THE VINCENTIAN 14-07-23

Left: Jenilee Glasgow registered her sixth times as Queen of the Bands with ‘Love Is’ from SVG Players International ‘Players Love’.

Right: Ativan Lockhart secured the King of the bands title with “We Salute’ a tribute to Dr. Alston BECKET Cyrus.

Furthest left: Lornette ‘Fya Empress’ Nedd ruled the Queen of Calypso competition and copped her third National Calypso Monarch crown.

Left: Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper took home his 12th Soca Monarch title and the Road March for good measure.

Right: Hennessy Starlift Steel Orchestra won running away from their nearest rivals with what pan extraordinaire described as one of their best renditions ever.

Javid ‘Jay R’ Rouse won the Ragga Soca Monarch title on his very first try and was a popular choice.

Blondie Bird and Friends shook off the lethargy of 2022, came out shooting and was declared Band of the Year.

The Giant African Snail is here

by GLORIAH...

THE PRESENCEof the African Giant Snail has been confirmed on mainland St. Vincent.

This is according to Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar who said on Thursday that the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of the snail on the island.

Caesar said, “The USDA officials confirmed on Monday, July 10, 2023, that the snails currently being collected in the affected areas are indeed Giant African Snails. With this confirmation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labour can now officially declare the giant African snail to be a pest locally”.

The first report of the snails came on June 29, 2023, from the Camden Park and Questelles area, and it remains the region most heavily infested with the snails, Caesar added.

“On the 11th of July 2023, snails were confirmed to be present on the premises of the

Ottley Hall Marina. Despite ongoing surveillance in the surrounding areas, no additional spread of the infestation has to date been observed,” Caesar said.

The Ministry of Agriculture had activated a surveillance programme nationwide.

Officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry & Labour visited communities across St. Vincent and the Grenadines to collect information on the Giant African Snail.

This reporter, last Wednesday, 5th July, met up with a group of such officers in the Campden Park area. When asked about their mission, they revealed that they were investigating the prevalence or non-prevalence of the Giant African Snail in the area.

Further questioning uncovered details about the snail in question and the purpose behind the search. This information was included in a release from the Ministry as follows: ‘The Giant African

Snail, scientific name (Lissachatina fulica), is currently under surveillance by officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, et al, who will be in possession of an identification form issued by the said ministry. The general public is asked to cooperate with the search while awaiting confirmation of details from regional authorities. These investigations go up until about 10:00pm daily’.

As for the identification of the snail itself, it is described as follows: ‘The shell of the Giant African Snail has a reddish brown colour with light yellow streaks. Adults may be between 4- 6 inches in length’.

These snails are said to be spread, “by the movement of soil, vehicles and plants/plant parts” and persons are advised to take decisive action if they see or suspect them to be on their compound or in their area.

Upon any sighting of the

snails, they are not to be crushed. They also must never be eaten. They could be destroyed by placing them in a salt water solution (2 cups of salt to a gallon of water in a bucket kept covered for 48 hours).

If collecting a sample for the ministry, gloves must be worn and the sample must be placed in a sealed container. Clean, garbage-free surroundings discourage the prevalence of these snails.

Additional research prompted by this report led to the unearthing of revealing information from the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, to the

New Senator/Minister sworn in

Senator, Benarva Browne, was welcomed as she joined the government side for her debut sitting, while the sitting conveyed best wishes to Senator Julian Francis who had demitted office Tuesday 11th July, 2023.

Browne, a 33-year-old specialist in the field of Urban Planning, was sworn in as a government senator and minister of government at Government House, on Wednesday 12th July, 2023.

Her Ministerial portfolios will include Urban Development, Seaports, Airports, Energy, Grenadines Affairs and Local Government.

These portfolios were last held by Julian Francis but were overseen in recent times by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, after Francis suffered a stroke

effect that the snails also pose a serious health risk to humans by carrying the parasite rat lungworm, known to cause meningitis in humans. Meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

Monitoring of the affected areas and neighboring regions will continue and information disclosed accordingly.

Persons are encouraged to report the sightings (actual or suspicious) to the Ministry of Agriculture or the nearest Agricultural Station in their area.

Francis, 71, was the longest serving senator in the history of the postindependence parliament in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His tenure stretched from 2001 to 2023 and during that time he served as a minister of government with responsibility for those portfolios

previously listed, as well as Transport, Works, Housing, Physical Planning, Lands and Surveys and Informal Human Settlements. According to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Francis will be retained as an advisor to government.

The Giant African Snail is not to be touched, at any cost or for any reason, with bare hands.

2023, when the parliament met in its new but temporary location in Calliqua, it welcomed a new senator

and bade farewell to another. Newly sworn in

on July 24.

Benarva Browne takes her oath as she was sworn in as a government senator and minister.

Julian Francis demitted office after serving as government senator since the ULP was first elected in 2001.

Magistrate Ballah sets down the rules

citizens.

The recently appointed Magistrate made this clear at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday while presiding over a wounding matter involving Jackeem Wilson of Ashton, Union Island, who was not represented by a lawyer.

When the matter was called, Prosecutor Shamrack Pierre informed the Court that he had sent the investigator, Constable 438 Jomo Gloster, to get the medical form copied, to serve on the defendant.

Stories: HAYDN HUGGINS

MAGISTRATEJohn Ballah will not tolerate any thwarting of the constitutional rights of

The police had charged Wilson and given him the charge sheet, but did not serve him with the medical form. The matter was stood down to await the investigator, who returned shortly with the

medical form and served it on the defendant.

But the visibly upset Magistrate told the police that, “Persons have a constitutional right to know what they are charged with”, and he reminded them that they (police) are trained professionals.

“You all (police) think that because I was a police officer for 20 years I will come here and side with you all, never happen, the Magistrate declared.

Ballah had been a member of the local constabulary for 20 years, and up to the time of his magisterial appointment, headed the Legal Research and Policies Unit of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, and held the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police

Labourer charged with conductor’s murder

(ASP).

Wilson is charged with, that on June 26, 2023, at Ashton, Union Island, he unlawfully and maliciously wound Dayshaun Joseph of Ashton, stemming from a cutlass incident.

Wilson had pleaded guilty to the offense, but after listening to the defendant’s explanation, the Magistrate entered a not-guilty plea and set a trial date.

Prosecutor Pierre did not object to bail, Wilson was granted $2,000 bail with one surety with reporting conditions, ordered to surrender his travel documents, and have no contact with the virtual complainant. Stop notices will be placed at all ports of entry and exit. He will return to Court on August 14 for trial.

GLEN RESIDENTOmari

Bramble is behind bars awaiting a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) slated for October 3, in connection with the recent stabbing death of Darius Williams, a 24-year-old minibus conductor of Glen.

Bramble, a 32-year-old labourer was not required to plea when taken before the Serious Offenses Court on Wednesday, after being charged with Williams’s murder. He was unrepresented.

A police release stated that Williams was attacked and stabbed by an assailant when the mini-bus on which he was working as a conductor stopped at the bus stop in the vicinity of the Peace Memorial Hall, Kingstown, around 5:50 p.m. on July 3.

Court Clerk, Sergeant Atnel Ash told Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne that the Prosecution intends to call about 16 witnesses at the P.I.

Corporal 502 Renetta Millington is leading the investigations.

Remanded man granted High Court bail

RAMAUL BENN, one of two men who were denied bail by the Magistrate’s Court last week on a marijuana charge, has been granted High Court bail.

Benn, a Green Hill resident, and Columbian national Martin Alanso Velez Valasquez, had been charged jointly with possession of 31,099 grams of marijuana with intent to supply.

When the two initially appeared at the Serious Offense Court on July 3, Prosecutor Renrick Cato asked that the Columbian be remanded. He did not object to bail for Benn but requested suitable surety and

conditions, including the surrendering of his travel documents, reporting conditions, and stop notices.

But Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne concluded that she was not considering bail at that stage for both men and remanded them until Wednesday, July 12.

However, Benn subsequently applied to and was granted bail by the High Court.

When the men returned to the Serious Offenses Court on Wednesday, the Chief

Magistrate inquired of Prosecutor Renrick Cato if he knew the conditions of Benn’s bail as granted by the high Court. He replied in the negative.

When the Magistrate asked Benn what were the conditions of his bail, he said he was granted $10,000 bail with one surety on the condition that he report to the Central Police Station twice a week.

The Columbian was further remanded, and the matter was adjourned to August 7.

The men were arrested on July 1, as a result of a police action at Green Hill.

Omari Bramble –murder accused

Magistrate John Ballah gave early indication that his service as a police officer will not influence his dealing with police officers in his court.

Ramaul Benn applied to the High Court for bail and was successful.

Count another panorama for Starlift

NOW IN THEIR56th year of existence, the Montrose-based Hennessy Starlift Steel Orchestra electrified Victoria Park on the night of July 6, to take their 24th title as Senior Panorama Champions of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Their rendition of a Dante Pantin (Trinidadian) arrangement of ‘Big Bottom’ by Winston Soso was somehow different from what we had come to expect from Starlift. Not that it diminished in quality but the arrangement made a ‘new’ use of rifts and variation, and runs that made the Soso composition sound to have taken on a ‘new life’, without losing the rhythmic catches of the original composition.

The work, not least an interesting change in the key at seemingly nontraditional parts of the rendition, was laid down by an animated Starlift contingent that was made up primarily of young if not junior players, and they must have also fascinated the judges.

Unlike recent panoramas, the 2023 winner — Starlft — outpointed their arch rivals, second placed, Sion Hill Euphonium Steel orchestras, 275 to 259, giving clear indication of how much better the champions were on the night.

Sion Hill Euphonium, working again under the directorship of Trinidad arranger Terrence Marcelle, were their usual compact self, and made good use of simple but effective movements across the scale.

Their rendition of Winston Soso’s ‘Longer jamming’ may have veered a little too much away from the original melody, but it was all in all a good use of their range of pans but if anything, lacked drive and enthusiasm.

That Sion Hill outpointed third placed Symphonix Steel Orchestra by 259 to 214 indicated the gap, as assessed by the judges, between Starlift and Sion Hill and the rest of the contenders.

Symphonix played a Jomorro Francis’ arrangement of ‘Pan Yard’, another Winston Soso number, and while there was a ‘liveliness’ about the rendition, the work was short on anything innovative and when there were hints of this, the players seemed unable to effectively represent them.

But as one patron on the night said, “We know Jomo is better that this.”

South East Steel Orchestra, with an Akeam Hannaway’s arrangement of Blacksands’ ‘Whistle’, might just have been an attempt to be intricate that fell short of a bench mark that if achieved, would have nodded the judges to place them above Symphonix.

Yes, they were coordinated and represented the variations with some degree of ease, but at the end of the day, South East was simply not at their best on the night of competition.

Johnny ‘JP’ Pompey’s skill as a teacher, arranger of pan continues to show more and more the things that are yet to come. As chief cook and bottle washer of the relatively new NPL Epic Sounds Steel Orchestra, he knows that he still has some work to do, but what he has been able to get out of this new band, is commendable.

His arrangement of a Johnny Rebel’s number, Move It’, not what you will call a typical ‘panorama song’, was pleasing to the air and kept a steady and enticing tempo.

Delano Bristol is not giving up on the Genesis Steel Orchestra. By far the smallest band on show, he has been able to maintain a rhythmic framework that catches the listener from the get go. This he did with his arrangement of ‘Ah Don’t care’ by Winston Soso on the night of competition.

Bristol’s ability might not yet been extended given the size and range of pans available to Genesis, but there is no taking away from the enthusiasm he has been able to extract from his players.

Leaf Elite Steel Orchestra continues

to depend on a relatively young age group for its complement. Their lack of experience could well be the determining factor in how much the band’s arranger, Keslon Wilson, can demand of them, making their final product short on substance. Their final product would not have been helped by the choice of song, ‘Yo Woman Butting Me’ by ‘Fryktion’. Interesting, of the seven steel orchestra in the competition, four played compositions by Winston Soso. July 18, 2023 will mark two years since Soso passed away.

Hennessy Starlift Steel Orchestra employed a new arranger and continued their winning ways.

Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Orchestra worked the best they could but had to settle for second.

Symphonix Steel Orchestra, third place, continues to occupy to occupy a space among the leading steel orchestras in SVG.

Fireman rules Soca Monarch

it not being original, it might have contributed to some degree, given the trends inherent in the Soca Monarch Competition here, to his second place. The good thing is that the response he evoked from the patrons - a visible decrease in size this year - and his second place could only encourage him to ‘stay in the race’.

Kemmy Christopher, packed with years of experience of the stage and patrons’ tendencies at Victoria Park, left no doubt that he will continue to peep in on the top tier of soca artistes here. He didn’t just peep in this year, his ‘Spirit of Carnival’ earned him third place, a place among the top tier.

