12152017 weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

art books film fashion music food crafts history puzzles animals

Weekend

SHUANG BA OPENS Pages 8 &9

‘Last Jedi’ fever

Fans rush to Star Wars return

Film, page 20 & 21

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

art

Artist’s life-long dream blooms in colour and dance

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

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ahamian artist Preston Hanna has coined a special term for his unique style, and last Saturday he hosted his “Prestonism 2.0” event to showcase his latest works.

“Prestonism” is all about “experiencing the wonders of a vibrant rhythmic world through an artist’s dream,” he told Tribune Weekend as talked about his exhibit at the University of the Bahamas’ Performing Arts Centre.

“This show was centered around an artist sharing passion, grief and triumph through music art and dance.”

To frame his work in an exciting way, Preston organised for several dance performances depicting the different aspects of love to accompany the exhibit.

“From ballerinas to body balancers, contemporary numbers to hip hop numbers, this show catered to a wide range of music lovers and had something for all ages,” said Preston.

“The show is a life-long dream coming true. I’ve always sought different ways to display art rather just an art gallery setting.”

The series of paintings on display were presented under the theme “Emersion” and depicted strong women in Bahamian society from various backgrounds displaying their trials, anxieties and tests they may have faced over the years.

“The work consists of different mediums displaying spontaneous realism, offering something for the young and old to appreciate,” said Preston.

Over the years Preston has competed in several art competitions, both locally and internationally.

One of his significant achievements is winning a scholarship from the Central Bank of the Bahamas to further his education and obtained his

Preston Hanna pictured in front one of his paintings

Bachelor’s degree in Art Education.

He has also participated in Transforming Spaces, Rotary Club and Salus Project events, Birthmark, and the Coral of the Reef.

With “Prestonism” previously featured at venues such as the Sandals Royal Bahamian and the Warwick Hotel, last week’s show was not his first rodeo. Preston believes performance art is the new revolutionary way of reaching an audience, allowing persons to not only view new works but to also be a part of the experience.

“Life is about making fond memories and capitalising on key moments that inspire and motivate others.

My goal as an artist is to not be a follower but to be a strong leader, whether it’s on stage or in my classroom where I teach as a local high school art teacher. It’s rare to find male role models in this day and age.

I find that a lot of people put their talents on the back burner or are shy about conveying it. This show is to encourage others. This is second annual show; if I can do it, anyone one can,” he said.

“My goal as an artist is to not be a follower but to be a strong leader, whether it’s on stage or in my classroom where I teach as a local high school art teacher.”

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Friday, December 15, 2017

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian weekend Adrianna Munnings Singer, entertainer Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

Interview 4-5 Felicity Ingraham speaks to Everette Sands about his beverage empire

Music 7 R&B superstars K-Ci & JoJo and Keith Sweat take the stage at Baha Mar

Food 8 - 11 Take a culinary trip through China at Shuang Ba, plus Chef Nobu Matsuhisa returns to Paradise Island for a special dinner event

Fashion 12 - 13 Sabrina’s Shoppe is decked out for the season, plus Cole’s of Nassau presents holiday styles for a humane cause

Crafts 14 -15 Straw icon Barbara Jesubatham comes out of retirement

Books 18 Local veteran journalist gets poetic

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy’s mid-season report

Film 20 - 21 It’s a ‘Star Wars’ weekend with the release of ‘The Last Jedi’

Literary Lives 22 - 24 An encounter with the Semliki leopard, plus Sir Christopher Ondaatje discusses how Christianity has declined in the West, but is rising elsewhere.

Forgotten Facts 25 Paul C Aranha remembers Athol Island’s quarantine station

Puzzles 26

Animals 27 The powers of animals, plus Pet of the Week

“Saturday breakfast is good enough for me! I can get an early start, get everything kicking, I’m awake... Breakfast is the best thing in the morning after prayer.”

Q: Wine, rum, cocktail or Kalik?

“I do like my red wine but I also love Vitamalt on the rocks with cream; it tastes so good, especially cold and chilled. That’s my drink! Vitamalt on the rocks with cream...mmm!”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“I prefer to relax on the sofa. I would be at home, there are less people, I don’t have to be brushing sand off of everything... at home is just relaxing.”

prayers of others that believe in me that I have made it this far.”

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

“Prayer. The power of prayer motivates me to commune with God more and have a deeper relationship with Him. It makes me burst out in praise in spite of what I’m going through. It can bring forth a song of inspiration or laughter from me. It’s though my prayer and the

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

“I would travel to Paris – the people, the culture, the whole experience.

I know the plane ride is long so I know I need much prayer, but that’s where I would want to go!”

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday

• George Gardiner Junkanoo Parade

Time: 6pm Venue: Serenity Gardens, Fox Hill Road

• BIFF 2017 – “Grace Jones: Bloodlight & Bami”

Time: 7.30pm Venue: Versailles Gardens at The Ocean Club

Filmed over the course of a decade, the documentary from director Sophie Fiennes offers a stylish and unconventional look at the Jamaicanborn model, singer, and New Wave icon. For the full BIFF film schedule, visit http://bintlfilmfest.com.

Saturday

• Louis & Steen’s Second Annual Christmas Craft Market

Time: 8am - 1pm Venue: Louis & Steen’s New Orleans Coffeehouse, West Bay Street

Shop oceanside for handcrafted gifts.

• Nancy’s Fancies at Craft Cottage

Time: 9am - 4pm Venue: Craft Cottage, Village Road

Come together for a day of joy and laughter, and stop by for handmade jewellery and other unique gifts, or just to say hello and share in the festivities (Christmas

hats/accessories optional).

• IL Cares Kids Carnival

Time: 12noon - 4pm

Island Luck will host approximately 3,000 children to free rides, eats, drinks, gifts with Santa, and lots of fun for the holiday season.

• Night Lights at Ardastra Opening Night

SEE PAGE 7

Sunday

• ‘Slay Bosses’ Hair and Beauty Competition

Time: 3pm - midnight Venue: Grand Hyatt Baha Mar

Time: 6pm Venue: Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Centre

VH1’s Shekinah Jo Anderson and Instagram star Prince Marnie will helping talented Bahamians get their moment in the limelight.

• The Ultimate Girl Boss Party

Time: 7pm Venue: Tailgaters’ grounds

Designer Allia M Dean hosts an event for female entrepreneurs to sell, promote and network their businesses in a like-minded and supportive marketplace.

• Nobu Omakase

Thousands of lights will adorn the walkways, pavilion and trees, some more than 100 years old. Night Lights at Ardastra will will open again on December 17, 22, 23, 29, and 30. Admission is $5 per person.

• Kompa Fest 2017 M & R Productions presents a celebration of Haitian music and culture. Live music all night along with a high-end mobile device give away from Aliv. Music by the JBeatz Band, MVP band and New Entry Band. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $75 for VIP. Call 421-3171.

• K-Ci & JoJo and Keith Sweat in concert

Time: 9pm Venue: Baha Mar Convention Centre

Time: 3pm - 9pm Venue: University of the Bahamas, Chimi Courtyard

Time: 5.30pm Venue: Atlantis SEE PAGE 11

• BIFF Closing Night Film + Shining Star Tribute

Time: 7.30pm Venue: Baha Mar

The critically acclaimed drama “Mudbound” will close this year’s film festival on the Jasmine Lawn, plus Emmy award nominee Michael K Williams will be honoured. See http://bintlfilmfest. com for more information.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

interview He is living proof that if you do what you love, if you are honest and care about people, you can stand the test of time and remain on top of your game decades after your counterparts have ridden off into the sunset. Felicity Ingraham talks to the patriarch of the Sands family about how he built his brewery empire.

Everette Sands

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t the age of 92, Everette Sands is so energetic, quick-witted and full of life that at times he puts his younger colleagues to shame. His knowledge and expertise in the Bahamian beverage industry is par excellence. He has passed on this passion to his descendants, and today, the Sands family are proud owners of the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company (BBB) – a multi-million dollar operation producing numerous brands that the Bahamian people have come to know and love.

The fact that Everette Sands still lends hands-on expertise to the BBB team is amazing in itself. He’s approachable and relatable, and for this reason team members still flock to his side for the best advice in making, packaging, shipping and marketing beverages. He seems to thrive in a working environment while many his age are in a bed or a rocking chair watching the days go by.

Mr Sands lives a legacy of hard work, which started in childhood.

“As a young boy, I worked in an ice cream parlour and paid my own school fees at Queen’s College because my father could not afford the tuition at the time,” he said.

He diligently worked at the parlour and earned the school fee of just under five pounds, which was impressive in his day, in order to maintain his place at the school. Most boys nowadays just want to play and “skylark”, as Bahamians of old would say. But young Everette showed responsibility and an early age and committed himself to doing what was necessary to secure his own future through a proper education.

He recalls that the teachers at Queen’s

Everette Sands with family members College did not necessarily have the confidence in him that he has always had in himself.

“At one point, one of my teachers said that she had no idea what would become of three of her students including me. She said it seems we were always competing for last place,” he said Later on in life, all three of these boys who once struggled in school became great contributors to the Bahamian society.

Mr Sands seems to have been born with a strong will and sense of determination that has pulled him through every adversity and added value to his nine decades of life.

