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The Magic

II

Carpet

M

ir, a brave, young boy of mid-eastern descent, brown-skinned, dark hair and brown eyes full of adventure and excitement listened entranced as his grandfather told Arabian stories of camels and the endless desert, of marble castles, rich silks and jewels, unique and exquisite, but most of all he loved the adventure stories of Alladin and the Magic Carpet.

“Arabian stories of camels and the endless desert” The old man’s stories interested not all of the children for they were always running off to play games on the television, biking or playing cricket. But, Amir fascinated and with a deep interest of the past would digest every word. He was somewhat different with a vivid imagination and time and time again, in his mind, he would recreate the adventures of Alladin as though it was today and not a myth of yesterday, as if it was him, walking about in the busy market place playing his mischief and flying around on his carpet, teasing Jasmine –“the princess” as she sat on her balcony and of course, in the company of his faithful genie. But always he would be awoken from his dreams to the reality it wasn’t real, not now, for he was so far away from the mid-east, in a South American country, where there were no camels, no desert and no-one wore silk and certainly no Arabian music and dancing. “Where did it all go?” he had asked his father, a puzzled look on his boyish, innocent face. His father, though, not always enthuse with his son’s many, strange questions, would smile and answer, “It was a long time ago son, many things have changed.” “Why did we come here, why can’t we go back?” “Well, it’s a long story and things have changed there, too. There are no-more fairy tales.” “I wished things hadn’t change, it was so wonderful then,” he had said crest-fallen. His father had embraced him, wondering sometimes how good dreams of the past would be for this wonderful child. The next morning, Amir woke up, wildly excited and slid down the banister of the stairs, bursting through the kitchen door and dancing around his mother chanting, “I got it mom, I got it, I got it.”

His mother held him by the shoulders so he could stand still, “What have you got, son?” “A great idea, we can open our own business with Arabian goods and call our store, „The Arabian Nights.”” “Oh boy,” his mother had said, exasperated,

“Another dream, maybe we should send you to the mid-east.”

“Yeah,” Amir said enthusiastically. She sat him down to have his breakfast just as his big brother and his father came in from their general store. “Packing those steel rods was one heck of a job,” his father said rubbing his shoulder. “Maybe we should have asked „Aladdin”, here to summon the genie to make our work easy,” his brother mocked.

“Very funny,” Amir mumbled. It wasn’t his brother alone who made fun of his imagination, but also the boys at school and if that wasn’t bad enough, the girl who was his friend was nicknamed, Jasmine. “He couldn’t understand why they won’t believe, why they didn’t want to bring back that beautiful culture in their lives. “Too much has been lost,” his grandfather said one day, as they sat by the wharf with their fishing rods looking across the wide river that flowed into the sea on the far horizon where long ago merchant ships sailed plying their

trade of silk and Arabian goods. “But you continue to embrace it in your heart, my child, and one day your dreams would come to life.” “Yeah,” Amir said to himself, a wide smile on his face. The boy who so often went back in time and lived his adventure would one day bring the Arabian style back to this time. He followed the teachings at school, read his books and locked away in his mind the beautiful parts he loved, not allowing the fun and laughter to annoy him, until one day, an older boy was rude to his friend „Jasmine. “The next day, Amir took his sword to school and challenged the boy to a duel. The sword was not real but

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

maureen.rampertab@gmail.com sturdy enough to hurt the boy and his father was called to school on the matter. Amir was scolded and his sword taken away, but it was enough to showcase his bravery and he won the girls admiration for his stance. For Amir it was the beginning of his real life of adventures. During the fasting period, a visitor came to their home. He wore a long white beard and spoke in a deep voice. He had been travelling the world spreading the teachings of their culture, their beliefs and for the young boy, the stranger from a long line of descendants had a treasure chest of knowledge to share, but it was the twinkle in his eyes that made Amir felt there was something familiar about him. On the last day of the fasting he said „goodbye” to continue his journey and gifted Amir with a neatly wrapped package, saying quietly, „only for your eyes. “That night, in his room, Amir slowly unwrapped the package, knowing in his heart it was something of great value of their past culture and gasped in wonderment as he stared at the carpet, one he had seen in his dreams, so many times. He touched it with trembling fingers, feeling the texture of the golden thread it was woven with, then he stepped back, shaking his head, thinking, “ This couldn’t be true, it doesn’t have magical powers, it’s just a carpet,” He felt afraid to believe, but his young heart had loved and believed so much, that it banished his fears and doubts and closing his eyes he stepped on the carpet. In a flash, it lifted with him to the ceiling and stayed there for a short moment, before dropping back to the floor. Amir was speechless, it really had magic. His heart was racing with excitement, he felt like shouting it out to the world then he remembered the Molvi’s words, took a deep breath and calmed down. No one could know it would be his secret always. He opened the window, quietly and looked outside. It was all dark, the little town was sleeping and stepping on the carpet, he said, “Take me on a journey, carpet.” The carpet rose slowly with the boy and sailed smoothly out the window, over the tree tops and houses, up to the sky. The wind rushed through his hair, warming his face, so filled with joy and excitement and at his request the carpet returned to his room. Amir’s dreams had certainly come to life. The Molvi was indeed someone from the old world who knew and somehow he had found the boy whose heart had gone back in time and embraced that wonderful culture and only he could the magic carpet belong to, because he was the Alladin of today’s world.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

III

By Petamber Persaud

Racing With The Rain Racing with the Rain by Ken Puddicombe, MiddleRoad Publishers, 2012 Reviewed by Frank Birbalsingh (Professor Emeritus Birbalsingh who is an anthologist and the author of many scholarly publications including ‘From Pillar to Post: The Indo- Caribbean Diaspora,’ ‘Passion and Exile: Essays in Caribbean Literature,’ ‘The Rise of West Indian Cricket: From Colony to Nation,’ and two anthologies of Indo-Caribbean writing ‘Jahaji’ and ‘Jahaji Bhai.’ His latest book on cricket, ‘Indian-Caribbean Test Cricketers and the Quest for Identity’ is now available.

Birbalsingh is an acknowledged book reviewer.

Racing in the Rain is the first novel of Guyanese-born Ken Puddicombe who, since 1971, has lived in Canada where he works as an accountant. Racing offers a fictional version of political events during a turbulent period, from the 1960s to the 1980s, in the history of Guyana, formerly British Guiana. The novel is a roman a clef, one in which people and events may be identified through fictional names assigned Ken Puddicombe to particular organisations, individuals or places, for example, “Liberty Home” for actual Freedom House, “Arawak Hotel” for Carib Hotel, “Kingsley” for Sydney King, and “Jack Hill” for Jack Kelshall.

The narrator Carl Dias is a Guyanese who lived through events in the novel before coming to Canada, and settling in Toronto where we first see him, in 1980, sixteen years after he left Guyana. He is Senior Economist at the Canadian Business Bank, and is separated from his Russian/Cuban partner Natasha and their two children - Alexei and Irina who play no active part in the novel. Carl receives news of the death of his father Augusto in Guyana, and his narrative consists of an account of his visit to Guyana to attend the funeral, except that chapters describing his visit are interspersed between reflections on his family or friends, and documentation of Guyana’s political history between the 1960s and 1980s.

The narrator’s surname betrays his origin in a Portuguese community, a Guyanese minority group who were brought to Guyana as indentured workers, from Madeira, during the mid-nineteenth century. The group have evidently done well since Carl’s father enjoys the status of a successful Georgetown business man, influential among the Conservatives (an actual political party - United Force - whose leaders are chiefly Portuguese or rich Indian-Guyanese) all vigorous supporters of free enterprise, and sworn enemies of the Reform Party (actual People’s Progressive Party which is supported mainly by Indian-Guyanese) and regarded as Marxist/Leninist or Communist. A third party, the Republican Party (actual People’s National Congress whose membership is largely African-Guyanese and ostensibly Marxist,) forms a strategic coalition with the Conservatives despite deep ideological

differences, mainly because coalition brings blessings of the Kennedy administration in the US, and practical help from the C.I.A. and American Labour Unions who share a common anti-communist aim of depriving the Reform Party of power gained (by democratic means) from an electorate that is largely Indian-Guyanese.

The two strands of the novel’s plot consisting of action from the period of Carl’s visit in 1980 and from the tumultuous period of the 1960s with strikes, riots and other ructions, allow the reader to see both the collusion necessary to replace the Reform Party régime with one that is Republican, and the consequences of Republican rule, by 1980, when it had produced widespread food shortages, disorder, Professor increased crime, corruption, Frank Birbalsingh repression and dictatorship that left Georgetown, once known as “the Garden City of the Caribbean” in mere shambles: “Signs of decay everywhere. Trenches were filled with stagnant water and garbage and tall reeds lined the banks.

Buildings were weather-beaten. Streets were perforated with potholes and sidewalks rutted and cracked.” (p.310) Puddicombe is both diligent and skillful in documenting the beauty of Guyana’s tropical vegetation, and the flavour and idiom of local speech and public banter that are part and parcel of everyday life, social habits and customs observed, for example, in a typical scene outside a cinema in Georgetown: “The aroma of black pudding, boiled corn and channa, ripe tamarind, freshly baked cassava pone drifted across to Carl as an old woman dispensed her snacks from a tray perched on top of a wooden soft drink crate.” (p.165). The sentence captures both the simple, improvised quality of the old woman’s business, and the mouth-watering appeal and natural warmth of her service.

As for tropical rain, it gives the novel its title when, as boys, the narrator and his friends hear the roll of thunder, precursor to rain, and in the middle of their game, grab their marbles trying: “to outrun the rain before the eruption.” (p41) But the politics of the novel and its characters are central.

In such a maelstrom of political opinions and loyalties, objectivity is impossible, and Carl’s entire narrative including his acceptance of a Reform Party scholarship to study in communist Cuba declare his moderate, left-ofcentre political sympathies, quite unlike the fanaticism of his father

who believed that: “They [caterpillars] were like Communists, preying on people and taking everything away until the cupboard was bare. “ (p.52) Augusto Dias also boasted: “I’m not abandoning it [Guyana] to a Communist takeover. They’re going to have to take me out of here in a pine box.” [p.194) Augusto reflects the real fanaticism that caused destruction, looting and mayhem in the 1960s. It turns out he may even has supported a terrorist group – the X13. More than that, Carl discovers his half-brother Earl Singh and realises Augusto was not as upright as he claimed. Yet Augusto’s portrait, because of its hypocrisy, is all the more convincing.

While in Guyana, Carl is suspected of membership in a Toronto-based organisation - Restoration of Democracy (the Association of Concerned Guyanese) – which is believed to plan the overthrow of the Republican Party régime. Carl did attend one meeting of the group in Toronto, and although he did not join, the friend who invited him entered his name as a member which is now used by Guyanese security forces to accuse him of being a spy. Carl is trapped and helpless, in grave danger of never seeing his family again. Suspense builds as he is interrogated and tempted by intrigue and desperation. One of his interrogators, however, is a neighbour who, as a delinquent boy was helped by Augusto, and now comes to Carl’s rescue. Carl is then able to make amends to his half-brother Earl before he leaves. Whatever else it may be, Racing is an act of filial piety – one man’s loving homage to his father, warts and all.

(Ken Puddicombe is a professional Accountant who provided controllership for a number of companies in the private sector before he retired to pursue his love of writing. His writing has appeared in newspapers and literary journals in Canada and the U.K. Originally from British Guiana [now Guyana] in South America, he immigrated to Canada in 1970 and still lives there with his family.

“Racing With The Rain” is his first novel. He is working on a second novel Junta and a collection of short stories entitled Down Independence Boulevard for early release.

His genre is fiction, based on international locations but especially focused in Canada, the Caribbean and Guyana.)

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email:oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

IV

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Other Leopards

by Denis Williams

I

Introduction by Victor J. Ramraj n 1959, the Jamaican author V.S. Reid published his novel The Leopard, set in Kenya. It reflected his angry response to the defaming of a legitimate anti-colonial movement, the Mau-Mau, by the British and colonial press. In 1962, a year before the publication of Denis Williams's Other Leopards, Derek Walcott published "A Far Cry from Africa," a poem that evokes a conflicted response to those same Kenyan events and, through the powerful metaphor of being "divided to the vein" (Walcott's grandmothers were blacks and his grandfathers European), expresses his particular ambiv-

Dr Victor Ramraj

alence as a colonial individual towards the two worlds in which he finds himself, the local and the imperial. In the year following the publication of Other Leopards, O.R. Dathorne's The Scholar Man (1964) also explored the symbolic figure of a Caribbean man returning to Africa. In 1968, and without the ambivalences of Walcott, Williams and Dathorne, Edward Kamau Braithwaite published Masks, the second and African-set volume of his Arrivants trilogy. It was a period when in addition to Dathorne and Brathwaite, other writers such as Lindsay Barrett and Neville Dawes went to live in Africa. It was a period when in Jamaica the demand of Rastafarian groups to "go home" to Ethiopia began to penetrate public discourse when the UWI's Institute of Social and Economic Research published the 1960 Report on thr Rastafarian Movement.

In Guyana, in 1961 Eusi Kwayana had founded the African Society for Racial Equality (ASRE) and in 1964 set up ASCRIA, the African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa. Denis Williams himself had spent ten years in Africa between 1958 and 1968: five years lecturing at the Khartoum School of Fine Arts and five years at the University of Ife in Nigeria.

This was the context in which Other Leopards appeared in 1963. What sets this landmark novel apart from the other works set in Africa at this time is its unremitting focus on its intensely ambivalent protagonist, Lionel Froad. Froad, like Walcott's speaker, finds it difficult to choose between the African and the English worlds, plaintively asking "where shall I turn," and Williams depicts his predicament in an impressive, arresting way. In the first part of the novel, Williams sets out the dichotomised life that underlies the crisis; in the second part he dramatizes the search for a consistent, stable identity.

Both parts paint an insightful, psychological, socio-political

portrait of a tormented and conflicted colonial, but it is in the second part in particular that Williams's novelistic talent is most evident when he shows Lionel Froad trying to avoid falling into the interstices between apparently antithetical cultures and trying to find a resolution to his dilemma.

Froad's disturbed consciousness of his duality is evident from the start. Like the author, he is an Afro-Guyanese educated in Britain. He has come to Johkara, a fictional version of Sudan, ostensibly to work as an archaeological draftsman for an English researcher, Hugh King, but essentially in the hope of finding in Africa his true roots and identity, which he thinks his colonial education has denied him. Intelligent and contemplative, often poetic in articulating his feelings, he informs an unidentified listener/reader what his problem is: "I am a man, you see, plagued by (my) two names, and this is their history: Lionel the who I was, dealing with Lobo, the who I continually felt I ought to become...All along, ever since I'd grown up, I'd been Lionel looking for Lobo. I'd felt I ought to become this chap, this alter ego of ancestral times that I was sure quietly slumbered behind the cultivated mask."

Such meta-fictional commentary in the opening paragraph of the novel Denis Williams signals us to read the work as a colonial allegory of in betweenity, and many other elements in the novel – some transparent, some less so – support this direction. The opening locale shows Froad contemplating his divided psyche while stalled on a bus on Kutam Bridge, in a town linking the two physical environments of Johkara; it is “not quite sub-Sahara, but then not quite desert; not equatorial black, not Mediterranean white. Mulatto. Sudanic mulatto, you could call it. Ochre. Semi-scrub. Not desert, not sown.” The dividedness of the setting (described in human terms) reinforces the dividedness of the protagonist. In addition to Froad’s being caught between the imperial lion and the native wolf (“lobo” is Spanish and Portuguese for “wolf”) as his first names point up, he sees his current identity as “froadulent”. Other names are allegorical in a more sophisticated way. Halfway through the novel, distinguishing between individuals who are absolutely sure of themselves and their causes, and those who are burdened with uncertainties and doubts. Froad uses the image of the novel’s title: “Some leopards think they have no spots simply because they have no mirrors. Others manage to know, somehow”. So among lobos and leopards he identifies two kinds: those with and those without self-awareness.