DELROY ‘FIREMAN’ HOOPER put the defeat of the previous night – Friday’s Ragga Soca Competition - behind him, returned to his true stomping ground the following evening, and had hundreds of his disciples lapping up every instruction he had given in the past and repeated, and some he called upon at the moment in time.

And, if it was that it appeared he did not exert himself to the extent that he had done on previous occasions, there was no question that he easily claimed another Soca Monarch title on Saturday 9 July, 2023 at Carnival City, Victoria Park.

This was his twelfth title (a record that is not going to be matched far less surpassed for some time to come) and the ease with which he stamped his authority on the rest of the

field spoke not only of his guile, skill and knowledge of what it takes to win, but it also magnified the dearth of real competition from the rest of the field, many being debutants in the finals of the Soca Monarch Competition.

That the race was missing some big names in the genre should not take away from ‘Fireman’s’ victory, but it certainly would not be unkind to say that the overall competition lacked substance.

‘Fireman’s’ 2023 winning number ‘Madness’ didn’t seem to have the same lyrical punch and vibration and drive of some of his previous competition winners. But when he was done giving his stage interpretation to the song, and even that was subdued this year, it simply soared to another level which the opposition could not reach.

Those who followed the ‘King of Soca’ put their all into their performances.

First timer Kahm ‘Fligh’ Haynes took second place, doing a number ‘Farmer’, aided and abetted by a preponderance of vegetation — bananas trees includedsomething that we had seen at Victoria Park long before ‘Fligh’ used the props. Notwithstanding

three of the debutants who enjoyed frequent plays at fetes and seemed to have won over a certain following: Kertis ‘Gully’ Marshall — ‘Why de cat in de rain’; Esron ‘Esron’ Spielbery — ‘Headway’; and Ishatta ‘Shatta’ Da Silva — ‘Long fi see town’.

There were fifteen contenders (including defending monarch Fireman) for this year’s Soca Monarch title.

Not more than four of these would have had previous berths in the competition making it, as one patron told THE VINCENTIAN, “A competition for the novices.”

Even so, there were at least

‘Shatta’ had brought some level of ‘royalty’ with him to the finals of the national competition, he having won the 2023 Soca Monarch competitions in South Leeward, Georgetown and Bequia.

‘Gully’ was not allowed to perform on the night of competition because, according to the Carnival Development Corporation, he did not rehearse with the band.

Unfortunately, even those

The people have spoken: Fireman

“THE PEOPLE SPOKE TONIGHT. So, I cannot go against the masses, the masses have boundless power.”

So said Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper as he spoke with THE VINCENTIAN shortly after being crowned Soca Monacrh following a competition on Saturday 8th July, in which he disposed of fourteen other contenders.

While pointing to his fellow competitors as having quite a bit of work ahead, he admitted, “Me, myself, still have a lot of work to do, I never stop learning… and everybody has something to say so you have to listen everybody.”

According to Hooper the new Soca artistes needed some advice.

“They do things the way they see it and just leave it like that,” Hooper observed.

He explained that he has been doing Soca music for a very long time and that he still seeks advice.

According to Hooper, some of the artistes who performed

at the Soca Monarch and who did not place may not return next year because they see it as competition.

“But music is my life, I do music and I just don’t do Soca music to come to Soca Monarch. I do music for every other thing,” he said.

And he credited his team for his success over the years saying that he has a very strong team.

“My team determines my success,” Hooper said and explained that his team consists of the same set of people and are known as ‘Team Fire’.

“It is the same set of people, and they are known as ‘Team Fire’. ‘Team Fire’ never changes, if someone goes away then we will slip someone else in who has something positive to say to add to the team… that’s how we really work,” he told THE VINCENTIAN.

And for those in the public who are of the opinion that it is time to give the youngsters a chance, Hooper said that he still has a lot to

with some following going into the show, failed to fire on the night making it all the more justified for ‘Fireman’ to declare himself ‘Ruler of the Land’.

complete and that he cannot leave his work unfinished.

“If you leave your work, who is going to do it?” (DD)

Kemmy Christopher, 3rd place, is still young but has been around for some time and continues to stay among the top performing artistes.

Kahm ‘Fligh’ Haynes, ‘Farmer’ in song and garb, was second on his first try.

Delroy Fireman Hooper has no plans to vacate the Soca Monarch or the Soca scene anytime soon.

Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper was confident enough going into the 2023 Soca Monarch Competition that he wore a ‘King’s crown.

FOR SALE

Managing Director: Desiree Richards

Editor: Cyprian Neehall

Telephone: 784-456-1123 Fax: 784-451-2129

Website: www.thevincentian.com

Email: thevincentianpublishing@gmail.com

Mailing Address: The Vincentian Publishing Co. Ltd.,

P.O. Box 592, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Editorial

Carnival and Development

THE REVELRY IS OVER. We will attempt to return to our ‘normal’ lives but if the truth be told, even as we strain to get into that mode many of us will be preparing for the next big party, Vincymas 2024. It seems that is how we are wired in this technology and social media driven society

Amidst all the revelry, fetes, music and dazzling costumes, and the changing course of our culture, which is supposedly dynamic and not static, there is a more serious dimension to this thing we call carnival.

For beyond its draw as a multisensorial cultural display, carnival is also about serving economic drivers and community builders, a potential that just might still not be genuinely embraced by government and policymakers, since they continue to pay only lip service to carnival and how it can truly improve the lives of people in SVG.

Yes, we hear this and that technocrat speaking a language that says beyond the sequins of the costumes and the music, carnival is (supposed) to be an expression of the potential of the creative industries. (There’s that new expression which makes the modern day technocrat feel like he/she has invented something new.)

Has anyone stopped to do a detailed study of how much revenue carnival is responsible for encouraging, producing? It’s high time we stop talking the talk and walk the walk.

We owe the creatives (there’s another new word) … not only to qualify their contribution to the country’s GDP but to quantify it. … to give it real meaning.

‘Creatives’ deserve our recognition for it is they who, having been born into the tradition of carnival, it is in their blood and they maintain that organic connection as the basis for the growth of carnival.

That is why, more and more there are those who say carnival is not just a 10-day event; it is part of our being… it offers opportunity for business.

Take it or leave it, carnival generates temporary and permanent jobs before it formally starts, hiring in the process local artisans, musicians, costume makers, hospitality staff.

But understanding carnival is more

than examining its economic significance. There can be no complete study of carnival or no real understanding of this immensely powerful experience if we do not take into account its social role.

The carnival is not just revelry and music. It is a tool for social impact and cultural promotion. That is why it is important to work with children and youth to pass on our values and cultural manifestations, teaching them to appreciate our roots and rhythms.

Inclusiveness and diversity are at the core of carnivals. From their very origins, they emerged as celebrations for all: the rich and the poor; women and men; the religious and the nonbelievers.

Carnival is meant to make all attendees equal, blurring racial, financial, social and gender barriers. Although it represents traditions and heritage, it is characterized by its ability to evolve with the times, expanding to encompass groups that were historically marginalized.

As times evolve, carnival — as any other tradition — needs to keep up the pace, not only to secure is existence, but to find more ways to benefit the communities they serve and engage greater audiences.

The carnival of the future should cease to focus solely on the number of visitors they receive. In order to turn them into engines of development of their cities, government must strengthen specific typologies of tourism.

While there are many opportunities to integrate carnivals and the creative industries, efforts to do so are still incipient. For that reason, we should consider hosting an event that has as its theme, ‘Co-Creating the Carnival of the Future”, in which representatives of the government join members of the private sector, academics and carnivalrelated actors and carnival makers in identifying the challenges of the main celebration and exploring solutions.

Public policy has a large role to play in increasing regulations over heritage, investment on folkloric groups and entrepreneurship as well as the advent of new economic models to safeguard carnivals.

LET’S TAKE A MOMENTand pause together this weekend. Let’s put our heads over our hearts and think for a moment what we are doing to ourselves. I lost count of the number of killings we had so far this year; no kidding, I had to google it to be sure. Twenty-six at the half-year marker. When will we as a nation say enough already? Come on, Mr. Police Commissioner, the time to study the situation is over. We need to know what the plan is. Actually, I’ll say forget the plan; just tell us what you are doing. The nation needs reassurance that you are working on controlling this crisis. The longer you wait to roll out the perfect programme, the more we are likely to move to state of anarchy.

The good news this week was that your folks arrested the persons who allegedly injured the Cuban doctor. Congratulations to the investigating and arresting team. If we had a few more of these rapid responses to some of the less-known locals who were victims of equally horrific crimes, we would rest a little easier at night. Once again, congratulations to the police department for the speedy arrest of suspects in the senseless attack on the Cuban doctor in Kingstown last week.

I wish Dr. Alfredo Salgado a swift and full recovery and hope that despite his unfortunate experience, he will remain in SVG to provide the valuable services he was giving to our nation. I hope this incident does not deter other skilled doctors from coming to SVG.

So was it luck that the police could quickly arrest someone or a case of them dealing with the dumbest criminal in SVG? Or a firsthand demonstration of “my theory that important things (in this case, person) will get from those in authority full attention and action.”

Again, I am glad that someone was arrested this quickly, and I hope it’s the right person and not a case of us

world

arresting someone because of the victim’s high profile. History throughout the world is full of these examples of innocent people detained to satisfy the political pressure being brought to bear on the police.

Let us not forget that many friends and relatives are still awaiting successful arrests and prosecution of over half of the victims of senseless killing this year. We are going to need each other to be kind. We are going to need each other to be understanding because things are going to be difficult. But please, let’s not become a nation of thought and prayers after every killing.

Ok, another thing on the international front: Can anyone please explain to me with a straight face the wall-to-wall coverage of those rich folks who died during the joyride under the sea to see the remains of the Titanic? Right about that same time, a ship carrying over seven hundred migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. Just over one hundred people were rescued, and eighty bodies were recovered. Now this is not new news, for over 2,000 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, and over 27,000 in the last ten years.

As if this type of news isn’t bad enough, more killing and distraction lie ahead in the proxy war between USA and Russia fought in Ukraine. After five hundred days of fighting, the USA is now going to arm the Ukrainians with Cluster Bombsbombs that keep on killing long after the war is officially over. They are so destructive that more than one hundred nations have banned the use and production of them.

The world just nuh level ah tal.

Horatio

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

“Donkey say the

nuh level”

MR. EDITOR, my friend, there I was recently at a bar in downtown Kingston with some of my Jamaican pals, having the usual Friday-afterwork drink and discussing issues of the day. I shouldn’t have to tell you what the topic was? One guess. Yes, you guessed right. CRICKET.

Who killed Agriculture?

Not just cricket but the performance of our West Indies in the World Cup Qualifiers.

We were getting ready to face Scotland and you should hear me, the diehard West Indies supporter, here me telling my pals:

‘Don’t lose your heads, fellows. We’re going to make it to India. This is not the time for us fans to lambast the players. The thing isn’t over till it’s over, so cool it. I believe in the boys. With their backs against the wall they will come out fighting and prove all them media persons wrong. I believe in Hope, Pooran, Joseph, Hosein. I believe in all of them. I believe in the West Indies. And most of all, fellows, and ah don’t care if you say is because I from a small island, but I know Sammy is going to take control of the camp and get the best out of the boys’.

Well, Mr. Editor, you know what happened. West Indies fall flat on their face.

AH FEEL SHAME. And a staying away from the bar for a few Fridays.

Paul Kingston, Jamaica.

Ah feel shame!!! Soca down, Ragga up

WAS THE BANANA GROWERS ASSOCIATION taken over and “nolle prosequi”? Did the Arrowroot Association suffer the same fate? Do extension officers function in the same manner that they did years ago? How about the Marketing Cooperation? What became of it? Virgin coconut oil is nutritionally on par with olive oil. What has become of that industry? What became of the coconut water bottling plant? Is the farine factory in operation? What is happening with cocoa and the medical cannabis operations? Can our fishermen link up with Grenada to secure the export market? When would fish be available on demand to the local population?

Lamentations heard at many wakes echo with strains of, “no one cares for me.” Were they singing about the farmer, the farm or the agriculture industry?

“Agriculture is a thing of the past.” This apparent proclamation by a high government official, was it a reflection of official policy?

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it.”

agriculture, is referred to as a “yam digger.”

I JUST MIGHT BEin the majority when I say that something was missing from this year’s Soca Monarch. Don’t know if it was the quality of songs or just that the artistes lacked creativity. Too much of the same thing. It was a foregone conclusion that the veteran Fireman would get the judges’ nod.

The Ragga Soca was something else

though. I thought it lived up to expectations, especially the winning song.

Javid ‘Jay R’ Rouse not only had the best song in the competition but he delivered with style and confidence. He was going to be hard to beat. And he can sing, really sing. The man was deserving of his victory and the radio stations need to play his song (Love of carnival) more. It is as good as any Ragga Soca I have heard in a long time.