For nearly 20 years, he worked at the prestigious R H Curry & Company.

He moved up the ranks to become the assistant general manager of the company, handling the trademarks for most of the major steam ship companies in the world. But there was still a need to make ends meet, so he decided to try his hand as an entrepreneur, and chose

beverage distribution for his start-up.

His wife Patricia’s mother allowed him to use her garage as a warehouse for his business and he immediately got to work, bringing in 250 cases of whiskey and selling out the entire stock quickly.

Mr Sands’ success continued and he set up a business in Grand Bahama, the island of his wife’s family. For many years, he could not obtain a liquor licence to operate in Freeport as the BBB does today. So for nearly 15 years, he operated his facilities out of West End and took on additional costs to do

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Friday, December 15, 2017

so. There were bigger companies keeping a keen eye on his growing business and sought to keep him out of the nation’s second city at the time.

He recalls opposition from competitors, although he was a “small fry” in the industry. One day, the pressure became too much and Mr Sand’s boss gave him an ultimatum. He was asked to either remain at R H Curry – a company which he loved working for – and leave the liquor business behind, or plunge full time into becoming an entrepreneur. Considering the current success of the Bahamian Brewery, it seems he made the right decision, and has laid a foundation for his family of which he can be proud of.

Mr Sands is also one of the founding partners of Butler & Sands, a local distributor now owned and operated by the Burns House Group.

“When I sold the company, I think my son Jimmy was not in favour of it at all,” he said.

James “Jimmy” Sands is the founder of Bahamian Brewery. He had previously served as director of 42 retail outlets for Butler & Sands, in addition to overseeing the production arm (Tod Hunter Mitchell Distillery). When the company was sold, he signed a fouryear non-compete clause. But he had a burning desire to return to the beverage industry, and after the hush period, he burst into the industry again with fresh, new ideas and the guidance of his father.

The Bahamian Brewery celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, having opened in Grand Bahama in 2007 after

“The money that has been put into this brewery, we didn’t get any of it from abroad; it’s all from the Bahamas. And if we make any money, it stays here, making a favourable impact on the economy.”

two years of planning and construction.

The initial budget was $10 million, however $15 million was spent at inception, and that investment has doubled over the past few years. It sits on 20 acres of prime land and is located at the intersection of Queen’s Highway and Grand Bahama Way. It has enough space for continued expansion. The company started off with a 40,000-square foot facility and in 10 years has grown to nearly a 100,000-square foot space.

“We are 100 per cent Bahamian owned and operated; there is no foreign investment in this company and every single dollar we make stays in the Bahamas,” Mr Sands said.

Sands Beer, he proudly contends, is the only truly 100 per cent Bahamian beer in the country. The brewery also prides itself in the manufacturing of Sands Pink Radler, Sands Light beer, High Rock Lager, Strong Back Stout, Bush Crack Beer, and the Triple B malt drink.

The brewery has won numerous awards, including from the Monde Selection – Grand Gold, Gold and Silver awards. They have also been awarded the AB Inbev exclusive distributorship of Anheuser Busch line of products, including Budweiser and Bud Light, Beck’s, Stellar Artois and Presidente. BBB also distributes a full

complement of wines and spirits including popular brands such as the Jackson Family Wines, Decero wines, Tito’s Vodka, and Flor de Cana rums.

Mr Sands expressed pleasure in being able to watch the third generation of his family now actively involved in the beverage industry in the Bahamas, and he feels confident in the company’s ability to not only survive, but to continue to grow at astonishing rates in the future. Kelly Sands is the brain behind the wildly successful travelling beer fest, while Gary Sands, at age 26, is now the new general manager for Nassau and has many innovative ideas.

“The money that has been put into this brewery, we didn’t get any of it from abroad; it’s all from the Bahamas,” Mr Sands said. “And if we make any money, it stays here, making a favourable impact on the economy.”

He added: “It is very important to invest in Bahamian businesses.”

Mr Sands also advised that more companies should consider Freeport for manufacturing and industry, noting the many advantages of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement for Bahamian businesses.

In addition to beverages, the brewery is also responsible for reviving what was once a dying Bahamian pastime – sculling.

Today, the sculling boat races hosted

by Sands Beer are much anticipated, and young people are now getting fired up about sculling, having watched family members take joy in the art and winning prizes for their efforts. And sculling is also celebrated in the brewery’s logo – the man in the boat.

Mr Sands is also worthy of his place in history as a sailor. He enjoyed competing in races, especially an annual race from St Petersburg, Florida, to Havana, Cuba.

Last week’s interview recalled the romantic memories of the Hobby Horse Hall race track, and indeed, back in the day, Mr Sands owned an English thoroughbred horse which won many a race.

As the family patriarch, Mr Sands has set an example of tenacity and wit, and he remains one of the most valuable assets to the BBB today. A stickler for time and excellence, he has helped to shape a dynamic team of 120 Bahamians who work either at the brewery in Grand Bahama or at one of the many Jimmy’s Liquors locations throughout New Providence, as well as Abaco and Eleuthera. He has given them more than work ethic – he has showed them the value of patriotism.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

music

Keith Sweat

K-Ci & JoJo

An R&B superstar Saturday K-Ci & JoJo and Keith Sweat perform in Nassau

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

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RINGING back the magic of 90s R&B, international chart-topping artists K-Ci & JoJo along with Keith Sweat will take audiences back to a more melodious time during a concert at the Baha Mar Convention Centre tomorrow night.

Local production company Fresh Entertainment is presenting the concert – the biggest event for the company this year. Doors for open at 7pm and the show starts promptly at 9pm.

K-Ci & JoJo is an American R&B duo which consists of brothers Cedric”K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “JoJo” Hailey. Natives of Monroe, North Carolina, they are also the lead singers of the chart-topping R&B group Jodeci with the DeGrate brothers—Donald “DeVante” Swing and Dalvin.

K-Ci & JoJo’s first sign of independence came in 1994 when the duo covered Bobby Womack’s hit “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” for the movie “Jason’s Lyric”. In 1996, they teamed up for the song “How Could You” for the movie “Bulletproof” starring Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler. By July 1996, K-Ci & JoJo finally had a hit on their hands as guest artists on 2Pac’s number-one R&B track “How Do U Want It”. It also topped the Billboard Hot 100.

They are expected to perform some of their hits such as “All My Life” and “Tell Me It’s Real” during Saturday night’s concert.

Another highly anticipated performance will be that of Keith Sweat, a Harlem-born R&B singer/songwriter known for his distinctive “whining” vocal style.

In November 1987, Keith Sweat released his debut album “Make It Last Forever” which set him on his path towards fame. He enjoyed many successes as a result of this album, skyrocketing to the top of both R&B and pop charts and selling over three million copies. Four of the songs on this album landed on the pop or R&B charts, and in some cases on both. He is known for hits like “Something Just Ain’t Right”, “Nobody” and “Twisted”.

While K-Ci & JoJo and Keith Sweat have crossed paths at various events over the years, this will be the first time Nassau audiences get to see a performance by both acts on one night and on one stage.

Africa Allah of Fresh Entertainment said the company surveyed its followers and asked who they would like to see in concert. Among the options were stars like Mary J Blige. However, the received the most feedback on K-Ci & JoJo along with Keith Sweat – the perfect combination for Fresh Entertainment’s Winter show, she said.

“Fresh Live is an annual Winter event. In past times the event was done early in the Fall, however, because of the hurricane season we decided

to push the event further back in the year.”

What makes the Fresh Live event unique and a must-see is the fact the all performers are backed by a live band.

“Last year we did the reggae and lovers’ rock featuring Romain Virgo and Jah Cure. And this time we around we wanted do something for the grown folks. This event is a little bit more sophisticated and classy. We really wanted to bring back that nostalgia for R&B,” said Ms Allah.

The headliners will be joined by Bahamian performer Anwar Rolle along with his eight-piece band.

“It is a pleasure to open for K-Ci & JoJo as well as Keith Sweat because they kind of define that 90s era.,” Anwar told Tribune Weekend.

“We are going to come for the show, but we will be providing the party. We will be covering songs from R Kelly, Usher, and at the end will do various segments. So if the crowd like Beres Hammond, we will do that. If they like Jah Cure, we will do that. We will give them a great mix.”

For more information, follow Fresh Entertainment on Facebook.

08| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

food

East meets West at Shuang Ba New Chinese restaurant honours traditional symbolism

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

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trip to China would take you about 16 hours from the Bahamas, however, if you are resident of New Providence, in only a few minutes you could find yourself on a culinary journey through the different regions of the vast East Asian country.

This, thanks to the new ultra luxurious Shuang Ba restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar which boasts of traditional art and décor in addition to a kitchen that serves up dishes that combine all the flavours China has to offer.

“It’s an international experience within an international experience,” said Hai Lin, Shuang Ba’s food and beverage general manager.

One of the main objectives in creating the restaurant, he said, was to showcase the authenticity of the real Chinese cuisines for both guests at Baha Mar and locals alike.

“It is Chinese cuisine that can be experienced in many different regions and for us the challenge is to combine all of that and have a platform that is welcoming to all guests from different backgrounds who have experiences of the different styles of Chinese cuisine.