Froad clearly is “another leopard,” aware of his spots, aware of his vacillation and ambivalence, and in this duality there is perhaps a comment on V.S. Reid’s slightly earlier novel, The Leopard, where the eponymous beat is an altogether less complex metaphor. Froad pays a price for his self-knowledge – he who yearns “to be committed, happy. Like everybody else”.

But given his compulsion to know himself he is unlikely to succumb to the self-deception such response entails.

Hughie King, Froad’s nemesis, is evidently an allegorical reflection of imperial power – through more fleshed out than the Old Dowager, George Lamming’s imperial allegorical counterpart in Water with berries (1971). But King has an additional allegorical function in Other Leopards. If Williams

portrays Lobo as Lionel’s alter ego, his id, representing the intuitive, the passionate, “the swamp and forests and vaguely felt darkness”, King is the cerebral, the disciplined, the ordered, the enquiring–the super ego qualities Froad both admires and resents. Despite King’s condescending criticism of his inability to be more even-tempered and methodical, Froad is “fond of him”, admitting that he envies his “cold intelligence; clear apart mind”. Williams recurringly points to their duality through images of marriage and love (the literalness of which the text plays down). On one occasion, Froad states: “I sometimes felt Hughie could read my thoughts…In some things it was like we were married”. And at the end of the novel, when Lionel tries to shed this burdensome component of his psyche by killing King, Hughie appears to be an understanding participant. “So fast it was as though he was greedy for the screwdriver; he came hungrily into it, like we were lovers understanding this inevitable moment”. Whether or not we are meant to read a homoerotic sub-text here, it nevertheless reinforces the figurative significance of Froad’s assault on his British alter ego.

Williams draws a parallel with another work that has frequently been read as an allegory of the colonial-imperial relationship. Just before Froad plunges the screwdriver into King’s neck, he attempts to hum Ariel’s song “Where the Bee Sucks” from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but he finds he “couldn’t sing”. Ariel is Prospero’s smart, temporising, diplomatic servant and Froad cannot sing Ariel’s song because at the point when he makes his murderous assault, he is not Ariel but Prospero’s confrontational other servant Caliban (-Lobo), who uses the language his master has taught him to curse him. Williams suggests Froad’s potential is to appear to King/Prospero as either Ariel or Caliban, unlike Lamming (in Water with Berries) or Aime Cesaire (in the Une Tempete [1969]) who both appear to suggest that West Indian colonials are essentially Calibans (without acknowledging their Arieleque possibilities).

Froad, as a self-aware leopard, is ambivalent in his response to the intuitive world of Lobo, his African-native alter ego. He is disillusioned, for instance, when he discovers the true nature of Amanishakete, the Queen of Meroe in BCE 1.

In earlier discussions with Froad, King has relegated Amanishakete culture to the status of the marginal; with no influence on what followed. For Froad, Amanishakete was to prove Ling wrong; she was to counter his dismissive comments, show once and for all that Froad had a noble African ancestry. But when Froad visits the archaeological site where figures of Amanishakete have been unearthed, he finds statues of her flogging slaves. He cannot help seeing her as “cruel, gross, ugly…she knew hate and law. No trace of love and care. She was a spreading desert”. With this disillusioning discovery, the Lionel-King part of his psyche wins through, repressing his Lobo identity.

Williams, further portrays Froad’s divisions in his relationships with the two women he becomes intimate with in Johkara: Eve, the daughter of “the chief”, a domineering black Christian missionary, who like Froad, is from Guyana; and Catherine, King’s secretary, who is from Wales together they constitute another binary opposition tugging at Froad.

With patent allegorical intent, Williams has Froad recognise a sketch of Amanishakete in an archaeological volume to be “the image, pure and simple and shatteringly original, of Eve”. Eve has married a Muslim against her Christian father’s wishes, and, when the novel opens, has fled her husband’s home with their baby. Froad, in his Lobo frame of mind, sees her initially as a kindred spirit and becomes her lover. Williams describes Eve, who always addresses Froad as Lobo, never as Lionel, in terms of images associated with the wolf. He compares her to the gloom of forest floors and dark, silent rivers, and (before his disillusion) Froad perceives her as a true descendant of

Please see page V

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014 From page IV

Amanishakete: “Raw, earthly, nearer to the natural state”.

Froad, in his Loboesque moments, admires her commitment to Africa, her participation in the spirit-invoking women’s zaar ceremonies and her dancing at local weddings. As Lionel he is less apprehensive of her. King has dismissively told Froad that the Amanishakete culture is a “faecal culture”, and it is in faecal contexts that Froad, as Lionel, comes to see Eve. On one occasion, furious at her for lying to him about being pregnant, he searches for her in an area filled with scavengers emptying latrine buckets in their carts, and later gains entrance to the place she is visiting through a latrine at the rear of the building.

Catherine, who is presented in almost every instance as a foil to Eve, also becomes Froad’s lover. Concerned for his welfare, she acts as a buffer between Froad and King, interpreting King’s apparently imperial attitudes in less offensive ways to Froad. She tries to draw Froad out of what she sees as his beloved “Burden”, his obsessive preoccupation with self, trying to persaud him that King is not always his nemesis. She perceives Lionel as an Anglophile, matter-of-factly asking him, “You ever wished you were white…?” – a question that

angers yet preoccupies his. He shares with Catherine his most analytical, reflective thoughts, which he seldom lets Eve hear.

He tells Catherine about his meeting with the Muslim leader who wants him to write for their political organ, impressing on her his role as a reluctant Africanist. While Lobo appends Eve in relation to dark tropical imagery, Lionel sees Catherine in terms of romantic Welsh images (an Aspect of the novel that draws intertextually on the contrast set up by Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness between Kurtz’s Intended and his African mistress). She is “like those distilled, shadowless twilights you get at times in the Welsh valleys, illuminated from the clouds”. These elements in the novel point clearly ahead to, for instance, the postcolonial fiction of David Dabydeen.

Besides the parallel Conradian echo of The Intended (1991), Dabydeen’s Disappearance (1993) takes his Guyanese engineer from Guyana to England rather than Africa (through colonial Africa is present in Mrs Rutherford’s Kentish cottage), but the two novels have much in common in there allegorical structures and fondness for inter-textual reference.

Further illuminating Foard’s state of in-betweenity, Williams portrays him as caught between opposing political causes in Johkara. On the one side are the secessionist Christian

V

blacks of the South; on the other the ruling Muslim Arabs of the North. Eve’s Christian father and Mohammed, an Arab spokesman, both try to persuade him to write in support of their respective causes, one appealing to Froad’s Christian upbringing, the other to his Pan-African sentiments. Williams – again underlining Froad’s duality – has both sides appeal to him in exactly the same words: the trust he will do the right thing because he is “a Christian Negro interested in the future of Africans in Africa”. Froad does not see any true devotion to Africa on either side. He vacillates and procrastinates, and though he does write a piece in support of the Northern status quo, he does so impulsively – as Lobo – and from no strong belief. Whilst he envies others who can make unambiguous commitments, he never manages this himself.

In the latter part of the novel, Williams shows Froad obsessed with the ancient Greek myth of Zagreus. Zagreus, the product of an illicit union between Persephone and Zeus (in the form of a serpent), is pursued by the Titians, set on him by the jealous Hera. To survive, Zagreus has to assume many disguise, but in the end is torn apart by the Titians. The novel offers – metafictionally – multiple ways of interpreting this myth as it applies to Froad’s plight. Froad perceives himself to be similarly the product of an illicit union and to be in need of protection against forces – more emotional than physical in his case – that seek to overwhelm him. Almost himself torn apart

by Muslim women at the Zaar, Froad empathetically feels that Zagreus need not have perished. Catherine, on the other hand, sees no parallel between Zagreus and Froad; she argues that Zagreus accepted his fate as the hunted while Froad wallows in self-pity, in love with his “Burden”. The Chief, by contrast, feels that Zagreus had to die because, as a bastard, he lacked the moral force to fight evil (the Titians) and because he broke with his people. Hughie King feels the myth has significance only insofar as it is read historically or seen as underlining the truth that “opposition is the fundamental attitude of being homo sapiens”. To his interesting frustration, Froad is left to wonder which of these interpretations is pertinent.

Other Leopards provides no solution to Froad’s predicament. The ending of the novel leaves Froad, like the proverbial possum, literally “up a gum tree” (an apt phrase given its ambiguous significance of being in a state of contentment or in a state of great difficulty). After stabbing King, he flees to a belt of Johkara jungle, strips himself of his clothing, daubs himself with mud, and perches on a tree. The last paragraph depicts him in this position watching a brightening horizon and wondering if it is King coming after him – having survived Froad’s assault – or if it is really the dawning of a new day. And if it is King, will he be cruel or kind? If it is a new day, will it still be burdened with debilitating ambivalence?

The Allegorical implication of all this is that, unable to accept that he is one thing or another (unlike Eve in her categorical immersion in Africa, or Catherine in her easy decision to return to her life in Wales, or the Chief in his readiness to be deported back to Guyana), Froad appears to be experiencing a reverse evolution back to a primordial state from which he will eventually evolve organically, naturally, in “his own” time. The tree in which he awaits the approaching dawn is one indigenous to the Sudan region – a hashab tree. From this variety of semi-desert tree comes almost all of the world’s gum Arabic. As such it is essential to the economy of the region. It provides, too, much needed fuel and building materials and its strong roots prevent erosion and hold off the encroaching desert. This and the meaning of its Hebraic name – “planning an d thinking” – makes it an appropriate tree for Froad to ascend as he waits, naked, for a possible rebirth or, in his primordial state, for evolution. He does not know what he will become – his own man? – or even what that entail: whether he will discover and accept his African roots, or come to embrace his Ariel-Caliban, Lionel-Lobo conflicted existence. The ending, though ambiguous, is not pessimistic. On the contrary, the images and phrasing suggest a fresh start. What form it will take is not, however, clear.

William’s own life and subsequent writing offers support for a positive reading of the ending of the ending of the novel.

In an interview with me, he said that, feeling uncomfortable with Europe and Africa, he decided in the 1960s to return to his own “primordial world”, the interior of Guyana. He lived from 1968 to 1974 in the Mazaruni area of Guyana hinterland, writing and painting and researching Amerindian tribal art, particularly their petroglyphs. He describes this as a “tremendous” period of his life, one free of “twentieth-century anxieties”. He recalls with pride the building his own home, acting as midwife when his wife gave birth, and having no library, no books other than – oddly - a regular subscription to The New Statesman, through which he “kept up with language”.

Was this Williams’s own ascent of the hashab tree?

In his 1970 Edgar Mittleholzer lectures, Image and Idea in the Arts of Guyana, Williams addresses very

Please see page XVIII

VI

Fluoride has primarily been utilised as an anti-caries agent

M

ost people should have at least heard of a substance called fluoride. Toothpaste manufacturers prominently include the effects of fluoride on the teeth in their advertisements. But while fluoride contained in common toothpastes have some cavity prevention characteristics, there have been recent advances in this respect which prove to be more efficient. Fluoride has primarily been utilised as an anti-caries agent. Fluoridated toothpastes are probably the most commonly used method of caries prevention and have been cited as one of the central factors associated with worldwide decrease in caries prevalence.

The most commonly used fluoride compounds are sodium monofluorophosphate (MFP). We who work in the dental profession utilise fluoridated mouth rinse. Fluoride combines with a mineral compound on the surface of the teeth to form fluoropatite which is extremely resistant to the corrosive action of the acids produced in dental plaque. The fluoride now being used primarily reduces the solubility of the enamel. But this is clearly not enough to ensure adequate oral health.

Extensive research has demonstrated that a new compound known as amine fluoride combined with stannous fluoride is superior to compounds in most toothpaste. It was shown that stannous fluoride acts as an anti-microbial agent which not only slows down the process of tooth decay but also possesses an anti-plaque, contributing to prevention of gingivitis. In effect, here is a substance which promotes and maintains the integrity of the gums apart from the teeth.

When the experiment was conducted the objectives included studying the effectiveness of the new substance on 300 fifteen-year school children. No pre-study cleanings were given, no oral hygiene instruction was offered and no close supervision was followed during the trial. The design was intended to represent conditions of the general public as far as possible. The teenage population was chosen as these subjects are known to often practice inadequate oral hygiene, experience gingivitis, but rarely demonstrate symptoms of periodontal (gum) disease.

While fluoride exists naturally in ground water, its content is critical. I have found, for example, that many young people who have lived on the East Coast of Demerara from Plaisance to Mahaicony have permanent brown to white discolouration on their teeth due to excess fluoride in the drinking water of that area. The condition is call fluorisis and it cannot be cured.

Chlorhexidine mouth rinse has been recognised in the literature as having optimal and effective effect on the control of plaque, gingivitis and periodontal disease. However, as a result of certain side effects, including severe staining, taste impairment and strong anti-bacterial virulence, chlorhexidine is usually contraindicated for prolonged daily usage.

Mouth rinses containing alternative compounds have been tested in numerous studies, including among special care patients, and it has been demonstrated that their effectiveness has been similar to that of chlorhexidine, without most of the side effects and significantly less staining. In contrast to mouth rinses, clinical studies observing the amine-stannous fluoride compound have observed no staining problems. In addition, it is chemically stable to room temperature even after being stored for two years.

Teenage participants at baseline did not present severe gingival pathology but a general improvement in gingival health was revealed over the interventional period. This meant that it was the first time that any toothpaste was proven to actually cure any oral disease. The significance of this discovery represents the beginning of a new and exciting era for dental public health and we who work in this field are striving to keep up.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Forced Into Marriage

By Her Father Deaf Ears

I

am an Indian girl, 21. I just completed my graduation and am awaiting the exam results. My parents want me to marry a rich guy I don't even know. But I am not ready for this marriage thing. I am not mentally prepared for this, and I don't feel I am at the right age for marriage.

I tried to convince them, but my father is not listening. He just wants to marry me to a rich fellow. I don't know what to do. I am really depressed. Please help.

AMI

Ami, in a letter to her niece, Jane Austin wrote that "anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection." We agree.

But you need to be smart about this. You need to be grown-up about this. You have to make the better argument. Examine your father's motives in trying to arrange this marriage. Does he want status?

Additional wealth?Prestige? Whatever it is, your arguments have to overpower and outweigh his.

"I don't wanna" is the argument a 6-year-old might use. Adult arguments lay claim to a higher ground. They sound like this.

Parental rights are not property rights. Human beings are not to be bred like cattle because that demeans them. One adult does not have a moral right to control another adult in this matter. Forcing a woman to marry a man she doesn't know and doesn't want is tantamount to violating that woman.

Tell your father, as an adult, you are obligated to speak the truth, and coercing you into a loveless marriage shows he lacks compassion for you. If there is a religious authority or someone else your father respects who might take your side, by all means enlist them.

You are in a horrifying situation, not because you have done anything wrong, but because someone else wants to use you and your life to their ends. There is a strong moral argument against that. Like the conscription of child soldiers and the sale of young girls for sex, forcing you into a marriage denies your inherent dignity as a person, and it violates what should be your right to decide.