PEOPLE ARE ASKING:

* HAS THERE BEENa decrease in patronage of the CDC shows all of which were held at Victoria Park?

* Is the local promotion/advertising of Vincymas now confined to social media, some radio stations and TV?

* Will we get from the tourism people an idea of how many people visited SVG for Vincymas 2023?

* Can we expect that the Department of Culture or whosoever, will see to it that persons are assigned to work with the school steelbands so that we can return to separate competitions for the Junior Panorama.

* Have we gone too far with the lewd behaviour at the carnival fetes especially?

* Was the privately-owned media invited to the opening of the Temporary Parliament Building located in Calliaqua?

* Maybe we should have a public forum on what ‘service’ actually means so that we could understand why we have to have all these private pension bills?

Congrats to ‘Jay R’ and ‘Fireman’.

Charles, Edinboro

(Genesis 2:5) Despite its noble and honorable beginning, there has been a concerted effort to degrade and devalue Agriculture and Agricultural workers. Many years ago, when two novice teachers joined the staff of a secondary school, the one with A levels was appointed to grade 11 while the other who studied agriculture was placed in grade 1, despite both having 2 years of tertiary education.

Even though slavery was abolished since 1834, many stigmatize the cultivation of land as bondage and refer to it in derogatory terms. Agronomist James Mitchell, did not retain the Agriculture ministry, even though it was the area of his expertise.

Roland Matthews, the NDP shadow minister of

Saboto Caesar, the Minister of Agriculture, is perhaps not assigned to another ministry because it will enhance his leadership profile. Farmers were encouraged to abandon their farms to become watchmen. Some were put on ”non-contributory poor relief” by the National Insurance Services. Some institutions are refusing to accept the Farmers ID as a valid picture ID. Agriculture by and large was only taught in “rural” secondary schools.

Some have the false idea that the professions populated by the poor do not need any education. Consequently fishermen, farmers, construction workers, auto mechanics and technicians leave secondary school without adequate preparation in the basic sciences of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Not even farmers recognize the value of the work they do. They judge their success by boasting of the education they gave their children using farm proceeds to make them leaders in other fields. If farmers themselves do not think of farming as a worthy profession for their children to pursue, who then would

modernize the farms and make them viable?

In the mean time food insecurity workshops are being held in Union Island. Little or no consideration is being given to the three most important factors:

1. Adequate water supply,

2. Crop destroying stray animals on the loose/fencing of farms,

3. Resident Agricultural Extension Officer.

Israeli consultants from a few years ago did say to call them when we are serious enough to get rid of the stray animals. Is it true that “no one cares” for the industry, and the farm, not even the farmer himself?

Anthony G. Stewart, PhD

Cuba has saved 8 million lives

DEAR RENRICK,

I HAVE READ where you wrote in the newspaper that Cuba saved Eight Million lives worldwide. Kudos to Cuba.

We in the St. Vincent have been a relatively free country long before the Cuban Revolution, even before our so-called independence. I am from Union Island and travelled freely in the Caribbean. My fore parents were owners of ships (boats, sloops and schooners at first) traversing the Southern Caribbean with goods. In times of natural disaster, we did not look to Government to rebuild house for us. We rebuilt.

By your persistent reference to Cuba’s assistance to us in one form or another, it is as if we as a

nation are condemned to be perpetual recipients of other people’s hard labour. Can’t you and your close friends writeencouraging our people to be more productive in whatever they do?

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has had people trained in all areas needed for the proper development: the Caribbean region, the UK, Canada, USA, Venezuela, Israel, Cuba, Mexico, Taiwan, Ghana, France, et al.

For a nation with such a small population, don’t you think we should have been more developed than we are? The people should have been much less dependent upon politicians for jobs, houses, transportation, health services, education, etc.

As ridiculous as it may sound,

the following are simple examples:-

(1) To get a firearm;

(2) To get a job anywhere in the public sector;

(3) To be granted citizenship;

(4) To be granted public assistance, poor relief, housing or education;

(5) Public assistance in whatever area and purchase of a farm vehicle, receipt of inputs or even a farmer’s registration card;

(6) To be recruited for farm work overseas and more.

….and Renrick, you of all persons should know how projects are executed in this country, use your influence.

Best of luck as we exit our stay.

Hugh Stewart - 08.07.2023

Blondie and Friends dominate Mas

FOLLOWING ON THE SUCCESSin

the Junior Mas category, Blondie Bird and Friends dominated this year’s ‘Band of the Year’ competition.

and team won this year’s ‘Band of the Year’ title amassing 327 points with the presentation ‘Birds of a Feather’, the work of ace designerOswald ‘Ossie’ Constance.

Nelson Bloc was 2nd (324 points) with their presentation ‘Papillon’ and SVG Players International 3rd (310 points) with ‘Players Love’.

In the ‘Individual of the Band’ competition, Nelson Bloc took top honours with ‘SteamPunk Butterfly’. Blondie Bird and Friends had to settle for the runner-up spot with ‘King Cobo’ and Verlene Ralph and the Professionals 3rd with ‘We salute you’. ‘Bird and Friends’ would dominate in both the ‘Best use of Colour’ and ‘Uptown’ competitions.

Mirage Productions ‘The Deep’ placed 2nd in the ‘Best use of Colour’ category with Oxygen Mas SVG’s ‘The Good Life’ coming in 3rd.

And in the ‘Uptown’ competition, Mirage took the runner-up spot, SVG Players International 3rd and Oxygen Mas SVG 4th.

No surprise

For the team at Blondie Bird and Friends, the news of their success came as no surprise — even though it was their first victory in three years.

Elroy ‘Blondie Bird’ Boyde, leader of the mas band, told THE VINCENTIAN. “Everybody does feel good when they win, but we done win

has now rubbed off on him, he “I have been in Mas for over 50

years in the art form, [so] it comes like second nature to me,” he told THE VINCENTIAN. While the rest of the team was outside celebrating, Boyde reflected that winning was not that big a deal to him.

Boyde took the opportunity to highlight the challenge of inadequate production space faced by many of the mas bands.

“If we could get a space, if we have that, then we would have been able to enter this year’s King and Queen Competitions,” Boyde said with an air of disappointment, since this was the first time in its 29 years of active involvement in Vincymas, that the Band had no entrants in these competitions.

Nevertheless, the work must continue and according to Boyde, beginning in August the team is expected to meet and begin planning for its 2024 presentation. By early next year, they should be ready to launch their presentation to the public.

A total of 12 bands participated in this year’s Band of the Year competition. In addition to those

already mentions, the others included Ahdrenlin (Celebration 23), Beautex International (Natural Remedies), Imagination Mas Band (Tell it like it

is), Leeward International Mas Band (Africa is we), Melbourne Artisans (Climate Change) and Tribes Mas Band (De Market Place). (DD)

From ‘Players Love’ the 2023 presentation SVG Players International Mas Band.

A section of butterflies from Nelson Bloc’s ‘Papillon’ that was second in the Band of the Year competition.

From the band of the Year, ‘Birds of a Feather’ presented by Blondie Bird and Friends.

Elroy ‘Blondie Bird’ Boyde strikes a pose of satisfaction as he watches the final section of his band leaving the stage at Victoria Park.

“The moment of drifting into thought has been clipped by modern technology. Our lives are filled with distraction with smartphones and all the rest. People are so locked into not being present.” - Glen Hansard (born 1970) – Solo artist, singer, and actor.

THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY defines distraction as “directing one’s attention away from something else”. It can also be interpreted to mean “a thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else; a diversion or recreation; an activity that you do for pleasure.” Based on the foregoing, we can understand and appreciate that some distractions can generate positive results while others will not. Distractions can be positive (i.e., when they provide recreation and/or generate pleasure) or negative (i.e., when they direct our attention away from tasks that are considered important or positive).

We can broaden the discourse by considering positive distractions as those that assist us in avoiding the monotonies of life. These could be activities that are less mentally demanding and therefore considered to be a good way to break into the mood to do more serious tasks. For example, we may have a very important assignment but opt to do a less important task (as a distraction) while our mental faculties warm up to the more mentally demanding exercise. Negative distractions, on the other hand, are those activities that lure us away from assignments considered important. Such undertakings may be deemed unproductive or “out of sequence” as they lure us away from our noble goals and objectives. These can be viewed as detours along life’s journey that rid us of valuable time that can be better utilized. As useful as smartphones are, these can entice the innocent, unsuspecting, and illdisciplined user to swerve into activities considered as timewasters. We need to develop the discipline to make sure that we avoid getting distracted by activities that have little or nothing to do with the pursuit of our noble goals. These unhealthy detours can seem to be so easily accomplished if/when we settle for mediocrity. This can so often lull us into a feeling of complacency and, in so doing, distract us from the pursuit of greatness. Robin Sharma (born 1964), the accomplished Canadian writer, provides us with some useful contrasts when he noted that, “Less distraction, more focus. Less gossip, more encouragement. Less past, more future. Less toxicity, more positivity.” A more intense focus on our goals will ignite the energy needed for us to obtain and maintain more positivity and greater accomplishments in life. Today’s students are especially cautioned to avoid the distractions that will lure them away from their studies. Sita Sutapa, writing in an article published in Living Life on November 7, 2015 and titled “5 Distractions in a Student’s Life and How to Avoid Them!” noted that students are regularly distracted by social media, smart phones and other electronics, flirting, chit-chats, and movies/TV shows. While his research and observations were based on students in a developed country it is probably accurate to note that similar findings are possible should we examine the activities of students in

emerging economies like ours. The distractions created by the social media and smart phones may be especially evident.

Sutapa noted that “It is not surprising to find students who spend more of their time lavishly on things that cause distraction rather than pursuing their careers in this fastpaced world. We find that we can never complete a task within the deadline; we procrastinate.”

Conversations with secondary and tertiary level students confirm the accuracy of such statements. Too many appear to be too easily distracted when required to focus on their assignments. The absence of focus result in some students finding themselves rushing to complete tasks as a result of their procrastination. It is therefore not surprising that so many such individuals discover that they could have obtained better grades if they had disciplined themselves to engage in better time management practices and had dedicated to time needed to employ more detailed research and/or greater accuracy in portraying their thoughts.

The temptation to multi-task can sometimes be a distraction. While seeking to perform more than one task simultaneously may seem to increase productivity, it can have the converse affect. It is extremely challenging to do multiple tasks at maximum efficiency. In some instances, multitasking can be considered impolite (as in the case when individuals are in a meeting or at the dinner table but find it “convenient” to check email or WhatsApp messages). In other cases, it could be considered quite dangerous (as on those occasions when individuals seek to drink and drive or to send email messages and/or check Facebook while driving).

Many consider social media to be the most debated distraction of the modern-day citizen. Addictive social media sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Tick Tock, and Twitter can quite easily hinder students from concentrating on their studies. Some workplaces are also plagued by similar practices. These can present strong temptations for such individuals to waste their time exploring and sharing content that may not necessarily be adding knowledge and/or value. Concerned adults such as parents, teachers, and other well-wishers must therefore continue to play a major role in guiding such vulnerable individuals to develop the discipline to avoid indulging in excessive and/or inappropriate use of their smart phones, tablets, computers, and similar technological gadgets. Balance must be the hallmark of the disciplined student.

Regardless of the type and intensity of the distraction, we all possess the ability to retain a focus on our noble ambitions and dreams. We are grateful for the power of choice. We choose the path that we will take when the distractions emerge. We decide whether the diversion will have power over us or whether we will have the strength of character, the fortitude, to resist the temptation to be distracted.

Gonsalves pours new wine in old bottles

IN HIS QUEST for a sixth consecutive term in office, Gonsalves may be knocked out on election night, but he is preparing to go down fighting or come out triumphant.

Last Tuesday, Gonsalves continued his mid-term tradition of shuffling and shaking, thus presenting new, fresh, young faces to the voting public. He nominated Benarva Browne as a senator and endowed her with the ministerial post of Urban Development, Seaports, Airports, Energy, Local Government and Grenadines Affairs.

Browne, 33, replaces Senator Julian Francis, a skilled and combative debater and the party’s chief political whip in parliament, who occupied his parliamentary and ministerial posts since the ULP came to power in 2001. Francis, 71, was stricken with a stroke last July and must have told his cousin and political leader that he had had enough.

Significantly though, Browne joins Keisal Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as yet another young ‘jewel’ in Gonsalves’ experimental mantelpiece. Peters has nightmarish dreams of defeating Daniel Cummings in the next elections. Rumour has it that Browne, an Urban Planning professional, is politically ambitious and may be angling to push aside Attorney General Grenville William to tackle Nigel Stevenson for the South Leeward constituency. Whosoever emerges as labour candidates will lose, but the appointments show that Gonsalves’ ability and passion for woeing, up-and-coming professionals remain unabated. Williams joined the administration in November 2022.