So in a way East does meet West, but more importantly we are bringing east to the west,” he told Tribune Weekend.

At Shuang Ba, chefs utilise the finest ingredients to create an unprecedented menu of flavours that meld the traditional with the contemporary. Signature dishes include cherry foie gras; traditional Peking duck; braised black-gold abalone; fragrant Iberico pork with

preserved tofu, wrapped with crepes; Chaozhou style truffle and vegetable dumplings; and steamed Imperial Bird’s Nest.

For his team, Executive Chef Brent Martin hand-selected 15 renowned chefs, all of whom hail from China’s most esteemed hotels, including the Park Hyatt Beijing, Four Seasons Beijing, Shangri La Shenzhen and Wynn Palace Macau. Master Chinese Chef Nick Du, previously master chef at Grand Hyatt Dalian, leads the culinary team.

Chef Brent noted that seafood specialties will be prepared using locally sourced, fresh catches, including lobster, crab, abalone and conch, and housed in four aquariums from which guests can personally select their entrée.

“We are actually working with a lot of fisherman to bring the seafood here to us live. So we will be having snapper, grouper here on property, and conch that will be live,” he said.

“I am super proud because the fisherman thought that I was crazy when I asked about having live seafood. But I am happy to be in partnership with them.”

The kitchens feature specialised imported equipment, such as duck roasters and state-of-the-art steamers.

Libations include a selection of Baijiu, a highly regarded Chinese liquor that is bottled in beautifully designed and

Friday, December 15, 2017

decorated glass vessels. Traditional Eastern and Western tastes converge with five spice-infused cocktails that incorporate housemade syrups.

Shuang Ba means “double eight” in Chinese, signifying double prosperity and double wealth. Keeping with this theme, there are 88 seats in the restaurant and 88 items on the menu. In traditional fashion, hues of deep red accompany dark woods and metal furnishings, along with ornate statues appearing in doubles.

The restaurant also has a 15-tonne marble pillar featuring two intertwined dragons which represent reverence for the emperor, wealth and heritage.

According to Mr Lin, the sculpture, which is the focal point of the main dining room, was made in China, imported in pieces, reassembled and then installed.

“We like our restaurant along with the food to transport our guests to a different place, a different era. In Chinese culture we are a big believers in things that don’t exist than not believe in things that do exist…so in a way symbolism, good luck charms are a big part of the culture. And this restaurant is screaming with auspicious symbolisms and structures that symbolise all these good fortunes of prosperity and longevity,” Mr Lin told Tribune Weekend.

“This dragon is our guardian angel and it is there to remind us of the respect, honour and the integrity we need to uphold and showcase that to our guests.”

Four hand-woven silk tapestries in each corner of the main dining room feature a Chinese carp pond and water lilies, iris flowers, a bamboo grove and Chinese plum blossoms.

“These represent abundance in life, elegance and prosperity,” Mr Lin said.

The four private dining rooms are decorated with symbols of the phoenix and dragon, among other mystical creatures representative of good fortune, endless wealth and the yin and yang. Each dining room features a hidden private bathroom to make the experience especially luxurious.

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“We like our restaurant along with the food to transport our guests to a different place, a different era.”

PHOTOS/TERREL W CAREY

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Friday, December 15, 2017

Helping the Community

Rollover data and free WhatsApp for BTC customers

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TC wants mobile customers to have it all this holiday season. The company made history two weeks ago, introducing rollover data, a phenomenon popularised by major US mobile providers a few years ago. As the term suggests, rollover data allows a customer to bank unused data to the following month, once they have an auto renew feature of their prepaid mobile plan.

In addition to rollover data, BTC also introduced unlimited WhatsApp usage, making all texts, calls, videos and pictures free for all customers purchasing the new prepaid combo plans.

The brand new prepaid combo plans are packed with value and flexibility and also include, unlimited BTC

to BTC calls and text messages and rollover data in most plans.

BTC’S Vice President of Mobile Alphanique Duncombe said, “We brought it all to our customers just in time for the holidays. This Christmas we want our customers to share all of their precious moments. We’ve basically revamped and practically revolutionised our mobile product to make it even more attractive. Our prepaid customers are all in for a great treat with a combo of new devices and new plans which now include rollover data.”

In addition to its new prepaid combo plans, BTC will offer the iPhone X, the future of the smart phone starting today.

The iPhone X is available from BTC starting today.

BTC Northern team say thanks to retailers DURING this cooler weather, the northern BTC Enterprise Sales and Marketing Team recently warmed things up with a special luncheon to say thank you to their loyal clients.

The luncheon which was held at the Lucayan Manor House, was an opportunity for guests were invited to mingle in a relaxed environment and enjoy the spirit of the holiday season.

“Each year we take the time to say thank you to our valued corporate clients and retailers,” said Leteasha Lord, BTC Northern Bahamas marketing and public relations lead.

“This year we opted for a more intimate and Christmas themed event, to say a special thanks to everyone who helped BTC keep and maintain its large presence in the communications business.”

Guests of the luncheon were also treated to some one on one time with one of the company’s newest executives. Andre Knowles, BTC’s chief commercial officer, who joined the GB team for the event taking time out to personally meet all the company’s valued GB retailers, an experience which many of them used to their advantage.

“It’s always important for BTC to recognise our customers, let them know we really appreciate their business,” said Mr Knowles during an aside with the media. “We also want to keep them informed about what we are doing in the future for them.

We do realise there are alternatives, but we thank them for their continued business, their feedback and their support.”

BTC’s corporate and retail guests pose for pictures with the company’s new CCO, Andre Knowles, during a special Christmas luncheon held at Manor House.

Mr Knowles gave guests information on his background and BTC goals for 2018. He also let them know that they are very excited to be working with Liberty Global, the World’s largest international TV and broadband company. One with whom BTC will partner in improving the BTC

product and giving everyone a higher level of service.

“It was very nice to have the opportunity to speak with Mr Knowles,” said one guest. “He’s new to the team but obviously passionate about keeping their share of the market and wanting our feedback – whether good or bad.”

Helping the Community

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Friday, December 15, 2017

food Nobu restaurant at Atlantis, Paradise Island

Dinner with Chef Nobu Celebrity restaurateur returns to the Bahamas

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

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HIS Sunday, guests of the Nobu restaurant at Atlantis are in for a special, not to mention, traditionally Japanese treat.

For one night only, Chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa himself will be in the Bahamas to offer a special dinner experience at the Paradise Island Resort.

World-famous restaurateur Chef Nobu, along with six other Nobu executive chefs, will be offering an “Omakase” dinner which consists of seven courses. The Nobu team is inviting everyone who enjoys modern Japanese cuisine to make it a night to remember. The cost of this special evening is $250 per person.

“Omakase” is a Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it up to you”. In English, the expression is used by patrons at sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef, as opposed to ordering à la carte. This means that on Sunday night, the guests’ culinary experience will be firmly in the hands of Chef Nobu.

Sunday night’s dinner will be a seven-course “Omakase” (leave it to the chef).

With almost 40 restaurants all over the world, the name Nobu Matsuhisa is synonymous with the best of sushi and high-end Japanese-infused cuisine featuring Peruvian ingredients.

Chef Nobu was inspired to create this new style of cuisine after he moved to Lima, Peru in 1973, when he was 24 years old. There, he opened a restaurant with the name of Matsue in partnership with his sponsor and developed his unique style of cuisine that incorporated Peruvian ingredients into Japanese dishes. In 1977, he moved to Los Angeles and worked at Japanese restaurants Mitsuwa and Oshou, and in 1987 he opened his own restaurant, Matsuhisa, on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverley Hills, California.

The restaurant got the attention of Hollywood star Robert De Niro, who invited Nobu to set up a restaurant in Tribeca, New York City. In August 1993, the two opened up the first Nobu restaurant.

“Atlantis, Paradise Island, is always honoured to have Chef Nobu in the Bahamas, and are thrilled that he will

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa pictured at Atlantis be hosting and preparing a dish for this unforgettable evening,” said Cara Douglas, director of Island Marketing at Atlantis.

“Chef Nobu visits Nobu Atlantis often, and for each visit we try to create an exceptional experience for our guests. In the past we have hosted sushi classes, book signings and an Umami dinner.”

This time around, she said guests can look forward to a mixture of seven hot and cold dishes prepared by some of the most highly acclaimed Nobu chefs in the world, with Chef Nobu present in the restaurant meeting and greeting all guests.

In an interview with Tribune Weekend during his visit to the Bahamas last year, Chef Nobu said he loves the oneon-one interaction with his guests.

“This is what I love,” he said, “going table to table to see if they are enjoying their meal and to tell them thank you. I feel very proud of how Japanese food has become so famous and the response it has gotten. Sushi is now eaten all over the world. I feel proud of

what I have done to have helped make that happen. If I could cook for anyone in the world, it would be for someone who has never had Japanese food. I would like to show it to people who have never experienced it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Atlantis resort said it is pleased to be able to host such out of the ordinary events like the one this weekend.

“Events like this allow us to showcase the diversity of experiences at Atlantis. We offer not only local cuisine but also international fare. The overall goal of the evening is to offer our guests, both on and off property guests, the most unforgettable experiences here at Atlantis Paradise Island.

