“On a hill far away,” Paul burst into mournful fo’daymorning song as he caught up with us, “stands a new water tank, the emblem of suffering and shame…” Taken completely by surprise, Bobby and I looked blankly at each other. “Who side you on?” Paul asked. Scores of people, mainly …
Read More »Early Bird: Can Minister Marvin punch above his weight in wasteful WASA?
“What’s really going on with this WASA water tank?” Bobby inquired, in the middle of our walk last Wednesday morning. In the area to the west of the tank, there was heavy machinery, a tractor and a front-end loader. I know that put Bobby’s mind at ease. He is a …
Read More »Early Bird: Machel’s Monarchy triumph; mafia or merit? Mission for the media?
“What shit you talking, bro?” Bobby asked, his jaw literally dropping. “We talking bout the same song?” Even before Calypso Fiesta, I had shared Soul of Calypso with my pardna on WhatsApp. We both agreed then that it was not the “hit calypso” Machel would have us believe it is. …
Read More »Early Bird: How England plan to use Pollard to get back on white ball track
The story about Kieron Pollard’s recently signed consultancy contract has not got a lot of traction in the media. But if Bobby is right, it could make a big difference to the outcome of this year’s World Cup. Twelve years ago in 2011, Pollard was offered a retainer contract by …
Read More »Early Bird: Crime concerns come nearer home after close encounter of the scary kind
“Assholes!” Bobby shouts after the two half-naked young men as they fly around and past us like a speeding bus on Monday morning. And after one last, long look at the bare disappearing backs of the boy bandits, he resumes our interrupted conversation in his normal voice. “Which is also …
Read More »Early Bird: CR7 before Ronaldo? Buffon before Banks? Get real, AI!
The Peterkin massacre, we’d both agreed last week, was a horror movie, which had moved murder in T&T into a whole new realm. And as I drove down to Bobby’s house early Monday morning, my mood was still more than muted, sombre. “Judgement,” Bobby the Bard greeted me even before …
Read More »Early Bird: Told ya! GAW put karmic classic cutarse on complacent TKR
Calmer than you imagine any Trinbago cricket fan would be, Bobby smirked his way through our entire fo’daymorning Republic Day walk. A smirk is a kind of fleeting oral halo. It is a personal recognition of if not saintliness, at least rightness. Maybe not every time, it concedes-cum-brags, but this …
Read More »Early Bird: Echoing Denyse Plummer; TKR support nah leaving—it’s more than cricket
That Monday morning when Bobby sent me back to the 1950s and an old Sparrow kaiso about Carnival queens, Denyse Plummer was still with us… Fo’daymorning. I pull up in front of his house as usual to start our walk to the Eddie Hart Savannah. On the way, he makes …
Read More »Early Bird: When CNC3 “rolled” over the late Professor Gordon Rohlehr
Apoplectic, my fo’daymorning walk pardnah Bobby would later describe my state. In hindsight, I had to agree. Unapologetically apoplectic. Don’t blame me. Blame the pair of presenters on duty on the 7 ‘o’ clock news on CNC3 on the night of 30 January. They had ignited my ire. Had lit …
Read More »Early Bird’s W/C recall: T&T dresses up—Jack Warner, Caligiuri combine to cancel our date…
“1990?” asks Bobby, a rueful look distorting his facial features, “What I remember best about that campaign is Philbert Jones incredible miss from the edge of the six-yard box. “But I will also never forget Kerry Jamerson’s run in the second half of the second half of the last game …
Read More »Scotty Ranking’s TP story, some more supermarket surprises and shrinkflation
There’s a coalpot somewhere in my storeroom. And I own a bicycle. Truth is, I down here long. So I don’t need any advice from any MP about how to prepare for what’s coming. I really down here too long fuh that. And after reading Scotty Ranking’s recent piece on …
Read More »Early Bird: Mango doudouce, julie and starch—but never tinned
“Pan? Pan my ass! Sat say once that UNC people have dholak and sitar and tabla and tassa; they don’t want no pan!” “Morning, breds,” I had greeted Prakash cheerily as he stepped into the street just as Bobby and I were passing his house on Friday morning. “Yuh hear bout …
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