Last May, Hospital Administrator Grace Walters was nominated as the ULP candidate for North Windward.

In all of these reshuffling over the years, the party favourite to replace Gonsalves, as reflected in the ‘Caesar! Caesar! Chant’ at the party’s last convention, Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar continues to receive Gonsalves’ perfect middle finger. Carlos James at Tourism and Culture, Keisal Peters at Foreign Affairs, and Benarva Browne have all been given substantive, high-profile ministries. Caesar continues his banishment at agriculture, whose halcyon days Gonsalves has repeatedly said are in the past.

With the announcement that Francis will take up a position as a special advisor to the prime minister, Gonsalves continues the tradition of offering cushy sinecures as retirement packages to his loyal servants. He tends his flock well. Sir Vincent was a special adviser long into his eighties; Sir Louis Straker is a special advisor, Rene Baptiste is the great helm man

at VINLEC; Elvis Charles is at Land and Housing Development Corporation; Debbie Charles is the new Clerk of the House of Assembly. And the band continues to play ULP’s anthem ‘Feathering the Nest.’ While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with hiring politically connected people to positions of power and authority, these postings must never be done so that some can ‘continue to eat ah food.’

Grace Walters’ nomination as ULP candidate with more than two years before elections are due is a troubling development, a senior public servant, Walters should be a model of professionalism and independence. How does she relate to known opposition activists or politicians who approach her for information and advice at the hospital? She can properly be charged with carrying a partisan agenda even as she holds a significant position in the public health sector. Debbie Charles’ appointment as Clerk of the House of Assembly is equally troubling. The Clerk’s position has historically been a civil service post. For the first time in living memory, it has now taken on a political flavour. Will Charles, a known minion of Gonsalves, bring the traditional and expected civil servant ‘objectivity’ to the post?

Is this how our government should be run?

There is a lot in Gonsalves’ style of leadership to frown on. Over the last 20 years, he has remodelled, some say, dismantled all state institutions, particularly the police force and the civil service. His tentacles dig deeply into Central Water and Sewage Authority (CWSA), BOSVG, Port Authority, Vinlec, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Service Authority (FSA). This pervasive meddling cannot be in the best interest of good administration. Favouritism and party affiliation are the central criteria for advancement in the public sector. Gonsalves may go down in history as the most intrusive, meddlesome and destructive. It may take decades to resurrect a transparent, functioning, efficient and effective state bureaucracy.

Because of the destabilization, dislocation and wreckage, Gonsalves has caused to the state institutions, all of his recent manoeuvrings may come to nought. Increasingly, more citizens see the window dressing as just that: new wine in old, dirty bottles.

Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to jomosanga@gmail.com

Gasping through Smoke in Yambou

officers were very cordial and supportive. They promised to report the matter to their superiors. I suspect that on a few occasions they visited the area. What measures did they actually take? This was not communicated to me. The coal-mine lives on.

IT IS 12:30AMand I have just given up the fight for a peaceful night’s rest to a coal pit that has been lit since June 22nd, 2023.

The stench gets worse at 3am when the rebellious, smoky air glides straight into my back window even if it is closed. This coal pit has a fighting spirit which conquered Tropical Storm Bret and all of the other waves which followed. This coal pit seems to be a business which is renewed and strengthened on a regular basis. There are usually more than one thriving coal pits in the area at any given time. The owners go home to their unpolluted neighbourhoods. I cannot call my boss and tell him or her that I did not sleep so I am not coming to work. This area is a residential community. There are times when I have to seek shelter by my family or a friend’s house.

Firstly, I fell in love with the clean air, solitude and fertile soil which defined Yambou a million years ago. Now I am awakened by the continuous knocking of smoke which causes laboured breathing, irritated eyes, a sore throat, insomnia and more. It seems like I am living in a scary movie. When my neighbour was first diagnosed with cancer, while reviewing

her chest x-ray images the doctor had asked her if she was a smoker because she had seen smoke on her lungs.

In addition to this immediate problem, soot from the asphalt plant in Argyle traverses up through the residential river channel in Yambou. I can no longer hang clothes outside. Some persons in the area suffer from asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, cancer and more. We cannot breathe.

The polluted air circles around our houses, even if you move to another room, it is a stalker. Your life is at risk. It lingers, it stinks, it climbs down your throat, it invades the privacy of your home, and it prevents productivity. It steals normalcy and healthy living. Fungi grows when you are locked in from smoke and tiles can pop up. The curtains wear the reek of smoke. Soot dust decorates the porch and it stains walls. It is summer, when the house is closed from smoke the heat is unbearable.

I am extremely thankful that I am neither in Haiti nor Ukraine but it is really disheartening to pay a mortgage every month and be denied the basic right to unpolluted air.

Who shall I really turn to for help? I thank God for the rain which he sends but this is no

match for the fire magicians in Yambou. Several calls and visits were made to the Mespo Police Station. The

My deceased grandmother from Diamond once told me a story in a dream of her first coal pit. She had set a coal pit on her lands in the river channel in Yambou. She had a conflict with the coal-pit setters. There was no one to pick the coal pit so it had burned for a year. Some of the neighbours had protested while some had died.

Who shall we really turn to for help?

Gasper

Bacchanal in Carnival

ACCORDING TO OUR HISTORIANS, the festive occasion of carnival evolved after the Emancipation Proclamation. It follows therefore, that the cultural expression celebrating this grand occasion should be one of the most significant times on our calendar. In my opinion, this festive occasion shouldn’t be just a time of merriment but also one that bears a solemn occasion, just like the advent of the Hebrew Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt. Sadly, we have become freaky and nasty like the Greeks and Roman freaks.

The symbolism of carnival hasn’t lived up to its true ideal…. derived through the spirits of the Africans that found themselves in the tropical Trade Wind archipelago of the West Indies. Therefore, the carnival should reflect the triumph and victory of an emancipated people while showcasing our cultural creativity. We must hold on to our culture to prevent us from slaughtering each other like killer beasts.

Never Forget

We must never forget from whence we came. As a people who experience the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism, we must remember the whipping and shackles that bound our ancestors from expressing themselves verbally and culturally in the presence of the slave master who showed no sympathy or empathy for a people whom they branded

subhuman, savages, and animals; relegating us as the scum of the earth.

Emancipation Proclamation

So they say carnival began after the Emancipation Proclamation. Carnival should be a time of reflection on our lives, giving thanks to the Creator that we have made it thus far despite the brutality that our ancestors suffered and the hurdles, stumbling blocks, put in place by the imperialist nations of Europe, the parasitic WTO, IMF, and the World Bank.

Giving the Youth a Perspective

As many peace-loving people wish, there should never be war and strife in the carnival only oneness of a people living harmoniously with one another and who come together to building structures that work to our benefit. Carnival should be a time when we should have some serious dialogue - symposiums, and other forums to discuss the state and condition of our affairs, like Post (Slavery) Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the crab-in-abarrel mentality and other isms and schisms we encounter daily. It should be a time for new thinking, pushing aside old, disruptive norms, ushering in new ideas to make us a force to be reckoned with as we take our place among the world’s nations.

Too Much Decadence

Alas, alas! There is so much bacchanal in the carnival, too much decadence and lowlife behavior. Some young people have no respect for law and order. The baby boomers are on a downward path to destruction. The music they ‘jig’ to is empty and shallow; it has no substance to stimulate the minds and hearts of our people destroyed by the wicked Babylonian system. There is no consciousness in the music, absolutely none to raise the minds of the youth from decadence and criminal behavior. The so-called soca music is a cesspool of damaging lyrics to keep us mentally enslaved.

Two Positive Aspects

However, there are two positive aspects of carnival: (1) the creative genius of the costume builders; (2) the calypsonians who in their social commentaries sing about the plight of the downtrodden, poverty-stricken, and indigent. The calypsonians expose the wretched gatekeepers of colonialism, those foxy politicians who keep the masses dumb and ignorant.

A Time to Reflect

If carnival is derived from the Emancipation Proclamation, it must encompass and symbolize a time of reflecting on the atrocities faced by our ancestors and their triumph over adversity to become free human beings. There shouldn’t be any bacchanal in the carnival.

By: Carden A. Michael

The continuous emission of smoke from the coal pit causes, among other discomforts, problems with breathing.

Not one of the better prepared coal pits in St. Vincent but still a nuisance to residents within its vicinity.

Special Needs Children Celebrate Carnival

THE STUDENTSat the School for Children with Special Needs, Kingstown, were not excluded from 2023 Vincymas festivities.

On June 28th the youngsters had a fantastic time at the School’s playground, where they engaged in some carnival-type activities, e.g. facepainting, games, and danced to music provided by Rohan ‘DjKano’ Cornwall.

Some of the students even got the opportunity to try their fingers on the ‘ones’ and ‘twos’ of the turn tables.

And there was no want of frolicking in the ‘Powder Play’ which allowed for them to adorn themselves in ‘painted t-shirts and dust themselves extravagantly with powder, in a mini reproduction of J’Ouvert.

The children were also entertained by artistes from “So Mean Records”.

The end of year (school year) festival has been ongoing for about 8 years but was put on pause in 1991 through to 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and disruption caused by the volcanic eruption.

The objective of the festival is to provide students with opportunities that they may not otherwise get to experience the country’s culture of carnival, in a safe and controlled environment.

This year’s festival theme was “A Colourful Expression of Self” with sponsors from Frisko, Tus-t Water, Randy’s Bakery, Randy’s Diamond, C. K. Greaves, National Lotteries Authority, One 784 Promotions, Xtreme FM and Rohan “Djkano’ Cornwall. (SG)

Time for a game of ‘Connection Four, it looks like.

This is what it looked like when you get involved in the ‘Powder Play’.

This student was one of the lucky ones who got a chance to operate the controls of the DJ’s equipment.

Count two more homicides: One shot, one chopped

POLICE HERE HAVE CONFIRMEDthat Ravito Ronaldo Bertram Llewellyn Jr. a twenty-four (24) yearold Sion Hill/Fairbairn Pasture resident, was fatally shot by a police officer, in Fairbairn Pasture on Thursday 6th July, 2023.

The police did not give the name, rank nor sex of the officer. Suffice it to say, speculation is rife that the officer in question was a female.

Police did say as much that they have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the homicide.

The investigation will determine whether or not a Coroner’s Inquest would be held into this fatal shooting incident.

According to preliminary information disclosed by the police, Llewellyn was shot at about 4:00 a.m. while ‘he reportedly was attempting to unlawfully enter the apartment where the officer resides.’

The District Medical Officer was summoned to the scene and pronounced Mr. Llewellyn dead.

He died at the scene, wearing only a boxer and a pair of slippers, the police confirmed.

And in keeping with what has been a period of heightened activity for the police here, officers were called out to a

dwelling house in Dorsetshire Hill in the early hours of Monday (July 10) morning.

This, after a report was made that 26-yearold Sherol Lenteria Phyllis Knights was discovered lying motionless in the family home by a relative, with what appeared to be chop wounds on her body.

The police confirmed this report on arrival at the scene.

Post-mortem examinations will be conducted on both of the deceased to determine the causes of death.

Llewellyn and Knights’ deaths bring the number of homicides to 28, inclusive of three deaths as a result of police actions.

Another homicide??

And police are investigating the death of Ronald Deshong, 21, of Gibson Corner.

A source told THE VINCENTIAN, Deshong was reportedly seen lying on the side of the road by a woman around 5am on Saturday.

He was apparently still conscious when the woman checked him and she called for an ambulance from the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital where he died on Monday.

Preliminary examinations, according to the source, indicate that Deshong showed signs of having been hit in his head.

A post mortem was to be conducted on the man’s body during the week.

No report has yet been received on whether this was done and if so, what the results concluded as the cause of death of Deshong.

Phyllis Knights is the second female resident of Dorsetshire Hill to be murdered this year.

Ravito Ronaldo Bertram Llewellyn Jr was reportedly shot while attempting to illegally enter a dwelling house.

‘Headways’ lands man in hospital

A MAN WHO GAVE HIS NAME only as Dwight had to be taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital after performing ‘a headways’ during the Soca Monarch competition.

He said that he felt motivated by the popular song ‘Headways’ sung by Esron Spielberg, to dive headways to show his happiness.

Dwight’s act was not done during the performance of Spielberg. Instead, it was dome an act of ‘happiness’ as soon as Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hoopers was declared the winner of the competition.

“When Fireman win soca monarch me mek the ‘headways’. Me skate pon me mouth and mek a headers straight over,” said Dwight, adding that when firemen said, “Madness, run for cover”, that was the moment he performed the headways.

He sustained damages to his face including lips and which warranted him getting 14 stiches.

