Pepperpot epaper 08 21 2016

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ASHLEY JOHN, anchor of the evening cable news programme, News Room, which is aired on E-Networks, poses for photographer Samuel Maughn at the Georgetown Stelling. Ashely is one of the contestants in this year’s Miss Universe Guyana pageant, which will be held on September 17, 2016 at the Marriott Hotel.

The winner will represent Guyana at the 2016 Miss Universe pageant. (Outfit - Glamour Designer Brands; Shoes by Shoe Heaven)

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Mashabo’s Big Day T

By Alva Solomon he village seemed excited about the prospects of visitors travelling there and residents of Mashabo , a small Amerindian community on the banks of the Ituribisi Conservancy on the Essequibo Coast, usually welcome anyone who is willing to walk around their sprawling village lands.

It was Sunday, and word spread that a cricket team from the community of Wakapoa in the Pomeroon was visiting Mashabo to engage the village in a Twenty20 cricket match.

On arrival at the Essequibo Coast community of Huis t”Dieren, a car driven by “Jango,” Mashabo’s most loyal taxi driver, was awaiting persons who were travelling into the lakeside village that Sunday. The cricket match was the talk of the 10-minute ride into the long stretch of road to the conservancy; the ride was smooth since the road was

upgraded several weeks earlier, Jango noted.

Once at the eastern end of the conservancy, boats awaited visitors. The chirping of birds and the cool atmosphere under the boat house - with its troolie-palm roof - provided prospects of a bright day ahead.

“The team from Wakapoa coming just now,” the boatman noted. Of course, there were several chuckles form those around , including the boatman himself , since “just now” in those parts of the country can mean an hour, or two or four.

Sure enough, it was not until two hours later that the cricketers from the Pomeroon rode up in their cars and a minibus. After loading the boat with their cricket gears, food and fans, the destination was now fixed in the direction of Mashabo which laid in the distance ahead, beyond the Itepalm trees which lined the water.

The conservancy is also known as the “hot and cold” lake and according to the elders at Mashabo , the waterways A view of the waters of the Ituribisi Conservancy from the eastern end.

Levi Williams , a former Toshao of the community gave a brief historical background of the village of the lake were expanded decades ago to form what is now the conservancy . But many refer to the water-holding area as a lake.

As the small, 15-HP engine chugged along the wa► Continued on page III

The lake is littered with Ite palm trees.

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

A lad on his way to the cricket ground from his home at the Hosana Housing Scheme , a small community adjoining Mashabo ► From page II ter, the cricketers from the Pomeroon kept the mood alive. The light banter included the results of the Caribbean Premier League Finals later that evening between Guyana’s Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs, whether there is internet service at Mashabo, and the diverse ethnicities of those in the boat.

Some 15 to 20 minutes later, Mashabo’s popular 650-feet bridge appeared in the distance and ladies in bright orange shirts stood at the edges of the “landing” where passengers usually disembark. Once the boat came to a halt, the cricketers emerged and the ladies and men from the peaceful community greeted each visitor with firm handshakes, a sign of the rich hospitality of the people.

On climbing the sloping the landscape to the cricket ground, Toshao Sylvian Raphael and other village leaders and other residents greeted and chatted with visitors.

Toshao Raphael welcomed this publication and noted that the village was free for a tour. After

walking around the cricket ground and interacting with the residents who were out in large numbers, a tour of the village commenced. But the cricket match seemed the most popular event in the village that day, hence most homes appeared empty and then the realization came - it was Mashabo’s big day.

Cricket is very popular here and ranks alongside the village’s annual heritage celebrations in September, which usually attract hundreds of persons from the Essequibo Coast and as far as the capital city.

A stroll across the iconic bridge, said to be the longest of its type in the country, led to another section of the village known as Wadadoori, a lesser populated section of the village where Toshao Rapheal resides.

The sun was now baking the landscape and church was in session a few steps away from the bridge. It was just a congregation of four that day; everyone was probably at the cricket match.

The tour was now focused on the edges of the village and this entailed crossing the bridge, back to center of the village and a long walk in a northerly direction which led to the crossing of another bridge,

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Three men on a motorcycle attracted the attention of the spectators who were watching the cricket match at the time

Mashabo’s female cricket team wears the orange colour, which they noted signifies the sun, rising over the horizon. the second of four bridges, which lay almost synonymously with the four cardinal points on the edges of the village.

The trek led to the Hosana Housing Scheme, a community which was built for the village via assistance from Food for the Poor. Treks along the white sand seemed onerous but worth the steps and some 20 minutes later , the tour now stretched down to the cool waters of the lake via sloping sandy trails. The views here are breathtaking, almost giving the Caribbean-island, sandy-beach effect.

The cricket match which was in session during the visit

After enjoying the coolness of the waters, the moments of the tour were coming to an end. A few stops were made along the way through the Hosana Housing Scheme , including at a shop where a villager noted that the village is almost crime free, that persons abide by the rules which govern Amerindian communities and that a cricket pitch was erected close to her home to further occupy the free time of the youth in the area.

Another stop was made at the home of a farmer known as “Stanley” who willingly picked several coconuts for the visitor. After chatting

with Stanley about his cassava plants, the walk led back to the cricket ground where the match was about to climax with Mashabo’s cricketers in control of the game .

In the meantime, former Toashao Levi Williams stepped across and spoke to this publication about the history of the village.

He said it was established around 1969 when the land commission recognized the area as a village. Most persons moved to the area from communities in the Pomeroon area. Born and raise at Mashabo , Williams said the primary economic activity there was logging and the village’s wallaba species of trees were in demand in those days by the power company for use as electrical poles.

“At the time, it only had about 91 persons here, but today we have 500 and it’s a peaceful set of people,” he said.

He said that criminal activities are rare, but the presence of jaguars and dry weather are the two main issues which affected normal life there.

Currently, residents are working on several programme ideas which can better develop the community. These include a tourism model which can market its captivating landscape as well as a pitch to telecommunications giant Digicel to establish a tower there.

Mashabo is home to a nursery school as well as a primary school which is headed by Mr Quado Vancooten , a career educator who has lived in the village for many years. Vancooten took this publication once more across the bridge which stretches across the lake to the highest point at Wadadoori , where the views are beyond words.

A few cows grazed in the vicinity and as the afternoon drew closer to night, the boatman and the Pomeroon cricketers were heard in the distance as they prepared to leave Mashabo .

It was time to leave the peaceful people of Mashabo , a tourism gem with natural features which will surely leave a lasting impression on the mind of visitors .

It was the end of Mashabo’s big day.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

By Subraj Singh

Derek Walcott’s The Schooner Flight (Part II)

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hile Derek Walcott’s Collected Poems does present to us a manageable selection of his work that can be described as representative of his entire oeuvre, the magnitude of Walcott’s brilliance can be seen when we observe that his amazing poem The Schooner Flight is just one of many other poems in the book. The point being made is that The Schooner Flight on its own is worthy of much academic and critical analysis and, yet, in the end, it is just another of many poems written by Walcott. In short, the poem is just one expression of the talent and poetic skill possessed by St. Lucia’s Nobel Laureate.

With his unique presentation of the relationship between past and present in The Schooner Flight, Walcott is able to highlight many of the failings of the West Indies while, simultaneously, offering the reasons for such failings. Race is an important subject to Guyanese and West Indian readers and it is also an important subject for Walcott, so it should come as no surprise that in the poem, Walcott talks about identity and race, using his own mixed heritage to create part of the identity of the speaker of his poem, Shabine.

Walcott writes that: “After the white man, the niggers didn’t want me / when the power swing to their side. / The first chain my hands and apologize, “History”; / the next said I wasn’t black enough for their pride.” Here Walcott is speaking of the rejection that is faced by people who have both African and European ancestry and how they come together to create a sense of having an identity that does not allow the individual to identify with those two central groups. The person of mixed race, according to the speaker of the poem, is rejected by the whites because of his blackness, as evidenced through slavery, while after colonialism, his white ancestry makes him too tainted to be a part of the emergence of black pride and black nationalism among the black people in the West Indies.

The treatment of mixed-race people in the Caribbean comes up once more when Shabine says “I met History once, but he ain’t recognize me.” This line underscores the idea of mixed-race peoples not being afforded a place in our history, which often seems to relate to us the stories of the whites or blacks or coolie people and so on, but never really giving the same emphasis to the people of mixed ethnic backgrounds. This criticism of Caribbean history is emphasized once more in the seemingly simple line of “But that’s all them bastards have left us: words.” Shabine may have been referring to colonizers or historians or, perhaps both. Walcott is using the line to refer to the fact that the history of the West Indies has been reduced to nothing more than words written down, and there is an irony here because the history of the West Indies is much more than just words. It is, in fact, what has led to the creation of all aspects of the contemporary West Indies, including both the mixed-race poet and the speaker of his poem. The second irony regarding that one line has to do with the second interpretation of it, which informs us of how the colonizers have enforced their language upon the West Indies and so, all we are left with are the “words” of the colonizers – ironic because Walcott is using that same language to offer scathing critiques, through his poetry, of colonialism.

People who are of mixed-race are sometimes regarded as symbols of the new Caribbean and, in some ways, may be part of the antidote to racial divisions which exists in many Caribbean countries, including Guyana. Walcott’s presentation of the struggles of the individual who possesses the mixed-race identity is important not only because

of its relation to postcolonial discourse but also because it preserves in poetry the dilemmas of a group of people whose presence in the world will become more and more important as time goes by.

(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987)

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

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Eating Disorders

- Bulimia

Hello everyone,

I hope this week has treated you well.

Last week I touched on Eating Disorders, which severely affects our mental and physical health. I focused mainly on Anorexia Nervosa which, again occurs when the individual is fixated on being thin and therefore purposely starves and/or exercises excessively.

Today, I would like to talk about a second type of eating disorder – Bulimia.

