11092018 WEEKEND

Friday, November 9, 2018

art books film fashion music pageants puzzles gardening history

Weekend

MISS BAHAMAS HEADS TO CHINA Pages 14 & 15

Back to the big screen A change in the local cinema landscape page 17

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

celebrity

Why Bahamian women love ‘Sexiest Man’ Idris Elba Idris Elba poses for a portrait to promote his new film “Yardie”.

PHOTOS/TAYLOR JEWELL/INVISION/AP

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

T

his week, People magazine named British actor Idris Elba their ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ for 2018, and Bahamian women had something to say about it.

While past picks have included some undeniable hunks like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Hemsworth and Channing Tatum, for many women from these shores this is the first year People got it completely right when they chose the “Luther” star.

“I have to say, last year Blake Sheldon did nothing for me, but Idris Elba is a blessing from my African ancestors,” 37-year-old educator May told Tribune Weekend.

“Idris Elba is sexy to me because he looks like the everyday man, but at the same time has all the smooth, suave ‘lickableness’ of a James Bond. He fits in any scenario, and for women, we can imagine rolling over and looking into that face. He seems obtainable.

He seems like someone you went to college with,” she added.

Hotelier Rose, 33, concurred that part of the appeal of the star is his guynext-door charm.

“Looked in the mirror, I “Idris Elba is everything! First he just looks like he is a nice person. I checked myself out. I was mean, I don’t know of course, but that’s like, ‘Yeah, you are kind how he looks, and oftentimes celebriof sexy today.’ But to be ties can be gorgeous but you know that honest, it was just a nice they are just bastards in real life, but feeling. It was a nice surprise Idris is like the man you take home to — an ego boost for sure.”

Grammy, and Grammy will say ‘You The 46-year-old actor also did good, girl’.” said that his “mom is going People magazine seems to agree to be very, very proud.” with this assessment, as they called him In his interview for a “sweet, smouldering superstar” in People, he spoke about their cover description. growing up as an only child Meanwhile, Leslie, a 36-year-old of African immigrants in banker, said one cannot forget one of East London. He said his his best assets – “That voice!” parents were always strict “He can read me the dictionary and and he often got picked I’d just listen to him all day. His voice on while attending an is just so fine with that accent. I also all-boys school despite love that salt and pepper hair; I just playing sports like footlove me some Idris,” she said. ball, basketball, cricket, Civil servant Anita, 32, said: “What hockey and rugby. adds to his overall sexiness is that he “I was very tall and is a very talented actor, not just cotton skinny,” said the 6-foot-3 candy, all looks but no substance... to tall actor. “And my name be that talented and that attractive, was Idrissa Akuna Elba, man, God smiled on him.”

OK? I got picked on a Elba, who has starred in several little bit. But again, as blockbusters, Marvel movies, HBO’s soon as I could grow a critically acclaimed “The Wire” and moustache, I was the the hit BCC TV show ‘Luther’, said coolest kid on the block. the honour of being named ‘Sexiest Grew a moustache, had Man Alive’ took him completely by some muscles, bonkers.” surprise, but it did give him a boost of self-confidence.

Idris Elba shows off his fit “I was like, ‘Come on, no way. physique on Instagram.

Really?’” he told People magazine.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian weekend Patricia Chatti Entrepreneur, stylist

Q: Beach or sofa?

“I love my sofa!”

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

Interview 4-5 A veteran education wants to help bring 21st century teaching to the Bahamas

Charity 7 This holiday season, do a good deed and sit down to breakfast with Santa

Art 8 - 9 Five artists explore the divine feminine

Culture 10 - 11 SeaWords Literary Festival kicks off with Britain’s Poet Laureate, encouragement for writing careers, and more

Books 12, 24 The Bahamian queen of the supernatural touches readers and releases new novel, plus Bram Stoker’s descendant pens new ‘Dracula’ prequel

Pageants 14 - 15 Miss World Bahamas Brinique Gibson is ready to face China competition with new wardrobe

Film 18 Get entangled with ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ or visit with ‘The Grinch’

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy investigates a new super fruit, the Kiwano melon

Music 20 - 21 Reggae and dancehall stars sizzle for Hennessy Artistry concert

Literary Lives 22 - 23 The gruesome tale of London’s bodysnatchers

History 25 Cacao may be much older than previously thought

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 Kim Aranha discovers a pet-friendly Florida, plus Pet of the Week

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

“Saturday breakfast works for me because I love dining out. My daughter and I are consummate foodies, but our busy schedules through the week never allow for breakfast outings.”

“My cell phone, and that’s because it’s my work phone.

As a personal stylist and shopper accessibility is key to my business. There are always fashion or shopping emergencies that require immediate attention.”

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik?

Q: Weekend away, where would you go?

“I’m a cocktail drinker.

My first time drinking at Waterloo at 16 my mix was Khalil and cream; now I’m a constant to Long Island iced tea drinker. Unfortunately, I was never a fan of beer.”

“The past two years I have been saying I wish to go to the Exumas, and I think I owe it to myself for working three years straight without a vacay.”

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday

• SeaWords Bahamas Literary Festival Time: 5pm Venue: Atlantis SEE PAGE 10/11

• ‘Yin’ Time: 6pm Venue: Hillside House SEE PAGE 8/9

Saturday

• NPCC Family Funday Time: 11am - 6pm Venue: New Providence Community Church Fun, food and games will be on offer. Steak and chicken tickets available for sale; visit NPCC on Blake Road to get tickets.

• Kelly’s Toyland Opening Time: 12noon - 5pm Venue: Kelly’s House & Home Meet Santa and Snowbear, the Paw Patrol and some of his friends.

There will be Junkanoo, free popcorn, face painting, balloons, music and more.

• Central Bank Inaugural Cultural Festival Time: 12noon - 7pm Venue: Central Bank of the Bahamas The first Central Bank Cultural Festival will feature an array of

Bahamian food, crafts, music, art vendors and demonstrations to help foster a greater appreciation of all forms of culture that enrich our country and economy. The event supports the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Orange Economy initiative.

• Jonathan Bethel Open Studios Time: 5pm - 6.30pm Venue: National Art Gallery Artist Jonathan Bethel will speak about his practice of painting and his exploration of the environment.

• Mandala Painting Class Time: 7pm Venue: Paint Your Own Pottery, Cable Beach This is a technique painting class.

Participants will be painting a mug with the mandala technique.

• BREEF’s 25th Gala – Neptune’s Masquerade Ball Time: 7.30pm Venue: Albany Follow the siren’s song to “Neptune’s Masquerade Ball”, an event celebrating BREEF’s 25 years of marine conservation throughout the Bahamas. Food will be in abundance and wine will flow as if in Neptune’s Court itself.

Sunday

• Autumn Tea Party & Fashion Show

Time: 2.30pm - 5.30pm Venue: British Colonial Hilton The Bahamas Heart Foundation’s fundraising committee hosts its annual tea party, art and jewellery showcase and fashion show.

• Whimsical Bahamian Teapots: Book Launch & Exhibit Time: 2pm - 6pm Venue: Hillside House Ceramicist Jessica Colebrooke hosts her first book launch. The event will also offer a tea party and exhibition experience featuring her 2018 Fall collection of ‘Whimsical Teapots’.

To reserve your space contact Hillside House at 322-7678 or Jessica Colebrooke at 324-3533. Tickets are $120 and include a signed copy of the book, a tea cup keepsake and a memorable experience.

• Edmund Moxey Cultural Week Church Service Time: 3.30pm Venue: First Baptist Church, Market Street To celebrate the late cultural icon Edmund Moxey, creator of the original Coconut Grove Festival, special week-long activities dedicated to his accomplishments will be held. The week kicks off with a special church service.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

interview He helps ex-cons find a new purpose and employment in computer coding, and runs a STEM-focused school for the 21st century. Now, this veteran educator tells Cara Hunt he is temporarily returning home to the Bahamas to assist local teachers in creating a next-generation learning environment.

Dr Rudolph Moseley, Jr

D

r Rudolph Moseley, Jr, is committed to helping students of the 21st century unlock the doors of science through hands-on creative learning.

The educator, who boasts of two decades of experience, said he was “led by God” to enter the teaching profession,

“Instead of just teaching them science, we want to be able to teach them to discover the explanation of why the science happens...”

although his original passion was to enter med school.

“After graduating from Queen’s College I received my Bachelor’s degree in Bio/Chem at the University of Nebraska,” he told Tribune Weekend.

“It was around that same time that I was figuring what I wanted to do with my life and turned my life over to God. And I asked him what I should with my life and he led me into education and it has become my passion,” he said, He eventually received his doctorate in Education from Northeastern University in Boston and also eventually moved to Rhode Island where he attended Bible College to become an ordained minister.