But don't act out of panic or desperation. That may cause you to do something which won't help. Use your brain and review your options. If you say no, what will happen? Can you support yourself? Do you have a place to go? Will you be safe if you resist?

If it's not safe to leave and you have no place to go, you may have to consider subterfuge or passive resistance. The silent treatment, abstaining from food, eating too much, not bathing and cutting off your hair are all options.

If you have no other power, what can you get away with? If there is an opportunity to meet the prospective groom, you can be mean to him, tell him you don't want to marry him, refuse to speak to him or give him dirty looks. Or, as Jane Austin advised her niece, "...whenever you are together behave with a coldness which may convince him that he has been deceiving himself."

In the past arranged marriage depended on two things. Young people had no access to another way, and social pressure could be used to bring them into line. Not going along meant losing your family and place in society forever. But today freedom and self-determination are seen as higher values.

Your final alternative is to simply say no. There is no appeal from no. But whatever you say, however you act, you must do it with conviction. Keep your goal uppermost in mind: I do not want to be married off now to someone I do not love.

As you consider your options, rule out anything which threatens your physical safety.

Rule out doing any harm to yourself which is permanent and irreversible.

WAYNE & TAMARA

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

“Scar-faced”

I

freed of felony & robbery-under-arms convictions through farcical ID parade

N 1974, Ken Barrow, a man with a scar on the left side of his face, allegedly participated with others in a robbery.

He was identified at an identification parade because he was the only man with a scar on his face. At his jury trial, he was convicted of felonious wounding and robbery under arms, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

But Barrow was freed by the Guyana Court of Appeal on the ground that the identification parade was not properly conducted.

The Appellate Court, constituted by Chancellor J.O.F. Haynes, with Justices of Appeal Victor Crane and R. H. Luckhoo, considered that the parade was a farce, since there ought to have been more than one scarfaced man on parade.

The facts of the case disclosed that the accused, in company with other men, entered the yard of the complainant, Richard Beharry, and robbed his wife Edna of several pieces of gold jewellery. While three of the men were engaged in robbing Edna inside the house, the accused was aiding and abetting them by holding on to Richard, violently assaulting him outside, and at the same time keeping a look out to facilitate the crime.

After the robbers had departed with their booty, Beharry reported the matter to the police, giving a statement in which he described his attacker as a short, dark,

Negro man with a scar on the left side of his face.

The accused was convicted of felonious wounding and robbery under arms, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count.

On appeal, the defence counsel complained that, at the close of the case for the prosecution at the Assizes, he had sought leave from the judge to make submissions in the presence of the jury, but the judge had overruled the submission and had said

parade.

Yet another complaint was that inadmissible prejudicial evidence was admitted during the course of the trial, without any warning to the jury to disregard it.

The three judges of the Guyana Court of Appeal had their say as they allowed the appeal and set aside convictions and sentences to free the accused, Ken Barrow.

Chancellor Haynes said: “In the light of very recent authority on what is the cor-

they had to be made in the jury’s absence.

This was a grave irregularity, the defence counsel contended, since the trial judge had no jurisdiction to conduct any part of criminal proceedings in the absence of the jury.

Complaint was also made that the identification parade was unfairly conducted for two reasons –- that it was highly prejudicial to the accused to place him on parade with other persons who did not have scars on their faces; and that it was not made clear to Beharry that the suspect was not necessarily on the identification

rect rule of practice, it cannot be said in the instant case that the trial judge erred in ruling that the submissions should be made in the jury’s absence.

“In any event, no injustice resulted from the judge’s decision to hear the submissions in their absence.

“The identification parade, with the accused as the only man with a scar on the left side of his face, was a farce. It was no test at all, since Beharry could have picked out no other person than the accused.

“The trial judge has a discretion as to whether he should or should not draw to the jury’s attention the

presence of inadmissible prejudicial evidence that has been inadvertently let in in the course of the trial.”

Justice of Appeal Victor Crane said: “The summing-up was of little or no help to the jury, in that it

did not highlight the vacillating nature of Beharry’s testimony on the matter of the scar as his means of identification.

“It was unfair to mount a parade with the accused as the only suspect with a scar on the left side of his face. Moreover, for the officer-in-charge of it to fail to add a saving clause to the effect that the suspect should be identified only if he is on parade vitiated the conviction and sentence.”

Justice of Appeal R. H. Luckhoo said: “The identification was unreliable. It was incumbent on the trial judge to draw the jury’s attention to all relevant factors as tended to diminish the cogency of the identification.”

The appeal was allowed

VII

By George Barclay

and the convictions and sentences were set aside.

Thirty cases were referred to by the Court of Appeal in support of the decision.

Attorney-at-law J.A Patterson appeared for the appellant, while Senior State Counsel Mr. L. Ganpatsingh represented the State.

VIII

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART

K

By Neil Primus

ishore was in a very good mood. He was attending the wedding of his best friend and was thoroughly enjoying himself. The four or more drinks he had consumed kept him high and happy.

He and Rudy had grown up together. They had attended the same primary and secondary schools. Now they both worked in the Public Service. They had double dated on many occasions but he had not seriously considered marriage, at least not yet. He still had a few years to enjoy himself and he had every intention of doing so.

As the reception went on he wandered outside into the backyard. He had been there many times so he knew it well.

He stood in the cool night breeze drinking a Banks Beer. He looked over by the gate and saw a young lady standing there.

It was dark at the back because all the action was taking place in front. He walked towards the figure intending to escort her to the front. When he got to within a few yards of the woman she vanished.

He stopped and stared at the spot she had just been standing in. Glaring at the glass of El Dorado rum he had been drinking, he tossed its contents away and headed indoors. He was beginning to see things. That was a sign that it was time to go.

Kishore rode his Honda 750cc motor cycle along the lonely road. Its bright high beam picked out a stationary figure dressed in black. It was a woman so he revved down and stopped. She was much too pretty to just pass by. He smiled and she smiled back. That was enough of an invitation for him. With his usual slick and charm, he offered her a drop home. She accepted. She got onto the big bike and he roared off. He was in no hurry to get her home.

“Where do you live?”

She clung to him with one hand and used the other to point in the same direction in which they were going. They rolled on. When he got to her house she smiled at him, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and slipped away into the yard leaving the lovely scent of her perfume with him. Kishore rode the rest of the way home swiftly.

Work commitment gave him little time to think of the beautiful girl. After a week of hard work his thoughts returned to the lady he had given a lift. Somehow he could still smell her perfume. He realised this was only in his head. What he needed to do was go and see her. He decided to visit her the next afternoon.

Kishore announced his arrival at her home with the high revving of his powerful silver motor cycle. The noise was so loud he was sure it could wake the dead. He was even more convinced that she would hear it and come to the door, but he was disappointed.

An obviously angry woman appeared at the door. Her hair was waist long and she had a striking resemblance to the girl he had met. This must be her mother. Then the serious face of a bald headed, middle aged man joined her. Kishore parked the bike and strode manfully into the small yard.

“Good afternoon.” He gave them his best smile.

“Why you got to mek so much noise young man? This

is a residential area!” The father’s tone was stern.

This was not the start Kishore was hoping for. He would need to do some quick damage control.

“My apologies.”

“Huh!” the dad was not impressed.

“How are you?” he tried again.

“Disturbed!” was the bunt response.

Ouch. This was proving to be a tough nut to crack. He focused his attention on the mother. He gave her his flashing smile. She smiled back at him. Much better, he thought.

“How can we help you young man?” the mother sounded very friendly.

Kishore looked at the father and was about to ask for his daughter when he realised that he did not even know her name. This was going to be awkward.

“I just wanted to say hello to your daughter.”

The two looked at each other in genuine surprise then back to him in puzzlement.

“What are you talking about boy?”

The father’s voice was low and seemed to carry a slight tremor in it.

“Is it okay for me to speak to your daughter?”

The father was staring at him with a strange faraway look in his eyes. The old man sighed and addressed Kishore.

“Why you really come here?”

Kishore was taken aback and a bit angered by the question. He knew some parents were protective but this was ridiculous.

“I am asking to speak to your daughter. If it’s a problem say so and I will leave.”

A look of disbelief passed from mother to father. They beckoned him to sit.

“Y..Y..You spoke to our daughter?”

Kishore had almost had enough. His answer to the father was in a louder than necessary tone.

“Of course I did. I brought her home a few nights ago!”

He stood up angrily ready to storm out of the repressive presence of these two prison guards. They could keep her locked up for all he cared. The mother laid a gentle hand on his and he looked into two tender, tear filled eyes. Something was not right here.

He glanced quickly at the father. The man was trying without success to withhold tears. Kishore sat down puzzled. The woman got up and walked inside. She returned with a family photo album. Opening it she pointed to the photograph of the beautiful girl and asked him if she was the girl he met.

“Yes!” Kishore smiled in excitement as he looked at the

picture of his beautiful passenger.

“Tell me what happened?” the father asked him quietly.

Kishore related all that had taken place a few nights ago.

They both listened intently and did not interrupt him. Tears were falling freely from both parents now. Kishore’s heart began to flutter. Some instinct warned him that he was in for a big bombshell.

“Son her name is Sita and she was nineteen when she died…”

The mother’s voice broke and she sobbed softly. Kishore sat staring stupidly at the album. The pages were turned and he saw the funeral pictures. His perplexed brain was having some difficulty accepting all this. When the entire saga had unfolded he too had tears in his eyes.

He bid the grieving pair goodbye and rode slowly home. As he rode along a dark, lonely stretch of road, his headlight picked out the figure of a woman waving him to stop. With a roar of his over revved engine he tore past and left her eating dust. No more stopping for him.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

IX

ANGELINA JOLIE - Often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists

A

ngelina Jolie born June 4 1975Â in Los Angeles, California, USA is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press.

In her earliest years, Angelina began absorbing the acting craft from her parents-her father is the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and her mother is Marcheline Bertrand, who had studied with Lee Strasberg. At age 11, Angelina began studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions. She undertook some film studies at New York University and later joined the renowned Met Theatre Group in Los Angeles.

At age 16, she took up a career in modelling and appeared in some music videos. Her good looks may have been derived from her ancestry, which is German and Slovak on her father's side, and French-Canadian, Dutch, German, Czech, and remote Huron, on her mother's side.

In the mid-1990s, Jolie appeared in various small films

Angelina Jolie

where she got good notices, including Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996). Her critical acclaim increased when she played strong roles in the made-for-TV movies True Women (1997), and in George Wallace (1997) which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination. Jolie's acclaim increased even further when she played the lead role in the HBO production Gia (1998). This was the true life story of supermodel Gia Carangi, a sensitive wild child who was both brazen and needy and who had a difficult time handling professional success and the deaths of people who were close to her. Carangi became

involved with drugs and because of her needle-using habits she became, at the tender age of 26, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. Jolie's performance in Gia (1998) again garnered a Golden Globe Award and another Emmy nomination, and she additionally earned a SAG Award.

Angelina got a major break in 1999 when she won a leading role in the successful feature The Bone Collector (1999), starring alongside Denzel Washington. In that same year, Jolie gave a tour de force performance in Girl, Interrupted (1999) playing opposite Winona Ryder. The movie was a true story of women who spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Jolie's role was reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the role which won Nicholson his first Oscar. Unlike "Cuckoo", "Girl" was a small film that received mixed reviews and barely made money at the box office. But when it came to give out awards, Jolie won the triple crown -- "Girl" propelled her to win the Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award and the Academy Award for best leading actress in a supporting role.

With her new-found prominence, Jolie began to get indepth attention from the press. Numerous aspects of her controversial personal life became news. At her wedding to her Hackers (1995) co-star Jonny Lee Miller, she had displayed her husband's name on the back of her shirt painted in her own blood. Jolie and Miller divorced, and in 2000, she married her Pushing Tin (1999) co-star Billy Bob Thornton. Jolie had become the fifth wife of a man twenty years her senior.

During her marriage to Thornton, the spouses each wore a vial of the other's blood around their necks. That marriage came apart in 2002 and ended in divorce. In addition, Jolie was estranged from her famous father, Jon Voight.

In 2000, Jolie was asked to star in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). At first, she expressed disinterest, but then decided that the required training for the athletic role was intriguing. The Croft character was drawn from a popular video game. Lara Croft was a female cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. When the film was released, critics were unimpressed with the final product, but critical acclaim wasn't the point of the movie. The public paid $275 million for theatre tickets to see a buffed up Jolie portray the adventuresome Lara Croft. Jolie's father Jon Voight appeared in "Croft" and during filming there was a brief rapprochement between father and daughter.

One of the Croft movie's filming locations was Cambodia.

While there, Jolie witnessed the natural beauty, culture and poverty of that country. She considered this an eye opening experience, and so began the humanitarian chapter of her life. Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world and came to be formally appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of her experiences were written and published in her popular book "Notes from My Travels" whose profits go to UNHCR. Jolie has stated that she now plans to spend most of her time in humanitarian efforts, to be financed by her actress salary. She devotes one third of her income to savings, one third to living expenses and one third to charity. In 2002, Angelina adopted a Cambodian refugee boy named Maddox, and in 2005, adopted an Ethiopian refugee girl named Zahara. Jolie's dramatic feature film Beyond Borders (2003) parallels some of her real life humanitarian experiences although, despite the

inclusion of a romance between two westerners, many of the movie's images were too depressingly realistic-the film was not popular among critics or at the box office.

In 2004, Jolie began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) with co-star Brad Pitt. The film became a major box office success. There were rumours that Pitt and Jolie had an affair while filming "Smith". Jolie insisted that because her mother had been hurt by adultery, she herself could never participate in an affair with a married man. Therefore there had been no affair with Pitt at that time. Nonetheless, Pitt separated from his wife Jennifer Aniston in January 2005 and in the months that followed, he was frequently seen in public with Jolie, apparently as a couple. Pitt's divorce was finalised later in 2005.

Jolie and Pitt announced in early 2006 that they would have a child together, and Jolie gave birth to daughter Shiloh that May. They also adopted a three-year-old Vietnamese boy named Pax. The couple continues to pursue movie and humanitarian projects.

X

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

(A look at some of the stories that made the news ‘back-in-the-day’ with CLIFFORD STANLEY)

BROKEN LEG-HE IGNORED MOM’S ADVICE

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 27, 1976) A young man who went against his mother’s advice and purchased a motor cycle was wheeled into the Georgetown Hospital’s Casualty Department on Saturday night screaming with pain from a broken leg.

He was driving the motor cycle to show it off to his mother when he collided with a pedestrian on High Street.

“Oh my God, why didn’t I listen to my mother,” 24-year-old Ragonauth Jagerpat of Grove East Coast Demerara shouted as his leg was examined.

The doctor diagnosed a compound fracture and he was admitted. ………………………………………………….

DINNER FOR TWO

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 14, 1976) How do you like our newspaper, the Citizen evening newspaper? Tell us and win a dinner for two at the Pegasus. The Citizen has now appeared for fourteen days and although we have had encouraging remarks we are not so smug as to believe that we are producing the kind of newspaper that all citizens want.

Criticise us; praise us. We will publish letters and the writer who in our view makes the most constructive suggestions will be invited- along with his wife or friend – for a dinner for two at the Pegasus.

Send in your letters to the Citizen Lama Avenue Bel Air Park. ………………………………………………………..

THE POLICEWOMAN AND THE GHOST

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 22, 1976) A 25-year-old policewoman who was admitted to the Georgetown Hospital a few days ago after claiming that she had seen a ghost, has been discharged.

