“[…] A thrill of hope! The weary world rejoices. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth…” Excerpt from the carol O Holy Night. 2024 has been a very tough year! The word ‘pining’ captures our mood after the battering of …
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 communications professional with experience in government relations, media strategy, and event planning: I grew up in Guyana and the earliest memories of my childhood were that my family was rich! The standard I used was this: …
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 …
Read More »Noble: Finding hope when trouble comes
“No arts; no letters; no society: and which is worse of all, continual fear, and the danger of violent death, are the life of men, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Hobbes, 1651. As I approached Christmas this year, I felt the world had become darker. I was thinking about …
Read More »Noble: Pivoting to Joy; make happiness a choice this Christmas
For the last three years, we have been mired in grief. Each month seems more challenging than the one before. All sense of normalcy appears to have departed, making it easy to lose sight of joy, hope, and happiness. We have endured two years of lockdowns, masking and handwashing only …
Read More »Dear Editor: Too much negativity in media! Columnists and contributors should also inspire
“[…] I have no difficulty with the working journalists reporting the news as they find it, whether positive or negative… My concern is with the columnists and the established letter-writers. “I am suggesting that you devote at least one of your contributions per month to a positive message—something that will …
Read More »Noble: This too shall pass—the power of hope in times of fear and despair
Growing up as a child of the ‘50s, you learned that ‘laugh and cry does live in the same house’. This piece of folk wisdom meant that after joy will come sorrow. The reverse is also true: ‘weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning’. The …
Read More »Noble: Sorrow at Christmas—‘how can we sing songs while we weep at our fate?’
In the period between Christmas 2020 and 2021, because of Covid-19, we have lost a staggering 2,456 persons. We have empty chairs and beds in many homes, which serve as a haunting reminder. How do we eat a Christmas Day meal without the presence and joy of a loved one? …
Read More »Dear Editor: The media must beware of unhelpful ‘post-truths’ about mental health
“[…] I had a problem when she said, ‘No matter how privileged or happy your circumstances are, most humans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.’ “No degree of latitude from journalistic licence should be allowed about that statement. It is incorrect—not just because I am a psychiatrist saying so…” The following …
Read More »Vaneisa: The lonely crowd; understanding our parallel pandemic
For those accustomed to an interior life—that is, living without need for external stimulation—the enforced isolation of a lockdown has been little more than an inconvenience. However by now, everyone has had to confront the grim surge of Covid cases; and anxiety and fear have mounted. The darks days will …
Read More »Noble: Living in a messy world; God understands suicide, so help—don’t judge!
God understands suicide. There are seven stories about suicide in the Bible, including Samson, seen as victorious, killing more in death than in life and finding his way into the Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). Suicide is a complicated story in the Bible. It is a short-circuiting of God’s plans …
Read More »Who feels it, knows it! St Bernard’s pick for calypso crown and how local music can raise foreign exchange
I’m backing Joanne “Tigress” Rowley for Calypso Monarch 2019. Her story is real. Her music is good. And, yes, I had a ring side seat to her deciding on the song, Who Feels It, Knows It. Her rendition deals with depression and a mental health issue she dealt with after …
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