With everything that we do, our goal is to always exceed expectations,” said Ms Douglas.

For all interested persons, Atlantis is accepting reservations at Nobu for the Omakase with seating as early as 5.30pm on Sunday; the last seating is at 9pm.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

fashion

Holiday styles for a humane cause

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ole’s of Nassau and Morley for Men raised more than $30,000 for the Bahamas Humane Society with its annual Fashion Show & Luncheon.

Held at the British Colonial Hilton on November 21, this popular and well-attended event marked the 39th year that Cole’s of Nassau and Morley for Men have hosted this function, which store owner Diane Cole Morley started back when the late Betty Kenning was heading the BHS organisation.

The annual fundraiser brings fashion and fun together for a worthy cause and is known for it’s sophisticated atmosphere and exquisite apparel. This year’s elegant affair was held at the British Colonial Hilton with more than 250 guests in attendance. As they arrived, guests were treated to a cocktail hour hosted by the event’s ‘Big Dog’ sponsor, Aliv. Following the Aliv cocktail hour, lunch was served as models strutted down the runway in a selection from Cole’s of Nassau’s top designer labels such as Missoni, Emilio Pucci, Tadashi, Donna Morgan, Bl^nk, Alexis and Camilla.

Morley for Men featured luxe labels such as Paul & Shark, Orlebar Brown, Vineyard Vines, Vilebrequin, Hugo Boss & Love Brand.

The funds raised from this event will go towards purchasing animal care supplies, animal medicine and conducting much needed repairs to the facility.

Key holiday trends for women featured in this year’s show included off-the-shoulder for some flirtatious looks, ruches and ruffles to make a statement, and metallic knits for some sparkle.

For the men, essential holiday trends included dapper Winter whites for all the upcoming white parties and luxe layers featuring sleek, formal silhouettes with hints of velvet.

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, December 15, 2017

shopping

As cool as the weather

By FELICITY INGRAHAM ll around town, beautiful decorations are going up on trees, homes and in shop windows, heralding that merry time of year filled with shopping, family, friends and food.

Often, you can find moms and dads driving the kids around town to enjoy the lights and pretty decorations. For those planning that drive, make sure to pass the Lyford Cay Plaza to find a unique and fun store, said Sabrina Lightbourne, owner of the Sabrina Shoppe.

“We wanted to do something very Christmasy for the window, so we were looking on Pinterest and throwing ideas back and forth until we came up with the idea to create this beautiful Christmas skirt with lights; so we have the coolest window ever,” she told Tribune Weekend.

“If you are out with the family driving into Lyford Cay, Albany or Pleasantville, stop by! Sabrina Shoppe has a nice Christmas feel.”

The shop provides an eclectic selection of clothing, accessories and gifts, mainly for women and children. Sabrina prides herself on offering the public quality, “artisan” clothing that her clients will cherish. A scarf fanatic, Sabrina has a wide selection of boho-chic, intricately woven scarves that women seem to love.

“There are lots of beautiful dresses for Christmas with great price points,” said Sabrina.

Even though the store is located in Lyford Cay, she says there are affordable items and lots of surprises

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in the store, making it a great place to shop for Christmas gifts.

“There are so many wonderful Christmas gift ideas in the store,” Sabrina said, “Including bath and beauty products; things that make you smell good, make your clothes and the house smell good – things that make women happy.”

Sabrina loves to collaborate with other Bahamians to bring new and fun ideas to her store. Most recently, she partnered with local jewellery designer Cynthia Harrison for a trunk show this month.

It was a success, as patrons mingled in Sabrina’s artsy store, purchased locally made jewellery, and part proceeds were donated to the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF).

“A couple of things connected us and I became a good fit for her trunk show,” she said, adding that the more she collaborates with others, the more great connections she makes.

For example, she often works with photographer Robin Damianos. Sabrina is also a photographer as well as a masseuse, and she once mentored Robin, who is now successful in photography in her own right. She calls on Robin for projects in the store including the recent trunk show.

As an entrepreneur with an extensive background in art, Sabrina promises that visiting her store is an inspiring experience, not only in the way the items are displayed, but also in the one-of–a-kind pieces that make moments memorable.

“Even if you don’t buy anything, its a fun experience visiting the store,” she said.

Sabrina Lightbourne, owner of the Sabrina Shoppe

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

celebrity With Karin Herig and Alesha Cadet

FAIL

HIT

HIT

SPLIT

HIT

Daisy Ridley ”Rey”

Lupita Nyong’o ”Maz Kanata”

Kelly Marie Tran ”Rose Tico”

Gwendoline Christie ”Captain Phasma”

Billie Lourd ”Lt Connix”

Karin says: “I don’t hate it, I just don’t think it’s quite ‘va va voom’ enough for an event as big as this. And instead of a nod to the film, the pattern looks more like a tribute to the Star Spangled Banner.

Her blue eye make-up is also rather messy.”

Alesha says: “I understand the whole Star Wars theme and what not, but this here is too much. The stars look like they are pasted on with a child’s glue for a school project. The makeup is not nice either, very Halloween-ish.”

Karin says: “Lupita is serving us more mermaid than alien here, but as usual, the fashion force is with her. I love that she embraces bright, bold colours like this. And while the shape of the dress is unusual, it does work.”

Alesha: “Lupita is shining like the melanin queen she is.

I love how the green colour really pops, the hair, makeup, the split...just everything. She looks simply beautiful.”

Karin says: “Kelly is new to the franchise, and Hollywood in fact, so she’s pulling out all the stops. And she looks stunning. Love the bright red on her. The sweetheart neckline is so flattering, and of course I love the dramatic train. This is how you make your red carpet debut.”

Alesha says: “Lately, I have been loving the primary colours like red and royal blue as red carpet looks. So this red automatically caught my eye.

It’s a pretty dress, but maybe should have been a bit more fitted, but it’s still very nice.”

Karin says: “I know fashion choices are limited for a 6’ 3” girl (who is not afraid to wear heels), but this just looks a bit too much like a 80s’ diva robe.

The material looks like it’s been left over from someone’s cosplay costume. I think I actually prefer her Captain Phasma armour to this.”

Alesha: “Ya know what, it’s easy to dislike this dress at first glance, but after looking at it for a while, I like it. I think the split is doing it for me. The shoes, however, must go. They actually take away from the dress.”

Karin says: “I’m not even going to say too much about her dress – which is a simple, yet pretty sequined number – and go straight to her braided bun, which is such a great tribute to her mom, the late Carrie Fisher, and Princess Leia’s iconic hairdo at the end of ‘New Hope’.”

Alesha says: “I think this sequin number nailed the Star Wars theme. Yes, she is wearing a disco ball in dress form, and her hair is banto knotted or something, but she is making it look nice and classy. Nothing too over the top.”

PHOTOS BY JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

The Weekend Fashion Report “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Premiere

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, December 15, 2017

social

Barrelling towards Christmas PHOTOS: SHAWN HANNA/TRIBUNE STAFF

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

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WAS a wine lover’s paradise last Saturday, as the Commonwealth Brewery celebrated its second annual “Wine Experience” at the Meliá Nassau

Beach Resort.

With more than 70 wines, including new arrivals and old favourites, guest were able enjoy wine tasting options like the Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pink Moscato, Malbec, and Yellow Label Brut.

In addition to the wine samples, guests also got the opportunity to purchase their favourite choices at an on-site wine pop up shop at discounted prices. Highlights also included light hors d’oeuvres, live jazz music by Ebony, and lots of prizes and giveaways.

“We use this event to jump-start the holiday wine buying season. Christmas is fast approaching and we want to give our consumers an opportunity to taste many different wines to help them decide what they would like to purchase for the holidays, and maybe even find a new favourite. We feel great that we are in our second year and look forward to growing and building each year,” said Therese Demeritte, CBL wine brand manager.

She said the event is also specifically geared towards those persons who love and appreciate wine and those who want to explore and learn more about wine. At the event these persons would have the chance to speak with international and local wine professionals who are on hand to offer professional advice on pairing suggestions and general information about the featured wines.

“We are looking forward to getting bigger and better each and every year, with greater attendance from our international partners, adding more wines and possibly expanding to include cognacs. I’m proud to host an event like this to give wine lovers an opportunity to taste many different wines from sweet to dry, sparkling to still, red, white and rose from regions all across the globe at different prices; we have something for everyone,” said Ms Demeritte.

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

books

Veteran journalist explores a ‘life renewed’ can do so much more than anyone could ever realise. That is why I speak of a ‘Life Renewed’. I was in a dark place, where I was dealing with betrayal and hurt and destruction, WENTY years of ups but when I refocused on my belief and downs, triumphs, in God and my artistic expression, I tragedies, beginnings was reborn. I’m a son, a father and and endings is what a friend, but right now I am me and veteran journalist Eric that is a really great place to be,” he Rose shares in his newest book, said.

“Poetry of A Life Renewed”.

Born in Nassau to Doris McFall of Mr Rose, who is also an award- Inagua and the late Cecil Rose winning photographer, recently of Cat Island, Mr Rose has had a presented the book to Minister of distinguished journalism career Youth Sports and Culture Michael that began upon receiving his Mass Pintard during a courtesy call.

