want everyone to appreciate the food we have here tonight and appreciate what we are doing for those in need. We are offering our tamarind-glazed jerk wings and mini panny cakes like what our grandmothers used to serve back in the day,” said Chef David. Meanwhile, Chef Joshua Huyder travelled from his 1648 Bar & Grill in Eleuthera to attend the gala event. “This is fantastic to come all the way from Eleuthera to participate in a great event. We get to see what Nassau has and also communicate with all the different chefs at the event. It is really nice

Hundreds came out to support the Paradise Plates gala event at Atlantis.

to also be around the restaurant industry in Nassau. I think Paradise Plates is an event that should happen at least two times a year, just before Christmas and during the summertime. I think there is enough drive to do it. Two years ago it was 500 people here and now we are looking for 1,000. I can tell this is an event that is going to work, so why not try and do it more,” he said. Niko Imbert, of Young’s Fine Wine, said this was his second time participating in Paradise Plates and he wishes there were more events of this kind in the Bahamas. “It is really amazing. I like to give back and I like the fact that the company I am with gives back in a major way. With Evian water as one of our products we are planning on doing some initiatives for Breast Cancer Awareness month and so forth. I actually hope Hands For Hunger inspires other persons to start organisations like this, because they are needed. Personally, coming from a background of having to work very hard for what I want, and turn around and see others that don’t have it, makes me want to make it easier for them. One of the key factors is, if you have it, you should give it. Because it doesn’t make sense keeping it to yourself,” he said. Burger Shack’s Chef Jeffrey Rolle said he never expected the event to be so big and so lavish. “The investment seems to be so incredible,” he said. “It is always a great thing when you can give. Me, being a man of God, this is important to me. I have worked in buffet areas where we have contributed and now I am seeing first-hand where all the contribution goes.”

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)7.(,<(+5.(:.&( <%*+,"=(#='(#<( &,6(5%>.(#+'( &,6(=5,6?$(@#>.( #+A(B.*%6=.(#+( $,.=7C+(D%:.( =.7=.(:..E#7@(#+( +,(&,6"=.?<AF lot of people that need food and there is no point in having waste when we have a lot of people to feed,” she said. “We love these events and we hope Hands For Hunger is successful in raising many funds in order to keep it going.” Graycliff Chocolate Factory’s Dawn Pinder said she has been a fan of Paradise Plates for years and this time around wanted to take a more active role in the proceedings. “I love it and I have always attended Paradise Plates as a guest so I decided to join this year. Hands For Hunger – the name says it all. They do amazing stuff year after year and we are proud to participate in that. Tonight we actually introduced our new alcohol line in the Chocolate Factory consisting of Hennessy, vodka and tequila,” said Ms Pinder. Racquel David, head chef at Drifters at the Fish Fry, emphasised the importance of initiatives like this to assist those in inner-city communities. “It feels great to be around a lot of other restaurants and this is all a great idea because we have persons who are working and still find themselves hungry, so we have to keep this going, especially for the persons in the Overthe-Hill communities. I want everyone to appreciate the food we have here tonight and appreciate what we are doing for those in need. We are offering our tamarind-glazed jerk wings and mini panny cakes like what our grandmothers used to serve back in the day,” said Chef David. Meanwhile, Chef Joshua Huyder travelled from his 1648 Bar & Grill in Eleuthera to attend the gala event. “This is fantastic to come all the way from Eleuthera to participate in a great event. We get to see what Nassau has and also communicate with all the different chefs at the event. It is really nice

Hundreds came out to support the Paradise Plates gala event at Atlantis.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, October 14, 2016

fashion The Weekend Fashion Report 2016 Carousel Of Hope Ball

HIT

SPLIT

FAIL

SPLIT

Raquel Welch “How to Be a Latin Lover”

Regina King “American Crime”

Jane Fonda “Grace and Frankie”

Garcelle Beauvais “The Magicians”

Jane Seymour “Jane The Virgin”

Karin says: “Ooh I love this ombre colour scheme! The violet with the touches of gold is gorgeous. I also like the brushed satin look. Regina is giving women half her age a run for their money on the red carpet.” Cara says: “I love this dress and it’s very cool ombre effect. It is a simple style that has been done before, but the fabric helps give it a little extra ‘oompf’. She looks great.”

Karin says: “There is a limit to how many flowers one should wear at one time, and Jane has easily surpassed it. This is like an embroidery DIY project gone wild. Just too much overall. Also, I wish that sheath underneath was either all cream coloured or all black.” Cara says: “I wish the bodice didn’t have the white lining because it detracts from what is basically a nice dress. Other than that I think Jane looks very elegant and fresh.”

Karin says: “OK Garcelle, so we’re taking bits of not one, but two outdated dresses and sewing them together? Is that was is happening here? The lace is just too much. It looks cheap and too much like a doily. With that much sequin she needed a simple bodice.” Cara says: “I don’t like it. At first glance I was like, maybe it’s that bad. But I don’t think the sequined skirt matches the lace top and it really looks a bit cheap and mumsy.”

Karin says: “This dress is just a bit too ‘Dancing with the Stars’. The green colour is very pretty with her hair, but it’s just not a high-fashion dress; it can be found in any department store. Also, I wish she had done something with her hair and maybe worn a necklace.” Cara says: “Wow she looks so pale. Sorry, that was my first thought. Other than a lack of colour, it’s simple and elegant, and it fits her perfectly. It’s nothing to rave about, but she looks nice.”

Karin says: “She’s almost 80 but still serving the ‘va va voom’ red! Wow. Now we all know she had some help... ahem...but you have to hand it to her, she still looks good. She proves that there is no need to succumb to muumuus and other curtain-like robes just because one reaches a certain age.” Cara says: “Wow, the lady in red looks stunning! She looks amazing. The dress is very flattering and I love the added detail on the neckline.”

PHOTOS BY RICHARD SHOTWELL/INVISION/AP

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, October 14, 2016

podcasts

Let’s get political By STEPHEN HUNT shunt@tribunemedia.net

LECTION season is upon America – and so this week we take a peek into some of the podcasts providing a look at the political landscape during the countdown.