Bulimia involves binge eating (over eating) and is followed by purging (purposely throwing up) or using laxatives to avoid weight gain. The binging usually cannot be controlled and therefore causes self-disgust and hatred. The purging often tends to bring relief to the sufferer. It is a serious mental illness that requires intensive treatment because of the mental, physical and social damage it causes to its victims.

Much like Anorexia, women are more likely than men to develop Bulimia and usually from the ages of 13-20 years of age.

There are many reasons why an individual would develop Bulimia. These include genetics, mental illness, cultural pressure to be thin, poor self-esteem and body image, obesity, stress and trauma or previous abuse. It is also common among certain professionals such as models, dancers, actors etc.

Many of us know what it’s like to eat because of sheer boredom, sadness, loneliness or stress. A person with Bulimia will eat for all of these reasons and have trouble stopping. It is a compulsion that is very hard to ignore and rather than making the decision to eat healthy or exercise, they turn to purging.

Bulimia is visibly hard to diagnose as its suffers are usually of normal weight What are the signs and symptoms of Bulimia?

A preoccupation with current weight or weight gain is the biggest indicator of Bulimia.

During their out of control over eating, a Bulimic will consume unusually large amounts of food. However, they usually also do this in secret.

Ironically enough, you would rarely see a Bulimic eat. They are usually ashamed of their binging and therefore almost always eat alone. If they do eat in front of others, they will spend an unusual amount of time in the bathroom after eating. This usually occurs after every meal and causes serious dehydration.

Binging and purging causes severe stress on the body.

Most believe that binging shrinks the stomach but it actually stretches it and can even rip the lining and allow stomach acid to spill into the rest of the body, which at times can be fatal.

Therefore, obvious symptoms are severe and chronic stomach pain, enlarged cheeks, throat infection, discoloured and decayed teeth, and increased risk for heart issues like heart palpitations or heart attacks. Studies also show that Bulimia decreases fertility in both men and women, making it more difficult to conceive children.

Overall, studies have found that 70% of individuals who suffer from Bulimia also suffer from depression, are 6 times more likely to suffer from anxiety and twice as likely to suffer from drug abuse. They are also at higher risk for self-harm or suicide.

How do we treat Bulimia?

The most important step in treatment is to always admit there is a problem.

The second step is to attend your nearest health clinic and share your concerns.

Like any other mental disorder, a combination of therapy and medication is best. Anti-depressants are usually given as eating disorders cause and are caused by high levels of depression.

Therapy is to identify triggers that may cause the binging, such as stress or low self-esteem, and work to

improve them. It would also involve inventing a new, healthy and realistic meal plan that the patient would agree to consume without intentionally throwing up.

Why is it important to be realistic? Well, I’ve been on unrealistic diets before – such as no carbs at all- for example bread- which I love. I once cut it out entirely for about 6 days and by the seventh one, I ate almost an entire loaf by myself. When making a mean plan, you do not need to cut out all your favourites – everything in moderation is a good rule to follow.

Finally, know and stay away from your triggers which may be social media, fashion magazines, food channels etc.

Thank you for reading and please send in any topics to caitlinvieira@gmail.com. Also please remember when you can come see me.

Georgetown public hospital- Monday- Friday- 8am12pm.

Woodlands Hospital: Outpatient Department Drug and Alcohol group meetings - Mondays 4:15 Good mental health group meetings- Wednesdays 4:15 Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always!

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The effect of smoking on oral health

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

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tatistics show about one quarter of all dental patients use tobacco. It is scientifically recognized that smoking is among Guyana’s leading preventable health problem. It may surprise you that for every six persons who die the effect of smoking kills one. It is common knowledge there is a link between smoking, lung cancer and heart disease. Smoking also contributes to cancer of the kidney, cervix, pancreas, bladder and stomach.

From the standpoint of oral health, smoking (cigarette and cigar) is linked to cancer of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and larynx. Chronic use of smokeless tobacco has been directly linked to cancer of the larynx, mouth, throat and esophagus. Chronic smokeless tobacco users are 50 more times more likely to develop oral cancer than nonusers, and the risks are greatest in Dr. BERTRAND intraoral locations where the tobacco is usually stored.

R. STUART, DDS. Oral cancer is usually treated with a combination of radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery. If it is not diagnosed early, oral cancer may require extensive, disfiguring surgery; or worse, it may be fatal.

The overall five-year survival rate for oral cancer patients is about 50 percent, with only 23 percent of those with regional lymph node involvement surviving.

Leukoplakia is a soft-tissue lesion that is characterized by a white patch or plaque. It is usually a localized condition that is related to irritation from a badly fitting denture, broken teeth, or tobacco.

High- risk sites include the floor of the mouth and the underside of the tongue. Although leukoplakia is not extensively seen in tobacco users, it is definitely associated with both smoking and smokeless

tobacco use. The tobacco/leukoplakia association is related to the frequency, amount, and duration of the tobacco use. It has been reported that 2 to 6 percent of leukoplakia will become malignant.

Further, the lesions often heal when tobacco use is stopped.

Overwhelming scientific evidence shows periodontal (gum) disease is more likely to occur in smokers than nonsmokers, and is usually more severe (often resulting in tooth loss). It is interesting to note that smokers usually have higher levels of dental plaque, but the tendency for their gums to bleed is lower. The diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease for this group may be delayed because they don’t usually have bleeding gums.

The oral effects of smoking are stains on teeth, tooth restorations, and the tongue; calculus buildup on the teeth and bad breath. Smoking dulls a person’s ability to taste and smell; irritates tissues in the mouth; and delays healing after a tooth has been extracted (including a dry socket) or after oral surgery. Several studies have shown that smoking is the greatest barrier to tissue healing after periodontal therapy, especially when soft tissue is grafted and/or surgery is performed.

Periodontal therapy is more likely to fail if the patient continues to smoke. There is a positive association between smokeless tobacco use and gingival (gum) tissue recession at the site where the tobacco is usually stored in the mouth. Smoking cessation is usually associated with a reduction in the formation of calculus.

Whatever the reason people give for continuing to smoke, the reality is that nicotine, a drug found in tobacco, is addictive. It is a stimulant that increases the heart rate and blood pressure, and it acts on the pleasure centres deep within the brain. It causes both physical and emotional addiction. As smokers develop a tolerance to nicotine they need more to get the same physiological/ psychological effect. This makes their addiction very difficult to overcome.

The Food and Drug Department has approved prescriptive agents ( such as nicotine-containing gum and transdermal patches) to be used in conjunction with tobacco-cessation programs. The American Dental Association (ADA) (of which this author is a member) has also recently created a new code for oral health professionals to use to bill insurance companies for their conselling services.

If you don’t smoke, don’t start! If you want to stop, here are some techniques listed in a recent brochure from the ADA: * Make a list of reasons you want to quit * Set a date you will quit, and then do it * Join a formal smoking-cessation support group * Exercise * Keep your mouth occupied with sugarless gum etc. * Keep your hands occupied with needlepoint, woodworking etc. * Choose a low-stress time such as your vacation to stop smoking * Stop all at once and give yourself a reward if you succeed * Don’t let setbacks discourage you – keep trying * Use all available resources (audio and video tapes, books, and self help materials).

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

REVIVAL OF CONSUMER GUYANA'S : S N R E C N O C MUSICAL CULTURE

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n June last, two Steinway pianos were acquired

by Government. One was the upright type to be used by the National School of Music and the other was a Grand Concert Piano which would be at the National Cultural Centre and will be used for national and public events.

The arrival of these two Steinways is one of the most important items of cultural news for the year but yet the media and the educational establishment gave little notice to this event.

Two generations ago, the musical life of the country was very vibrant. Such vibrancy was evident in all three of the mainstream musical traditions in Guyana. The three mainstream musical traditions are of course, the Folk, the Western - which would include classical music - and the Indian with its very ancient classical department The Folk tradition was found in the villages. In the predominantly African villages, there was always a band with string and percussion instruments and with a repertoire which had much Folk music. These bands played at weddings, parties and the Old Year Night dances. They were particularly active at the August Monday Emancipation celebrations.

In the predominantly Indian villages, Indian Folk music like Chutney and Biraha and songs used at Rites of Passage – that is, occasions such as death, weddings and janeos (name-giving) - were performed with much audience participation. There were no organized bands as in the African villages, but players of the various instruments would bring along their instruments such as harmoniums, drums, sarangis (a violin type of instrument), tampuras, jhals, dantals and even sitars, and come together as a band for the occasion.

Some of these very performers would regularly play and sing in the mandirs.

Professor Vibert Cambridge, one of our most distinguished educationists who taught at important American universities, collected a great deal of Guyanese Folk music and information about performers. The Guyanese educational/cultural establishment and the University of Guyana would do well to develop closer involvement with Professor Cambridge.

Classical and religious Indian music was much alive

around the mandirs and masjids. Though today Bollywood music predominates, two generations ago many people played and sung classical and they improved their skills when gramaphone records became available from the 1920s by studying great performers like Allahudin Khan and Ali Akbar Khan or highly skilled singers who, for example, would have rendered Mira's bhajans.

Our Western musical tradition was the most important PAT DIAL and pervasive and included church and religious music which used compositions from composers like Bach and Handel and even the Gregorian chants. Classical music was widely played and enjoyed and the radio carried many hours per week of classical music.

Indeed, in Georgetown, the militia band gave regular public concerts and sometimes even the private orchestras would offer free public concerts. There were also regular Sunday afternoon concerts at the Town Hall where performers like Lynette Dolphin and Rosemary Ramdeholl performed and many young people had their first introduction to Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart and other composers at these concerts.

In the schools, much more time was devoted to music and the musical culture was very strong. There were many excellent private music teachers and pupils of both the primary and secondary schools did the Royal School of Music examinations. The piano and violin were the favourite

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instruments.

Popular music was also much played and enjoyed and there were several professional orchestras and bands which played at social occasions. With such a strong and vibrant musical culture, Guyana produced many world-rating musicians such as Rudolph Dunbar, the first non-white man to conduct the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Ray Luck and the several members of the Lonck family and even the militia band was rated as one of the best military bands in the British Empire.

