Guest Columns

All Caribbean children (from Jamaica to Guyana) learned about Brer Anansi. Brer Anansi is one of the most significant characters in Caribbean folklore.  ‘He is admirably clever as he is greedy, selfish and reckless. In a place where there are no standards and anything goes, Anansi holds a cherished place …

Fo’daymorning. There are three of them, walking side-by-side. From 30 or 40 yards away as I stride southwards along my street, I see them going west towards the park. I pay no particular attention. My mind is far. Moments before leaving home at 5.30am, I saw an overnight WhatsApp question: …

‘Allyuh come een!’ If you like soca and calypso, Blaxx (Dexter Stewart) has made you happy, jump, wave, sing, laugh, knock a glass, hug a stranger, tap your feet or spread your hands and let go at least once. In an industry with an insane annual refresh rate, quick to …

“Have you seen the ad everybody on Facebook seems to be talking about?” “Yuh want to spoil my morning!” Bobby grumbled, making a long face behind his mask. “Too early to be talking about Facebook, bro! And anyway, I’m not on Facebook! “And I want to talk about serious business. …

God has a sense of humour. In 2017, Reginald Armour SC defended the Government in a Judicial Review case brought by a public servant seeking to establish the bounds of authority that the Prime Minister had on his ambassadorial posting.  By 2019, in the Court of Appeal, he won with …

“Order!” shouted the Speaker of the House Bridgid Annisette-George. “Order!” “Prime Minister,” the Speaker had already said three times while on her feet. Ignoring her, the Prime Minister continued his rant in response to what seemed to me to be a reasonable question from Naparima MP Rodney Charles. The Speaker …

This week, the most important business news story was not the $2 that KFC wants to levy for their condiments, nor the shenanigans surrounding the Cabinet reshuffle. The week’s critical story was the release of the IMF 2021 Article IV Consultation Report.  To reduce the Report to a sound bite, ‘our …

When the Pandemic started and the world stopped, like everyone else, I was thrown into a whole new mental space. Unlike everyone else, I did not learn to bake banana bread or grow marijuana.  But in mid-2020, I did feel called to learn to sew—buying a basic Brother sewing machine …

Dear Bliss, On behalf of the Prime Minister and the people of Trinidad and Tobago, I apologise for any anxiety and pain you have experienced over the past six months because our Prime Minister refused to admit that he was the official who, on 12 August 2021, intervened and diverted …

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is being played out in our tiny country. We are goose-stepping in blind obedience and submission as we embrace a post-truth existence. We have crucified another contributor to our nation.  Where do we think this continuing charade will land us? Who will volunteer in the future? …

Stephen R Covey, the American author of First Things First, said: ‘We are free to choose our actions… but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.’  As a nation, we need to contemplate this as we mourn the loss of the four men in a recent …

Nobody wants to live in fear. Nobody wants to lose a loved one to crime or be victimised.  The pain ricochets through the community as others experience the wrenching loss that descends on us in sudden ways. Most believe that the government is responsible for public safety. But our reactions …