FiveThirtyEight Elections Nate Silver became the most respected name in political analysis with his FiveThirtyEight column in the last round of US elections – and analysis is the beating heart of this podcast. But don’t expect a dry show full of statistics and numbers, instead this is a real delight of a show, with a panel of guests – including Silver – talking about the political issues of the day. The latest show comes from the Playstation Theatre in Broadway, and is timely considering the recent bombing attack on New York, with the guests looking at the response to the attack and the likely effect it will have on the political landscape, particularly with the first presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump due on Monday. There’s an air of defiance in the New York audience coming out to a show in the wake of the bombing, but the show takes the situation in its stride as it focuses sharply on the ebb and flow of political polls, and the narratives of election season. If you’re a Donald Trump supporter, this probably isn’t the show for you, as the host and guests generally sound baffled at the lack of any cohesion to the Republican’s policies and approach. Yet they take it seriously, and this is one of the most informative and neatly analysed looks at the current political landscape. It’s fun too – full of snark and laughs such as the speculation that Donald Trump might launch his own brand of tacos. In short, if you want to be up to speed with the nitty gritty detail of the US election but want to have fun while keeping up with it, then this is absolutely the show for you. Website: http://fivethirtyeight.com/ tag/fivethirtyeight-podcasts/

Presidential The Presidential podcast takes a look back across the history of previous presidents to sit in the White House – and it’s a fantastically educational show. One of the latest episodes takes a look at Gerald Ford, the president who arrived by circumstance rather than by being voted in, and in turn, the show talks to three guests – Ford’s son, Steven, Berkeley professor Daniel Sargent, and former White House photographer David Hume Kennerly. Ford took office in unlikely fashion. He became the first person to be appointed to the vice-presidency under the 25th Amendment after Spiro Agnew’s resignation, then became president after Nixon’s term ended in scandal and resignation. The unelected man, Ford, stepped up in Nixon’s place. The warmest insights come from Ford’s son, who talks of the man who would become President. He talks of how Ford met his biological father only once, in his teenage years, a man who had not been in his life until then and suddenly arrived looking to take Ford to live with him, an offer Ford roundly rejected, saying that his father,

Leslie Lynch King, had never been his real father. Instead, he was raised by his stepfather and his mother, and grew into a man with long years in politics, who spoke of not being able to work with his opposition unless he could break bread with them too, who would sit down with rivals to work out the best solution rather than hurl abuse across the aisle. Kennerly too highlights the humility of the man, revealing an argument over photographs of war in the White House, which were to be taken down until Ford intervened and insisted that images showing the consequences of war were never to be removed, as they acted as a reminder of the outcome of decisions made by those in office. His personal troubles are also highlighted, such as the fight against breast cancer endured by his wife, Betty, and the effect that had on the then president. The desire for bi-partisan politics and the humble approach of Ford marks a very different figure from today’s challengers. In the end, he never did win a presidential election, losing out after his only term to the future President Carter. This is a great podcast, very well worth your time and your attention. Website: https://www.washington-

post.com/graphics/business/presidential-podcast/

Time One of the biggest names in journalism is Time magazine – so it makes it rather inexplicable that the company’s politics podcast is so weak. An array of short, indeed super short, podcasts is available. These clock in at just a few minutes each and it’s hard to fathom who the audience is, because they are so brief. The latest episode lasts just a little over three minutes and ostensibly is a rundown of how each of the major candidate’s policies will affect the US national debt – Clinton’s policies seeing it rise by about one per cent, Trump’s seeing it rise by nearly a quarter. But there’s just so little of it that it’s hard to feel any substance to it – it almost feels like someone is simply reading a press release. Another episode, on Trump’s appeal to black voters, lasts just over a minute, and cuts off mid-sentence. It looks suspiciously like this is an area of Time’s repertoire that is overlooked and neglected, and frankly for such a strong brand, you would expect them to do better. Website: http://www.stitcher.com/ podcast/times-top-stories

18| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, October 14, 2016

books RIZZOLI VIA AP

Celebrity photographer takes on the unsung in book of trans portraits

early 50 years have passed since police raided New York’s Stonewall Inn, touching off protests on Christopher Street that fueled the LGBT movement. To mark the moment, the popular bar and haven for homeless youth, sex workers, trans people and others in search of community and self was designated a national park in June by President Barack Obama. It’s against that backdrop that longtime resident of the Greenwich Village neighbourhood, famed photographer Mark Seliger, decided on a new book, “On Christopher Street: Transgender Stories,” a collection of 70 portraits he took on the street over the last three summers, at a time the area has rapidly

review

‘Fractured’ moves at satisfyingly addictive pace THE end of summer doesn’t need to mean the end of beach reads. And

gentrified. Since the 1980s, Seliger has made his living capturing celebrity in portraiture, from Kurt Cobain to Obama himself — the latter twice for the cover of Rolling Stone. This time, he wanted to focus on the unsung and highlight the “carnival,” as Seliger writes, of gender expression in an area he has called home since 1997. He enlisted trans activist and writer Janet Mock to write the foreword. She, too, has had her brushes with Christopher Street, after moving to the city as a graduate student. Her first encounter? “It was to help a friend get a fake ID, and I got a new belly ring,” she laughed. Like Seliger, she worries that rising a beach read doesn’t need to mean lightweight or purple prose. Take Canadian novelist-attorney Catherine McKenzie. With her skilled writing, adroit storytelling ability, and realistic and empathetic characters, a simple thriller rises above the mundane. Her latest release, “Fractured,” tells the story of a newly popular contemporary fiction author, Julie Prentice, who is as well-known for her wildly popular first novel as she is for her stalker, a former university classmate. The fictional novel, “The Murder Game,” may or may not be based on a real-life murder in Julie’s past. When she and her family move to Cincinnati to dodge the stalker and attempt a

Dan Brown’s next thriller, ‘Origin,’ coming next fall DAN Brown’s next thriller is set to come out next fall. The plot and settings, are, for now, a mystery. Doubleday announced Wednesday that the novel is called “Origin” and is scheduled for September 26, 2017. The story will feature Harvard

real estate prices and wealthier residents will push out the transient and non-gender conforming populace that has gathered there for decades. “We’re very much still here,” Mock said in a recent interview. “It’s just that we can no longer afford to open up bars, we can no longer afford to have these spaces. There’s a gradual archiving of our history.” Among Seliger’s subjects is a trans man who learned he was five and a half months pregnant, having gone off his hormones for top surgery. And there are two siblings who transitioned together, fretting over how their parents would take it. Others recall the Christopher Street piers, where Egyptt Labieja told Seliger it once was “just cars and people doing all kinds of

symbologist Robert Langdon, the protagonist for Brown’s mega-selling “The Da Vinci Code” and such blockbusters as “Inferno” and “Angels & Demons.” According to Doubleday, “Origin” will feature Brown’s usual blend of “codes, science, religion, his-