Currently, Rudolph is the executive director of the Times ² Inc and Times ² STEM Academy.

The school is a public STEM school, which means it engages primarily in the subjects science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with a focus on a hands-on approach to learning.

Times ² runs from kindergarten through to grade 12.

The school is also a 1-to-1 school, which means that every student has their own Google Chromebook.

Students learn computer programming and coding from kindergarten on.

Rudolph explained his school, like all good STEM schools, focuses on encouraging students to take a handson approach to learning rather than simply memorising facts.

“A lot of kids are extremely smart; it is our job to prepare them for the future or they will get left behind.

Instead of just teaching them science,

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Friday, November 9, 2018

we want to be able to teach them to discover the explanation of why the science happens, which is where the engineering and technological aspect of education comes in,” he explained.

Right now, he noted, many teachers also need to be retrained in how they bring this practical teaching into the classroom. This has become his passion.

Rudolph is also the CEO of the National Students of Colour STEM initiative.

“It is my life’s mission to create a generation of academic achievers, problem solvers, success stories and role models in this globally competitive world,” he said.

Although he now resides in the United States, Rudolph said he remains committed to helping Bahamian students and giving back to his homeland wherever and whenever possible.

As an ordained minister, Rudolph has assisted many young black men in particular to turn away from gangs, guns and violence.

“One of the big problems that we see is that some young people have no vision and so we have to help them find creative ways to express themselves. You have to know who you are, separate from any stereotype others may have about you,” he said.

“I teach them that they have a family name that they have to uphold and that they need to ensure that they do not cause that name to be associated with foolishness or nonsense. I also work with young men who have just been released from prison to get trained in areas like coding.

It is a great way for them to get a second chance at life and employment, because we are giving then the knowledge to enter a whole industry where there is the potential to make a good living, and where most of the time, people are more willing to not care about their background. You have to teach young people that the sky is their limit.”

It is my life’s mission to create a generation of academic achievers, problem solvers, success stories and role models in this globally competitive world.

DR RUDOLPH MOSELEY, Jr, brings his vision to students in the classroom.

He noted that in his own case, his parents, Rudolph, Sr, and Patricia Moseley, worked extremely hard to educate him and his siblings, who have all gone on to do well in life.

His older sister, Dr Lovern Moseley-Belizaire, holds a PhD in Psychology. His younger sister, Christina Moseley-Rolle, has a Master’s degree in Education.

His brother Johnathan Ryan Moseley earned his Masters in Computer Science, and his youngest brother, Lorenzo Moseley, has a Bachelors of Science in Automotive Engineering.

“I grew up in Nassau and have made it my goal to help my country,” he said.

To facilitate that, Rudolph will be in the Bahamas next weekend to provide a professional development course for local educators. The event will be in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the

University of the Bahamas. It is being sponsored by Original Patties, which is his parents’ company, and the Bahamas Association of Science Educators.

The two-day workshop will be held at the University of the Bahamas on November 15 and 16 from 9am - 3pm. It is free of charge.

The workshop aims to help educators create next-generation science classrooms.

It hopes to assist teachers in helping students develop three-dimensional learning, and create a culture in which students explain their thinking, listen to and build on their ideas and function as critical thinkers, said Rudolph.

He is also scheduled to return to his alma mater, Queen’s College, and speak with the seniors there, as well as meet with other local students.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

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Friday, November 9, 2018

charity

Enjoy breakfast with Santa for a good

cause

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

T

he Kiwanis Club of Fort Montagu is hoping to raise much needed funds for underprivileged children by offering Bahamian families the opportunity to enjoy a unique breakfast with Santa Claus.

This is the first time the charitable organisation is putting on the “Breakfast with Santa” event, which will feature breakfast and brunch dishes created by some of the most talented local culinary artists in the country.

The event is slated for December 8 and will be held at the Geoffrey Brown Auditorium at Queen’s College, Village Road, from 8am to 12noon.

Currently, organisers are seeking restaurants and chefs to showcase their products and services, especially those known for their breakfast or brunch menus.

“Think stew fish or omelettes and waffles. How about a breakfast slider with iced tea on the side? The menu will feature something for everyone in the family to enjoy, and the beauty is once you purchase a ticket you will have the opportunity to try every dish showcased. But that’s not all, we will also have an array of activities for the entire family, including photos with Santa, face painting, reindeer ring toss, cookie decorating with Mrs Claus and so many others,” said Kristine King, public relations chairperson.

“Breakfast with Santa” aims to get the community involved, she added. It is also way to ring in the festive season with family and friends.

“We hope that ‘Breakfast with Santa’ will open our hearts to the joyful season while giving of finances to assist those in need and jump-start the holiday festivities. Christmas is a time to give and also most importantly it is a time when the community feels and shows more gratitude. We hope to bring awareness to what the club has

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Fort Montagu

been doing and promote family,” said Ms King.

“We realise most of the exquisite charitable events are catered to adults and are mainly at nighttime. That, we love, but in the business of creativity we wanted to do something different. We want families to come out and share with our club helping us to raise funds to continue our charitable

mission. Since our motto is ‘Serving the Children of the World’, and we also have hundreds of youth volunteers who are a part of our organisation, we want to share with the youth the importance of giving back,” she said.

Kiwanis is a global organisation of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Volunteers are like-minded citizens who commit their time and talents to afford all children, especially the underprivileged, a better way of life.

Each year a new leadership team is elected to office, and while its mission remains the same, the group is always seeking innovative ways to raise funds to finance community projects.

This year, the club’s president, Chandra Ferguson, came up with the idea to host a family-centered Christmas fundraiser, an event its board of directors fully endorses it.

“We hope that corporate Bahamas and the public at large will lend their support,” said Ms King. “The aim of the event is to raise much needed funds to fund our charitable projects. This event is huge and the club has not ventured out this big since many years ago.

However, the needs of the community seeking help are greater and we can no longer raise funds for one project, but rather for months and possibly years of projects. Hence, this is our first annual event of this kind.”

The club hopes to build upon this and create sustainable financing going forward.

“Most importantly we hope that community will support us. All funds raised from the community goes right back into the community, either through our ‘Meals on Wheels’ feeding programme, our student leadership, mentorship and scholarship programmes, building and refurbishment of community parks and so many others. Our organisation’s bylaws do not allow for these efforts to take care of administrative cost, so it is important for companies and people to know that their donations go right back to the community where they live,” said Ms King.

The event’s title sponsor is REVCable Bahamas “We are also seeking corporate sponsors to purchase a branded table or sponsor an activity station. Of course, we are also seeking the support of the general public by purchasing tickets for themselves or as gift for other,” she said.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities and ticket purchases, contact 424-8370 or e-mail kcfmpresident@gmail.com.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

art

Five artists celebrate

divine femininity F ive artists from Grand Bahama will be honouring the energy of the divine feminine when they exhibit as a group for the new show “Yin”, which opens today at Hillside Gallery in Nassau Chantal Bethel, Claudette Dean, Laurie Tuchel, Del Foxton and Paula Boyd Farrington are the five artists who make up the group. Their work centers on the theme “Yin”, as in yin and yang, each a half of the harmony of the universe.

Art works include homages to women as vessels of love, healing and transformation; contemplations on reverence and wonder for Mother Nature, and the feminine role as guardian of the sacred gatekeeper of the manifest world, as wells tributes to the wisdom and beauty of women in every phase of life, art celebrating sisterhood and solidarity, and musings on the unapologetic teeming life of nature as celebration of new gardens of balance and harmony.

A variety of mixed media pieces, oil paintings, assemblages, handmade paper works and sculptures, collages and acrylic works will be exhibited beginning tonight until November 30.

The artists will be on hand for the opening from 6pm to 9pm. Live music will be provided by Grand Bahama jazz singer Shelley Carey, and handmade chocolates will be on offer from Grand Bahama’s artisanal chocolatier Bootleg Chocolates. A walkabout with the artists is scheduled at Hillside House Gallery on Saturday from 10am to 2 pm.

Artist and activist Ilene Sova, the Ada Slaight Chair of Contemporary Drawing and Painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto, Canada, writes here about the exhibiting artists’ work:

‘Yin’ calls forth a new world of feminine transformation

“I’ve always said the fact that all women aren’t stark raving mad is a complete miracle because to live in a

world where basically every bad thing that happens to you, you’ve somehow brought on yourself by being female ... it’s just like, come on, man! It’s like ... to the least of us, whatever is going on, it’s happening to all of us.” – Callie Khouri, screenwriter of “Thelma & Louise” The past two years have been extraordinarily difficult on the psyches of women around the globe. Newsfeeds are full of disturbing stories of sexual assault, the falls from grace of several male celebrities and cultural icons, and the pulling back of dark curtains revealing immense pain and abuses of power in all sectors of our society.