Asked if he regretted his decision, his response was, “Me na regret. How me go regret and me talking to the journalist. Even though me mouth mash up, it go heal back.”

The man did say that he had been working “the whole time and me say me na going carnival and me end up in the carnival.”

His change of heart came after he met up with some good friends.

A number of persons were seen on social media performing dangerous physical acts. Some were seen jumping ‘headways’ into garbage bins, on to grass and over embankments.

The acts were in themselves very dangerous, had the potential to cause serious injuries leading the authorities to issue a notice urging persons to desist from such action. (KH)

This man who gave his name only as Dwight’ fell victim to the ‘Headways’ call.

BECKET inspires King of the Bands

THE BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY in the 2023 King of the Bands competition saw five costumes crossing the stage at Carnival City, Victoria Park last Sunday, July 9, during the Dimanche Gras show.

The mas bands represented were: SVG Players International;

Melbourne Artisans; Verlene Ralph and the Professionals; Beautex International; and Nelson Bloc.

Verlene Ralph and the Professionals with a presentation of “We Dancing — A Tribute to Dr. Alston Becket Cyrus - the ABC of Calypso” had already made an

impact its Queen of the Bands portrayal of, “St. Vincent I Thank You”. This time, as Ativan Lockhart crossed the stage portraying “We Salute You” the profoundness of the message grabbed the judges’ nod. Clad in graduation gown and surrounded by accolades

that spoke of achievement, the energized masquerader made a glowing tribute statement! The awarding institution was not left out as the crest of the University of the West Indies that bestowed the Honourable Doctorate on ‘Becket’ was prominently placed atop the costume.

In second position was Melbourne Artisans with the portrayal of “Monsterosity” from their “Climate Change” presentation. As seasoned masquerader Gordon ‘Tarya’ Boucher carried the costume across the stage, it was clear that something monstrous had manifested from climate-change conditions. With hinds of environmental greens and weird, never-before-seen creatures predominantly standing out at the sides, the point for “Monsterosity” was made.

The Nelson Bloc portrayal of “SteamPunk Butterfly” grabbed the third spot.

From its presentation of “Papillon”, masquerader Chewalee Johnson displayed a costume that gave a new meaning to ‘butterfly’. This time, modern technology was reversed and mechanics of earlier times was presented in a butterflylike figure. From sinuous legs, to huge piercing eyes, to cogs and wheels for wings, the mas band had made its impact.

SVG Players’ masquerader, Kelvin Billinghurst, promoted his bands’ “Players Love” with his portrayal of “Hottest Carnival in the Caribbean”. The costume, which one could say was hardly original and somewhat incomplete, boasted a steelpan at its top and what appeared to be representation of an vinyl LP record, seemed to suggest that the ‘heat’ of carnival emanated from the music.

Beautex

International’s presentation of “Natural Remedies”, saw its “Bush Doctor” portrayed in the competition, with an attempt to make the masquerader work in his natural setting. Surrounded by coconut branches and leaves of the medicinal trumpet bush tree, his black outfit completed the idea of mystery involved in mixing his portions. To heighten its flare, accents of gold and skirts of bronze were added. After all was said and done, the competition was present and the efforts of each band to put a portrayal on stage must be applauded. Patrons could now look forward to next year’s competition with anticipation of increased participation by Mas Bands, many predicating their non-involvement in 2023 to the lack of working space in which to build large, individual costumes.

Ativan Lockhart, no stranger to this competition, in the 2023 King of the Bands portrayal, “We Salute You”.

Veteran King of the Bands competitor Gordan ‘Tarya’ Boucher copped second place with “Monsterosity” from Melbourne Artisans’ - “Climate Change”.

Below: Anther view of the 2023 King of the Bands from Verlene Ralph and the Professionals’ “We Dancing – A Tribute to Dr. Alston Becket Cyrus - The ABC of Calypso”.

Chewalee Johnson, Soca artiste cum masquerader, in his King of the Bands portrayal “SteamPunk Butterfly”, from Nelson Bloc Mas Band’s “Papillon”.

Players seize 2023 Queen of the Bands

presentation of “Natural Remedies”.

Positioned at the centre of the costume, she was offset by two halfcircular panels on both sides, creating a decent frame to form the basis for the flowers and vines that would create the natural remedies. The masquerader was full of enthusiasm and her body outfit matched her task.

Nelson Bloc followed with a portrayal “MetamorphosisMaking of a Jeweled Butterfly”, from its “Papillons”

THE QUEEN OF THE BANDS competition returned to the Victoria Park stage forming part of the Dimanche Gras activity held last Sunday, July 9. Even with just five competing bands in the lineup, there was enough excitement that made for great rivalry.

The first contender, masquerader Pearl Williams from the band Beautex International Mas, portrayed “Wild Flower and Green Vine” from their

presentation. The masquerader was Alvern Ali Cadougan, and patrons could have seen the ease and enjoyment with which she presented. Placed at the centre of a floral garden, rife with huge, predominantly orange flowers, the process necessary for metamorphosis was evident as they seemed to be devoured by orange, spotted caterpillars, making the overall costume appealing to the eye.

Atika Lockhart, displayed a costume named, “St. Vincent I Thank You”, from “We Dancing: A Tribute to Dr. Alston Becket Cyrus”, a presentation of Verlene Ralph and the Professionals Mas Band. The production, the work of master builder Okley Lockhart, displayed several important symbols of SVG. The masquerader, enveloped in national colours, stood at centre proudly encased in a formation resembling a petroglyph, even as towering over her was a representation of mainland St. Vincent with the volcano sitting majestically at north. All this was beautifully completed with the signature Doric Temple from the Botanic Gardens at

the back of the costume.

SVG Players International Mas Band portrayal “Love is” came appropriately from a presentation entitled “Players Love”. Seasoned masquerader Jennilee Glasgow moved on stage to display a costume that opened itself to viewers’ interpretation of what love is. It featured the signature colours of red, with areas of pink outlined with silver and gold tones. The towering heart made the biggest statement and the tiny diamantes scattered strategically unified the theme. Of course, what is love without music? The musical notes were there to trigger that sentiment. A costume designed to include the masquerader front and centre, with circular formation at the bottom on a base propelled by wheels was easy to carry. Therein was “love”. Melbourne Artisans, put on, “Tsunami Threat” from their presentation titled: “Climate ChangeThe Vision”. The masquerader, Cleopatra Weekes, boasted a representation of a tsunami with a grotesque effigy at the top that signaled doom. The churned-up, deep-blue waves from billowing wings on both sides anchored by the similarly coloured skirt at her feet, made the point for walls of water moving in a direction with towering, frothy, lighter-blue waves in their wake — the masquerader simply obeying the powers of nature.

Upon the culmination of the contest, Jenilee Glasgow of Players International was adjudged winner. In second position was Atika Lockhart of Verlene

and

Ralph

the Professionals, with Nelson Bloc’s Alvern Ali Cadougan placing third.

Queen of the Bands, “Love is” displayed by Jennilee Glasgow from SVG Players International’s “Players Love.”

A view of the back of the Queen of the Bands costume.

Atika Lockhart placed second with a portrayal “St. Vincent I Thank You”, from “We Dancing: A Tribute to Dr. Alston Becket Cyrus”, a presentation of Verlene Ralph and the Professionals Mas Band.

Right: Third placed “Metamorphosis - Making of a Jeweled Butterfly”, from its Nelson Bloc’s “Papillon’, was displayed by Alvern Ali Cadougan.

Debutant takes Ragga Soca title

WHEN SOMEONEwins a race after a number of tries, the sense of accomplishment after not giving up is monumental. But when someone wins

that race on the very first try, that feeling is eternal.

There is no doubt that Javid ‘Jay-R’ Rouse feels that his life has been affected positively, after he copped the Ragga Soca Monarch title on his very first try.

Appearing on stage accompanied by dancers, he delivered a commanding performance of a song entitled ‘Love of Carnival’, his melodious voice and confidence blatant for all to hear and see. The use of live steelpan music by veteran pannist Kingsley “Hero” Roberts added to the songs overall impact. And as it was, one year on from having to absorb the disappointing of not making it through the preliminaries, Javid ‘Jay-R’ Rouse is the 2023 Ragga Soca Monarch of

St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

He comes from good soca pedigree. The 26year-old resident of Campden Park is the cousin of Derron ‘Magikal’ Rouse, who copped the Soca Monarch title in 2019.

What the two now share in common is that each has defeated Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper in national competition.

‘Magical dethroned ‘Fireman’ as Soca Monarch in 2019 and now, 4 years on, Jay-R, with a spirited but touching rendition, relegated ‘Fireman’, the defending Ragga Soca Monarch, to third place in this year’s competition. ‘Fireman’ did one he called ‘Sapodilla Woman’.

Another leading Ragga Soca artiste and former Ragga Soca Monarch (2019) - Hance John, who has established a wave of local support, took second place with ‘Bruk Out’.

‘Jam Dem’ was enough to land Omarion ‘Marlo’ Benn in fourth place.

And while there were a number of debutants among the 12 who faced the judges on the night of Friday 7th July, 2023 at Victoria Park, there were also notable names like Shaunelle Mckenzie (‘Doh Study Meh’) and Dennis Bowman (Tink Butt Easy), a former Soca Monarch (1997) of ‘Voom Voom’ fame.

In an interview with THE VINCENTIAN newspaper, ‘Jay-R’ said he was overjoyed when it was announced that he was the new King of Ragga Soca.

Asked about when it all began for him, he shared that he started singing at his alma mater, the Bethel high School, Campden Park. He was later introduced to the stage and competition through the Skinny Fabulous NEXT BIG THING, when he was only 15 years old.

“I entered soca since it was a way to have my voice heard and in 2016 I had my first soca track with Masterroom Studio called ‘Part ah Me’. Things were slow then and I took time to develop the craft. In 2020, I teamed up with ‘Magikal to produce a track called ‘Road Stamp’. After COVID-19, in 2022 I made connections with international producer Super K and Da Pixel of Island Shak to bring foward two Ragga tracks, called ‘For You’ and ‘Love of Carnival’,” said Rouse as he traced his journey to his recent achievement.

He said that he worked hard all season and he is overwhelmed with joy following the results. He said that it wasn’t always the case and referred to his failing to get beyond the the preliminaries of the competition in 2022.

As for working this year, he admitted to getting only one booking. But he is not perturbed.

He is grateful to his fans. “Thanks for the support and love shown from the moment the song was published,” was his message.

Javid ‘Jay-R’ Rouse – Ragga Soca Monarch 2023 –on his first attempt.

Hance John remains among the top tier of Ragga Soca performing artiste in SVG.

Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper, dethroned but never disgraced.

CARICOM: Free movement of people by 2024

“I BELIEVEthe founding fathers are smiling from heaven.”

So prefaced Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, on Wednesday 5th July during the closing news conference of the 45th Regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, as he

announced that leaders have agreed to having free movement for all categories of people by March 2025.

The announcement coincided with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas which formalised CARICOM.

“Obviously there are some legal issues that we have to examine. And we have given our legal people, some

CDB to report on inter-regional travel

CARICOM is anticipating imminent receipt of a report from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which will outline recommendations on how to treat the issue of interregional travel.

This is the assurance given by Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Chairman of CARICOM, who reminded a closing press conference for the 45th Regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government held in Trinidad and Tobago, July 35, that CDB was mandated to engage in a study to examine air transport in the Caribbean, and to come up with recommendations on how they should go about addressing the issue in the absence of LIAT.

“They have firm numbers in terms of the cost…I am hoping we could get the buy-in of all of us in respect to this entity to complement what CAL and others are doing,” Skerrit said.

In effect, the recommendations should address how to fill the void occasioned in inter-regional air travel by LIAT’s dissolution.

And while the void remains, Skerrit pointed to Caribbean Airlines (CAL), InterCaribbean and Bahamas

Air as being among regional airlines in the region that have been stepping

up to fill the void.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley revealed that his Government has received and accepted CAL’s strategic plan to obtain additional equipment to do more in the region.

He revealed that the airline is in discussion with Barbados and Prime Minister Mia Mottley confirmed that they will be signing an agreement with the airline soon.

“As Mr Skeritt has said, this is not a simple issue and the truth is that we have suffered from a significant reduction of seat numbers. We believe that there is enough space for CAL, Inter Caribbean and any other mechanism that would resolve this issue,” she said, praising the Bahamas for stepping up to the plate to test out the market this Summer with connections from North America to the Caribbean via Bahamas Air.

Mottley said part of the constraint has been the absence of capacity and getting planes and pilots.

She said: “That is why we have to have a cooperative approach to the resolution of the problems rather than believing that any one airline could solve it overnight.”

(LOOP News)

months to examine those legal issues and to ensure that they can come to us by the 30th of March to take a definitive position on this,” Skerrit told reporters.