ungodly things. It was scary, but it was also exciting, because it was something new and I saw another part of life.” Seliger’s book, from Rizzoli, is out in October. LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press fresh start, Julie’s history looms large. “Fractured” bounces back and forth in time and between the viewpoints of Julie and her neighbor John, with whom she shares a flirtation, but the movements are so adept, they never become confusing. Instead, readers are hurled through complex and overlapping plots — murder, lying, nosy neighbors, courtroom drama — at a satisfyingly addictive pace. The only less-than-satisfying aspect of the novel is the ending, which felt a bit too pat, almost like a “Movie of the Week” cop-out. But taking the journey with McKenzie for an afternoon or two is certainly worthwhile. KIM CURTIS Associated Press AP PHOTO/SETH WENIG, FILE)

tory, art and architecture.” Brown has guided readers on worldwide tours in his previous works, but there is no word yet on where “Origins” will lead to. Doubleday isn’t commenting on the book’s geography, but does say Langdon will find himself in “the dangerous intersection of humankind’s two most enduring questions.” NEW YORK Associated Press

Best-selling author Dan Brown of “The Da Vinci Code” fame.

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, October 14, 2016

books

review

Nicholas Sparks debuts 20th novel, ‘Two By Two’

n 1996, Nicholas Sparks introduced the world to Allie and Noah in his best-selling novel “The Notebook.” Their story became an overnight sensation. Two decades later, Sparks continues to prove he’s an expert in exploring real world challenges in a believable romantic genre. His twentieth work, “Two By Two,” extends his impressive collection of literary tales. Russell Green is living a dream life. His young daughter, London, is adorable; his career is taking him places; and his wife, Vivian, is the total package. From the outside looking in, the Greens appear to be the perfect family, but that’s not necessarily the case behind closed doors. He can’t help noticing that his wife is distancing herself, but nothing can prepare him for the day when Vivian decides to leave the family and move to another

Grand Central Publishing via AP

This book cover image released by Grand Central Publishing shows “Two By Two,” a novel by Nicholas Sparks.

state to start a high-end job. In a matter of days, he must learn how to navigate the world as a single father raising a six-year-old. He tackles washing dance outfits, driving to art classes, making nutritious meals and assuaging the anxiety of his little girl. Not only does he take care of every detail of his daughter’s life, he also works hard to build a solid foundation for his new advertising firm. Through every new experience, he depends on his parents, sister and friendly art-class moms to help steer him in the right direction. As the weeks pass, he accepts his new reality and even begins to own his

TV versions of ‘Batman’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ to meet in new comic DC Entertainment via AP

Holy TV crossover, Batman! The colourful 1960s version of the Caped Crusader will team up with the groovy 1970s rendition of Wonder Woman in a new comic book series. DC Comics announced last Friday at New York Comic Con that “Batman ‘66 Meets Wonder Woman ‘77” will unite the characters from the “Batman” TV show staring Adam West and Burt Ward with the “Wonder Woman” TV series featuring Lynda Carter for the first time. “Batman ‘66” writer Jeff Parker says “it really feels like Lynda Carter and Adam West going into action again, this time together.” “Wonder Woman ‘77” writer Marc Andreyko says the crossover series will “span 30 years as these two legendary superheroes fight an ancient evil across the decades.” The 12-chapter comic book series will launch November 23. NEW YORK Associated Press

role as London’s chauffeur, chef, nurse, playmate and bedtime storyteller. Most of all, his love for his daughter grows beyond his understanding as he comes to realise that she is his world as much as he is hers. “Two By Two” is a tumultuous story wrapped in a world of broken relationships. Sparks invites readers to take a journey that stares risks and rewards directly in the face. Whether it’s tenderness between a husband and wife or affection between a father and his daughter, Sparks has definitely mastered the art of love. LINCEE RAY Associated Press

The top 10 books on Apple’s iBooks The Associated Press Charts for the week ending October 9

1960s Batman and 1970s Wonder Woman will team up in a new comic book series.

1. “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins 2. “Two by Two” by Nicholas Sparks 3. “Home” by Harlan Coben 4. “Killing the Rising Sun” by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard 5. “The Couple Next Door” by Shari Lapeña 6. “Missing” by James Patterson 7. “Commonwealth” by Ann Patchett 8. “Just Friends” by Billy Taylor 9. “Witness to a Trial” by John Grisham 10. “Beautiful” by Christina Lauren

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, October 14, 2016

film PHOTO/FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Armie Hammer as Samuel Turner and Nate Parker as Nat Turner.

up, unfairly or not, as everyone’s great hope to save us from another year of #OscarsSoWhite. Some handful of months later, it became representative of something else when the focus shifted to the then little-known fact that its creator and star, Nate Parker, had a past that involved not only a rape allegation, but the eventual suicide of the accuser. Neither is a fair lens through which to judge “The Birth of a Nation.” Complicated people have and will continue to make films. We’ll all have to reconcile with that in our own way. The fact is, “The Birth of a Nation” is a fine and promising debut from Parker, who also co-wrote and produced. It also feels very much like a first film, too, unable to reach the lofty

artistry that it’s striving for in juxtaposing unimaginable human injustices with both lyrical spirituality and shocking violence. Parker follows Nat Turner from childhood to his death at age 31. Turner was hanged for the Virginia rebellion. Under the cloak of night, he and his fellow slaves went house to house slaughtering every man, woman and child who had a white complexion. It lasted 48 hours and over 50 people were killed. The incident was an early catalyst to the Civil War. Out of necessity, “The Birth of a Nation” takes a lot of liberties with truths and unknowns about Nat Turner, fleshing out the skeleton of what the history books tell us. Instead of having Nat being sold a

number of times throughout his life, Parker keeps him with the same owner — the Turner family — throughout. Matriarch Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller) takes a shine to Nat and helps to teach him how to read. While that part is true, keeping him with the same family allows Parker to show a young Nat (Tony Espinosa) being friends with his eventual master Samuel (Armie Hammer) from youth. Parker does, through a skillfully internalised performance, show the evolution of a radical through unthinkable dehumanisation. Nat, who has taught himself to preach, travels from plantation to plantation with Samuel reading scripture to other slaves. It’s there he sees that not all are as relatively benevolent as the Turners. The images haunt him — from the a little black girl being led around on a leash to a man having his teeth hammered out. The horrors build inside the once docile Nat until erupting in a passionate sermon, and, eventually the uprising. “The Birth of a Nation” hits all of these notes very bluntly. Many have already compared it to Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart,” which is apt. Roland Emmerich’s “The Patriot” is another. LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

