Guest Columns

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 …

The Black Butterflies: Chapter two December 8, 1992. It started to rain around the fifth of December, and kept at it for some days well. By the eighth it had slowed considerably, but the cold, dark atmosphere still hung around. In fact as I stood with my black parka zipped …

In my last blog, published on 5 June 2014, I suggested that our political situation was not unlike George Orwell’s Oceania, which was the fictitious setting for his timeless novel, “1984”. On 11 June 2014, within a week of my post, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar declared that we must “unleash …

Wired868 concludes Chapter One of The Black Butterflies: A Trinidad crime novel My car was rammed from behind again, and this time I screamed out, more in frustration than fear. I could not lose these guys I thought as I took another corner. I had now lost count, as all …

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” – 1984, George Orwell I was probably 15 years old when I first read George Orwell’s 1984. At the time I had only conceived of Winston Smith’s dilemma as doing the right thing because …