Communications and Journalism The book, he said, is a compila- Associates of Arts degree from the tion of his experiences and uses College of the Bahamas, and his poetry as as tool to give readers a Print Journalism Bachelor of Arts glimpse into his life.

Degree from Clark Atlanta Univer“There have been times where my sity (CAU). He was the first of his faith and my writing were the only mother’s children to attend college. things that kept me going, even as At CAU, Mr Rose was awarded I travelled through more than 25 the Internal Journalism Award countries and countless experiences, and served as editor-in-chief of the some of which I share in this book,” school newspaper The Panther, as he said. well as acted in a number of plays.

For Mr Rose, the smallest things He most recently obtained his can inspire him to write – “From a International Masters in Internalook on a passerby’s face to a phrase tional Communications from the from a speaker on an assignment.”

Communications University of “I used to write on cocktail nap- China, in Beijing. He was also one kins at social events and paper bags of the several chief researchers in that I might have with me coming the WeCreate Global Innovation from the store. I remember that I team of the New Media Institute at once wrote a whole poem that was CUC. based on a line from the children’s Additionally, Mr Rose is a senior musical ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug Band information officer at the Bahamas Christmas’. That one line trans- Information Services and performs formed into my poem ‘Fairy Tales’. the duties of a journalist, photojourI had the honour to recite it on nalist, and is a former acting editor. stage as part of the play ‘Lorraine He has shared his poetry on Hansberry: A Work In Progress’, in several radio broadcasts and at Atlanta, Georgia,” he said. concerts and festivals, including “For the most part, I am always CARIFESTA in 2006 and 2008. He surprised that negative emotions – also read poetry before two consecloneliness, sadness, abandonment utive Bahamian Governors General – spawn a large chunk of my work. and co-hosted a number of poetry It’s like a form of therapy that works shows. His poetry has represented for me.” the Bahamas in the CARIFESTA And Mr Rose’s poetry also has a Anthology of Poetry and in four point. issues of the University of the West “No matter where you are from or Indies Poui Journal of Creative what value society puts on you, you Writing.

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

T

A photo for the Pompey Museum “Struggle to Freedom” exhibition by Eric Rose.

Here, Eric Rose captured a goat race in Tobago. The photo appeared in the American high-end travel magazine “Afar”.

The Tribune | Weekend |19

Friday, December 15, 2017

gardening

The mid-season report Now is not the midway point of the vegetable growing season, but is the halfway mark of the vegetable sowing season, says Jack Hardy.

T

he tomatoes we are relishing now were planted back in August. We will be enjoying vegetables into the summer, but will be planting very little after Easter.

You would think that definitely milder conditions would have been very beneficial to the autumn crops but I did not notice any extraordinary growth. Some of my tomato plants were spindly at the start but beefed up at the midway point. Even hybrid tomatoes were slow to accelerate and the result was that on 7th December I picked my first two tomatoes, one hybrid (Bushsteak) and one heirloom (Estonian Green). Usually hybrids are clearly first past the post.

I would guess that the somewhat warmer weather than usual in late October and early November prevented many tomato plants setting fruit in a timely fashion. Most full-size tomatoes require a temperature of 68 degrees or below, and I noted at the time night temperatures were close to 70 degrees but rarely much below.

Even the first week of December had mild night temperatures. The result is I have plants six feet tall that have only

The juice of the kiwano fruit, an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family, is used for gin cocktails. set very few fruits. A prolonged cold period is needed to turn flowers into fruits.

Although closely related to tomatoes, peppers set fruits at much higher temperatures. I had a few bell peppers – and lots of hot peppers – survive the summer but most of these have gone now because those I sowed in August are producing well. I rely on old and reliable open-pollinated favourites like California Wonder, Big Red and Chinese Giant. I would have liked to include Cubanelle in that list but I have not been able to locate any viable seeds.

My local supermarket sells Cubanelles, which are open-pollinated heirlooms, but at the yellow stage. The seeds are not viable until the ripe red stage.

I am overrun by hot peppers I am glad to say. Whenever I note that I have too many I make some kind of pepper relish to liven up my breakfast plate. My mainstays are habanero, bird pepper, tabasco and fish pepper. I grow jalapeno peppers but rarely use them.

It is always handy to have ‘giving away’ peppers. I would like to have Guyana wiri wiri peppers but cannot locate any seeds.

Here I should make a confession.

Just about all my gardening involves containers because I am getting too old to work the soil. My wife Valerie – younger, stronger and prettier than me – has taken over the open garden duties. Her cabbages are large and

promising and seem to have ignored any ill effects from weather too warm.

I am not much of a salad eater but lean towards greens rather than lettuce when providing for health-conscious guests. Endive frisée is my base with Japanese mizuna a close second. Both of these can be cooked in soups or sautéed as a side dish. Both have done very well, individual frisée plants filling three-gallon pots. I grow Malabar spinach rather than leaf spinach because the former grows all year long. The tender young leaves can be added to salads while the larger leaves are delicious when cooked. I will no doubt plant some beets in the new year but in the meantime I have Swiss chard under way. This versatile plant is a slow grower but when established become a valuable source of edible (and tasty) leaves.

Growing cucumbers in containers means using a short-vined patio type trained onto a tomato tower. The plant is compact but the fruits are large. I have had no problem so far with pollination and there seem to be plenty of bees around, far more than two years ago.

Every year I like to grow something new and this year it is kiwano, a relative of cucumber that produces a spiky yellow fruit with a cucumber flavour.

The seeds are contained in gelatinous aril and I imagine I will have to use a food mill to get the seeds separated.

The juice is used for gin cocktails but

I am sure there are other more mundane applications. I look forward to experimenting.

I have grown onions in containers for the past three years and they reach the same dimensions as when grown in the ground. I also have five tubs of scallions most of which survived summer in the shade, and allow me to be quite extravagant when pulling them for use in the kitchen. Whether in the ground or in a container, scallions should be a mainstay of every garden. All onions seem to love compost and applications of matured livestock manure.

Every May I plant snake beans (asparagus beans, yard-long beans) and because they are truly tropical they tend to wither by the end of October. This year I had harvests through November and a few vines are still producing. I see a variety advertised in catalogues that can be grown in the cooler months. I must investigate.

I cannot claim credit for all my herbs because some I buy already established from the nursery. It makes sense in some cases. A packet of, say, sage seeds, gives me dozens of seeds when I only need one or two plants. I bought a small pot of sage from my local nursery early this month that contained six seedlings: two for me, four to give away. The price of the seedlings was the same as a packet of seeds.

• For questions and comments, e-mail hardy1342@yahoo.com

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

film

Star Wars cast reflects on Carrie Fisher’s legacy

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arrie Fisher may have been the “madcap Auntie Mame” to Mark Hamill’s “square” homebody, but despite their differences, the Star Wars siblings got along famously right till the end.

While both skyrocketed to celebrity with their Star Wars roles in 1977 and remained inextricably linked through their on-screen family, Hamill says he missed a lot of Fisher’s life — during “the Bryan Lourd years” and when her daughter Billie Lourd was an infant.

That’s why, even before her untimely death last year, he felt especially grateful to just get to spend time with his friend during the filming of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“I’d see her periodically during charity events or when there were Star Wars celebrations and so forth. But this was the first time where we could really hang and enjoy each other. Even if I wasn’t shooting I was coming in for stunt training and this or that, hair tests, coming into her trailer and hanging out

Kelly Marie Tran steps into Star Wars stardom in ‘Last Jedi’ KELLY Marie Tran still can’t quite believe she’s in a Star Wars movie.

The 28-year-old was about to give up on her dreams of becoming an actress when she landed a breakthrough role in “The Last Jedi.”

So after years of toiling and hoping and working disposable jobs, Tran is now a movie star, the kind of person who holds hands with Laura Dern at media events and considers Gwendoline Christie a good friend.

“The Last Jedi” is Carrie Fisher’s last appearance as Princess Leia (PHOTO BY JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP)

Kelly Marie Tran plays Rose “I know, right? Let me pinch myself real quick,” Tran said, her effervescent excitement bright and obvious.

Tran was plucked from obscurity to play Rose Tico, a Resistance mechanic

with her and (her dog) Gary,” Hamill said. “There was a comfort level we’d developed over all these years. She knew me. She knew I hadn’t really changed. She knew I wasn’t out to get something.”

Fisher was apparently beloved by all in the cast, both for who she was and what the character of Leia meant to them. Her death at age 60 came after filming had finished and deep into postproduction, but presented a bit of a conundrum for the filmmakers who had anticipated Leia being part of the next film too.

“The Last Jedi” writer-director Rian Johnson said he ultimately didn’t end up changing anything about her role in this instalment, which is the eighth in the Star Wars films about the lives and adventures of the Skywalker clan.

That’ll be something J J Abrams will have to grapple with in Episode IX, in which Fisher was meant to have a much more prominent role.

“We’ll have to find a way to give her closure in IX, but we’ll never be able to replace her,” Hamill said.

Although no one can talk about exactly what Leia’s arc entails in “The Last Jedi,” out December 15, Johnson expects it will be an emotional experience.

“As tough as she was and as venomous as her wit could be, she was really vulnerable in a way,” Hamill said.