Social commentary abounds on how the enormity of this abuse was allowed to go on for such long periods of time.

Women from all levels of society began to speak out in large numbers, bringing what was hidden behind closed doors, out into public view. Secrets of violence whispered to each other in back channels were suddenly being blasted loudly on cable news; relentlessly dissected, cast with doubt, and denied by powerful men.

How does this onslaught affect our consciousness? How does bearing witness to these damaging stories change the way we view ourselves and the women around us? How will these revelations and their ubiquity change how we interact with one another?

What does the future hold for the human relationships we hold the dearest? These questions and versions of them are swimming about in the public consciousness. Although it is much too soon to know the answers, what seems clear is that if we are to have a way forward; we need a hand in the design of what we want our future to look like.

We will need to be creative, manifest new ways of being with one another, and imagine possibilities that bring us back into a healthy balance.

In this exhibition ‘Yin’, Chantal Bethel, Claudette Dean, Laurie Tuchel, Del Foxton and Paula Boyd Farrington work towards this seemingly impossible intention. Through a visual journey into a return to balance, these women begin to show us, through art, a time

of harmony, a return to respecting the sacred feminine and the healing it has to offer the world.

Upon examining these works, one can imagine these women in their studios working past the misogynist upheaval through the vehicle of their artistic practices. Around them, as they move in and out of creation, the mass media amplifies stories of environmental disaster, men overpowering women, reactionary politics, and sanctioned state violence. However, in this sacred space, they create as artists, a new visual language that calls forth a beautiful world where humanity can return to harmony. A world that manifests celebrating women echoed in organic shapes, sacred patterns and communal collectivity. As one moves through the space of this exhibition, forgotten is the angled hard world that values the impersonal, and the individual. The world that protects the abuser and defames the storyteller is banished. The hard angles and the rough edges of a society that value power, and worships what is keeping us off balance, fades into the distance.

It is instead replaced by a new warm, beautiful future where the Goddess reigns supreme.

Is it possible to manifest a new world through the creation of art? In her book “Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations”, bell hooks states that “the function of art is to do more than tell it like it is—it’s to imagine what is possible.” These women compose this declaration clearly, stating that their work is a celebration of “each a half of the harmony of the universe, balancing sun and moon, light and dark... homages to the empowerment of women as vessels of love, healing, and transformation.” (Yin Artist Statement).

In Tuchel’s naturalistic portraits of senior women, we see a homage to the faces that are relegated to the sidelines in our patriarchal worship of the young and nubile. Her larger group painting brings women back together in a dancing collective that become one with each other through colour, Chantal Bethel’s painted vessels call gesture and texture. forth rebirth and reincarnation.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

Claudette Dean’s piece, “She was Also In Your Nation, Haven’t You Heard?”

Del Foxton’s works shows a new way into a future.

Paula Farrington illustrates the manifestation of a new world in the visual form.

In Del Foxton’s sculpture of women from across the globe, they stand in a group sharing their compelling stories on a path to healing. Their shoulders hunched in a communal discussion. As viewers, we can imagine these women walking away upright with the strength of their stories straightening their backs and empowering their way forward. A coming together of collectivity is echoed in the figures of her doll-like cutouts that hold hands, dancing across the recycled paper that, in its very existence, shows us a new way into a future of environmental sustainability.

Small cut out daughters held in their bodies travel with the figures along with a new path in the community.

As we move onto Chantal Bethel’s work, this concept is reflected in her sculptural and painted vessels that call forth rebirth, reincarnation and the new life that we yearn for. The lotus flowers, water symbolism, birth and rebirth that exude from each piece immerses us in a return to nature which provides us with the answers of how to begin again. Bethel calls forth in three dimensions women’s power and a human kinship with the natural world that once lost can be found again.

Laurie Tuchel’s naturalistic portraits offer a homage to senior women.

Claudette Dean carries this narrative through her work as we see the divine feminine, head down and meditating.

We can feel her protagonist magically imagining and drawing forth a new world. The vaginal openings in her tree focused paintings centre the viewer on the cycles of the earth and the blossoms that represent the rebirth that spring will bring through a universal

womb. As we work through her paintings, this rebirth she tells us will have women as the metaphorical gatekeepers; enormous and powerful in stature, branches reaching up to the heavens.

In Paula Farrington’s work, we see the manifestation of a new world in the visual form. She illustrates through vibrant colours, glittering shapes and reflective surfaces, the universe bringing forth a new way of being. A new world in which the Earth Goddess is returned to her rightful place of the sacred. We feel the movement of our positive thoughts through splashes of colour that move in and out of one another. The beauty of her saturated colours stand in direct resistance to the oppression and darkness of what is being revealed in the movements of Me Too and Times Up. Organic shapes, complex colour symbology, groupings of symbols and subjects, intricate patterns that live alongside free intuitive ones, metaphoric vessels and literal vessels, water, land, earth and sky all communicate with one another between these artworks. Yin takes us on a journey to the answers to our burning questions. It asks us to remember the power and value of women; to bring our lives back into balance by protecting and respecting

the land and water. It tells us that the answers are all around us and inside our humanity.

In the book “When God Was a Woman” Merlin Stone writes that ancient goddess worshipers believed their deity was “creator and law-maker of the universe, prophetess, provider of human destinies, inventor, healer, hunter and valiant leader in battle.”

Out of the studio and into the gallery, the artists of ‘Yin’ bring forth a deity that battles oppression with visual expression. A prophetess that tells us a story of a new way of living and being that is coming in our future. A healer that literally and figuratively births a new harmonious way of being that is balanced and respects the environment that we inhabit. She is a hunter that goes out on a journey and brings back the qualities of love for oneself and love for others through intention and imagination, collectivity and collaboration. Magical in its optimism, the Goddess that ‘Yin’ manifests will provide the viewer with a new space of transformation. She provides us with a space that shows us what is possible when we come together in community to honour women and the communities that they bring forth.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

culture

SeaWords promotes careers in writing

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

B

ahamians will be encouraged to choose careers in writing at this weekend’s SeaWords Bahamas Literary Festival and writers

conference.

The three-day event will feature sessions dedicated to demonstrating the value of writing in terms of income and personal development. The festival is being held by Creative Nassau.

“One of the most important goals of Creative Nassau is to promote the creative industries, which is also known as the ‘Orange Economy’ and includes a wide range of careers and businesses, one of them is writing,” said Patricia Glinton-Meicholas, chair of SeaWords Bahamas.

“In 2012, the publishing market alone was value at $151 billion in the United States alone. Yet, many parents and teachers scorn creative pursuits like writing. Too many are still pushing for law, accounting and medicine. So Bahamians are missing out on a field that can offer many well-paid jobs and lucrative self-created enterprises.”

Mrs Glinton-Meicholas said organisers hope that SeaWords will change that picture.

“We’ve organised a number of workshops and panel discussions that speak to the practice and value of careers in writing and publishing.

Those attending SeaWords Festival can hear from well-known people, who are outstanding in the various aspects of these fields. To show just how valuable we consider writing to be, we have included a well-known attorney, Erica Ferreira, who is recognised for her work in copyright,” she said.

Two leaders will facilitate the workshops. The first is veteran broadcaster Michelle Malcolm. Ms Malcolm worked at the Boardcasting Corporation of the Bahamas for more than 20 years before joining the Ministry of Tourism where she wrote produced

Noelle Nicolls

Erica Wells Cox

Rogan Smith

Orchid Burnside

Suzette Parker

Michelle Malcolm and co-hosted the Tourism Today television series. She has worked as a general manager of the Verizon Media Group and served as director of public affairs for Genting’s Resorts World Bimini. She is also the founder of the Miss Bahamas Organisation.

Ms Malcolm will be joined by Suzette Parker. Ms Parker is a

seasoned PR/marketing professional with more than 15 years’ experience in advertising, marketing and public relations; developing and implementing marketing campaigns across multiple platforms—television, radio, print and social media. She is the writer and producer of the live morning TV show Bahamas@Sunrise and the Financial Voice. She has served as an adjunct professor for Television News Production at the College of the Bahamas and worked at Sports Channel, New York.

Meet the writers

• Erica Wells Cox is a communications and media professional with more than 20 years’ experience working across print, broadcast, digital and online platforms. She began her career as a reporter at The Tribune newspaper and has served in senior editorial positions at The Tribune and The Nassau Guardian, as news editor and managing editor respectively. Most

recently she served as managing editor of the Bahamas Handbook.

In addition to a strong background in news reporting and production, Erica writes regularly about Bahamian history, culture and heritage. She started the arts and culture sections in both The Tribune and Nassau Guardian. She has also written for the New York Times and The Associated Press, and has contributed to BBC Caribbean and The Times of London newspaper, among other international news agencies.