“Of course, we have this new security agreement in place already that governments can benefit from. But we believe this is the fundamental part of the integration architecture and at 50 we could not leave Trinidad and Tobago and not speak about the core of the individual movement, that is people’s ability to move freely within the Caribbean Community. And I think we would have served the community well at this meeting by arriving at that decision.”

Currently, university graduates,

nurses, teachers, media workers, musicians, agriculture workers and private security officers are among the 12 categories of people eligible to seek employment in any of the countries that are part of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Skerrit said the expansion of free movement will not be extended to Haiti as Prime Minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, asked for the French speaking island to be left out of the arrangement due to their humanitarian, social, security and political issues.

Current visa arrangements placed on Haitian nationals would also remain in place.

(Source: LOOP News)

CARICOM already has an agreement on paper that allows free movement of people across borders. (Credit: CARICOM.org)

CAL has already devised a strategic plan for increasing its service in the region. (Source: Guy. News)

Melbourne declares: I am a winner

by HAYDN HUGGINS

JUNIOR‘Melbourne’

Constance, leader of the mas band ‘Melbourne Artisans’ which copped the 2023 Section of the Bands’ title, and placed second in the King of the Bands competition, is not particularly interested in winning competitions.

“Winning is not a part of my thing, because I really don’t play Carnival to win.

Carnival is my thing. I play Carnival for me, my friends and for those who love and enjoy it,” Constance told THE VINCENTIAN, adding that he has always been a winner, even though the judges never thought so.

Melbourne Artisans took the Section of the Bands title on July 6 with the portrayal, ‘Ocean Predators’ from the production, ‘Climate Change’, winning that competition for the first time in his 53 years of producing mas presentations.

But for Constance, “Once the band hit the road, I am a winner. You could recognize my band coming from miles away. You could see the spirit of the Carnival coming, even if is two people I have. Carnival is a living thing, and you have to see and feel it from miles away.”

But Constance’s major concern is the path Carnival has taken in recent years, especially with regard to creativity.

“It is no longer masquerade, it’s about vulgarity. Of those

women who come in with their nude behavior, some of them cannot even relate to what they playing, or what they dancing to. All they know is that they are playing in the red, blue, or green section. There is no story anymore, and I am not speaking about any particular band, I am speaking generally because there are some people who don’t play mas but display nude, and vulgar behavior during Carnival events too. It’s the same thing with the music,” he lamented.

“Some soca artistes feel that to sing a good song, you have to be disrespectful and vulgar,” the veteran masman added.

According to Constance, “Carnival has lost its spirit. Is the jumbie taking over now.”

He explained that his 2023 production, ‘Climate Change’, was a continuation of last year’s presentation, ‘Plastic Monsters’, which dealt with the plastics that contribute to the

destruction of marine life.

Constance said he was not surprised that he took the section of the bands’ title this year because he knew what he had was winning stuff.

Junior ‘Melbourne’ Constance started playing mas in 1966 at age ten and brought his first band in 1970. He never won the Band of the Year competition, but took the King of the Bands title on three occasions.

He declared that he keeps going because, “I play Carnival from my heart, it’s in my blood.”

Junior ‘Melbourne’ Constance is a veteran mas maker who has plied his trade in other Caribbean islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, and in the USA.

‘Ocean Predators, ‘Melbourne Artisans’ winner Section of the bands 2023.

’The Grinch who stole Christmas’ – the 2014 King of the Bands from Melbourne Artisans’ production, Compliments of the Season’.

A tribute to Dr. Winston Daisley

Anaesthesia Consultant Kingstown General Hospital St. Vincent

AS WE TRAVELthis wonderful world that God created for us, we experience opportunities and events that sometimes last for a lifetime or beyond. The opportunity of meeting and working with Dr. Daisley in 1983 at the operating theatre in Kingstown was that experience for me.

At that time he was the only official Anaesthesia provider in St. Vincent, ably assisted by Mr. Rudolph Mayers, the first Nurse Anesthetist in St. Vincent, trained by Dr. Daisley in conjunction with the Ministry of Health.

I was greatly impressed by the work he did and the calm and the calculated manner in which he executed his duties; sometimes under challenging situations.

My love for Anaesthesia began and I craved to pursue a career in that field and to perform some of the wonderful and exciting things I saw him do.

Fortunately, he was the right person to meet at that time as he eventually proved to be the most genuine, helpful, selfless, calm and focused professional consultant in Anaesthesia, whom I have met throughout my career.

The formative years

My colleague, Nurse Anaesthesis Dennis Haynes, and I joined the department together. Soon we were on our way to learn the rudiments of anaesthesia as our consultant was not hesitant to teach us all he could. He gave us planned lectures, mostly on Fridays in the afternoon, during which he would teach us about aneasthetic drugs, various anaesthesia techniques, assessment and management of the anaesthetized patient. Soon we became very useful and helpful in the department so much so that a visiting consultant from England was so impressed that he gave us a copy of the book “The synopsis of Anesthesia”,

in appreciation for our contribution in the department during his brief stint.

During this time, Mr. Mayers had gone for formal training at the School of Nurse Anaesthesia/University of the West Indies in Jamaica under a programme facilitated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); all made possible by the assistance of Dr. Daisley.

Mr. Hayes and I followed soon after and returned from Jamaica in 1989. Unfortunately, Dr. Daisley didn’t stay much longer in the department. He travelled overseas. Incidentally, I left the department a few years later for Dominica and later Jamaica.

Many years went by but the impacting experience of working with Dr. Daisley at the Kingstown General Hospital (as it was called previously) lingered prominently in my mind, especially every day when I would turn on the anesthesia machine to begin my work. My efforts to contact him for about thirty (30) years proved futile but I took every opportunity to tell everyone I could about my first consultant.

In December 2022, I made mention of my first anaesthesia experience at a meeting with an administrative group. I was becoming more eager to make contact so I mentioned it to a friend who lived in Canada, and who had worked at Kingstown General Hospital. She responded, “I can get Dr. Daisley’s number for you.”

This made it possible to speak to him for the first time in about thirty years.

Our reunion

I can recall, apart from his commitment and dedication to his duties at the hospital, Dr. Daisley was a devoted Christian who hosted a Sunday after radio programme that was introduced with a theme song, to wit: “Speak my Lord! Speak my Lord! Speak and I’ll be quick to answer thee! Speak my Lord! Speak my Lord! Speak and I will answer, Lord send me.”

I reminded him of his radio programme and even sang the theme

song for him. He expressed how happy he was that I was reaching out to him. I too was extremely happy and expressed that I was grateful for his assistance many years ago and was overjoyed to contact him after such a long time.

I told him of some activities in which, I was hoping, he would be able to participate. However, he mentioned he was not in the best of health but would be happy to assist if he could. I never had another conversation with him again. He answered a few text messages then his daughter, Patrice, who seemed to be at his side during his final days, communicated to me about his condition.

On June 23rd, as was expected, she texted that he had passed on peacefully.

My recollection of Dr. Daisley:

- He was a very dedicated professional — a man of greatness unmatched by thousands.

- He was a proponent of high standards in anesthesia service.

- He was an advocate for training and the development of the Nurse Anaethetist in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

- He gave the most he could to the

Dr. Winston Daisley – had a lasting effect on the development the Anaesthesia department at what is now the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

service and served selflessly.

- His contribution to anesthesia was so phenomenal that the good qualities and skills that he inculcated in others will live on for a very long time.

I take this opportunity to encourage the Anaesthesia staff and all other members of staff who were impacted by his contribution to continue to live the legacy of this great professional.

I wish on the behalf of the Nurse Anaesthetists of the Robert Milton Cato Hospital to express sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Winston Daisley.

May he rest in peace.

S. Orlando Sutherland

Arise Mitch Israel Duarte: You are the first

THERE IS A NEWsteel orchestra arranger in town and given that he is a mere nineteen years old, it could well mean that he is going to be around for some time to come.

Mitchel Israel Duarte, aka Mitch, belied his age, took on the responsibility of arranging for the Hennessy Starlift Steel Orchestra in the 2023 Junior Panorama, July 2, at Victoria Park, and led the band to victory.

The nineteen-year-old embraced an opportunity usually reserved for more experienced pannists and musicians, grabbed it with “both hands’ and delivered as his band members would have expected. In the process, he stunned pan enthusiasts and Starlift’s rivals into a blur of ‘what just happened there?’

And in arranging for winners

Starlift, Mitch became the youngest debutant (arranger) to have achieved that milestone and the youngest ever to have arranged for a winning steel orchestra in any level of panorama in SVG.

Delving into the responsibility

Mitch, a member of Starlift for the past nine years, disclosed that he has been arranging for Starlift’s ‘gigs’ since 2021.

He felt prepared for the job of arranger to the extent that he had fulfilled CSEC requirements for Music in Theory and Practice, especially for the SBA.

“(For CSEC) I had to do an arrangement as well as a composition,” he noted, “so, I sent my recording from the notation device I used to score my music, to a few persons in the pan yard for their feedback.”

So great was the response that after the exam, “..... I started to do panorama-style arrangements, which I believe the executive members of Starlift would have heard.”

But there were certain factors that had to be addressed even before rehearsing the actual panorama arrangement/song.

Mitch explained that he had to ascertain the players’ capability: what they are able to play and not able to play.

He admitted, “Before I even started the panorama song, I did a small arrangement of ‘How Great Thou Art’, literally using a panorama style, like the ‘bomb style’ used in Trinidad.”

That, he said, gave him a good idea of what he needed to know. “It was from there that I started my arrangement for panorama!”

Getting it done

For certain there were hiccups and setbacks along the way but he dug deep into his resources in facing up to overcoming the challenges.

“... What really motivated me was the fact that technically I would be the youngest arranger to ever compete in a panorama competition.”

Compete he did, taking his band through an energetic and tasty rendition of Hans John’s ‘All I Need’.

Why this choice of song? “I was tired of bands playing old music over and over. For example, last year Starlift Senior band played ‘Hairy Bank’ by Poser. Little did I know that Symphonix had played that same song some time ago. So, I looked for a song that the veteran arrangers normally would not go for!”

There is said to be a method in madness, but when the method in organization manifests itself, definitive results are to be expected.

The young arranger therefore, tested out his arrangement. He revealed, “I selected some players from each section and gave them the music. They then distributed it to their colleagues in the respective sections.” Practise sessions were what he called “set in stone”: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays, if circumstances permitted.

What lies ahead

The young man recognizes his passion for music and his 2023 success has all but confirmed and enhanced that.

He described himself, as “sort of reserved” but is adamant that with the

person seen on stage on panorama night, “.... there was some sort of energy, some sort of ‘spirit’ on stage that made me engage in all that theatrical behaviour.”

And that ‘theatrical behaviour included the two six-bass players changing positions during a segment in the song. Never once did the ‘break’ interfere with Mitch’s smooth and coordinated arrangement and the players’ ability to deliver.

Going forward, Mitch has been accepted into The UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, to pursue Biology and Chemistry but after the experience of Sunday 2nd July, he told THE VINCENTIAN, “I’m currently thinking of changing that to a major in Bio-Chemistry with a minor in Music, just to keep that music aspect within me because, after all, I do have a love for music.”

Mitchel Israel Duarte, aka Mitch, is the youngest person to have ever arranged for a winning steelband in a panorama competition.

Mitch Israel, arranger, taking charge of the Hennessy Starlift Steel Orchestra in their winning performance in the 2023 Junior panorama.

Mitch Israel (front hand in the air) joins with his colleagues to celebrate winning on his debut as an arranger.

Former MP, Peter Ballantyne, passes

PETER BALLANTYNE, the first person of Kalingo stock to be elected a member of parliament for the North Windward constituency in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, passed away quietly at his home in Sandy Bay, on Thursday 6th July. He was 79 at the time of his passing and had lived all his live in his native Sandy Bay.

THE VINCENTIAN understands that he was ailing and succumbed to his illness not long after it had worsened.

Ballantyne was elected a member of parliament in a five-candidate race for the North Windward constituency in 1979. In so doing, he became the first Member of the then St. Vincent Labour Party, led by Robert Milton Cato, to have won that constituency, which had been dominated by the Peoples Political Party’s Ivy Joshua, wife of Ebenezer Joshua, this country’s first Chief Minister.

During his tenure as an elected member of the parliament, Ballantyne served as Minister of Health from July 22, 1981 to April 12, 1984

Interestingly, Ballantyne lost in the 1984 general elections to the New Democratic Party’s Sir David Jack, who went on to serve as this country’s Governor General from 1989 to 1996.

It took twenty-two years before another person — Montgomery Danielof Kalinago stock and ancestry was elected to represent the North Windward constituency. Daniel, like Ballantyne, ran in 2001 on a Labour Party ticket, albeit the Unity Labour Party, a merger of the St. Vincent Labour Party and the Movement for National Unity.