“When I get mad and selfish and think, ‘Darn-it Carrie, your timing used to be perfect, why now?’ You have to say, ‘At least we have that. We should be grateful for the time we had with her.’ And I do know one thing: She would want us to be laughing and happy, not morose and depressed over her not being around anymore.” ___ AP Entertainment Writers Sandy Cohen and Mike Cidoni Lennox contributed from Los Angeles.

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

in “The Last Jedi.” Rose idolises Resistance fighters like pilot Poe Dameron and former Stormtrooper Finn, but does her work behind the scenes.

Director Rian Johnson found Tran after “a huge, exhaustive casting search” that included well-known actresses and newcomers.

“And Kelly just, I don’t know, she really jumped out at me as someone who I was looking for in the character,” he said. “I wanted someone who — thinking back to me as a kid being a genuine nerd you could relate to — someone who didn’t feel like they belong; someone you wouldn’t necessarily imagine as a big Star Wars hero.

Let’s throw them in the mix and see the world through their eyes.”

John Boyega, who plays Finn, said he could tell during the audition process that Tran had something special.

“We would do chemistry reads and it was so blatant from the beginning that

she was the right girl for the part,” he said.

Both Boyega and Daisy Ridley (Rey) were also relative unknowns when they joined the Star Wars universe for 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” and Tran said they’ve been like spirit guides as she navigates a new world of international appearances and near-religious fandom.

“It is such a strange experience,” she said. “You know, it’s not like taking your driver’s test or breaking up with your boyfriend, where you can call whoever you want to be like, ‘Hey, remember when that happened?’ This is truly like you have two other people you could talk to about it.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.

SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer

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Friday, December 15, 2017

film

review

‘The Last Jedi’ a welcome disturbance in the Force STAR WARS THE LAST JEDI RUNNING TIME: 152 MINS

Daisy Ridley as Rey

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welcome disturbance in the Force, Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” is, by wide measure, the trippiest, scrappiest and most rule-breaking “Star Wars” adventure yet.

Not the exercise in nostalgia that was J J Abrams’ “The Force Awakens,” Johnson’s Episode VIII takes George Lucas’ space opera in new, often thrilling, and sometimes erratic directions while finding the truest expression yet of the saga’s underlying ethos of camaraderie in resistance to oppression.

Though there are countless familiar broad strokes — rebel escapes, Jedi soul-searching, daddy issues — “The Last Jedi” has discovered some new moves yet, in the galaxy far, far away.

As the second instalment in this third “Star Wars” trilogy, “The Last Jedi” is like the inverted corollary of “The Empire Strike Back” (long the super fan’s favorite). While it is, like its part-two predecessor, often murky and weird, Johnson’s frequently comic film distinguishes itself by upending the traditional power dynamics of heroes and bit players in the Star Wars galaxy.

Here, the odds-defying daredevil flyboy (Oscar Isaac as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron) is an impetuous chauvinist, at odds with a female commander (a purple-haired Laura Dern).

“Get your head out of your cockpit,” admonishes Leia (the late Carrie Fisher, to whom the film is dedicated).

The master-apprentice relationship — previously Yoda instructing young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker a swampy remote planet — is now tilted more toward Rey, the young Jedi (Daisy Ridley), sent to stir a monkish Skywalker from a windswept, Porg-infested isle. And instead of a Tauntaun’s guts being spilled, there are even moments of animal rights reflections creeping into the galaxy. About to bite into his rotisserie dinner, Chewbacca, with a sad groan, is struck by pangs of doubt.

Abrams’s finest touch in his zippy and nimble reboot was in his diverse casting — in particular Ridley and John Boyega, as Finn, the Stormtrooper turned good guy. But Johnson, who also wrote the film, has gone further to shake up the familiar roles and rhythms of Star Wars. Scattershot and loose-limbed, “The Last Jedi” doesn’t worship at its own altar, often undercutting its own grandiosity.

Those breaks of form — formerly mostly reserved for a smirking Harrison Ford — will throw some diehards.

Especially in the surreal isolated scenes

of Rey and Luke — where Luke, with a thick gray mane and a hermit’s foulmanner is seen drinking a creature’s breast milk and pole-vaulting from rock to rock — “The Last Jedi” teeters on the edge of camp.

It’s not surprising that Johnson, the director of the twisty time-traveling noir “Looper,” has made a movie full of clever inversions. What’s jarring is that he’s made a “Star Wars” film that tries to not take itself too seriously, while simultaneously making it more emotional.

Yet before its considerable payoff, “The Last Jedi” feels lost and grasping for its purpose. Unlike the earlier films, the less tactile “The Last Jedi” isn’t much for world building, and its sense of place isn’t as firm. As an intergalactic travelogue, it’s a disappointment.

There are exceptions, though, especially the chambers of the Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis, adding to his gallery of grotesques). Soaked in an otherworldly crimson red, Snoke’s lair

looks like something out of Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.”

Johnson also lacks what Lucas and Abrams alike recognised as the franchise’s most potent weapon: Ford. As the prairie boy turned knight, Hamill has never been the saga’s heart-andsoul. While Luke gets his big moment, “The Last Jedi” doesn’t do him any favors, plopping him on a pitiless jagged rock away from the action and a backstory filled with regret.

As Fisher’s final “Star Wars” film, it’s a shame she isn’t more front-andcenter. (The next film was to be hers, the way Ford and now Hamill have had theirs.) But she makes her scenes count.

Though Isaac has been fashioned as the heir-apparent to the bemused Ford, Boyega is the actor I’ve left both episode VII and VIII wanting more of.

But “The Last Jedi,” as if with a wind against its back, gathers momentum. By breaking down some of the old mythology, Johnson has staked out new territory. For the first time in a long time, a “Star Wars” film feels forward-moving.

Much of that sense of progress comes in the character of Rose Tico (a superlative Kelly Marie Tran), a maintenance worker who’s thrust into a pivotal role in the rebellion. It’s she who voices the film’s abiding message, one that — as the first “Star Wars” film of the Trump era — has affecting resonance. The Resistance will win, she says, “not fighting what we hate” but “saving what we love.”

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

literary lives

The Semliki Leopard Sir Christopher Ondaatje remembers a dangerous experience and unique chance encounter on his journey to the source of the Nile.

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t the fourth hour it was quite a thin forest on the left side of the Semliki, while to the right it was a thick impervious and umbrageous tropic forest, and suddenly we were on the bank of the Semliki. At the point we touched the river it was sixty yards wide with between a four and five-knot current.” – Henry Morton Stanley (1841 - 1904), “In Deepest Africa”

In November 1996, nearing the end of a three-month journey tracing the footsteps of the Victorian explorers, I had reached Kasese at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. My quest was to unravel the mystery of the Nile’s source – incorrectly designated

by John Hanning Speke in 1858 as Lake Victoria. Far from being the source, Lake Victoria is in fact one of the two

great reservoirs of the Nile – the other being Lake Albert – and they are fed by two mighty rivers: the Kagera, which drains the Burundi highlands, and the Semliki which drains the Rwenzori Mountains, then called the Ruwenzori Range.

I had travelled from Zanzibar to Bagamayo on the east coast of Africa, and then to Tabora, Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria to Ripon Falls, down the Victoria Nile to Murchison Falls and the north end of Lake Albert, and eventually along the east coast of Lake Albert to Fort Portal and Kasese, a sleepy mountain village in the Ruwenzoris.

Exhausted, thirsty, and extremely hungry, we relaxed over some Nile beer before dinner. We discussed the Ruwenzori Range at length. Our initial plan was to spend six to eight days climbing some of the eastern slopes. I hoped to get at least above the cloud

The Semliki river

The Tribune | Weekend |23

Friday, December 15, 2017

line to see the major peaks, and then view and make whatever conclusions I could about the drainage system from that elevated position.

The next day Kasese was in semichaos. Rebels, possibly from Zaire, had crossed over the border only 10 kilometres west of the town and were moving down the Kazinga Channel, which runs between Lake George and Lake Edward. There were armed men everywhere, some in uniform, but many not.

Even without understanding a word of the language we could tell that conversations were tinged with alarm.

And so it was that I made my decision, instead of climbing, to round the southernmost tip of the Ruwenzori Range until I reached the Semliki River on the Zaire border. Few people ventured into the region. We would be almost totally alone, or so we thought.

As we were soon to find out, we would be in equatorial forest: dense, muggy, luxuriant, mosquito and fly-infested swamp land.

As we descended into the Semliki Valley I noticed that the lower we got, the shorter the people at the side of the roads seemed to be. Deeper into the valley, we began to see people carrying spears, then people with bows and arrows, then men with long beards.

Eventually, almost at the foot of the mountains, we found ourselves in equatorial jungle, very humid and hot and dense, with massive trees soaring to great heights. We were right at the edge of the Semliki Forest Park – a virtually untouched tropical lowland forest, separated from the Ituri Forest of Zaire only by the Semliki River. We set up camp in a small clearing not 50 metres from the rugged mountain road.