• Rogan Smith, a journalist of nearly 20 years, has covered some of the biggest stories in the country. She has interviewed many international politicians and celebrities, including former US Secretary of State Colin Powell; Grammy winner R Kelly and Today hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Her articles have been featured in the New York Times, USA Today and the Sun-Sentinel. She joined The Punch as a columnist in January 2018.

Her satirical bi-weekly column comments on culture, social trends, urban affairs and politics. Rogan is also the co-host of the Ed Fields Live radio talk show, which airs on Kiss 96.1 FM twice a week. In 2018, she was honoured with the Most Influential Bahamian Woman in Business award.

• The panel will also include Orchid Burnside, who has an extensive knowledge of the Bahamian art scene and Noelle Nicolls, who describes herself as “a creative visionary living a life of passion and purpose.” Noelle enjoys international recognition as a freelance travel writer and journalist, and a self-employed communications consultant, business strategist and entrepreneur.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

culture

THE SEAWORDS EVENT SCHEDULE Friday

Britain’s Poet Laureate hits out at Trump, Brexit

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

B

ritain’s Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who is in the Bahamas this weekend to participate in the SeaWords Literary Festival, blasts both US President Donald Trump and Brexit in her new book “Sincerity”, which came out at the beginning of the month.

The book is her final one as Poet Laureate, a position she has held for the past nine years. Her official role ends in 2019. Ms Duffy has the distinction of being Britian’s first female poet laureate.

“Sincerity” is considered to be one of her most radical collections to date and she said its political poems were inspired by “the evil twins of Brexit and Donald Trump.”

In the poem “The Ex Ministers” she writes: “We are nothing to them but lemmings going over the white cliffs of Dover” – a reference to the UK referendum to exit the European Union.

In the poem “Swearing In” she refers to US President Trump as “Twitter rat,” “bigot-merchant” and “tan faker”, and ends with the phrase “Mandrake Mymmerkin, welcome to the White House.”

The phrase is a medieval insult and means little man, puppet and childlike.

But the book also shows respect for Queen Elizabeth II, referring to the monarch as “The Constant Dutiful Queen”, and pays homage to Queen Victoria, William Shakespeare and novelist Charlotte Brontë.

Ms Duffy was appointed Britain’s Poet Laureate on May 1, 2009. She wrote the 46-line poem “Rings” for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The poem celebrates the rings found in nature and does not specifically mention the couple’s names. It says, “I might have raised your hand to

the sky / to give you the ring surrounding the moon / or looked to twin the rings of your eyes / with mine / or added a ring to the rings of a tree / by forming a handheld circle with you, thee.”

She wrote the verse with Stephen Raw, a textual artist, and a signed print of the work was sent to the couple as a wedding gift.

Ms Duffy also wrote the poem “The Throne”, which she composed for the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

In the Stylist magazine, she said of becoming Poet Laureate: “There’s no requirement. I do get asked to do things and so far I’ve been happy to do them.” She also spoke about being appointed to the role by the Queen, saying, “She’s lovely! I met her before I became Poet Laureate, but when I was appointed I had an ‘audience’ with her which meant we were alone, at the palace, for the first time. We chatted about poetry.

Her mother was friends with Ted Hughes whose poetry I admire a lot. We spoke about his influence on me.”

Ms Duffy will perform a selection of her poetry and be available for a book signing on Saturday evening during the SeaWords Literary Festival at Atlantis.

Carol Ann Duffy will be present at the SeaWords Literary Festival at Atlantis for a book signing for her latest work, “Sincerity”.

5pm: SeaWords Evening showcasing Bahamian poets and authors. Featuring performances by Marion Bethel, Patrice Francis, Zemi Stewart, Lelawatte (Asha) Manoo-Rahming, Eric Rise, Thea Rutherford, Ide Thompson and Patrica Glinton-Meicholas.

6pm: Cocktail reception

Saturday

9am - 10.15am: Concurrent workshops • Poetry: Opening the Treasure Chest of Writing, with Patricia Glinton-Meicholas • Bigging up the Small Screen: Scripting and Producing for Television, with Michelle Malcolm and Suzette Parker • From Dream to Finished Book: Making It Happen in Today’s Competitive Publishing Marketplace, with Diane Gedymin

10.30am: Concurrent panel discussions • Telling it Like is : Non Fiction, with Christopher Curry, Rosemary Hanna and Felicity Johnson • Creating and Recreating Worlds: Fiction and Memoir, with Helen Klonaris, Dorothea Davis and Richard Coulson • Weaving a Strong Web: Build International Presence and Intellectual Property, with Neko Meicholas and Erica Ferreira

Panel presentation

The Book’s Journey: Essential Language Skills, Editing, Proof Reading, Budget and Design Layout, and Marketing and Social Media, with Neko Meicholas, Dionne Benjamin-Smith and Marie Sairsing.

3.30pm - 5pm: Marina Village Art Walk

5.30pm - 6.50pm: Grand performance and book signing by Carol Ann Duffy, Britain’s Poet Laureate

7pm - 10pm: Junkanoo Rush-out

Sunday

10.30am: Concurrent workshops • In the Foot Steps of the Bard: Playwriting and Staging, with Jeanne Thompson and Nicolette Bethel • Big Screen Magic: Filmmaking, with Kareem Mortimer • From Storm to Story: Using Writing to Motivate and Empower Youth, Dr Adair White Johnson

12noon - 1.15pm: Concurrent panel discussions • Writing the Road/Travel Tour Writing, with Noelle Nicolls and Orchid Burnside • Forging a Brand Marketing, with Garvette Brown, Kendrick Delaney and Sheridan Thompson • Print Media: Writing and Editing, with Erica Wells Cox and Rogan Smith

6pm - 8pm: Everything Bahamian: Food Frolic and Open Mic at Doongalik Studios

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

books

Bahamian author touches readers Tanya R Taylor celebrates birthday with new release

By FAY KNOWLES

B

est-selling Bahamian author Tanya R Taylor has a close affinity with her readers and draws fans from around the world with her gripping paranormal mysteries. Her fast-paced tales, always with the theme of good winning over evil, endear readers to her.

And now she can boast of her first publishing success with a prominent British magazine called The Lady.

Her short story “The Visiting Fairy”, published in the November 2 issue of The Lady, is described by them as: “An exclusive short story that weaves an entrancing tale of magical gifts and salvation from the other world.”

Ms Taylor’s upcoming new release, “The Disappearing House” (book 10 in “The Cornelius Saga”), will be published on her 47th birthday, November 14. The book, which will be available as an e-book and in paperback from Amazon as well as other major online retailers, has already created a buzz amongst her readers.

In “The Disappearing House”, Ms Taylor’s 22nd published book, Dr Mira Cullen uncovers something very unsettling that is bound to devastate

Tanya R Taylor’s latest book will be released on her 47th birthday. her small town and perhaps her family.

Should she keep quiet about it or should the truth be told and the chips fall where they may? The book’s blurb states: “Mira and her daughter Rosie share an amazing gift some people may love to have and others quietly thank their lucky stars that they don’t. Once you meet the Cullens, however, they become dear to your heart and you’d want to go on every adventure they will ever have.”

Ms Taylor is the author of several No 1 best-sellers across the various Amazon stores. All of her books have made Amazon Kindle’s Top 100 Paid Best-sellers’ List in several categories, some next to the “Master of Horror” Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

She intentionally chose her birthday for her latest release. She told her fans: “I’m not shy to say I’ll be 47. Climbing up there, huh?!” In a newsletter to her subscribers she said: “What I’d like to do is something new, where from month to month I send a special shout-out to anyone celebrating their birthday within the current month.

Each one of us is awesome in our own way, and by sending you that greeting it’s my way of reminding you of how very special you are and how the world is blessed to have you in it.”

Ms Taylor added: “My readers are very engaged and usually send private e-mails letting me know how much they enjoy and appreciate my books, and also the good deals I offer.

I received numerous e-mails from my readers giving me early birthday greetings and letting me know their birth dates. I answered each one individually.”

One fan answered: “Just to let you know, I pre-ordered your book. I must have been the first one to reserve it!

Can’t wait to start reading it. Thank you so much! Keep up the great work.

I’m loving it!” Another fan e-mailed: “My name is Aurora and I am celebrating my 82nd birthday on October 25. Love your books!” And yet another wrote: “I thank you so much for being one of my favourite authors. You are incredible at what you do. You’ve led me on some very interesting journeys through your writing! Thank you.”

“Many of my customers are avid readers and go through several books within a week’s time. That can add up financially for them, so any deals I offer, many of them are quick to let me know how much they appreciate it,” said the author.

“I feel like I know my readers, although for the most part I don’t, and some are as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom. They’re very close to my heart, because without them, writing books would not bring me as much pleasure or satisfaction.