According to reports Policewoman Yvonne Hamilton was attending the switchboard one night last week when she saw the image of a “Red Man” suddenly appeared before her.

She tried to speak to the person but he did not respond and then she tried to hold him but did not feel anything.

Yvonne of Cove and John Police Station East Coast Demerara screamed before collapsing.

She was rendered first aid by her colleagues who later conveyed her to the Georgetown Hospital where she was admitted in a semi-conscious condition.

According to reports reaching Georgetown, the switch-

board at Cove and John is situated in the same spot where a mortuary was located some years ago.

The “Red Man” is said to have plagued other persons before.

It is certain Yvonne would prefer not operate the switchboard again for fear that her unenviable experience would be repeated. ……………………………………………………..

LET IT BE UNIQUE

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 21, 1976) Dear Editor, The Citizen is Okay. When I first got the newspaper and read the name, I said to myself. The Citizen, the Citizen: not bad at all. ………………………………………………….

MOTHER DIES ON HEARING OF SON’S DEATH

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 13, 1976) Tragedy struck twice within 24 hours at the Rajcoomar home in Campbelville when 52-year-old Vashti Rajcoomar died within three hours after being told of the death of her 30-year-old son Terry.

Mrs. Rajcoomar it was said had been long suffering from a heart ailment.

According to reports, her son Terry had been suffering from high temperatures during the past few weeks and last Thursday he was admitted to the Georgetown Hospital.

When the mother heard that his condition was serious, she took ill and was admitted to a private hospital.

Terry died on Saturday.

And when on Sunday, on her sick bed, his mother heard of his passing, the shock was too much for her ailing heart.

She died less than three hours after being told the news.

Mrs. Rajcoomar is mourned by six children and twelve grandchildren ………………………………………………………..

NURSES ASSOCIATION HONOURS FIRST MALE NURSE

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 2, 1976) The Guyana Nurses’ Association has honoured the first male nurse in its 48th year of existence.

The honour was placed on Cde. Oscar Mentis by President of the Association Sister Rodha Clarke at the 48th anniversary meeting earlier this week for his contribution to the nursing profession..

Comrade Mentis of Bagotstown who received his

secondary education at the Progressive and Preparatory Institute was on the teaching Staff of the Mon Repos Government School East Coast Demerara before joining the staff of the Georgetown Hospital nine years ago at the Nurses’ Probationers Training School.

Some years later he gained his Registered Nurse Certificate from the Guyana Nursing Council and was later placed in charge of various wards at the Hospital.

At present he is acting as a Ward Brother a similar position to that of a Ward Sister.

Sister Gwendoline Tross General Secretary of the Association said that the organisation and nurses were pleased with the contribution that Brother Mentis has made to the nursing profession.

She said that as far as she was aware, he was the first male nurse to be honoured by the Association. …………………………………………………………

FISH BONE KILLS MAN

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 6, 1976) A man who carried a fish bone in his throat for eight days died at the Georgetown Hospital yesterday in spite of efforts to save his life.

Neville Joseph, 21, of Kurupung Mazaruni District was air dashed to the City on Saturday August 28 and admitted to the hospital.

According to reports reaching Georgetown, Joseph was eating a meal of fish when a bone accidentally slipped down and stuck in his throat.

Efforts by Medical personnel in the District to remove the bone failed and he was rushed to the city, but died in spite of efforts by leading doctors to save his life. …………………………………………………………

JUDITH GETS DINNER DATE

(The Citizen Your Evening Newspaper September 22, 1976) Twenty-year-old Judith Eversley an old girl of Cambridge High School and an aspiring poet, has won the Citizen’s Dinner for Two competition.

Her letter on how she sees the new evening paper was the one which found the most approval among the editors.

“I am delighted to have won the competition and I have not yet decided whether I will take my boyfriend or a girlfriend to dine with me,” Judith said this morning.”

Judith lives in Dadanawa Street, Campbelville and she has just completed a one year stenographer’s course at the Government Technical Institute (GTI).

She has already written a set of poems and she hopes to publish an anthology in the near future.

She thinks that the Citizen is a good newspaper with a fantastic women’s section.

Clifford Stanley can be reached to discuss any of the foregoing articles at cliffantony@gmail.com or cell phone # 657 2043.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XI

Mikhail Kalashnikov-Inventor of the Ak-47 assault rifle

K

alashnikov was born on November 10, 1919, in the village of Kurya, Altai Territory, to a large peasant

The Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47)

family.

In 1938 he entered the Red Army in Kiev where he attended tank mechanics school. In the army, he designed a device to count the number of shots fired by a tank as well as other useful tactical devices for tanks.

After surviving fierce battles against the Nazi's in 1941 as a tank commander, he found himself in hospital recovering from serious wounds.

Here at the hospital he began to conceive ideas for a new machine gun

which could provide high volume, light weight firepower for soldiers. In 1944 his first prototype was adopted for further development and finally in 1949 the soviet army adopted the Automatic Kalashnikov (Ak-47) design of 1947 as their standard rifle.

The submachine guns of Kalashnikov system are widespread all over the world. Some countries have included its image in the State Emblem.

More than 50 armies of the world have in their arsenals firearms created

by Mikhail Kalashnikov.

By 1990 there were made about 70 millions units of Kalashnikov submachine guns of various modifications both in Russia and abroad including

those made under license and piratically ( up to now the invention has not been patented).

The cause of such great popularity of Kalashnikov submachine guns is in the fact that Kalashnikov has achieved an optimum combination of several qualities which provide the usage of guns with high efficiency of application and exclusive reliability in battles.

Former President of Russia Boris Yeltsin personally decorated the outstanding designer M. T. Kalashnikov with the Order "For Distinguished Services for the Motherland" Second Class and promoted him to Major-General on his 75th anniversary.

Mikhail Kalashnikov

XII

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Aamir Khan: Man of Not slowing mystery!

down, says Vidya Balan!

Aamir Khan has never been very vocal about his upcoming projects, choosing to speak about his films mostly during the promotional activities.

During the making of Dhoom: 3 (2013), the actor held many closed-door meetings with filmmaker Aditya Chopra.

And now, it looks like Aamir is up to something again. We've been told that for the last one month, the star has been holding meetings at his Bandra home, often till late in the night.

A source close to the actor reveals: "Aamir is having night-long meetings at his sea-facing Carter Road home. His house is on the main road, so many inquisitive onlookers have been asking the watchman Onlookers have noticed that the lights in Aamir's Bandra office are often on till late about the people coming and going at odd hours. It is very easy for anyone to notice that his office lights are on till the wee hours.

But no one has a clue about what's going on inside."

For now, Aamir has two projects coming up - the second run of his television show and Rajkumar Hirani's next film, which is slated to release this Christmas. We wonder if the meetings are about these assignments or whether Aamir has another surprise for his fans up his sleeve. We will have to wait and watch.

After her latest release, Vidya Balan has - officially speaking - only one film in hand, opposite Emraan Hashmi. Ask her if she is purposely taking things slow or if being married has anything to do with it, and she says that's not the case and it's nothing out the ordinary.

"For the past seven years, I have done only one or two films each year, and that [working pattern] remains the

Mary Kom happy with Priyanka's looks Olympic gold medallist Mary Kom is happy with actor Priyanka Chopra’s first look in the biopic based on the boxer.

"I’m excited for the movie’s release. Hope it makes boxing even more popular and inspires people,” says Kom. Priyanka, on her part, said she was happy with Kom’s reaction to the poster.

"She really liked it. Giggled a lot! It was very cute," said Priyanka Chopra.

She is also garnering compliments from fans and industry colleagues.

This comes as a fix for the actor after the debacle of a social media chat which was a letdown for the 31-year-old, who called it ‘cruel.’

Freida Pinto won't work with Dev Patel again

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has no intention of starring opposite her boyfriend Dev Patel in future and wants to save the 'magic' for their personal lives.

"I think we created all the magic that was needed for one film. We're leaving the rest of the magic for our personal lives," she said.

However, the duo, love teaming up together in the kitchen.

"I don't want to say we like cooking because we're both not good. We argue through the food prep, but it's fun. I wish I could cook Indian food because I could start a restaurant and have an alternative career. There aren't any good Indian places in LA," she said.

same," says Vidya. So why is there a 'perception' that she is possibly slowing down? "I don't know," she says with a smile, adding, "I am still meeting people and reading scripts."

And, could such speculation have started after she turned down Sujoy Ghosh's next? "Maybe," she says.

Talking about Sujoy, reports had claimed that things weren't okay between the two after she turned down the role. Does she see any merit in those rumours? "I haven't met him in a long time now. But I feel it's absolutely okay.

I am not aware [of any such talks]," she says.

About her other projects, she seems to be considering several biopics - MS Subbulakshmi, and India's first lady doctor, Rakmabai, to name a few. Is that the case? "I don't want to name any particular film, but I am considering many films, and a biopic maybe on the cards. It's too early to talk about it, though," she says.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XIII

I’m Not Dating Ali Nuhu —Sultry Actress, Fati Mohammed Yells Kannywood actress Fati Mohammed, most popular actress in the hausa film industry (Kannywood) with her role in the biggest movies of the early years of the industry, such as ‘Sangaya’ and ‘Marainiya,’ has sent warning signals to Kannywood single men to stay away from her.

According to the actress, after eight years of marriage with two different men from the same industry, she was done with that aspect and could actually hold and discipline herself after adopting an upcoming popular actress as her child.

“One, I have vowed never to marry from Kannywood again.

Both my ex-husbands came from Kannywood. Two, I will not act again. But I have a production company; very soon I will be producing films,” she stated.

In a swift response, the actress cleared the air about speculations that she was once having an affair with wave making Kannywood actor and Glo ambassador, Ali Nuhu.

She said that such an incident never occurred neither did Ali ever asked her out. “Ali Nuhu has never dated me. If you ask of my role model I would mention Ali Nuhu a hundred times; in fact, I don’t call his wife by her name, I call her aunty.

I am very close to them. During my second wedding, he was the one that gave me out; he was my Waliyyi.” (http://www. nigeriafilms.com/)

Ibinabo Fibersima Picks December Wedding Date

Ireti Doyle’s Daughter Marries In Lagos

Daughter of beautiful Tinsel star, Ireti Doyle, Bimbo, had her court wedding over the weekend in Lagos. The occasion took place at the Ikoyi Registry on Saturday, July 12, 2014 and Ireti was full of smile. Both mother and daughter looked gorgeous together like sisters.

Ireti had Bimbo when she was only 19, and today, the little girl is now 27 years old and married to her heartthrob.

The actress is married to Patrick Doyle, another movie icon, who is into production and presenting, just like his wife.

Some family members and friends were reportedly present at the joyous event. (http://www.nigeriafilms.com/)

Nigeriafilms.com can confirm that President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ibinabo Fibersima is set to marry her lover.

The former beauty queen and ex-lover of Fred Amata will say ‘I do’ to her heartthrob in December 2014.

The ceremony, we learnt, will hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

It was gathered that the man Ibinabo has decided to spend the rest of her life with proposed to her over the weekend in the United Kingdom.

When contacted by Nigeriafilms.com, she confirmed to us that she will wed in December, but declined to disclose the identity of the man. This is going to be her first marriage. (http://www.nigeriafilms. com/)

XIV

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

FINDING LIFE BEYOND EARTH If you believe there must be extra-terrestrial life somewhere in the immensity of the universe, here's some good news: Top National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists agree with you and at a panel discussion on Monday, they said they were closer than ever to finding out for sure.

Though some NASA scientists are looking for signs of life in our solar system - most aggressively on Mars, but perhaps soon on one of the ice moons - the scientists on the panel spoke exclusively about looking for signs of life on planets around other stars…and truly there were in for a big shot!

Meet Kepler-186f, the closest thing to our planet ever discovered—and maybe our best shot at locating life elsewhere in the universe.

Right now, 500 light years away (one light year is nearly 6 million miles) from Earth, there's a planet that looks a lot like our own. It is bathed in dim orangeish light, which at

oceans. So far, Kepler-186f appears almost to be a Goldilocks — not too big, not too far from its star, maybe just right.

The planet has a shorter year than we do, orbiting its star

once every 130 days. On Earth, of course, we take 365 days to make it around the sun. (Though that hasn't always been the case.Scientists believe that something like 380 million years ago, there were 410 days in an Earth year.)

Researchers aren't yet sure what Kepler-186f is made of, but given its size and other characteristics, they think it's a rocky combo like Earth.

Today we know that Earth is special. What we don't know is how long we'll be able to say that.

ELECTRONIC NOSE THAT DETECTS CANCER

high noon is only as bright as the golden hour before sunset back home.

NASA scientists are calling the planet Kepler-186f, and it's unlike anything they've found. Kepler-186f is the closest relative to the Earth that researchers have discovered.

It's the first Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of another star—the sweet spot between too-hot Mercury-like planets and too-cold Neptunes— and it is likely to give scientists their first real opportunity to seek life elsewhere in the universe. "It's no longer in the realm of science fiction!

But if there is indeed life on Kepler-186f, it may not look like what we have here. Given the redder wavelengths of light on the planet, vegetation there would sprout in hues of yellow and orange instead of green. It's perhaps more like Earth's cousin than Earth's twin.

Kepler-186f is about 10 percent larger than Earth and it orbits a sun that is cooler, dimmer, and about half the size of our own. The effects of gravity would be "slightly" more apparent there, so you would feel heavier.

Our cousin avoids many of the problems that reduce the likelihood of life on other Earth-like planets. Some are too big, too cold, too gaseous, or have gravity problems that scorch

It's the second most common cancer for men worldwide, but prostate cancer remains difficult to diagnose, with standard blood tests criticized for delivering a high rate of false positives.

But in a study presented a few weeks, trained detection dogs were able to identify prostate cancer from a few sniffs of a urine sample with a staggering 98% accuracy, with few false positives. Although the study is by no means conclusive, it joins a growing body of research suggesting dogs could be able to smell out cancers.

Electronic noses are not a new concept. Medical sensors first emerged in the 1980s, but were unable to deliver reliable diagnoses. But in this new generation of devices, experts believe the field has matured.

Companies are already moving toward consumer healthcare applications for the electronic nose. British start-up Owlstone is working on a mobile breath-testing system that would give users instant analysis of their breath, offering early detection of conditions such as diabetes, TB or cancers.

NASA technology is also being researched as a mobile sensor for lung cancer.

SMART HELMET FOR PILOTS A new smart helmet that allows fighter pilots to see in the dark via an integrated night vision camera has been unveiled a few days ago.

The Striker II, built by BAE Systems, features a visor that also acts as a high-definition display, which can project useful information to the user.

The helmet also boasts head-tracking technology.

It has been described as a "significant advance" by one expert.

Previous generations of fighter pilot helmets have been fitted with exterior night vision goggles, which added to the overall weight on a pilot's head.

Goggles also change a helmet's centre of gravity. This causes neck strain and restricts the pilot's movement when flying in the dark.

The Striker II, which builds on its predecessor's "x-ray" display, moves night vision inside the helmet by using an image from a digital camera that is relayed through the helmet mounted display on the visor.

Night vision is vital to pilots when they are flying in close formation, refuelling in mid-air, assisting troops on the ground, and even launching a ground attack.

The Striker II also has higher definition display than the earlier model, and head-tracking sensor technology.