BARRY WETCHER/DREAMWORKS PICTURES/UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIA AP

Blunt), the sexy ‘other woman’ (Megan, Haley Bennett) and the unwitting wife (Anna, Rebecca Ferguson). They are each introduced in their own chapter, but our central figure is Blunt’s boozy, devastated Rachel, the so-dubbed “girl” who by all appearances is suspiciously like a woman. She spends her days riding the Metro North into and out of New York, cursing the suburban “baby factory” while mini liquor bottles fall off her lap. From the tracks, she obsessively gazes at a house where she spies who she believes is the perfect, impossibly handsome couple (Bennett, Luke Evans). From the train she sees hints of an affair or possibly a crime, and begins involving herself like a drunk Jimmy Stewart, on the rails instead of confined to a wheelchair. But the tale adds another layer — an incredulous one — to her voyeurism. As it happens, Rachel used to live a few houses down, where her ex-husband (Justin Theroux) now lives with his current wife (Ferguson) and baby. The mystery

kicks in when Megan goes missing — another girl, gone. Her character is set up as a kind of slinky femme fatale, who (despite her million-dollar home) is working as a nanny for — you guessed it — Anna down the street. Through a boozy fog, the blackoutplagued Rachel believes she knows something about the case. She, herself, is a suspect because of her frequent creeping around her old home and continuous phone calls to her ex. On the night in question, Rachel wakes up mysteriously bloody. (Allison Janney makes a fine cameo as a police detective.) Dangerous fantasies of marital bliss are at the heart of “The Girl on the Train.” There’s something worthy beneath the pulpy, preposterous plot that wants to give redemption to some old female stereotypes. But Taylor’s film merely shifts awkwardly from one trop to another, like an uncertain passenger changing trains. JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

review

‘Birth of a Nation’ bluntly tells tale of Nat Turner BIRTH OF A NATION 120 MINUTES

“T

he Birth of a Nation” has had more expectations placed on it than any movie could reason-

ably bear. When the film about Nat Turner and his 1831 slave rebellion premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, it was held

review

‘Girl on the Train’ doesn’t stay on the rails GIRL ON THE TRAIN 105 MINUTES

THE old-school title of Tate Taylor’s “The Girl on the Train” may suggest Hitchcock or maybe Fincher (who himself is remaking Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train”), but the film, disappointingly, is nowhere near the league of either. Instead, it’s closer to the kind of early ‘90s psychological thriller where bad things happen in slow motion and deadly instruments are drawn from kitchen drawers.

Rebecca Ferguson as the unwitting wife Anna. It’s adapted from Paula Hawkins’ popular London-set novel, the success of which was predicated on comparisons to Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” a trio of unreliable narrators, all women, and the way it cleverly untwisted female clichés of domestic life: the bitter divorcee (Rachel, played by Emily

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, October 14, 2016

film Chuck Zlotnick/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP

review

A superhero CPA in Ben Affleck’s ‘The Accountant’ the accountant running time: 128 mins

Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, a secretive, autistic accountant for prominent criminals.

he bean counter cometh. In Gavin O’Connor’s “The Accountant,” starring Ben Affleck, the paperpushing CPA — roughly the exact opposite of Schwarzenegger or Stallone — gets his shot at action hero stardom. If we pull out our calculators, we can deduce that the odds of this are slim. Carrying the one and rounding up, you might even conclude that it’s a patently ridiculous premise. Just imagine the tagline possibilities. “The only thing he knows better than the tax code is his moral code!” ‘’Don’t write him off!” ‘’He’s the Price Waterhouse Killer!” But “The Accountant” has much

grander goals of implausibility. It’s about a secretive, autistic accountant for prominent criminals who’s a muscular, military-grade hit man by hobby, plagued by his father’s relentlessly militaristic parenting, who becomes embroiled in a robotic prostheses company’s bid to go public. You know, THAT old story. To cite the words exclaimed by John Lithgow’s CEO at a climactic moment that’s both bloodbath and family reunion: “What IS this?” What “The Accountant” is is one of the more unlikely movies to repeat the phrase “Just the Renoir.” Christian Wolff (Affleck) is on the surface a small-town accountant outside Chi-

cago who spends his days at his bland shopping center office and his nights in an airstream trailer parked inside a storage unit. There he punishes himself with a bar he painfully rolls over his shins and stares quietly at an original Pollack nailed to the ceiling. (His Renoir is deemed more expendable.) He has amassed the hidden fortune as an accountant for hire to drug cartels, money launderers and the mafia. His liaisons are set up by an unseen operative who communicates with Wolff only by phone. When it comes time to sift through documents, Wolff — like a pianist preparing for Beethoven — blows on his finger tips and dives in. Filling the movie are flashbacks

to Wolff’s childhood, when his army father (Robert C Treveiler) refused to accept his autistic son’s differences. Instead, he raises him and his brother like soldiers, training them with specialists. It’s a quirky method of parenting sure to spawn a best-seller: less homework, more pentjak silat (the Indonesian fighting style). The origin story — complete with a bizarre but formative stint in prison with a cameo from Jeffrey Tambor — plays like a superhero’s. Many of the characters, too, feel straight out of a comic book: JK Simmons’ Treasury Department investigator, Jon Bernthal’s over-inflated enforcer, Anna Kendrick’s accounting clerk, the movie’s lone smiler. Affleck’s hulking, number-crunching CPA is no less severe than his Batman. The actor plays him deliberately flat, with an unrelentingly even voice and a dispassionate, anti-social blankness. As was the case in “Batman v Superman,” he’s better than the overcooked soup he’s swimming in. There are legitimate objections to be raised about a film like “The Accountant” treating the autistic like savants. But there are genuine gestures here about accepting the gifts of people with autism, and it’s worth noting how unusual such territory is for a Hollywood thriller — something O’Connor (“Warrior,” ‘’Pride and Glory”) knows how to firmly construct. “The Accountant” is, if nothing else, singular in lending an action-movie cliche an absurdly peculiar and elaborate backstory. JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

Obama’s favourite sci-fi films include ‘2001,’ ‘Blade Runner’ The cerebral interstellar saga “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the android drama “Blade Runner” are among President Barack Obama’s favourite sci-fi films and TV shows. Obama shared his mustwatch list of movies and TV shows to “expand your mind to new horizons” in the November issue of Wired magazine. Obama told the publication that he picked Stanley

Kubrick’s “2001” because it “captures the grandeur and scale of the unknown,” while he selected Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” because it “asks what it means to be human.” Other films on Obama’s list included the marooned-on-Mars drama “The Martian” starring Matt Damon and the simulated reality epic “The Matrix” featuring Keanu Reeves.