Who wants to write stories that no one ever reads? I don’t know of anyone. It’s my readers’ reaction to my stories that keep me motivated to write the next and the next. In fact, many of them have told me to ‘hurry up and write the next one!’ Imagine the pressure! It’s good pressure though.”

Ms Taylor is currently working on a crime thriller called “One Dead Politician” (the sequel to “Hidden Sins Revealed”), which will also be released this year. This new series is called “The Nick Myers Series”. “One Dead Politician” is now available for pre-order.

For more information about Tanya R Taylor’s books, go to amazon.com/ author/tanyartaylor or tanyartaylor. wordpress.com.

Friday, November 9, 2018

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

celebrity The Weekend Fashion Report European MTV Awards

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

SPLIT

FAIL

SPLIT

FAIL

Dua Lipa

Lindsay Lohan

Jourdan Dunn

Camila Cabello

Karin says: “I love a good romper, and this short lil’ number is very cute with its bright floral design. My only gripe is that the shoulders are a bit too big (I known, it’s trend) and makes her head look tiny, Still, Dua is rocking this look.”

Cara says: “This is a cool little romper to have in your closet, but it’s not really a ‘slay the carpet look’, is it?

I mean, it’s cute and all, but it looks ordinary; nothing special.”

Karin says: “It’s sad to say this is the best Lindsay has looked in a long while. However, the little dirty gold lamé dress is still not very flattering. I am glad though that she’s ditched the terrible bleached blonde look.”

Cara says: “Another metallic dress.

We’ve been seeing quite a few of these lately. This one looks like a gold ruffled towel. Not a huge fan of it. But I am loving those dark red curls.”

Karin says: “This dress would have been pretty if it fit right. She must have been pulling it up all night long... unless the bra cups were a fashion statement? Otherwise, it’s a bit figure skater-y, but the colour and light fabric really suit her.”

Cara says: “The fabric of this dress is gorgeous – a very modern, sexy Princess Elsa look. But I have to say I absolutely hate how the bra cups are peeking out. It ruins the look for me.”

Karin says: “It’s just a big, boring, red balloon. The colour, of course, is striking and flatters her, but it doesn’t do her any favours otherwise. That material also looks like it will crinkle like crazy.”

Cara says: “This is a very prom-like look. It’s very bright. I am just OK with it. It needed something more to bling it up. It’s a bit tame and boring, to be quite honest, for aspiring pop princess Camila.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, November 9, 2018

film

The revolution of movies at “The Cinemas” Local celebs offer film commentary

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

I

f you ask Travolta Cooper why he decided to bring back his hit show “The Cinemas”, he is quick to note that it “never left; it just changed form.”

And this change in format is what viewers will get to see when “The Cinemas” airs tonight on Our TV at 10.30pm and tomorrow at 10am.

“The Cinemas” is a movie review show that aims to reach a wide audience in an effort to create a more vibrant local movie community here in the Bahamas. A new 30-minuted episode will aired bi-weekly from October 2018 through June 2019.

“Bahamians enjoy going to the movies. Period. And somehow our show managed to capitalise on that.

‘The Cinemas’ was a hit. This became very clear to me when I was stopped at the grocery store or on the street or in the gym by strangers who wanted my opinion on a film, or strangers who just wanted to chat about movies they saw or movies they want to see,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Those experiences, said Travolta, helped shape the new version of show, which he describes as more interactive and will feature citizens and leaders throughout the Bahamas talking about films.

“This could happen over dinner or happen at the gym or wherever. This could happen at the National Art Gallery or at the new Fusion IMAX,” he said.

The filmmaker revamped “The Cinemas” in a way that it both features

“The Cinemas” creator Travolta Cooper enjoys highlighting the ongoing transformation of the movie landscape.

“The world of cinema entire has changed. The very definition of the word ‘cinema’ is being redefined and the new show will reflect much of this.”

film commentary and a reality show.

There are currently four segments. one of which consists of movies playing in the theatre followed by a conversation with a prominent Bahamian at a restaurant, the gym, or at any of the various venues sponsoring the show.

One-on-one interviews with local and international celebrities that are relevant to the Caribbean will also be a part of the show. Additionally, there will be a segment that focuses on curating work and screenings done by the filmmaker at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, as well as a the specialised cinema segment that covers happenings around town, film festivals throughout the country, different promotions and movie events happening at Rev TV. “The past show, while successful, was also a bit cluttered, as I tried to

accomplish too many things at once,” said Travolta.

“We tried to have contests and skits, all while juggling screenings and interviews with Hollywood movie stars. And let’s not forget my day job of actually making movies. It was too much. So the new show will simply be commentary and interviews. This will be easy given how much the Bahamian cinematic landscape has changed over the last 10 years.

“We now have an IMAX in addition to Galleria Cinemas. We now have an art house cinema and virtual reality shows in downtown Nassau. But this revolution isn’t just true of the Bahamas, it’s true of the world. The world of cinema entire has changed. The very definition of the word ‘cinema’ is being redefined and the new show will reflect much of this.”

18

| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

film

review

Claire Foy trades Elizabeth for Lisbeth THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB RUNNING TIME: 115 MINS

N

o, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” isn’t a Spider-man spinoff about a young woman ensnarled

by Peter Parker. But you’d be forgiven for thinking the latest, revamped iteration of Stieg Larsson’s thrillers has some superhero DNA. This, Lisbeth Salander’s third bigscreen incarnation in nine years, has morphed the avenging Stockholm hacker into a blander action hero, complete with a Batman-and-Robin-like band of white across her eyes. Following the spikier Swedish trilogy, with

THE CROWN’s Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander Noomi Rapace, and David Fincher’s menacing and murky “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” with Rooney Mara, we can almost palpably feel Lisbeth (Claire Foy this time) being lured out of the shadows and toward a more mainstream movie realm. In this latest chapter, Lisbeth strives, like a Scandinavian 007, to keep a world-threatening atomic weapons programme dubbed “Firefall” out of the wrong hands. (Are there any right ones?)

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” directed by Uruguayan-born Fede Alvarez (2013’s “Evil Dead” reboot), smooths away some of the rough edges

Review: This new ‘Grinch’ film will only make you flinch EVERY Who down in Whoville gets a new Grinch this season. Why, you may ask? The idea defies reason.

Does the classic need help from a hot Cumberbatch? Or is this strange union a bizarre mismatch?

The Grinch is the story you learned as an infant, starring a Christmashating heel and his doggie assistant.

The fuzzy green villain hopes to make holiday gloom. Just like a wicked witch, but without the broom. He targets presents intended for tots. Oh, how horrific is this nasty crackpot.

Seuss never explained what prompted this act. Perhaps the Grinch

The Grinch, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. wore shoes that were too compact?

(Or maybe, just maybe, his head had been whacked?) Should he consult a cardiologist chart? The answer is clear: It’s because of his heart.

In “Dr Seuss’ The Grinch ,” liberties are taken. Some are just padding, some quite mistaken. It’s suggested that our old friend the Grinch is an orphan, as though that excuses inflicting misfortune. There’s a new sidekick, a plump

of a saga predicated on them, resulting in a competent but indistinguishable thriller. Lisbeth, a volatile cyberpunk vigilante propelled by her own demons of abuse, remains a great character in search of a decent plot.

It’s a shame, too, because a fearsome woman meting out justice for detestable men is, well, kind of appropriate right now. In the film’s first scene Lisbeth strings up an offending husband like a fish while gutting his bank account and, with a few clicks, transferring his savings to his victimised wife.

Such exchanges, though, quickly recede in favour of a larger conspiracy that ropes in the NSA (Lakeith

reindeer named Fred, and the remaking of Cindy’s mom as unwed. (Could she be a love for the small-hearted bad boy? Kind of, maybe, but look, this isn’t Tolstoy).

Any-who, our Grinch decides to cancel the holiday, or make it as boring as, say, Groundhog Day. He hops inside chimneys to hoover up toys, certain to do it with an insouciant poise.

Remember, this guy is the anti-merry — the same one played not long ago

by Jim Carrey. Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the part, with an American accent — to give him less heart?

Our narrator here is Pharrell Williams, whose brief days at work likely paid him zillions. Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live” fame, delivers a character who is kind of lame. But Angela Lansbury has a nice cameo (that woman’s as priceless as an unearthed Van Gogh).

The Grinch, diabolically, dresses like Santy Claus, in an ultra-evil cloud

Stanfield plays an agent), a Russian gang called the Spiders (with Claes Bang) and the Swedish authorities. It begins when Salander is approached by a former NSA agent (Stephen Merchant) who built the software programme but who now (only now?) is concerned that the ability to launch every nuclear weapon on the planet might actually be a bad idea.