This means that operational information can be accurately displayed to the pilot within his or her field of vision.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XV

The Language Institute, Deipneo…

More than a business venture; an investment into Guyana-South America integration

By Derwayne Wills MORE than a business

venture but an investment in Guyana’s cultural developmental thrust in bridging

the divide between the only English-speaking nation of South America and the rest

of the continent, the Language Institute continues to promote social integration

President of the Language Institute, Ms. Cecily Bernard makes extends appreciation with token to photographer at the Guyana Chronicle, Mr. Delano Williams

as part of its vision.

Situated at the junction of Croal Street and Austin Place, Georgetown, the Institute has for years operated with a degree of excellence and a drive to promote proficiency in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, French and English. Adding to the years of committed work, the visionary trio has once again struck gold with an investment that seems to be driven more by concerns for the national interest than just accumulating a few dollars, although the economics is important to the mix; the social impact far outweighs it.

The trio of Ms. Cecily Bernard, President and Managing Director of The Language Institute (TLI); Dr. Dale Dan, Vice- President and Director of Growth & Development, Leadership Training & eLearning for TLI, and Ms. Carol Ann Somers, the Human Resource Director for the entire TLI

(from left) Dynamic trio of Ms. Carol Ann Somers, Dr. Dale Dan and Ms. Cecily Bernard with Guyana Chronicle Reporter, Mr. Derwayne Wills

operation.

With no uncertainty, their accreditations and administrative roles are second to their humility, hospitality and the tiring years of hard work and devotion to creating a better Guyana one student and one customer at a time, while building a network of lasting friendships.

THE VISION In an interview on We d n e s d a y l a s t a t t h e Deipneo Restaurant, Chronicle staffers were treated to a lunch with the dynamic trio-Dr. Dan, who is the chief visionary behind the Deipneo concept, recalled that as a Guyanese living abroad, she yearned for a restaurant, “Where I could have a great dining experience... in a motivational setting.”

She related that the concept of Deipneo was to create an area for dining filled with fulfilment and satisfaction of food and atmosphere. According to her, Deipneo translates to “eat, sup or dine” in Greek. Boasting three major components, Deipneo is the main meal of the day, it is enjoyed with others in fellowship and, it is done in thanksgiving to God for another day.

The two visions were merged to create one grand multi-cultural experience in food, language and culture.

She resolved that the location for the first materialising of the concept was to be

Please turn to page XVI

XVI A section of the dining room at Deipneo�

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

More than a business venture ...

From page XV

in Guyana, further adding that the concepts were destined to be welded to the vision of the Language Institute in providing an all-out cultural melee of inter-connectedness.

Meals served are drawn from French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and English influences; all of which are prevalent in the South American experience. The menu interchanges weekly and then monthly so there is never the fear of repetitive dullness in options. Who could say no to diversity?

From all appearances, it seems that the dynamic trio had conceptualised Deipneo to be a meeting and dining area for members of the institute to share their thoughts. Surely this is reflected by the setting of the seating arrangements.

Ms. Somers speaking on the unique seating arrangement pointed out that Guyanese have become solitary in their relations with others and so to reengage a spirit of fellowship, “There are no backs to each others... [Thus] creating a feeling of appreciation for fellowship, where everyone who is here feels like they are part of a family.�

Standard and diversity are key components to any establishment, what the Trio had managed to do was to build a family from a network of co-workers. From the skilled culinary hands of Ms. Sheon Daniels to the inviting smile of Ms. Fayeon Roberts, the Language Institute and by extension of its cultural programme, Deipneo commands a well-knit family of co-workers dedicated to the vision of the institute.

Offering catering for special events with requests and endorsements from religious organisations, Foreign Service representatives, and business entities, Deipneo is sure to become the go-to place for good food and even better relations.

Although it is hopeful that both the Language Institute and Deipneo will expand their reach across the region, the trio is adamant that although requests have come from the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, there is much more work to do with Guyana in perfecting what has already been undertaken before considering expansion.

This team has proved to be truly sincere in their cause.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Guyanese Women in History:

XVII

Jennifer

Bisram

– Emmy Nominated Journalist

J

ennifer Bisram is a TV Reporter for WSVN, CH7 in Miami, Fl. Before her move to Miami, she worked at WOFL, the FOX affiliate in Orlando, Fl. At FOX Orlando, the relatable reporter was one of the station’s main journalists who covered the controversial Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. Her extensive and exclusive reporting, earned her a segment there, called: “The 10 P.M. Interview.”

During her stint at WOFL, Jennifer also covered sports, politics, featured events and the everyday news-makers. The powerful storyteller has often been credited by viewers for telling people stories that touched their lives.

Jennifer moved to Central Florida from the Big Apple.

Born in Brooklyn, New York to Guyanese parents, Jennifer began her career when she was only 15 years-old, writing poetry in her bedroom and by the following year several of her poems were published in the Anthology of Poetry for Young Americans. It was then that she decided to take her writing to higher heights. She started interning at

The speed of light is generally rounded down to 186,000 miles per second. In exact terms it is 99,792,458 m/s (equal to 186,287.49 miles per second).

It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun’s surface to the Earth.

10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment.

The Earth spins at 1,000 mph but it travels through space at an incredible 67,000 mph.

Every year, over one million earthquakes shake the Earth.

When Krakatoa erupted in 1883, its force was so great it could be heard 4,800 kilometres away in Australia.

Every second around 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth.

Every year lightning kills 1,000 people.

In October 1999 an Iceberg the size of London broke free from the Antarctic ice shelf.

If you could drive your car straight up you would arrive in space in just over an hour.

local newspapers to get experience and exposure. Her first newspaper internship was at The Chief Civil Service Newspaper at age 16 and by her freshman year at college she penned pieces at some of the city’s largest newspapers like NY Newsday and the NY Amsterdam News.

Jennifer, “nosy by nature,” as she often refers to why she opted for reporting, channelled into television right after graduating from the City University of New York’s Queens College. She began her reporting role at News55 on Long Island and quickly moved on to the News12 Network (Connecticut, New Jersey and Westchester) – where she reported for nearly five years.

The Emmy-nominated journalist also worked for the CW affiliate in NYC, PIX11 News, as a reporter and assignment editor; the Food Network as a producer and NY1 News as a writer.

With more than a decade dedicated to news, in addition to covering the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the Orlando

Jennifer Bisram Magic and Dwight Howard trade, the 2012 presidential election and polling problems in Central Florida, she’s covered stories of sorts like the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Miracle on the Hudson, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, NY Giants Super Bowl XLII victory and the MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2012, Jennifer visited Guyana and had the opportunity to meet with President, Donald Ramotar.

Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9 metres.

The Earth is 4.56 billion years old-he same age as the Moon and the Sun. The dinosaurs became extinct before the Rockies or the Alps were formed.

Female black widow spiders eat their males after mating.

When a flea jumps, the rate of acceleration is 20 times that of a space shuttle during launch.

If our Sun were just an inch in diameter, the nearest star would be 445 miles away.

Astronauts cannot belch because there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

The air at the summit of Mount Everest, 29,029 feet is only a third as thick as the air at sea level.

One million, million, million, million, mil-

lionth of a second after the Big Bang the Universe was the size of a pea.

DNA was first discovered in 1869 by Swiss Friedrich Mieschler.

The molecular structure of DNA was first determined by Watson and Crick in 1953.

The first synthetic human chromosome was constructed by US scientists in 1997.

The thermometer was invented in 1607 by Galileo.

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866.

XVIII

Other Leopards ...

From page V

explicitly the “mongrel” condition, the cultural heterogeneity of the Caribbean and the Guyanas. (Williams’s daughter, Charlotte, adopts the expression “mongrel” approvingly for her own mixed heritage – Guyanese-Welsh – in her memoir Sugar and Slate [2002]). In an argument that presages the ideology of creolite, of the creative potential of a mestizo consciousness, Williams argues strongly against the tendency of seeing Caribbean history “in the light of biases adopted from one thoroughbred culture to another, of the Old World” (the references in Guyana in 1970 being African, Indian, European cultural contexts). In particular, Williams argues against the perpetuation of “filiastic dependence on the cultures of our several racial origins” because this inhibits Guyanese and Caribbean people from “facing up to the facts of what we ubiquity are”. It is an argument, albeit expressed in a more materialist vein that points us to see Other Leopards, in spite of Froad’s patently ambivalent and conflicted state of mind. Attuned to be the same context as two of Wilson Harris’s early novels, The Far Journey to Oudin (1961) and The Secret Ladder (1963), where respectively the old world heritages of East Indian and African (and by inference the European as well) are seen as beset by the tendency to be locked in “ghetto and arbitrary reservations of self-interest”, a “self-sufficiency” that n Ken Ramchand’s words, denies the reality of the Caribbean’s “complicated and incestuous family tree”.

Though the ending of the Other Leopards points Williams’s later more explicitly positive thinking about mongrelization, it is its ambiguity that attracted critical attention from the moment the novel was published. Gerald Moore sees Froad as regressing towards infantilism; as such he sums up the novel as a record of failure “but it is a failure of the kind necessary to understanding”. For Michael Gilkes, “climbing the tree is a symbolic act, for the tree… represents a hollow pillar of light by which the shaman climbs up to heaven or down to the underworld”. For Louis James the “pressures of finding an identity have driven Froad…into ‘the castle of his skin’, rejecting possession of either Africa or Europe. However agonizing this position, it is the true point of discovery”. Edward Baugh believes that what Froad comes to accept is that he is a split individual, adding that it “may seem a let-down to the reader that

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Froad has taken as many pages to recognise what the reader might have been able to tell him from the onset; but what is important is that Froad now does recognise it”.

Mark Kinkead-Weekes sees the ending as “a mordant exposure of what it means to be ‘uncommitted’ and without ‘identity,’ whilst Wilfred Cartley reads the novel as being in “search of a freedom in which all times fuse…”. As these different is contiguous reading demonstrate, Williams has not written a simplistic novel – whether allegorical or literal – in which he provides easy answers. His concern is with dramatising Froad’s debiliting colonial in betweenity.

Later writers and theorists would offer ways of coping with this colonial-postcolonial predicament. There would be V.V. Naipaul’s argument that even though the English tradition is not his, the English language certainly is, or Derek Walcott’s view that his “divided self” allowed him a more encompassing, cosmopolitan vision; or Christopher Koch, in the Doubleman (1985), similarly seeing his protagonist as not disadvantaged when he describes him in that eponymous state; or Salman Rushdie considering it as advantage to be a “translated man” and Homi Bhabha talking positively of a “third space” between the imperial and colonial sphere that allows the colonial; the advantage of camouflaged mimicry.

All this was to come, but in 1963, Williams is willing to leave Froad up the hashab tree, thinking about and anticipating what comes next. Perhaps there are times in the novel when the allegoric overwhelms the literal, flesh-and-blood creation and development of character.

Williams is preoccupied with the generic problems of racial and national identities, less with the psychological truths of personal problems and relationships. As the first part of his epigraph to the novel from Ptolemy indicates – “Some things happen to mankind through more general circumstances and not as a result of the individual’s natural propensities” – he is exploring the effects of the larger, historical-political factors rather than the individual’s “hill of beans”.

There are times, in the first part more than in the second, when the players are not so much individuals as representative figures. They talk about politics, race, and culture – the dominant elements that define their relationships. King and Froad discuss African antiquity in documentary rather than personal fashion; Catherine and Lionel debate about whether he years to be white; and Lionel and Eve talk about cultural differences in analytical rather than personal terms. If Eve does briefly reveal her jealously for Catherine when she accuses Lionel of being “white inside and you can’t man me because the whiteskin woman’s on y’ mind”, it is done in a way that leaves the women representative rather than individual figures. In the second part of the novel, which illuminates the last sentence of the epigraph from Ptolemy – “For the lesser cause always yields to [the] greater and stronger” – Williams makes a stronger attempt to impart more flesh-and-blood dynamic to his characters when they explore their experiences with lovers and parents.

But however much one may regret the price Williams pays for privileging the allegorical over the individual and the psychological, there can be no doubt, on the evidence of his epigraph, that this was precisely his intention. Like Wilson Harris, Denis Williams was committed to an aesthetic that by-passed the novel of character; as an allegorical work Other Leopards is unquestionably one of the most sustained and artistically realised in West Indian literature.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XIX

La Grange - A village Where Residents Live in Harmony and Simplicity

A

By Alex Wayne FTER just recently visiting this very quaint, colourful and festive village, I was left wondering if there is ever a village in Guyana that is inhabited by such sweet and pleasant people, who all just seem to be ultimately contented with their humble way of life.

Yes, indeed there seems to be many wealthy households there, judging from the posh appearance of many homes, but even the occupants of those structures bore a stirringly humble demeanour that was devoid of the customary snobbishness and hauteur associated with many people of wealth. And I just marvelled at the exquisite manner in which tropical flowers adorned the many yards, lending a certain impacting Caribbean hue to the already impressive location.

This was definitely a humble wonderland, and I was more than pleased to be offered the privilege of visiting.

Folks, here I was chatting away merrily with the jovial residents of La Grange, located on the West Bank of Demerara just over eight miles from the city of Georgetown, and fitting snugly between the almost equally appealing villages of Bagotville and Schoonord.

This village was among the many vibrant locations that existed during the era of slavery, and is still occupied by descendants of African slaves and East Indians who came here during the era of indentureship.

Welcome to the impressive La Grange Village

The village is largely populated by East Indians, but there is also a considerable percentage of Africans who still occupy the land because of the fertile soil and rich scope for agricultural development.

La Grange is divided into several small sections in the likes of Samaroo Scheme, Independence and Palmer Streets, Middle Dam, Race Dam, Doctor Dam and a few other areas.

WESTSIDE WONDERLAND I arrived in La Grange just after 08:00 hours, and was forced to seek shelter in the Jiwang Chinese Restaurant for fear that the pouring rain would damage my camera.

Some very curious but smiling women enquired of my presence, and just blossomed into conversation when I told them of the reason for my visit. The feisty and buxom Samantha Small plunged into a very colourful tale of the village, and I just smiled at such luck.

She explained that residents there were just simple and outgoing, and the village was indeed popular for the affection its residents showered on each other and for their kindness to visitors.

“In this village we are very simple and contented people who do everything in our power to ensure we live in peace and harmony with each other. When you visit La Grange for the first time, you are bound to feel the warmth and love shared by the people.

“When I came to live here five years ago, I was very surprised by the welcome I received. In no time I made very special friends; and I have neighbours who love me, and we often share our meals and visit each other as if we are biological relatives.”

“We would visit each other and just have a good time as the days go by. It’s the best we can do to make each other happy,” she declared.

The somewhat reticent Phulmattie Singh eventually ventured into conversation after much admonition of: “Gyal don’t play shame!” from another woman. She timidly related, blushing all the while,that since she took up residence in the village, it was the best place anyone could ever hope for as a permanent abode.

The appealingly picturesque ambience of this village, accentuated with the boisterous laughter and guffaws of drivers at the very popular Westside Taxi Service, was quite a refresher.

Women were just strolling about leisurely with kitchen supplies bought from the roadside shops and the Annabel Bistro Snackette, chatting amicably about what special menus they intended to prepare for their hard working spouses.

This village was alive with activity. There was the constant chatter of young men operating taxis by the roadside, while the shrill laughter of young girls pierced the air constantly as they strolled around with flashing smiles, loudly voicing their disapproval of very untidy males by the roadside.

Groups of young men perched on the rails of bridges had their raucous guffaws rent the afternoon air as they argued about politics or boasted of their latest conquest of the female species.

