Last Saturday, just before the tea break during the West Indies Test against Bangladesh, I scurried to my kitchen to prepare some herbs for the bhaji rice I was planning to cook on Sunday. It had been pouring heavily, thunder and lightning dropping a menacing feel to the afternoon. Suddenly, …
Read More »Vaneisa: Warming up for Christmas—how to get through a daunting season
I wanted to write something about the approaching season, and found this column from five years ago. It said most of what I wanted to say so I used it as the basis for today’s offering. There’s frenzy. And stillness. Gaiety and brooding. The full spectrum of human emotions stretches …
Read More »Dear Editor: “Why is there suffering in the world if God exists?”
“[…] I insist that God is good. I insist. However, a lack of understanding regarding how He works results in Him getting a bad rap. “[…] I would like to advance that there is logic to God, that there is more to life than meets the eye, and that there …
Read More »Vaneisa: Countrymen, lend me your ears…
Do your ears hang low? Every night, as I lay my head on my pillow, I pass my hand under my earlobe to smooth it out. It’s uncomfortable otherwise. As I do it, the words to a children’s song flash through my head, a soundtrack to the motion. You might …
Read More »Noble: The killing of our women—a cultural issue we consistently failed to address
“Across the region, approximately 11% of the survey respondents of both sexes reported experience with domestic violence,” the report noted. For Trinidad and Tobago, the rate was 8.3%. Across the seven Caribbean countries surveyed, the average injury rate for men was 6.7% and 10.7% for women. Domestic or spousal abuse …
Read More »You’re mad! On Guyanese accent, rum’s reputation and ‘clinical depression’
The following guest column was submitted to Wired868 by Charlene Stuart, who is a former Communications Manager for the Ministry of Communication and a journalist at TV6: I grew up in Guyana and the earliest memories of my childhood were that my family was rich! The standard I used was …
Read More »Vaneisa: To the lady of the goat; why Franka is an outstanding cuisine ambassador
Last Sunday, my friend, Franka Philip, invited me to pop over to her home to sample the leg of goat we had procured from Ali’s Meats on Pasea Main Road in Tunapuna. We had been talking about how she planned to smoke it, and she had bought some kindling from …
Read More »Dear Editor: Homophobia is pervasive in T&T, Mr Kevin Baldeosingh
“[…] We must not bury our heads in the sand. Bullying based on sexual orientation is real. “Where is the amendment to the Equal Opportunities Act to outlaw discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation?…” The following Letter to the Editor on the reality of bullying of LGBTQI …
Read More »Vaneisa: Loads of rubbish—what do you do with your trash?
On Republic Day, some friends—mainly from the journalism world—reconnected at my home for lunch. It was a delightfully memorable afternoon, recalling stories of the craziness of the newsrooms and their eccentric characters. We drank a toast to our departed colleagues as we reminisced. But that’s not where I am heading …
Read More »Noble: Our Energy future, risks and gratitude—thank you, Mark Loquan
In 1976, Elton John penned these words: “What’ve I gotta do to make you love me?/ What’ve I gotta do to make you care?/ It’s sad, so sad/ It’s a sad, sad situation/ And it’s getting’ more and more absurd/ It’s sad, so sad/ Why can’t we talk it over?/ …
Read More »Vaneisa: Musings at 58—safeguard your mental space
I turned 58 last Thursday. Never one for fussing about my birthdays, I didn’t make plans. But it turned memorable of its own accord, starting with a couple of people coming to my home to watch the CPL match the night before. Three, actually. Two of whom I had not …
Read More »Vaneisa: Faith, hope and gloom—are we really haters at heart?
Last Sunday, Queen’s Hall was the venue for Dawad Philip’s Sunday with the Warlord, a play about the calypsonian Lord Blakie (Carlton Joseph). Blakie was perhaps best known for his two Road March wins, “Steelband Clash” (1954) and “Maria” (1962), and the play is a sort of narrative about his …
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