Into the reasons for the disastrous decline of the musical culture of Guyana, we shall not go. But certain measures could be taken to revive it. These would include the State taking very positive action in recognising the three main Musical Traditions of the country and giving them material support; restoring music in the schools as a mainstream subject; music again being a serious subject in the teachers colleges; accepting music as one of the five or six CXC subjects for Public Service employment; importing musical instruments such as the piano, violin and guitar with duty-free concession; having the few remaining piano tuners to hand on their skills and the Grand Concert Piano should be protected and unauthorized persons should be prevented from interfering with it.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Notes from Caribbean Linked IV…

The final leg

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eek three of the residency and I feel like the earth is still shifting rapidly beneath my feet. In many ways I still haven’t quite managed to “catch my bearings”. There is a general sense of uncertainty and even confusion about my own practice since I’ve been here. The past few days have really called into question my methodologies and although this is by no means a bad thing, I have felt at times as though nothing has since been resolved. The frustration that inevitably followed clouded everything I attempted to do, resulting in moments where I swung precariously from states of anxiety to indifference.

I’m a fixer/problem solver by nature (though I try to stay as far away as possible from anything math-related) and so resolutions are important to me. I’m the person who makes way too many to-do lists and finds extreme happiness in crossing out those items one by one. I’m also the type to spend an entire day cleaning and organizing my studio space until it’s perfect, only to turn everything upside down the next day and not be bothered by the “mess.” Needless to say, I’ve been out of my element from day one. However, I’m slowly learning that this experience of being in a residency is very much about embracing the uncomfortable uncertainties that rolled my way on a daily basis.

In the past, my production often involved a lot of thinking (and sometimes overthinking) but with encouragement from this year’s Cuban master artist, Humberto Diaz, I’ve been gradually venturing past my comfort zone. During my talks with him I recognized how much I was limiting my work by the decisions I made with regard to materials, scale, orientation and even the mounting of finished works.

While it wasn’t always easy to relinquish control, it did become easier once I committed to being open about new possibilities. It was then also that I realized how tightly wound I was about the particulars of my process. If anything, this residency

Travis Geertruida (Curacąo) arranges found material for his installation

definitely highlighted some of the things that contributed to a lot of the mental blocks I was experiencing in the months leading up to me being here.

By this time next week, this residency would be over and I would be home, trying to readjust to the only pace I’ve known for most of my life. Maybe I would also be in a better position to write more clearly about my experience in Caribbean Linked IV. So much has happened and after three weeks it’s still incredibly difficult to contemplate the meanings of these events while trapped in the whirlwind. But for now, the race to the opening of our group exhibition continues. As I type this most of the work is either half-finished or nowhere near finished. While it’s very easy to hit the panic button at this point, I know that things have a strange way of working out. And so as much as I’m sunburnt and sleep deprived, I plan to enjoy the time I have left with this amazing group of strangers turned friends before we venture off into our separate pockets of the world.

Persons interested in following what has been happening in this residency can follow Caribbean Linked on Facebook or visit their website www.caribbeanlinked. com. Videos of the presentations made by individual artists as well as this year’s writer in residence, master artist and two guest curators can be viewed on Caribbean. ► Continued on page IX

Simon Tatum (Cayman Islands)

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Teamwork makes the dream work ► From page VIII tv (Facebook).

Caribbean Linked is a regional art residency and exhibition organized

by Ateliers ’89 Foundation in collaboration with ARC Inc. and The Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc with support from Mondriaan Fonds and Stichting DOEN. In the fourth installment since it’s launch in 2012, ten artists from the region were invited to participate including Frances Gallardo (Puerto Rico), Travis Geertruida (Curaçao), Charlie Godet Thomas (Bermuda), Nowé H. Harris-Smith (The Bahamas), Dominique Hunter (Guyana), Tessa Mars (Haiti), Oneika Russell (Jamaica), Shanice Smith (Trinidad), Simon Tatum (The Cayman Islands) and Laura de Vogel (Aruba). Also invited were master artist Humberto Diaz (Cuba), writer and co-founder of Moko Magazine David Knight Jr. (US Virgin Islands), specially invited curators María Elena Ortiz (associate curator at the Perez Art Museum Mi-

ami, PAMM) and Pablo Léon de la Barra (curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for the Latin American phase of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global

Art Initiative. Caribbean Linked IV runs from August 1 to August 24 and will be spearheaded by Robin de Vogel (Aruba) and Katherine Kennedy (Barbados).

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Scotland poses with local volunteers tasked with preparing for the parties.

Holland-based Guyanese spreads cheer to the vulnerable

The first of three humanitarian parties hosted by Teionnet Association, came off with a bang earlier this week, with the third, catering for close to 100 needy children, held last Friday at the Young Women’s Christian Association’s (YWCA) Banquet Hall, Brickdam.

It’s that time of year when winsome Lynette Scotland, founder of the Not-for-Profit, with a huge heart of love, brings her innate benevolence to her homeland Guyana, bringing unspeakable joy to senior citizens, needy children and vulnerable young mothers with basic unmet needs.

Friday’s party was ideal for Scotland, based in Holland, to observe her birth anniversary, just through bringing joy to the hearts of less-fortunate little girls and boys as they prepare to head back to school.

The first party for senior citizens was held at Scotland’s residence, Lot 156 Waini Street, Meadowbrook Gardens on Monday. The second for less fortunate expectant mothers was held at the same venue on Wednesday.

At the seniors’ party on Monday, the jolly band of close to 100 debonair men and winsome women had a rollicking time. There was much to eat and drink and they were afforded the opportunity to gracefully and tastefully (sip) wine and dine in the ambience of a lush garden atmosphere. They were treated to symphonic “golden oldies” rendered by both steel pan and stereo sound system.

Wednesday’s party brought together about 50 pregnant young mothers for a refreshing evening of music, dining and the excitement of getting to know each other. The mothers were lifted up in prayer by the volunteers, who are largely Christian women, and were offered words of encouragement by Ms. Scotland who is, herself a mother of two. The beneficiaries were also presented with attractive hand-bags which contained personal effects needed in preparation for their maternity trip to hospital.

An opening prayer was offered by Secretary, Ms. Shivaughn Lachish, with welcome and opening remarks by the Teionnet Association’s founder.

The guests, for their part, expressed gratitude and appreciation to the host for bringing such pride and joy to their hearts and for the hard work put in by the team of local volunteers.

After a day well spent dining and socializing, the beneficiaries were each presented with a gift package and taken safely back to their respective homes.

Lynette Scotland-Ellioth, now a caterer, was born and bred in Georgetown Guyana. As a young woman she attended the Carnegie School of Home Economics and later migrated to French Guiana. Following her mother’s death she moved to Europe where she has been working since 1995.

Lynette began her humanitarian work 24years ago, in 1992, following in the footsteps of her mother who had a passion for attending to the needs of less fortunate people. Reflecting on how it all started, Scotland related: “It was what my mother did and would have us do.

When my mother was alive, I witnessed how she was taking care of needy children in our neighbourhood at the local primary schools, by feeding them, giving them clothes and other things they needed, even though we were not wealthy. We were from a poor family, but that never deterred her from doing what she had to do. She had a way of making what we had in the home, do for us and others in need. And so, today I am doing likewise. It’s a way of giving back to the society that moulded me,” she modestly asserted.

“The satisfaction I was personally experiencing by helping these children prompted me to organize myself better, and this led to the formation of this organization: ‘Teionnet Association’ which was officially registered in Georgetown, Guyana.”

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Tailoring: A dying art

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By Zena Henry

Leslie Jacobs is proud of his achievements and contributions made to the tailoring trade

Julian Fowler and his friend Cecil continue to enjoy the social atmosphere at his shop

OW easy life has gotten since the emergence of technology and the creation of machines!

In fact, life has gotten so easy that it is simply erasing traditional and even cultural ways of doing things. At least, that is what some remaining tailors believe is happening to their trade.

It is widely accepted that life has improved since the rise of technology; but for some, it means having to “get with the times”, even if that means the dissolution of something that they once loved.

Sixty four-year-old Michael Graham, or “Punt Man”, as his friends call him, got into the tailoring profession a bit late in life, but enjoyed the trade that kept him fed for more than 20 years.

With no professional or personal skills to talk about, but surrounded by at least five “tailor friends” within his West Ruimveldt community alone, Graham said it was almost inevitable that he, too, would become a tailor.

It was his friend, George Carter, or “Georgie” who now lives abroad, who taught him to sew. But he would go one better and master the art of producing menswear, particularly dress pants.

He distinctly remembers he and another tailor, whose call-name was “Bing”, taking over from ‘Georgie’ when he left the trade. Those were the good old days, Graham recalled, since most people like to have their clothing custom-made, particularly around Christmastime and September month when the new school year usually begins.

“People never used to buy ready-made blinds; dem used to sew,” he said. “And when is school time, is nuff wuk yuh getting fuh mek uniform.”

Those were the days, he said, when he sewed for the likes of former Town Clerk, Carol Sooba’s bodyguard, Shawn Hinds; football coach, Lennox Arthur; and former magistrate, Gordon Gilhuys.

Sadly, those days are long gone; for ‘small-fry’ like Graham, the increasing availability of ready-made clothing on the market soon started to take a serious toll on their trade.

“All we did getting was one-one wuk; people wanting a lil tek-in-waist and small repairs.”

Eventually, he said, work stopped coming in altogether, and he went out of business.

REACHED HIS LIMIT Seventy-eight-year-old Julian Fowler, who operates on Russell Street, says he doesn’t see himself lasting too much longer in the field. And it’s not because of his age, mind you!

Just that he’s now become what he calls “an alteration tailor”.

Explaining what he meant, Fowler said, “All people want is mek changes to dem clothes. And it ain’t worth it.”