Heading farther south into the jungle we found a small group of Bamba and Bakonjo people, often referred to as pygmies. It was getting late however and we soon headed back to camp. We ate dinner and settled in for the night; I alone in a small plastic tent some way from Thad Petersen and our two bearers from Tanzania. They were housed in a larger tent another thirty metres away. The clearing in which we had camped was about forty-five metres square and completely surrounded by tall cane grass. It was dark, very dark, and I was lying on an uncomfortable ground-sheet, being bitten by minute insects which I was later told were bukukums. The bites left awful welts, particularly around the eyes and ears.

It was difficult sleeping but I eventually dozed off.

Suddenly, it couldn’t have been as much as an hour or so later, there was the sound of gunfire and shouting on the mountain road. I lay motionless, a virtual prisoner in my tent, remembering the harrowing scene I had witnessed a few hours earlier in Kasese. Refugees.

What I had not realised was that that very night followed the day on which Laurent Kabila’s troops had made their successful first attempt to overthrow the dictatorship of Mbutu in Zaire. It was a terrifying experience, and I had no idea what to do. For a good hour I listened to the turmoil and then, during a quieter period, I silently unzipped the front flap of my tent and shone my torch into the long grass into either side of the narrow path that led away from the clearing. Imagine my surprise when, instead of rebels, I saw two

or create a sound, but slowly, silently crouched down again on my ground sheet and turned off the light of my torch.

The sounds of the rebels continued into the night taking on a more distant danger. Eventually, the sounds of the forest around me became more realistic and more immediate and my ears began to be more aware of the noises around me. The occasional rustle of the wind in the trees, cicadas, the drone of a persistent mosquito, and always the distant clamour of the fleeing refugees.

And then I became aware of another being’s breathing. This time it was right next to my tent. I listened harder and there could be no mistake – a deep guttural breathing which could only be a few feet away. Had the dangerous cat sought protection or cover from my tent? Or had she

THE RWENZORI Mountain National Park in Kasese, Western Uganda bright orange eyes shining back at me from the edge of the clearing.

From long experience I realised that the bright coloured eyes could only be that of a large cat, perhaps a leopard.

I shone my torch again on the motionless figure still looking at me. Then, without moving, the stealthy predator turned away and looked instead down the narrow path and towards the noise and turbulence of the distraught crowd surging forward on the mountain road.

The light of my torch revealed the tawny hide and abstract rosettes of a full-grown female leopard, with her long twitching tail, motionlessly staring at some unseen object or horizon along the clearing path. I didn’t move. However, I kept shining my torch on the beast. After a few moments, perhaps as long as a minute, the leopard turned slowly and moved away from the path towards the centre of the clearing and to a location I could not see to the left and behind my tent. I dared not move

indeed, aware of the dangers 50 metres away, looked to me for some sort of safety? It was hard to believe. Yet the situation, strange as it might appear, did exist. I tried to shine my torch through the thin plastic of my tent on the creature lurking inches away, but to no avail. I listened again. Her relaxed breathing continued. I felt somehow that the two of us had some undetermined, unspoken bond. As if together we were less vulnerable, perhaps even something of a threat to any passersby.

Suddenly I heard the voices. Distant at first, but closer and closer. Two people were walking along the path towards the clearing. The hushed voices were unmistakable. I dared not shine my torch for fear of giving away my position and being discovered.

It was a dark night and there seemed little likelihood that they would see our tents. In fact it was far more likely that they would trip over the guy ropes holding the fragile shelter upright. The

voices grew louder, closer, and more insistent. I thought of running, but it would be certain suicide. What if they were armed? And then of course there was also the presence of the leopard.

Neither of us had moved. Then, just as the voices were almost upon us and the inevitable probability of being found became a real possibility, I heard the rasping warning snarl of the leopard, only inches away from my left side.

Immediately the voices were silenced, and a second or so later I distinctly heard the retreating footsteps of the two strangers as they ran away from us back along the path to the mountain road.

No further words were spoken and I lay motionless on my groundsheet as I listened to the eerie sounds of the night against the unhurried breathing of my strange companion. I must have slept because when I awoke the thin shreds of light that heralded the dawn shone through the upper branches of the equatorial forest. The front flap of my tent was still open as I had left it in the night. I was still too frightened to move, but eventually, as the morning became lighter, and as the echoing greeting calls of the jungle birds became bolder, I furtively looked out of my tent towards where my night companion had lain.

But there was nothing to be seen. Not even a scratch or claw mark on the small dusty coloured ant hill that must have provided an uneven resting place for the leopard. She had completely and silently vanished.

A few minutes later a concerned Thad Petersen yelled across our clearing, “Are you all right, Chris?” “Yes,” I replied, “Did you hear the commotion on the road?” “Of course,” Thad replied, “but they all seem to have gone now.”

Indeed, there seemed no-one around any more. I suppose that the exodus across the border took place at night to escape detection. “I think it’s fairly safe now,” he added.

“Did you see the leopard?” I asked.

“What leopard?” Thad inquired. “Oh! I thought I saw a leopard last night sometime before midnight when the commotion first started. But I may have been mistaken.” My strange encounter would have been too difficult to explain. And probably even more difficult to believe. I never mentioned the experience again.

• Continue on page 24 for more Literary Lives

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

literary lives

The Last Supper Sir Christopher Ondaatje discusses the historical phenomenon of how Christianity has declined in the West, but is rising in Asia, Latin America, and particularly in Africa.

E

d Vitagliano, the news editor of AFA Journal (American Family Association) has recently made the accurate and alarming observation that Christianity is waning in the West because of the advancing assault of secularism and New Age Spirituality. At the same time, he has also pointed out a remarkable shift in the popularity of Christianity in the “Global South” – Asia, Latin America and Africa. He is confident that, within the next 50 years, the South will become the new spiritual home of Christianity. What many religious analysts, including Mark Hutchinson of Southern Cross College in Australia, thought was the “death of the Church” was in facts its “relocation and rebirth into the rest of the world”.

The statistics are important. One hundred years ago there were only 10 million Christians in the African continent. By the year 2000, this figure had grown to 360 million. There has been a staggering decline in numbers of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, whereas there are more than eight million thriving members of the Church in Uganda alone. Africa is gaining almost nine million new Christians a year; while South Korea, over the last 80 years, has increased its Christian believers from a mere 300,000 to over 12 million or 25 per cent of the entire population.

Startingly, the Rev Dr David Cornick, the General Secretary of the United Reform Church in Great Britain, recently stated that “In Western Europe, we are hanging on by our fingernails ... Europe is no longer Christian”. The Pope himself has blamed the prevalence of secularism for the diminishing cause of Christianity in the West.

The origin of Christianity in India, like Sri Lanka, probably began during the first century when St Thomas travelled to North India. This was further enhanced by merchant traders from the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Certainly Marco Polo observed that Christian kingdoms existed in Central India towards the end of the 13th century. Then, between the 16th and 18th centuries Portuguese missionaries had enormous influence on the religious leanings of India; after which the British exerted their own Christian and educational pressure after the passing of Charter Acts by the British Government in 1813 and 1833.

The great expansion of Christianity in India began in 1858 when Great Britain took over the rule of India from the East India Company. Then came the missionaries and, by the beginning of the 20th century, Christianity was established in many parts of India – particularly the Northeast and Southern States including Kerala. There are today over 30 million Christians in India or about 2.3 percent of the total Indian population.

Christianity in Sri Lanka was also introduced by St Thomas the Apostle in the first century. However, the Christian population did not significantly increase before Portuguese missionaries arrived in the 15th century. After the Dutch took over the country in the 17th century they were proud to claim by the first half of the 18th century no less than 21 percent of the Sri Lankan population had converted to Christianity. Great Britain then displaced the Dutch in 1796 and, under British rule, various societies, including the Salvation Army, promoted the well-being of Christianity on the Island. Following the end of British colonial rule in 1948 the Christian population, mostly concentrated in the Northwest, suffered a heavy decline so that towards the end of the 20th century only 8 percent of Sir Lanka’s population could claim to be Christian. Of these 88 per cent were Roman Catholic and the rest Anglican or Protestant.

The Christian world is changing.

Nothing remains the same – scholars in the West find it increasingly difficult to follow the increasingly pessimistic trend. It is clear that the world’s Christian population is undertaking a

demographic transition. In the past, the growth of Christianity has been because of Christian missionary activity. This is no longer a compelling force, and the advancement of Christianity has been not only because of conversion, but because of literacy, health care and catering to other basic needs of the poor.

Western countries and states seem to have failed to provide these needs and certainly not to have encouraged a Christian outlook on the requirements of large sections of the population.

People need religion. This void has not only encouraged the growth and spread of Islam and religions, but also religious scepticism and indifference. Hitherto unknown branches of Christianity have sprung up, encouraged by evangelism rather than European influence.

Africa is the most startling example of this growth where over 12,000 African Christian denominations in the last decade were completely unknown in the West. This will continue, not only in Africa, but also in Asia and South America and perhaps other countries where people are learning to live beyond the hangover of colonial rule.

NEXT WEEK: The tragic life of one of America’s most famous actresses and vaudevillians.

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

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, December 15, 2017

history

Athol Island’s quarantine station Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha

A

reader wanted to know all about some ruins he had found on Athol Island and was surprised to learn that they are all that’s left of the quarantine station that operated there, until it was destroyed by hurricane.