Soon, all manner of bad guys are after him, his young but brilliant son (Christopher Convery) and Salander.

The investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason in the part previously Daniel Craig and Michael Nyqvist) is around at times but makes little of an impression.

They haven’t done Foy, one of the most exciting actresses around, any favours in saddling her with a forgettable international espionage tale. The superlative cast, generally, is wasted.

But as compelling as Foy is, she’s also missing a quality that any Lisbeth ought to have, and it has nothing to do with shedding the primness of her Queen Elizabeth II for Salander’s jetblack hair and piercings. The greatest tension in Larsson’s “Millennium” series is how Salander so bristles with unease in the world, even while she expertly manipulates everything in it.

No such conflict is found in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” a commonplace thriller for an uncommon heroine.

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

of guffaws. He beats by a few hours the real Kris Kringle. (No wonder this loner creature never mingles.) But a run-in with Cindy, as sweet as chocolate liquor, makes something grow huge — that’s right, it’s his ticker.

The Whos down in Whoville don’t mind that they’re gift-less. They gather together, sing and bear witness. Christmas, they say, isn’t about treasure: It’s about family, friends and being together. Then they tuck into roast beast. You, on the other hand, may feel fleeced.

Credit goes to the film’s visual effects folk, who made fur alive and gave texture to smoke. But retreading this story with a Cumberbatch, should send Hollywood bigwigs into the booby hatch.

Before you buy tickets and plan a nice dinner, ask who exactly in Whoville thought this was a winner?

MARK KENNEDY, AP Entertainment Writer

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, November 9, 2018

gardening

Meet the

Kiwano melon Known as the “horned melon”, this peculiar fruit claims to offer all kinds of amazing health benefits. Jack Hardy investigates...

T

here’s no getting away from it, I’m a sucker for strange plants that produce weird fruits. My latest temptation is a vine that produces spiky yellow fruits that when ripe are filled with seeds surrounded by semi-liquid green aril that can be eaten (seeds and all) with a spoon. It’s called Kiwano melon and comes from central and southern Africa.

It is, of course (yawn), a miracle fruit that is full of vitamins and minerals and will stop you aging, make you disgustingly healthy, put off Alzheimer’s, increase your libido and prevent cancer – the usual claims for little known tropical fruits. But Kiwano melon may be a sleeper. It is being marketed on a large scale in New Zealand and that is an interesting development. Look at what New Zealand did for the Chinese gooseberry. They dropped the name

Chinese gooseberry and called the fruit Kiwi after their native bird. Kiwifruit is now one of the The Kiwano melon’s spikes need to be handled with care. world’s most popular fruits. If New Zealanders do the same for the Kiwano melon it will be is the Kalahari Desert so I planted in all the supermarkets one day. one in summer to see if it would take Kiwano melon is a relative of our heat and humidity. It did and I am cucumber and a very close relative of now waiting for the flowers to set fruit. cantaloupe, musk melon and honeySo you see, I am not an authority on dew. That said, it does not resemble growing Kiwano melons but have some any of them in the slightest. The fruits experience.

I have grown during the past year As with most cucurbits the Kiwano have been five to eight inches long and melon likes rich soil. I grew my speciplump. The spikes that cover the skin mens in five-gallon pots so it was easy are not the sort of spikes that grow on to provide pH neutral soil which they cucumbers that can be brushed away prefer. In the open garden the vines when the fruit is ripe. The spikes on would be sown at least three feet apart Kiwano melon are serious spikes and and need applications of compost and can draw blood. You will probably peat moss to reduce the pH value. need a fabric towel, doubled several For a desert plant the Kiwano melon times, to help harvest a fruit and hold seemed to enjoy quite a bit of water it while cutting. and a surface mulch to retain moisThe scientific name for Kiwano ture is recommended. The vines have melon is Cucumis metuliferus and fairly small leaves – about four inches common names include horned across – and extend to roughly 20 feet. cucumber and jelly melon. The fruit My melons were trained onto porch can be cut either way, along or across. railings but the ideal setting would be It is claimed the pulp can be used for alongside a chain link fence where the smoothies, salads, salsa and cocktails. vine could grow unimpeded; that or the The taste is not strong and there are base of a tall shrub. I am looking for a traces of cucumber, lime and banana, spot to grow more vines but I cannot the latter becoming more evident find any shrubs or small trees that when the skin of the fruit matures from would look pretty with a five-gallon canary yellow to orange. container at the base.

I was given Kiwano melon seeds I have not been adventurous with last December and the first fruits – the melons yet. All the ones I have about three months later – were the consumed were merely cut lengthwise five-inch ones. My old friend Patrick like an avocado and eaten with a spoon J Bethel gave me a whole fruit from a after refrigeration. I did try a cocktail local supermarket around Easter time with gin that was underwhelming but I do not care for gin cocktails anyway. and I grew my second vine, the one I find the flavour of Kiwano melons is that produced eight-inch fruits. One enhanced by adding salt or sugar. of the noted places the melon grows

The health claims for Kiwano melon are quite impressive. It is reputedly rich in vitamins (particularly C and E) and minerals (particularly magnesium and calcium). It contains antioxidants that neutralise free radicals in the system and thereby assist in defending against cancer. The juice of the melon would be helpful in providing nutrients but no carbohydrates or fats when embarking on a weight loss diet. The proponents of the melon say it boosts metabolism and actively assists cognitive functions that could slow down the progress of Alzheimer disease.

The nutrients in Kiwano melon pulp and seeds seem to support claims that it slows down aging and is beneficial to the skin, reducing wrinkles and eliminating age spots. It is also reputed to relieve stress, strengthen bones, and aid digestion. If half of these claims are valid then Kiwano melons are worth eating.

I am sure seeds can be obtained from US sources, otherwise you will have to chat with the produce manager at your local supermarket about getting in a shipment. I understand the melons are horribly expensive at the moment but each individual; fruit has a mass of seeds that could be shared among gardening friends. If you live in Abaco you can get seeds free from me.

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

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

music

Sizzling with

energy Hennessy presents top reggae and dancehall singers

Sketch Carey

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

J

Sizzla Kalonji

AMAICAN reggae icon Sizzle Kalonji came back “home” to Nassau last Saturday to put on a stellar performance at this year’s Hennessy Artistry concert.

The artist, who refers to the Bahamas as his second home, was elated to hit the stage and perform some of his greatest hits in front of hundreds who sang along with him at the National Stadium.

He was joined by chart toppers Kranium and Charly Black, who both supplied high energy and excitement audience members were waiting for.

There were also performances by local artists Sketch Carey and Julien Believe, who shared some of the biggest hits from their music catalogues.

In keeping with the event’s goal of blending different styles of music in one grand affair, Hennessy Artistry aimed to bring some of the most talented acts from the region together on on stage.

But the musical performances were just one aspect to the showcase. As has been the case with all its global events, Hennessy Artistry sought to offer a complete experience with visual, audio and taste sensations.

Commonwealth Brewery has been hosting the music, entertainment and mixology extravaganza for the past five years. This year, they transformed the National Stadium into a high-class venue resplendent with a red carpet entrance, a privilege lounge and an endless supply of Hennessy.

Charly Black

Kranium dances with a fan

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Friday, November 9, 2018

Julien Believe The privilege lounge afforded concert-goers the opportunity to indulge in mouth-watering dishes as well as a wide variety of specialty drinks created by local award-winning mixologist Marv Cunningham.

Stephen Dames, Hennessy brand representative, said the event was an unforgettable night featuring “the blending of music, entertainment food and Hennessy-infused drinks.”

“We are proud to say that the Bahamas is No 1 in sales for Hennessy in our region. We continue to highlight the brand through various promotions, but Hennessy Artistry is our number one event and we are already in the process of planning next year’s,” he said.

PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

literary lives – sarah wise

The dark tale of London’s grave robbers Sir Christopher Ondaatje writes about Sarah Wise’s thrilling history of murderous bodysnatchers in the 19th century, “The Italian Boy”.

S

arah Wise is a most extraordinary author. She has an MA in Victorian Studies from the University of London. She teaches 19th century social history to both undergraduates and adult learners, and is visiting professor at the University of California’s London Study Centre, and a guest lecturer at City University. Her passionate interests are London urban history, psychogeography, 19th century literature, and reportage. Her most recent book, “Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England” (Bodley Head), was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize in 2004; “The Italian Boy”

(2004) was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2005, and “The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum” was published in 2008.

However, it is “The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830s London” that continues to have a fascination for me.

During the early 1830s there were some extraordinarily gruesome sides to life in London – a city whose population had, since the turn of the century, grown by one-third to over one and a half million people, making it one of the largest and most diverse anywhere.