The full list: 1. “2001: A Space Odyssey” 2. “Blade Runner” 3. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” 4. “Star Wars” 5. “Star Trek” 6. “The Martian” 7. “The Matrix” 8. “Cosmos” LOS ANGELES Associated Press

“2001: A Space Odyssey” is President Obama’s favourtie sci-fi movie.

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, October 14, 2016

literary lives agatha christie “When Christie wrote her first detective story, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’, introducing Hercule Poirot - a former Belgian police officer who had moved to the West Country the manuscript was rejected by no less than six publishers before it was accepted.”

A case to tax the little grey cells Sir Christopher Ondaatje explains the life and mysterious disappearance of England’s most prolific and bestselling author

t 9.45pm on Friday December 3, 1926, Agatha Christie, the world’s most famous detective story writer, walked out of her house “Styles” in Sunningdale, Berkshire, leaving behind a letter to her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Her car, a Morris Cowley, was later found at Newlands Corner – four miles east of Guildford – with its lights still on, an out-of-date driving licence and a bag of clothes in a bush overhanging the edge of a chalk quarry, close to a spectral natural spring known as The Silent Pool. Her disappearance, which seemed almost as if it had been taken from one of her detective stories, caused a huge outcry from the public. Her husband had also left “Styles” that morning saying that “he was going to stay with friends”. Police descriptions of Agatha Christie were: age 35; height 5ft 7in; hair

reddish and shingled; eyes grey; complexion fair; well built, dressed in grey skirt and dark cardigan; small green velour hat; wearing a platinum ring with one pearl - but no wedding ring. For 11 days her whereabouts remained unknown. Newspapers invented stories and feared the worst. Suspicion fell on her husband, Colonel Archibald Christie, who, when questioned, had disclosed an unfaithful relationship with Nancy Neele who he had met a few years earlier and with whom he had fallen in love. He said that a trial reconciliation had failed and he had asked for a divorce. The Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, pressured police and a £100 reward was offered for her discovery. Over 1,000 police offices, 15,000 volunteers and several biplanes

and bloodhounds scoured the landscape. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave one of Christie’s gloves to a medium to help find the missing woman and Dorothy L Sayers, another well-known detective writer, visited the site of the disappearance later using the scenario in her book “Unnatural Death”. After a long 11 days, Christie was discovered when a waiter recognised her at a spa hotel – The Swan Hydropathic Hotel (now The Old Swan Hotel) in Harrogate, Yorkshire, registered under the name of Mrs Teresa Neele (the surname of her husband’s lover) from Cape Town. Public reaction after she was found was largely negative. People thought it was a massive publicity campaign or even an attempt to implicate her husband – but Christie was later found to be severely

overworked and depressed about her husband’s infidelity, which led to their divorce in 1928. Archibald Christie went on to marry Nancy Neele but Agatha Christie retained custody of their only daughter Rosalind, as well as her Christie name for writing. Two years later, Christie married the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowen. Their marriage was a successful one and lasted until her death in 1976. Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller on September 15, 1890, into a wealthy upper middle class family in Torquay, Devon. The youngest of three siblings, she was educated at home by her mother, who encouraged her to write. Christie enjoyed play-acting and creating fantasy characters. She was a voracious

Friday, October 14, 2016

reader. After a series of heart attacks, her father died in 1901 leaving the family devastated and in a precarious financial situation. But the family managed to continue living in their home. It was the end of her childhood; she was 11. When she was 16 she was sent to Paris to study voice and piano at three pensions: Mademoiselle Cabernet’s, Les Marroniers and finally Miss Dryden’s, a finishing school. She returned to England in 1910 and, finding her mother ill, went with her to Cairo where they stayed for three months at the Gezirah Palace Hotel. Returning to Britain Christie began writing - mostly poetry and music - and then wrote her first short story “The House of Beauty” (later published as “The House of Dreams”). Other short stories followed, all dealing with spiritualism and the paranormal and submitted to magazines

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“Public reaction after she was found was largely negative. People thought it was a massive publicity campaign or even an attempt to implicate her husband.” Continued on page 24

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Continued from page 23 under a pseudonym. They were all rejected, although some were revised and published later. She then wrote her first novel, “Snow Upon the Desert”, based in Cairo, and again submitted her manuscript under a pseudonym. But again publishers rejected it. A perturbed Christie then sought advice from a literary agent, Hughes Massie, who urged her to continue writing but with a different subject. It was during these early frustrating years that she met her future husband, Archibald Christie, in Ugbrooke, the Clifford family estate in Devon. They fell in love and married in 1914. Ris-

Friday, October 14, 2016

ing through the ranks in World War I, Archibald Christie was eventually stationed back in England as a colonel in the Air Ministry. During these war years she worked in a Torquay hospital as an unpaid nurse. After the war the couple settled in a flat in St John’s Wood, north London, where their only daughter, Rosalind, was born in August, 1919. The next year they moved to “Styles”. When Christie wrote her first detective story, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, introducing Hercule Poirot - a former Belgian police officer who had moved to the West Country - the manuscript was rejected by no less than six publishers before it was accepted by

The Bodley Head. In 1920, she signed her first publishing contract and her literary career was born. A second novel, “The Secret Adversary”, was published by The Bodley Head in 1922, and a third, ‘Murder on the Links’ was published in 1923. “The Sketch” magazine also published some of her short stories. It was in 1926, the year of Agatha Christie’s strange disappearance, that “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” was published, a classic and one of her alltime favourites. She courageously dealt with her personal tumult that year, including her mother’s death, and then, in 1930, married her second husband, travelling with him on his many ar-

Agatha Christie’s car, a Morris Cowley, was found abandoned with its lights still on.

chaeological expeditions to the Middle East, writing about them in her novels. Christie’s 1934 novel “Murder on the Orient Express” was written in the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul. Five years later “And Then There Were None” - her best-selling mystery novel, and widely considered to be her masterpiece – was set on an isolated island off the coast of Devon and is estimated to have sold well over 100 million copies. She recounted her trips with her second husband in her 1946 memoir “Come, Tell Me How You Live”. In 1930, Christie published “Murder at the Vicarage” which introduced readers to Miss Marple, a curious and enquiring village lady. Among those