All he’s basically doing these days is working to eat, he said, adding: “Tailoring dead, yes! People ain’t really need we no more; not when dem can go and get it ready-made in de store.”

Fowlers’ longtime friend, Cecil who frequents his tailor shop, concurred that tailoring is nothing like it used to be.

“I remember dem days wid Agard, Mohamed, de Chin Brothers and dem boys; dem used to sew fuh Burnham and dem men,” he said, adding that young people today wouldn’t

Sherwayne Scarce is among the younger folks trying to keep the tailoring trade alive

► Contiuned on page XV

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Spending the day on China’s Great Wall -A priceless experience

The steep stairs of The Great Wall as it snakes its way across the mountainous terrain

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By Rabindra Rooplall T took me all of two hours to get there by bus from the hotel.

And as I alighted at my destination, this being the starting point of the arduous climb that lay ahead, I was assailed by a sheer sense of urgency and excitement: Urgency to be about my business as quickly as possible, and excitement at the thought of what the next hour-and-a-half might bring, as, like many of my fellow tourists, I was about to set foot on “The Great Wall of China” for the very first time.

The Great Wall wasn’t the first such fortification erected on mainland China to protect its citizenry from foreign invaders, for as far back as the 8th Century, barriers were going up to repel nomadic armies.

When Qin Shi Huang seized power of a collection of neighboring principalities in 221 BCE and kicked off the Qin Dynasty, he began construction on a 5000-kilometer wall to safeguard his territory.

Later dynasties continued this work and added their own flourishes. While construction began under the Qin Dynasty, the recognisable segments that we think of when we visualise the Great Wall were largely the handiwork of the Ming Dynasty, which created these facets between the 14th and 17th Centuries.

SPECTACULAR VIEW Although my sense of adventure was well and truly heightened by now, the actual hike up those stairs only served to complement the spectacular view that lay ahead, as the once-in-a-lifetime experience has left me lasting memories.

The Great Wall, which many swear can be seen from afar off as space, snakes up and over eastern China’s hills and down through the dusty basins of the country’s west.

Made of a mixture of pressed earth, worked stone and bricks, the Great Wall is one of those attractions that is en► Contiuned on page XIII

On the Great Wall of China

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

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◄ From page X tirely worthy of all its hype.

There’s a pervasive misconception that the Great Wall of China is one long uninterrupted structure. In fact, the Wall is more accurately described as a 20,000-kilometer network of walls spanning the northern border of Ancient and Imperial Chinese territories.

Lining the Great Wall are shrines and tributes to figures from Chinese history. For instance, Guan Yu, a third-century general who served during the Han dynasty, is honoured with temples built on the Wall. Additionally, various points on the Wall pay homage to Ti?nwáng, the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism.

NOT SO SECURE But despite all the effort that went into making ‘The Wall’ the premiere component of China’s military defense system, many of the country’s varied enemies throughout history yet managed passage across the barrier.

A case in point is the Manchurian invasion in the 17th Century, which resulted in the fall of the Ming dynasty.

Then, between 1966 and 1976, miles upon miles of the Wall were stripped of its brick, which were then repurposed to build civilian homes.

“The Great Wall of China” is reputedly a nickname commonly used by Americans, while other Western nations prefer a humbler designation such as: “The Chinese Wall,” “The 10,000-Li-Long Wall”, “The Long Wall of 10,000 Li”, “The Purple Frontier”, and “The Earth Dragon”.

It’s most definitely a great man-made wonder, best seen in person. The Juyong Guan entrance is probably the best place to start the tour when visiting Beijing, and if time is limited.

You need to get there early, though, to avoid the crowds.

From the Juyong Guan entrance, you have two choices: Turning either east or west along the wall.

What is certain, however, is that the UNESCO World Culture Heritage Site impresses everyone, from children to adults, who sees it for the first time.

FIRST IMPRESSION The first thing that came to my mind was the amount of manpower it took to actually achieve such a marvel, and the discipline it required to complete such as project.

According to our Chinese tour guide, the walls were constructed by independent kingdoms to keep out marauding nomads.

The effort required thousands of workers, and some 60 million cubic meters of brick and stone slabs. The guide said this project took over 100 years to complete.

The majority of visitors climb the wall at Badaling. This part of The Great Wall is a fully restored section, which is long enough to make you feel that it is never going to end.

What I can assure anyone climbing this wall for the first time is that the going is extremely tough, especially into the

Visitors in the magnificent stone forest

An overhead view of the Stone Forest first hour. But the experience is unforgettable.

With more than 4,000 miles to explore, there are hundreds of places to visit along the way. The sites closest to Beijing offer the easiest access. Skip the crowds at Badaling, and head for Jinshanling, two hours northeast of the capital, which offers stunning views and invigorating hikes.

DECEPTIVELY EASY The start of the climb up the hill is deceptively easy; then you hit the unmerciful steps, which can vary from a few inches to a least a yard high. Some of them have deep depressions in them from centuries of wear.

As I strolled up with the tinge of pain in my thighs, I noticed children filled with energy having dangerous fun, while the older folks seemed exhausted by the mere thought of climbing further.

I climbed the first station and admittedly found myself short of breath due to the lack of exercise. Unless you are an Olympian, you will be taking breaks; lots of them, along with everyone else. I did not realise how long it would take until I was about halfway up. My advice to anyone is never to eat before the trip. And bring multiple bottles of water.

As I made my way down, stopping ever so often before I met my starting point, I realised there was a booth dedicated to certifying visitors who had climbed the magnificent structure.

As a small token, I received a “Certificate of JuyongGuan Great Wall”. The document allows for the holder’s picture and signature to be attached and laminated. It is a great cash earner for the tourist destination.

CHINA’ STONE FOREST Meanwhile, a visit to Yunnan Province, which is a threehour flight from Beijing, included a trip to the “Stone Forest”.

With breathtaking sets of limestone formations, China’s first wonder of the world has a remarkable view. Yunnan Province, known as the “spring city”, is a destination where there is high domestic tourism.

A visit to the Stone Forest gave me a different perspective on the topography of the region, with its sculptures engraved by nature. The stone forest was a true miracle for visitors to behold.

The forest is a special type of karst (landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum) landform. Its towering rock pillars in high concentration like a forest of stones, hence, the name.

These rock pillars, high and strangely shaped, spread widely in a vast area.

The rocks have memorable names; names such as Ten Thousand Year Mushroom, Mother and Son, Camel Riding on Elephant, Avalokitesvara Rock, Buddha Stone, Rhinoceros looking at the Moon and Beautiful Maiden Ascending from the Water, amongst others.

On the tour, I learned that the Stone Forest is endowed with a pleasant climate, and it is adorned with hundreds of flowers of various species.

The tour guide, whose English name is “Rosemary”, noted that the area is divided into several scenic spots with names like Greater Stone Forest, Lesser Stone forest, Outer Stone Forest, Underground Stone Forest, Stone Forest Lake, and Da Dieshui Falls.

From afar, it really looks like a dense forest; but as you draw closer, you will find trees are all slender stone pinnacles.

The Yi and Sani ethnic group who live there are hardworking, good singers and good dancers. Their folklore and culture are colourful, multifarious and has a long history.

According to the tour guide, many beautiful legends originate in this magical place and they were passed on by the native people known as Sani, a branch of the Yi ethnic group.

One particular story about the faithful love of Ashima, a beautiful, clever and warm-hearted Sani girl, is the most popular and has been told for thousands of years.

There is an old local saying says that “If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time.” Truly, the site is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan.

The Stone Forest covers 140 square miles and is split into seven parts.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Tailoring ... ► From page XI know about stores like Bettencourt’s, which imported only quality material from places like England and Italy and so on. “That’s why people used to like mek dem clothes,” he said.

People delight in telling him that he’s gotten too old for the job, he said, but nothing could be further from the truth. “What they don’t know is we have all the skills; is just that dem young people ain’t want learn this wuk.”

Alas! Most of the recognised tailors of his time, he said, are either dead, retired or live aboard.

A YOUNGER BREED At 45, Sherwayne Scarce, whose tailor shop is located a building away from the corner of Camp and D’Urban Streets, is a younger breed in the tailoring business; and he does not want to see it end anytime soon. Self-taught, he’s been in the business 22 years now.

These days, however, revenue is not like it used to be. For one thing, tailoring has moved to a place where alterations is what’s keeping the trade alive. And although he does not make as much as before, it’s enough for him to get by on.

In a “dying trade”, Scarce prides himself on the quality of work he produces. He said while the alterations to clothing pays, he also welcomes the special occasions, such as weddings, where he would be asked to sew the attire of the central ceremony.

O’Neal Innis, one of Scarce’s customers, said tailoring will never die. “As long as there are people like me who appreciate that special touch on their clothing, it won’t die,” he said.

Innis, who looks fairly young himself, said there are the professionals and ordinary persons who still want custom-made items. “I know a friend who lives overseas, but he does still come home to Guyana to have his clothes made by his tailor.”

Scarce said it’s hard to encourage young people to learn tailoring, because they are not interested. “This is a hard trade; it takes patience and practise,” he explained. Scarce does not plan to be a tailor for the rest of his life, though. He believes he has at least 10 more years before he branches off into some other investment.

‘JAKEY’S’ Leslie Jacob’s place, Jakey’s Tailoring Establishment, is one of the more successful stories. His business, at the corner of Norton and Camp Streets, has been around since 1968.

The recipient of a National Award at the recently held 50th Anniversary Celebrations is a

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more than 50- year veteran who has sewn for some of the most renowned professionals in the county. He said that of the eight Guyanese presidents, he has sewn for six of them, including the incumbent, President David Granger.

Jacobs’ establishment is an ideal description of what was said about that special touch that is customer-made items. The 70-year-old has not only managed to stay relevant in a trade he says is dying worldwide, but his establishment can easily fit into any urban society, given the modern touch he has added.

