Guest Columns

Every child of a certain age would have grown up with a parent who taught them, “Drunk or sober, mind your business!” The lesson being imparted was, “Do not get distracted. Stay focused. Do not get caught up with other people’s drama.”   The sound and fury around Massy’s encounter …

“Look for three things in a person: intelligence, energy and integrity. If they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.” Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. As a young child, I used to hear scary stories. La Diablesse, Socouyant and Douen were staples. Telling scary …

On Friday 5 April, the Express headline screamed, “Things you see in movies”. Little did the writer know that more horror stories would come within the week. The newspapers do not have to worry about the frequency of headlines that cause us to gasp. They can do it every day …

I suggested that people might not be offering their views on constitutional reform because they do not know what is contained in the country’s Constitution. I may be familiar with its nitty-gritty, but I can’t say I have a total grasp of what it covers. And that’s a point I …

Bring back the old-time days… Do you remember the primary school days when we sat in the dusty school yard under the tambrand, tree, the downs tree, the immortelle tree, the padoo tree, or whatever tree that was in the yard while teacher Percy preached hellfire and brimstone and brought …

In the late 1990s, in response to one of my weekly columns, retired Professor Emeritus Desmond Imbert called me. It was the beginning of a rather odd friendship that went on for years—when he died in 2010, we had still never met in person. Communication was always at his instigation, …

“The area is dominated by gangs. Thus far, the police have had only limited success in eradicating the gangs. “It can be done, but it requires a multipronged approach, including all aspects of the state’s possible response; most of all, a genuine desire (my emphasis) on the part of the …

“A lawless, indisciplined and corrupt nation cannot fight crime.” Pastor Clive Dottin, The People’s Roundtable, January 2024. At The People’s Roundtable, Pastor Dottin discussed the distinction between a street military revolt and a spiritual revival. He saw the nation as having a decision: either we allow the streets to be …

In a land where public institutions are symbols of frustration, two stand out by dint of their commitment to service and innovation. I am referring to Nalis, our National Library and Information Service Authority, and our National ­Archives. In the course of my various episodes of research, I became convinced …

If you had a leak at your home, what would you do? Will you buy a mop and then a larger mop? Or will you seek a plumber to find the source of the leak? Putting the mop to work while you await the plumber would seem sensible. However, not …

(This column was written on the day he died, before I knew.) In January 2021, I wrote a column about headaches, and my perpetual one since I was about 14. It was not so much a complaint (I hope), but an attempt to explore that world of pain and its …

“[…] The official Ministry of Education press release announcing the hair code […] works to trivialise the issue and divorce it from its substantive context. “[….] An interview with former principal of Fatima Collage, Father Gregory Augustine two weeks after the press release illuminates the point. On 20 July he …