Older men played dominoes under mango trees, while little girls dashed about here and in open yards.

With the passage of time, residents of the village learnt to survive through the means of peasant farming among other means, especially those around Samaroo Scheme.

This village has evolved greatly with time, and has moved away from its strong ties to the slavery days. After slavery, farming reached its peak through the determined efforts of these industrious residents, and some of the produce from the village was actually exported to countries around the Caribbean, like had been done in the neighbouring Bagotville.

Today the village is somewhat more developed, and has taken on a modern outlook that is accentuated with the arrival of Deodat Deokanandan’s Lumber Yard; the Coconut Grove Sports Bar; Magic Café; Amanda’s Home Depot; Smart Health Medical Clinic and Drug Store, and many other businesses.

ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment in the village is most times on the down low, and this allows the Coconut Grove Bar to be flocked by large crowds seeking to enjoy their leisure time by consuming alcohol, playing dominoes or pools, and revelling in their own fashion.

This village is popular for its many talented cricket teams; and as such, villagers would often gather at the playground on weekends for clashes among village teams

Please turn to page XX

XX

La Grange

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014 Places of worship in the village

From page XIX

and against groups from outside locations.

That aside, villagers are quite okay with sitting down at the many small rum shops to enjoy whisky or other ‘drinks’ of their choice.

OLDEN TIMES In times gone by, La Grange bore stark resemblance to the colonial days. Today there are still some signs of the colonial reign, as in the few buildings sporting Dutch architecture that still remain.

According to elderly shop keeper Joseph Ten-Pow, La Grange in the early 1950s was just a cluster of houses, many of them being ‘logies’ that were later altered to showcase modern fixtures.

He noted that development in the village then cannot compare to what obtains now, and that drainage was bad in that era.

“In my time as a young boy, La Grange was an appealing village, but most of its beauty could have been observed during the dry season. There were lots of bushes and fruit trees all around, and in the dry season the flowers would come out in bloom; and with butterflies and pond flies sucking the nectar, the sky was always ablaze with activity.”

“In those days, the drainage in the village was not so good, and heavy rainfall brought flooding to many areas. Many used water from streams or from the few stand pipes around.”

“There were many farmers, and rice and cash crops were items that caused many to become wealthy and build the large houses that you see here today,” he confided.

Mr. Tem-Pow said the fertile lands of La Grange soon lured many more settlers, and by the early 1970s, the village was already transforming as shops and other businesses sprang up.

Today, farming is still high on the residents’ agenda, but the amount of rice farmers in the area has dwindled for several reasons.

Society seems to have disintegrated somewhat today, and according to Mr. Ten-Pow, the villagers are rapidly losing their tradition of being respectful to others and retaining a high level of discipline, which had been made high points by their elders.

bottles, Styrofoam boxes, tins, plastic bags, and other refuse that were seen floating in drains and in the main drainage canal.

Most residents dispose of their garbage by burning, but some admitted that there are some in their midst who are in the habit of just dumping trash wherever they take a fancy.

That aside, villagers are pleading to have a modern playfield for their many sports-oriented youths, and for the community centre to have a much needed facelift.

Some villagers are in high spirits as they await installation of the multi-million-dollar pump that is to be placed in nearby Bagotville to drain several locations during heavy rainfall, thereby avoiding flooding.

INTERACTING WITH VILLAGERS Smiling women reclining in their hammocks enjoyed hot, spicy lunches which they fed themselves with their bare fingers. One very peppy grandmother, Seeta Samaroo, explained that she certainly enjoyed mashing her food around her plate and putting into her mouth with her fingers. She claimed it to be a traditional practice enjoyed by persons in every home in the village.

“Bai, me does really enjoy me food with me fingas! Is suh we does eat since we ah lil gals; and trust me, you does really enjoy de food more! De food does taste moh sweet; and when yuh down, yuh can lie down and relax bettah!” she confided.

We were certainly impressed with the paved access streets, but the fresh, pure countryside breeze which refreshed our lungs and rejuvenated our bodies really added ‘travelling spice’ to our visit.

We were blown away with all the ‘hustle and bustle’ going on at the Westside Taxi Service, and workers in many businesses along the roadside were likewise very busy.

Persons were rushing in and out of the variety shops, filling their bags with household supplies. A few were busying themselves at the residence of a man who pawned items, stuffing money obtained from pawning their jewellery into their side bags with wide grins.

And judging from the amount of women rushing in and

The La Grange Primary and Nursery schools

The popular Westside Taxi Service

CHALLENGES Despite the few challenges La Grange residents face, they still find time to smile, indulge in light-hearted chatter, frolic in the sun, and make that extra effort to accord visitors their inimitable welcome.

Some La Grange folks are peeved at the drainage system in the village, which they claim is not up to expected standards and often causes excessive flooding in certain areas during heavy rainfall. out of their environs, the locations offering fresh meats were certainly doing good business.

Many were flocking the roadside food stall of Miss Phulmattie who reside alongside Independence Road, and it was pleasing to see both Indo and Afro individuals, savouring the apparently delectable creole dishes she vended.

EMPLOYMENT

Some residents are very inconsiderate in regard to disposal of their garbage However, some residents blame themselves for the flawed drainage system, which has become so entirely through their mindless and inconsiderate disposal of garbage. And this could have been easily confirmed with the large amount of plastic

This village is seemingly not affected by unemployment, since its inhabitants were either working in other areas or were gainfully employed as shop owners, farmers or minibus and hire car drivers.

As a matter of fact, a group of grown women related that those who are unemployed in the village are just plain lazy.

It was a pleasurable sight to watch mothers watering young vegetable plants as their kids trailed after them, trying to be of assistance in some way or the other. In some homes, mothers were busy cooking up a spree, and the succulent aroma of polouri, egg ball, dhal puri, and fried chicken impregnated the air. Those items will be displayed in neat little glass cases later in the afternoon for sale to villagers and school children trekking home.

Bounty Farm Chicken trucks arrive with plucked chick for shop owners

Everyone is engaged in one trade or another

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

And some seemed to be making quite a fortune on the sale of custard blocks, icicles, cubed ice, and cool down (local fruit juice in plastic bags).

My smile almost turned into laughter at the amusing sight of little boys attempting to lick the apparently delicious trails that ran down their wrists and even elbows as the custard block melted in the sun.

This village is simply adorable, and the way in which residents attempt to meet their needs through orchestrated self-help efforts is truly amazing. If one does not possess a curious or investigative mind, one might be inclined to dismiss La Grange as just another village.

SELF HELP INDULGENCE

What struck me and was very pleasing to the eye was the ken manner in which villagers exuded a ‘ready to go’ attitude and seemed ready to ‘fix things’ in the village, and not wait upon the relative authorities, who sometimes seem to drag their feet on issues.

As we walked about the village, young men could be seen weeding drains and yards overgrown with bushes, whilst others were observed mixing cement by the roadside to repair and effect alterations to their homes.

We were very surprised when told that some of the more magnificent buildings in the housing scheme were actually built through collaborative family efforts.

It sure seemed as though villagers are actually gifted tradesmen.

Speaking to grocery store proprietrix Sattie Singh, we received information that, on weekends, mothers and

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What a beautiful array of posh building and tropical flowers

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La Grange From centre pages

housewives and a few males join forces to clean and upgrade the playground they are attempting to create for the youths of La Grange. They seemed to be making headway with their positive exploits, but she noted that they face a major problem which, over time, has grown into a very serious issue for residents to deal with.

“La Grange is made of many families and households, and we need a proper playfield for the children. A special group here came together, and we are working very hard to build a recreation area for the children. I am very angry that a special group of villagers here is dumping garbage on the ball field as we attempt to clean and develop the place,” she said.

Villagers are appealing to possible donors to help provide recreational equipment for the young children.

ETHNIC HARMONY Any rumour of ethnic differences existing in La Grange should be treated as nonsense and be crushed underfoot. If there is any truth to such tales, that maybe was the situation many years ago; but with time, those differences have evaporated and have been replaced by a ‘racial harmony’ that is so rich in its intensity that it awakened my very being and sent joyful tremors up my spine.

Because we had not properly braced ourselves for the impact of such ‘indulgences of the races,’ it just left us with drooping jaws, and reaffirmed the fact that one should not listen to ‘hearsay and fabrications’ about the Guyanese people.

The La Grange Primary and Nursery schools were closed for the August holidays, but students were still frolicking around, taking vacation lessons as mandated by their teachers.

The noisy chatter of students could be heard from a distance, as they conversed on the ‘happenings of the day’ or on possible methods of effectively completing assignments.

Of course the bigger girls were giving and getting ‘goo goo eyes’ from some hot males timidly pursuing them, or were chomping noisily on chewing gum, or were blowing in the air bubbles of alarming proportions before popping them

with that ‘placking sounds’ that seemed to irritate their male counterparts.

It was the same pleasant picture, with men liming in the streets and with housewives catching up on the latest news before jumping into buses and heading to different villages.

Ever so often peals of laughter would ring out as they slapped each other on the backs, mouthing: “Gal, you know yuh able, yeah?” or murmuring between gleeful giggles: “Gal you full ah stupidness…” or “Me nah able lie.”

It was very gratifying to see young Trishon Smith in deep and pleasant conversation with his elderly friend, Mr. Tularam whom he said would journey from Samaroo Scheme to Independence Road sometimes three times per week to chat and have a good laugh with each other.

“He is such a sweet old man! About two years ago, I was purchasing a snow cone on the public road, and it totally amazed me how this merry man greeted me and struck up a pleasant conversation.

“Since then we meet up from time to time to ‘gaff’; and trust me, I have learnt a lot from him. He has never disrespected me, and always has good advice to offer.”

Trishon said that Mr. Tularam had helped him greatly when he was having difficulties with agriculture projects while he was in school, and now that he is an adult, he still visits him for the comfort of his friendship and for positive conversation.

CULTURE OF THE VILLAGE The culture in La Grange slightly resembles that of the Indian immigrants who crossed the Atlantic Ocean over 150 years ago. Even though well over 60% of the population remain Indo-Guyanese and over 30% are of African extraction, there is also a small group of Chinese and Amerindian families.

The culture is very similar to that of the rest of the British Caribbean, according to the locals, but it has an East Indian flair.

According to 81-year-old Rajcumarie Doodnauth, who has lived there almost all her life, in the beginning the culture of

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014 La Grange very much resembled that of the mother country, India, fused with a rich frosting of the African tradition. But as African and Chinese came to the village, a slight variation was added. The residents of the village (the Indo-Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese and Chinese) brought their foods, traditions, religions and customs with them, and their customs have left lasting impressions in the village. This is very prevalent today in the food and language of the people.

Over the years, Indian descendants have lost their mother tongue completely, and although Indian music remains very popular, the English Language with a slight Creole touch has taken complete control. Hardly anyone there speaks Hindi anymore, and in La Grange it is considered a dead language.

Being a colonised location for many years, Guyana is touched with a flair of the British in almost everything, and La Grange is no exception.

Many of the original religious customs and traditions that have not been lost were modified though the ages and vestiges of an East Indian heritage, and appear in a number of the festivities. For example, few weddings are ever complete without the ceremonial rubbing of the dye, an old Indian wedding custom that is accepted among every religion.

Holidays like Christmas and Diwali are examples of occasions where the entire community celebrates together in a congenial integration of faith.

The religious beliefs of the people have gone through a major transformation as well. Even though the composition of the population has remained the same for over 45 years, the religious beliefs have changed dramatically.

Regardless of religious conviction every holiday social or religious is celebrated and respected. Many of the customs that foster public life are commonly organised by community leaders at home and even abroad.

CONCLUSION Come take a stroll in the dusty streets of La Grange and indulge in the festive demeanour of its happy people. Stroll around and breathe in the fresh, crisp country breeze, or strut around and feast your eyes on the beautiful array of tropical flowers that add colour to every clean swept yard.

Or stop at a food stall and tease your taste buds with delicious snack items. Then, if you have the time, make a quick stop at the Coconut Grove Hangout Bar and enjoy delicious drinks and cutters.

When you decide to visit La Grange, be sure to invite me to come along; I can never resist a little fun or adventure, so I will join you without hesitation.

The bicycle still serves as an effective means of transport in the village Shopkeeper Joseph Ten-Pow (left) thinks those unemployed persons in the village are just plain lazy Youths liming by the street corner

Small scale farming is still a high point among residents

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

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Astronaut Celebrates Germany's World Cup Win from Space By by Miriam Kramer FOR a German astronaut living in space, his home country's epic World Cup victory this week was quite literally out-of-this-world.

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and his crewmates watched the World Cup final from the International Space Station on Sunday (July 13) as Germany defeated Argentina to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Gerst is currently the only German (and only European for that matter) living in space, and

ESA’s Alexander Gerst sewed another star representing a World Cup win onto his German jersey after

he wore his country's jersey during the match.

Germany beat Argentina, scoring the only goal of the game in overtime. To memorialize the big win, Gerst sewed a fourth star onto his German jersey to represent the four times Germany has won the World Cup. [See photos of Brazil's World Cup stadiums from space] "Just like our @DFB_ Team_EN I have fantastic support from my crew," Gerst (@Astro_Alex) wrote on Twitter with a photo of his two American crewmate NASA's Steve Swanson

and Reid Wiseman, holding him up. "Congrats from #ISS to the #WorldChamp. Great game!"

Gerst's fellow ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano — who recently finished a stint on the space station — sent his congratulations via Twitter when the German team eked out the win against Argentina.

"Congratulations Germany," Parmitano wrote on July 13. "What a great

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Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

“Once its art I’ll do it” “Shimuel Jones”

-Shimuel Jones

T

By Shivanie Sugrim alent is naturally gifted for a lifetime.

Art is not less since it is a profound talent that often opens the mind for interpretation and deliberation.

Not everyone can paint a picture that would blow your mind the way

Shimuel Jones can. This y o u n g A f ro - G u y a n e s e artist poses immense artistic skills whether it is painting, drawing or even sculpting- “Once its art I’ll do it.”

Being the third of six siblings, he describes his childhood as “pretty interesting” since he safely enjoyed it. His days were spent doing yard chores followed by school after which he would play with his elder brother until sunset. In the world today it is rare to find parents that pose as a stepping stone for their children.

Jones’s father was also an artist thus, with his love for art from a tender age it became a part of his life.

The skills were passed down to him from his father which h e n o t e d w e re ‘ v e r y solid.’ He was then introduced to all aspects of art from working with his father in his workshop. Thereafter, he began to venture into different art forms-painting, sculpture and graphics to name a few. For a m o m e n t t h e re , h e thou gh t that h e w as fully geared and educated in the field of art until after winning the 2008 National Drawing Competition, where he met the Head of Department of the Fine Arts of the University of Guyana Mr. Gajadhar, who applauded his work and encouraged him to apply for a Degree in Visual Arts.

“A few brush strokes

can say so much”-Jones expounded on his admiration for visual arts since it allows him the ability to speak to the public about social, political or even moral issues through his pieces. It was something he grew up and was born with and not inspired with.

The annual and bi-annual art competitions maximised his passion for art since he thinks that it “has given much exposure to artists especially myself.”

In Guyana, finding a career in this arena is quite a challenge hence; Cartoon Animation introduction is a relatively new career in the country, whereby Jones is currently a Senior Cartoon Animator at Brainstreet. Cartoon animation is not something he ‘dreamt’ of but now that he is fully educated in this field, he can definitely see a future with this.

Apart from this, one can pursue to be an Art Tutor, Curator, Graphic Artist, Sculptor, Historian, Potter, and Fashion Designer/ Seamstress/Tailor among others.