Jacobs says that it’s not just technology that’s killing the trade, with cheap clothing through mass production, but it’s also the reluctance of young people to make the sacrifice to learn the trade. “They don’t want to make the sacrifice,” ‘Jakey’ said, adding: “Nowadays, they are being taught about fast money.”

Back in the day, he said, young people could have learned such trades as tailoring in the National Service, and later work in shops like his for a stipend until they would have improved.

“But this is no longer the case; and many of the youths are not finding a way out.”

As he advances in age, ‘Jakey’ says his family would love to see him retire and join them overseas, but he is still unsure as to when he will be hanging up his tailoring tape.

He owes his continued recognition in the field of tailoring to his experience, consistency and timely delivery of the product.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Local entertainers to host Guyana Day in New York Michael Ignatius and Chris Gopaul GUYANA’s well-loved entertainers Chris Gopaul and Michael ‘Credit’ Ignatius will be hosting this year’s “Guyana Day” in New York on August 27.

Other Guyanese artistes who will be performing at this year’s event are Natural Black, Mystic, Adrian Dutchin, Poonam Singh, Mahendra Ramkellawan, Jumo Primo, Fojo, Terry Gadraj, Little J, Gaddie G, Kwasi Ace, Kapa Shanti and Jackie Jaxx.

The event, to be held at York Collage, Jamaica Queens, is compliments of HUGE Entertainment (H-Honest, U-Unity Squad, G- G6, E-Energy Squad), made up of various Guyanese groups that came together with the sole purpose of promoting Guyanese talent.

Representatives of the unit are Dexter Wallace, Damon Wallace, Marc Wallace, Kevin Hope, Ocie Ross, Jason Waldron, Shoan Sampson, O’neil Alexander, Dwayne Campbelle, and Dawn Catalina.

On their Facebook Page, HUGE Entertainment said recently: “The most anticipated event for the year is back again and it's bigger, much better…with some of the biggest, hottest artist outta Guyana…bring out your Guyana flags, rags and your crew…It's a family fun event.”

For this year’s celebration, HUGE has decided to highlight Guyanese people who have been on the frontline of Guyana’s development. “Clearly, we cannot get everyone but our team has done our investigations and has decided to honor those we feel deserve it most, such as Gordon Moseley, Sharma Solomon and the Victory 5, to name a few. Come out to mix and mingle amongst the people who are helping to transform our great nation,” HUGE said.

“It's that time of the year again when we as Guyanese will come together for one common goal, under one theme ‘Six Peoples One Race.’ Come out and enjoy our cultural arts, foods, dance and musical entertainment. Watch as we offer appreciations, and present awards and recognition for some of Guyana's best and most influential people.”

The Kids fun segment will be from 11 am to 4 pm, after which the main attraction will kick off with just adults. “Enjoy the sound of Guyanese artists, alongside many of our other ‘One Caribbean’ brothers and sisters. A parade of national pride and the taste of traditional foods and drinks from Guyana will be available. Come on down and enjoy the spirit of our nation.”

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

The Global Shapers Georgetown Hub

By Akola Thompson Since its formation in 2011 by the World Economic Forum, the Global Shapers Georgetown Hub, which places and encourages young persons to become leaders in their various societies, has had some questions thrown their way over the projects they are doing and the image they represent.

First beginning with the founding curator Selwin Asafa George and six shapers, the Georgetown hub has morphed into a multiethnic socially and economically diverse platform where young men and women are constantly trying to make a difference in their country.

Incoming curator of the Global shapers, Sondra Cheong commenting on what makes the group different from other ones said that the diversity is one of the strong points of the group, “not only in race but in terms of skills, employment and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Since they have been in existence, the global shapers have carried out a number of projects both in and out of Georgetown, as while they are listed as the Georgetown Hub, they do not restrict their efforts to the city.

Some of the projects they are most proud of are the stationary drive for hinterland children, which was their first initiative and an annual event, and a library that is near completion in the community of Sophia.

Commenting on the projects, outgoing curator Hubert Forrester said that he’s proud that they managed to charter some projects. Explaining the origins of the headstart stationary drive, Hubert said that they noticed that hinterland communities often do not benefit from activities in Georgetown which focus on children going back to school and so they wanted to give that opportunity to children in those

communities as well.

“When we started the stationary drive there weren’t many persons doing it and then about a year after, everyone began doing it. One of our supporters, Food for the Poor told us that so many small groups and communities were now doing stationary drives also and we felt like we encouraged people to find ways to encourage their own communities and that’s good.”

However, he added that while they are making good progress on the projects they do and the yearly themes they plan around, they have been guilty of biting off more than they can chew. Being a small group with funding only from sections of the business community, and also the time constraints from active careers and families, has caused them to try to not focus on too many things at once.

For this year, said Hubert, the group is focusing on the stationery drive and the library.

“We’re focusing on planning projects properly so when it comes to execution, it goes smoothly. Last year we set too many projects for ourselves and we quickly got burnt out.”

Realizing however, that changing their focus every year can often rob them time to sufficiently cover an area, the group has decided to go on a three-year plan in which they would focus on a maximum of two issues. As of now, they are focusing their energies on projects around the areas of education and mental health.

In an attempt to be self-sufficient and “not go around the place begging,” the business community, the Georgetown hub through a combination of out of pocket contributions, personal connections and fundraisers, are able to carry off most of their projects successfully.

Last year the group hosted a fundraiser named BLINGO, which Hubert stated is “BINGO with a twist,” as persons were encouraged to wear jewelry and dress up so as to come play bingo for a worthy cause. It was such a huge success that they were able to carry out a smaller one shortly after the first one last year and are hoping to do one this year.

It is their diligent project planning which has earned the Georgetown hub the reputation of being the “most active hubs in the Caribbean,” and with past projects such as their series of mental health workshops in communities in Region 2, future projects of a library in either Fairview or Matthews’ Ridge, and computer training for Paramakatoi, they are working diligently to keep their status.

However, despite all the work they plan to do, Sondra stated that they do need more members to complete all their works, as over the years several shapers have left for a variety of reasons such as studies and migration and as such, registration to join the group will open soon.

Sondra took the opportunity to encourage persons to register and come see “the softer side of global shapers” as there is a tendency for people to believe it is an “elitist” group.

“The requirements are a bit stiff but we want young people that are progressive and I guess that’s where some of the elitist comments come from. We ask for so many things but we want to ensure they are serious about the group. We don’t want people who can’t make the effort - we’re here to help, guide and do projects that will have an impact on society.

“Every group is the same way, we merge into a family and people are sometimes surprised and say, oh, they can be like that,” she added.

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Soil testing needed for healthy plant growth

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ven with the incorporation of modern technology, such as hydroponics in farming, soil is likely to remain a key element in crop production for generations to come. It is a natural resource, which is made of minerals, water, air, and organic matter that helps plant growth.

The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has been advising vegetable farmers to obtain information about the soil before cultivation. This is one of the many services offered by NAREI. Soil testing reveals the soil type, whether liming is required as well as the types and amounts of fertilizers to apply.

It is recommended for farmers to conduct soil testing between crops. Soil tests do not actually measure the amounts of nutrients in the soil. Rather, they estimate the ability of the soil to supply nutrients and provide the effectiveness of crop response to fertilization.

In Guyana, vegetables are cultivated on sandy, sandy loam, clay and pegassy soil. For instance, in some areas of Region 10 the soils are mainly sandy or sandy loams, while coastal Regions have clay and pegassy soils. The soils in Guyana are generally acidic. A lot of crops including tomato and pumpkin can grow in soils with acidity between 5.5 and 6.5.

Acidic soils have a pH below 7. However, the ideal pH for vegetables cultivation is around 7. This means that liming will be a requirement for successful vegetable production (Liming is a soil additive made from crushed limestone or chalk). Once liming is done correctly, this practice would not be required in three to five years’ time. Other practices such as crop rotation and mulching would help in maintaining soil pH at the desired levels.

For accurate results, the soil sample should be obtained from six inches below the surface. It is recommended that farmers should conduct soil testing six weeks prior to cultivation. As such, if the soil is acidic there is adequate time for limestone to be applied to the soil to raise the pH. Limestone is rich in Calcium that neutralizes the acid in soil. Liming materials come in different formulations such as low grade rock phosphate that is usually available on sugar estates. Farmers interested in purchasing limestone could contact NAREI. It is important that caution is taken when applying limestone to the soil. Too much limestone added to the soil could raise the pH above 7. This could result in the leaching of

nutrients from the soil. When done correctly, limestone has been proven to allow high yields.

Farmers can also add fertilizers or manure to improve soil nutrients. The soil test will provide information on the types and quantities of fertilizers or manures

Stunted growth

to apply. Different crops have different requirements. It is always advisable to apply manures (animal litter, composted materials, etc.) to satisfy the nutrient demands of crops on sandy soils. (Text and photos contributed

by NAREI)

Healthy plant growth

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Ashley Joh

- the next Miss Guyan Ashley John poses in an evening dress from Glamour Designer Brands. (55 Photography)

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shley John is the face of the cable news programme, the News Room, and we dare say she has won over viewers with her solid presentation.

But now, she faces the task of winning over the judges and standing above the 13 other competitors in this year’s Miss Universe Guyana Pageant.

The line-up is packed with experienced women who have been on the stage before and who have won time and time again, such as Rafieya Husain who ended Guyana’s losing streak at the Miss World pageant two years ago, and Soyini Fraser, who has represented Guyana at regional pageants, and at the international Miss Earth pageant.

But, the “newcomer” tag is one Ashley has no qualms about carrying and she has already developed the “congeniality” gene, telling us that she really intends to have no catfights in the journey to the pageant, which will take place next month.

Ashley John was born on 11th January, 1992 to Lennox and Moufousa John, better known as “Uncle John” and “Aunty Stay.”

She takes great pride in being the youngest daughter with four elder sisters and two brothers, and she counts their experiences and challenges as learning opportunities.