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Friday, October 14, 2016

Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha published, Poirot and Marple are Christie’s best known detectives, with the two characters featured in dozens of novels and short stories. Poirot featured in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (1926), “The Mystery of the Blue Train” (1928) and “Murder on the Orient Express” (1934); while Miss Marple featured in “The Body in the Library” (1942), “The Moving Finger” (1943) and “A Pocket Full of Rye” (1953). Writing well into her final years Christie in total wrote more than 70 detective novels as well as short fiction. She also wrote the romantic novels “Unfinished Portrait” (1934) and “A Daughter’s a Daughter” (1952) under the name of Mary Westmacott. She is one of the most prolific authors in literary history; her combined works selling over two billion copies. She also wrote plays: “The Hollow” (1951), “Verdict” (1955), and “The Mousetrap”, which opened in 1952 at The Ambassador’s Theatre in London and which in an impulsive act of generosity she gave to her grandson Matthew Prichard on his ninth birthday. It has had more than 8,800 showings during the last 64 years, and holds the record as having the longest unbroken run in a London theatre. It is still running. Her popular movies include “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) and “Death on The Nile” (1978). To honour her many literary works Agatha Christie was made a Commander of The Order of The British Empire (CBE) in 1956, and a Dame Commander of The Order of The British Empire in 1971. But then her health began to fail and she died on January 12, 1976, aged 85 at her home in Winterbrook, Cholsey. She is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard nearby. With great foresight, during her lifetime, Agatha Christie set up a private company Agatha Christie Limited. In 1968, when she was nearly 80, she sold a 51 per cent stake in the company to Booker Books, a subsidiary of the British food conglomerate Booker-McConnell. It later increased its stake to 64 per cent.

After Christie’s death in 1976, the remaining 36 per cent of the company was inherited by her daughter, Rosalind Hicks. When Hicks died in 2004, this interest was left to Christie’s grandson Matthew Prichard. Agatha Christie Limited remains the owner of the worldwide rights for over 80 Agatha Christie novels and short stories, 19 plays, and nearly 40 TV films. In 1988, Booker sold its interest in Agatha Christie Limited to Chorion, who in turn sold this holding in 2012 to Acorn Media UK, owned by the American businessman Robert L Johnson. Matthew Prichard remains Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited, as well as continuing to own 36 per cent of the company, together with the copyright to many of his grandmother’s literary works, including “The Mousetrap”. This share of the company allows them to appoint 50 per cent of the board and the Chairman, thus retaining a veto over new treatments, updated versions and republications. As recently as 2014 the BBC announced that it had acquired the exclusive television rights to all Agatha Christie’s works in the UK, and it is entirely possible that she remains the best-selling author of all time, apart from Shakespeare and the holy texts, The Bible and The Koran. Sales have actually grown by 50 per cent over the last ten years, and she has now been translated into virtually every major language in the world. Royalties from book sales alone exceeded £5 million in 2014 and, together with the income and sale of other subsidiary rights, Agatha Christie Limited now earns very much more than the shy reclusive author ever did in her lifetime. NEXT WEEK: Matthew Hart questions the fallibility of the gold standard as a guarantee of financial stability. • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is an adventurer and writer resident in the Bahamas. A Sri Lankan-born CanadianEnglishman, he is the author of several books, including “The Last Colonial”

A shallop vessel

Who were the Eleutherian Adventurers?

verybody knows of the Eleutherian Adventurers, but how much do we know about them? After all, they, not the Arawaks or Tainos, are the founding fathers of the colony that became the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The expedition to what is now called Eleuthera was set in motion by religious conditions in Bermuda, where Captain William Sayle was Governor. Sayle was able to get permission to set up a new colony in the Bahamas, and in 1648 he sailed south on a small 50-tonne ship and a six-tonne shallop, to establish Eleutheria. He was accompanied by some 70 would-be settlers. I’ve often wondered what a shallop looked like, until Ron Lightbourn sent me the accompanying image. There may still have been descendants of the Arawaks/Tainos living in these islands, but as far as anyone knew, the islands were uninhabited and these Adventurers became our first settlers. This group landed safely, but a Captain Butler created so many problems that Sayle and the majority had to find a separate island, on which to settle. During this move, the ship ran aground and was lost. Fortunately, only one settler died, but all the provisions and stock animals were lost. To obtain new supplies, Sayle and eight men sailed the shallop to Virginia, a one-week journey of more than 800 miles. There he secured a ship and supplies to take back

to the settlers, who had stayed behind on Eleutheria, where, having been left without animals, axes, hoes, saws and seed corn, they had been almost unable to sustain themselves. Life on Eleutheria was tough and the colony took a long time to stabilise and grow. To quote Dr Gail Saunders (Islanders in the Stream, vol. 1) “Adderley, Albury, Bethell, Davis, Sands and Saunders families, whose descendants are still found in the islands, formed a kind of rude elite”. Dr Saunders goes on to say (the population) “was intermittently reinforced as a result of the Bermudians’ habit of using the Bahamas as a dumping ground for those they regarded as socially undesirable ... a few poor whites ... and non-whites ... the toughest of these were slaves ... the most numerous, and most useful as colonists, though, were the free blacks and coloureds.” Over the next 150 years, the population of the Bahamas increased very slowly, reaching just over 4,000 living mostly on seven islands - Abaco, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Harbour Island, New Providence and Spanish Wells. Then, after the American Revolution, there was an influx of Loyalists, with their slaves, who settled all over the Bahamas, changing these islands forever, so that most true, true Bahamian family names came here with the Loyalists. • islandairman@gmail.com

I F I TARGETC N LTHE

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Dictionary (1999 edition)

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.

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

CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 A nastiness dispelled by French composer (5-5) 6 It may be sprinkled from a metal container (4) 10 Liberal politician has some beer around (5) 11 He struggles with valiant sea monster (9) 12 Turn to crime around the East in brilliant fashion (8) 13 Lightweight cat (5) 15 Above and just behind the clock (7) 17 He plays by himself (7) 19 Has a hatred of French exams (7) 21 North African travellers and books may be so bound (7) 22 A noted drama (5) 24 Height could mean a slight change of latitude (8) 27 Extremely wicked but safe in our disguise (9) 28 Cancel every year without an ‘A’ in it (5) 29 It may run out in time (4) 30 He has to pay the price of publicity (10)

Down 1 Click! And it’s a photograph (4) 2 Complete tool (9) 3 The Middle East is a subject of discussion (5) 4 Free in general (2,5) 5 Learners apparently without defects (7) 7 She appears in an ensemble that’s rather colourless (5) 8 Satisfied, I raise no argument (10) 9 An outstanding singer, perhaps (8) 14 Praiseworthy features of a railway? (4,6) 16 Desmond marries but doesn’t expect to be happy! (8) 18 Number I’d followed in new tennis events (9) 20 Fare for the main course? (7) 21 Painter out in sea mist (7) 23 Small sprite within (5) 25 Regional publication? (5) 26 Clearly not a good impression (4)