Ballantyne, as much as he was a politician, remained a devout and practising Christian, and those who knew him spoke of him living ‘first as a Christian and second as a politician’.

At the time of his death, he was the elder, senior pastor of the Sandy Bay Gospel Chapel.

Even casual observers of how he moved among the people of the North Windward community, recall

Ballantyne as a man who did not allow his politics to interfere with how he interacted and dealt with “his people.”

He was a gentle man who did not have any bias, unlike so many politicians, one resident of Sandy Bay said of Ballantyne.

Another person with whom THE VINCENTIAN spoke and who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “It was Mr. Ballantyne who help me get materials to build my first house.”

Peter Ballantyne is survived by his wife and five children.

The management and staff of THE VINCENTIAN extend heartfelt condolences to his wife, children, other relatives and members of the Sandy Bay Gospel Chapel.

Peter Ballantyne lived a simple and Christian life.

Raped at 16

Dear George,

I CONFIDED IN MY BEST FRIENDthat I was raped by the guy she set me up with and I was rather surprised by her response.  She never told me he was married. I found out that while we were out, someone asked him how was his wife.  I told him I was not interested in any relationship with a married man and asked him to take me home.  It was on the way home he raped me.

My friend begged me not to go to the police because that would ruin his life and marriage. She told me also to consider he has a 15 year old daughter. I told her he should have thought of that before raping a 16 year old.

My life is now ruined. I feel very ashamed of myself. I should have never allowed him to take me back home. I am very angry and I cry all the time.

Why should I be the one suffering while he gets to resume his normal life? It isn’t fair. Is there anything I can do to make myself feel better? It is even hard to sleep and I find myself showering very often since the incident.

Feeling Helpless and Worthless

Dear Feeling Helpless and Worthless,

Get out of your head the thought that what happened to you was your fault because it is not at all.

Yes, you were violated by someone who should know better and it is natural for you to feel ashamed, depression, have low self-esteem, and suffer insomnia, and the list can go on.

He should be made to face the consequences of his barbaric act and towards that end, you should definitely report this to the police and let the law deal with your predator.

In the meantime, you need to see a counselor to help you work through this trauma. It is going to take some time to get back to living your regular life but with continued counseling and support from friends and family you can get through this.

George

Rent problems!!

Dear George, I AM OWING my

landlord rent for two months and he is threatening to put me out. I have been renting

Send him packing

Dear George,

MY BOYFRIENDis pretending he does not know why I am not allowing him to touch me at night. We live together and lately he started putting his hands on me. Each time I stormed him about it he promised to do better but never did.

Last week he slapped me in my face so hard that I almost lost consciousness. That very same night he wanted to make love to me without even acknowledging he did something wrong to me. He has since been threatening to leave me and go back to his EX. I need some direction here please.

Can’t Think Clearly

Dear Can’t Think Clearly,

You have to start telling yourself you deserve better. You do not need an abuser in your life and being constantly exposed to danger. The same hands that hurt you should never be allowed to caress you.

It is time to take a stand and demand better. Send him packing back to whoever. Use this experience to be more selective as to who you allow into your life.

George

from him for five years and have always been on time with my rent, until he raised the rent by $200.00.

I tried explaining to him that everything went up which is why I’m having challenges but he does not care.

I cannot get peace. He keeps harassing me asking for his rent. How can I get him to stop harassing me?

Tired of It

Dear Tired of It,

You can get your landlord to stop the harassment by just giving him what he is owed. It is not harassment to ask for what belongs to you. Maybe, it is a good time to start searching for more affordable housing. Make a valiant effort to reduce your rent balance and this good faith may encourage your landlord to exercise patience, allowing you the time you need to find another place.

George

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)

Look into physical activities that will help get rid of some of that tension you may be feeling. Chances are you split up the last time because you didn't really want to make a commitment. Any contributions you make to organizations will enhance your reputation and bring you offers. Use your energy wisely.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21)

Sudden changes at home will affect family members more than you anticipated. You will find yourself tied to the phone. New relationships will surface through work related events. Don't push your luck with your boss.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21)

This is a great day for a trip. This may not be the day to get involved in risky joint financial ventures. Don't hesitate to look for alternatives that will enable you to raise the kind of donations you need to do the job right. Social events will be plentiful.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Don't lend or borrow. They didn't fully understand what was expected. Travel will initiate new friendships or love connections. Empty promises are evident; therefore, get it in writing, to be safe.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22)

Someone you live with could be frustrated and upset. Delve a little deeper if you really want to know the score. You may want to take a look at your direction in life. You'll only hurt your lover if you don't.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23)

You can make a big difference to children if you are understanding of the difficulties they are experiencing. Try to concentrate on research and acquiring information that will be of value in your chosen field. Be sure not to burn any bridges. Electrical problems may be an issue.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23)

You will reach the most people if you speak out at an organizational function. Go out with friends. You can make moves, but they won't be settling. Try to compromise rather than having an all-out battle.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)

Refuse to let others make unrealistic demands of you. Listen to the problems of others and offer suggestions where possible. Chances are you split up the last time because you didn't really want to make a commitment. Physical limitations are possible if you aren't careful.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)

You'll have problems with authority figures if you don't play by the rules. Do your best, but don't make too many promises or you may exhaust yourself. Don't let your mate talk you into going somewhere you'd rather not go. They won't pay you back and you'll be upset.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)

You will be extremely receptive to new and progressive methods at work. Don't let friends convince you that you should contribute to something you don't believe in. Refuse to get involved in idle chatter; it will only make you look bad.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21.- Feb. 19)

Involvement in fitness clubs will be conducive to engaging roman tic connections. Leave things as they are for the moment and focus on reaching your highest potential at work. You can deal with large institutions or government agencies successfully this week.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)

Your involvement in interest groups may bring you popularity. Discuss your problems and complaints if you wish to rectify them. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. Relatives will be cordial.

ACROSS

1. Ysidiro or Antonio

4. Descriptive wd.

7. Take for a term

12. Ending for amor in music

13. Booty

15. Winner

16. Raised-eyebrow remarks

17. Denim pioneer Strauss

18. Narrow rug

19. Quebec city

22. Berkeley business school

23. Fairy tale starter 24. Put into position

28. 1997 Jodie Foster film

awakener

My

things

7. Designer ralph

8. Article for Mozart

9. Article for Mozart

10. Poke play

62. Tibetan monk 63. “And I Love __” (1964 tune)

64. Absurdly impractical

65. Fibber

66. __ pro nobis (pray for us)

67. Designs

68. Salk and Pepper, abbr.

69. “Shame on you!”

1. Appease

2. Guru’s pad

3. “Can’t do it”

4. Start of a Shakespearean title

5. Someone who handles

14. Video recorder

Harry living NFL dream

N’Keal Harry is looking to continue playing football as long as his body permits it.

Right: The NFL wide receiver (4th from left front row) took some time to share with players of the Playz Sports Academy.

N’KEAL HARRYis a Canadian-born Vincentian professional American footballer. He was born in Canada to a Vincentian mother - Naudine Harryand raised in St. Vincent and the Grenadines –Lowmans Leeward - by his grandmother and mother. He was drafted in 2019 by the New England Patriots of the National Football League

(NFL) and in 2022 joined the Chicago Bears. His playing position is wide receiver and currently he is a free agent.

Harry was home recently and took the time to share his experience playing professional sports with some players from Playz Youth Academy.

He advised the players

about the importance of being physically and mentally prepared for training and competition. He highlighted the benefits of eliminating friends in order to achieve their goal in life, and emphasized that discipline was integral to achieve in sports especially as it related to training.

And in sharing in a way that it also applied to people in general, the NFL top players prompted: “Whatever dream you have, go at it, with everything you can. It doesn’t have to be sports, but if is sports cool, but we are in a world now where you could be anything you want to be and do

everything in your powers to get there. There is no limit.”

As for his immediate future, Harry said he just wants to go as far as he can.

“I’m just trying to play at the highest level and as long as I can. Like everybody, I still have some big things I want to do within my sport on

Junior CASA opens tomorrow

Championships, that opens tomorrow, Saturday, July 15 and runs until July, 22.

Jayden George will compete among the U15’s and will be hoping to repeat his earlier victories in the U11 and U13 categories.

The National Squash Centre at Paul’s Avenue and the La Vue Hotel courts at Villa will serve as venues and the individual competition gets the championships going.

The championships are expected to showcase 149 players from eight countries - Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, along with hosts St. Vincent and the

Grenadines. Eleven males and seven females will make up the St Vincent and the Grenadines team.

The males are: Under-11Ethan Webster and Za’mar Welcome Hannaway; Under-13 - Savante Padmore and Aiden De Freitas; Under-15Jayden George, Dru Samuel and De’ron Lewis; Under-17Kyle James, Oneil Sprott and Jaydon Williams; Under-19Devere James.

The females are: Under-11Amiya Bascombe; Under-13Caeli George; Under 15 - Zoe Martin, Natalia Olton and Naira Skye John; Under-17Ciara George; Under-19 -

Nadira Morgan.

Amber Glasgow, Jason Doyle, Kevin Hannaway, Othneil Bailey and Jules Snagg will serve as coaching staff for the Vincentian players.

The Vincentian team will be looking to continue an emerging trend set by Jayden George who won the Under-11 title in 2019 and the Under-13 last year, and Jaydon Williams who champed the Under-15 in 2022.

George and Williams join other Vincentians who have scalped Junior CASA titles.

Paul Cyrus got the ball rolling in 1982, when he took the Under-16 and repeated the

the field. (I’m) Looking forward for big things this season hopefully everything will work out form this year. …… By the time I graduated in high school I was a five star….. so football just seems like the best route for me,” Harry said.

I.B.A. ALLEN

feat in 1983.

In 1986, when St. Vincent and the Grenadines last hosted the championships, Enrique Riveroll took the male Under-12.

Riveroll was followed by Diarra Venner who won the male Under-13 in 2004, Kevin Hannaway - the male Under15 in 2008 and Jason Doylethe male under-13 in 2010.

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINESwelcomes the 39th edition of the Caribbean Area of Squash Association (CASA) Junior

Right: Jaydon Williams moves up from U13 to U15 and will look to take his U13 title with him.

Jamaica: Unofficial U19 Limited Overs Champs

WITH ONE MOREround of matches to be played in the 2023 CWI Rising Stars U19 Championship, Jamaica was declared the unofficial champions of the limited overs tournament.

Jamaica entered the fourth round of the Championship three points ahead of their closest rivals, Windward Islands.

A comfortable victory over the Windward last Monday at the Sion Hill, put the Jamaicans in an unassailable lead going into the fifth round.

They beat the Windward by 8 wickets. The Windwards, previously in good form, sank to a low of 110 all out in 31 overs, to which the Jamaicans replied with consummate ease, reaching 111 for 2 in 22 overs.

In another fourth round matches at Arnos Vale One, Trinidad and Tobago collected their first full match points when they won over Guyana by 38 runs by the Duckworth Lewis method. Scores: Trinidad and Tobago 136 for 4 from 38 overs; Guyana 146 from 40 overs.

At Park Hill, Leeward Islands recorded a 5wicket win over defending champs Barbados. Scores: Barbados 168 from 43 overs; Leeward Islands 169 for 5 from 44 overs.

After his team’s fourth consecutive win, manager of the Jamaica team, Gibbs Williams, expressed delight with the way in which his team went about

their ‘business of winning’.

“Well, Jamaica Under-19 team has performed well so far in the tournament. I am not surprised about the dominance shown by my team. The truth is that we prepared well this time around and the players are maturing nicely.

“Winning the limited overs competition gives us a lot of confidence going into the three-day competition in which I am also expecting us to do very well. We are confident in our abilities but we are also mindful that there are a lot of talented teams in the competition and they will also be gunning for success as well,” Williams told this reporter.

I.B.A. ALLEN

Eight for NACAC Age Group Championships

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINESwill be represented by a full complement of eight athletes (four males and four males) at this year’s staging of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) Age Group Championships.

They will compete for honours in two age categories (Under-13 and Under-15) this weekend, July 15 and 16, in Santiago de los Caballeros, the Dominican Republic.

The Under-13 females are Katriel Bailey and Ayah Stapleton, with the male selectees- Jamaul Alexander and Naieem Kydd.

Making up the Under-15 lot are females- Shykeima Dickson and Kesiann John, along with male representatives - Jeremy Martin and Leemore Ollivierre. The multi-discipline championships see the Under-13s competing in five events, and the Under-15s, seven.

The Under-13 female events are the 60m sprint, the Long Jump, High Jump, Baseball Throw as well as the 800m, with the males doing an additional 1000m.

Meanwhile, the Under-15 females will compete in the 60m Hurdles, 80m, Long Jump, High

SVGCC director bent on supporting athletes

THE STUDENT athletes of the SVG Community College could rest assured they have the full support of Nigel Scott, Director of the SVG Community College as the College (SVGCC).