A fusion of East Indian and Afro-Guyanese heritage, Ashley had a strict upbringing, saying her parents instilled in her values and morals which have molded her into the young lady she is today.

Joining the pageant was almost instinctive, she told us, as it offers a platform to channel her knowledge, skills, and yes, her sense of humour, into initiatives dear to her heart and that would prove beneficial to others.

Her platform is called “FIT 360: Empowering Youth to Unlock a Healthy Mind, Body & Lifestyle.” It seems to encourage teenagers and young adults to embrace a “healthy” life in a holistic fashion.

She noted that health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Ashley believes that what constitutes a healthy lifestyle is a healthy mind, that is, ensuring you discover yourself, gain self-confidence while accepting yourself and making an impact in your community.

She said too that proper nutrition is important, as we need nutrients that will fuel our bodies and minds to carry out our daily duties.

She believes that the Nation’s Youth is not only one of the most important group but also the most vulnerable.

“Our suicide rates are both staggering and heartbreaking and if I can contribute by making one child happier, healthier and wiser, I am satisfied.”

EDUCATION Ashley travelled through her Nursery, Primary and Secondary Education at Mae’s Schools, with one academic year at Joseph’s High.

Ashley’s genuine enthusiasm to partake in school activities was evident as she explored cycling, swimming and running during Inter-House School Sports.

After Graduating from Mae’s Secondary, she moved on to Nation’s Sixth Form College and she considers her time there as instrumental as it went beyond studying. It allowed her to part take in Service Projects at the St. Ann’s Orphanage where she would visit and engage girls and young ladies on a weekly basis, often playing sports together and completing home-work assignments.

Although each of these girls faced their own challenges, they subconsciously unveiled Ashley’s natural ability to connect with people and this she believes is a priceless trait from her father.

Despite being born into a family of business, it was at this point she began to discover herself and explored other career options, lead-

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

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ng her to pursue English Language nd Psychology at A-Levels.

Ashley convinced her parents he wanted to study “Broadcast Media” at University and after much thought, they approved with her father’s closing remarks being, I ain want to hear ya mek a misake.” The deal was signed with Ashley’s ear-to-ear smile and after working at the family business during her gap year, she merrily went off to Kent, United Kingdom o pursue her Degree in Broadcast Media.

Her time spent at The Univerity for the Creative Arts pushed her to excel not only as a foreign tudent, but as the lone child that hose a different path from her brilliant sisters.

After three years, Ashley arned a First Class Honours Degree in Broadcast Media, gaining knowledge in Television Producion from script writing to filming nd editing. Depending who is sked, some would say “there’s no scope in Guyana for that”, but Ashley was decisive and without a hadow of doubt she was adamant hat she was returning to Guyana.

Ashley prepared her applicaions and the job hunt in Guyana’s ather small industry had commenced. Shortly after, she secured her first job at Television Guyana/ Channel 28 based on her interview nd qualifications.

It was here she served as Resident Producer, and started the staion’s debut Breakfast Show, called The Morning Times” which she lso began to Host. After one year, Ashley opened a new chapter, joinng the News Room Team, where he serves at the News Anchor.

Ashley considers the Miss Universe Guyana journey as a tepping stone for much greater hings to come and hopes her ourney encourages other young women to explore and do things hey never imagined they could do.

Follow Ashley on her Jouney across all of her social media platforms. Facebook: @ amAshleyJohn, Instagram: @ amAshleyJohn and Snapchat AshleyJohn11

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This outfit, from Glamour Designer Brands, with shoes from Shoe Heaven, is what Ashley calls her “Audrey Hepburn look.”

(Samuel Maughn photo)

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No multimedia job?

Ok, I’ll make soap

- How Rustom Seegopaul stopped moaning about not finding “the job” to setting up his own manufacturing business

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Rustom Seegopaul

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By Telesha Persaud HERE was a point in Rustom Seegopaul’s life when he felt he should do like many and leave Guyana’s shores to secure a proper job, and ultimately, enjoy the good life. After all, who could’ve convince him that even after qualifying himself academically overseas he would return and be unable to find a job?

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication, specializing in journalism, documentary, film and advertising in hand, Rustom, now 30, felt he had the power to redefine the media industry in Guyana. But to his dismay, it wasn’t until he did the “Guyanese thing” and had his uncle pull a few strings that he got a job.

“I felt I should have just done what everyone else did and left this place as it has nothing to offer me. But then there’s only so much of time that you can complain. You have to move on. So after begging for a job for about four months, I did the Guyanese thing and had my uncle call one of his friends who gave me a job at Kaieteur News. I stayed there for a year,” Rustom said in an interview a few days ago at his West Coast Demerara home.

Just at the point when he started to feel like he wanted to try something new, his good friend Jonathan Beepat phoned him and he decided to help Beepat establish Wildfire Productions.

A short time later, Rustom’s mom, Kala, reminded him of the need to obtain a Master’s Degree. “I found a really cool programme offered by the University of Bolton in England.

It was a Master’s degree in photo journalism. So I applied, got through, and left. They gave me the option of doing it in China or England; China seemed a lot cooler.”

He spent the next two years in China and returned to Guyana with his Master’s Degree in International Multimedia Journalism. “Again, I couldn’t really find consistent work and Jonathan and I reestablished Wildfire Productions, well, Wildfire Films now, and we do a bit of ► Contiuned on page XXIV

Naked Skin Soaps – Coffee Grounds. This exfoliating bar combines the properties of coconut oil with locally grown coffee, and the added secnt of hazelnut-vanilla

Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016 ◄ From page

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work every year. But still, nothing consistent.”

Rustom works with Wildfire Productions as the Director of Photography. “This sees me setting up working with cameras (both still and video), lights and storytelling. Within this portfolio, he has done work for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Civil Defense Council (Guyana), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), as well as with a number of musicians and recording artists helping them to produce still photos and music videos.

MAKING A SWITCH Determined to remain in Guyana despite his job situation, Rustom embarked on a soap business with his old time friend Louisa. “My sister, Rishon, is a massage therapist and we always talked about little hustles that we can pull to make some extra cash. She said we should make some soap.

I said soap is cool. I heard that Louisa was also making soap. We brought together our ideas and came up with six soaps that we wanted to start with.”

J o n a t h a n , R u s t o m ’s friend, did not dig the idea of a soap business initially but after being presented with a few samples, he called Rustom to talk about the quality of the soap and to make known his desire to invest with him. “Louisa and I were just doing it on a small scale, but he said GuyExpo is in

a week, let’s launch and do it properly. That was three years ago. We are now in every big supermarket in the city,” Rustom said.

He explained that making the switch from communications to manufacturing was just a matter of necessity. “If you don’t have a job, or if you need a job, you do something. You can only moan about it for so long.”

And Rustom now loves what he is doing. “Creation of stuff is really cool. If I could take random bits of video and make something coherent out of it, it’s a great feeling at the end of it. With soaps, you take five or six things that have no scents being together and you can make something. It works; it’s fun.”

Rustom and his partners have on the market two face soaps (Turmeric and Neem Stream and Black Sage Trails), two body soaps (Coconut Plains and Lemongrass Lands), and two exfoliant soaps (Coffee Grounds and Ginger-aloe Creek Sands).

“They are all made from a coconut oil base, so that makes them naturally good for your skin. And to each one, we add something that is known for its skin-care benefits.”

Louisa, in an invited comment on the soaps, explained that they place a lot of emphasis on including coconut oil every one of their soaps, apart from the other things they include like coffee, lemongrass, aloe, black sage and other local herbs and plants that are known for their skin benefits.

“Lots of people are into coconut oil because it’s the new miracle product and we produce coconut oil in

Guyana. So we take something that the world wants and we turn it into something that they need. People are starting to become more conscious of the products they use. The kinds of soaps that we get at supermarkets are mostly plastic, not actually considered soap. Soap needs oil and a base. A lot of people who use our soaps are surprised that soap can actually make you feel so different. You get a good lather, and so forth.”

Rustom’s dad, Krishna, made and sold coffee back in the days and today, Rustom is able to use the very factory behind their house for his soap business.

THIS IS HOME Meanwhile, although Rustom has received job offers overseas, he has chosen to remain in Guyana. He has spent quite some time living abroad in places such as Cambodia, Malaysia, and China.

“This is home. I have travelled all across the world.

It’s fun, but this is home. I don’t want be anywhere else.

I have had offers overseas.

Despite the challenges, it’s still home.”

Rustom said it is important for people to be themselves and do what they enjoy doing.

“Don’t be scared of change. My parents always encouraged me to do what I like doing. Down here, we have a serious syndrome where if you’re not a doctor or a lawyer, then you’re a failure.

“But you still need people to take the trash out; you still need people to

make your television shows, to write your newspaper, to drive your taxi. I don’t think there should be a situation where anyone feels like what they do is good enough or not good enough depending on what people tell you. It’s important to define yourself for who you are. Do what you like doing.”

Rustom has spent quite some time in Annai, Region Nine, and has found most of his friends there.

“I have a passion for the news and the media;

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While my formal education is in communication and the media, I am interested in environmental issues, the law and policy that guide its protection, sustainable development and exploitation of natural resources.

Much of my personal work reflects my interest in these areas.

“At the same time, I am interested in development of people, both as human potential, and as a means and catalyst of continually raising people’s standard of living.

I bring both domestic and international experience to all aspects of my work.

“These experiences have enabled me to relate to people of diverse age groups, cultures and economic backgrounds.”

Rustom has worked with indigenous youths at Bina Hill, Annai, to help them write radio skits about HIV/AIDS. He has also helped broadcasters with their mastery of the English Language, particularly with their pronunciation and diction.

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The paper that lasts 100 years

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n the veranda of a home in Suoi Co, a rural Vietnamese village about 45km southwest of Hanoi,

two women were squatting around a plastic bucket, dipping their fingers in murky water to select strings of fibrous white pulp. Behind them, tree bark was soaking in three

metal water tanks – the first step in this long process – to separate out the fibre.