9 10

14 15

25 26

21st too! Use Friday, October 14, 2016grid letters and b Century

Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Traffic, 5 Zebra, 8 Withdrawn, 9 Cox, 10 Rope, 12 Belittle, 14 Pretty, 15 Canary, 17 Audacity, 18 Skit, 21 Fan, 22 On average, 24 Limit, 25 Harvest. Down: 1 Tower, 2 Art, 3 Fade, 4 Craven, 5 Zanzibar, 6 Backtrack, 7 Anxiety, 11 Pseudonym, 13 Stick out, 14 Playful, 16 Attach, 19 Treat, 20 Bear, 23 Ape.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Jackass, 5 Based, 8 Adoration, 9 Owl, 10 Site, 12 Short cut, 14 Presto, 15 Spread, 17 Suitcase, 18 Skye, 21 Eta, 22 Clip joint, 24 Riser, 25 Germany. Down: 1 Jeans, 2 Coo, 3 Afar, 4 Slight, 5 Bankrupt, 6 Spot check, 7 Deleted, 11 The rivals, 13 Stock car, 14 Pasteur, 16 Asking, 19 Entry, 20 Ajar, 23 Ida.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 US steel-making city (10) 6 Feign (4) 10 Brushwood (5) 11 Submit after defeat (9) 12 Calmness (8) 13 Aesthetic judgment (5) 15 Left out (7) 17 Lachrymose (7) 19 Latter part of day (7) 21 Act of contrition (7) 22 Caribbean republic (5) 24 Asperity of temper (8) 27 Racing dog (9) 28 A fall from a horse (5) 29 Perceive (4) 30 Egyptian port (10)

Down 1 An affected attitude (4) 2 A greenish-blue gem (9) 3 Cavalry sword (5) 4 Fallacious (7) 5 Item of clothing (7) 7 Ancient abode of dead (5) 8 French Mediterranean city (10) 9 Hold back (8) 14 Capital of Denmark (10) 16 Dusk (8) 18 Provider of business capital (9) 20 Developing by degrees (7) 21 Self-contradictory statement (7) 23 Clumsy (5) 25 Stoneworker (5) 26 Tiny parasitic insect (4)

RO T I F I CN L

below the gr grid is ‘rotat symmetrical words, it loo you turn the down. Soluti

HOW many words of four letters The Target CAN youthecrack the or more can you make from letters shown here?Alphabeater? In making a Yesterday Each grid uses word, each letter may be used Black squ number represents once only. Each must contain the 9, 10,a11,let 16 words in 27, 32, 35, centre letter and there must be at – or black square. As in Across: O leastmain one nine-letter word. No the Branches, plurals or verb formsAlphapuzzle, ending in “s”. every lette Starters, P body of Drizzle, Ya TODAY’S TARGET the alphabet is used. Bu Dejected, B Good 14; very good 21; excellent 27 Chambers you have to complete Splatter,th W (or more). Solution tomorrow. Pox 21st grid too! Use theDown: given Lucky, Vow YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION Grit, letters and blackDivot, square Century cement CEMENTING cent Amaze, Ac centime eminent engine entice Squat, AskT below the grid to start. Dictionary gene genet genetic genic genie Extra le grid is ‘rotationally gent meeting meting mien mince (1999 0907 mine mint nice niece nine teeing symmetrical’ – in (Deduct otherthr1 teeming teen tegmen tine ting edition) eachsame extra c words, it looks the tinge

Full s you turn the page upside HOW many words of four letters Yesterday’s Call 0907Yesterday’s 181down. 2585 for 0907 1 Solution tomorro Sudoku Kakuro TargetAnswer solution or more canAnswer you make from today’s the *Calls cost *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your tele plus your telephone company’s network a letters shown here? In making anetwork accessYesterday’s solutio charge. word, each letter may be used Black squares: 4, 5 *SP: Spoke 202 once only. Each must contain the– Helpline 0333 9, 10, 11,3390 16, 17,PLAY 22, 25M 27, 32, 35, 37. centre letter and there must be at Across: Olive, least one nine-letter word. No Branches, Cowl, plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 14; very good 21; excellent 27 (or more). Solution tomorrow. YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION cement CEMENTING cent centime eminent engine entice gene genet genetic genic genie gent meeting meting mien mince mine mint nice niece nine teeing teeming teen tegmen tine ting tinge

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

Starters, Pygmy, Lift Drizzle, Yard, Feast, Dejected, Beau, Splatter, Worth. Down: Poxy, Dusk, Lucky, Vow, Middlem Divot, Grit, Even, Amaze, Acetylene, E Squat, Asks, Tuft.

Extra letter clue

0907 181 256

(Deduct three minutes f each extra clue letter he

Full solution

0907 181 255

*Calls cost 80p per minu plus your telephone compa network access charge

PLAY MORE C

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Friday, October 14, 2016

animals Animal matters Kim Aranha

After Hurricane Matthew

Chief and Buddy look out across the water after the storm. power and a roof. I am an real estate agent and the last few days I have been searching for short-term rentals that will take dogs or cats. I have been pleasantly surprised how some landlords who normally refuse pets are actually prepared to make an exception this time and are allowing a well-behaved pet sanctuary with their owners. To those kind and compassionate people I say, thank you. During our frantic clean-up and

Jovial Jill By The Bahamas Humane Society Jill is a stray who came to the Bahamas Humane Society as a rescue after being tormented on the streets of New Providence. She’s come through with a friendly personality, willing to share her space with other dogs. She even likes children! Her legs will always bear the marks of her past, but this one-and-a-halfyear-old hasn’t let that stop her! Do you have a place for Jill in your heart? If so, come in to the BHS to meet her, or call 325-6742 for more information. Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday. Jill looks forward to meeting you.

