Guest Columns

I was thinking recently how difficult it must be to acquire a mannequin. In fact, especially in Trinidad, it could be one of the most embarrassing moments of your life. Consider that you reach the point where you believe, for whatever reason or purpose, you must have a mannequin. The …

There is an award-winning movie called “No Country For Old Men” which still resonates with me especially since I qualified some time ago, galloping from youth into middle-age and then hobbling into senior citizenship. While some of my friends, high on potency pills, say things like “A man is as …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter eight December 22nd, 1992. We all woke up late, the next morning. Arlene was up first and I filled her in about last night, while she finished up breakfast. Patrick joined us a little later and informed us that he had some men sweeping the house …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter seven  December 21st, 1992. The house did not start to take on the feel of Christmas until this day. We had more or less breezed through the weekend.Some of the plans that we discussed were in action, the surveillance of our one main lead so far …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter six  December 18th, 1992  Four days later. I was in the house waiting for everyone to return. I had paced the area of the study, my room and the living room enough times, and I was sure the floor was wearing away under the soles of …

In this month of Emancipation and Independence many of us may feel inspired to tell that incompetent, overbearing, micro-managing or abusive boss of ours to ‘gth’. Many of you are working with bosses whose sole purpose in life seems to be to belittle you and make your life a living …

Local businessmen Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson are accused of various fraud charges arising out of the construction of the Piarco Airport Development Project in 2002. For over ten years the case still remains in an inquiry state, while both men have been resisting extradition to the United States to …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter five December 14th, 1992  I stayed at the house alone. I could not call it home. Not that I was uncomfortable at all here, but it did not feel right for me to be attached to something that was not mine to get attached to, not …

I had been considering several topics to write on and then inspiration (if I can call it that) came by the way of an ill-conceived attempt to stir my sense of humour. The message on my phone read as follows: I phoned the vet the other day and said, “I …

Success has many fathers; but corruption, to paraphrase, is a bastard. Fortunately, Mr Live Wire has a paternity kit. So let’s have a look at the now defunct LifeSport programme, which has been held in a headlock by the media for the past two months. LifeSport, of course, is the brainchild …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter four December 10th, 1992  There was a moment or two of confusion, when I floated back to reality. First thing was that sun was streaming in through a window, directly on my face. Even before I opened my eyes I could hear the faint flutter of …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter three  December 9th, 1992.  My watch alarm sounded at 6:00 am. This was the only connection I could make to time and date. My night had been without event and dreams and for that I was grateful. Agent Anderson opened the door and peeped in. “Good …