They expertly assessed the mushy pulp’s consistency, making sure it was ready to be pressed into giấy Dó The bamboo mat is used to flatten the first coating of a soon-to-be page (Credit: Kit Yeng Chan)

Tran Hong Nhung is the visionary entrepreneur who conceived of the project (Credit: Kit Yeng Chan) (Dó paper), a handmade, chemical-free paper that can last up to a staggering 800 years.

One woman stood up, grabbed a ball of fresh pulp out of the bucket, and started beating it with a wooden pestle. As soon as she was happy with the consistency, her partner started layering it on a framed screen, flattening the first coating of a soon-tobe page with a bamboo mat.

In this ancient papermaking

process, patience is key.

I’d come here with Tran Hong Nhung , a young entrepreneur from Hanoi, who founded social enterprise Zó project in June 2013 to help modernise this dying art.

Dating back to the 13th Century, Dó was largely used in Vietnam as a canvas for folk artwork, but was dying off in the face of Vietnam's rapid industrialisation that had rendered handmade crafts almost obsolete over the last few decades. By producing notebooks, postcards, calendars and several different types of rough, robust paper that artists can use as canvases, Zó project helps support the livelihood of impoverished villagers and preserves a forgotten but invaluable art.

We ’ d l e f t t h e c o n crete-lined avenues of the capital that morning, zooming along the highway past tall and narrow houses that slowly thinned out into lush green trees and rice paddies. “[From] a papermaking perspective, [a natural environment] is a very good thing,” Nhung told me.

Produced from the bark of rhamnoneuron balansae, a highly cellulose tree found in Northern Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province, Dó papermaking needs abundant water, space and time.

Traditionally, the tree bark would soak in limewater for about three months until it was soft enough separate from the pulp – though today, papermakers have managed to shorten this phase to just 24 hours. The pulp is then pounded flat and smooth, and layered to form sheets of paper that are dried naturally in the sun for weeks. The result is beautifully soft, rustic paper that does not smudge ink, is highly resistant to humidity and acid-free, attracts fewer termites, and most surprisingly, can last for centuries.

Nhung started worrying about the state of Dó when she visited Duong O, the village where the art originated, about 40km northeast of Hanoi in the Red River Delta. There she found that just three families of papermakers remained. Challenged by the village's rapid urbanization, they were struggling to make ends meet, to the point that they were about to give everything up and look for other, more stable jobs.

I struggled to convince [the villagers] the tradition was worth saving, especially because nobody from the younger generations was interested in keeping up the ► Contiuned

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Dó paper has the potential to last up to a staggering 800 years (Credit: Kit Yeng Chan) These fibres are made from the bark of a highly cellulose tree found in Northern Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province (Credit: Kit Yeng Chan) ► From page

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hard work,” she explained.

“The whole village had already transformed into a small town surrounded by factories. The space needed to produce handmade paper was no longer available, and on top of that, the water sources were completely polluted.”

Zó project started working with the remaining papermakers of Duong O, but encountered problem after problem. The solution came when Nhung discovered a local NGO project, JICA foundation, which had previously worked with the impoverished village of Suoi Co. To help create jobs, the organisation had brought in a Japanese expert to teach Suoi Co's villagers how to produce handmade paper.

“I admire the way Japan transformed their washi papermaking into a Unesco intangible cultural heritage, making it a desirable form of art in their society,” Nhung said. “But Vietnam is different. We don’t get any help from the central government here.”

She realised that with their new set of skills, Suoi Co’s villagers could be the perfect match to revive Dó. Not only did they need jobs, but they already had the natural resources – clean water and plenty of space – required to produce the ancient paper.

Today, Suoi Co is still far from becoming a tourist attraction, but its Dó workshop has huge potential. Surrounded by viridian paddies and low hills, it’s such an ideal place for an artist retreat – where travellers can study the papermaking process as well as paint or work – that Nhung plans to open as soon as funds

permit. And the villagers, who previously had little means of employment, are now able to make a livelihood.

In the meantime, Nhung has travelled as far as Japan, Laos and Malaysia to promote the rebirth of Dó and learn about new handmade papermaking techniques.

The ancient paper is now being distributed by art suppliers around the world, as well as made into notebooks, postcards and other paper gifts that Nhung sells from her Zó Souvenir Shop, a hole-in-the-wall boutique in Ba Đình, Hanoi’s railway district, which ploughs all profits back into the papermaking project.

Regardless of the enthusiasm, the road ahead is steep. Most of Zó project’s revenue is barely enough to support the costs of setting up this grassroots papermaking enterprise.

“At the moment, there are efforts to lobby social enterprise development in Vietnam, but I think there’s still a long way to go,” Nhung said, as she gauged the quality of different sheets of freshly dried paper.

Laid out on the floor, they glistened like rough diamonds in the afternoon sun.

For the moment, the future of this precious art form rests in the hands of this woman and her small group of artisans.

Making this paper the traditional way requires water, space, time — and patience (Credit: Kit Yeng Chan)

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Love the skin you're in...even if it's oily

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ecause most of my West Indian clients with oily skin, I'm often told how bad they feel about it, and the extreme measures they take to strip their skin of its natural oils, using harsh soaps, scrubs, and chemical peels.

Oh honey, stop! You don't need all that! Show a little more love, your oily skin isn't that bad.

Good skin is one that's well lubricated, full of moisture. Think of any mechanical engine, it runs better when its oils are clean and filled to capacity.

It's always best to control excessive oil than to constantly be applying moisture to dry dead skin. Dryness can lead to cracking, flaking, and excessive dead skin that lead to those awful dark marks when exposed to sunlight.

Good news for the oily skin types: all stars shine, as an oily skin type you're combating too much shine. That isn't a bad problem to have.

According to Allure Magazine, dermatologist Doris Day recommends the Clarisonic Classic Sonic Skin Cleansing System, which uses sonic frequency to loosen dirt and oil in the pores.

You can also try products with light exfoliants, no more than once a week. Like Mary Kay's Time Wise Microdermabrasion Plus Set. "The set dramatically improves skin’s texture and visibly transforms the look of skin, creating a flawless-looking complexion. With just one use, fine lines instantly appear less noticeable, and pores appear smaller," the cosmetic company says.

Because pores are more likely to expand in oily skin and with continuous heat, it's best to use products to help fight against large pores which exposes it to more bacteria.

It's not your fault...

Cosmopolitan Magazine's Christine Stoddard writes, "Apart from genetics, other factors — such as your daily activity, hot environments, or your hormonal stage in life — can exacerbate oily skin. Latinas (and Tropical people in general) are also more susceptible to hyper-pigmentation, which can mean unwanted brown spots, especially when you spend time in the sun."

It's our ancestors who we've inherited these traits from, the DNA mixture, the culture, the environment are all major players in the world of shininess. You didn't choose the good struggle.

All that's needed is oil control...

The struggle is keeping that shininess under control. The skin needs moisture not oiliness.

Use hydrating gels and oil-free moisturisers instead of creams.

Adding a mask to your skin care regime plays a pivotal role. Once a week, use a deep cleansing mask to eliminate bacteria and de-clog pores. A personal fave of mine is again a Mary Kay product. Why? Because Mary Kay's skincare products were developed in a tropical environment.

The skin care company doesn't get enough to credit on its development and progress as well as its budget friendly exchanges. It seems to work well especially in tropical regions.

I recommend the Botanical Effects Mask Formula 3, which is credited with removing impurities, revitalizing skin and helps leaving skin looking clarified and fresh.

Plus, Botanical Effects Skin Care has an antioxidant-rich complex featuring Silymarin (milk thistle) and Luo Han Guo (known as the “longevity” fruit) to help defend against environmental damage and help promote healthy skin.

As the company asserts, Botanical Effects Skin Care even has a sensitive side – those with sensitive skin also can share in the beauty of its botanical benefits and it is hypoallergenic and free of fragrance & synthetic dyes.

It's highly recommended that these tips be used once a week for oily skin types, and should be an additive process to daily basic skin care. It's not a replacement routine.

Unless, otherwise directed by a dermatologist, keep up your routine of cleansing, moisturizing and protecting skin with SPF every day.

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Fun holiday activities for the kids Short Story…

The Little Pink Rose

By Sara Cone Bryant

O

N C E upon a t i m e , t h e r e was a little pink Rosebud, and she lived down in a little dark house under the ground. One day she was sitting there, all by herself, and it was very still. Suddenly, she heard a little TAP, TAP, TAP, at the door.

“Who is that?” she said.

“It’s the Rain, and I want to come in;” said a soft, sad, little voice.

“No, you can’t come in,” the little Rosebud said.

By and by she heard another little TAP, TAP, TAP on the window pane.

“Who is there?” she said.

The same soft little voice answered, “It’s the Rain, and I want to come in!”

“No, you can’t come in!” said the little Rosebud.

Then it was very still for a long time.

At last, there came a little rustling, whispering sound, all round the window: RUSTLE, WHISPER, WHISPER. “Who is there?” said the little Rosebud.

“It’s the Sunshine,” said a little, soft, cheery voice, “and I want to come in!”

“No!” said the little pink rose, “You can’t come in!” And she sat still again.

Pretty soon, she heard the sweet little rustling noise at the key-hole.

“Who is there?” she said.

“It’s the Sunshine,” said the cheery little voice, “and I want to come in; I want to come in!”

“No, no,” said the little pink rose, “you cannot come in.”

By and by, as she sat so still, she heard TAP, TAP, TAP, and RUSTLE, WHISPER, RUSTLE, all up and down the window pane, and on the door, and at the keyhole. “ W H O I S THERE?” she said.

“It’s the Rain and the Sun, the Rain and the Sun,” said two little voices, together, “and we want to come in! We want to come in! We want to come in!”

“Dear, dear!” said the little Rosebud., “If there are two of you, I s’pose I shall have to let you in.”