Seeing his clients happy has been a seminal experience for him s i n c e t h e re i s n o t h i n g more rewarding than satisfying his customer with the work he would have done for them. In every field of work, there must be something to dislike but Jones enjoy every bit of his. In fact his job has become more of a ‘hobby’ rather than a working experience.

Everyone has a celebrity role model. Rembrandt i s J o n e s ’s ro l e m o d e l .

Please see page XXV

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

“One of his best pieces”

From page XXIV He noted that he would like to be compared to this artist because of the wonderful pieces he created.

There are a few ‘dream’ projects he is currently pursuing one in which is to do a large public mural depicting the unification of all ethnic groups in Guyana. “Great artists” achieve their fame by doing a work that has a great impact on society; a work that will be here even when you are gone.

It is similar with Jones for he hopes to achieve this fame in his lifetime.

“Making art is my mean of income. It is also therapeutic”-He sees art as an epitome of fulfilment and cannot see himself doing anything other career for a living.

Portraits and cartoons are preferable in his eyes since “Onwards upward” is by far one of his favourites. The message that it portrays is one that everyone needs. “A painting is never finish, you only stop working” was an advise from one of his lecturers by which he solely disagrees be-

cause for him, a painting is finished when the artist is satisfied and once his intended message is portrayed, the work is then completed.

Every artist has an important tool that he cannot survive without in the studio but Jones stated that “a creative mind is the most important art tool, a mind that ‘thinks out of the box’” and that is his most vital and loved tool. Curvinal lines of all elements he enjoys using when he paints for it is sleek and easy. Content and technique are vital in any artistic piece. Jones thinks content is by far the most important because without context, technique is nothing.

In Guyana, he noted that the role of these artists is to ‘visually narrate’ a story in a manner that is therapeutic yet visually appealing. The subject matter to his art work is extremely important since it is the ‘seed’ of all his work. He noted that he definitely sees himself changing the face of art in Guyana since with the innovation

XXV of Cartoon Animation, Guyana is stepping into internationally standards in the art arena.

Thus, he visions himself apart of this stepping stone. Most artists either express feelings whilst painting or paint for the sake of painting. Jones chooses to express feelings and it is shown through his work, per se if he is happy at the time, the colours mirror that feeling, vice versa. Artists usually places emphasis on their pieces and regard them as accomplishments but Jones’ biggest accomplishment for him is when he won the National Art Competition in 2008 which led him to be motivated and keep on venturing into the world of art.

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Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Astronaut Celebrates Germany's World Cup ...

From page XXIII

game :) I'm sure @Astro_Alex is floating happily with pride right now!"

While Gerst seemed to enjoy watching the World Cup from space, a piece of him still wanted to be on the ground, surrounded by his fellow German countrymen after the match.

"Tonight, as awesome as it is up here in space, I would love to spend just a few hours in a German city!" Gerst wrote in reply to Parmitano on Twitter.

Gerst also dedicated 11 orbits of the International Space Station to the German team to honor the win.

Gerst, Swanson and Wiseman have been following the World Cup since the beginning of the tournament. The three space station crewmembers even released a video showing off

some of their microgravity soccer moves. In the video, the trio floats through the modules of the laboratory blocking shots, and heading a tiny soccer ball.

The Americans also made a friendly wager with Gerst when the U.S. team played Germany earlier in the tournament. Swanson and Wiseman had to shave their heads after Germany beat the United States 1 to 0 in June.

"Good to know I can work as a barber after flight!" Gerst wrote on Twitter after shaving his crewmembers' heads.

Swanson, Wiseman and Gerst are joined on the International Space Station by Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev and Maxim Suraev. Together, the six men make up the $100 billion station's Expedition 40 crew.

ESA's Alexander Gerst watches Germany play Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

USES OF VINEGAR Cars & Tools: * Polish car chrome.

Apply full strength. * Clean rust from tools, bolts, and spigots.

Soak the rusted tool, bolt, or spigot in undiluted vinegar overnight. * Keep car windows frost free. Coat the windows the night before with a solution of three parts vinegar to one part water. (http://www.angelfire.com/) Health & Beauty: * Soothe a bee or jellyfish sting. Dot or douse the irritated area with vinegar and relieve itching. * Relieve itching by using a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with Vinegar straight from the bottle. * Relieve cough by mixing one-half cup Apple Cider Vinegar, one-half cup water, one teaspoon cayenne pepper, and four teaspoons honey. Take one tablespoon when cough acts up. Take another tablespoon at bedtime.(http://www.angelfire. com/) BEAUTY TIPS FOR THE WORKING GIRL Powder Your Roots If your hairline starts to look greasy, dig up a big, fluffy makeup brush, and dip it into a pot of loose powder.

Tap it once on the back of your hand to remove the excess, and then dust it over your roots. It mops up oil and blends into your strands, so no one will know you didn't shower. (www.Cosmopolitan.com) Scent Strands with Perfume Spray a light shot of fragrance into the bristles. Run it through strands from roots to ends and your hair will smell amazing throughout the day. (www.Cosmopolitan. com) Groom Brows with a Toothbrush Mist an (unused!) toothbrush or eyebrow comb with hair spray to help flatten and tame unruly brows. (www.

Cosmopolitan.com) The children at home, Make them some Burgers INGREDIENTS (Makes 4) 1 lb minced beef 1lb bone marrow, chopped finely or minced, or ask the butcher for minced chuck with 20% fat Half an onion, very finely chopped 2tsp buttermilk or natural yoghurt ½tsp freshly ground black pepper Salt 4 buns, English muffins or normal burger buns.

METHOD Step 1: Gently fry the chopped onions in a frying pan with olive oil or butter

XXVII

until they’re cooked but not brown.

Step 2: In a bowl, mix the beef, bone marrow, onion, buttermilk or natural yoghurt, salt and pepper.

Step 3: With your hands, make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Divide into four. Shape them into burgers, about 2cm thick. Press the meat firmly together.

Step 4: If cooking inside and not on a barbecue, heat a griddle pan on the hob with a little oil until it’s smoking. Your aim here is to sear. Place each burger on the griddle and cook for 2-3min on each side or a little longer if you want them medium or well done. Don’t prod or squash your burgers or you’ll lose their all-important juices.

Step 5: Rest your patties for at least 5min after cooking; they’ll remain warm. While you’re waiting, top each burger with bacon, cheese or pickles, then sandwich in the bun of your choice. (http://metro.co.uk/)

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Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Meet Nesha…

Her husband’s flowers gave her a great idea!

By Telesha Ramnarine “FLOWERS bring out love, and Nesha’s Flower Land is all about love,” remarked Nesha herself. And this notion of hers precisely captures the reason she got into the flower business in the first place!

Meet 48-year-old Yasmin Deonauth. This is her real name, but everyone calls her ‘Nesha.’ In the 1980s, her husband, Rudolph, lovingly took a dozen of roses for her on every Saturday while they were living in Washington DC. “He only paid $5 for the dozen. And they were really beautiful and were in all the colours you could have gotten.

And to think that they were so cheap, yet so expensive in an arrangement in the stores. I thought, ‘Hey, I could make money here,’” she recalls.

Apparently, the more she received the flowers, the more she thought of opening the business.

About this time, her family ran a West Indian variety store which had an area for tenants. It so happened that the tenants moved, thus was the place available for Nesha to start her business of fresh flowers, which she ran there for about five years.

In 1994, she moved to Guyana after then President Cheddi Jagan urged her to come home and help to develop the country.

“So I decided to come back to Guyana. He said: ‘Hey, do some Yasmin Nesha Deonauth

“I’m like a love doctor to a lot of people. I am like a psychiatrist and I am a shoulder to lean on.

People come and end up in tears, and you have to comfort them, or you have to give them some of your thoughts. So it’s certainly not about the money for me. It’s about the love of what I do.” farming!’ We went and did some farming in #2 Canal Polder for about two years.”

But regular flooding, which washed out their crops about three times, made her forget the idea of farming. The family then entered the furniture business, but that also didn’t work out, so Nesha resorted to doing what she knew best: Flowers, of course!

She seemingly decided to settle on this, since she has now been 20 years in the floral industry. She opened the business first at Hunter Street, in Albouystown, before moving it to Camp Street, then to Wellington Street, and then to Lot 78, Church Street, opposite the St. George’s Cathedral.

The business, or “The Exotic Flower Shop” as is printed on the business card under its name, caters for wreaths; bridal bouquets; fresh, long stem roses and the like. Nesha’s was also the first to bring out the ‘Rainbow Roses’ and one called ‘Magic Love.’

She recalled that when she first opened for business locally, many people knew little about fresh flowers, and con-

people. I am like a psychiatrist and I am a shoulder to lean on.

People come and end up in tears, and you have to comfort them, or you have to give them some of your thoughts. So it’s certainly not about the money for me. It’s about the love of what I do,” Nesha explained.

And the business also offers more than flowers. She has things collected from various parts of the world, such as Morocco, China, Iran, Ireland and India, among other places.

Hence foreigners are often impressed with the shop when they visit.

“They are impressed also because they find that they could actually get fresh flowers and they don’t have to wait. They just pick up and go. And we always have something different to show people every time they walk in here. You can never see the same old thing.”

Though she personally puts together some of the arrangements, most of the work now is done by her staff. When she started, though, she did everything on her own. In America, she knew little about flowers, and so would put together the arrangements by looking through books. So, feeling that she needed some more knowledge and experience, she decided to do a one year advanced course in floral arrangements at the University of Maryland in the United States.

Nesha’s four children are Dimitri, Samaria, Yashoda and Xaria.

centrated mainly on the artificial ones.

“So I am proud of myself, because I educated a lot of the young people, especially within the Albouystown and Charlestown area. I was able to make a difference. I used to organize seminars and invite school children to visit and experience the flower shop.”

In addition, Nesha also once planted flowers along the entire Sussex Street.

At the time of Prince Charles’s visit to Guyana, she planted flowers from St. Stephens Street all the way to the La Penitence Market. And she made sure she paid people to upkeep the surroundings.

MORE THAN A FLORIST “I always told my friends that I wanted to do business. I didn’t think college or university was for me. Business was always my thing,” she recalls.

But the business makes her more than a florist. Take, for instance, the young guys on Monday mornings. A lot of them would visit the shop in search of single roses to say they’re sorry for whatever wrong they had done to their girlfriends.

And more often than not, they would not know how to express themselves, or what to write on the card.

“I’m like a love doctor to a lot of

Nesha tending to some of her plants in the shop

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XXIX

ABC’s ‘Rising Star’ showdown continues…

Lisa Punch vows to come in like a ‘wrecking ball’ -in next leg of ABC’s ‘Rising Star’

O

By Alex Wayne

ur very talented Lisa Punch almost lost it on the duet round of ABC’s ‘Rising Star Reality Show’ last Sunday but came back with a wallop after the West Coast (USA) voted her ‘in’ allowing her to secure a 67% that forwarded her to the upcoming quarter-final round of the competition.

In an exclusive internet interview the song diva told Bombshell that her last performance was not the best she has to offer, and declared that she will invade the next leg of the competition ‘like a wrecking ball’ with every intent of demolishing her competition.

“I admit my last performance was certainly not the best of me and I am glad that the West Coast has voted me through to the next round. But guess what… For the quarterfinal rounds, I will be storming that stage like a wrecking ball from Guyana” Only one judge voted in favour of Punch on Sunday last but her ever increasing fan base ensured she escalated to 66% percent, needing only 4% more to break that wall. Thanks again to the West Coast for saving our home grown Lisa.

Judge Praisley later who strangely did not vote ‘no’ or ‘yes’ for Punch later via the internet posted a comment which dictated that after watching the show he realised that Punch’s performance was actually stronger that it appeared to be, even though he was sitting just inches from where the singer was standing. This certainly leaves us to question his abilities as a judge at such a forum….

MusicTimes.com posted a review of the battle between Punch and her opponent Alice Lee and it read as follows: MusicTimes.com REVIEW of the Lisa Punch/Alice Lee Battle: "The first duel performance of the night went to

Please turn to page XXX

Way to go Lisa… Make Guyana Proud

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Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Lisa Punch vows ...

From page XXIX

Broadway singer Alice J. Lee versus soulful chanteuse Lisa Punch.

Lee began the night with a take on the Little Mix anthem "Wings." Though this girl has the backing of a Broadway education, she really, truly lacks the power of the stage, taking on the song in a quiet manner instead of commanding it with the sass and power it deserves. That's not to say her vocals were off - they weren't - they were just a little bit understated.

Despite a lack of panache, all three judges voted "yes" and Lee achieved 69 percent of the vote.

Which was more than Punch, who performed a take on P!nk's empowerment anthem "Perfect." Punch had to perform with the wall up, but she was full of pure soul and love, as she absolutely slayed "Perfect."

Now, I'm not always the type to think reality shows are fixed, but something smelled a little off here. Lee was able to move on with 69 percent of the vote, with the backing of all three celebrity judges, but Punch barely missed that mark, only getting a Yes vote from Kesha, despite her all-around superior singing skills. Maybe producers really like Lee or her Broadway background, but there's no real reason she should have beaten Punch on singing power alone."

Guyanese Lisa Punch recently created history when she recently nailed a spot amongst the ABC’s Reality Show in the USA for promising artistes from a lineup of over 40,000 auditions across the US. Lisa was selected with some twenty nine other contestants after and has successfully made it into the third round of the competition. Punch not so long ago

migrated to the foreign shores in search of a better life and with aims of further developing her musical career, and we must agree that she is definitely headed places.

GUYANESE CHEATED OUT OF VOTING Speaking to scores of local disgruntled Lisa Punch fans, Bombshell was informed that while many attempted to download the App for voting while she was performing never managed to do so since it does ages for the app to be downloaded, and by the time some fans succeeded Punch had already left the stage and vote for her was already closed. How very shameful!!! Who’s to be blamed? Certainly not me…

HERE’S HOW TO VOTE FOLKS Download your app and vote Guyana!!!

If you are in Guyana and you have an Android Phone, here is how you can dowload the APP…Go to www.1mobile.com Search for Rising Star ABC and click DOWNLOAD…You may be prompted to download the 1mobile APP also… Get It done and LET’S VOTE LISA PUNCH !!!

Here is How you can download the RISING STAR APP on your Iphone/Ipad Having trouble downloading the FREE but much needed Rising Star app to vote for our very own Lisa Punch on ABC? For those Ipad, IPod and Iphone users you would need to change your “account location” if you are outside of the USA, that’s the only way it will work. * Open App store, click on feature ( bottom left corner), scroll down to the bottom and select your Apple ID, choose view Account ( or View Apple ID), Change country/location to US, add a state and zip code and you are then able to download and register to vote. Remember you have to vote while she is performing…not before or after. NCN and HJTV will be airing the show live from 9pm Tonight. Tune in to ABC if you have a cable network.

You can vote through the app and vote via twitter, instagram and her fan page. You can also follow her on those websites. Vote on all the sites Guyana!!! Vote for Lisa Punch and let’s create history!!!

Lisa Punch needs your votes to make it to the next round.

Come on Punchers and Team Punch, we can do this. Let us raise that wall!!!

ABC’s innovative new series “Rising Star,” which opens the gate to a new era in reality competition, kicks off its nationwide search for talent on Saturday March 29. The U.S. series is helmed by executive producers Ken Warwick (“American Idol”) and Nicolle Yaron (“The Voice”).