The 2008 issue of the Journal of the Bahamas Historical Society contains an eight-page article by Colin Brooker and Evan Thompson, describing Athol Island and, more particularly, the ruins, which I have never visited but have often seen from the air.

One of the pleasures of flying over the islands of the Bahamas is looking down and ‘discovering’ old ruins, particularly old stone walls of Loyalist plantations, in areas that are so overgrown that one might think that man has never set foot. Miscellaneous traces of the old railway on Abaco can still be seen, and one day, after take-off from Treasure Cay airport, my co-pilot pointed down to a desolate spot that he called Norman’s Castle and said, “That’s where I was born”. It used to be a thriving lumber camp.

But back to the quarantine station on an island that was once owned by Lord Dunmore (Governor of the Bahamas

A DRAWING of what the eight-sided quarantine building must have looked like. (Image/Bahamas Historical Society)

A map showing the location of Athol Island based on The Yachtman’s Guide to the Bahamas from 1787 to 1796). That governor gave us Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Dunmores on Long Island, an area east of Kemp Road called Dunmore’s, and Dunmore Lane. Fort Fincastle is named for one of Dunmore’s titles and another title, Athol, became the name of the island.

Dunmore may have built some of the ruins on Athol Island, but the quarantine station dates back to 1855, or a little later, after the brigantine Marietta, from New York, was brought into

Nassau because three of her crew were sick with smallpox.

Valeria Moseley Moss, in the book “Reminiscing: Memories of Old Nassau”, said that she and Ronald G Lightbourn wrote about when yellow fever and cholera were rampant in the mid-19th century and government bought the island to build a quarantine station. And even after World War I, when an epidemic of Spanish flu took thousands of lives worldwide, incoming passengers had to spend several days

in quarantine before being allowed to land in Nassau.

She told of a teenaged relative who had been exposed to diphtheria and had to be quarantined on Athol Island.

That young lady appears to have been the station’s last patient.

Valeria and her family lived on the eastern harbourfront and watched each morning as a pilot boat took the chief medical officer to the island, until the quarantine period was over, when he brought the healthy young lady to her family in Nassau.

• For questions and comments, e-mail islandairman@gmail.com

This weekend in world history December 15 1612 – German Astronomer Simon Marius is the first to observe the Andromeda galaxy through a telescope.

1890 – As US Army soldiers attempt to arrest Sitting Bull at his cabin in Standing Rock, South Dakota, shooting breaks out and Lt Bullhead shoots the great Sioux leader.

1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.

December 16 1773 – To protest the tax on tea from England, Massachusetts

colonists, disguised as Mohawk people, throw chests of tea from British ships in the Boston Harbour.

1835 – A fire in New York City destroys property estimated to be worth $20,000,000. It lasts two days, ravages 17 blocks, and destroys 674 buildings including the Stock Exchange, the Merchants’ Exchange, the Post Office, and the The Wright brothers make the first successful flight in history.

South Dutch Church.

1903 – The Wright brothers make 1990 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, 1944 – Germany mounts a major offensive in the Ardennes Forest in the first sustained motorised aircraft a radical Roman Catholic priest Belgium. As the centre of the Allied flight at 10.35am, piloted by Orville and opponent of the dictatorship line falls back, it creates a bulge, Wright, near Kitty Hawk, North of Jean-Claude Duvalier, is elected leading to the name: the Battle of Carolina. president of Haiti in a landslide vic1989 – “The Simpsons”, telthe Bulge. evision’s longest-running animated tory. It was the first free election in December 17 series, makes its US debut.

Haiti’s history.

79 888 428 in

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

Spotter, Cobbler, Redo, Icon, Hi-fi, Saws, Dawn.

THE DAILY EXPRESS 30-SECOND CHALLENGE

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Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid CompanyisRegistered to fill all Number: of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so with several given numbers. The object is to place the the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its 03759519 numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku Office:once.

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9 Office 2 Holder Details: Richard Rones 5 of3 ThorntonRones Limited, 311 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1AH. 2 Further 8 information about this case 4 is1 available from Jacky Volckman on 020 8418 9333.

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The alphabet is written here but some letters are missing. Arrange the missing letters to give a word. What is it?

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Answer for Teaser 05/08/17: Sangria. The words are SMALL CROSSWORD SATURDAY FEAST, FERAL, FAUNA, FUDGE, FERRY, FLUID and FINAL.

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and competitions you agree that Northern & Shell may contact you by post, SMS and/or email with offers, goods Down Across services that may be of1interest to you.

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22

TARGET

QUO I LB L EY HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the Yesterday’s letters shown here?

Sudoku Answer In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least /wst word. No one nine-letter plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 12; very good 18; excellent 24 (or more).

Solution Monday.

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Call 0907 181 2586 for today’s Target solution

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. All puzzles use The Chambers Dictionary

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The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, December 15, 2017

animals

The special powers of dogs and other animals

D

o you ever wonder if your dog has special “powers” and can see and smell things you are totally unaware of?

As pet parents, many owners spend a lot of time observing their fur babies and frequently notice behaviour that cannot be easily explained. One such pet parent is Amanda Myers who recently posted a video clip of her dog Roxy on Facebook that caught my attention and got me to thinking.

Amanda has noticed that Roxy will suddenly look up from a resting position, with her ears forward (cocked in interest) and will stare intently at something, though nothing is there.

Roxy is clearly interacting with who or whatever she sees; she is engaged, alert, interested, quite relaxed and totally unafraid. Her owner will tell you that there is no visible or audible cause for this manifestation of engagement.

This got me thinking and asking some questions.

We, as humans, have over the centuries become so sophisticated and civilised that we have lost or grown out of our instinctive behaviours. We have lost touch with many gifts and senses that we had before, when life was more simple and basic.

We still have remnants of these gifts: those moments when you pick up the phone to dial someone close to you and they are on the other end calling you, or when you and your spouse/partner start to say the same thing at the same time, or those occasions when somebody is strongly on your mind and then you bump into them, or they call you... it is still there, but very dimly. But how about our animals? How much have they retained?

Do you ever find yourself in a place you have never been to but you feel is

A senior Shepherd for Christmas

PET OF THE WEEK

By The Bahamas Humane Society

T

ired from all your Christmas activities? Looking for an older settled dog to watch your house while you’re out completing your Christmas shopping? Then Shepherd might just be the match for you. This German Shepherd/Chow mix male is about eight years old. He’s well past his puppy playfulness but still going strong. Shepherd ended up at the Bahamas Humane Society after his owner passed away. He’s a loyal guard dog and would be happy to have a new home in which to spend his senior years. Do you have a place for Shepherd in your heart? If so, come in to the BHS to meet him or call 325-6742 for more information.

Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday. Shepherd looks forward to greeting you!

PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

Animal matters Kim Aranha

• This Saturday at 6.30pm, the Bahamas Film Festival is screening of the documentary “Slim Aarons: The High Life” at the Captain’s Table, Lyford Cay. Tickets are available at the BIFF office and part proceeds will go to the BHS.

familiar; have you ever felt a presence but you are not sure who or what you are feeling?

Animals know when a hurricane is coming before we do, without watching the Weather Channel. When that terrible tsunami happened in Phuket

not one untethered animal drowned; they took the high ground before the water came rushing in. A little girl was on an elephant tourist ride on the beach when the elephant took off up the hills pursued by the child’s hysterical parents and the elephant’s handler. They all

survived the tsunami because the elephant knew what was coming; the humans were clueless. The only animals to die were tied or corralled. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

So getting back to Roxy the elderly potcake, a dearly loved old lady who has had health problems in the past with paralysis that require physiotherapy and chiropractic adjustments by Dr Christie Prosper to keep her on her feet.

What can Roxy see? At the risk of offending some I will go as far as asking if she can see those who have gone before us. Roxy walked into the Fox Hill Nursery at two months old, 10 years ago, and chose her pet parent by sitting at Amanda’s feet and wagging her (then) little tail; pretty smart choice!

I am a believer that when you die, your spirit lingers where you were happy and with those you love. Have dogs, some dogs, retained the capability of sensing their presence? Who is Roxy looking at and on occasion interacting with in such a positive manner?

Susan Glinton shared with me that her now deceased Robbin (a formally abused Doberman rescue whose ears had been cut off) would look up and suddenly bark at something, not in a fearful or menacing way.

Once I started talking about this phenomenon, many people have stepped forward and told me of their animal’s unexplained moments of interaction with “nothing”.

One lady shared with me that her dog will walk over to the corner and stare intently at something, wagging her tail, another friend tells of her dog’s behaviour every time he passes the bedroom of her recently deceased son. I have a big, bold, potcake called Boss who will suddenly leap up from where he has been lying peacefully and look up barking and will run around joyfully as if playing with somebody. I like to think it is my father, who was a great lover of all animals, with a special soft spot for golden potcakes. I always say “Hello, Daddy” and hope he is indeed in my house playing some kid of magical game with Boss who always seems delighted with the encounter.

Call me crazy if you wish, but I firmly believe that the capability to communicate with the other side is lost to us, but that the gift of intuition and foresight remains with animals.

We would do well to listen to our fur friends and observe what they do, it will perhaps allow us access to a world we have become too sophisticated to share.

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, December 15, 2017

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