Scott expressed the sentiment during his address to the Second Annual Sports Awards Ceremony at the Hospitality and Maritime Training Institute at Diamond, June 25, 2023.

“We at the SVGCC believe in students’ excellence and we believe in empowering our students and encouraging them to grow in areas more than just academics. For that reason we continue to support the sporting programme at SVGCC.” Scott said.

“My dream is that the SVGCC becomes the place of prominence for our student athletes, not only (as a place) to excel academically and from which to get athletics scholarships, but a place where they can come and to be trained to speak, to act in public, move in life and to further and advance themselves. That is my dream,” Scott detailed.

The Director also expressed the belief that student athletes should be exposed to the best competition.

Jump, Shot Putt, Baseball Throw and the 1000m.

However, the Under-15 males will do an 80m Hurdles and a 1200m run.

The Vincentian contingent is complete by Rawlson Morgan — Coach and Chantel LegairManager/Chaperone.

It is the first time since 2017 that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is sending its full quota to the Championships. When St Vincent and the

Grenadines last competed at the 2019 edition held in El Salvador, only four Under-15 athletes competed.

Then in 2021, only two male Under-15s were selected for the Nicaragua event.

But some administrative bungles over the team’s PCR tests, did not permit them to get beyond Guyana, hence St. Vincent and the Grenadines was a no show.

“…So that when we have an open competition in which the winners come from different academies and organizations outside of SVGCC…, we have gotten our licks. But Roxel John, the Director of Sports at the College, has a philosophy, and that is, if our students’ athletes are going to excel then they need to compete against the best there is in the country. We have embraced that philosophy.”

All in all, Scott emphasized that it was about supporting “our athletes and to help them to be better individuals, That’s what we aspire to do at the SVGCC so when they leave us they must be better persons, not just better athletes, but better persons.”

I.B.A. ALLEN

The Jamaica U19 team is already celebrating a title victory even with one round left in the CWI U19 Limited Overs Championship.

Gibbs Williams, Manager of the Jamaican U19 team, spoke of how well his team was prepared.

Nigel Scott, Director of the SVGCC, has assured that the College will give its fullest support to developing student athletes as rounded individuals.

From left: Chantel Legair (Manager/Chaperone), Katriel Bailey, Leemore Ollivierre, Kesiann John, Ayah Stapleton, Jeremy Martin, Naieem Kydd, Shykeima Dickson, Jamaul Alexander, Rawlson Morgan (Coach).

No silver no gold

IF THE DISAPPOINTMENTfrom the world cup exit was not enough, the West Indies Cricket team seems to be intent on driving us further down the drain.

Even the staging of the Under 19 competition here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines gives the impression, that cricket is an afterthought, and that staging the respective competitions is just a matter of sustaining a programme.

We are used to the Under 19, perhaps a tradeoff for the international cricket.

The reason offered for our omission from the big schedule is that there is not the capacity to cater for visitors. There is hope that accommodation will be in enough supply. At the same time, we must place some standard on youth cricket. That is a platform we have to build on. Don’t expect youngsters to adjust to the big league with a shabby approach to their schedule.

Maybe I missed, or am still not seeing the promotion for the Under 19’s. Efforts ought to be made to encourage spectators to the games. With schools on vacation, why can’t trips be arranged for students to witness the encounters.

There seems to be a barrier to continuity as far as the intensity of the sport requires. It is a vacation for the players it seems. In addition to the absence of purpose, there is that sense of apathy, and individuals are intent on maintaining their positions in spotlight of West Indies without trying to contribute to the region’s development.

We have a huge task at hand to stablise our cricket. We have to be serious. The bickering and sniping between nations cannot go on. There must be unity of purpose. Cricket is a team sport. And it is not the squad assembled that matters. There are behind the scenes actors. That includes the Board and the entire administration.

West Indies Cricket appears to have taken their role for granted and the very governments that provide the facilities for the show to go on are not considered as genuine factors.

One would expect a sense of resilience and pride in our cricket. But the energy is going. The value of the sport is rapidly declining. The heart and soul of the average West Indian has been pierced by the malaise of the current situation.

There is the hope that fortunes are reversed in quick order. Given the reality, there is hardly any reason for optimism. There is nothing I can do to alter the pattern.

There were times when at carnival for sure, there will have been some level of cricket. Vincentians abroad ensured that a cricket match was part of the celebration package. While we have advanced technologically, we have regressed in our social interaction.

A sense of numbness pervades the atmosphere, engineered by factors designed to instill a feeling of inferiority. The West Indies had been dominant for some time, and some sectors are not pleased with that. The snipes and ridicule are regular and varied. It is our responsibility to ensure our revival. It is a serious task and one we have to seriously exercise.

Rodriquez proud of ClubÊs achievement

AFTER COPPINGthe Carib/TBPO Football title for three consecutive years, Moziah Rodriguez, manager of Grove Street Catalans (GSC) football teams, had high praise for his team and revelled in his team’s achievement.

“From the beginning of the competition, we set out our goal to defend our trophy and also to claim our third consecutive title….. we wanted to make history in the competition. Seeing that the tournament is still basically in its infantile stage we wanted to lay down our marker as the undisputed champs and we did just that,” Rodriguez told THE VINCENTIAN.

The manager also highlighted that winning this year’s competition was even more special as the team wanted to do so for a fallen teammate and defense stalwart, Fitzroy “Obie” Shallow, who passed away earlier this year.

When asked about what he thought was the main ingredient to the team’s success, Rodriquez pointed to “..the close bond we share as a team…. we are more like brothers and also our desire to improve and keep winning.”

He spoke on what this triple title meant to him as a manager and the team; and what impact it will have especially on the younger players and the more

experienced players in the team and their communities.

Rodriquez stressed, “It’s a huge achievement and one that will definitely live long in my memory. Winning one title is difficult, much less making it a three-peat when every team is out to dethrone you, especially our worthy rivals ‘Dream FC’ whom we have now defeated three times in a row. I think it will drive the

players even more to want to keep adding titles, because winning is addictive.”

I.B.A. ALLEN

Vincy Heat opens CNL versus Belize

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINESsenior men’s Football team - Vincy Heat, will open their 2023-2024 Concacaf Nations League (CNL) away to Belize on September 8.

This will be first of six matches for the Vincentians who are drawn in Group C of League B, which also includes Bermuda and French Guiana.

Following their opening against Belize, Vincy Heat hosts Bermuda on September 12, following which they will host French Guiana- on October 13, and will be away to French Guiana, October 17.

One month later on November 17, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is away to Bermuda, and four days later hosts Belize.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is among sixteen nations lodged in League B.

In Group A are Guadeloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Sint Maarten, while

Group B consists of Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Montserrat, and Barbados.

Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Puerto Rico, and Bahamas complete the list, as they compete in Group D.

Apart from League B, twelve teams comprise League A and nine are in League C.

Concacaf last week announced the resumption of relegation and promotion across the leagues. Hence, the winners of each of the groups in League B and League C will gain promotion, with the teams ending last being demoted.

Meanwhile, League A is made up of Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Martinique, Curacao, and Trinidad and Tobago. Haiti, Jamaica, Honduras, Cuba, Suriname and Grenada are in Group B.

Following the group stage, the first and second place teams will join Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States in the quarter finals.

The four teams that advance from the quarter-finals will vie for the CNL title, as well as qualify for CONMEBOL Copa America, 2024.

The Grove Street Catalans (GS Catalans), three-peat winners of the Carib/TBPO Football League. (We apologise for placing an incorrect picture to accompany the page 26 article headlined: ‘GSB retains TBPO title’.)

‘Dream FC’ – runner-up in the 2023 Carib/TBPO Football League. This photo was incorrectly referred to in last week’s edition as Grove Street Catalans.

Moziah Rodriguez, Manager of Grove Street Catalans, is overwhelmed by his team’s success over the last three years.

Come with your ‘A Game”: Fya Empress

From Backpage.

were: Gosnel ‘GC’ Cupid: ‘Crisis’, and his son Omani Cupid doing ‘My time’.

Cleopatra Hendrickson did ‘Gun violence’, Phylicia ‘Nubian Empress’ Alexander - ‘Reckless driving’, Robert ‘Patches’ Knights - ‘Do the right thing’, Bernard ‘Reality’ White — ‘I am Calypso’ and Carlos ‘Rejector’ Providence — ‘Play the Anthem more’, completed the cast.

The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force Band provided the musical accompaniment for the calypsonians. (WKA)

Friday, 30th June, 2023

New Testament Church of God

Viewing: 1:00 p.m.

Service 2:00 p.m.

Interment:

Saturday, 8th July, 2023

New Testament Church of God

Biabou

Viewing: 1:00 p.m.

Service: 2:00 p.m.

Interment: Biabou Cemetery

Sunday, 9th July, 2023

Mt. Moriah

Spiritual Baptist Church

Spring Village

Viewing: 11:00 a.m.

Service: 12:00 noon

Interment: Spring Village Cemetery

JEAN ESMONDE CANNIERRE

Wednesday, 12th July, 2023

Faith Temple Church

New Montrose

Viewing: 10:00 a.m.

Service: 11:00 a.m.

Interment: Kingstown Cemetery

GEORGE

Sunday, 9th July, 2023

Fountain S.D.A Church

Viewing: 12:00 noon

Service: 1:00 p.m.

Interment: Belair Cemetery

JAMES TANNIE

STELLA BENN NEE ROBERTS

DEACON MARK RICARDO LAMMY

COME WITH YOUR ‘A GAME’: FYA EMPRESS

by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY

LORNETTE‘Fya Empress’ Nedd, Calypso Monarch 2023, is preparing for her title defense next year if God allows, and she warns those who aspire to dethrone her to “come with your A game.”

She made the remark last Wednesday, the day after the 2023 carnival festivities climaxed.

She is pleased that her task is accomplished. She confessed that she wanted to “come back with a bang,” and she is grateful to her supporters, including her number one fans - father Vibert and mother Ruby.

‘Fya’, with roots in the interior settlement of Richland Park, is one of those Caribbean citizens with dual citizenship — Trinidadian and Vincentian. And she is using that wider connection to her advantage.

‘FIREMAN’ RULES THE ROAD

IT’S BEEN a relatively good year for Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper. He successfully defended his Soca Monarch title, placed third in his less traversed area, the Ragga Soca Competition and after it was all done on Tuesday evening, those responsible for doing the tabulation, declared that his ‘Madness” the Road march for Vincymas 2023.

In so doing, he relegated Zimbroy ‘Ghaza’ Joseph’s ‘Carnival is in d air’ to second place and Esron ‘Speilberg’ Culzac’s ‘Headways’ to third.

According to a release from the Carnival Development Committee, ‘Fireman’ had enjoyed a convincing victory totalling 69 points, to ‘Ghaza’ s 41 and ‘Speilberg’s 27.

If the explanation given is correct, the number of points is an indication of the number of times a song was played at an unknown judging point on the final two days (Monday and Tuesday) of Vincymas 2023.

Not for the first time Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper controlled the music systems on the road for Vincymas 2023.

A cultural activist in her own right, she started singing professionally in 2011. That’s the year she copped the Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Queen title.

Before that, in 2007, ‘Fya Empress’ announced her arrival in the Soca arena in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

But 2012 was earth shattering for her. She copped the Calypso monarch with ‘Woman,’ and ‘True Vincy’, the Ragga Soca crown with ‘Bam Bam talk’; placed second in the Soca Monarch and won the Road March with ‘Rum please’.

And to prove she was no ‘just-come’, ‘Fya Empress’ won the calypso crown for a second time in 2017 with the numbers, ‘Guilty’, and ‘Hope is alive’.

Her third (2023) Calypso Monarch title was won on the strength

Shena

is getting closer to the top in what is still a very short tenure as a senior

of her number ‘Price of neglect’, in a competition that required calypsonians to sing only one song.

Her National Monarch title followed her earlier (June) capture of the National Queen of Calypso title, a competition organized by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Calypsonians Association.

Shena Collis with her number ‘Beat yo bad with calypso’ placed second.

Glenroy ‘Sulle’ Caesar with, ‘We outside’ broke a gender dominance as Shaunelle McKenzie filled the fourth position with, ‘Who to blame?’.

Maxwell ‘Tajoe’ Francis failed to hold on to his title. Other contenders

Continued on Page 31.

Lornette ‘Fya Empress’ Nedd joins the rarified air among those who have won three or more Calypso Monarch titles.

Collis

calypsonian.

Glenroy ‘Sulle’ Caesar –a veteran calypsonian and calypso writer, represented himself and his peers among the top tier of calypsonians in SVG.

Shaunelle McKenzie, a former Calypso Monarch (2019) ensured that the female calypsonians got the better of their male counterparts this time around.