“Rising Star” completely reinvents the traditional singing competition as--for the first time ever--the audience has the final say in real time. The show follows a group of aspiring singers as they perform live. During the performances, viewers vote in real time via an App to determine if the singer will advance in the competition. If the voting reaches a certain threshold, the performer moves on. In addition, the performer can see how the voting is going throughout the performance, so the feedback is immediate and dramatic.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

XXXI

What’s the best way to deal with being booed?

(BBC) Collective booing - or jeering - goes back at least to public festivals held in ancient Greece. Some just laugh it off. When Chancellor George Osborne was booed as he presented medals at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, he smiled. "Booing's all part of the pantomime nature of sport," says David Fletcher, a sports psychologist at Loughborough University.

"People are looking for entertainment. I think Osborne realised that."

Quiet dignity is another way of surviving. During the 1998-9 season, David Beckham was constantly booed at Manchester United's away games after being sent off in a World Cup match against Argentina, which many said cost England the game. Through a

series of sensational performances for his country over the next few years, he became a national hero.

"Beckham demonstrated his inner toughness," says Fletcher. "It was admirable. You have to have that sort of focus to train yourself to cope with booing

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Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

What’s the best way to deal ...

From page XXXI and vilification."

Psychologists practise visualisation techniques and advocate measures including meditation and personal calming routines to help them cope with the pressures of abuse by crowds. But sportspeople also have to demonstrate imperviousness. England cricketer Stuart Broad was booed by Australian supporters throughout the recent Ashes series,

after he refused to walk when not given out for an obvious catch the previous summer. Rather than wilting, he had a good series. Fletcher describes Broad as having a "type A" behaviour pattern, meaning he is little affected by not being liked and able to focus is on getting the job done.

Others have to work hard to block out criticism.

Booing - a disapproving sound designed to mimic the "lowing of oxen" - has been used in Britain since at

least 1801, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, yet crowds have loved to rile performers for far longer.

In Roman times crowd disapproval literally became a matter of life or death, as emperors listened to its verdict when deciding whether defeated gladiators should be killed. Perhaps Commonwealth Games athletes might remember that as they put their own suffering into perspective.

Chronicle Pepperpot July 20, 2014

Stay Up Late? How It Could Hurt Your Fertility

By Cari Nierenberg Women who want to become pregnant or are expecting a baby should avoid light during the night, a new report suggests.

Darkness is important for optimum reproductive health in women, and for protecting the developing fetus, said study researcher Russel J. Reiter, a professor of cellular biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

In a review of studies published online July 1 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, Reiter and his colleagues evaluated previously published research, and summarized the role of melatonin levels and circadian rhythms on successful reproduction in females.

The evidence shows that "Every time you turn on the light at night, this turns down the production of melatonin," Reiter said. [7 Ways Pregnant Women Affect Their Babies] Melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness, is important when women are trying to conceive, because it protects their eggs from oxidative stress, Reiter said. Melatonin has strong antioxidant properties that shield the egg from free-radical damage, especially when women ovulate, the findings reveal.

"If women are trying to get pregnant, maintain at least eight hours of a dark period at night," he advised. "The light-dark cycle should be regular from one day to the next; otherwise, a woman's biological clock is confused."

LIGHT POLLUTION Eight hours of darkness every night is also optimal during pregnancy, and ideally, there should be no interruption of nighttime darkness with light, especially during the last trimester of a pregnancy, Reiter said.

Turning on the light at night suppresses melatonin production in women, and means the fetal brain may not get the proper amount of melatonin to regulate the function of its biological clock, he said.

Animal studies have suggested that disturbances in the mother's light and dark environments may be linked with behavioral problems in newborns. This has led some researchers to speculate that similar disruptions of the light and dark cycles when a woman is pregnant may be related to the rise in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorders in young children.

"We have evolved for 4 million years with a regular light-dark cycle that regulates circadian rhythms," Reiter said. "We have corrupted this with the development of artificial light, which disrupts the biological clock at night and suppresses levels of melatonin."

"There is a biological price to pay for disturbing the light," Reiter said.

WHAT WOMEN CAN DO So what should women who want to have a baby or are already pregnant do to avoid disruptions to the lightdark cycle?

Darkness is necessary for a regular biological clock and to produce a good dose of melatonin, Reiter said.

However, he noted, "staying in darkness has nothing to do with sleep." Sleep is nice, Reiter said, but it's the darkness that's needed for the brain to produce melatonin.

He recommended making sure the bedroom is dark, with no outside light coming in through the windows, or from a television or gadget's glare. Those who want a night-light should choose a red or yellow light, rather than a white or blue light, which can disrupt circadian rhythms. And those who can't sleep should avoid turning on the light.

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ARIES - You’ve got a lot of living to do and you may have been going a little overboard lately -- but knowing impulsive you, it’s probably surprising that you haven’t gone further than you have! It’s time now to sit down and look things over, though, with an eye toward creating -- and sticking to -- a nice, stable budget. Now stop giggling. You can do it. Besides, aren’t you trying to save up for a vacation?

TAURUS - Your sign has always been known for magnetism. When you walk into a room, it’s quite odd for you to leave without several phone numbers -none of which you had to ask for. How does that happen? It’s just what you’re made of: Pure, earthy sensuality. At the moment, your ability to attract others is even more potent, and while taking this statement out for a test-ride may be tempting, try to resist. Be merciful.

GEMINI - Someone is about to ask if you can keep a secret -- a big, important one, in their book. Be merciful. No matter how hard your curiosity tugs at your shirtsleeve, tell them -- honestly -- whether you can or can’t. Usually, it’s only your own secrets you have problems keeping, anyway -- but be sure you can take this one to your grave before you lean closer.

CANCER - First thing this morning, you’ll want to make plans to socialise tonight. Don’t worry about finding playmates who’ll be up for it, either, regardless of what time you all have to get up the next morning. Oh, and how about making it an impromptu party at your place? Call the other ‘leader’ in your gang and make a plan. Then get the phone tree going, order the pizzas (which, of course, everyone will insist on eating while standing up in the kitchen) and have some fun.

LEO - Whether you know it or not, the higher-ups you’ve been dealing with are quite pleased with you -- that may go double for one particular female authority figure. Be patient; they may not be ready to talk about it just yet.

You won’t have to wait long for them to offer you a lot more responsibility, though, which, of course, is step one toward a raise or promotion. Better start indulging in power naps.

VIRGO - When you feel strongly about something, you’re never shy about letting the world know. That goes double for now. In fact, right now, anyone who challenges you really should be warned first -- because you’re absolutely not in the mood to be messed around with. You won’t stand for it, not for one minute. Prepare to raise a few eyebrows, and to love every minute of it.

LIBRA - If you thought you were having fun before, prepare yourself -- especially in the department of romance, your favourite. The heavens have arranged for someone from the past and someone who’s very much a part of your present to have a bit of a dispute going -- over who’ll spend time with you. Gosh. What an awful dilemma. Does this mean you’ll once again be missing in action -from your friends’ point of view? Maybe. Don’t let it go on for long, though.

SCORPIO - Unbelievable as it may seem, you’re actually tired of keeping a secret -- mostly because you want the world to know that you and a certain someone have something good going on. Furtive glances and clandestine trysts usually add to the appeal for you, but that’s not the case now. If you’re sick of it, stand your ground.

SAGITTARIUS - Your sign is famous for loving freedom, but a little-known secret is that you’re also an extremely devoted partner -- and that goes double if you’ve found an intellectual equal that you’re also attracted to. If you’re away from your friends for a few days, they’ll just have to understand. If they’re really good friends, they will -- especially when you show up wearing a great big grin and actually admit that it might be love.

CAPRICORN - The heavens are in quite the mood right now -- the kind that’s all about finding the perfect match for each of us. In your case, that goes double.

The universe is absolutely bent on finding someone who’s not temporary and not simply just adequate. The heavens are searching for your perfect lover. In the meantime, expect to be quite busy with family situations -- one of which may actually provide you with the introduction you ought to be expecting.

AQUARIUS - There’s only one way to let your family know how much you love them -- according to them, at least -- at this exact moment in time. Unfortunately, that means they’ll be strongly hinting about (in other words, trying to ‘guilt’ you into) cancelling a date with someone you’ve been looking forward to being alone with for some time. If you’re feeling brave, you might try bringing the two together. Early. For a little, tiny bit of time.

PISCES - You’re not all that tough to talk into keeping the peace, even if you feel strongly about something, mainly because you always prefer being cooperative to causing contention -- or, heaven forbid, confrontation. At this particular moment in time, however, that won’t be the case. Not at all. You’ll stand your ground, no matter what type of conflict your antennae tell you it could create.

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PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING

By Clifford Stanley

Before planting seeds, gardeners prepare, or till the soil using a variety of methods. Some turn over the soil with a spade, while others loosen it with a garden fork. Then, they rake it smooth before planting. Some gardeners prefer not to turn or loosen the soil because the oxygen that enters the soil when it is tilled by these methods hastens the breakdown of needed organic matter in the soil. Instead, they just dig a small hole for each seed or plant. To keep the soil loose so that roots can develop easily, they keep it covered with grass clippings, compost, or other organic matter. The presence of this organic matter encourages large populations of worms, whose tunneling breaks up the soil.

Gardeners plant seeds at different depths, depending on

the seed’s size and its requirement for light. Seeds contain starch and oil, stored food that provides the energy needed for sprouting, or germination. Small seeds do not hold much food,

so they are sown on or close to the soil surface, where they will not require a lot of energy to push through the soil. Larger seeds have enough food reserves to be planted deeper. This gives the root system more time to develop as the seedling, or young plant, grows up through the soil. As a general rule, a seed can be planted three times as deep as the seed is wide.

Some seeds, such as lettuce, require light to germinate; these seeds must be sown on or very near the soil surface. Once the seeds are sown, the gardener gently presses down the soil to

ensure that the seed touches soil, not air pockets—this soil contact helps keep the seeds moist.

Seeds usually are sown close together in case some of them do not germinate successfully. Once the seedlings that emerge are several inches tall, the gardener removes extra ones so that the remaining seedlings are evenly spaced and not crowded. The correct spacing between seedlings depends on how much room the mature plant needs. To prevent the seeds and seedlings from drying out, the gardener keeps the soil damp—not wet—until the seedlings are several inches tall and then gradually tapers off watering.

Rather than starting seeds directly in the garden, some gardeners opt to use transplants—young plants purchased from nurseries or grown by the gardener indoors. Transplants are a particularly popular option for gardeners who live in cooler climates with short growing seasons. In a short growing season, good weather does not last long enough for plants grown from seeds to mature. Transplants give the garden a head start. They can be placed in the garden in early spring, but must be protected from the cold. One protective method is to cover each transplant with a transparent milk jug or plastic soda bottle with the bottom cut off, which acts like a small greenhouse to trap heat around the plant.

(Courtesy of Erin Hynes of the EVERGREEN NATURE STUDY CLUB. Website : www.evergreenstudy.org.)

Kim Kardashian: Quitting ‘KUWTK’ Because She’s Pregnant With Baby #2?

Say it ain’t so! Is Kim Kardashian quitting ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ because she’s PREGNANT? A new report claims Kim has already broken the news to momager Kris Jenner. Yikes.

Kim Kardashian, 33, is done with Keeping Up With The Kardashians, suggests a new report. But why? Well, that very same report claims that Kim is pregnant with her second child — and she does not want to document yet another pregnancy.

Kim Kardashian Quits ‘KUWTK’ For Second Pregnancy — Report This Kardashian is DONE being kept up with.

Well, at least that’s what the July 28 issue of Life & Style is reporting.

[Kim] recently screamed at her mom, ‘I am done with the show!’” an insider claims inside the magazine, revealing that Kim no longer wants to be a part of KUWTK because she is currently pregnant with her second child.

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The report suggests that Kim has quit the show because

she does not want to face the same scrutiny she received while pregnant with her first child, North West, now 1.

“She’s not eager to subject herself to all the negativity she received last pregnancy,” the insider shared, referring to the backlash Kim received to her pregnancy weight gain.

Hopefully, Kim will have a change of heart. All of her fans are so excited to see her and Kanye West, 36, have another child, so it would be a shame if they weren’t able to experience her joy with her — as they have so many other exciting moments.

Kanye Wanted Kim Pregnant A Long Time Ago While Kim’s pregnancy is still unconfirmed, eyewitnesses have noticed that she has started eating a bit more than usual.

Kim has the freedom to be a bit more lenient with her diet these days now that her big wedding is over, but there is also the possibility she is eating for two again!

Apparently, making a second baby with Kim was Kanye’s plan all along.

“If it was up to him, Kim would have had a baby right after Nori,” a source close to the couple revealed in the same magazine article mentioned above.

Another baby would be the best wedding present Kim and Kanye could give each other. Plus, it’s a wonderful

Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett — ‘Fighting & Crying’ To Save Marriage

Kendra Wilkinson’s world was turned upside down in April when rumors swirled that her husband, Hank Baskett had cheated on her with transgender model, Ava Sabrina London. HollywoodLife.com learned has learned EXCLUSIVELY that Hank and Kendra are trying to work things out, but it is tough.

After rumors began circulating that Hank Baskett, 31, had cheated on his then 8-month pregnant wife Kendra Wilkinson, 29, with transgendered model, Ava Sabrina London, the couple’s marriage was immediately thrown into the spotlight — and not for what they wanted.

Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett Fighting For Marriage Hank and Kendra definitely have their work cut out for them if they want to stay together, but HollywoodLife.com has learned exclusively that the couple are not ready to give up on their five-year marriage just yet.

They’re living together again but it’s a total mess,” a source close to the couple told us exclusively. “They’re fighting and crying, they’re miserable. She threatens to kick him out ten times a day, but she can’t pull the plug on this yet, she wants to make it work because she can’t stand the thought of tearing her family apart.”

The couple have two children, Hank IV, 4, and their 2-month daughter, Alijah.

“She always swore she would never get divorced because she didn’t want to ever put her kids through something like that, she’s trying really hard to find a way they can survive this but she’s very angry right now, and humiliated,” the source added.

“Never in a million years would she have predicted this.”

Poor Kendra! We can’t imagine the pain she is going through right now.

belated birthday present to Nori that she will be a big sister very soon!

Johnny Winter: Blues Icon Found Dead In His Hotel Room The 70-year-old guitarist had been on tour in Europe when he was found dead on July 16 in his Zurich hotel room.

Johnny Winter has been found dead. The Texas singer performed on July 12 in Wiesen, Austria and seemed fine, so this news comes as a great shock to his fans all over the world.

Johnny Winter — Blues Icon Found Dead In His Hotel Room Johnny’s rep confirmed the news of his death to the Associated Press and released a statement: “His wife, family and bandmates were all saddened by the loss of one of the world’s finest guitarists.”

Johnny, who performed at Woodstock, won three Grammy Awards and was also named by Rolling Stone the “63rd best guitarist of all time.”

During his career, he worked and produced music for Muddy Waters.

Johnny’s career is incredibly impressive, and it spanned forty years and in that time he released 20 albums.

But his hard work paid off because in 2003 he was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame.

Bobby Womack Found Dead Johnny isn’t the only legendary singer that has passed away recently.

Bobby Womack, famous for songs like “Across 110th Street” and “Woman’s Gotta Have It,” died on June 28. Bobby was also 70.

He and his brothers started a band called, Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, and they eventually changed their name to The Valentinos.

Bobby was also honored for his role in the music world and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

HollywoodLifers, Johnny’s contributions to music will forever be remember and he will be deeply missed.