William IV had succeeded his brother George IV to the throne in 1830 and everywhere, in a dissatisfied England that was sick of political oppression and economic decline, there was a call for change. In this unsettling age one of the more repugnant practices, which was becoming increasingly commonplace, was that of bodysnatching or “resurrection”. It was a profitable trade and one of the most covert underworld activities of the day involving the sale of human bodies to London’s hospitals, medical colleges, and private anatomy schools.

Resurrection was a speculative and seasonal business because the hospitals only held courses between October and April. There were in 1831 roughly 800 medical students in London, over half of whom dissected cadavers as part of their training. As the author of “The Italian Boy” says: “The only legal supply of flesh came from the gallows.”

However, the corpses of executed murderers were not nearly numerous enough to satisfy the needs of the growing medical profession. Thus hospitals and students came to rely on “snatchers” to provide cadavers. They could offer not only bodies dug up

Caption information goes in here like this please. Caption inform Caption informa.

A sketch of 14-year-old Carlo Ferrari, known as “the Italian boy”, who was murdered by resurrectionists supplying the anatomy trade.

The ‘London Burkers’, or bodysnatchers: (l-r) John Bishop, Thomas Williams and James May.

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Friday, November 9, 2018

from graveyards (a strenuous business) but also ones supplied by itinerant sellers who carted corpses into London from country villages. A list of villains including corrupt sextons, gravediggers, undertakers and local officials who took a cut of the sale price (between eight and twenty guineas, depending on the body’s freshness) in return for tipping resurrectionists off about recent burials and people who were at death’s door and had no family that might claim their corpse.

“Offcuts” such as a well-muscled limb, a woman’s scalp with the hair still attached or “smalls” (babies) were also lucrative. With demand so great, it was only a matter of time before someone would begin to “create” the specimens for dissection.

Sarah Wise’s first book, “The Italian Boy”. recounts the gruesome story of three men, John Bishop, James May and Thomas Williams (known as the London Burkers), who started a smalltime profitable industry, hiring the homeless off the streets and converting them into anatomical specimens.

They were accused in 1831 of murdering a fourteen-year-old Italian street vendor Carlo Ferrari. Eventually, the authorities unearthed evidence of a series of crimes at Number 3 Nova Scotia Gardens, in a semi-slum area of Bethnal Green in East London, where John Bishop lived, that mirrored the notorious Burke and Hare killings in Edinburgh three years earlier:

“In the privy at the bottom of the garden (Police Superintendent) Thomas found a human scalp with long matted brown hair attached; down among the faeces the officers worked to disentangle chunks of human flesh.

Thomas and his men ... assumed that this find was evidence of Bishop and Williams’s resurrection work.”

The three resurrectionists attempted to sell the suspiciously fresh and still bleeding body of the luckless young Italian teenager to King’s College.

However, because the corpse did not look as if it had ever been buried, teaching staff summoned the police, who arrested the men and charged them with “improper possession of a Subject”. The furore caused by the investigation, which quickly became known as “The Italian Boy case”, hastened the introduction by Parliament of controversial legislation that made “the unclaimed bodies of paupers legally available to surgeons for dissection”. The Anatomy Act was

Bishop’s Cottage, Nova Scotia Gardens, where Carlo Ferrari was hung head first into a well to drown.

Author Sarah Wise

“The Italian Boy” was published in 2004 to critical acclaim.

passed soon afterwards, in 1832. It was to bring about the end of bodysnatching in Britain.

Quite apart from Wise’s enthralling account of the sensational trial and its surprising ending, “The Italian Boy” is a remarkable exposé of life among pre-Victorian London’s lower classes.

Wise cleverly intertwines the repulsive facts of the police inquiry and of the subsequent Old Bailey trial (complete with actual confession transcripts and incompetent newspaper reports) with a scrupulous analysis of contemporary politics, the judiciary, the police, gaols, schools, and the Church. But most of all she induces readers with a horrorstricken curiosity about the defenceless people who inadvertently became the targets of the gangs of men, sometimes aided by women, that prowled the streets of London.

What sort of a city was London in 1831? What sort of a country was England – that children and young adults could seemingly be picked off by

anyone who chose to prey on their fellow man: desperate resurrectionists, brothel-keepers, Fagin-style gang leaders, sex-offenders, press gangs? What sort of people could simply disappear unnoticed from the city’s streets?

Even in death, why did their identities remain mysterious? How much of the history of the very poor and destitute has come down to us? What evidence can be trusted to give a reliable picture of their lives? What did they think of themselves?

Through her exhaustive research into “The Italian Boy” case Sarah Wise has not only answered these questions, but also produced a rich archival examination of London’s poor and of “their notions of community and criminality in the strange new society that was forming in their city”. Her book is much more than the portrayal of a gruesome murder trial.

Truth is grislier than fiction and The Italian Boy reopens a grotesque and melodramatic underworld worthy of Victorian fiction. Wise’s scrupulous scholarship is evident throughout, and it is hard to believe that this is the first book to have been written about this enthralling case. It is shamefully entertaining and well worth searching the Internet for a copy of this macabre yet historically serious work. Generously illustrated, it is invaluable to anyone interested in the truth about London’s gory past.

NEXT WEEK: One of the most influential jazz singers of the 1920s and ‘30s.

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

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018

books

Bram Stoker’s greatgrandnephew co-authors ‘Dracula’ prequel

A

IKEN, South Carolina (AP) — Because he is the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, who wrote the classic vampire novel “Dracula,” Dacre Stoker gets some strange requests.

People have asked the 60-yearold Aiken resident if he would let them drink his blood.

Dacre’s answer has always been no.

“I’m open-minded, so I’m like, ‘OK, to each his own,’” Dacre said. “But I don’t have much interest in doing that.”

He is very interested, however, in his famous ancestor’s career as an author, the details of his background and the preservation of his legacy. Dacre and his wife, Jenne, manage the Bram Stoker Estate.

In addition, Dacre is the co-author of the new book, “Dracul,” which G P Putnam’s Sons published earlier this month.

His collaborator was J D Barker, who is an international bestselling author of the suspense thrillers “Forsaken,” ‘‘The Fourth Monkey” and “The Fifth to Die.” “Dracul” is a prequel to “Dracula,” which is about an undead nobleman who leaves Transylvania to seek new blood in England.

“It’s not what readers will expect,” said Dacre of “Dracul.” ‘‘It’s the Bram Stoker story. It’s about him growing up, and J D and I weave fiction into the factual sequence of events in his life that led up to him writing ‘Dracula.’”

Dacre chose Barker to help him create “Dracul” for a couple of reasons.

Before they met, Dacre read “Forsaken” and was impressed.

“It just knocked me for a loop,” he said.

Then Dacre spent a few hours with Barker at a Horror Writers Association conference, and they really hit it off when they shared their ideas.

“I knew that we were compatible to work together,” Dacre said.

Their joint effort with “Dracul” involved a lot of research. Dacre and Barker studied Bram’s notes for “Dracula,” and also examined the “Dracula” typescript owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Among the “Dracul” co-authors’ other sources were the short story “Dracula’s Guest” and “Makt Myrkranna,” an early version of “Dracula.”

To make sure “Dracul” was historically and geographically accurate, Dacre traveled to England and Ireland to visit the significant locations used in the book.

“He (Barker) was the main writer because that was his strength,” Dacre

said. “I was the guy providing information and checking things.

We created a timeline of Bram’s life because I wanted to make ‘Dracul’ as realistic as possible.”

Bram was born in Ireland in 1847, and he died in England in 1912. “Dracula” was published in 1897.

Readers of “Dracul” will learn that Bram was a sickly child, who spent his early days bedridden in his parents’ Dublin home.

“My theory is that he had respiratory allergies and asthma,” Dacre said.

One of the characters in “Dracul” is Bram’s caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone.

After a series of deaths in a nearby town, Bram and his sister, Matilda, discover Crone’s bizarre pattern of behavior.

Bram’s experiences with the supernatural that follow in “Dracul” and his battle with evil will leave readers with the impression that he decided to write “Dracula” as a “warning to the world,” Dacre said.

Paramount Pictures has acquired the screen rights to “Dracul.” Based on published reports, it could be a future project for Andy Muschietti, who directed the 2017 film adaption of Stephen King’s horror novel “It.” “I’m thrilled about it, but I’m also thrilled that I don’t have to do anything about it,” said Dacre of the possibility that “Dracul” will become a movie. “It’s hard enough dealing with the publishing side.”

Dacre also is the co-author, with Ian Holt, of “Dracula: The Un-Dead,” a sequel to “Dracula.”

In addition, Dacre is the co-editor of “The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker: The Dublin Years.”

For more information, visit bramstokerestate.com.