rebuilding phase we must remember that our pets, too, are experiencing stress. They hear lots of builders, yard workers, trucks, chain saws, yelling, talking, laughing – all unknown voices and sounds. They have no clue what is going on around them. Those pets that have had to move into temporary homes, places that are not their own, need time to adjust. Please be sure you have brought with you their beds, toys, water bowls and familiar items

pet of the week

Patricia Vazquez

here are no words for the relentless battering we all received in New Providence from the passing of Hurricane Matthew. Some say that we got it a little worse out on the western part of the island because we virtually “rode” the eye wall for close to five hours. The storm moved relatively slowly and bashed and buffeted everything in sight. As I peaked through the cracked windows, I saw one tree after another come crashing down...trees we had planted over a period of 31 years. I felt a wave of sadness and nostalgia, and as tears prickled behind my eyes I unexpectedly felt a soft muzzle pushing its way into my hand hanging down by my side. Chief and Buddy must have sensed my moment of sadness and loss, and without being asked, had come to comfort and reassure me in the only way they knew how – the sharing of unconditional and silent love; demanding nothing in return. This is an incredibly stressful and scary time for us all. Everybody on this island and other islands, Grand Bahama, Bimini, and more have faced the wrath of Hurricane Matthew as bravely as we know how. We stood strong like no other nation; we were wise and careful and were blessed to have not sustained any loss of human life. I do not have numbers of animal loss; I have heard tell of some livestock but I do not have anything official. We are all in clean-up mode, the rich and the poor, the young and the old, no matter where your home is located, devastation is just outside you door, and in some cases, just inside you door. Many Nassuvians have been displaced, short-term rentals are of a premium. People are looking for somewhere to put their heads with

they usually connect with. This will reassure them that their world, though changed, is still there and they are safe. During all the panic and hurried repairs, take time out to talk to your pet. In a normal, un-stressed voice, make sure they know that you are OK. If you are panicked and agitated, so are they. They look to you for signals of what is going on and how to act. In this terrifically difficult time, create a few moments of normalcy, play a game, curl up with them beside you or at your feet, or if small enough, on your lap. Funnily enough, this interaction with your pet will make you feel better. Remember, stroking a dog releases endorphins into your system, and endorphins make you feel better. So you giving them reassurance will actually help make you feel better and stronger. Last night I took this picture as the sun went down. I sat on the wall, and watched two of my dogs look over the water, seeing things I cannot see, hearing sounds I cannot hear, smelling scents I cannot smell. Their tails gently wagging like the breeze blowing off the sea. I realise that we will rebuild as a people. We will make this work. Our gardens will grow back, our homes will get fixed, and our beloved pets will be faithfully at our side during the entire ordeal. Like the phoenix, we will rise up out of the ashes, stronger and more determined.

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Friday, October 14, 2016

gardening

The garden in October Jack Hardy declares that October is the most remarkable month in the gardener’s calendar

uring October the heat of our long summer disappears by the end of the month and appreciably cooler nights bring ideal gardening conditions that allow us to grow virtually any vegetable and any flowering annual. Early in the month we can complete planting of such veggies as carrots, cabbages, tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, chard, squash, cucumbers and such. Towards the end of the month we can plant our cool season crops such as spinach, lettuce and greens, garden peas and leeks. Many home gardeners will be starting their vegetable growing season at the end of October and be able to enjoy working in the garden without oppressive heat from the sun. This makes sense but leaves out the joy of picking ripe tomatoes at the end of November. By the end of October nighttime temperatures will be below 68 degrees and allow tomato plants with flowers to self-pollinate and set fruit. Depending on the variety, this means ripe tomatoes towards the end of November and certainly by Christmas. Tomato plants that have been started in flats and transferred to three-

Ripe tomatoes can be expected by the end of November at the earliest, and by Christmas at the latest. gallon pots should be transplanted to their permanent location in the garden early in October. Allow at least two feet between plants and leave any application of fertilizer until at least a week after transplant. Water the plants well to seat the roots and thereafter water normally. Most tomato vines need staking in order to keep fruit well away from the ground. Fibre or bamboo stakes do fine, as do wire tomato frames or towers. Use plastic ribbon to secure vines to stakes instead of twine. Cut the ribbon to a generous length to make tying of knots easier. There will be no wastage because the cut ribbons can be reused year after year. By this point your second wave of tomatoes should be under way. Sow seeds in flats in order to replace your first set of tomatoes. Sweet pepper plants should also be flowering in October. Some are precocious and produce flowers while the plants are too small to support the large fruits. We must be firm here and

nip off any flowers on small plants. We will reap the benefit later in the season. Snap beans come in bush and pole form. To grow pole beans you need a trellis or a tepee frame made from four (or more) eight-feet poles. Plant the bean seeds in fertile soil so they will climb the poles, allowing at least four inches between seeds. Bush beans are usually planted in rows, again four inches apart and one to two inches deep. Bush beans bear earlier than pole beans but also have a shorter life span. Once you are at the stage of picking beans you should plant a new replacement row. The joy of summer – snake beans, also known as asparagus or yard-long beans – has become so popular in the US because of restaurant use that varieties have been developed that can grow in cooler areas. That would mean we could grow snake beans year round and not give a darn about boring snap beans. Get your nursery to look through their catalogues and order

for you if you do not order from seed houses yourself. Last year my snake beans lasted into December when I finally pulled them up. I now wish I had sown some more and seen if they could produce during our mild winter. Cucumber and squash plants are invariably attacked by fungus diseases during their life span. You can spray the leaves with a fungicide while the plants are young and help stave off the debilitating effects of fungus and mildew spores. It is sad to see cucumber and squash leaves – once so gloriously healthy – reduced to a skeletal mesh and regular applications of a fungicide will keep the vines alive and productive longer. Carrots are best planted in blocks rather than wasteful rows. I like to press the bottom of a plastic milk crate onto the planting area and set up a grid. Using the impress of the crates you can plant your individual carrot seeds a uniform three inches apart in a square area. The same procedure can be followed for beets, scallions and lettuce. If you are looking to grow a new type of vegetable you could do worse than grow chard, an upright plant with stalks and leaves. Some varieties have coloured stalks while others have green stalks. The young leaves can be used in salads while older leaves can be cooked as spinach. The stalks can be boiled and used as asparagus. Chard is very popular in the Mediterranean area and is an essential in the Swiss soup minestrone. Chard is easy and rewarding to grow and the hardest job will be to convince your family that it should be included in their regular diet. October is the time to plant flowering annual seeds. All through summer we have to rely on the same old plants that can withstand heat and humidity. Now we can grow virtually any annual that catches our fancy. Probably the most popular flowering annual locally is the humble petunia. The seeds must be scattered on the surface of soil and kept moist with the mist section of your hose end sprayer. You rarely need a seed starter mix but if you are growing petunias it would be a wise choice. Some petunias come in pelleted form which makes matters a little easier. Impatiens seedlings will probably not be available from your local nursery because of a ban on imports from Florida. They are easy to start from seed and are fast growers. • For questions and comments emailj.hardy@coralwave.com.