So she opened the door a little wee crack, and in they came. And one took one of her little hands, and the other took her other little hand, and they ran, ran, ran with her, right up to the top of the ground. Then they said...

“Poke your head through!”

So she poked her head through; and she was in the midst of a beautiful garden. It was springtime, and all the other flowers had their heads poked through; and she was the prettiest little pink rose in the whole garden!

THE END. (byGosh.com)

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The Impact of mining on the environment

M

ining involves the exploration and extraction of minerals from deposits in the earth.

These minerals may be broadly classified as industrial, such as sand and silica; fuel minerals such as coal and uranium; and metallic minerals such as gold and platinum. Metallic minerals are usually present in the earth as ores and must be treated with chemicals or heat to produce the desired metals. For example, bauxite which is mined in Linden is an ore that must be treated to produce aluminum which is then used to manufacture airplanes, electronics and utensils. Minerals such as gold and diamond are commonly used to make fine jewelry which is then retailed at higher prices.

Mining is a global industry and meets the economic needs of many nations. In modern society, humans are consuming

– through their lifestyles increasing amounts of minerals. According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the average American now consumes 37 million lbs. of minerals, metals and fuel, over the course of a lifetime!

Impacts of mining Mining, though a lucrative industry, has several impacts on the environment and can be devastating if not conducted in a sound manner.

Air Before a site can be mined, overburden is usually removed from the site along with vegetation. This, as well as when overburden is stored or returned to mining pits for closure, releases particulate matter into the air. Soil becomes exposed

to the weather elements and particles become airborne with wind erosion and the traffic or vehicles. Dangerous materials such as arsenic and lead may be present in particulate matter which can adversely affect air quality and health.

Land As land is removed for mining, much of the surface features are lost and cannot be replaced at closure. Further, valuable plant species may be lost along with the habitats of several animals causing the death and migration of wildlife.

Deforestation from mining contributes to the release of carbon dioxide into the air which increases the rate of climate change.

Water When mining is done near water sources the risk of metal contamination and increased sedimentation levels is very high.

Improperly managed practices result in increased soil erosion and can cause high siltation of rivers and creeks. Tailings containing mercury and other harmful chemicals threaten the fisheries sector, domestic water supply and human health.

Mitigating the impacts from mining You might be wondering what it takes to ensure safe mining practices. To ensure that mining has a reduced environmental impact, the practices used now should be such that they do not compromise the needs of future generations. As such, the mining authorities have been making steady progress in influencing a change to better environmental practices in mining. Mining regulations are in place to which miners are expected to adhere to guide safe mining practices. These regulations include but are not limited to the requirement of land management plans particularly for land reclamation and waste management plans inclusive of cleaner production technologies, waste reduction and disposal. Miners are required to utilize the best technologies and designs available to reduce or avoid the use of harmful substances such as mercury and to avoid pollution of water sources. Mining must be done as efficiently and safely as possible to reduce potential impacts on the environment on human health. After all, human and environmental health is as precious as gold.

This week the Ministry of Natural Resources celebrates Mining Week under the theme: ‘Extracting Minerals; Underscoring safety, Protecting the Environment’.

Share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com

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ARIES - Your plans begin to take shape as your impulsive reactions gain momentum throughout the day. Stabilising Saturn enters the picture today, enabling you to construct a solid foundation on which to build your future.

Although you are feeling your oats now that the Moon has returned to your incorrigible sign, her meeting with shadowy Pluto can hijack your efforts and significantly alter your priorities. Continue to keep your eyes on the final destination. Eliminating distractions as they arise improves your chances for success.

TAURUS - You don't like to be pushed into anything against your will, even if it's for your own good. Although you possess the good sense not to resist earlier in the day, you might grow resentful later when you wish you were doing anything else. But rather than obsessing about your current uncertainty, shift your attention to someone or something you can count on. There's no need to create a drama where there isn't one.

GEMINI - You're excited about the prospects of doing something special with a close friend or relative today. However, there's no need to use your current plans to escape from previous promises. In fact, fulfilling your obligations early in the day frees you up to travel the outer edges of your mental explorations later on. But don't try to convince anyone that your philosophy is the only one that matters. Although you might not see how all the separate pieces of your life are interrelated in this moment, you will understand soon enough. Patience is the companion of wisdom.

CANCER - You're ready to spread your wings and fly today, yet run into complex dynamics that force you to change your plans. You could encounter delays that turn out to be the result of someone covertly working against your efforts. However, you can't face an unseen enemy; it's like shadow boxing with an invisible opponent. Instead of looking outside yourself for answers, explore your own resistance to success. When you understand your fears, the external obstacles will likely fade away. As Carl Jung wrote, "We always see our own unavowed mistakes in our opponent."

LEO - You're eager to go the extra mile today because you see the potential for beauty everywhere you look. Fortunately, you can rely on your solid thinking as long as you don't let the current spontaneity of the Aries Moon run off with your day. But Luna harmonises with feisty Mars and authoritarian Saturn in your 5th House of Self-Expression, urging you to bust out of your self-imposed restraints. It's challenging to find the Goldilocks point where everything is exactly just right. Perfection is in the eyes of the beholder.

VIRGO - You're in an odd state of mind now because you want to mingle with interesting people yet have no patience for any opinions that conflict with your own. You could end up planning to attend a social event, only to back out at the last moment when you realise the same old people will be in attendance. You currently crave the excitement that goes along with rubbing elbows with new and different people, and you won't even have a chance to do so if you're at home sitting on the sofa. Forget about all the logical reasons to turn down an invitation today; just smile and say yes.

LIBRA - You don't usually mind redirecting love and admiration away from yourself and onto your friend or partner. However, you grow annoyed now when someone else consistently tries to commandeer the centre of attention.

The spontaneous Aries Moon shines in your 7th House of Others, drawing the crowd's attention elsewhere and you don't like feeling as if you're invisible. There's no need to fight against the natural flow of energy since you will attract your fair share of recognition soon enough. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

SCORPIO - Your mental bandwidth is narrowly focused on all the things you must finish today. Separately, each item sounds manageable, but all together they seem so daunting that you might not know where to begin. A little forethought is a good idea, but too much thinking now sets major delays into motion and places you even further behind the eight ball. Don't worry about the problems you encounter; you can successfully handle them one at a time. Author Saul Bellow wrote, "Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps."

SAGITTARIUS - You're flying off into the wild blue yonder today, but you only have a small amount of gas in your tank. The planetary emphasis on Fire signs ensures you won't be lacking for wonderful activities to capture your imagination. However, building pressure from the mid-week Mars-Saturn conjunction is already slowing your progress and forcing you to be hyperaware of every move you make. Easy does it for the next couple of days if you want the magic to last.

CAPRICORN - Ingenious ideas are buzzing around inside your head now, but you may be insecure about sharing them with anyone else. The pioneering Aries Moon is travelling through your 4th House of Foundations, empowering you to explore creative options at home. Although this might sound contradictory, there is so much you can do without venturing far into the world. Unfortunately, refusing is tricky if someone insists that you participate in his or her adventure. As Paulo Coelho writes, "When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself."

AQUARIUS - Everything seems to be fine today until you open your mouth.

The bossy Aries Moon in your 3rd House of Communication squares unrelenting Pluto, bringing hidden issues out into the blinding light of day. You might be surprised when you run into negativity from someone you thought was a friend. Nevertheless, it's impossible to overcome a problem unless you identify it. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

PISCES - You might try to power your way through a tricky situation today, but somehow keep stalling at the same point in your process. It doesn't even seem to help when others cheer you on from the sidelines. In fact, the support you receive encourages you to keep pushing in the same ineffective manner, setting you up for a fall. Fortunately, there's a lesser known way to reach your goals; working smarter, not harder all but guarantees your success.

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Chronicle Pepperpot August 21, 2016

Bollywood Movie Review:

Happy Bhag Jayegi (Reuters) Mudassar Aziz’s “Happy Bhag Jayegi” is a romantic comedy about a runaway bride who wants to escape an unwanted alliance, but lands in more trouble than she bargained for.

Happy (Diana Penty) is in love with college mate Guddu (Ali Fazal), but when her family insists she marry budding politician Daman Singh Bagga (Jimmy Sheirgill), the desperate bride-to-be runs away on the night of her wedding.

The plan goes awry and she lands not in the arms of the man she loves, but in another country.

Thanks to a mix-up, Happy travels in the back of a truck from Amritsar to Pakistan and finds herself in the home of Bilal Ahmed (Abhay Deol), the son of a powerful politician. At first taken aback by her abrasive manner, Bilal decides to help Happy.

Except that his plan is so convoluted it makes no sense. Instead of Happy returning to India and marrying Guddu (which would have resolved the film’s main conflict in 30 minutes), she chooses to stay back in Pakistan. The idea is to bring Guddu to Pakistan and get the two married to avoid any opposition.

It seems like even Aziz knows how ridiculous this sounds, so he peppers “Happy Bhag Jayegi” with one-liners and slapstick comedy to distract us from the lack of depth in the story.

The dialogue is uneven - funny in parts, but rambling otherwise. With a running time of two hours and a plot that stretches thin, there are more contrivances than you can count, including a last-minute kidnapping, jailbreaks and chaotic weddings. But just when you think it’s all about to come undone, there is a funny line or a poignant moment that Aziz throws at you, redeeming himself and the film.

Abhay Deol, who has made a career out of playing the confused man in love, is responsible for most of these moments. His Bilal is the standout performance of the film, eclipsing Diana Penty in the title role. Penty is reminiscent of Deepika Padukone from her early years in this film -- evoking the same wide-eyed expressions and awkward dialogue delivery. Ali Fazal plays the wide-eyed slacker boyfriend to the hilt, and Jimmy Sheirgill can probably sleepwalk through the “tough guywho-doesn’t-get-the-girl” role by now.

India-Pakistan unity and other tropes aside, “Happy Bhag Jayegi” is a mildly funny comedy that doesn’t try too hard to push the boundaries, but does enough to entertain you.

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