DEDE BILES Aiken Standard

The top 10 audiobooks on Audible. com

By The Associated Press

Audible.com best-sellers for week ending November 2

. Have a Nice Day by Billy Crystal & Quinton Peeples, narrated by Justin Bartha, Annette Bening, Dick Cavett, Auli’l Cravalho, Billy Crystal, Rachel Dratch, Darrell Hammond, Christopher Jackson, Kevin Kline, Robin Thede & a full cast

1

2 3

. Lullaby by Jonathan Maberry, narrated by Scott Brick

. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis, narrated by Michael York

4

. Dark Sacred Night: A Ballard and Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly, narrated by Christine Lakin & Titus Welliver

5 6 7

. Then She Was Gone: A Novel by Lisa Jewell, narrated by Helen Duff

. The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan, narrated by Aoife McMahon

. I’m From the Sun: The Gustafer Yellowgold Story by Morgan Taylor, narrated by the author

8 9 10

. The Reckoning: A Novel by John Grisham, narrated by Michael Beck . Prey by Michael Crichton, narrated

by George Wilson

. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, narrated by Cassandra Campbell

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, November 9, 2018

history

How old is cacao?

New research pushes back date

A cacao pod hangs from a tree at the Agropampatar chocolate farm co-op in El Clavo, Venezuela.

NEW YORK (AP) — New research strengthens the case that people used the chocolate ingredient cacao in South America 5,400 years ago, underscoring the seed’s radical transformation into today’s Twix bars and M&M candies.

Tests indicate traces of cacao on artifacts from an archaeological site in Ecuador, according to a study published Monday. That’s about 1,500 years older than cacao’s known domestication in Central America.

“It’s the earliest site now with domesticated cacao,” said Cameron McNeil of Lehman College in New York, who was not involved in the research.

The ancient South American civilisation likely didn’t use cacao to make chocolate since there’s no established history of indigenous populations in the region using it that way, researchers led by the University of British Columbia in Canada said.

A worker holds dried cacao seeds at a plantation in Cano Rico, Venezuela.

But the tests indicate the civilisation used the cacao seed, not just the fruity pulp. The seeds are the part of the cacao pod used to make chocolate.

Indigenous populations in the upper Amazon region today use cacao for fermented drinks and juices, and it’s probably how it was used thousands of years ago as well, researchers said.

Scientists mostly agree that cacao was first domesticated in South America instead of Central America as previously believed. The study in Nature Ecology & Evolution provides fresh evidence.

Three types of tests were conducted using artifacts from the Santa Ana-La Florida site in Ecuador. One tested for the presence of theobromine, a key compound in cacao; another tested for preserved particles that help archeologists identify ancient plant use; a third used DNA testing to identify cacao.

Residue from one ceramic artifact estimated to be 5,310 to 5,440 years old

The inside of a cacao pod at a cacao plantation in Cano Rico, Venezuela.

tested positive for cacao by all three methods. Others tested positive for cacao traces as well, but were not as old.

How cacao’s use spread between South America and Central America is not clear. But by the time Spanish explorers arrived in Central America in the late 1400s, they found people were using it to make hot and cold chocolate drinks with spices, often with a foamy top.

“For most of the modern period, it was a beverage,” said Marcy Norton, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World.”

The chocolate drinks in Central America often contained maize and differ from the hot chocolate sold in the U.S. They did not contain milk, Norton said, and when they were sweetened, it was with honey.

By the 1580s, cacao was being regularly imported into Spain and spread to other European countries with milk being added along the way. It wasn’t until the 1800s that manufacturing advances in the Netherlands transformed chocolate into a solid product, Norton said.

Michael Laiskonis, who teaches chocolate classes the Institute of Culinary Education, said he’s seeing a growing interest in cacao flavors, indicating a return to a time when chocolate wasn’t just an ingredient buried in a candy bar.

He said he tries to incorporate chocolate’s past into his classes, including a 1644 recipe that combines Mayan and Aztec versions of drinks with European influences.

“It’s something that’s always been transforming,” he said.

CANDICE CHOI AP Food & Health Writer

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

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The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, November 9, 2018

animals

Dogfriendly

Florida Animal matters | KIM ARANHA

O

ne of the most enchanting things about having a dog with you in Florida is to see the way the general public treats your pet, and even more amazing, what an extraordinary effect it has on the animal in question.

In Nassau, Chief is the king of the house and takes his role as protector of the property very seriously indeed, sometimes a bit too seriously.

At home, when the door bell rings, it sends him into an explosion of loud barks as he rushes towards the front door in order to make quite sure the “intruder” cannot venture indoors, all of this whilst I am trying to actually allow access to the house to the poor person on the other side of the door.

After a fair amount of yelling on my side Chief trots back to my study and the air-conditioning to resume his position of supreme guardian of the house.

What I failed to mention is that when Chief busts out with ferocious barking

Chief at Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale with Kim’s husband, Paul Aranha. the other four join in so the din is quite impossible.

Knowing therefore how my darling potcake behaves with strangers I was feeling quite apprehensive about our trip over to the States. I was full of concerns about how he would react to crowds and people, because he spends most of his time at our house in our garden with his canine brothers and sister and lives basically on his terms.

I will save the tale of the trip over to

PET OF THE WEEK Sweet like Skittles

By The Bahamas Humane Society

T

aste the rainbow! Well, no, not really a rainbow, but potcake Skittles is sure she’ll be a welcome addition to your family. You have been looking for a family dog, right? Skittles is about one year old. She does not share well with other dogs or cats, so needs a home where she can be the only dog. She’s virtually housebroken and can easily be trained to be completely so, making her the ideal yard/house/family dog. She’s even good with kids! Have you a taste for Skit-

Florida for its own article, however, I will say that it went incredibly smoothly and Chief amazed me at every step of the way.

Once we were on the ground in the States I discovered that there was indeed another side to my 85-pound potcake. In Nassau I carry a muzzle with me and if people approach him he starts a rumbling growl deep in his chest, and I immediately say to people, “no, better not touch him” and I move him away. Well, my friends, I do not know where I left that dog, perhaps somewhere between Nassau and Bimini, for an angel touched him with “good boy dust”!

While I was getting the rental car, my husband and Chief sat on a bench outside of Banyan Aviation at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. It was nice and cool, shady with a breeze, but what I had not taken into consideration was that it was a major thoroughfare with people passing by every few minutes – right past Chief’s nose.

I asked my husband how he coped.

“Wonderful,” he told me. “About 12 different people stopped to talk to him and stroke him.” I was speechless.

“Really?” I couldn’t believe that he allowed strangers to talk to him!

The next day we went to the Animal Cancer Care Clinic to check in and start the treatment. We walked into the waiting room and it was full of people and their dogs; that has always been a problem, but not here. My boy sauntered into the clinic and never stopped wagging his tail. Hands reached out to stroke him, people commented on how beautiful he was...and he loved it!

The next day was the ultimate test.

We were meeting up with Bahamian

filmmaker Maria Govan and documentarist Kate Crane for dinner on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach where there are lots of street-side cafés and dogs are very welcome. Armed with his “suitcase” containing a water bottle, dish, milk bone and treats, I grasped his leash short and went forth, hoping for the best. Why did I I worry?

Mr Charm greeted and sniffed one and all, sweet, friendly and accommodating. Then it hit me. Everybody here reaches out to him with a kind voice, all the right body language. Nobody ran away, yelled, flinched or panicked because a big dog was walking down the street. Can you just imagine doing that on Bay Street?

I got it! Dogs react to what goes on around them: He gets negative reaction in Nassau so he behaves accordingly. In the States he is welcomed and treated kindly so he responds to that kindness and love by being a sweet dog.

It all culminated on one of our last days in the States before returning home and we were having a lovely lunch in Palm Beach with a dear old friend. It was time to leave and Chief had behaved impeccably all through our meal under our table. (An interesting side note here is that, invariably, the waiters bring your dog a bowl of water before they bring you your drink.)

So, as we left, a lady came up to me and asked what kind of dog he was, I replied he was a Bahamian potcake.

She told me that he was beautiful. She then put her hand out and said, “May I?” and I heard myself say, “Sure, go ahead, he’s friendly.”

tles? If so, come in to the Bahamas Humane Society to check her out, or call 323-5138 for more information. Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday. Skittles is eager to see you!

• 2018 BHS Raffle tickets are now on

sale. The grand prize is $10,000 in groceries from Super Value, and a mere $5 will get you a chance to win (or buy a book of 21 for $100 to get one extra free). Tickets can be purchased at the BHS, or from any board member. Call 323-5138 or come in to get yours today. Draw date is December 28 at the Mall at Marathon. Thank you to all the donors of our amazing prizes – Super Value, BahamasAir, Anonymous, Geoffrey Jones, Kelly’s, Keshon’s Fashion, Multi Discount, CBS, and the D’Albenas Agency.

PHOTO/PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, November 9, 2018